Supreme Leader Snoke

"There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark Side... and the Light."

- Supreme Leader Snoke Supreme Leader Snoke is the primary antagonist in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as well as of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Snoke is the leader of the First Order and Kylo Ren's master.

Snoke founded the Knights of Ren and based its practices off of ancient Sith teachings from the planet Malachor. He trained eight apprentices, with his most prized pupil being Ben Solo, son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, and the grandson of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Snoke was critical in the seduction of Ben to the Dark Side, and when his turn was complete, Snoke christened him Kylo Ren.

Personality
Snoke is intelligent, calculating, reserved and wise. However he is also very manipulative as he exploited Force-sensitive individuals, such as Ben Solo, only for their power.

Snoke displays tendencies unusual for practitioners of the Dark side of the Force; he shows little emotion, as he is usually very calm and collected, and didn't appear to be in any form of worry or distress despite the circumstances against him and the First Order. When the Starkiller Base was being destroyed, he calmly expressed his wishes without showing any form of anger or annoyance, a stark contrast to his apprentice Kylo Ren, who is prone to violent outbursts when faced with frustration. However, despite this, Snoke did demonstrate a considerable level of anger and frustration after learning of failures from Hux and Kylo; albeit he only took his anger and frustration out on Hux.

His reason for choosing Ben Solo as his apprentice (as explained in the novelization of The Force Awakens) is that as Anakin Skywalker's grandson, he is a focal point in the Force; a perfect balance of light and dark.

For mostly unknown reasons, Snoke has a dislike for Luke Skywalker. However, in the film's novelization, Snoke is shown to believe that Vader's compassion, sentiment and love for his son, Luke, was the reason for the fall of the Galactic Empire. He also passed on that belief to Kylo during the the latter's apprenticeship.

Powers

 * The Force: None of Snoke's powers are actually shown yet. However, it can be assumed that he is powerful and has a strong connection to the Force.

Abilities

 * High-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader/Manipulator: Snoke is highly intelligent. As the leader of the First Order and the Knights of Ren, Snoke is a highly skilled tactician and a capable leader. Snoke's skill in manipulation is strong that Snoke even managed to manipulate and deceive Ben Solo into becoming his apprentice and turning him against the New Jedi Order.

The Force Awakens
Snoke sends Kylo Ren and the First Order on a search for Luke Skywalker following his disappearance. At Starkiller Base, Kylo and General Hux contant Snoke via hologram to report the progress of their individual assignments. While Snoke is irritated when Ren admits his search has been delayed, Hux proposes using Starkiller's superweapon against several New Republic planets who have been caught supporting the Resistance, which Snoke authorizes. After Hux is dismissed, Snoke confides in Ren of a disturbance in the Force and urges Ren to kill his father to overcome the Light side's temptation and fully embrace the dark side.

After capturing a scavenger named Rey who had seen a piece of the map to Luke, Ren asks Snoke to let him train her in the ways of the Force as an asset, to which Snoke orders Ren to bring him to her. However, Rey manages to escape before this can happen and, after Ren defeats Finn, duels him in lightsaber combat as the Resistance attacks the base, causing the planet to collapse. Moments before the base's total destruction, Hux contacts Snoke and Snoke orders Hux to bring Ren to him in order to complete his training.