From the Comics: Captain Phasma’s Hypocrisy
In her two movie appearances, Captain Phasma is characterized as a staunch supporter of the First Order. She is strict, demanding, and appears to be willing to do whatever it takes to lead the First Order on to victory. However, her character also comes with an underlayer of hypocrisy that becomes obvious after being more thoroughly examined. The Star Wars comic books expand on this hypocrisy in ways that are interesting to learn about and satisfying to discover.
(Spoilers for The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and the Captain Phasma comic series start here)
Throughout The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, Captain Phasma is a high-ranking member of the First Order. She is depicted as a fierce leader who expects her underlings to be loyal to her and the First Order. In The Last Jedi she even cursed Finn for being a traitor and planned on having him executed in an especially painful manner.
However, one of Phasma’s most significant actions in these films is her role in bringing down the shields around Starkiller Base. After being cornered by Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Finn in The Force Awakens, she is given a choice: disable Starkiller Base’s shields or die. Phasma chose to bring the shields down. Though not explicitly stated in the films, Phasma’s decision here is a direct contradiction to what is expected from a First Order soldier. As a loyal member of the First Order, Phasma should have given her life to defend their base, which may have prevented the Resistance from winning the day. In many ways, this single decision is tantamount to treason, which makes Phasma’s distain toward Finn a hypocritical contradiction rather than a simple vendetta.
This hypocrisy is further explored through the Star Wars: Captain Phasma (Review) comic book series, which immediately follows up on what Phasma did in The Force Awakens. After escaping a trash compactor, Phasma discovered that there was one other First Order officer who was aware of her treason. In order to cover up her actions, Phasma hunts down this man, kills him, and pins her crimes on him. Along the way, she also kills the soldier who accompanied her on the mission and decimates a tribe of aliens who stood in her way. All of this was done to eliminate any blame that could possibly fall on Phasma and place all blame on someone else.
(Spoilers for The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and the Captain Phasma comic series end here)
With this comic book story in mind, readers have a chance to see Phasma as a more intimidating character and a more despicable villain. Her solo series adventures are also simply entertaining to read about, which we discuss in our review on the comic. All in all, Phasma is the perfect example of a character who gains a lot from the expanded Star Wars universe.
Recommended Reading
If you’re interested in reading these comic adventures for yourself, we recommend the following:
- Star Wars: Captain Phasma– in which Captain Phasma’s hypocrisy is explored and her betrayals are detailed. This comic can currently be found collected in Star Wars: Captain Phasma (Review).
- Check out ComicBookWire’s “Captain Phasma Reading Order” for a detailed explanation of how to approach all of her comic book appearances.
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