In Disney’s latest live-action television series Obi-Wan Kenobi, many casual Star Wars fans will be introduced to the lightsaber-wielding antagonists known as the Imperial Inquisitors for the first time.
Also known as the “Inquisitorius” or the “Order of the Inquisitors”, these dark side Force users have been a part of the Star Wars canon for some time; having first made appearances in the Star Wars Rebels animated series, as well as the Darth Vader comics and Jedi: Fallen Order video game.
Trained by Darth Sidious and later Darth Vader, the Inquisitors were recruited primarily from the ranks of fallen Jedi who had either grew disenchanted with the Order or seduced by the promises of the dark side. While they had dark side abilities and sported hallmark red lightsabers, they were not considered to be true Sith Lords – merely agents of the Empire.
This article will provide an overview of the ten deadliest and most important Inquisitors in the saga as they pursue their primary mission – to hunt down and kill Jedi who have survived Order 66, during a period also known as the Great Jedi Purge.
It will briefly explain their known backstories, any unique abilities, and acts of significance thus far. At the time of writing, it is clear that at least a few of these characters will play the part of villain in the hunt for the powerful Jedi master during the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.
Without further ado, let’s examine this menacing group of Force users who served the personal wishes of Emperor Palpatine during the Empire’s early days of terror over the galaxy.
The Grand Inquisitor
One of the earliest and most powerful Inquisitors to be recruited by Darth Sidious to the secret order was a male Pau’an and former Jedi Temple Guard only known by his title and rank. As a former Jedi who was denied access to the powerful knowledge hidden within the Jedi Archives by Jocasta Nu, the Pau’an held a deep hatred and grudge against the librarian.
After seeing the Jedi’s treatment of Ahsoka Tano during her trial for an alleged Temple bombing towards the end of the Clone Wars, the Grand Inquisitor grew disillusioned with the Order and left. Subsequently, he was recruited by Sheev Palpatine under the guise of Darth Sidious, who promised him access to the secrets of the Archives once the Jedi were eliminated.
The Grand Inquisitor then helped to secretly train fledging Inquisitorius recruits in The Works, a building located within the Industrial District of Coruscant – biding his time until the need for them came after Order 66.
After the execution of Order 66, the Grand Inquisitor briefly dueled Darth Vader and was bested by the Sith Lord inside the Jedi Archives in an encounter engineered by Darth Sidious. The two met for the first time, Vader learned of the secret program and was given command of the deadly agents for the subsequent Jedi purge.
Is the Grand Inquisitor Dead?
During the events portrayed in the Kenobi series, The Grand Inquisitor led a search for Jedi on Tatooine along with the Fifth Brother and Reva the Third Sister. On multiple occasions, he chastised Reva for being too impulsive and overly obsessed with finding Kenobi. The Grand Inquisitor eventually displayed his penchant for cruelty and intimidation by publicly hanging the corpse of a Jedi knight they had hunted down in the town center.
After learning of Reva’s independent scheme to lure Kenobi to Daiyu by kidnapping Leia Organa – an Imperial Senator’s daughter, The Grand Inquisitor ordered the former to stand down, that he would take over the hunt and that he would deal with her later. Reva disregarded his orders and tracked the Jedi to a cargo hangar bay, where the Grand Inquisitor also appeared.
Once again, the Grand Inquisitor ordered Reva to move aside while stating that he could not stand her ambition any longer. As he snidely remarked “watch and learn” while summoning the Force, the Third Sister took him by surprise and stabbed him in the torso with her lightsaber. The Grand Inquisitor then collapsed to the ground from his injury and the distraction allowed Kenobi to flee on a cargo ship.
After healing from his wounds, he got his revenge on Reva and took back the mantle of Grand Inquisitor. The Grand Inquisitor continued to lead many hunts against Jedi in hiding, including Kanan Jarrus and his apprentice Ezra Bridger, but was eventually defeated by the latter during a climatic duel onboard Grand Moff Tarkin’s starship the Sovereign.
