Hera Syndulla

"There isn't a pilot in the Imperial fleet that can outrun me."

- Hera

Hera Syndulla is a female Twi'lek in the Disney XD animated series, Star Wars Rebels. She is the captain/pilot of the freight ship the Ghost, and owner of the astromech droid known as Chopper.

Personality
Hera is known to be very strong-minded, but at the same time she is warm and nurturing.

She is more of the mother figure toward the crew of her ship, whenever there is a problem she knows how to talk to them, and keep them together when one of them falls apart, as well as helping them find the goodness in themselves.

Hera has a no-nonsense style of command, she is known for being a very warm, compassionate and diplomatic individual, she is also highly intelligent, thoughtful and observant.

Abilities

 * Expert Markswoman: Hera is extremely skilled in utilizing blaster pistols.
 * Expert Pilot: Hera is extremely skilled in piloting every type of flying crafts.
 * Expert Combatant: Hera showed some notions of combat, as she was able to briefly stand up to Rukh and disarm him before being defeated by the experienced Noghri.

Weapons and Equipment

 * Blurrg-1120 holdout blaster: Hera utilizing a Blurrg-1120 holdout blaster as her weapon of choice.

Season One
After raiding an Imperial supply depot, Hera, Kanan and Chopper's lives were in jeopardy, with four TIE Fighters attacking their ship. After taking a hit, the ship's comms and shields were fried. Hera sent Chopper to fix the shields until moments later, she sent Chopper to fix the comm instead, leaving the shields still down.

Chopper passed on a message from Kanan to "fly better" which she took to heart and commenced some daring maneuvers. She looped the Ghost behind the pursuing TIEs and using the nose turret took out one of the fighters, reducing Kanan's targets buy half. After Chopper took out the last fighter, the three of them met on the bridge, where they praised each other's shooting.

Hera showed up with the Ghost after her fellow Rebels stole Imperial crates from the Empire and picked up a passenger. Hera was impressed with what Kanan told her about Ezra and suspected that he may be force-sensitive. With four TIE Fighters on their tail, Hera piloted the Ghost out into space and once clear made the jump to lightspeed.

Soon after losing the TIEs, the Rebels returned to Lothal and landed near Tarkintown where Hera and Kanan delivered a crate of blasters to criminal boss Cikatro Vizago, who gave them some Intel on an Imperial Transport carrying Wookiee Prisoners to an unknown slave labor camp. The Rebels arrived at the Imperial Transport Hera brought the Ghost alongside, telling the Imperials they had orders to transfer an additional Wookiee Prisoner. As Kanan, Zeb, Sabine and Chopper went aboard, Hera along with Ezra stayed with the ship where they spotted an incoming Star Destroyer. Hera told Ezra he needed to go and warn the others but did not feel he could and insisted they make a run for it while they could. In the end, he reluctantly went aboard the transport ship to warn them after Hera gave him some encouragement to risk his life for others.

Thanks to Ezra, the Rebels made it back to the ship and escaped. However, when Zeb told the crew he left Ezra behind, Hera said they should rescue him as she knew they were responsible for getting him involved. Zeb and Sabine were not keen on rescuing him, knowing the Empire would be waiting for them but Chopper voted with Hera and with Kanan's deciding vote they went back to rescue him.

Hera piloted the Ghost aboard the Star Destroyer undetected and the Rebels were able to find Ezra and escape to hyperspace with intel on where exactly the Wookiee prisoners were. She set course for Kessel and upon arriving opened fire on the Imperials giving her fellow Rebels a clear path. However they were ambushed by the Imperials and Hera had to retreat with TIE Fighters opening fire on her ship. Hera flew away in order to lose the TIEs and later returned to pick of the others.

After sending the Wookiees on their way, the Rebels returned Ezra to Lothal but the latter chose to join the crew after being given a choice to join their Rebellion and learn the ways of the Jedi.

