Phasma

"Long live the First Order."

- Phasma

Phasma was a human female Captain of the First Order. She served as part of the unofficial commanding triumvirate for the First Order and their Starkiller Base operation, taking charge of the command of the First Order's stormtrooper soldiers. During the First Order–Resistance conflict, which took place 30 years after the Battle of Endor, Phasma served alongside the dark enforcer Kylo Ren and General Hux in their efforts against the Resistance.

Under orders from the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Snoke, the triumvirate searched for a galaxy map that would lead to the last of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker, on the planet Jakku. After the sacking of the village Tuanul, Phasma and her stormtroopers killed the survivors under orders from Ren. Afterward, FN-2187, one of her division's stormtroopers, had an awakening that led to him betraying the First Order, despite Phasma's efforts at reconditioning him. The First Order eventually decided on unleashing their Starkiller superweapon, an event which led to the destruction of the Hosnian system, where the New Republic's capital was located, for which Phasma was present.

Before the First Order could fire the Starkiller again and destroy the Resistance, FN-2187, alongside the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca, infiltrated the base and took Phasma captive. Under the threat of death, the trio managed to have Phasma lower the Starkiller's planetary shield for the Resistance's assault effort on the superweapon. Although Phasma believed the Resistance would be destroyed by her stormtrooper legions, the Resistance was ultimately successful in destroying the Starkiller Base. Phasma was left in the base's trash compactor prior to its destruction.

Service to the First Order
"While I am entirely in support of unit cohesion, General, a stormtrooper's loyalty must be higher, as you know. It must be to the First Order, not to one's comrades."

- Captain Phasma to General Hux, regarding FN-2187

Phasma was a stormtrooper captain of the First Order, though her true rank was higher than her title suggested. She was a leading member of the unofficial commanding triumvirate, alongside the dark enforcer Kylo Ren and General Hux. Phasma was assigned to Starkiller Base, where she oversaw training of the First Order military and the stormtrooper ranks, in particular. Phasma sought to have only the best soldiers don the First Order's stormtrooper armor, and sought to keep politics out of the ranks to guard against a lack of effectiveness. Phasma also believed that a stormtrooper's loyalty was to be first and foremost to the First Order, not to any individual or comrade.

Phasma herself oversaw the training of the stormtrooper FN-2187 and his FN Corps squadmates, FN-2000, FN-2003, and FN-2199. After a training simulation, Phasma noted to General Hux that FN-2187 and his class had the potential at becoming the best stormtroopers the First Order had ever produced. However, she also noted that FN-2187 was potentially too empathetic, despite having trained him and his class since their induction into the First Order, after he strayed from his objective to save FN-2003 prior to completing the simulation. Phasma later expressed these concerns to FN-2187 himself, ordering him to leave those who could potentially weaken the First Order behind, speaking of FN-2003.

After the previous training session, Phasma accelerated FN-2187 and his fellow cadets training sessions, at times praising FN-2187 in front of many members of the First Order for his successes. However, Phasma once again reprimanded FN-2187 after watching his performance in a melee weapons exercise, during which the cadet once again expressed sympathy for FN-2003. Following this, Phasma sent FN-2187 and his squadmates on their first deployment to an asteroid field in the Pressylla system, giving them a short briefing in which she explained the cadets were to restore order. At the asteroid's mining facility, collectively known as Pressy's Tumble, Phasma stationed the cadets on guard duty. In the meantime, she gathered a group of stormtroopers with her and awaited to negotiate with the mining facility's miners that were on strike, whom had allegedly been riled up by infiltrating New Republic agents and had caused delays to the First Order's mining operations.

Once ready, Phasma called FN-2187 and the cadets to her, informing them that they would be accompanying her for the negotiations. However, immediately in response to the miner's requests, Phasma ordered FN-2187 and the rest of the cadets to open fire on the miners. FN-2187 did not fire his weapon, but the rest of the squad did so, killing all of the miners. Despite his hesitation, FN-2187 and the cadets were officially promoted to full-fledged stormtroopers, but Phasma remained disappointed in FN-2187's lack of fulfillment. Phasma decided to give FN-2187 one last chance to show his worth by choosing him to be deployed on the First Order's next mission to the Western Reaches planet of Jakku, hoping a real battle would show him what it meant to be a stormtrooper.

Assault on Jakku
"Sir, the villagers.''" "''Kill them all."

- Phasma and Kylo Ren, concluding the assault on Tuanul

Under orders from the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Snoke, Phasma prepared an assault on Jakku to be led by Kylo Ren. The dark enforcer was on the hunt for a galaxy map that would lead to the location of the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker. Skywalker had led the Rebel Alliance in their efforts to take down the Galactic Empire 30 years prior, and destroying Skywalker was the Supreme Leader's goal in the First Order's conflict with the Resistance and, by extension, the New Republic. Phasma was accompanied by at least 80 stormtroopers, including FN-2187 and FN-2003, to the Jakku village of Tuanul. There, the First Order sought to find an ally of the Resistance, Lor San Tekka, whom they believed had found the map to Skywalker.

