The Empire Strikes Back Characters

K-3PO was a masculine 3PO protocol droid who served as a captain in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. He was stationed at Echo Base on the planet Hoth, where he was charged with organizing the base's droidpool. He was destroyed due to falling debris when the Rebel command center sustained enemy fire during the Battle of Hoth.

The Rebel Alliance stood bravely against the evil of the Galactic Empire, never backing down despite overwhelming odds. Formed from resistance movements that arose during the Clone Wars, the Rebellion worked in secret for decades to overthrow the Emperor and restore democracy to the galaxy. Eventually, armed with the firepower of ships like the X-wing and A-wing, and the leadership of figures including Princess Leia and Admiral Ackbar, the Rebel Alliance triumphed over the Empire at the Battle of Endor.

Drawn from many homeworlds and species, Rebel troopers were the Alliance's front-line soldiers in the war against the Empire. They defended the Alliance's leaders on countless worlds and during many operations, changing uniforms and tactics to meet each challenge.

Princess Leia Organa was one of the greatest leaders of the Rebel Alliance, fearless on the battlefield and dedicated to ending the Empire’s tyranny. Daughter of Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker, sister of Luke Skywalker, and with a soft spot for scoundrels, Leia ranked among the galaxy’s great heroes. But life under the New Republic proved difficult for her. Sidelined by a new generation of political leaders, she struck out on her own to oppose the First Order as founder of the Resistance. These setbacks in her political career were accompanied by more personal losses, which she endured with her seemingly inexhaustible will.

Zev flew as Rouge 2 on Hoth, and led the scout mission that rescued Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Zev died defending Echo Base from the Imperial assault.

Hoth

"Set for position three."
―Zev Senesca shortly before being shot down

In 3 ABY, Senesca was among the Rebels stationed at Echo Base on the ice-planet of Hoth, where he flew a T-47 airspeeder under the callsign of Rogue Two. Senesca organized a betting pool for the worst thing about their new base, which pilot Dak Ralter won for betting on "too damn cold." Senesca and his fellow pilots liked to fly the airspeeders, but they were not operational for some time due to the cold weather and the squadron were forced to use tauntauns until the engineers were able to adapt their equipment.

When Rogue Leader Luke Skywalker went missing during a patrol, Captain Han Solo went in search of him. As news spread of their missing leader, Senesca, as the new first in command of Rogue Squadron, gathered the pilots in the barracks and started a new betting pool, saying the first Rogue pilot to find Skywalker would win a week's worth of wages off of his squadronmates. Ralter and Wedge Antilles wrote their names on the board, but when Derek "Hobbie" Klivian said that it was morbid, Leia Organa walked in and said that she thought it was a gesture filled with hope and that she was confident they could find him. The entire squadron then entered the pool. The following morning, Senesca led Rogue Squadron and located the two missing officers. Thinking of Organa's words, Senesca smiled to himself as he approached Solo and Skywalker, also remembering that he had won a lot of extra flight pay.

Soon after, the Galactic Empire discovered Echo Base, and the Rebel Alliance began an evacuation. During the subsequent Battle of Hoth, Senesca piloted his snowspeeder, with Kit Valent serving as his gunner. While defending Echo Base, Senesca's snowspeeder was hit by an Imperial All Terrain Armored Transport twice. The first shot damaged their snowspeeder enough to slow it down, making the second the killing strike that killed both Senesca and Valent.

Senesca during the Battle of Hoth

Zev Senesca flying as Rogue Two during the Battle of Hoth.

Zev was a rebel pilot assigned to Echo Base on the frozen planet Hoth. Flying a snowspeeder as Rogue Two, he located Han Solo and Luke Skywalker after the two went missing during a perilous blizzard. Zev then flew with Rogue Squadron in the Battle of Hoth, but blasts from an AT-AT walker ripped through his snowspeeder, killing him.

Janson served as Wedge Antilles' gunner during the battle of Hoth, successfully tangling the legs of a massive AT-AT and sending it crashing down into the snow.

Battle of Hoth

In 3 ABY, Lieutenant Janson participated in the Alliance's defense of Echo Base in the Battle of Hoth, serving as a gunner for Wedge Antilles, who piloted a T-47 airspeeder in Rogue Squadron. During the battle, he was the first member of Rogue Squadron to successfully take down an Imperial AT-AT walker with the harpoon and tow cable gambit devised by Commander Luke Skywalker. Following the battle, Janson boarded an X-wing starfighter and, along with Antilles, went on to escort the transport the Bright Hope, the final transport to escape Echo Base, away from Hoth to the fleet's rendezvous point.

A native of Taanab, Wes Janson joined the Alliance and was assigned to Hoth’s Echo Base. During the Battle of Hoth, Lieutenant Janson served as tail gunner for Wedge Antilles under the call sign Rogue Three. After the AT-AT walkers’ armor proved too strong for blasters, Janson and Antilles were the first pilots to try Luke Skywalker’s risky strategy of using harpoons and tow cables to trip up the Imperial war machines.