The Grand Inquisitor’s spinning, dual-blade lightsaber proved to be his undoing while activated in “disc mode,” as Jarrus found an opening through the ring guard. The Jedi cut the Inquisitor’s weapon in half and caused the parts to fall into the engine reactors below.
Upon realizing that he would face Vader’s wrath for defeat at the hands of Jarrus, the Grand Inquisitor chose to fall to a fiery death below. His fate, however, would not last for long – as Vader trapped his spirit to guard an abandoned Jedi temple on Tempes. This doomed the Pau’an to an eternal state that was even worse than death.
The Second Sister
The Second Sister is a former human female Jedi padawan named Trilla Suduri, who escaped the initial purge with Jedi Knight Cere Junda. During this time, they protected a group of Jedi younglings while eluding the Empire.
Unfortunately, Imperial forces eventually located the two and Junda was captured during an attempt to lure their pursuers away. Imperial forces then took Junda to Fortress Inquisitorius on the planet Nur, where she endured horrendous torture. Junda eventually caved in and gave up the location of Suduri as well as the other padawans – an act which the latter took as a betrayal.
After the padawan was captured and tortured herself inside the stronghold, she succumbed to the dark side after tapping into her emotions and anger at Junda’s betrayal. After Junda saw the rise of the Second Sister, she killed everyone except for Suduri before fleeing the planet.
As a former Jedi trained in the deadly art of lightsaber combat, the Second Sister combined her combat skills with cunning and intellect to anticipate the actions of her prey. This served her well during a hunt on the ship-scrapping planet of Bracca, where she encountered Kal Kestis – a Jedi-in-hiding for the first time.
Suduri ruthlessly executed a member of the Scrapper Guild who spoke up against the Empire. She then briefly engaged Kestis who revealed himself by activating his lightsaber. The Inquisitor force-pushed Kestis off a ledge but ultimately failed to capture him.
The Second Sister then led purge troopers and tracked Kestis across the galaxy after learning of his quest to obtain a holocron containing the whereabouts of Force-sensitive children. During a subsequent encounter on Zeffo, she removed her helmet and revealed to Kestis her former identity as Trilla Suduri. Kestis then raised the ancient tombs before eluding the relentless Inquisitor once again.
Eventually, the Second Sister tracked Kestis to the planet Bogano, where she seized the holocron that the former had obtained. However, Kestis took her lightsaber during the duel which allowed him to glimpse the suffering that she endured before falling to the dark side.
Kestis and Junda followed the Inquisitor back to the stronghold on Nur in order to retrieve the holocron, where another duel ensued. Kestis begged the Second Sister to return to the light side. The appeal did not appear to work on the disarmed and defeated Suduri, until Junda appeared and apologized for the pain that she had caused her former apprentice.
Tragically, just as Suduri was about to let go of her hate and forgive Junda, Darth Vader appeared behind her. The terrifying Vader held Suduri in place using the Force, before executing her with his lightsaber – ending any hopes for a tale of redemption.
Reva the Third Sister
Reva was a human female and former Jedi who had turned to the dark side after the Jedi purge. It is possible that she came from a poor background, as another character snidely commented on her coming from “the gutter.” Reva joined the Inquisitor program and soon climbed the ranks due to her gifted natural abilities with the Force, ambition, and sheer ruthlessness. Like other Inquisitors, she sported black armor with the Imperial insignia, a black cape and wielded a red blade.
In 9 BBY, she was sent to Tatooine to investigate rumours of a Jedi hiding amongst the population and secretly helping the locals along with the Grand Inquisitor and Fifth Brother. She soon lost patience with the latter’s’ efforts at intimidating the locals into giving up information and threw a knife at one, which forced the Jedi Nari to reveal himself. The Third Sister then attempted to cut down the Jedi, only to be stopped by her commander.
During the remainder of their time on the desert planet, Reva demonstrated an obsession with finding Kenobi. She nearly killed Lars Owen after threatening his family if no one spoke up about the Jedi’s whereabouts. Unknowns to her, Kenobi was indeed hiding nearby. The Fifth Brother stopped her and inadvertently saved Owen’s life. Nonetheless, her peers viewed her with distain, calling her “impulsive” and “reckless” for acting independently instead of following orders.
