Guest Post, Movies, Star Wars

For the Love of FN-2187: Why John Boyega as Finn is One of the Best New Characters in Star Wars

by Jamal Igle

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a juggernaut. Critically acclaimed and the current holder of the title of “biggest film opening of all time.” It’s an engaging film that engrosses the viewer and harkens back to the early days of franchise. As it is with all things pop culture, particularly in the age of internet piety, the film also has its detractors. The complaints range across the spectrum but one of the most pointed complaints have been towards Finn, the character portrayed by British actor John Boyega. Two writers whom I’m good friends with — Hannibal Tabu and Joe Illidge — have both written pieces complaining about the character for similar reasons, calling him inept, and even neutered.

I love you guys, you know I do, but I couldn’t disagree with you more. Now this is going to be a rather spoiler filled piece, so if you haven’t seen the movie, now’s your time to hit the eject button and go look at Buzzfeed.

Hannibal in particular said: “You literally were good for nothing. Failed janitor, sent to fight. Failed fighter, ran away … why exactly? What prompted your crisis of conscience? Script doesn’t care, so why should I?”

Finn — or as we’re introduced to him in the opening scene of the film by his identification number FN-2187 — was raised to be a Stormtrooper. During a village raid on the desert planet of Jakku, Finn has a crisis of conscience and refuses to fire on a group of captured prisoners. Deciding that he had to leave The First Order but needing a pilot, he decides to free captured resistance fighter Poe Dameron. There’s an instant rapport between the two as they make their escape and Poe gives him his new moniker while they’re escaping.

Finn is a character without an identity when we first meet him. One of the many faceless drones amongst The First Order, Finn is the first Stormtrooper we ever see remove his helmet in any of the films. We’re witnessing a birth in a way. All he wants to do is get away from the people who have oppressed him, as far as possible and never return. He’s never known a life outside of being a Stormtrooper, the mission on Jakku possibly being the first time he’s seen actual combat. What he saw shocked him so much, it shook his programming and for the first time, he saw things for what they truly were. That was the first step into a larger world, to coin an appropriate phrase.

Many of the complaints about Finn seem to stem from people who were disappointed that he seemed to be useless in their eyes. Much of it, I suspect is based on the speculation leading up to his role in the overall narrative. We’d seen so many images before the movie hit theaters of Finn wielding Anakin Skywalker’s original blue lightsaber, there was a natural assumption that he would turn out to be the spiritual successor to Luke Skywalker. However, we didn’t get that since that role was to go to Daisy Ridgley’s Rey. No, with Finn we got the successor to another popular Star Wars icon, Han Solo.

Like Han, Finn is our everyman. He is the entry point hero we follow through the story. Like Han, Finn is normal. He’s not royalty, nor a superpowered force wielder. In fact, until being handed a lightsaber by Maz Kanata, he’d never even seen one outside of Kylo Ren’s. He’s a guy, trying to escape his past, who keeps being drawn back to doing the right thing. He fights his fears to save Poe, then later Rey.

People forget that Han Solo spent the majority of both Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back trying to leave the Rebellion. Han wasn’t a hero, he didn’t want to go on the Death Star to rescue Leia until the promise of a reward was placed in front of him. He was ready to leave before the Battle of Yavin but came back because he knew it was the right thing to do. In spite of that, he fell into the role of leader, not out of duty, but love. Love for Leia and Luke, yet even in the beginning of Empire, he was still planning on leaving since the bounty on his head was so high there was nowhere for him to hide. Han wasn’t a particularly great shot, or an expert pilot. He had the fastest ship, only by default. He wasn’t naturally brave, and was captured by the Empire, frozen in carbonite, and mounted on Jabba’s wall. The thing that made Han popular was his everyman quality. He was the one character in the original trilogy who was the skeptic. He didn’t believe in The Force, calling it simple tricks and nonsense. Like Finn, Han fought his instinct to run to do the right thing.