A mustachioed rebel officer, Bren Derlin hailed from Tiisheraan. He served with Alliance Intelligence and was named security chief at Hoth’s Echo Base. Derlin reluctantly gave the order to close the base’s shield doors while Han Solo was out searching for Luke Skywalker. He survived the Battle of Hoth and led a rebel ground unit during the Battle of Endor.

A battle-weary veteran of the Clone Wars, Carlist Rieekan served the Alliance in its struggle against the Empire, commanding rebel forces on Hoth. Rieekan was a native of Alderaan, and the destruction of his homeworld haunted him. After Han Solo and Chewbacca discovered an Imperial probe droid on Hoth, Rieekan ordered an immediate evacuation of Echo Base. The decision wasn’t popular – rebel personnel had barely completed the grueling work of establishing the base -- but Rieekan’s caution prevented the Battle of Hoth from being a total rout, and so helped save the Alliance.

A young Rebel pilot with dreams of glory, Dak flew as Luke Skywalker's gunner during the Battle of Hoth, but did not survive the fight with Imperial walkers.

An eager young rebel pilot assigned to Hoth’s Echo Base, Dak dreamed of winning glorious victories in the struggle against the Empire. He served as Luke Skywalker’s tailgunner during the Battle of Hoth, but things didn’t go the way Dak had imagined them: He struggled with a malfunction in fire control, and then was killed by Imperial fire that struck the back of the snowspeeder.

A legendary Wookiee warrior and Han Solo’s longtime co-pilot, Chewbacca continues to serve as faithful first mate to carry out daring missions against the First Order behind the controls of the Millennium Falcon. Known as Chewie to his closest friends, he was part of a core group of rebels who restored freedom to the galaxy during the reign of the Galactic Empire. Known for his short temper and accuracy with a bowcaster, Chewie also has a big heart and unwavering loyalty to his friends.

The Rebel Alliance's starfighter corps was one of its greatest assets. There were nearly as many stories as there were pilots: Rebel starfighters were flown by Imperial defectors, reformed mercenaries, adventure-seeking farmboys, and daredevils who only truly felt alive in a cockpit. Regardless of their backgrounds, Rebel pilots learned to work together, relying on their wingmen as well as their training in countless battles against the Empire.

During The Empire Strikes Back, the Rogue Squadron on the ice planet Hoth has the burden of defending Echo Base with new pilots added to their roster, like Derek Klivian and Tycho Celchu. During the Battle of Hoth, the twelve snowspeeders of the Rogues gave the Rebels enough time to evacuate Echo Base and were destroyed later in the battle. After the evacuation of Hoth, Antilles took command during the absence of Skywalker while he trained with Yoda at Dagobah. After the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Skywalker and Antilles formed a squadron of twelve units around the core group and the Rogue Squadron was formed. Antilles often commanded the squadron when Luke had important off-flight missions.

A talented young rebel pilot from Corellia, Wedge Antilles survived the attack on the first Death Star to become a respected veteran of Rogue Squadron. He piloted a snowspeeder in the defense of Echo Base on Hoth, and led Red Squadron in the rebel attack on the second Death Star above Endor.

Antilles appears in The Empire Strikes Back as a member of the newly formed Rogue Squadron. He flies a snowspeeder under the callsign "Rogue Three" against the Empire's AT-AT ground assault with Wes Janson as his harpoon gunner. Their snowspeeder inflicts the first casualty against the AT-AT attack group by firing a harpoon trailing a tow cable into one of the walker's legs and circling the walker several times, causing it to trip and fall and allowing Rebel forces to destroy the walker. After the battle, Antilles is seen and heard wishing Luke a safe trip.

A reliable and versatile astromech droid, R2-D2 has served Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, and Luke Skywalker in turn, showing great bravery in rescuing his masters and their friends from many perils. A skilled starship mechanic and fighter pilot's assistant, he has an unlikely but enduring friendship with the fussy protocol droid C-3PO.

In The Empire Strikes Back, R2-D2 accompanies Luke to Dagobah, and later to Cloud City, where he helps to rescue and repair a heavily damaged C-3PO and to override city security computers. He also manages to reactivate the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive, resulting in a last-minute escape from Imperial forces.

Yoda was a legendary Jedi Master and stronger than most in his connection with the Force. Small in size but wise and powerful, he trained Jedi for over 800 years, playing integral roles in the Clone Wars, the instruction of Luke Skywalker, and unlocking the path to immortality.

Yoda makes his first film appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker arrives on Dagobah to seek his guidance, having been instructed to do so by the Force ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who describes him as "the Jedi Master who instructed me."

Yoda does not initially identify himself to Luke and instead tests his patience by presenting himself as a comical backwater individual, deliberately provoking both Luke and R2-D2. Luke is shocked when he finally discovers that this small, eccentric creature is the powerful Jedi Master he was seeking. Finding that Luke has the same anger and recklessness which caused his father's downfall, Yoda is reluctant to teach him the ways of the Force and agrees only at Obi-Wan's behest. Before finishing his training, Luke chooses to leave Dagobah in order to confront Darth Vader and save his friends on Bespin. Yoda and Obi-Wan warn him that he is not ready to face Vader and is being lured into a trap but Luke leaves anyway. When Obi-Wan laments that Luke is their "last hope," Yoda reminds him that "there is another."