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- "Today, after years of training, we embark on our first official mission for the First Order. Because I've worked with each and every one of you, and did my best to transform you from a gang of grunts into a team of pilots, I know you're all eager to climb into your TIE fighters so we can fly off and make history. But before that happens, you'll have to stand at attention for another minute so I can tell you about the most important weapon at your disposal. And what I'm going to tell you is off the books, something that I doubt very much you've ever heard before."
- ―Jad Bean delivers a speech to Zeta Squadron
Jad Bean was a human male who served the Galactic Empire as an Imperial Navy Trooper on board the Death Star II superweapon during its construction in the Endor system. In 4 ABY, Bean was on the battle station's overbridge when Captain Yorr of the Imperial shuttle ST 321 contacted him in order to land on board the Death Star. Bean deactivated the station's shield to let the shuttle pass and was then ordered by Lieutenant Endicott to inform Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod that the Sith Lord Darth Vader had arrived on the shuttle.
Bean survived the Death Star's destruction by the Alliance to Restore the Republic at the Battle of Endor shortly after Vader's arrival and went on to join the First Order, a successor to the Empire. He served as a flight instructor and led Zeta Squadron in a TIE/fo space superiority fighter as Zeta Leader, going by the nickname Scorch and training with the group for years before its first official mission. He then flew with the squadron against the Resistance during the Battle of D'Qar in 34 ABY.
Biography[]
An Imperial Bean[]
- "Command station, this is ST-321, code clearance blue. We are starting our approach. Deactivate the security shield."
"The security deflector shield will be deactivated when we have confirmation of your code transmission. Stand by." - ―Captain Yorr and Jad Bean
Jad Bean served on board the Death Star II, working as a shield operator and flight controller on the overbridge.
Jad Bean[6] was a human[1] male[2] who served as a trooper in the Imperial Navy[5] of the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic.[1] In 4 ABY,[7] he[3] was stationed on board the Death Star II superweapon while it was under construction in the Endor system. Bean was manning a console in[1] the overbridge[8] control center,[3] acting as a flight controller[9] and shield operator,[10] when the Imperial shuttle ST 321 began to approach the battle station after departing from[1] the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Avenger[11] with the Sith Lord Darth Vader on board.[1]
The shuttle's pilot,[1] Captain Yorr,[12] hailed Bean's station over comms and asked that the Death Star's security shield be deactivated so that they could land, providing blue code clearance. Bean informed Yorr that the shield would be deactivated once there was confirmation of the code's transmission, and after a moment received it on the console while the Imperial officer[1] Lieutenant Endicott,[13] who was overseeing the overbridge, watched over Bean's shoulder.[1] Bean then flipped a switch that sent a signal down to the Death Star's shield generator on the moon Endor, causing a section of the station's shield to be temporarily deactivated[9] so that he could clear the shuttle to land in one of the station's hangars.[1] Endicott watched the shuttle land through a viewport and then ordered Bean to inform the station's commander, Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, of Vader's arrival. Jerjerrod then greeted Vader personally as he disembarked.[1] Bean at one point also stood in a workstation on the overbridge while Jerjerrod stood on the floor before him.[14]
Jad Bean served under Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod.
After Vader's arrival, Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine soon arrived on the Death Star as well, and, lured in by his presence, the Alliance Fleet attacked the Death Star to try and eliminate Palpatine and the superweapon. Ultimately the Empire was bested by the Alliance, whose fleet destroyed the Death Star's reactor core, beginning a countdown to its destruction.[1] Bean was among the Imperials that escaped from the destruction and survived the battle,[6] although the Emperor perished,[1] as did Endicott[13] and Jerjerrod.[15]
Bean of the First Order[]
- "We follow in the tradition of Imperial TIE fighter pilots, whose primary weapons were a pair of Sienar Fleet Systems L-s1 laser cannons. Because some of you began your training using our older flight simulators, you know the Imperial TIE fighter cannons were state-of-the-art, but now, we might best describe them as serviceable. I don't say that with any disrespect to Imperial pilots, who fired those cannons as they flew bravely in starfighters that lacked even basic deflector shields. I merely want to emphasize that we have the advantage of technological advances in weapons, advances that our forebears could only dream of."
