The star of the upcoming Disney+ show has a storied past in the galaxy far, far away.
Ahsoka Tano may no longer consider herself a Jedi, but her many adventures remain some of the most exciting and important tales of any Force user in the Star Wars galaxy.
In the lead-up to the August 23 two-episode premiere of Ahsoka on Disney+, StarWars.com is taking a look at just 10 of her greatest moments in celebration of a modern Star Wars icon.
1. The child and the Force.
In the first moments of the first episode of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, “Life and Death,” a baby Togruta is born to a welcoming, joyous village. That child is, of course, Ahsoka Tano.
After a year, Ahsoka’s mother, the graceful Pav-ti, carries her infant out of their village and into the woods for the child’s first hunt. While in those woods, Ahsoka is snatched away by a raxshir, a seemingly ravenous sabertoothed creature.
The danger, however, is quelled, as the precocious baby Ahsoka naturally calms the beast, who then gingerly leads her back to her village and to safety. This moment, Ahsoka’s first time exhibiting a gift, is the beginning of a journey that will next take her to Coruscant to study in the Jedi Temple.
2. Enter “Snips.”
As early battles of the Clone Wars began to sweep the galaxy, the Jedi Council not only promotes a headstrong Anakin Skywalker to the position of Jedi Knight, but also insists that he takes on a Padawan of his own.
This Padawan is Ahsoka Tano, and she is introduced to Anakin at the same time as the audience, in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars theatrical movie. They meet on the battlefield of the planet of Christophsis, both reluctant to form any real bond to each other. But, from that first battle together, Ahsoka’s path with the young Skywalker begins, leading them to Tatooine to rescue the kidnapped son of Jabba the Hutt.
3. Infected.
Sometimes the dangers of the Clone Wars extend past the threats of the Separatist droid armies. While on medical frigate TB-73 with her close friend, fellow Padawan Barriss Offee, deadly Geonosian brain worms make their way on board. This danger begins infecting the ship’s clones, also taking Barriss under its spell. Barriss attempts to kill her friend, while under the effects of these parasites. Alone, without the help of her Master, her troopers, or her friend, Ahsoka has to think clearly and strategically. She proves herself by freezing out the brain worms, saving her friend and her own life.
4. Strange occurrences on Mortis.
One of the wildest, yet most formative, moments during the conflict of the Clone Wars comes when Ahsoka follows her Master and Obi-Wan Kenobi to the planet Mortis. There they encounter three entities known as the Father, the Son, and the Daughter, and have experiences they can’t quite explain — Ahsoka in particular.
The trio’s time on Mortis remains a defining moment in the overall Star Wars saga, filled with both mystery and insight into the Force.
5. Training the Onderon rebels.
Before Ahsoka ever became officially involved with the Rebel Alliance, she inadvertently helps sow some of its early seeds while on a Jedi mission to Onderon. Assisting siblings Saw and Steela Gerrera, Ahsoka and other key members of the Republic forces help the Onderonian rebels to strike out against their oppressing Separatist forces. Ahsoka is particularly instrumental teaching them how to deal with the oft-deadly droideka.
Later, after the death of his sister, Saw becomes one of the most feared and powerful leaders of the burgeoning Rebellion, with memories of his time among Ahsoka and the Jedi surely influencing his decisions and ideals.
6. A Jedi no more.
Ahsoka is a person of principle and strong morals. It is, perhaps, why she is the best-suited apprentice for the similarly headstrong Anakin Skywalker. However, when Ahsoka is falsely accused of bombing the Jedi Temple, her belief in the institution of the Jedi Order is effectively shattered.
Even when it’s proven that the culprit is actually her friend, Barriss Offee, the damage is irreparable and Ahsoka refuses to accept the Jedi Council’s offer to return to the Order. Sorrowfully, she leaves her Master and the Order behind.
7. Under siege.
With Mandalore under attack, Ahsoka enters the fray of battle once more, showing incredible heroics, especially while diving through the skies above the planet, as well as during her thrilling duel with the resurrected Maul.
Those adventures, however, pale in comparison to the horrors of what comes shortly after their victory on the planet: the effects of Palpatine’s sinister Order 66.
Forced to defend herself against her former allies, the clone troopers, Ahsoka refuses to kill any of the afflicted clones, narrowly escaping with her life. In a somber moment, she then buries the fallen, many of them wearing the orange markings of her battalion. The Clone Wars, and life as Ahsoka knows it, are over.
8. Life as Fulcrum.
During the reign of the Empire, Ahsoka finds herself aimless, attempting in her own ways to bring light back into the galaxy. When she officially joins the Rebel Alliance, she aids Senator Bail Organa in furthering the cause as an undercover intelligence officer, known to most rebel units only as “Fulcrum.”
One of these rebel units is the Ghost crew, led by the brave Twi’lek pilot, Hera Syndulla, who works closely with Ahsoka on numerous missions, before the former Jedi officially reveals herself. Ahsoka becomes one of the most important members of the burgeoning Rebellion, and a mentor for a young Force-sensitive apprentice named Ezra Bridger.
9. Twilight of the Apprentice.
On an ancient battlefield, in an underground Sith temple on the plant Malachor, Ahsoka Tano finally comes face-to-face, once again, with her former Master, now the evil Darth Vader. Attempting to save her friends, Ahsoka valiantly duels the Dark Lord, eventually damaging his helmet.
But Vader takes the upper hand and Ahsoka seemingly disappears, lost somewhere in the mysterious World Between Worlds.
10. A Mandalorian and a Jedi.
Years later, Ahsoka Tano meets a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Din Djarin, who has in his care a small Force-user. Ahsoka communes with the tiny being, learning his name is Grogu. The trio team up to free the small settlement of Calodan, and Ahsoka is able to attend to the real reason she is there: to defeat and interrogate the mysterious Morgan Elsbeth.
After a fierce duel, Ahsoka gains the upper hand and asks the Magistrate one pressing question: “Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?”
And, with that, her quest into the Unknown Regions to find both Thrawn and her friend, Ezra Bridger, continues.