Immediately after her stormtrooper forces touched down on the planet, a battle broke out between the First Order stormtroopers and the villagers. FN-2003, whom Phasma had commended on his latest mission to the Pressylla mining colony, was killed during the assault by the Resistance Commander Poe Dameron, which was witnessed first hand by FN-2187. After the villagers were rounded up by Phasma's forces and Dameron's X-wing starfighter was disabled, San Tekka was brought before Kylo Ren and interrogated. San Tekka, however, did not give up the location of the map and was executed by Ren, and Dameron was instead taken as prisoner. When Phasma inquired what to do with the surviving villagers, Ren ordered her to kill them all. Under Phasma's command, the surviving villagers were killed, although FN-2187 refused to fire his weapon and his conscience was awoken by the event.

Before returning to their command ship, the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Finalizer, Phasma and her forces searched the entire village for anything that could lead to the map under Ren's orders. When nothing was found, her stormtroopers destroyed Dameron's X-wing and returned to the Finalizer. Once there, Phasma confronted FN-2187 and demanded he turn his blaster rifle in for inspection, as well as to report to her division aboard the Star Destroyer for evaluation. She also reprimanded the trooper for removing his helmet, which he had done so in order to vomit after witnessing the events on Jakku. Phasma determined that FN-2187 ultimately needed to be reconditioned.

In the meantime, Ren used the Force to probe Commander Dameron's mind and discovered that the map to Skywalker had been hidden in Dameron's astromech droid, BB-8, which was back on Jakku. However, before FN-2187 could be reconditioned and further action could be taken by the First Order on the droid, the stormtrooper betrayed the First Order and helped the Resistance pilot escape. On the bridge of the Star Destroyer, after FN-2187 and Dameron escaped, Ren determined FN-2187 had been responsible for Dameron's rescue, and Phasma noted that it had been the stormtrooper's first offense against the Order. Despite the First Order's efforts to pursue the treacherous stormtrooper and locate the droid, he escaped from Jakku with the aid of a scavenger named Rey on board the light freighter known as the Millennium Falcon.

Battle of Starkiller Base
"You can't be so stupid as to think this will be easy. My troops will storm this block and kill you all. Whatever you're planning, it won't work."

- Phasma, to Finn, after disabling Starkiller Base's shields

Following the initial failure to retrieve the BB-8 droid from Jakku, Supreme Leader Snoke approved Hux's recommendation of putting the Starkiller superweapon to use against the New Republic. Phasma, along with the might of the military force stationed on Starkiller base, gathered for a speech to be delivered by Hux prior to the weapon's activation. Phasma stood at attention behind Hux during the general's speech, in which the impassioned human commended the First Order on their success in building such a massive superweapon. Phasma, along with the rest of the present First Order, then witnessed the activation of the Starkiller Base for the first time as it fired its dark energy quintessence beams through hyperspace and reached halfway across the galaxy, successfully destroying the entire Hosnian system, including the New Republic's capital, Hosnian Prime, the senate, and a majority of its naval fleet.

Afterward, the First Order received word that BB-8 was on Takodana, inside the castle of the pirate Maz Kanata. Kylo Ren led an attack that, although failed to capture the droid, led to the capture of the scavenger Rey, who also had knowledge of the map to Skywalker. This led FN-2187, who had renounced his designation and now went by "Finn," to seek a way to return to Starkiller Base and free his friend. Along with the famed smuggler Han Solo and the Wookiee Chewbacca, Finn successfully infiltrated Starkiller Base and sought out Phasma to bring down the base's planetary shield. In addition to rescuing Rey, Finn and Solo sought to make way for a resistance attack on the First Order superweapon. While Phasma diligently patrolled the areas of Starkiller Base under her command, Chewbacca tackled the stormtrooper captain and brought her before Finn and Solo.

Finn taunted Phasma during her capture, expressly telling her that he was now in command. When ordered to lead the group to the shield control room, Phasma initially refused, but she was convinced by having Chewbacca threaten to crush her within her armor and Finn threaten to shoot her at close range. As Phasma and the group made their way to the control room, the captain realized that Starkiller's architects had never considered being infiltrated and had little security. Once at the shield console, Phasma attempted one last time to thwart Finn's efforts by stating she needed a second officer to bring down the shield, a bluff which Solo called her on. When that failed, Phasma took down the shields as asked and threatened the group, assuring them that her stormtroopers would kill them all and put a stop to their plans, to which the captain was still oblivious.

