As seen in the trailer for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series, we’ll be seeing the live-action debut of the Jedi Hunters otherwise known as The Inquisitors.
While some fans may know about the Inquisitors from comics, animated series, and more recently the Jedi Fallen Order game, The Inquisitors were fallen Jedi, who either turned to the Darkside naturally or had to go through a torture session to release the anger within them.
Over the course of many Star Wars stories, we’ve met more than a handful of Inquisitors some more powerful than others, and some more willing to be a Darkside user than others as well.
The Grand Inquisitor
Not much is known about the Empire’s Grand Inquisitor. A Pau’an male, he was tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down any surviving Jedi Knights. The Inquisitor was an intimidating figure, dressed in all black and wielding a red, double-bladed lightsaber. After several encounters with Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan Ezra Bridger, the Inquisitor died in a lightsaber duel with Kanan – but warned the rogue Jedi that his victory had unleashed something terrible.
The Grand Inquisitor was shown in Star Wars Rebels as a member of the Jedi Temple Guards, finally showcasing that he was indeed a Jedi, however, during the attack on the Jedi Temple by the 501st Legion and the newly-minted Lord Vader, the Grand Inquisitor killed all the other members of the Jedi Temple Guards, officially turning to the Darkside.
The Grand Inquisitor isn’t the only member we have seen. The other members include;
- Second Sister
- Third Sister (Reva)
- Fifth Brother
- Sixth Brother
- Seventh Sister
- Eighth Brother
- Ninth Sister
- Tenth Brother
- Unnamed Female Inquisitor
- Unnamed Twi’lek Inquisitor
Their main goal for the Empire was to hunt down the surviving Jedi following Order 66 as well as to hunt down any children who demonstrated Force Sensitive abilities (as seen in Rebels).
The group was disbanded or killed a year after the events on Malachor where we saw the fall of the Seventh Sister, Fifth Brother, and the Eighth Brother. The group was disbanded by either all members being dead or an order possibly given by order of the Emperor.
As quoted in the Star Wars The Secrets of the Jedi book;
“Not all acolytes of the Dark side end up becoming Sith Lords, but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous to the galaxy. Some of the most fervent students of the Force’s darker nature were the band of Jedi hunters known as the Imperial Inquisitors. Their ranks even included former Jedi who had turned to the Dark side, willing to slaughter their own in the name of the Emperor. During the early years of the Empire, the red blades of the Inquisitorius cut a swath through the galaxy as they wiped any remaining traces of the Jedi Order from existence. Once the Jedi were finally considered extinct by the Empire, the Inquisitorius vanished into the darkness as well.”
The Inquisitors throughout their time were highly thought of by the Emperor as he would willingly call Lord Vader from hunting down the remaining Jedi survivors as he thought that challenge was beneath Lord Vader so he would send the Inquisitors to handle that mission.
Equipment
The Inquisitors wore black and grey bodysuits with armor and were equipped with crimson-bladed lightsabers, typically the double-bladed spinning lightsaber model, similar in stature to Darth Maul’s only with a spinning mechanic which allowed them to fly (as seen in Rebels).
The Tenth Brother was an exception as he possessed two separate shoot lightsabers. The Inquisitors also developed an interrogation chair to assist in their questioning of suspected rebels or Jedi.
I am a huge fan of The Inquisitors, I like the style, ruthlessness, and brutality of them. I am super excited to see them make their live-action debut in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
If you want to learn more about them, I would recommend either buying comics, playing the Jedi Fallen Order game, or simply watching the animated series Star Wars Rebels as that series gives us some great moments from them.
