As the First Order spreads its reign of fear across the galaxy, stormtroopers armed and armored for war lead the way. The sound of their marching feet is sometimes preceded by another steady gait. Next comes the sight of all of those troopers again, doubled by reflective chrome armor.
Supreme Leader Snoke’s master of ground troops, Captain Phasma, packs a punch on her own, too. Introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, she joins Kylo Ren and General Hux as one of the newest icons of Star Wars villainy.
With an upcoming novel and comic series bearing Phasma’s name, there's more of the silver-armor-clad leader to come. For now, let’s take a look at the captain’s dossier.
1. Her armor is an expression of her loyalty.
Like Kylo Ren, consumed by his aspirations to emulate Darth Vader, Phasma indulges in her own Imperial idolatry. Her armor’s mirrored surface is made from chromium previously used on one of Emperor Palpatine’s own yachts. The chromium coat might not stop an anti-starship weapon, but it does shield her from radiation.
And as Phasma novel author Delilah S. Dawson said at Celebration, Captain Phasma’s enemies will see the moment of their own death reflected in that armor.
2. That blaster packs a punch from a distance.
Phasma’s blaster is also coated in chromium, an affectation that adds to her imposing appearance. She’s equally comfortable flying a heavily-armed starship, driving a speeder, or wielding any of the First Order’s small arms. Her custom blaster features some upgrades, including a recurved trigger guard for a two-handed stance. Not all of the combat she sees has to be close enough to be reflected in her kit; the blaster rifle can unfold a stabling grip and a macroscope sight for sniping with magnification up to eight times. She holds it with crush gauntlets which were also specially made for Phasma’s gear.
3. “Adequate” is the highest praise her troopers can expect.
As the head of the stormtrooper legions, Phasma has to hold her trainees to the highest standard.
She took a special interest in FN-2187’s training, but even her best soldier was merely “adequate.” She manipulated her troopers’ minds as much as their bodies, observing their behavior in great detail and pinpointing not just weaknesses in their fighting technique, but also friendships that could turn into alliances or dissenting thoughts that could tear a unit apart. She has memorized the serial numbers of every one of the troopers who she works with directly.
“FN-2187 has the potential to be one of the finest stormtroopers I have ever seen…But his decision to split the fire-team and return for FN-2003 is problematic. It speaks to a potentially … dangerous level of empathy.”
4. She idolizes the Empire -- but wants to do better.
Phasma has high ambitions in other areas, as well. Darth Vader’s bickering advisors wouldn’t have fared well under her rule. Although she supports the First Order’s blind bid to bring back the Empire, she’s also thankful not to have any politicians giving input on how she should raise her troopers. She wants to eliminate infighting while focusing on making her army the best that it can be. While few details are known about Deliah Dawson's upcoming Phasma novel, it's sure to reveal more about what makes her such an effective leader.
5. She survived being thrown in the trash compactor.
There’s something alive in here. The stormtrooper extraordinaire is confirmed to have survived her trip to the trash compactor, courtesy Finn and Han Solo, in Captain Phasma, the upcoming miniseries from Marvel. In September, the comic will reveal how she escaped. We can't wait to see how she did it.
Megan Crouse’s work has appeared in Den of Geek, FangirlBlog, and Star Wars Insider. She podcasts on Western Reaches and Blaster Canon and can be found on Twitter at @blogfullofwords.