Nonetheless, the Third Sister arranged for a plot to kidnap Leia Organa in order to lure Kenobi out of hiding after correctly anticipating that Senator Bail Organa would reach out to his old friend for help. When Kenobi revealed himself and rescued Leia from her kidnappers on Daiyu, the Third Sister stalked them ignored the Grand Inquisitor’s order for her to stand down.
During the chase, she also revealed her powerful ability to probe the minds of others for information and used her Force-enhanced acrobatic abilities to race across the rooftops of the city. After tracking Kenobi to a hangar, she revealed to him that Anakin Skywalker was alive, and that Lord Vader had been looking for him for a long time.
Once the Grand Inquisitor arrived and told her to move aside, Reva stabbed him with her lightsaber, stating that she would not allow him to get all the credit from Lord Vader for Kenobi’s capture. This distraction allowed Kenobi and Leia to escape the planet on a trading vessel.
After the supposed death of her superior, Vader tasked her to lead the hunt for Kenobi and stated that he would give her what she deeply craved if she succeeded – the powerful position of being Grand Inquisitor. Consequently, Reva arrogantly gave her fellow Inquisitors orders to track the Jedi Master. She was present with Vader and Imperial Stormtroopers on the mining planet of Mapuzo where Kenobi was found.
While her final fate is unknown, it is clear that Reva the Third Sister will play a pivotal role as a key villain in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Her ruthlessness, desire for power and obsession with Kenobi will serve as a powerful foil for the legendary Jedi on the run.
The Fourth Sister
Little is known about the humanoid female only called the Fourth Sister, although she was also a former Jedi who had fallen to the dark side. Aesthetically, she wore black armor and had yellow skin, yellow eyes, and a tribal tattoo on her face. This look struck fear into the hearts of opponents and gave off a deceptive and cunning appearance when she was not wearing a helmet.
The Fourth Sister accompanied the Grand Inquisitor and others to Daiyu to capture Kenobi, after it was discovered that Reva had acted on her own to lure the fugitive Jedi. She appeared to be more oriented towards following the orders of her superiors and remaining within rank to achieve their mission, rather than acting out of personal ambition such as the Third Sister.
When Reva broadcasted Kenobi’s face to bounty hunters on the planet while Imperial troopers were already searching the planet, the Fourth Sister was quick to bring this maverick behavior to the attention of the Grand Inquisitor. She then led a squad of stormtroopers to examine the crowd in the search for Kenobi and Leia. After the death of the Grand Inquisitor, the Fourth Sister reluctantly followed Reva’s orders to dispatch probe droids from their headquarters at Fortress Inquisitorius.
While it is currently unknown what had happened to her, it can be surmised that the Fourth Sister was either captured or killed afterwards. During the formative years of the rebellion, rebel commander Lina Graf acquired the Inquisitorius armor and impersonated her.
Using the Fourth Sister’s armor, Graf infiltrated Fortress Vader on the planet Mustafar and freed a captive comrade. More importantly. Graf obtained many Imperial secrets and intelligence using the ploy – a foundational step towards ensuring the rebellion’s success. If the Fourth Sister was still alive, she would not have survived for long from the wrath of the Sith for such a huge blunder.
The Fifth Brother
The Fifth Brother was another former Jedi who had learned the ways of the Force and the basics of lightsaber dueling during his time with the Order. However, he was seduced by the dark side and quickly joined the Inquisitor program when approached by Palpatine after Order 66.
He was a tall, muscular humanoid with grey skin, a long angular face with sharp features and mint-colored eyes, which combined for an intimidating and powerful look.
Not long after, Darth Vader took command of the Inquisitors and revamped their training to be more aggressive and deadly. In one training session, Vader cut off the Fifth Brother’s right hand out of both contempt and apparently as a lesson to him about loss.
