Special Adjutant's helmet

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"What did we do this for? What did they take?"
"What did they take? The Sith-serving sadist who once wore this also liked questions. All you need to know, Han, is everything we take from the dark side allows the light to shine brighter."

―Han Solo and Maz Kanata^[2]

The Special Adjutant's helmet, also known as the Grand Inquisitor's helmet or simply the Inquisitor's helmet, was a flight helmet own by the Grand Inquisitor, leader of the Imperial Inquisitorius. It was classified within Imperial documents. The Grand Inquisitor used the helmet on Empire Day in 5 BBY when he piloted a new TIE Advanced v1 to chase a Rebel cell after they destroyed another TIE Advanced v1 during a parade to celebrate Empire Day on the planet Lothal.

Description[]

"CLASSIFIED"

―Imperial documentation on helmets^[3]

The Special Adjutant's helmet was a distinctive, stylized helmet that was worn by the Grand Inquisitor, leader of the Inquisitorius—an organization of the Galactic Empire tasked with hunting Jedi. He wore the helmet as a flight helmet^[1] and to strike fear into his enemies.^[4] The helmet featured a red-tinted polarized visor to protect the wearer's eyes from bright lights. It was also equipped with a comlink and speaker to allow clear communication. An air-filtration system and full respirator were included as well. Three audio sensors were on each side of the helmet, allowing the user to scan a large spectrum of sound waves. The Grand Inquisitor marked the helmet with symbols of the dark side of the Force, due to his passion for the dark side and echoing symbols tattooed on his face.^[1] The helmet was classified within Imperial documents as "Special Adjutant's helmet,"^[3] but was also referred to as the "Inquisitor's helmet"^[4] and the "Grand Inquisitor's helmet."^[5]

History[]

In service to the Empire[]

"Haven't seen one of these before. CLASSIFIED…looks cool."

―Ezra Bridger, in his journal^[3]

SpecialAdjutantsHelmet-EmpireDay — The Grand Inquisitor wore his helmet while piloting his TIE Advanced v1.

At most seventy-one days prior to the thief Ezra Bridger meeting the bounty hunter Bossk'wassak'Cradossk in 5 BBY,^[6] Bridger attached Imperial documentation to his journal that featured the Special Adjutant's helmet. He added annotations stating he had never seen that helmet before and that he thought it looked "cool."^[3]

On Empire Day in 4 BBY,^[7] the Spectres, a Rebel cell that Bridger had since joined, sabotaged a parade in Capital City of the^[8] Outer Rim^[5] planet Lothal by destroying a newly unveiled TIE model, the TIE Advanced v1. As the rebels fled south, the Grand Inquisitor carried his helmet under his arm as he strode towards his personal TIE Advanced, during which he was contacted by Imperial Security Bureau Agent Alexsandr Kallus via hologram and informed of the rebels' trajectory. After ending his communications with Kallus, the Inquisitor slipped the helmet on and boarded his starfighter. He went on to pursue the rebels in their VCX-100 light freighter, the Ghost,^[8] and eventually attached a XX-23 S-thread tracker beacon to the light freighter before it escaped to hyperspace. After the freighter escaped, the Inquisitor removed his helmet^[9] and scowled.^[10]

Secreted away[]

"Now, return the item to me."
"You'll never find it!"
"You've put it behind your chair."
"Okay…Well, you'll never take it."

―Maz Kanata and Somareeva^[2]

Sometime after 4 BBY,^[11] the pirate Queen Maz Kanata came into possession of the Grand Inquisitor's helmet. However, it was stolen by the Devaronian Somareeva and hidden behind his throne in his castle, which resided on an ice planet in Wild Space.^[2] Sometime between 29 ABY and 31 ABY,^[12] Kanata hired the smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca—a human and Wookiee respectively—to help her retrieve the helmet. As they traveled to the ice planet aboard the smugglers' ship,^[2] the Millennium Falcon,^[5] Katana informed them that the Devaronian had stolen something from her and she wanted it back. After arriving on the planet and landing away from the castle, to avoid large cannons, the group boarded a four-wheeled vehicle to travel to the castle. While en route to the castle, Solo inquired what item they were looking for, only for Kanata to dismiss his inquiry, saying she would know its location once they were inside.^[2]

SpecialAdjutantsHelmet-MazsScoundrels — Maz Kanata showed Han Solo and Chewbacca the helmet.