As we get to know Finn, we discover who he was. He was a nameless drone who worked in sanitation. Funny, charismatic in his way and much to his surprise, brave. What makes Finn work for me as a character is that in spite of the fact that he’s not the Super-Negro a lot of potential viewers were hoping for; instead, Finn ends up being the hero. When Rey is down, he steps forward, lightsaber in hand to take on Kylo Ren. The Resistance is only able to take down Starkiller Base because Finn knows his way around, providing them with the critical information to not only get past their shields but to destroy the reactor.

There’s a quote that I like: “Being brave doesn’t mean you are not scared. It means you are scared but you do what has to be done anyways.”

That is what makes Finn work for me. It helps that John Boyega is, like Harrison Ford before him, incredibly engaging and affable in the role. I look forward to seeing his character grow over the series, to embrace his role in the story no matter how it shakes out.

Not every black hero has to be Wesley Snipes in Passenger 57, kicking everyone’s ass with a quip and a smile. Sometimes it’s good to see an unsure man becoming something more than he was. Sometimes it’s good to see the hero stumble, fall, and then get up again.

11206941_10153488087038257_9191850154840194386_nJamal Igle is a comic book artist, editor, art director, marketing director, and animation storyboard artist. He is the creator of Molly Danger, published by Action Lab Entertainment, and is also known for his penciling, inking, and coloring work on books such as Supergirl and Firestorm for DC Comics.

109 thoughts on “For the Love of FN-2187: Why John Boyega as Finn is One of the Best New Characters in Star Wars”

  1. In my opinion, Finn, in some respects, is much like Luke was in the first Star Wars- the backward country boy who had no experience fighting. I’m hoping (fingers crossed) that we see Finn grow, much like we saw Luke go from rube to capable Force wielder.

    1. Luke Skywalker was the true hero in A New Hope. He blew up the first Death Star with the help of Solo and the ghost of Obi Won and given a medal from the Princess. Finn looked frightened though out the whole movie. He seemed to be there only to make the Rey character look good.

      1. Except that he was a better fighter with guns or melee weapons than pretty much anyone else in the movie, until he comes up against someone well trained in the Dark Side who he still holds his own against for a while despite having no Force powers himself.

        I think the flawed character was Rey. She was fine for the first half or so. But how did someone with absolutely no combat or Force-using experience before a few days earlier, suddenly start using Force powers and wielding a lightsaber about as well as Luke did in Return of the Jedi? She should have gotten her butt kicked by Kylo even worse than Finn did (Chewie should have been the one to save the day as he stepped in from behind Kylo and tossed him against a tree before helping Rey and Finn onto the ship.)

  2. “Not every black hero has to be Wesley Snipes in Passenger 47, kicking everyone’s ass with a quip and a smile. Sometimes it’s good to see an unsure man becoming something more than he was. Sometimes it’s good to see the hero stumble, fall, and then get up again.”

    Loooved this review. “Super Negro” Haha! That he is not.

    He may be a flawed character, but he is still a great character.

    1. Yes, I heard that criticism from one of my friends. She said I might be disappointed in his portrayal but I think that might say more about her expectations for Finn going onto the movie than whether or not he’s a good character.
      But you’re right. I don’t go to the movies to see “Super Negro” . I go to see PoC, shown as real and round rounded people, with a story that needs telling.

  4. Pingback: For the Love of FN-2187: Why John Boyega as Finn is One of the Best New Characters in Star Wars | The Afrosoul Chronicles

  5. Since everyone in SW seems to be related, I have a theory.
    There’s a spoiler out there that a toy or toy catalog was shown with the name “Finn Calrissian.” This would make sense if they are planning on having him take Han’s place while Rey takes Luke’s place. Except that it’s not Finn who’s the Falcon genius. It’s Rey. She’s the pilot who somehow understands Wookiee.

    No, I think Finn is a Windu. He instinctively knows how to use a lightsaber, and he’s a fighter, not a pilot. And his name is literally “FN”, or “effin'”, a hilarious nod to Sam Jackson.

    1. I’d prefer that Finn was related to Jedi Starfighter Mace Windu, too. I really did not care to much for Lando.

    2. OMG! FINN is a a riff on “effin'”? OMG…..I’d prefer that Finn was related to Jedi Starfighter Mace Windu, too. I really did not care to much for Lando.

