Sinjir Rath Velus: Poe-totype LGBT Star Wars Hero

Don't judge me too harshly, but I just recently finished Chuck Wendig's Star Wars: Aftermath (tagline: The War Is Not Poe-ver). As everyone obviously already knows, this book is a big deal because it introduces us to the first gay male hero in Star Wars: Sinjir Rath Velus.

Just so I get this timeline right--the first LGBT Star Wars character was technically Juhani from BioWare's Knights of the Old Republic, and she appeared well over a decade ago. Juhani was a lesbian Cathar who had an optional romance subplot with female player-characters.

(And I guess if I'm talking about that, I should also mention that same-gender romances were available in later expansions of BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. My Sith Marauder was so Force-grabby with that Theron Shan! Made me blush, honestly.)

Then, lesbian Imperial Moff Delian Mors turned up as a villainous antagonist in Paul S. Kemp's novel, Lords of the Sith, released in April 2015 (and no, I haven't yet read that but I intend to... someday?).

Finally, last fall, Wendig went big with LGBT characters in Aftermath. In addition to Sinjir, there's a fleeting but heartbreaking mention of a war orphan's deceased gay dads in a side-story interlude set on Naboo. And another main character, Norra, has a lesbian sister, Esmelle. She and her wife, Shireen, share several scenes with the protagonists and are well-conceived characters in their own right, although not really central to the plot.

Dead-on Sinjir fan art by makeramidying

But Aftermath really makes a big gay jump to rainbow-streaming lightspeed with Sinjir Rath Velus, the Imperial defector. No question, a cinematic version of Sinjir would pass the Vito Russo test as an overtly gay three-dimensional character who is integral to the narrative: he is our first LGBT hero in Star Wars storytelling media.

...Sort of.

Sinjir has serious substance abuse issues. He is an Imperial deserter who kind of remorselessly admits to being "a bad man." In his prior life as an Imperial Loyalty Officer, he was responsible for conducting witch hunts to ferret out un-Imperial conduct in the Empire's ranks. The novel is pretty explicit about Sinjir's chilling ruthlessness in capturing, interrogating, torturing, and punishing offenders. He is unapologetic in his self-interest and, for most of the novel, it appears likely that he will somehow betray his comrades. He is judgmental, narcissistic, and largely indifferent to suffering.

But Sinjir works as a compelling protagonist because Wendig balances those dire character flaws with interesting and authentic positive attributes. Sinjir realistically struggles with a profound crisis of conscience, not unlike Finn's at the beginning of TFA. Sinjir seems sincere when he hints at wanting to "do better," and when his loyalty is ultimately tested, Sinjir's nascent better nature prevails. Not to mention, when it comes to action sequences, Sinjir is a fucking ninja (which is obviously the finest attribute a character can have, as far as I'm concerned).

To sum up, Sinjir is not really our first LGBT Star Wars hero. Sinjir is our first LGBT Star Wars antihero.

I had mixed reactions to Sinjir being so complicated and messy. A part of me was disappointed, and was like, "Really? The one gay guy has to be a raging alcoholic and a treacherous war criminal?" It's almost as if portraying Sinjir as a classic hero was too far-fetched--he had to be seriously flawed so he would "make sense" to a straight audience who would view homosexuality as entirely incompatible with heroic virtue.

My other reaction was, well, why not? Aren't antiheroes more interesting and more fun as characters anyway? But more importantly, I started to see this as a evolutionary arc, as if Lucasfilm is priming the pump for the inevitable widening inclusion of gay people in Star Wars stories--maybe even movies. Stick with me here:

1. They started off pandering to the all-too-familiar trope of the villainous homosexual with Moff Mors. Plus, Mors is a lesbian, and therefore is less threatening to straight men's concepts of masculinity. Thus, Moff Mors is well within the audience's comfort zone. 
2. Then, the franchise ramps up the challenge to introduce Sinjir, a gay male protagonist, but who still retains the trappings of the familiar homosexual villain. In that sense, Sinjir is like a transition phase for a homophobic audience, blending comfortable stereotypes with a preview of what's in store.
3. The final step in the process would be Poe. As a gay male, he would be a more direct and serious challenge to cultural assumptions of masculinity. And he would be a no-holds-barred virtuous hero whose sexual orientation exists harmoniously with his goodness and valor. 

I know. I can't even take seriously my own suggestion that Lucasfilm producers have some secret blueprint for gradually introducing gay Star Wars characters. But at the same time, as Chuck Wendig heroically and hilariously ranted on his blog in response to the vile reactions to Sinjir, TFA, and anything else not white and straight and male in Star Wars:

Nice thing with Star Wars is, it is happening. Look at the protagonists of The Force Awakens. Look at Lucasfilm. They’re openly committing to finding a woman director for Star Wars. Kathleen Kennedy notes: “Fifty percent of our executive team are women. Six out of eight of the people in my Story Group are women. I think it’s making a huge difference in the kind of stories we’re trying to tell.” Some of the story group are also people of color. It’s a start. Especially when it’s starting in one of the biggest SFF franchises ever. Perfect? No. Nothing is. But it’s nice to see changes happening. It’s nice to see some equity there between the audience that consumes this stuff and the people who make it. Stories matter to people. Characters matter. Creation matters. Nobody should be excluded. Inclusion is awesome.

And if you oppose that — you know, hey, fuck you. Go on and throw pebbles at mountains. Go on and boycott the sun. Let me know how that works out for you.

Meanwhile, I’m gonna be over here enjoying what’s to come. I suggest trying it. Loving stuff instead of hating it. Accepting the world as it is, not the world as you mistakenly hope it will be.

Sinjir has grown on me. He is a terrific LGBT antihero and I can't wait to see what he does in Wendig's sequels to Aftermath. I am thrilled to have him in the Star Wars universe--it is much better (and much much sassier) for his inclusion.

And if they weren't separated by a generation, I'd totally ship SinPoe. Right? Opposites attract!