Star Wars: 10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Empire
Were TIE fighters really worse than X-Wings?
After debuting during the first-ever trip to the galaxy far, far away that was 1977's Star Wars, the Galactic Empire went on to become one of the most iconic fictional forces of evil of all time.
From their skeleton-suited troopers to their impressive and rather intimidating weaponry, this big bad dictatorship looked like a terrifying and quite unstoppable force on the surface. However, their arrogance and foolishness during the Galactic Civil War ultimately led to their downfall - albeit not at the point many people think.
And that brings us nicely to this list.
You see, while those fans who have only ever enjoyed the big or small screen Star Wars adventures may assume Emperor Palpatine's organisation were defeated by the Rebel Alliance at the end of Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, that's not actually true.
That's not the only thing a decent number of Star Wars lovers have been getting wrong about the Empire for years either.
So, with that in mind, this fully armed and quite operational list is about to reveal the truth about certain legendary vehicles, what Imperial personnel really thought of a well-known cyborg, the Emperor's awesome-looking guard, and so many more things fans have understandably assumed for a long ol' time.
10. Not Everyone Followed The Empire For Greed & Power
When you think of the Empire, there's a decent chance your mind jumps to a bunch of cold, suited and booted villains motivated only by greed and the quest for power.
But not every Imperial employee followed the Empire for those reasons.
Just look at one of the most captivating villains in Star Wars history: Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Sure, he was unquestionably a rather ruthless individual, and one who relished the opportunity to outthink any opponent he was faced with. But he actually only joined up with the Galactic Empire in the first place as he felt they would be a strong ally who could help protect his people - the Chiss - from the Grysk Hegemony, a faction based in the galaxy far, far away's Unknown Regions.
Thrawn wasn't greedy or that bothered about power, he was just doing all he could to keep his people safe.
If you're looking for another example, Del Meeko - from EA's 2017 Star Wars Battlefront II video game - was another person who served in the Imperial Military that wasn't in it for those aforementioned selfish reasons either.
Being a quite conflicted soul, a conversation with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker during that game's campaign sees the Inferno Squad member admit that he's well aware of what the Empire was capable of, but he didn't know what else to do to keep the galaxy safe. After being told he had a choice to be better, Meeko would eventually defect to the Rebels with Iden Versio as they attempted to save innocent civilians from the Empire.
In other words, not every Imperial's motivations were the same. Some genuinely just wanted to protect people, and saw the Empire as a means to an end.