  6. Oh hell YES!

    People try to obscure Finn had a few wins. That shouldn’t be done. He really was a normal guy who stepped up big time and got the team a win.

    He succeeded in at least three areas…..don’t take that away from him

      1. Yes they do. Otherwise why would all the figurines of Han Solo sell? Or did you forget that he didn’t start out as a fighter–or even a ‘good guy’?

      2. That’s what American football is all about….Heroics on the field.
        P.S.
        For a Charity Toy Drive (Black Greeks), I donated a Finn action figure for some lucky kid and a Star Wars hat and mitten combo.

  7. I like Finn a lot! I was disappointed that he didn’t turn out to be a Jedi but you’re right, Finn is an every man and sort of mirrors how everyday people get recruited to serve a government entity in grunt positions (First Order in Finn’s case.)

    The big difference between Finn and Han though is that Han was a pilot (Rey was a pilot, too,) and Han was super cool. Finn made seriously helpful contributions but is generally depicted as rather naive and bumbling.

    I do think Finn was emasculated because he couldn’t fight Kylo Ren despite stormtrooper training and he became “the damsel in distress” needing Chewbacca to carry him from the scene after Kylo Ren clobbered him, only to be rendered still comatose at Resistance HQ and in need of medical attention. We last see him laying prone and unconscious receiving a chaste kiss on the forehead from Rey. (Talk about role reversal….LOL!)

    Still, I like Finn and I realize that sometimes characters of color are ahead in a major motion picture just by being SEEN and not rendered invisible. I am not always looking for magic negro or Super Black depictions on screen, either but I like to see the masculine cool factor that is innate in most Black guys. To me, they geeked Finn up a bit to make him “less threatening.”

    Finn has his foot in the door and perhaps in the next installment we can explore more about his background and his relationships w/Rey and Dameron.

    1. I really don’t see Finn as an everyman. He was a kid stolen at birth and raised as a brainwashed storm trooper. Then he is a guy on the run constantly from a superweapon wielding Nazi’s.

      I think they also pigeonholed his character because he will always be secondary compared to the other main characters. He will never be a better pilot than Poe. He will never be a better fighter than Rey. He will never be a better martyr than Han. He has zero possessions to his name unlike Han in ANH. Even with Han running from Jabba and chasing money in ANH he still came back in the end and took out Vader so Luke could take out the death star. Finn got his back slashed by Kylo and Rey was already on her way out of Starkiller base. He did get phasma to take down the shield but Phasma acted like a neutered dog the whole time, putting up zero fight. Not much of a victory there.

      They could have made Finn better with few minor changes. He could have taken out a few storm troopers on Jakku, saving Rey. He could have won the battle with the Storm Trooper by cutting off the arm with the weapon, even better if it was Phasma. He could have been the one to blast Kylo after he killed Han. Instead of attacking Kylo with the lightsaber he could have run to the Millennium Falcon with Chewy and used the blasters to neutralize Kylo in his fight with Rey. At least one of these changes would have elevated his character to seem more heroic and capable.

      1. Bcreed Disney/Abrahms sould have hired you to write the screen play. I love all of your ideas and TFA could have been written that way as to FN-2187, but it wasn’t and you have to ask why?

        Would Star Wars:TFA been any less likable or banked any less box office if your FN-2187 had been written as more heroic? i think not and we know Boyega is capable of carrying that mantle because look we he did as Moses in “Attack The Block.”
        P.S.
        I also think it was offensive that Chewbacca was not allowed to pilot the Millennium Falcon, instead, Rey TAKES OVER. Chewie was always the co-pilot so what gives?

  8. I’m gonna bet a small amount in future movies (based on rumors) that we’re gonna see Finn still be a bit geeky, a bit awkward…but still getting the job done…AND attracting a little romantic attention on the side.

    That’s kinda cool, too.