- ―Jad Bean delivers a speech to Zeta Squadron
The rest of the Empire then collapsed in 5 ABY and, from its remnants, the First Order eventually formed to oppose the New Republic, successor to the Alliance.[16] Bean joined the First Order's military and became a TIE fighter series flight instructor, also serving as commander of Zeta Squadron,[6] with the callsign Zeta Leader and the nickname "Scorch."[17] Initially considering the squadron's members a gang of grunts, he spent years training with them and did his best to transform them into a team of pilots. When the time came for the squadron to fly its first official mission for the First Order, Bean gave the squadron members a speech in which he spoke in detail about the L-s9.6 laser cannons of their TIE/fo space superiority fighters, but claimed that rather than the cannons, it was the pilots themselves who were the most important weapons.[6] While flying for the First Order, Bean at one point piloted a TIE/se Bomber alongside two TIE/fos while chasing down an enemy vessel over a cloudy location.[18]
Jad Bean flew against the Resistance for the First Order during the Siege of D'Qar.
In 34 ABY,[16] Zeta Squadron took part in[19] the Battle of Starkiller Base, in which the Resistance destroyed the First Order's Starkiller Base superweapon.[16] Humiliated and keen to prove their worth,[19] the squadron then participated in the Battle of D'Qar,[17] in which a First Order fleet attacked the Resistance as it evacuated from its base on the planet D'Qar.[20] During the battle, Bean flew against the Resistance's MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 heavy bombers,[17] which were all eventually destroyed while targeting[21] the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought Fulminatrix,[20] although the dreadnought was destroyed as well. This allowed the Resistance to escape and survive to fight another day.[21]
Personality and traits[]
- "So which weapons are the most important? I'll make it easy for you. Take a good look at each other. Now, take a good look at yourselves. When you climb into your cockpit, and settle into your seat, and ease your finger close to the trigger on your control stick, know that the TIE fighter and its cannons are nothing without the instrument that makes them operational. You are that instrument. You are the weapon. Let's fly."
- ―Jad Bean delivers a speech to Zeta Squadron
Scorch was fanatically devoted to the First Order cause.
Bean hated the Resistance and demonstrated a fanatical devotion to the First Order's cause even more extreme than most of its other pilots.[22] He did his best to train the members of Zeta Squadron, working with all of them, and was confident that all of them were competent with their vessels' laser cannons by the time they flew their first official mission. He considered the pilots of the Empire brave, but believed that the L-s1 laser cannons that they had used were only serviceable at best by the time he served the First Order given the advancement of technology. When delivering a speech to Zeta Squadron before its first mission, he went off book and told the pilots that they themselves were more dangerous than the weapons they used.[6] Bean had light skin, green eyes, and brown hair.[4]
Equipment[]
- "The First Order has provided us with Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems L-s9.6 laser cannons. I'm confident that you all know how to operate these cannons, upside down and with your eyes closed. The reason I'm confident is because it's my duty to make sure you can handle your laser cannons under any and all circumstances. So don't expect any last-minute pep talks or instructions from me about laser cannons. Because the fact is that your laser cannons are not the most important weapon at your disposal."
- ―Jad Bean delivers a speech to Zeta Squadron
While on board the Death Star II, Bean wore a black fabric uniform including gloves and a belt, as well as the distinctive helmet of an Imperial Navy trooper.[5] While flying for the First Order, he wore a black flight suit and flew both a TIE/fo space superiority fighter[4] and a TIE/se Bomber.[18]
Behind the scenes[]
To Bean, or not to Bean[]
- "Moon target in range. Sir, moon target in range now."
"Commence firing."
"Fire." - ―Jad Bean and Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod's dialogue in a deleted scene
Jad Bean's scenes were filmed on Stage 7 at Elstree Studios.
In the current Star Wars canon, Jad Bean first appeared in original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi[1] which released on May 25, 1983.[24] The character was identified only as "Operator" in the script and was portrayed[25] uncredited[1] by Stuart Fox, who shot all of Bean's scenes on Stage 7 of Elstree Studios on April 1, 1982, the last day of main stage shooting for the film in the United Kingdom. Fox also returned to provide automated dialogue replacement for the film at Mayflower Recording Studios in London on January 25, 1983.[25]
Bean appeared in additional scenes that did not make it into the final cut of the film. In the first of these scenes, Bean is stood in a workstation on the overbridge during the Battle of Endor when Jerjerrod is contacted by the Emperor with orders to destroy Endor should the Empire's shield generator there be destroyed. The Moff objects that there are still Imperial battalions on the moon, but the Emperor repeats the order and Jerjerrod acquiesces before looking at Bean uneasily.[23]
Jad Bean was portrayed by Stuart Fox and appeared in a number of deleted scenes.
