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“ | I invoke the code to seek justice through single combat! | „ |
~ Sabine Wren |
“ | The attack we all anticipated never came. The once invincible Empire had begun to fracture. This small Rebellion had become bold. And with the decisive victory at the Battle of Endor, the Emperor's reign of terror came to an end. After the war, Zeb took Kallus along the secret hyperspace path to the planet Lira San. It was then that Kallus realized he hadn't destroyed the Lasat people, and that they were thriving on this new world. A world where he was welcomed as one of them. Hera fought in the Battle of Endor, as did Commander Rex. By that time, there had been a new member added to the crew of the Ghost. Spectre 7, Jacen Syndulla. Born to fly, just like his mother. And well, we all know what his father was like. As for me, I used to think that Ezra was counting on me to protect Lothal, the planet and the people he cared for so much. But one day, I realized there was more to it. There was something else I was meant to do. Ezra's out there somewhere, and it's time to bring him home. | „ |
~ Sabine's narration during the epilogue of Star Wars Rebels. |
Sabine Wren, also known by her callsign Spectre 5, is one of the tritagonists of the 2014-2018 animated television series Star Wars Rebels and the deuteragonist of the 2023 Disney+ live-action streaming series Ahsoka.
Born during the first year of the Clone Wars, Sabine was a human female who followed the Mandalorian creed. Sabine became renowned as a deadly warrior and legendary revolutionary leader during the early rebellion against Darth Sidious' Galactic Empire. Through her artistry she earned the moniker "The Artist" and inspired the symbol of the Alliance to Restore the Republic used during the Galactic Civil War. Furthermore, her ownership and claim over the ancient Darksaber made Sabine a symbol of hope to the people of Mandalore who sought to free their world from the oppression of the Empire.
Whilst she was successful in using the blade to unite the Mandalorian people, Sabine decided to pass ownership of the blade onto Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, believing Kryze to be a more capable leader then herself. After the Galactic Civil War, Sabine and former Jedi Ahsoka Tano ventured into the Unknown Regions in the hopes of finding Ezra, who had stranded himself in the unexplored region of the galaxy to ensure victory during the Liberation of Lothal.
She is voiced by Tiya Sircar, who also played Juniper in Walking with Dinosaurs 3D. She is portrayed by Natasha Liu Bordizzo in the Ahsoka series.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Sabine Wren was born on Mandalore to Death Watch member Ursa Wren and her husband Alrich, in 21 BBY during a time when Mandalore had fallen into chaos after the collapse of the New Mandalorian government at the end of the Clone Wars. She grew up on Mandalore but Sabine considered Krownest, her family's ancient planet, to be her homeworld. She reforged her armor and Nite Owl helmet at least twice. As a child, Alrich took Sabine and then infant-Tristan to a statue of Tarre Vizsla and taught him how to appreciate artwork. Since then, Sabine hoped to become an artist one day.
After the Clone Wars ended, into the Mandalore Imperial Academy to show her loyalty to her parents. She befriended fellow Mandalorian Ketsu Onyo. The girls were inseparable, almost like sisters. As a bright-eyed cadet, Sabine hoped to serve the Empire and was at the top of her class. During her time at the academy, Sabine studied the tactics of leaders Fenn Rau and General Cham Syndulla during the Clone Wars. Hoping to prove herself, Sabine created the Duchess, a pulse generator that turned Mandalorian armor against them. Most Mandalorians were angered by Sabine's creation because Mandalorian armor was sacred to their culture. Following this, Sabine grew disillusioned with the Empire and spoke out against it. However, her mother, father, and brother sided with the empire and disowned Sabine. Estranged and alone, the young Sabine was able to escape with help from Ketsu. Her decision to renounce the Empire caused Alrich to become a prisoner of Viceroy Gar Saxon, her mother was forced to prove her loyalty to the empire while Tristan was forced to serve as an Imperial Super Commando so the family would remain in Saxon's favor. Before she left, Sabine destroyed her weapon, but the Empire was able to use her research to build another arc pulse generator.