  9. Pingback: For the Love of FN-2187: Why John Boyega as Finn is One of the Best New Characters in Star Wars | thenerdsofcolor

  10. I too was dismayed that Finn wasn’t the super Jedi I wanted him to be, but the direction I saw him go was something for me to applaud. Yes, he stumbled, and yes, some of the goofy moments came at his expense to some degree, (and man, Rey seemed to just instantly learn EVERYTHING like THAT) but there’s one thing that I am so proud of about Finn’s character: It’s that EVERYTHING starts with him. In the Force Awakens, it’s his moment of reflection that gets the snowball rolling. It’s his selflessness that tells him to put the damn rifle down. It’s his bravery that sees him through in situations that might be too much for him (the melee fight, breaking out Poe, etc). Finn, in many respects, is the man that helped us find Luke, infiltrate Starkiller Base, freed Poe and stood up to a Dark Side Jedi when he had nothing. He is ‘geeked up’ a bit, but I’m really gambling on the next films for him to grow, and hopefully be cool, masculine, and a threat to the First Order in more ways than one. Really, my fave character in TFA thus far!

    I’m also still over the moon that I even saw AZNs in Star Wars….man….times have changed.

      1. No one wanted Finn to be sweetback in space but we did want a competent black hero. Finn was basically 12 years a slave in space. He was a comdedic sidekick one step up from jar jar binks. This was done to make Rey look even more powerful than she already is. The character was completely emasculated namely at the end of the film where Rey friend ship zone kisses Finn on the forehead like a mother putting a child to sleep. If the roles were reversed and Rey had to be saved and was as shown to be as incompetent as Finn was women and critics would be up in arms. For any black person to accept such buffoonish coonery baffles me. This Black man is not going for it.

  11. Hear, hear! IMO Finn is the best and most compelling character in Episode VII. I definitely think he’s a better character than Rey who is essentially a Mary Sue (a well-acted and interesting Mary Sue but a Mary Sue nonetheless).

    I am in the camp that believes Finn is Force-sensitive and I’m hoping that he will also get trained by Luke. I’ve also got a theory about Rey turning to the dark side and Finn being the one to bring her back before she falls beyond redemption like Kylo Ren, but we’ll see what happens.

  12. I also think that he could be a successor to General/Princess Leia. After all, in A New Hope Leia was described as a traitor to the Empire – much the way, Finn is a traitor to the Order. He was an unassuming guy without a lot of options. But Finn is a pragmatic idealist, able to see the world as it and willing to take risks to make it better. He ran because he didn’t want to be reconditioned – and he could lose the part of himself that didn’t want to be another cog in the machine, a desire he’d hidden successfully for quite some time. He stayed because there were people worth fighting for. And he also displayed a tendency towards a good tactical mind. He got Poe to the Tie fighter without raising any flags. He convinced BB-8 to trust him and get them where they needed to go. He not only provided information about the Starkiller base but actively contributed to the planning of the mission. I don’t think Finn is our Everyman – I think he’s going to be the leader.

      1. What happens to Finn and his story arc is the ONLY way I even come back for the next movie. I LOVE LOVE LOVE, Oscar Isaac but, he was so downplayed as Dameron.

    2. I like these different headcanons people have for Finns future. I love how everyone sees him stepping up and doing wonderful things in the future.

  13. A: Everything you’ve written regarding Finn is pretty much how I feel.
    B: I’m in the camp that Finn is force sensitive and that when he, Kylo and Rey were all in the same place at the same time that was the awakening that Snoke spoke of almost immediately after
    C: While I kind of don’t want Finn to be related to anyone as I think half of the Skywalker family’s problem is the need to run from/fulfill the legacy if he must be related to someone let him be the grandson/great-nephew of Obi-Wan or Mace Windu not Lando as it makes no sense.
    D: I think he needs to be a Jedi because having only one around never ends well, there needs to be two at least and he and Rey being Jedi’s with Poe as their Han, as I see Finn as more of a combo of Han and Luke, works.

    1. Agreed with all of the above. I think Finn being a Jedi unrelated to any past characters is important, because the Force is supposed to be something *universal*, not just accessible by legacy characters. Finn is already kind of an ascended nerd character anyways – it just makes sense for him to grow into a Jedi.