In the second scene, Bean is still at the workstation when Endicott informs Jerjerrod that the bunker has been destroyed. The Moff pauses, then unhappily gives the order to position the station to destroy Endor, which Endicott relays to Bean as an order to commence rotation of the station's main batteries. In the final scene, Bean informs Jerjerrod from the workstation that the rebel fleet has moved to attack an unfinished portion of the Death Star. Jerjerrod orders him to concentrate all firepower on that sector, after which Bean begins to give a countdown until the Death Star is in position to destroy Endor. Once the station is in position, Jerjerrod does not respond, and Bean repeats himself before the Moff gives the order to commence firing and Bean complies.[23]
A tale of two Beans[]
- "I knew instantly that this was not just some astonishing coincidence. I'm proud to say that author Ryder Windham and I are friends. We first connected years ago, when I had a website about Galoob's Star Wars Micro Machines toys. Ryder was a fellow fan of this oft-overlooked toy line. He reached out to me and provided information about his work on a pack-in mini-comic that was included with Galoob's Shadows of the Empire toys. (The Micro Machines site has since transformed into an active Facebook page.) Mere minutes after reading Eric's tweet, I called Ryder and thanked him profusely for this incredible surprise and honor. He revealed that he had sneaked it in as a tribute to a website I had run many years ago."
- ―Jad Bean on Jad Bean
Jad Bean has appeared on a number of X-Wing Miniatures Game cards.
In the Star Wars Legends continuity, Bean appeared prior to the release of the film in its novelization by James Kahn,[27] which was released on May 12, 1983.[24] The character was then first identified in Legends in the 2013 reference book Death Star Owner's Technical Manual, which was written by Ryder Windham.[28] Windham snuck the character's name in as a tribute to his real-life friend Jad Bean, who had founded a website on Galoob's Micro Machines Epic Collections series of toys and the Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire Micro Machines set that Windham had worked on.[26]
In the current Star Wars canon, a character with the Zeta Leader callsign was first introduced on a card in the TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack for the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game produced by Fantasy Flight Games[29] and released on December 17, 2015,[30] although no connection to Bean was made.[29] The nickname "Scorch" was then first used on November 7, 2018, in a preview article for the TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack released as part of Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition.[22] "Scorch" was revealed to be the nickname of Zeta Leader on a card in the expansion pack that was also included in the First Order Conversion Kit for the game,[17] both of which released on December 13, 2018.[31] Finally, the 2019 TIE Fighter Owners' Workshop Manual, another reference book written by Windham, first used the name Jad Bean in canon and retconned the "Scorch" character as being Bean.[6]
Alternate Beans[]
Two decals are avaliable for Jad Bean in Star Wars: Starfighter Missions.
In Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!, an adaptation of Return of the Jedi written by Tom Angleberger[9] and released on September 22, 2015,[32] Bean is erroneously described as rushing to inform Endicott that Vader's shuttle has arrived. The lieutenant then orders a petty officer rather than Bean to inform Jerjerrod of the Sith's arrival while Bean returns to his chair.[9] This conflicts with the events shown in the film itself.[1]
Bean is an unlockable character for the First Order faction in the 2020 mobile game Star Wars: Starfighter Missions, in which two alternate cosmetic decals are available for the character's black TIE/fo space superiority fighter. The first skin gives the starfighter horizontal navy blue and light gray stripes, while the other adds turquoise coloring to the two central segments of each of the vehicle's wings and stripes of the same color running horizontally across the cockpit.[4]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Starfighter Missions
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
- The Return of the Jedi - The Film Novel
- Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side! (and audiobook)
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization
Sources[]
Commander Jerjerrod in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link) (Picture only)- Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game — TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack (Card: Zeta Leader) (Retcon)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 34 (Helmets: Death Star Trooper)
- X-Wing™ 101: I Am Their Father, Part Two on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
- Advanced Terror–Preview the TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack for X-Wing on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
- Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition — First Order Conversion Kit (Card: "Scorch") (Reissued in TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack) (Retcon)
- TIE Fighter Owners' Workshop Manual (First identified as Jad Bean)
- "Imperial Troops" — Star Wars Encyclopedia (Picture only)
- "Battle Stations of the Empire and the First Order" — Star Wars Encyclopedia (Picture only)
- Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition — Fury of the First Order Squadron Pack (Card: "Scorch")