It was revealed through the second half of the first season that Hera had contacts with a secret Rebel known as "Fulcrum" (aka Ahsoka Tano). At the time, Sabine became curious to know who Fulcrum was but every time she asked her, Hera just answered her questions without really answering them as she was not to reveal the identities of their contacts. That way if captured, they could not reveal anything.

In "Vision of Hope", Hera showed the Ghost team a message revealing that Senator Gall Trayvis was coming to Lothal. Ezra later came back and told them Kallus was planning an operation to capture the Senator. The next day, Hera noticed that the Stormtroopers were stationed everywhere but have not moved in yet which made them realize it was a trap with Trayvis as the bait. They got inside and warned the Senator when they were surrounded by Kallus and his task force. Trayvis urged them to surrender but Zeb and Sabine, who came in through the roof, helped them escape. Upon getting outside, they quickly headed into the sewer where Trayvis claimed to be tired just before Kallus showed up. The Rebels split up with Hera and Ezra going with Trayvis. Acting upon recent suspicions, Hera handed Trayvis a blaster and told him to watch their backs. Suddenly, Trayvis turned the blaster on them and revealed that he was an Imperial agent and that his voice of truth speeches were just an act to trick real dissenters into coming out of hiding so they could be identified by the ISB. These unfortunate Rebels were then watched or killed by the Imperial Government after meeting with him. After Trayvis mocked Ezra's parents, Hera defended the Bridgers and told him they were not gone. Trayvis tried to shoot her for this only to discover that the blaster was not charged. Hera knocked him out stating "A true Rebel would know if he's holding a charged blaster." She then told a shocked Ezra she gave Trayvis the blaster to trick him into revealing his true colors. The others later showed up and they all escaped thanks to Kanan.

When Kanan was captured by the Empire, Hera was ordered by Fulcrum to withdraw from their attempts to rescue him after reminding her that Kanan understood the risks and Ezra, the crew's remaining Jedi, was too important to risk losing. When Hera told the crew they could no longer continue their search for Kanan, her fellow Rebels refused to give up on him and hide. They disobeyed her orders and went to Vizago for some intel on how they could find Kanan. Despite being very disappointed with the three of them, she went ahead with Ezra's leadership and thanks to Chopper they were able to hack into the Empire's communications ship and discover where the Empire was keeping Kanan.

After stealing an Imperial Freighter, Hera and the Rebels journeyed to Mustafar, where the Imperials had Kanan. They deployed a TIE Fighter and landed it aboard Tarkin's Star Destroyer which released and electromagnetic pulse, disabling the entire ship. With the ship down, Hera and the Rebels went aboard, but when their only way to Kanan was sealed up, Hera, along with Zeb and Sabine went a separate way while Ezra took a short cut through the ventilation shafts. After learning that Kanan was safe, Hera, Zeb and Sabine boarded their Rebel TIE Fighter and escaped with the other Rebels, led by Ahsoka Tano.

Season Two
Following Kanan's rescue, the Ghost crew became part of a larger rebellion. After a mission, Chopper came in with a message from Minister Tua, who offered to defect to the Rebellion in exchange for them helping her get off Lothal which they accepted at Ezra's urging. Afterward, Hera confronted Kanan for his behavior and he admitted that he did not like being part of the Rebel Network's army because of the Clone Wars and how it led to the Rise of the Galactic Empire. Their mission to help Tua ultimately failed when she got killed by Kallus. After realizing the whole thing was a trap to turn Lothal against them, Hera stated they must leave immediately and Kanan decided they must steal a shuttle from the Imperial Complex. On the way to the shuttle, they were ambushed by Darth Vader and his task force, who had predicted what they would do and had been lying in wait for them. After escaping, Hera, to the chagrin of Kanan and Ezra, made a deal with Lando Calrissian to get them off Lothal, unaware that the shuttle they stole had a homing device on it, which was why Vader let them go. Upon arriving back at the fleet, Chopper told them of the device's activation which made the Ghost crew realize they led the Empire right back to the fleet. Darth Vader soon arrived and caused severe damage to the fleet, forcing a retreat. To buy the other Rebels time to escape, the Ghost crew kept Vader busy before escaping as well.