  14. Thank you for this wonderful article! I couldn’t agree more! Finn is a character in development and I’m hoping that Lucas expands him into a true fighter role. He has definitely inherited the “Han Solo” role in this movie and I hope that his character and John Boyega goes far in Science Fiction.

  15. Hoo boy, Finn really is underappreciated. I was thinking about making an essay on this, but I’ll stick to these few points (some kinda outlined above already):

    – Nothing would have happened without Finn. Thanks to him, Poe escapes (the same pilot responsible for bombing the First Order base). Thanks to him, Rey escapes Jakku (which leads her to her destiny). Thanks to him, the Resistance managed to take down the First Order base’s shields from the inside.
    In fact, Finn does MORE than any other protagonist in the film in bringing down the First Order base. True, it wasn’t his primary motivation, but that doesn’t diminish his contributions the least bit.

    – Finn and Rey don’t just complement each other, their growths are mirrored in several important ways. Multiple times, we see both of them learn and handle systems they’ve never used before with amazing effectiveness (piloting for Rey, gunning for Finn).
    This includes the Force for Rey, and believe it or not, the lightsaber for Rey AND Finn. Sure, Finn lost to the stormtrooper, but he remarkably did *better* against Kylo Ren, even landing a blow on Ren. (Rey, for her part, couldn’t manage that until after “awakening”)

    – I’m also fairly confident Finn has Force sensitivity. Maybe not as strong as Rey, but it’s hinted. When he’s leaving with the two random smugglers, he looks up when he hears horrified screams from the victims of the First Order’s superweapon from an entirely different planet. Maz also tells Finn to use the lightsaber, which in general is a terrible idea if you’re not Force-sensitive. Rey is already shown to be Force-sensitive by this part of the movie. Why hint at Finn being a possible Jedi at this point?

    – A brave, young man takes up Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber and duels against a more powerful, more experienced Dark Side user. Our brave hero knows he doesn’t stand a chance, but he fights anyways, and he fights surprisingly well. He even manages to wound the villain in the right shoulder! In the end, though, our hero is defeated, drops the lightsaber that Rey will eventually pick up, and ends the movie in the hospital with a debilitating injury.
    Now who am I talking about, Luke in Empire Strikes Back, or Finn?
    (it’s not a perfect parallel, but there’s too many similarities to ignore)

    – He’s scared the entire time throughout the movie, but he overcomes that fear. When Han asks him at one point, “Are you up for this?”, Finn replies “Hell no”, and then immediately outlines his plan to rescue Rey.

    I understand he can come off as buffoonish at times, but the man’s seriously awesome for all that’s he done in the film. Seriously, are we looking at Finn as a unique character, or only as what we want him to be?

    1. Yes, thank you for saying this. I love this character. Why some people see Finn as a disappointment, might be due to what they wanted him to be before seeing the film, instead seeing what he actually was.

  16. I loved Finn as a character. I believe he will be the one who will make you chuckle through the film as Han Solo did with his banter between characters. Han Solo was witty and had great one liners to make you laugh, like Finn did through the film. Also I have a feeling Finn will have more of a role with Poe. His fascination of his flying skills and Poe telling him, his jacket suits him makes me believe he will have a role in the resistance with his help and thats something a common guy can learn and excel. Either way I believe his role balanced out the movie and allows the torch to pass on to the next film which will have multiple people growing into the light side and dark side of the force.

  17. If you don’t want to consider Finn a token then so be it. But stop with this Finn is Han Solo stuff. That’s nonsense.

    Han Solo was NEVER the every man. Uncle Owen was a bleeping every man. Han Solo on the other hand was THE Alpha Male. He was the coolest dude in the galaxy (with the possible exception of Lando), with the coolest ship. You understood his motivations. You could feel his confidence. He had a skill as a pilot that set him apart from anyone else. He is what millions of kids immediately wanted to be.

    Finn, despite being a “rained warrior” as his character is described, doesn’t appear to have any great skills.

