Domhnall Gleeson brought General Armitage Hux to life in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. As a ruthless officer of the First Order, Hux commanded the military with unwavering ambition. Unlike the Sith leadership of the First Order, Hux did not rely on the Force. Power came through strategic warfare, manipulation, and propaganda. While Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren fought for control through strength and the dark side, Hux sought to expand his influence through military dominance. Beneath the surface, hidden ambitions, deep-seated rivalries, and a thirst for revenge shaped Hux’s true role in the rise and fall of the First Order.
Born Into the Empire
Armitage Hux was born to Brendol Hux, an Imperial officer who served under Emperor Palpatine. Brendol helped create the Empire’s military academies and later played a key role in training the next generation of soldiers for the First Order. Unlike most officers, Brendol did not see his son as a worthy successor. Armitage grew up in an environment of cruelty and disappointment, with his father viewing him as weak and unfit for true leadership.
Brendol Hux’s vision for the First Order revolved around the development of highly trained child soldiers, known as the “Commandant’s Cadets.” This program ensured absolute loyalty from a young age, creating an army that would never question orders. Armitage saw this as an opportunity. While lacking physical prowess, intelligence and cunning became his greatest weapons.
The resentment toward his father only deepened when Brendol began favoring other cadets over his own son. Armitage refused to remain in his father’s shadow. Seeking power, he orchestrated Brendol Hux’s assassination with the help of Captain Phasma. Poison ended the life of Brendol Hux, allowing Armitage to rise within the ranks. This act of betrayal set the tone for the kind of leader he would become—one who saw power as something to be taken, not given.
The Rise of a Supreme General
With the fall of the Galactic Empire, remnants of Imperial forces regrouped in the Unknown Regions. The First Order emerged from these remnants, blending Imperial military structure with new, ruthless ideologies. Armitage Hux, now a key figure in its leadership, oversaw the expansion of the First Order’s army and weapon development. Starkiller Base became Hux’s crowning achievement.
As Supreme Leader Snoke took command, the rivalry between Hux and Kylo Ren became one of the defining struggles within the First Order. Snoke encouraged this competition, using it to maintain control over both. Hux viewed Kylo Ren as an unstable force-user, too reckless and emotionally driven to lead. Kylo, in turn, saw Hux as a weak and cowardly strategist who relied too much on machinery and soldiers.
Despite this rivalry, Hux proved to be one of the most dangerous figures in the galaxy. In The Force Awakens, Hux delivered a chilling speech to the gathered First Order troops, declaring the New Republic weak and unworthy of power. This moment led to the destruction of the Hosnian system, wiping out the New Republic’s Senate and military fleet in a single, devastating strike. Unlike previous Imperial leaders, Hux did not just want to restore the Empire—he wanted total domination of the galaxy.
The Conflict with Kylo Ren
Tensions between Hux and Kylo Ren continued to grow in The Last Jedi. After Snoke’s death, Kylo seized power and declared himself the new Supreme Leader. Hux, having worked his entire life to gain control, found himself forced into submission under a leader he despised. No longer in direct control of the First Order’s military, Hux had no choice but to obey Kylo’s increasingly reckless decisions.
The rivalry between the two became more personal than ever. While Hux lacked the ability to challenge Kylo directly, subtle acts of defiance and undermining tactics became his weapons. The First Order’s failures during the pursuit of the Resistance only fueled Hux’s frustrations. Despite being a brilliant strategist, Kylo’s brute-force approach often disregarded military efficiency.
Kylo’s leadership shifted the First Order from a disciplined war machine into something far more chaotic. Hux, forced to endure Kylo’s temper and erratic decision-making, began searching for an opportunity to reclaim control.
Betrayal from Within
By the time of The Rise of Skywalker, the balance of power in the First Order had changed. Emperor Palpatine’s return introduced a new faction—the Sith Eternal—led by Allegiant General Pryde. Hux, no longer at the peak of command, found himself sidelined in favor of Pryde, a loyalist to Palpatine’s greater vision.
Realizing that the First Order under Kylo Ren would never be his to control, Hux made a bold decision. In secret, Hux fed critical information to the Resistance, allowing them to weaken the First Order’s forces. This was not out of loyalty to the Resistance but purely for personal revenge. The goal was simple—sabotage Kylo Ren’s leadership from within.
Hux’s betrayal did not last long. Allegiant General Pryde uncovered his treachery and executed him without hesitation. With a single blaster shot, the once-feared general was eliminated, cast aside as a traitor. The First Order continued without him, but Kylo Ren’s reign would not last much longer.
Legacy of General Hux
Armitage Hux’s role in the Star Wars saga was far more complex than that of a typical First Order officer. Unlike Grand Moff Tarkin, who commanded with absolute control, or Admiral Thrawn, who led with intelligence and precision, Hux operated through fear and deception.
The rivalry with Kylo Ren echoed the conflicts of past Sith and Imperial officers, but unlike those before him, Hux lacked a true place in the greater order of the Sith. Power was never meant to be shared in the First Order, and Hux’s ambitions ultimately led to his downfall.
In the end, the First Order collapsed, and Palpatine’s Sith Eternal forces took over. The Final Order rendered everything Hux had built meaningless. His desire for control led him to betray the very organization he helped shape, and in return, he was discarded without a second thought.
Yet for a time, General Hux was one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy. Starkiller Base’s destruction of the Hosnian system proved his influence. Military genius and ruthless ambition made him a force to be reckoned with. But in the world of the Sith and the First Order, ambition alone was never enough.