After the group penetrated the wall around the castle, Kanata stated she knew where the helmet was and left the group to retrieve it. She confronted Somareeva upon his throne, requesting the helmet back. Somareeva claimed she would never find it, but Kanata correctly claimed it was behind his throne. The Devaronian asserted she would never retrieve it. Chewbacca arrived soon after, lured by the scent of the Wookiee pelt Somareeva wore, and assisted Kanata in killing Somareeva and his lackeys. Kanata retrieved a box with the helmet inside and paid Solo their reward. As they traveled back to the their vehicle, Solo inquired why they were retrieving the item. Kanata revealed the helmet to them and compared Solo's inquisitive nature to the Grand Inquisitor's. She stated taking things away from the dark side of the Force allowed the "light to shine brighter."^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Creation and introductions[]

LEGOGrandInquisitor-LEGO — The Grand Inquisitor's helmet in LEGO was created from a special mold.

The Special Adjutant's helmet first appeared in "Empire Day,"^[8] the eighth episode of the first season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels,^[13] which aired on November 10, 2014.^[14] Rebels concept artist^[15] Chris Glenn developed the black-and-gray color scheme of the Grand Inquisitor's armor, which included his helmet. Kilian Plunkett^[16]—art director for the series^[15]—created concept art for the helmet.^[16] For its LEGO Star Wars set, the helmet was created by a special mold that combined solid black and transparent red plastic.^[17] The Grand Inquisitor, along with his helmet, was added to the 2021 non-canon video game LEGO Star Wars: Castaways through the "Spectres of Lothal" event,^[18] which was added on June 30, 2022.^[19]

The helmet was first officially previewed^[20] on February 16 at the 111th Toy Fair^[21] at Hasbro's Star Wars display. The helmet was featured as an accessory for an action figure of the Inquisitor as part of the Star Wars Rebels toyline, a toy mask, and as part of the Inquisitor's mold for an expansion in Star Wars Command.^[20] The action figure and expansion set released sometime in 2014.^[22]^[23] The helmet was properly introduced as the "Inquisitor's helmet" in Ultimate Sticker Collection: Star Wars Rebels, a sticker book written by David Fentiman and Sadie Smith^[4] and published on July 21, 2014.^[24] It was later identified with all capital letters as "Special Adjutant's helmet" in Rebel Journal by Ezra Bridger, a replica journal written by Daniel Wallace, illustrated by Andrew Barthelmes,^[3] and published on October 21, 2014,^[25] It was finally identified, also in all capital letters, as the "Grand Inquisitor's helmet" in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia.^[5]

Concept art gallery[]

Star Wars Rebels

Storyboards

Concept art

Digital renderings

In-progress artwork

Concept art

LEGO Star Wars universe[]

On February 3, 2015, a non-canon LEGO short depicted the Grand Inquisitor on the Lothal, carrying his helmet under his arm while he interrupted a TIE fighter pilot attempting to board a TIE Advanced v1. The Inquisitor donned his helmet and took the pilot's place, flying the TIE over the nearby fields.^[26] A second short on the same day established the Inquisitor went on to fly the starfighter through space. The Grand Inquisitor removed his helmet when his sensors picked up activity nearby, rebel Jedi Kanan Jarrus fighting Imperial forces on^[27] the Outer Rim planet^[5] Kessel. He left his helmet off as he engaged the Jedi and a Wookiee Auzituck anti-slaver gunship, ultimately fleeing the battle.^[27]

In the non-canon comic story "Virus Alert!," which was written by Christian Hector, illustrated by Miguel Sanchez,^[28] and published by Blue Ocean Entertainment in the fifth issue of the LEGO Star Wars Magazine on October 30, 2015,^[29] the Grand Inquisitor wore his helmet while aboard an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer while the Spectres infiltrated the Star Destroyer to steal Imperial codes to bypass a blockade on Lothal. After the rebel astromech droid C1-10P uploaded a virus to the ship's system, waste from the kitchen was deposited on the Destroyer's bridge, causing a banana peel to stick to the Inquisitor's helmet. Frustrated by the situation, the Grand Inquisitor investigated the cause and eventually discovered the Spectres onboard. As he confronted the rebels, the computer virus deactivated the artificial gravity, which caused the Inquisitor to flip, ridding his helmet of the banana peel but allowing the rebels to escape.^[28]

In "Trouble at Mos Eisley," a non-canon comic story written by Hector, illustrated by Ricard Zaplana,^[30] and published by Blue Ocean Entertainment in the thirteenth issue of the LEGO Star Wars Magazine on June 18, 2016,^[31] the Grand Inquisitor flew his TIE Advanced again as he chased the Spectres' freighter, the Ghost to the planet Tatooine.^[30]