Throughout the Star Wars saga, there are many “unsung heroes”, but specifically in Rogue One and Andor, it is somewhat more specific. After all, in the original film, the text that takes us to the story says: “It is a period of civil wars in the galaxy. A brave alliance of underground freedom fighters has challenged the tyranny and oppression of the awesome GALACTIC EMPIRE. Striking from a fortress hidden among the billions of stars of the galaxy, rebel spaceships have won their first victory in a battle with the powerful Imperial Starfleet. The EMPIRE fears that another defeat could bring a thousand more solar systems into the rebellion, and Imperial control over the galaxy would be lost forever. To crush the rebellion once and for all, the EMPIRE is constructing a sinister new battle station. Powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, its completion spells certain doom for the champions of freedom.“

The questions about who the “alliance of underground freedom fighters” were who achieved “their first victory in a battle with the powerful Imperial Starfleet” were left to the film Rogue One and, later, to the exceptional series Andor. In it, we meet a cast of simple, oppressed people who gave their lives for the Freedom of the galaxy. Without the powers of Luke Skywalker or Leia Organa, and much more suffering than Han Solo, the legendary heroes of the saga are. We will list 11 of them, but your list would certainly have more!

The beauty of Andor is that the series rejects classic heroism and courageously illuminates the faces and names that normally go unnoticed in the fight against the Empire. Each episode reveals the human cost of oppression and the collective fabric of resistance. But, with so many faces and people, I bet you have already forgotten half of them.

Here, I try to bring together the “anonymous” heroes — figures who, despite not being central to the Star Wars canon, build the foundation of the rebellion with sweat, pain, and sacrifice. We also observe their opposites: the faces of oppression, equally anonymous at first glance, but essential to the imperial machinery.

1. Luthen Rael
   He designed the embryonic structure of the Rebellion. He is the link between several cells and the financier of the initial actions. He renounces inner peace and personal salvation in the name of a future he will never see. His monologue about sacrifice is one of the most devastating and heroic statements in the entire saga.

“I burn my life to make a sunrise I know I’ll never see.”

2. Kleya Marki
   The cold and meticulous operator of Luthen’s network. Kleya is the one truly responsible for keeping the rebel web alive, operating with discretion, strategy, and cruelty when necessary. She never wavers. Her silent work is as vital as that of any leader on the front.
   
   
3. Kino Loy
   From a resigned prisoner to a revolutionary leader, Kino embodies the possibility of transformation. He does not escape from prison, but without him, hundreds would not have escaped. He is the martyr who frees without freeing himself.
   
4. Maarva Andor
   Even though she is ill and isolated, Maarva refuses to give in to the Empire. Her death becomes a political act, culminating in a funeral speech that transforms a funeral into an insurrection. She dies as an ordinary citizen and is reborn as a symbol of revolt.
   
5. Wilmon Paak
   The son of the technician tortured and murdered by the Empire, Wilmon, makes the bomb that explodes during Maarva’s funeral. His contained anger, transformed into action, detonates the uprising in Ferrix. A teenager who, with a single gesture, exposes the face of oppression.
   
6. Brasso
   An ordinary worker who becomes a central figure in the organization of local resistance in Ferrix. She protects Bix, helps Cassian, and leads the people during the funeral. She is the friend who does not hesitate, the strong arm that holds the world as it falls.
   
7. Bix Caleen
   Captured and brutally tortured, Bix does not surrender Luthen, even though she is psychologically devastated. Her silent resistance is one of the greatest acts of courage in the series. She survives — and she survived by fighting.
   
8. Karis Nemik
   The idealist who wrote the Rebellion’s most important manifesto. She dies young, but her ideas live on — and shape Cassian Andor. He represents the intellectual faith, the moral principle that sustains the fire of the insurrection.
   
9. Cinta Kaz
   She dedicates her life to the cause — and only the cause. She kills when necessary, she observes when it hurts. Of all of them, she is perhaps the most committed to the total fight. A cold-hearted but unbreakable warrior.
   
10. Vel Sartha
    Field leader in the Aldhani mission. She is not perfect, but she is willing to die for something greater. Her courage and quiet dedication make her essential to the operation that puts the Rebellion on the map.
    
11. Cassian Andor (pre-Rogue One)
    Though he becomes a household name in the future, in Andor, Cassian is just another disposable body for the Empire. His journey—from reluctant fugitive to Rebellion member—reveals how even the most well-known heroes were, for too long, just numbers in a prison. His choice to return to rescue Bix, even though he could escape, seals his commitment to something greater.

12. Melshi
    A fellow escapee on Narkina 5, Melshi, symbolizes the Rebellion’s anonymous soldiers. A hardened survivor who understands, before many others, that the Empire must be exposed. His role may seem small, but it echoes all the way back to Rogue One.

Andor‘s strength lies precisely in giving prominence to those whom the galaxy will never honor. These are the anonymous heroes: those who do not have lightsabers but wield tools, homemade bombs, written words, speeches, and memories. They do not expect a reward. They expect justice. And for this reason, they are the true founders of the Rebellion.

Who would be on your list?