Snoke

Snoke was an artificial genetic strandcast created by the Sith Eternal for Darth Sidious, who rose to become Supreme Leader of the First Order. The Emperor utilized Snoke as his proxy to build and control the First Order and to oversee the training of Kylo Ren.

Biography

Creation and early life

Snoke being created on Exegol by the Sith Eternal for the Sith Lord Darth Sidious."Snoke" was a genetic strandcast created by Darth Sidious on Exegol in the year before his death. Vader eventually discovered him alongside other creations of the Sith Eternal. Snoke was an artificial being created from the DNA of several beings, tissue samples of various genetic sources being spliced together to create a powerful being.

Snoke was not a Sith, but had a powerful connection to the Force, and was instilled with vast knowledge and the steep teachings of the dark side. With his immense foresight, Snoke witnessed the fall of the Galactic Empire and the events of Darth Vader's redemption at the Battle of Endor.

Strings pulled by Sidious

Snoke's body was rejected by Sidious' as a vessel for his essence after his resurrection, but found another purpose to grant Snoke continued existence. Snoke he would serve as his master's proxy, spreading the influence of the Sith across the galaxy in secret, gathering forces in the imperial remnants to create the First Order.

Sidious also targeted Anakin Skywalker's grandson to potentially become his new apprentice, and utilized his puppet to ensnare the boy from a distance. Snoke drew Ben Solo to the dark side and manipulated him into seeing Luke Skywalker and the Jedi as his enemy. For years he whispered and poisoned the boy's heart with the dark side. Eventually he convinced Solo to destroy the Jedi after Skywalker briefly wanted to murder his nephew, and claims the young man as his student with this event.

Snoke trained Ben Solo, anointing him Kylo Ren, to some level, his new primary objective to destroy Luke Skywalker, the last remaining Jedi. However Luke was in hiding at an unknown location and the missing segment of the map to his location was in the hands of the Underground Church of the force.

First Order-Resistance War

BB-8 was given the map segment by Poe Dameron who was afterwards captured. Poe revealed that the map is with his droid and Kylo ordered a search for the BB unit. Snoke talked with Hux and Kylo via hologram before the Hosnian Cataclysm. While Hux was ordered to oversee operations, Snoke warned Kylo of the location of BB-8 who was with Han Solo, Kylo's father in the Millennium Falcon. He also spoke of an awakening which had been felt by both Snoke and Kylo.

When Kylo captured Rey on Takodana, she was held captive on Starkiller Base where Kylo interrogated her. She got more and more powerful with the Force over a short period of time. Snoke ordered Kylo to bring the girl to him but she escaped using the mind trick on a Stormtrooper before he reached her cell.

Snoke later ordered Hux to escape Starkiller Base and rescue Kylo after his failed duel with Finn and Rey when the Resistance managed to destroy the oscillator. He told the officer that he wished to complete Kylo's training in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Snoke uses the Force to torture Rey.

"Fulfill your destiny!" - Snoke

Snoke later oversaw the chase of the Resistance, empowering General Hux to utilize the new hyperspace tracker to find them. Aboard the Supremacy, Snoke punished Ren for his failure at Starkiller base, attacking him with Force lightning and ridiculing him as a disgraceful heir to Darth Vader, and that his grandfather would be ashamed of him.

Using his powers, Snoke manipulated the Dyad bond between Rey and Ren, having Ren not able to keep his conflict to himself, causing the girl to come to him aboard his flagship.

Death on Supremacy

Kylo brought Rey to Snoke aboard the Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy. Snoke taunted Rey and tortured her to obtain the location of Luke Skywalker. After discovering the Jedi Master's whereabouts, Snoke orders his apprentice to kill Rey, unaware that Kylo had developed feelings for the girl during the Force connections between them. Instead of following the order, Kylo betrays his master to save Rey and kills him using the Skywalker lightsaber.

Snoke's purpose had been fulfilled; by dying at Kylo's hand, Snoke had succeeded in molding the grandson of Darth Vader in to an heir worthy of the Sith legacy, grooming him into a cunning master of attack, as was by the design of the Sith Eternal.

Legacy

Revelations

Palpatine revealing to Kylo Ren his creation and manipulation of Snoke. year after Snoke's death in 35 ABY, when Kylo traveled to Exegol in search of Darth Sidious, he discovered that Sidious had been manipulating him and Snoke was merely his creation. He saw at least three other Snoke bodies in a tank, as he realized that Sidious' was his true master all along and Snoke had been a mere proxy and servant of the Sith Lord.

Snoke had been a free willed individual, capable of self-determination the whole time, but he remained unaware of his status as a pawn in Sidious' game for all his life.

Trivia

Snoke is a CGI-character (in both TFA, and TLJ), and is portrayed by English film actor and director, Andy Serkis.
Snoke, is roughly 7 ft. tall.
Snoke’s body is very frail, and damaged
Snoke wore a ring - on his left hand - made from gold, which was both inscribed with glyphs from the Four Sages of Dwartii, and was also encrusted with obsidian from the catacombs underneath Darth Vader’s castle on Mustafar.
It was revealed in a 2021 source book, that Snoke was created for the original intended purpose of being a vessel for Palpatine's essence after his resurrection, but was utilized instead a proxy to direct his contingency after he was deemed unworthy.

Relationships

Allies

Armitage Hux
First Guard
Second Guard
Third Guard
Fourth Guard
Fifth Guard
Sixth Guard
Seventh Guard
Eighth Guard
Unidentified Attendant (Supremacy)
Moden Canady

Enemies

Kylo Ren (Former apprentice turned killer)
Rey

Appearances

Note: This list is incomplete

Aftermath: Empire's End (Indirect mention)
Star Wars Battlefront II (Mentioned only)
Phasma (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 1: Black Squadron, Part I (Mentioned only)
Join the Resistance (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 8: The Gathering Storm, Part I (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 10: The Gathering Storm, Part III (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 11: The Gathering Storm, Part IV (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 12: The Gathering Storm, Part V (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 14: Legend Lost, Part I (Mentioned only)
Poe Dameron 16: Legend Lost, Part III (Mentioned only)
Before the Awakening (Mentioned only)
Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens (Appears in hologram)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Novel) (Appears in hologram)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens: A Junior Novel (Appears in hologram)
Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Last Jedi novelization