    He is so timid that when he first sees Rey and she looks at him wrong the dude gets scared and runs away. Runs….away.

    His motivations were obviously left on the cutting room floor because his reasons for putting his life in danger to defect the way he did ,made no sense. Was he in trouble for not firing his weapon? Deadly trouble? The movie never makes it clear.

    Despite being indoctrinated all his life and going by the identification FN-2187, he immediately accepts the name that a stranger like Poe gives him. Yes, he is given a name by a character as if he is a pet dog. By the way it is Poe who looks to be the new Han. A confident, cocky, ladies’ man hotshot pilot.

    Finn spends a large portion of the movie trying to save a woman who never needs saving. It is a nice thing fr him to want to do but it ends up making him look stupid. In order for JJ and Co to blow up Rey’s badass-ness they made Finn look like a bit of a clown. If you want to see an example of a movie in which a lead male character and a lead female character get to both be super competent and vulnerable without one overshadowing the other all you had to do is look at the recent Mad Max.

    Finn spends another portion of the movie acting like a lovesick puppy worrying over Rey. Han never allowed himself to come across like that.

    Finn is the Damsel In Distress character, in need of saving quite often compared to Rey who doesn’t need rescuing. Han Solo didn’t need any damn saving until the final third of the second movie. And Han saves Luke a few times before then. Again….Finn never saves Rey.

    Han Solo was never promoted as some bleeping misdirection in order to “hide” the true abilities of another lead character. Once again TPTB sacrificed Finn in their advertisements simply for JJ to keep his Mystery Box alive and strong. That was completely unnecessary especially considering so many people knew Rey was more than “nobody” going into the movie (see all the posters with her in the middle, see alll the commercials that centered on her?). It was damaging to Finn’s character to promote him as one way only to give you a character that was less powerful and less interesting.

    Han was a MAN the first time we see him. Finn in comparison was not much more than a boy.

    Finn is Han Solo my ***.!

    1. I totally agree with NHK. Finn’s role was weak and a buffoon. He is no where close to being Han. And he will not be force sensitive. What sense does that make after watching the movie. I think a lot of you are willing to accept because your glad to see a black man in the movie. It’s time people of color write their own stories and heroes. And what about Lupita, she plays CGI character. Again, sci-fi has a long way to go.

      2. Baconator, nice thought: “It’s time people of color write their own stories and heroes.” WE DO. But, surely you cannot be that naive as to who controls Hollywood.

        There are plenty of would be Oscar Micheauxs out there but unlike the white producers and directors, they lack the connections or the mentorship of the money to make the stories you propose come to life on the big screen. Somebody hit up Magic Johnson as an an investor or Oprah whydontcha?

        Not everyone can be a Tyler Perry, either. He had to dress in drag for years and produce rather gut bucket, low brow comedies to get his foot in the Hollywood door.

        Bruce Lee left Hollywood for Hong Kong because he couldn’t catch a break in biased tinsel town. BRUCE LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    2. I agree Finn is no Han Solo. This article in my opinion is BS propaganda to get us to accept yet another typical trope of a role. The usual BS, in which he can try hard and be brave but he can’t win in anything worth while and constantly needs saving, comedic relief, arrogant and cowardly, yet noble and ineffective. I mean for God sake this is the first time ever in Star Wars that a NON force user or cyborg enhanced creation used a light saber in combat… 6 movies in and now when Finn gets the saber….Why…. And please kill the Han Solo comparison!! Han Solo had a reputation, his own side kick, the fastest space ship in the galaxy, and was known as the best pilot in the galaxy and a smuggler. Finn can’t win a fight against a storm trooper(first time that has ever happened Han didn’t lose to storm troopers), Finn is the sidekick, Finn can’t fly, and Finn doesn’t have the force, why is Finn in Star Wars again, to pull a bait and switch. No thank you. I’m done. My son and daughter would love to see a real black super hero, not just a guy with a light saber, or just a guy in a hand me down iron man suit, or just a guy in a winged falcon suit, or a demented drunk God (Hancock) with no real villain and a white woman as his only weakness who in the real script was a rapist, I mean I know its Hollywood but damn, any chance they get to see some one other then “that normal guy” that tries just to fail and doesn’t have any real powers when compared to his peers. This BS is plaid out and the defense for this nonsense is just sad or willful ignorance.

