First Legion

"We're the First Legion, Lord Vader's personal stormtroopers. The entire Empire knows us."

- Kimmund, to Rukh

The First Legion was an elite stormtrooper legion in the military forces of the Galactic Empire. The legion served under the command of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Its troopers were recruited from the ranks of the equally renowned 501st.

Expedition to Batuu
The First Legion was part of the Imperial forces that deployed to Batuu, as requested by Emperor Palpatine after sensing a disturbance in the Force. After some friction with Grand Admiral Thrawn, Rukh, and the crew of the Chimaera, the First Legion and Thrawn's forces cooperated in defeating the Grysk over Batuu and Mokivj.

Behind the scenes
The First Legion was created by Timothy Zahn for the 2018 novel Thrawn: Alliances, where they were introduced as Vader's personal stormtrooper regiment.

In an interview, Zahn said that he originally wanted to include the 501st Legion as Vader's personal force of stormtroopers, as it was in Star Wars Legends. However, the Lucasfilm Story Group vetoed the idea, saying that Vader would not have wanted to be closely associated to a unit that had been commanded by Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. However, due to the 501st's expert troops, Vader would still select his stormtroopers from within their ranks when recruiting for the First Legion.

The First Legion being Vader's personal legion during the time of the Galactic Empire contradicted the 2015 novel Battlefront: Twilight Company, where the 501st were referred to as Vader's personal legion by Everi Chalis. When asked about the matter, Story Group member Matt Martin mused that perhaps either Chalis was wrong or that the things could have changed by the time of Battlefront.

Appearances

 * Thrawn: Alliances