Knights of Ren

First Order

Emblem of the First Order
Universe	Star Wars
Type	Military dictatorship inspired by the Galactic Empire
Founded	After the Battle of Endor
Leader	Supreme Leader Snoke
Key people	Kylo Ren General Hux Captain Phasma
Official language	Basic

Banner of the First Order

Use	Faction wide banner and ensign
Design	Plain dark red banner with a black emblem in the center

The First Order is a fictional military dictatorship in the Star Wars franchise, introduced in the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Formed following the fall of the Galactic Empire after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983), the organization has amassed its power in secret over three decades. In The Force Awakens, the First Order is commanded by Supreme Leader Snoke and has begun executing its plan to depose the New Republic and reclaim control of the galaxy. The Knights of Ren are a mysterious group of elite warriors within their ranks, led by Kylo Ren.

Critics and fans have noted the use of imagery highly reminiscent of Nazi Germany for the First Order in The Force Awakens, including a sequence mimicking the 1935 Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will. The Force Awakens writer/director J. J. Abrams said that the First Order is inspired by the theory of ODESSA, which involved SS officers allegedly fleeing to Argentina and other countries following World War II.

According to Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary (2015) and the novel Star Wars: Aftermath (2015) by Chuck Wendig, after the Galactic Empire was defeated in Return of the Jedi at the climactic Battle of Endor, thousands of worlds rose up to join the Rebel Alliance and destroy the disorganized Imperials. The Alliance formally reorganized itself as the New Republic, and retook the Core Worlds, including the galactic capital Coruscant. One year after Endor, the remaining Imperial Fleet made a final, massive attempt at a counter-offensive which came to a climax at the planet Jakku, the biggest battle in the war since Endor. Ultimately, however, this Imperial counter-offensive was decisively defeated, leaving Jakku littered with debris and crashed ships. The remaining Imperial forces were pushed back to a handful of sectors on the fringe of the Outer Rim, containing only a small fraction of the galaxy's population and industrial base. These sectors were a heavily fortified final redoubt, however, and the New Republic deemed that they posed such little threat that they were not worth the high cost in life that liberating them would require. Therefore, the New Republic made these remnants of the Empire settle for the Galactic Concordance, a humiliating armistice agreement imposing strict disarmament treaties and punishing reparations on the remaining Imperials.