Profiles Of Heroism: Temmin "Snap" Wexley
Image Source: StarWars.com
There are always characters in Star Wars films that expanded material really loves, and adds a ton of context to. Boba Fett was probably the original beneficiary of this trend of vast expansion in Legends, but canon is no exception. Temmin Wexley, known as “Snap” to his friends, might be one of the first canon characters to benefit from such a focus, with the pilot from The Force Awakens getting a key role in the early Star Wars book trilogy, Aftermath. While he was not present in The Last Jedi, his return in The Rise of Skywalker also closed his story as he died during the Resistance’s fight against the Final Order. He was a hero with a complicated past, a murderous droid sidekick in his younger years, and a stepfather in one of the galaxy’s most notable pilots, Wedge Antilles. Today, let’s explore Snap’s impact on the galaxy far, far away.
Background
Temmin was born in the capital city of Myrra on the planet Akiva to Norra and Brentin Wexley. His early life was troubled, as his father was arrested by the Empire for aiding the Rebellion, followed by his mother, Nora, leaving him on Akiva to go join the Rebellion herself. Temmin was left in the care of his aunt and her wife, but he resisted their role in his life and remained independent. As he grew up, he became skilled with repairing technology and tinkering, but his choices also brought him into contact with the black market and criminal underworld of his planet. Somewhat out of his depth, he eventually built a bodyguard in the form of a heavily modified B1 droid called Mister Bones, who helped keep him safe. Even so, he wasn’t always able to easily escape reprisals or the posturing of the region’s criminals, resulting in a complicated relationship with local crime lord Surat Nuat. It was in these early years that he encountered the outlaw Kay Vess and helped her enhance her speeder for traversal of the heavily aquatic terrain of Akiva. Temmin was able to teach Kay a thing or two during their brief interactions, though she ultimately left the planet and continued her ongoing mission while he stayed on the world.
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Image Source: Wookieepedia
After the Battle of Endor, when Norra Wexley was finally able to return to Akiva to visit her son, she found an independent yet troubled young man. She also found a brewing Imperial plot underway as a major summit of Imperial remnant leaders gathered on Akiva. During efforts to thwart the summit, her son made a terrible choice, a deal with Surat and the Empire to hand over half of the team to keep him and his mother safe. Betrayed and nearly killed by the Empire shortly after, Temmin was able to take advantage of rioting Akivans and save his mother as well as those he had betrayed. This led to the capture of several notable Imperials, and while Norra was seriously injured, Temmin had ultimately taken the first step on his path to heroism.
Abilities/Skills
Temmin Wexley was a good tinkerer and improviser after his early years spent developing his own skills and independence. While Mr. Bones certainly had his faults, the murderous droid was still quite effective as a bodyguard, and evidently, its personality was resilient and adaptive, easily able to start chaos after being transferred into a new body outside of its original B1 form many years later. But it was as a pilot that Wexley would later shine, rising to a notable rank within the New Republic Navy, as well as within the Resistance. His skills were honed under the special tutelage of one of the finest pilots in the galaxy, Wedge Antilles, and he was able to achieve great things as part of Poe Dameron’s Black Squadron. He was also noted for his sense of humor and kindness, a trait that made many people like him.
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Acts Of Heroism
The coming months saw more steps taken with increasing speed. Learning how to pilot under Wedge Antilles and helping the New Republic hunt Imperial warlords and other criminals, Temmin went with his mother to help find a missing Han Solo and to free Kashyyyk. During that operation, they surprisingly found Wexley’s father, Brentin, and brought him to safety on Chandrila after the freeing of the Wookiee homeworld. However, no one realized Brentin was secretly a brainwashed agent of the Empire, and by the time the young man noticed something was wrong, it was already too late. Brentin and multiple other agents attacked festivities on Chandrila, intending to kill top New Republic leaders. Norra and Wexley were able to prevent the worst of it, but Wexley was unable to stop his father from fleeing in the wake of the attack. The events were pinned on Rae Sloane, who Norra, Temmin, and others began to hunt with the aid of Leia Organa.
In the lead-up to the Battle of Jakku, Temmin and the wider team pursued leads about Sloane before discovering the vast Imperial build-up around Jakku during an ongoing mission. Sending Mr. Bones to protect his mother on the planet, Temmin escaped to warn the New Republic and joined them for the fight that followed. He flew an X-wing for the first time, and while he eventually crashed onto the planet’s surface, he survived unharmed as a witness to the truly final battle of the Galactic Civil War.
Image Source: Wookieepedia
The period after these events is murky, but we do know one key detail. Wexley’s father, Brentin, had died on Jakku, leaving Norra open to developing the relationship she had with Wedge Antilles, resulting in Temmin’s mentor becoming his stepfather. Temmin was also one of the founding pilots of the Resistance, joining with the group right from the New Republic Navy, which he had served in for over two decades at that point. Now with the Resistance, Temmin eventually joined Black Squadron, led by Poe Dameron, on a series of missions to track down leads about Lor San Tekka for Leia, who sought her brother Luke. During one of these missions, Mr. Bones, who had lost his body years ago yet whose personality remained intact, was unleashed by Temmin to aid the Resistance, a brief return of his old creation to help save the day. He also married fellow pilot Kare Kun in a ceremony held on D’Qar.
During the events of The Force Awakens, it was Temmin who performed the dangerous flyby of Starkiller Base, getting the Resistance key information for their upcoming attack. He then flew in the subsequent fight and was one of the few pilots to make it out alive, before going to seek out surviving leaders and allies of the New Republic as the Resistance evacuated D’Qar. Their efforts were a failure, and they were in a dire situation in Crucible City on the planet Ikrukk when Poe, fresh from the defeat at Crait, saved his teammates.
Final Act
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Temmin and Black Squadron broke up after their harrowing experience at Crucible City, lending their support to the Resistance in whatever way best suited their talents. Temmin soon sought to recruit his mother, Norra, and stepfather Wedge for the ongoing fight, and while they briefly aided the Resistance, the two old pilots did not formally join the organization. A year after the Battle of Crait, as the voice of Palpatine echoed across the galaxy's airwaves, Temmin was among the pilots stationed at the main Resistance base on Ajan Kloss and was also present for the formation of the Resistance’s desperate plan to attack Exegol despite the longest odds in the galaxy.
He flew his X-wing in the following battle, and while he put up a great fight, he was ultimately shot down mere moments before the arrival of the Citizens’ Fleet alongside his stepfather, Wedge, and presumably his mother somewhere else in the vast armada. In the aftermath of his passing, Poe and Black Squadron, including his teammate and wife Kare Kun, held a private vigil on Ajan Kloss as the galaxy celebrated. Kun produced the personality program for Mr. Bones, and threw it into the campfire everyone was standing around, believing that with the death of her husband, his creation should follow suit given their deep bond. So ended the life of Temmin “Snap” Wexley, a hero who fought to free the galaxy, against the greatest evils imaginable in incredibly hostile conflicts and often with the odds stacked against him and his allies.
Notable Appearances
Image Source: Wookieepedia
Below is a list of some of the notable stories in which Temmin Wexley has appeared. We encourage people to check them out if they have any interest in this skilled pilot and long opponent to galactic tyranny!
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Source(s): Star Wars Outlaws, Aftermath, Aftermath: Life Debt, Aftermath: Empire’s End, Poe Dameron, The Force Awakens, The Rise of Skywalker
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