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Star Wars introduced a dangerous Stormtrooper who wielded a lightsaber with a Jedi’s proficiency and often found himself dueling Luke Skywalker.
In the Star Wars Universe, lightsabers are weapons most often associated with Force-sensitive beings whether they are Jedi or Sith. Over the years, very few non-Force-sensitive individuals have used lightsabers and even fewer have made it their weapon of choice. Famously, General Grievous wielded lightsabers without mastering the Force, and many have wielded the Mandalorian’s Darksaber. Even Han Solo and Chewbacca have used lightsabers in the past on one occasion or the other. However, there is another lesser-known lightsaber duelist who may be the most impressive of them all, since he had personal training from Darth Vader.
Sergeant Kreel first appeared as Grakkus the Hutt’s personal gamemaster in 2015’s Star Wars #10 by Jason Aaron, Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger, Justin Ponsor, and Chris Eliopoulos. He had been sent there by Vader to work undercover in Grakkus’ arena on Nar Shaddaa with a mission to alert Vader if anything unusual happened. Luke Skywalker would eventually be captured by Grakkus and was given to Kreel for training. Luke was surprised to see that Kreel used a lightsaber, but Grakkus was a connoisseur of Jedi artifacts and Kreel had claimed one of the Hutt’s trophies as his own.
Kreel would eventually report Luke’s presence to the Empire which led to a full-scale assault on Grakkus’ Palace. Luke was able to escape in the ensuing chaos though Vader was still pleased with Kreel’s information as well as his capture of Grakkus. Vader gave Kreel free reign on his next mission and he elected to lead Task Force 99. Kreel would suit up in full stormtrooper gear with his lightsaber in hand to try and reclaim a Star Destroyer from the Rebels in Star Wars #23 by Aaron, Jorge Molina, Matt Milla, and Eliopoulos.
Unfortunately for Kreel, Luke Skywalker and his crew of Rebels were aboard the Destroyer. Even though Kreel was responsible for the majority of Luke’s lightsaber skills, he did not account for the Force. Luke performed a Force push that sent Kreel flying through the ship. He was trapped underneath metal debris and had to cut his arm off in order to free himself and survive. Vader was not pleased with this result at all and threatened to kill Kreel and all of SCAR squadron in Star Wars #37 by Aaron, Salvador Larroca, Andrea Sorrentino, Lee Loughridge, and Edgar Delgado.
SCAR squad was then tasked with seeking out a Rebel base in the Horox System but they would locate the Rebels on Crait before then. Kreel would get into another duel with Luke on Crait in Star Wars: The Last Jedi – The Storms of Crait #1 by Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Mike Mayhew, and Clayton Cowles. Kreel would find himself on the losing side once again, with his lightsaber destroyed in the process. Kreel would find a way to fix his lightsaber before moving onto the Horox system.
Eventually, SCAR squadron would pick up on Luke’s homemade communications beacon in Star Wars #60 by Kieron Gillen, Angel Unzueta, Guru-eFX, and Cowles. Luke and Kreel were then forced into a duel by the ruler of Hubin. Luke fled from the duel when he had the opportunity and the residents of Hubin inevitably turned on SCAR squad. The Rebels were able to steal Kreel’s ship, stranding them on Hubin for a minimum of four months, when the planet could communicate with the outside world again.
During this period in Star Wars, Kreel was arguably Luke’s arch-nemesis. Kreel trained Luke before turning him into the Empire. The pair clashed in lightsaber duels whenever they saw each other and Luke was constantly getting Kreel in trouble with Vader. The Dark Lord of the Sith would certainly not be pleased with Kreel’s last defeat at the hands of Skywalker, but his favorite stormtrooper would have been too valuable to kill off. Kreel knew more about Luke than anyone else in the Empire. This knowledge and his loyalty to Vader made him invaluable to the Sith’s operations. Though Vader was not happy that Kreel had no interest in becoming a Sith, he was still seen as a valuable weapon to the Empire.
Since Kreel’s outcome was never specifically stated, it is possible that he could still return in future Star Wars media. Luke and Kreel’s final interaction was extremely half-hearted. What should have been a duel to the death turned into Luke fleeing at his first opportunity. These two are due for a final confrontation and Luke’s return in the Mandalorian makes it the perfect arena. Even if Luke is not involved, a battle between Mando and Kreel could be just as epic. If Mando stumbled across a seemingly dangerous individual looking for Luke, it’s possible he would attack in protection of Grogu. Kreel could easily become a major enemy for Din Djarin, if he was ever able to find his way off of Hubin.
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