Instead of killing Phasma, however, Solo asked Finn&mdash;who had worked in sanitation on the base as a cadet&mdash; if the base had a trash compactor, to which Finn replied that it did. Once the trio blasted the consoles in the room beyond repair, they dumped Phasma down a chute into Starkiller Base's sewage system. Ultimately, bringing down the planetary shields allowed the Resistance forces to infiltrate Starkiller Base and destroy its thermal oscillator, crippling the superweapon and causing the icy planet that hosted it to collapse upon itself.

Personality and traits
"A real stormtrooper has no room for sympathy. A real stormtrooper is the extension of the First Order, of Supreme Leader Snoke's will, nothing less."

- Phasma on a stormtrooper's role in the First Order

Phasma was a human female who stood at 2.0 meters tall. Phasma was fiercely loyal to the First Order and believed that a stormtrooper's loyalty was only to be given to the First Order as a whole, not to any group or individual. Phasma saw herself and her stormtrooper divisions as extensions of the will of Supreme Leader Snoke and looked down on sympathy in her ranks. Phasma, privately, also believed that the meddling of politics ultimately led to ineffective ranks among the past stormtroopers of the former Galactic Empire, and sought to ensure herself that only the best soldiers were worthy of joining the stormtrooper ranks.

The captain considered herself a perfectionist and kept herself in peak physical shape. She routinely walked dozens of kilometers while on patrol on Starkiller Base in any typical day and was an expert in combat, particularly with all First Order small arms. Phasma also always insisted on fighting alongside her stormtroopers on the forefront instead of remaining in the comfort that could have come with her elevated rank. As well, Phasma took it upon herself to memorize all of the serial numbers of the stormtroopers under her direct command, such as FN-2187.

Equipment
"Even a Wookiee can't crush First Order armor."

- Phasma in response to threats from Chewbacca

Phasma wore armor coated in chromium salvaged from a Naboo yacht once owned by the Galactic Empire's Emperor Palpatine. Its polished finish helped reflect harmful radiation, although the chromium served primarily as a symbol of past power. Phasma also believed that stormtrooper armor provided anonymity to an individual's gender, paying little heed to the antiquated belief that female stormtroopers were something new.

Phasma also wore a traditional First Order command armorweave cape in black and red, the colors of the First Order. Her primary weapon, a Sonn-Blas F-11D blaster rifle, was also polished in chromium.

Behind the scenes
"She's Star Wars ' first female villain. It's incredible, it's timely, and I'm very proud to be a part of it."

- Gwendoline Christie on her portrayal of Phasma

Phasma was portrayed by Gwendoline Christie in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The character was originally intended to be played by a male actor, but Christie was cast in response to internet backlash against a perceived lack of female cast members. Phasma became the first leading female villain for the Star Wars film franchise. President of Lucasfilm Ltd. Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed that Christie is slated to reprise the role of Phasma in Star Wars: Episode VIII, set for release in 2017. Later reports confirmed that the Phasma character would be back in a "bigger role," which Christie expressing that she hoped that the role would lead to more opportunities for other women like her in such films. In her own words, she "campaigned hard" to be in The Force Awakens; the role interested her due to Phasma being a female character who was defined by her actions rather than her flesh. Christie was pleased that Phasma wore armor which wasn't sexualized and that her face was never revealed, which she felt was a modern and exciting concept. She has called Phasma a very progressive female character, which she believes is a large part of her appeal to fans.

The character of Phasma was first revealed in the second teaser trailer for The Force Awakens on April 16, 2015. Phasma's costume was created by Michael Kaplan, who felt it would be a good idea to have the character in silver armor. He initially intended the silver armor for Kylo Ren, whom he pitched as "Lord of the Stormtroopers." Abrams felt the costume design was wrong for Ren, and the artwork remained pinned to the costume department's wall until Kathleen Kennedy saw it and decided to use it for Phasma.

Dermot Power created some of the concept art for Phasma, which was featured in the reference book The Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens as "Stormtrooper Cloak Front Red Stripe." The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams stated the costume design reminded him of the 1979 horror film Phantasm, in which the antagonist used a murderous silver sphere as his weapon, and as such believed it sounded "really cool" to name the character Phasma. Phasma has been compared to the bounty hunter Boba Fett, of the Star Wars original trilogy, for appearing as an armored and masked villain in a supporting role.

In addition to the film, Phasma appeared in other material from The Force Awakens, including the novelization and junior novelization of the film. Phasma was featured heavily in Finn's backstory in the junior novel Before the Awakening, set before The Force Awakens. She also appeared in the reference books Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary and Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections.

Appearances

 * Before the Awakening
 * Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens novel
 * Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel
 * Star Wars: Episode VIII