Star Wars’ Commander Zahra Proves Rebels Really Are Scum

In nearly every Star Wars story, the conflict is always seen from the Rebels‘ point of view, but Imperial Commander Ellian Zahra introduces the perspective that the Rebels are scum. Introduced in Marvel’s 2020 Star Wars comic series, Zahra’s story does not follow the same trend of showing how the Empire has wronged the universe. Instead it underlines the fact that in every war, each side thinks that they’re the ones in the right.

Zahra’s first encounter with the Rebels occurs when they kill her parents while she is still young. This devastating loss leads her to join the Imperial Academy at the height of the Galactic Empire’s power. Her expert skill at the Academy catches the eye of Grand Moff Tarkin and he decides to become her mentor. Right before the Battle of Yavin, Zahra disappoints Tarkin during her latest mission and because he is a father figure to her, she leaves Tarkin’s side to try and fix her mistake. This leads to her being off of the Death Star when the Rebels destroy it. Her last meaningful relationship is destroyed during that battle.

The Rebels are truly scum in Zahra’s mind. Besides destroying those whom she cared about, they are a threat to peace. As far as she is concerned, the Empire’s mission isn’t to rule the galaxy, it’s to keep peace throughout the region. In Star Wars #3 by Charles Soule and Jesús Saiz, she says, “The Rebellion, through a combination of luck and sabotage, destroyed the Death Star, the Emperor’s greatest effort to maintain peace in this troubled galaxy.” If the Death Star was built just to keep the peace as Zahra believes, then the Rebels stealing the plans to blow it up would also threaten the peace the Empire has brought. They have to be stopped at any cost.

If the Rebels were asked about the Battle of Yavin, they would likely say that the Empire fired first by destroying Alderaan. With one shot, the Empire killed 2 billion people who were living there. Most of those people probably weren’t part of the Rebellion and definitely didn’t deserve to die. The Empire, on the other hand, would say that the Rebels started it by stealing the Death Star plans in the first place. In the view of Zahra and other Imperials, the galaxy needs a weapon like that to maintain peace. If a law has no consequences when it’s broken, then citizens would have no motivation to follow it.

The victor of a battle gets to write the story and show their spin on the conflict. For the Rebels, the Empire is evil and needs to be stopped. For Zahra, the Rebels are deviants trying to end an Empire that has done nothing but try to bring peace and order. The Rebels are responsible for killing her family. They are responsible for the death of a billion soldiers on board the Death Star who were just performing their civic duty to the Empire. Looking at things from a certain point of view is very common thread throughout Star Wars stories, and from Commander Zahra‘s point of view, the Rebels are scum.

About The Author