Grand Admiral Thrawn was inspired by key historical and fictional figures, like Sherlock Holmes and Alexander the Great. In Timothy Zahn’s original trilogy of Thrawn books, which launched the now defunct Expanded Universe, beginning with Heir to the Empire, the Chiss military genius, was charged with the onerous task of keeping the Empire together after the death of the Emperor and the destruction of the Second Death Star. The only non-human to ever be given the rank of Grand Admiral, he hailed from the Chiss Ascendancy in the Unknown Region. Unlike Darth Vader, Thrawn didn’t use brutality and fear to keep his crew in line, instead the Grand Admiral inspired his underlings with his leadership and vision, and only rarely resorted to violence to maintain discipline. He proved quite the impediment for our heroes, outwitting them at effectively every turn and almost succeeding in restoring the Empire, but was defeated at the very last moment by Rogue squad.