She later saved a group of Wookiees and felt she owed them a debt in the future. Sabine and Ketsu became bounty hunters and partners with dreams of becoming the Black Sun. However, Sabine was the softest of the two. They were forced to care about only themselves to survive. However, Sabine and Ketsu's partnership and friendship ended on bad terms because her best friend got greedy and left Sabine for dead.
At some point, Sabine was saved by a man named Janard, who saved her from an Imperial who was attempting to kidnap her. He helped her escape. The brutal Imperial crackdown on her homeworld and the consequent loss of her family pushed Wren into open rebellion. By the time she was sixteen, Sabine became the fifth member of the Spectres, whom she saw as a family.
Star Wars Rebels[]
Interim Years[]
Despite Sabine having a low affinity for the Force, it was enough that Ahsoka took her on as a Padawan apprentice. Due to Sabine's dedication or rather obsession with rescuing Ezra, which coincided with the Purge of Mandalore that killed her family, Ahsoka feared that she would end up falling to the dark side, thus abruptly ceased their training and contact.
Ahsoka[]
Personality and Traits[]
“ | Ezra Bridger: Now I see where Sabine gets her creative side. Alrich Wren: Oh, no, Master Jedi. Sabine's artistry comes from her mother. Ursa knows how to destroy her enemies in so many creative ways. |
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~ Ezra Bridger and Alrich Wren about Sabine's artistry. |
“ | Ahsoka: I just wish she had changed a little. But she's still just as stubborn and bullish as ever. Hera: She's Mandalorian. You knew what you were getting into. |
„ |
~ Ahsoka and Hera about Sabine. |
Like the rest of her crew, Sabine was sympathetic to victims of the Empire. Her past with the Empire led to a strong hatred towards the Imperials. Aboard the Ghost, Sabine was considered the "daughter" of the bunch. She looked up to Hera and Kanan, and thought of Zeb as an older brother and Ezra as a younger brother. She tended to ignore Ezra's signs of affection towards her, considering him just a good friend. Eventually, Ezra grew out of this crush, seeing her as a sister. Sabine was also a skilled graffiti artist, a skill she implemented into most of her missions.
In addition to simply spraying Imperials, Sabine also made use of "paint bombs", which she would occasionally rig to Imperial vehicles. Additionally, Sabine was capable of using the Ghost's cannons. Her past and age has molded her into a fierce rebel but also left with trust issues. This caused a slight row between her and Hera until the Twi'lek convinced Sabine to have faith in her and Kanan despite their secrets, about which they, for the most part, keep Sabine in the dark. This stemmed from her time in the Imperial Academy, where she had blindly taken orders in a setting where she wasn't allowed to ask questions, something she described to be a nightmare. As noted by Ezra, Sabine was something of a loner among the crew of the Ghost, spending a lot of time in her room, and showing a tendency to eat and do combat practice on her own.
Sabine was tormented by guilt over her role in helping the Empire to build weapons used to subjugate Mandalore. When she spoke out, her family chose to side with the Empire and cast her out. Unable to cope with her past, Sabine found comfort and self-expression in art and graffiti. She initially regarded the Darksaber as an ill omen for bringing nothing but trouble to her family. As a result, Sabine was initially unwilling to assume the responsibility and leadership which came with wielding the weapon. With the help of Ezra, Fenn, and Kanan, Sabine managed to overcome her fears and master the weapon.