After the destruction of Phoenix Home, the Rebellion is in need of a base. Ahsoka told them where they could find an old friend of hers. When her friend turned out to be a Clone Trooper, Hera urged Kanan to trust him. Later she was horrified to learn that there were more Inquisitors. More of Hera's past is revealed during the Blockade of Ibaar: When she was a little girl, The Clone Wars broke out over Ryloth and she was inspired to become a pilot by the Jedi and Clones who fought to help liberate her world. Hearing her story, Quarrie decided to let her fly his ship: The B-Wing, which she later used to break the blockade.

Much later even more of her past is revealed on Ryloth: Hera's father is Cham Syndulla, the Liberator of Ryloth. Her father led her people against the CIS to liberate their world. When the Republic became the Empire, the Elder Syndulla began a revolt against the Empire. After her mother was killed, Hera left Ryloth and joined the Rebel Network. It is also revealed by her father and Chopper that during this time she became Chopper's mistress after she rescued him from the wreckage of a crashed Y-Wing during the Clone Wars.

Season Three
Six month after the events on Malacor, Hera is seen getting the wider rebellion to grow. Her love for Chopper is made clear after it's discovered he's been hacked by Imperial intelligence agents trying to get the location of the headquarters for Phoenix Squadron, and furious at them messing with her droid, she turns the tables on them and destroys their cruiser with the crew still aboard via a massive data feedback. Hera is also shown to be becoming concerned by Ezra's growing aggresive strek and his growing obcession with try to learn how to destroy the Sith.

Her efforts are challenged by the new leader of the hunt for her cell: Grand Admiral Thrawn. At one point, after Mon Mothma unites the various Rebel cells into the Rebel Alliance, Thrawn learns of Chopper Base on Atollon and launches the Lothal Imperial fleet to deal with them and General Dodonna's fleet as well, bringing two Imperial Interdictor cruisers armed with gravity well generators to prevent the combined Rebel fleet from escaping into hyperspace. However, before Thrawn can take Hera and the surviving Rebels into custody or execute them, the Bendu arrives to order all Rebel and Imperial forces off of Atollon, distracting Thrawn long enough for the Rebels to escape, while Ezra and a Mandalorian strike team led by Sabine take out the remaining Interdictor after Commander Sato sacrificed himself and his flagship to take out the first one. With the Rebels escaping Thrawn for the time being, Hera thanks Sabine, and promises to provide Rebel aid to the Mandalorians on an upcoming mission they are doing back on Mandalore before the surviving Rebel ships retreat to the Rebel Headquarters on Yavin IV.

Season Four
Hera is still with the Rebel Command on Yavin IV as Kanan, Ezra, and Chopper aid Sabine and the Mandalorians with their mission she agreed to provide aid to after Sabine and the Mandalorians helped rescue them from Thrawn back on Atollon.

Later, upon learning that the Empire was testing a new TIE Defender model back on Lothal, Hera and the other Lothal Rebels return to their planet, but are nearly captured by the Empire before being rescued by one of their allies. Later on, Ezra and Sabine are able to retrieve the TIE Defender Elite's hyperdrive and flight recorder, using the hyperdrive to allow Hera to take a U-Wing back to Yavin IV to show the data to Rebel Command. After analyzing it, Mon Mothma and General Dondonna are facing a problem: They can risk launching an attack against the TIE Defender factory on Lothal to destroy it before the Empire can mass-produce the fighter, but they've received word that the Empire is pulling their assets off of Lothal, but the reasons are still uncertain. Hera is able to convince them to launch a strike, and personally leads the fighter group of X-Wings and Y-Wings to attempt to punch through the Imperial blockade. Though they succeed, it results in the entire force being decimated, and Hera and surviving Rebel Pilots are only able to prolong their escape from Imperial forces before Hera allows her surviving wingman to escape to warn Kanan and the others while she is captured by Lothal Imperial Governor Pryce to be imprisoned back at Imperial Headquarters for interrogation. Hera faces brutal torture by Governor Pryce, but refuses to disclose any information on where the base where her fellow Lothal Rebels are located at. Thrawn soon has to leave to travel to Coruscant to speak with Emperor Palpatine regarding the TIE Defender project's funding, leaving Pryce to handle Hera, even going so far as to inject a truth serum into her to get her to confess.

