Page 30 - Star Wars Insider #176

HEROES

Rey

Archetype: Prodigy
Strengths: Compassion, quick refl exes, fortitude

Our introduction to Rey, is one of the finest moments in Star Wars. Storytelling is about creating

something new out of elements that are familiar, and here it’s done with images rather than
words. A lithe form glides down a rope into the depths of a manufactured cavern. After her slide down
a sand dune, her physical strength is displayed as she drags scavenged loot to her speeder. A look
inside Rey’s AT-AT home reveals a doll in the form of an X-wing pilot and a solitary meal. A moment

of amusement, an imagined dogfight in a starfighter helmet, is interrupted by the cries of captive BB-8.

Rey answers her “Call to Adventure” and quickly gathers allies, much like Dorothy in The Wizard
of Oz (1939). Fleeing the First Order troopers, defector Finn says they need a pilot. “We’ve got one,”
she responds, and they escape in the battered Millennium Falcon. Rey may be capable of running
without someone holding her hand, but the appearance of Han Solo suggests her adventure will be
grander than she could possibly have imagined.
Everything about Rey’s introduction tells us that she is capable of surviving her capture by Kylo
Ren. She has been surviving on her own, and everything she needs to resist the fallen Jedi exists
inside her. Yes, she is afraid, but Leia, Ahsoka, Sabine, and all the Star Wars heroines that have come
before have taught us that fear is something that can be faced and conquered. Star Wars: Forces of
Destiny and The Last Jedi will explore new obstacles in her journey of heroism.

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