Despite this trauma, the latter was one of the few Inquisitors who faithfully served Vader during the early days of the Empire while hunting Jedi and embarking on various missions, while others pursued their own goals and agendas.
In combat, the Fifth Brother was a capable duelist who relied on sheer strength with little agility or tactical flexibility. Nonetheless, he stood his ground during multiple run-ins against Jedi Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano during the Star Wars Rebel series.
Lesser foes without Force training and lightsaber abilities were often intimidated and offered little resistance against the dark side user. He demonstrated a preference to use the Force to both push opponents back and manipulate the environment to his advantage, such as prevent doors from opening for a fleeing captive.
During his hunt for Kanan Karrus and Ezra Bridger, the Fifth Brother often worked with the Seventh Sister, asserting his dominance of being in charge when she questioned his methods and tactical choices. In the Kenobi series, he can be seen dutifully following orders given by the Grand Inquisitor rather than act independently or rashly like Reva.
Ultimately, the Fifth Brother met his demise on the planet Malachor while tracking Asoka and Ezra Bridger. After Asoka destroyed his dual-blade, ringed lightsaber, Darth Maul overwhelmed the Fifth Brother and killed him with a vicious stab. With little experience in fighting Sith outside of a brief training session against Lord Vader, the Fifth Brother was woefully unprepared to duel a fully trained ex-Sith.
The Sixth Brother
Formerly known as a Jedi named Bil Valen – the Sixth Brother is a tall, slender humanoid being with grey skin who joined the Inquisitorius after the great Jedi Purge.
He was stood out for wearing a blue helmet that went down the back of his neck, with silver metallic visor plates that guarded his face. He sported the typical Inquisitor black uniform with Imperial insignia on the shoulders and wielded the double-bladed spinning lightsaber with red blades.
During a training session with Darth Vader when the Sith initially took command, he cut off the Sixth Brother’s left forearm with ease to teach him a lesson about pain and loss. During this time, Vader taught him to discard the defensive postures of the Jedi and to adopt more aggressive tactics to relentlessly attack the enemy.
This would prove to be his undoing later on in an encounter with Ahsoka Tano, as Asoka stated that he relied too much on brute strength and could not defend tactically versus another trained duelist.
During a campaign on Mon Calamari with Vader, the Ninth Sister, and Tenth Brother, they led a battalion of purge troopers to locate a Jedi later revealed to be the Iktotchi male Ferren Barr.
The Sixth Brother had poor relations with his peers. He ultimately proved to be treacherous and ruthless – eventually severing the leg of the Ninth Sister and leaving her behind to delay their foes after their troops were mind-tricked in turning against them.
The Sixth Brother later investigated reports of a Force-sensitive child on the planet Thabeska, demonstrating that he was willing to kill children without mercy. This led him to the agricultural moon of Raada, where he murdered locals and picked up the trail of an Asoka on the run. The Inquisitor then set up a trap for the former Jedi to return, who was also called through the Force by the kyber crystals inside the Inquisitor’s lightsaber.
Ultimately, the Sixth Brother’s hubris, overconfidence and lack of finesse led to his death. Ahsoka defeated him without even wielding a lightsaber; by extracting the crystals as the former tried to disconnect it into two separate sabers to fight. This caused the Sixth Brother’s lightsaber to become unstable and explode in his face – killing him instantly.
The Seventh Sister
The Seventh Sister is a female Mirialan Jedi who survived Order 66. She was eventually seduced by the dark side and joined the Inquisitors to serve the Empire. With yellow eyes and a curved helmet that sometimes masked her face, the Seventh Sister projected a cunning look befitting of her tactical approach to hunting Jedi.
Despite her rank, the Seventh Sister is one of the most capable Inquisitors in terms of Force powers, lightsaber abilities and strategy. In combat, she was agile, precise and would often use sarcastic taunts and banter to fluster opponents. She often used a probe droid in combat to track and distract her foes. After the death of the Grand Inquisitor, the Seventh Sister aspired to take his place by proving herself to Darth Vader.
