While a Star Wars fans love digging into the rich history of the Jedi, they aren’t the only faction with a long and storied past. Over the course of the three Star Wars trilogies, there have been two major evil empires that have risen in order to take control of the galaxy. The First Order and the Galactic Empire are similar in many ways, but different in many more.

The First Order and Galactic Empire may have ultimately been orchestrated by the same person, the dreaded Emperor Palpatine, but that doesn’t mean they are the same thing. One of the chief differences is that the First Order stands against a governing body, while the Galactic Empire was the governing body. Of course, both eras result in the same outcome, thanks to those pesky Jedi.

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How Did The First Order Rise?

The rise of the First Order was anything but simple. Upon the fall of the Empire, any surviving high-ranking officials retreated to the Unknown Regions. From there, it fell on to a group of mostly nameless officials to organize a regroup in the hopes of one day returning to the glory of the Galactic Empire. Brendol Hux was one of the founding members of the First Order, with the new organization considered to be led by a collection of military leaders.

Knowing now that the First Order was orchestrated by Darth Sidious as a return to power, it is known that Darth Sidious had Snoke rise through the ranks of the organization to become the Supreme Leader of the First Order. This meant that, although Palpatine couldn’t fully return yet, he could rule through the actions of his puppet Snoke. The First Order would continue to add to its power with the likes of Kylo Ren and his ilk. Through the manipulation of various races, they were able to build up their forces until they could stand against the New Republic. The evil of this genius plan is described by Darth Sidious in the reference book Star Wars: The Secret Of The Sith:

What Was The First Order?

With all that in mind, the First Order was more or less a new and improved version of the Galactic Empire. It was its own rebel movement, the very thing it had previously sought to destroy. Of course, the First Order wanted to return to the prime days of the Empire and once again subject the galaxy to its whims. It worked to become even bigger and better than its previous iteration in every way, with more advanced weaponry, better technology, and Stormtroopers with even greater training than ever before.

A strong case can be made for the First Order being one of the most dangerous forces in the galaxy, thanks to the powerful Sith they had at their disposal. Snoke was strong, but ultimately nothing more than a front for Darth Sidious. For much of the First Order’s rise to prominence, the redeemable Kylo Ren was the one left to instill fear across the galaxy, and he did so in stellar fashion. As the First Order conquered more and more worlds, so too did their power to take down the New Republic grow.

What Was The Galactic Empire?

The Galactic Empire was the powerful dictatorship that saw Darth Sidious, aka Emperor Palpatine, ruling over the galaxy. Instead of having to take the galaxy by force (no pun intended), Palpatine had orchestrated the perfect plan. He was given full control of the Galactic Republic in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. In one decisive moment, Palpatine was rid of any and all resistance following the execution of Order 66 and the purge of the Jedi Order. The Sith had won, and Darth Sidious ruled the galaxy for more than a decade.

While the purpose of the Galactic Empire was to bring peace and order to the galaxy, the Empire was willing to do so by any means necessary. They had no issue crushing anyone who tried to stand against the Empire’s interests. With the powerful Darth Vader by his side, Emperor Palpatine began a campaign to make the galaxy much more human-centered. More than just a military power, the Galactic Empire was a political power as well, providing fearsome legitimacy in the minds of many in the galaxy.

How Different Is The First Order And The Galactic Empire?

Narratively, the First Order and the Galactic Empire more or less serve the same purpose. They are bodies that seek to control the galaxy unopposed, though both end up facing resistance in their own ways. Both the First Order and the Galactic Empire used Stormtroopers as their main armed force, and both were eventually defeated by a powerful Jedi backed by a group of heroic fighters. Finally, both of the organizations were led by Darth Sidious until his defeat.

The big differences are more technical in nature. According to some sources, the First Order was far better equipped than the Galactic Empire. This allowed Darth Sidious to exercise even more brutal means of getting what he wanted, especially considering he was working in the shadows. The Galactic Empire came to power thanks to the schemes of Palpatine, but the First Order failed to have a full rise like the Empire had before it. Additionally, while the First Order may have been run by Darth Sidious, it was at least publicly run by a military government.

The First Order even made a superweapon similar to the Death Star, though they went a step bigger with their weapon. It appears that many of the First Order's differences could have been orchestrated by Darth Sidious, to make up for the shortcomings of the previous Empire. He sought to fill the gaps and strengthen their weaknesses. But unfortunately, just resulted in even more gaps, especially when Rey stepped up to challenge the First Order.

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Star Wars

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise originally created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd with the 1977 motion picture. The science fiction franchise follows the adventures of characters (both humanoid and alien) in outer space including those who can wield a mystical power known as the Force. Since the release of the original trilogy of movies, the franchise has expanded to include multiple films and branched out to other media like comics, video games, tv shows, theme park attractions, and more. The IP and Lucasfilm were sold to Disney in 2012.

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