However, later on, a strike team consisting of Ezra, Sabine, and Kanan, with Sabine abd Ezra disguised as TIE Pilots, manages to rescue her from being interrogated further by Pryce, but as they try to escape, Pryce orders her Imperial troops to fire on the large fuel tanks containing the fuel reserves for the TIE Defender factory, despite their concern of the consequences if they do, resulting in a huge explosion. Kanan sacrifices himself to hold back the blast with the Force to give Hera, Ezra, and Sabine time to escape, but he himself is killed. Hera, Sabine, and Ezra return to where Chopper and Zeb are waiting, and break the grim news of Kanan's fate to him. Heartbroken by Kanan's death, Hera is deeply demoralized, until a pep talk from Chopper manages to cheer her up, before Sabine and Zeb report that the destruction of the fuel reserves have forced the Imperials to shut down the TIE Defender factory until further notice, thus having accomplished what they had set out to do in the first place. Ezra soon arrives with their new mission orders: Saving the Lothal Jedi Temple from being threatened by the Empire.

After being taken to the Jedi Temple by several Loth-wolves, they find the Empire already excavating the Temple. While Hera stays with Zeb and Chopper to watch from their viewpoint on the cliff, Ezra and Sabine use the disguises of two Scout Troopers they ambushed to infiltrate the dig. Soon, Hera realizes that Sabine and Ezra's cover is blown when the dig site goes into full alert after Sabine is exposed by the minister in charge of the excavation. With Zeb's help, she ambushes the control center where the minister is holding Sabine, activating it's thrusters to turn the center over, allowing Sabine to escape. Chopper keeps Imperial reinforcements away with an excavator he commandeered, and once Ezra emerges from the Temple, Hera and the others keep the Empire busy while Ezra uses the mural of the Daughter, Father, and Son to seal the portal he came out of and bury the Temple. When he comes to later, he joins Hera to see where the Temple had once stood, and prepare to continue their fight against the Empire, knowing that Kanan will still be watching over them through the Force.

With the loss of the Lothal Jedi Temple, the Rebels prepare for their final plan to remove the Imperial presence off of Lothal once and for all. Luring Governor Pryce and her forces to the Rebel hideout via Ryder acting like he wanted to defect, the Imperial forces are ambushed by the Loth-Wolves, which quickly make mincemeat of Pryce's ground troops while her transports are shot down by Hera in the Ghost. Outnumbered and at the mercy of the Loth-Wolves, Pryce surrenders with her remaining Stormtroopers.

With Pryce their hostage, Hera and the other Rebels are able to gain access to the Imperial Complex in the Capital City, using the Imperial Protocol 13 to convince all Imperial troops on Lothal to return to the complex, as part of a plan to launch it into the air and destroy it once it was a safe distance above the capital. However, having been warned in advance by Rukh, who survived the Loth-Wolves' carnage earlier, Thrawn prevents the Rebels from carrying out their plan by parking his fleet over the capital, threatening to bombard the capital and kill innocent civilians unless Ezra surrendered to him. Though Hera does not want him to give up to Thrawn, Ezra sneaks away to turn himself in. Soon after, Thrawn prepares to raze the capital to the ground, but the Rebels reactivate the capital's planetary shields just in time, killing Rukh, while the Imperial blockade is wiped out by a flock of Purrgils, including the Star Destroyers flanking Thrawn's flagship. As several Purrgils latch onto the Chimaera and prepare to jump into hyperspace, Hera, realizing their intent, tells Ezra to get out of there before they jump, but Ezra refuses, knowing he has to see this through. Hera can do nothing but watch as the Purrgils make the jump, taking the Chimaera with them, including Thrawn and Ezra.

