Of all the new characters that we were introduced to in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, one of those that seems to have been overlooked is General Hux. Where exactly did he come from and how did he fall into becoming part of The First Order? A new Star Wars prequel novel has been released which explains a great deal about this unique character. It appears to have completely explained everything about this terrifying villain. You'd be a diabolical monster too if you had to grow up with a first name like Armitage.
General Hux was played well by Domhnall Gleason. True, fans had many more unanswered questions about who Supreme Leader Snoke really was, and why Kylo Ren was such an emo brat. In comparison, General Hux seemed to fall by the wayside. However, he was certainly as evil as the rest of them. Star Wars: The Force Awakens showed us it was he who implemented the Stormtrooper recruitment and brainwashing program. It turns out this may have all been a desperate plea to forget his own past. In the new Star Wars novel, Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig, we gain some interesting backstory into the life of General Hux. Hux is the illegitimate son of an Imperial officer and a kitchen servant. We have to assume his parents hated him from birth, because they named the boy Armitage. No wonder, the guy is so vile. He probably got into a lot of fights on the Imperial schoolyard.
While Hux may have had meek beginnings, he did eventually grow up to become a formidable man. He's the leader of the military side of The First Order and reports directly to Supreme Leader Snoke. We'd guess he certainly achieved a career of much greater importance than he was expected to. It makes sense, though, doesn't it? Watching Hux you get a distinct impression that he doesn't quite feel like he belongs there. He seems to be afraid that at any moment somebody will discover his true history and he'll be laughed out of the room.
We're certainly excited to see more from Domhnall Gleason in Star Wars: Episode VIII. This new backstory does give us a bit of insight into the character, and now we're even more curious where General Hux will go from here. It's noble, in its own way, that Hux was able to make something great of himself, even if he did decide to follow in his father's footsteps and join the most evil people in the galaxy.