Unlike others, she studied the past of her prey, which helped her to better understand their motivations and anticipate their actions. Further, she was open to the idea of working alongside other Inquisitors – as long as she could take the glory after the capture.
Consequently, she often worked alongside the Fifth Brother, such as during their mission in 4 BBY to capture Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano.
During a series of encounters with the Spectres – one of the groups that eventually gave rise to the Rebel Alliance, the Seventh Sister hunted Force-sensitive children, unearthed hidden Jedi temples and led the hunt for key Jedi.
While the Seventh Sister was arguably a superior fighter than Jarrus and Bridger, she was completely outclassed by Ahsoka during a duel on the streets of Takobo. The Togruta grabbed the Inquisitor’s lightsaber, deactivated it with the Force before pushing her against a wall and holding a blade to her face. The Seventh Sister refused to yield but Imperial troopers soon arrived to her rescue. Despite this, Ahsoka escaped on a gunship and eluded capture.
The Seventh Sister met her end on the planet Malachor. After being sent by Vader to retrieve a Sith holocron from an ancient temple, she encountered the former Sith Lord Maul and Ezra Bridger. While the Seventh Sister held her on for some time, she was no match for a fully trained ex-Sith apprentice. Maul Force-choked and held her in place in the air, before murdering her in cold-blood by tossing his lightsaber at her and slicing her in half.
The Eighth Brother
The Eighth Brother was a male Terrelian Jango Jumper (humanoid) who was once a Jedi knight. After joining the Inquisitors, he was trained by the Grand Inquisitor and later on by Darth Vader. When Vader killed former Jedi master Eeth Koth, the Eighth Brother celebrated with other members of the order.
Typical of his species, the Eighth Brother’s slim build and natural agility made his movements difficult to track in combat. Like the Seventh Sister, he preferred to move quickly and relied on finesse and cunning to defeat opponents, rather than sheer physical power.
During his appearance in the Star Wars: Rebels series, the Eighth Brother wore a curved black helmet with a full-face mask covering his face. He sported the grey and black armor worn by other Inquisitors but was able to shoot out three balls of energy from a weapon attached to the front of his chest – a weapon that surprised Jarrus and Bridger.
The Eighth Brother’s dual-blade lightsaber hid a customized feature – converting into a spinning buzz saw when the blade was deactivated. During an encounter on Malachor when Bridger was hanging off a cliff edge, he attempted to cruelly cut off the Jedi’s hand using the weapon.
While the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister pursued Ahsoka Tano and the Spectres, Vader tasked the Eighth Brother with locating the former Sith apprentice Maul, only known to him as “the Shadow.” During this mission, the Eighth Brother encountered Jarrus, Bridger and Ahsoka on Malachor, where he was taken by surprise that all three wielded lightsabers.
The Eighth Brother would not hesitate to cunningly retreat if circumstances turned unfavorable, as he quickly did during the initial encounter. However, Ahsoka and Jarrus eventually captured him and attempted to interrogate him on his mission. The Inquisitor sent a signal to his brethren, and the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister came to his rescue.
Nonetheless, once Maul joined the fray, the Inquisitors proved to be no match for the powerful warrior. Sensing imminent defeat, the Eighth Brother attempted to hover away using his spinning lightsaber. Unfortunately, Jarrus had damaged his weapon during their duel, and it disintegrated in mid-air – causing the Inquisitor to fall to his death.
The Ninth Sister
The Ninth Sister was a fallen female Jedi named Masana Tide who had joined the Inquisitor program after surviving Order 66 and was captured for torture. As a member of the Dowutin species, she was gifted with great physical size, immense strength, and long lifespan of at least a few hundred years.
As a Dowutin, she had two horns protruding from her chin with brown skin. In the field, the Ninth Sister usually stood out for her size, the red visor she wore on her helmet, and elevated shoulder pads.
During an early training session with Darth Vader, the Sith Lord mutilated the Ninth Sister and caused her to lose her left eye. According to the Vader, this was to teach them about loss, and to illustrate the lesson that he was far more powerful than them.