In the years that followed the fall of the Empire, Sabine had become more isolated and acting like a rebellious teenager despite being in her late 20s. She suffered from nightmares involving Ezra's disappearance and Ahsoka giving up on Sabine as her apprentice, which was triggered by the scorching of Mandalore that Moff Gideon orchestrated at the fall of the Empire, which killed her surviving family; thus, Sabine had the simultaneous struggle of losing her brother-like friend Ezra, the loss of her homeworld again, the death of her family, and the feeling of being abandoned by her Jedi Master Ahsoka. However, she found solace in a loth-cat that she owned and was regarded as an honorary aunt to Jacen Syndulla. Eventually, in 9 ABY, Ahsoka and Sabine attempted at it a second time as they launched a search to find their missing friend and stop another war from happening because of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Skills[]
- Marksmanship: Sabine is skilled enough with blasters to wield two simultaneously and shoot multiple targets down and is trusted enough to be the gunner of the Ghost. She was skilled enough to quick-draw her blaster and shoot Fenn Rau's blaster out of his hand in a Mandalorian duel, a true testament to her skills when compared to an older and more experienced Mandalorian warrior.
- Mechanical Engineering Genius: Sabine was able to construct highly advanced weaponry that was specifically designed to undermine Beskar armour, which was a concept that hadn't been achieved under her invention.
- Sabotage: Sabine is an excellent saboteur, using explosives and knowing when and where to strike, and bring down her targets, whether they're tie fighters, buildings, etc., as well as to make excellent distractions.
- Artist: Sabine expresses herself with anti-imperial graffiti, and custom paints her gear. She always leaves her mark on her exploits, usually with a bomb hidden in the artwork. Her skills as an artist are exquisite enough that Lando Calrissian offered to buy some samples of her work.
- Imperial Academy/Mandalorian training: Sabine trained in the Imperial Academy on Mandalore and actually learned a great deal in various subjects, such as Imperial workings in military, their arms and weapons, some alien languages, and more, making her a valued member of the crew of the Ghost. As a Mandalorian, she is also trained in hand-to-hand combat and is quite athletic, able to use acrobatics to easily dodge and evade her enemies, and she is skilled enough in fighting to outmatch a trained imperial officer like Arihnda Pryce and hold her own against a Mandalorian veteran like Gar Saxon. Her Imperial Academy training also gave her the edge she needed to infiltrate Skystrike Academy in an undercover mission. She also has heightened reflexes that when when polished allow her to appear to hold a reaction speed similar to a Jedi.
- Tactical use of Beskar armour: As a Mandalorian, she wears armour of Beskar, one of the strongest metals in the galaxy. During battle, she is able to deflect blaster bolts and lightsaber strikes by adeptly moving to ensure her Mandalorian armour blocked the hit.
- Skilled Strategist and Tactician: While emotion can undermine the efficacy of her military mindset, she was capable enough to be considered with Hera and Ezra as threats by Grand Admiral Thrawn.
- Expert Lightsaber Combatant: After taking the Darksaber from Maul's lair on Dathomir, Sabine began training in lightsaber combat in order to wield the ancient saber against the Empire. Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus taught Sabine the basic lightsaber forms and how to utilize all of her accumulated skills in conjunction with the Darksaber. After receiving Mandalorian vambraces from Fenn Rau, Sabine was able to catch Ezra off guard and beat him in a sparring match. Later, when she began training with the actual Darksaber rather then training sticks, Sabine initially found the blade to be heavier then she expected. However, over time she improved her connection with the lightsaber and found it easier to wield as a result. Later, she managed to catch Kanan off balance with a barrage of relentless lightsaber attacks and defeat him too, however her barrage only came as a result of an emotional breakdown. Thanks to Erza and Kanan's tutelage, Sabine was able to best Gar Saxon in lightsaber combat even with the absence of her jetpack. During the Mandalorian civil war, Sabine used the Darksaber in combat against enemy forces multiple times, mostly to disarm them. Five years after the defeat of the Empire, Sabine had not practiced for a while and her lightsaber skills deteriorated to the point that she did not last long against Shin Hati, with Professor Huyang noting that her declined skill was the worst lightsaber talent that he had ever seen in his centuries of teaching.
- Blaster and Lightsaber Duel-Wielding: To compensate for her reduced skill in lightsaber duels, she would also use a blaster during combat, which she could use in perfect tandem, despite them being completely different types of weapons.