      1. I hear you disgust and pain@BlackClay. Yes, in the final days of 2015 the world still can’t get a bona fide Black Guy Hero on the big screen because white folks couldn’t handle the concept. Hence the white fan boy backlash and call for Star Wars: TFA Boycott on Twitter.

        I look at it in a different way: I like the fact that FN-2187 has a major presence. Even mote major than Dameron and a presence that rival’s Rey’s in some respects. With PRESENCE, I hope that Finn can evolve into the hero or maybe even anti-hero that we all know he is deep down inside.

  19. Great response! Finn was very brave to reject the First Order and have courage to go rescue Rey.if Finn was engineered as a clone because it wasn’t clear if that technology was used this time around. But the fact that Finn did reject it proves he has a good heart.

    I was also hoping he was a dormant Jedi, but I don’t expect him to be the next Mace Windu. Mace Windu was a Jedi Master, and nobody climbs to that position in a heartbeat. Still, he managed to fight past six moves against Kylo, and that says a lot about his combat potential.

    Moving on, comparing Finn to Han Solo isn’t as strong an argument as you think. Check out Terminal Identity by Scott Bukatman. He examined the appeal of Han Solo, Captain Kirk, which can become applied to contemporaries like Peter Quill. They are beloved because they bring the flawed, egotistic humanity to the alien environment of outer space. Their roguish behavior assures viewer of humanity’s place where we must rely on cold science to understand and survive.

  20. Finn is a runaway slave. 12 years a Stormtrooper. And if you know anything about discourses having to do with slavery, you will understand that the badass black male slave is a Very Dangerous Thing, especially around white women. Boyega played his role perfectly.

  21. I agree that Finn was great as an “everyman” type of character, and that it’s pretty obvious we’ll see some significant character development of both him and Poe Dameron now that Solo is out of the picture. I disagree that Finn is the logical replacement for Solo by himself, however: he has more of Luke’s impulsiveness and naivety, with enough of a dose of his faux-certainty from A New Hope (think of the “I’m a pretty big deal” stuff–that’s Luke’s bravado in the cantina, rather than Han’s anti-heroic behaviour).

    I think we get Luke and Han played out between Poe and Finn, while Rey is the “what if Leia had gotten Jedi training instead of Luke” character (with a dose of Anakin’s young self thrown in for fun). A natural with the force, who’d probably been using her affinity her whole life just to survive. Poe embodies Han’s cockiness/charm and Luke’s leadership; Finn gives us the everyman whose conscience (and doubt) is clearly Luke’s rather than Han’s.

    Regardless, I liked how they rearranged the best traits of the original characters. While the film overall feels a bit re-boot-y (similar pacing, characters, narrative arc, enemies and events), it’s good fun and smart casting.

    1. I think it says a lot about the audience when they expect the new characters to reflect the same traits as their predecessors.

      1. I don’t. I just want to see a Black guy as a true hero on screen. Has nothing to do with predecessors. It’s Disney and Abrahms’ fault that the film is so much of a predictable reboot. SAFE!

  22. Another interesting parallel is that in the Expanded Universe, it’s revealed that young Han Solo was in the Imperial Navy and refused a direct order to kill Chewbacca, who was a prisoner of the Empire. That’s where their friendship began. I know technically that’s probably not canon anymore, but it’s still cool how their stories match up.

  23. FN-2187 has everyone talking. I find his character far more fascinating than Rey even though she appears to be an “Heir of the Last Jedi.” It’s true, Finn was the ultimate catalyst.

