Who Or What Was Crimson Dawn

Star Wars

Nov 6

Most of us are familiar with bounty hunters and the Hutts as a crime collective throughout the Star Wars universe, but were there more? When Solo: A Star Wars Story came out, we were introduced to a new crime syndicate, Crimson Dawn. Who were they? Where did they come from?

Crimson Dawn was founded by mercenaries who went from planet to planet, taking resources they needed while attacking the natives into complying. They were known for their ruthlessness. One such example was when the natives of Savareen grew tired of this abuse and rose up against these mercenaries. In a brutal response, the mercenaries cut out the tongues of every man, woman, and child they could find on the planet.

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These mercenaries would organize into Crimson Dawn. They joined the Shadow Collective, an extensive criminal organization under the control of the rogue Sith Lord Maul. They quickly developed a reputation for being ruthless throughout the galaxy and rose to prominence during the reign of the Galactic Empire. They would become the most powerful of what was known as the Five Crime Syndicates. This super-syndicate comprised the Crymorah Syndicate, Black Sun, the Pyke Syndicate, and the Hutt Clan.

As told in Solo, after being separated from Han Solo, Qi’ra was sold into slavery, then later bought by Dryden Vos. At this time, Dryden Vos was the public face of Crimson Dawn, while Maul was the official leader doing the dirty work behind the scenes. Vos saw her potential and took her under his wings. She would move through the ranks until she became his lieutenant. Qi’ra also learned Teräs Käsi, which is a form of combat specifically designed to fight Force-sensitive individuals, particularly Jedi Masters. It is worth noting that the Emperor’s Royal Guards and Snoke’s Praetorian Guards were also trained in Teräs Käsi.

Qira fights Dryden Vos in Solo — Image Source: IMDb

Dryden Vos and Qi’ra worked under Maul’s directive to grow Crimson Dawn into the most powerful of the Five Crime Syndicates. After Vos was killed by Qi’ra in Solo, Maul promoted her to head Crimson Dawn and told her that they would be working closely together. That time would soon come to an end.

After Maul perished on Tatooine, Qi’ra was given the title of “Lady” and became the new leader of Crimson Dawn. She reconstructed the syndicate with every intention of taking down Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, and the rest of the Empire. To keep the Empire’s attention from her main goal, she would sow chaos throughout the galaxy. She secretly began planting the seeds that would aid her in her mission by installing agents throughout the many powers of the galaxy. She also reached out to Leia Organa to tell her that Crimson Dawn’s priorities had changed and that she was willing to work with the Rebellion. Naturally, Leia’s response was one of hesitance and distrust.

Maul revealing himself at the end of Solo — Image Source: IMDb

Qi’ra found the right moment for Crimson Dawn to return to its former glory by way of Han Solo, who found himself frozen in carbonite after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. Qi’ra sent agents to steal Solo out from under Boba Fett. They succeeded, and Qi’ra sent out a message to all of the syndicates that an auction would be held for Solo’s body. While Jabba won the auction, his claim on Han was interrupted by none other than Darth Vader.

Qi’ra would continue with her plans to restore Crimson Dawn to its former glory and rid the galaxy of the Sith. She worked with assassins and bounty hunters such as Sabé, Queen Amidala’s former handmaiden, Ochi, a bounty hunter that previously was Vader’s personal assassin, and the Knights of Ren.

Crimson Dawn symbol — Image Source: Wookieepedia

The majority of the backstory of Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn is found in Charles Soule’s comic book series which focuses on Qi’ra’s leadership of the crime syndicate after Darth Maul’s death and her plans to take down Palpatine and Vader. The series comprises three parts: War of the Bounty Hunters, Crimson Reign, and the soon-to-be-released Hidden Empire wrapping up the trilogy. Hopefully, we’ll soon be able to see Qi’ra, Maul, and Crimson Dawn in a live-action capacity.

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