- Peak Physical Endurance: She could suffer endless concussive impacts from blaster shots hitting her armour, without slowing or losing stamina. She could be impaled by a lightsaber - even if non-fatally - and only need brief medical recovery.
- Force Affinity: While it was noted that she had - for any Padawan or prospective Jedi - a minimal affinity for the Force, she still had a functional connection that could be trained to a level of reliable usage.
- Telekinesis: While it takes her longer than a more practiced Jedi or one with greater Force affinity, she is able to harness the Force to draw objects to her, or repel an enemy with a Force push. She had talent enough to use the Force in conjunction with another Jedi, such as when she combined her push with Ezra's Force jump to enable him boarding of the departing Star Destroyer.
- Telepathy: While contrary to the Jedi Code, her telepathy is limited to connections only with people she has significant emotional attachment to, such as her brother figure Ezra, or her Jedi Master Ahsoka.
Theme Music[]
Trivia[]
- Sabine also appeared in various tie-ins based on the aforementioned animated series.
- At the beginning of the series, she was 16 years old. By season 3, she is around 19. By the time of Ahsoka, Sabine is at least 29 or 30.
- Sabine and Ezra are the only members of the Ghost crew to regularly wear helmets.
- In Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal, Sabine takes blaster shots to her chest plate and helmet after she attempted to shoot Darth Vader with her pistols. These scars inspired her to change her appearance.
- She painted orange markings onto her gauntlets, elbow pads, right chest plate and helmet. The checkerboard design on her right shoulder received Aurebesh number 5 in black painted in an orange circle, and her left shoulder plate was painted blue with the anooba illustration replaced with a different creature. She now has long sleeves instead of short ones.
- Additionally, she dyed the edges of her hair teal instead of orange. She kept this appearance throughout Season 2.
- Her mother was a member of Death Watch.
- Dave Filoni revealed in the Rebels Recon featurette for The Protector of Concord Dawn that Sabine's mother was present in the throne room on Mandalore when Darth Maul killed Pre Vizsla in the Clone Wars episode "Shades of Reason."
- In Season 3, Sabine's look has changed again.
- Most traces of pink on her helmet are gone, now being orange instead. The parts that were orange in season 2 are now purple. The gauntlets, kneepads, and elbow pads are also purple. Her left shoulder pad is now a light yellow with a convoree in place of the creature there in season 2, itself a replacement of an illustration of an anooba. Her gloves are now fingerless and now only extent to her wrists instead of her elbows. Her sleeves now have a gray trim on the sides, which was not present in seasons 1 or 2.
- In Season 3, her hair is now also completely changed; as opposed to only being dyed, she has grown the right side significantly while cutting the left side short. It was primarily light violet, whereas the edges are a darker purple.
- In Season 4, Sabine's hairstyle was changed to dark brown with light purple tips. Before the mission to searching for Ezra, Sabine grew her hair out, but this time had dark Violet hair with orange tips. Now, her hair is pixie-cut.
- Despite Ezra stating he saw Sabine as a sister (despite not being blood related) in Ahsoka, Sabine seems to have developed genuine romantic feelings for him, as she started living in his old tower, wearing his old clothes and often looks at his old hollow message, missing him to a possible obsessive degree. Although, this could simply be a strong emotional attachment without a romantic angle, which was something she lacked for years, as Hera was largely occupied with New Republic work, Ahsoka had distanced herself out of fear of causing a new Vader in Sabine, and her Mandalorian family being dead, leaving her an orphan. Regardless:
- It also furthered supported by her when Natasha seemed to also parallel Sabine with Anakin. In fact, brief, subtle musical reference to John Williams’ “Across the Stars” (which was the love of Anakin and Padme), were played in episode 7 when she talking to Ezra after Ahsoka contacted her through the force as well as the finale, when she was stranded on Peridea along her master. This basically casts doubt on Liu Bordizzo's claim of seeing Ezra as just a brother like figure, putting further question into the true nature of their relationship.
- Sabine