Despite her intimidating physicality, the Ninth Sister was superb at reading the emotions and minds of other beings through her strong connection to the Force and former Jedi training. The dark side of the Force only enhanced her abilities to influence the mind of others and made her an effective interrogator. This level of intuition made up for her relatively inferior lightsaber combat skills compared to peers.
Nonetheless, the Ninth Sister was called to accompany Vader on the planet Cabarria in the early days of the Empire to investigate rumours of a Force user. Vader was ambushed inside a bar and the Ninth Sister failed to come to his aid, blaming a comm-link malfunction.
Nevertheless, they ultimately survived the ordeal and returned to Coruscant, where Vader was once again forced to take over when their ship was hit by missiles from the planetary defense system.
On a later mission to Mon Cala, the Sixth Brother backstabbed her after their troops turned against them by severing her leg and causing her to hold off the attackers while he fled. The Ninth Sister survived the incident and was given a new cybernetic right leg. She then accompanied the Second Sister to track the possible Jedi in hiding named Kal Kestis.
While the latter seemed obsessed with Kestis, the junior Inquisitor did not share the same level of enthusiasm and thought him to be unimportant. This arrogance, overconfidence and lack of foresight proved to be her undoing. During their last encounter on Kashyyyk, Kestis bested her in a duel through superior Force ability and lightsaber skills. The Jedi then Force-pushed the Sixth Sister off a ledge – presumably to her death, although it was unclear.
The Tenth Brother
The Tenth Brother was a former Jedi Master named Prosset Dibs who had become disillusioned with the Order during the Clone Wars. As a male Miraluka, he had tanned brown skin, flowing gray hair which later turned white, and did not possess any eyes. Despite the lack of vision, Dibs enjoyed incredible hearing, a high degree of intuition and was full of insights about the world around him.
Due to these characteristics, Jedi Master Mace Windu held Dibs in high esteem and invited him to join a team of Jedi to Hissrich during the Clone Wars. On the fateful mission, Dibs grew disturbed by what he saw as the conflicting roles of the Jedi as guardians of peace versus military generals whose first priority was to wage war. Thus, he began to question the motives of the Jedi Council.
This friction came to a head when Dibs eventually attacked Windu, forcing the Jedi champion to defend himself. The skilled Windu disarmed Dibs in a duel, arrested him and brought him back to the Jedi Temple for trial. After Windu advocated for mercy and leniency, the Council sentenced him to work within the Jedi Achieves. Dibs, however, resented what he believed to be a false show of mercy and slid towards the dark side.
After the fall of the Republic and surviving Order 66, Dibs joined the Inquisitorius and became the Tenth Brother – using his skills and hatred for former comrades to hunt them down.
The Tenth Brother later joined Vader, the Sixth Brother, Ninth Sister and elite purge troopers on Mon Cala to investigate whether a Jedi was secretly influencing the government’s reluctance to join an Imperial trade agreement. He demonstrated a tendency to speak openly about his beliefs and doubts, openly questioning Vader’s decision to search for the King in Dac City.
The three Inquisitors eventually located former Jedi apprentice Ferren Barr, who called out the Inquisitors by their former Jedi names before instructing the clones to “execute Order 66.” The Tenth Brother was caught off guard, deflected an initial barrage of blaster fire but soon shot to death by his mind-controlled troopers.
Conclusion
As former Jedi Knights who have fallen to the dark side, the Inquisitors were formidable servants during the early years of the Empire. Trained personally by Darth Vader and tasked with hunting Jedi, they demonstrated arrogance, cruelty, and cunning in executing their missions. While many lesser Jedi were captured or killed by the Inquisitors, more powerful Jedi demonstrated that they can be defeated.
So far, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series has done a masterful job of bringing these previously animated or illustrated characters to life. As they play the roles of supporting villains in Vader’s hunt for the elusive Jedi master, fans will no doubt learn more about these characters and their ultimate fates as Disney continues to expand on the Star Wars lore.