Despite losing Ezra, Hera and the other Rebels finish the job, as with the way now clear, they launch the Imperial Complex into the air, and Sabine detonates the explosives she planted on the dome, killing Governor Pryce, who chose to go down with her men with dignity, and the remaining Imperial forces on Lothal, liberating it from the Empire. Afterwards, the Rebels prepare for what they believed would be the inevitable counterattack by the Empire.

Five years later, that attack never came. The Rebel Alliance was victorious in the Battle of Endor, which saw the end of Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, the second Death Star, and thousands of Imperial men and materials, which the Empire was unable to recover from. Hera had taken part in the Battle of Endor alongside the likes of Admiral Gial Ackbar, General Lando Calrissian, Wedge Antillies, and Rex, and gave birth to her and Kanan's son, Jacen Syndulla, who followed in his mother's footsteps in having a love of flying.

Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
Hera appears in the animated miniseries, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, with Vanessa Marshall reprising her role. A short set on the Ewok moon of Endor from Return of the Jedi will feature Hera and Princess Leia teaming up for an adventure with Han Solo and the Ewoks. Both Han Solo & Hera seem to share a Rivalry, about which of their Ships is the Superior one.

Disney INFINITY
Hera appears as a non-playable character in the Toy Box of Disney INFINITY 3.0. To unlock her, the player has to log in to their Disney account in the game. Hera was originally going to be a playable character in the third game, but after Disney INFINITY was confirmed to have been discontinued in May 2016, it was implied that Hera was canceled.

Star Wars: Force Arena
Hera Syndulla is a playable character in Star Wars: Force Arena as a Legendary squad leader card.

Cham Syndulla
Cham is Hera's father. They had a close relationship as her father's actions during the Clone Wars inspired her to become a freedom fighter. After Palpatine declared himself Emperor, their relationship became strained due to Cham being rarely at home. After Hera's mother was killed, Hera saw that the freedom of her people required the overthrow of the Emperor and left Ryloth to join the Rebel Network.

C1-10P
Hera became Chopper's mistress after she rescued him from a crashed Y-Wing and repaired him. Cham later complained that she cares more about Chopper, who he calls a "second-rate junkpile", than him. When Hera left Ryloth to join the Rebel Network, Chopper went with her.

Ahsoka Tano
Hera first met Ahsoka when the Jedi arrived on Ryloth during the Clone Wars and greatly respected the Togruta for her bravry. They reunited after Hera left Ryloth. Ahsoka supplied intel to the Ghost cell under the contact Fulcrum. Hera was greatly saddened when she learned of Ahsoka's supposed death on Malacor.

Trivia

 * In Greek mythology, Hera was the goddess of family, marriage, and in some cases matriarchy. Ironically, the goddess' nature was vengeful and cruel toward illegitimate or unfavorable children. Hera Syndulla's attitude and nurturing toward the team retains the former part of the goddess' personality.
 * She is the daughter of Cham Syndulla, a Twi'lek from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, who was her inspiration to become a rebel.
 * By the time of the series, Hera is twenty-four years old.
 * Hera is voiced by Vanessa Marshall, who is also known for voicing Mouse on fellow Disney series Fish Hooks, as well as many female characters in DC Comics cartoons.
 * Vanessa Marshall had sparked much hype over portraying Hera, as she is a Star Wars fan and self-proclaimed nerd.
 * Although not physically present in Rogue One, Hera was on Yavin 4. She obtained the rank of general. She also took part in the battle of Scarif because her starship, the Ghost was present during the fight.