By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Star Wars is filled with some of the coolest villains in genre history. This includes Darth Vader, an evil cyborg space wizard with a laser sword. There’s also Boba Fett, a ruthless bounty hunter with a cool ship and cooler armor who basically invented aura farming. Oh, and let’s not forget Emperor Palpatine, who walks around in a comfy bathrobe all day, but nobody gets to laugh because the guy looks like a zombie and can shoot lightning out of his fingertips.
As cool as all those bad guys are, they aren’t my favorite Star Wars villain. My pick goes to Admiral Motti, who is best known for mouthing off to Vader before getting Force-choked in A New Hope. Most of the fandom considers this guy a joke, but he’s secretly the most relatable character in the entire franchise. You know why that is? It’s simple: he takes pride in what he does, he hates useless work meetings, he calls out colleagues for their BS, and he takes a brave stance against religious discussion in the workplace.
The Imperial Everyman
Need more of a reminder about who Admiral Motti is? He only pops up in one scene in A New Hope, when he and the other Imperial commanders are laying out some exposition and dishing on the Death Star. When Admiral Tagge points out that the Death Star is vulnerable because of the plans Leia stole, Motti defends the Empire’s latest creation, eventually declaring, “This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it!” That’s when Darth Vader begins chiding the admiral, telling him he shouldn’t be proud of the Death Star because “The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.”
Instead of yielding to Vader, Motti hilariously claps back, telling the Sith, “Don’t try to frighten us with your sorcerer’s ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebels’ hidden fort–.” The last word is cut off when Vader decides to Force choke the man, and he only releases his grip when ordered to do so by Grand Moff Tarkin.
Finally, A Villain We Can Relate To
Now, why is Admiral Motti the most relatable character in all of Star Wars? First, he takes pride in his work. Considering that it blows up at the end of the movie, it’s easy to see his defense of the Death Star as sheer hubris. But this guy was the head of naval operations for the battle station and was simply proud of the Empire’s latest creation. He didn’t like anyone speaking ill of the Death Star because they were effectively blaming him for the shortcomings of others. Like, Vader let the plans slip away, making the Death Star vulnerable before badmouthing it. Is it any wonder Motti hates this guy?
Also, while he had no way of knowing this, Motti’s plan would actually have saved the battle station and everyone on it from certain destruction. When he suggested using the Death Star, he presumably meant using it against any of the growing number of planets that were defying the Empire. Had Tarkin agreed to do so, the Rebellion would have slowly died as all of the planets supporting them would have been destroyed. It’s fair to say the Death Star was doomed because everyone ignored Motti, and hyper-focused so much on getting the stolen plans back, that they brought the battle station to the doorstep of the only people who had a chance to destroy it.
Who Hasn’t Choked During A Work Meeting?
Finally, Motti has the distinction of being the only character in a Star Wars movie with the balls to insult Darth Vader to his face. That alone makes him cooler than every other minor character in the franchise, combined. As an added bonus, he calls Vader out for constantly bringing up his religious beliefs in the middle of a damned work meeting. Can you imagine working with a guy who always interrupts others during a meeting to say things like “the ability to increase shareholder value is insignificant next to the power of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings.” Be honest. You’d want to see that guy die for the sin of being so freakin’ annoying.
Nobody ever calls Vader out because they are rightully scared of him on sight. Admiral Motti, however, dunked on Vader’s incompetence, chastised him for constantly talking about his religion, and even put his life on the line to achieve the ultimate workplace accomplishment: getting the “this should have been an email” meeting to end early. For all these reasons and more, I think the fandom needs to raise their blue milks and toast Admiral Motti, the most relatable character in Star Wars history!