  24. Don’t care for his character. I like the works of Mr. Boyega, he’s a talented young chap, but the character “Finn” is just a trainwreck. You don’t kidnap kids so young, that they don’t even remember their parents (basically) , to train them into the most elite combat unit in the galaxy, indoctrinate them into becoming warriors, only to have him be an inter-galactic space-janitor, when he’s supposed to be a fearsome warrior. Have we ever heard of Stormtroopers manning rear-echelon positions before this? People seem to forget the fact that there are REGULAR Army/Navy/Marines troops too, the Stormtrooper Corps are supposed to take on tasks which are considered to be too dangerous for regular soldiers. They are akin to the 75th Ranger Regiment, SEAL’s, Marine Force Recon, SAS etc. They’re intergalactic “space-ninja’s”, so to speak.

    Then, there’s the fact that he runs AWAY from Rey, even though he’s a Stormtrooper, he drinks from the same place as a filthy animal, like a slave, gets beaten in a meelee fight by a guy who clearly has little to no experience in sparring (Kylo Ren) , whereas a stormtrooper should be incredibly lethal in hand-to-hand combat etc.

    Also, it’s completely illogical that the first order would spend so much resources in re-capturing a lone Stormtrooper, when they seemingly have thousands in their ranks. His role is basically there to empower the white girl, and the white fighter-pilot, and being the comedic relief (as usual).. He doesn’t even get the girl, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Poe Dameron becomes the main love interest for Rey in the next movie(s) . Mark my words..

    The problem with this piss-poor article, is that negroes are just too damn happy to see themselves on the big-screen. It doesn’t matter to them how horrifyingly bad the role is, as long as “we’re” there.. It’s pathetic.

    1. Agreed! I knew JJ couldn’t be trusted to do the right thing in this role for Finn. I also think there is this hyper feminism lead genre at Finn’s expense. They want her to be such a bad add they have made her character with no flaws. Although it’s disappointing, I Have no problem with him not being a future Jedi, but they could’ve made him a stronger character. A black alpha male or strong character is too threatening, he’ll look at what Obama has to deal with.

      1. I really don;t care for JJ Abrams based on what he did to LOST and even more significantly how he RUINED the Star Trek reboot. I’m not too keen on Disney films either—anybody that debacle with George Clooney known as “Tomorrowland”? UGH! [Unwatchable] I think they also did The Black Hole and TRON, which I did like but that’s an exception.

        It’s simply disgusting how the same guy is handling both Star Wars and Star Trek. Talk about the conglomeratization of major sci-fi film entities. Ghastly.

    2. Re: Stormtrooper Corps: Current canon doesn’t agree… heck, now I’m trying to remember the last time we had “regular Army” OUTSIDE of vehicle crews in current canon.

      (As for sanitation… considering what was going on in his backstory, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was punishment detail.)

  25. I couldn’t agree more with your opinion. I too saw Finn as a non super, super hero/guy as Han was throughout the original series. I look forward to seeing where this character goes as this series progresses.

  26. DannyJayne, Han Solo was NEVER a normal guy. Not even in the SW universe. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have powers, he was the coolest dude on that side of the galaxy. Cool guys are never normal guys. Normal pretty much means “average” which is something Han certainly was not. Plus he was a ridiculously good pilot. And, no, he was never a bad guy either. He merely stayed out of the conflict at first and hadn’t chosen to fight for either side.

  27. I think the term “every man” insinuated that both Han Solo and Finn (at this juncture) were not/are not to the Jedi born. Yes, Han Solo has swag but he wasn’t rich or connected or even royal like Princess General Leia Organa. Luke is purportedly THE LAST JEDI. Han Solo was basically an outlaw and so is Finn now that he’s rejected the First Order, gone AWOL and is now a traitor to the F.O. Yes, Han Solo and FN-2187 are both commoners.

    (Han Solo is Leia’s “Baby Daddy” of Kylo Ren/Ben Solo but they never married so Han Solo doesn’t even get the Prince Phillip treatment! Maybe he will posthumously?)

    2. When we are introduced to Luke in ANH he is more of an “everyman” than Han. A farmer with a dull, planet-based life compared to a smuggler who zips through the galaxy on a fast ship. In other words Luke lives an ordinary life, Han lives a life that is uncommon and full of adventure/action. It is not about special abilities but unique circumstances and one’s attitude. There was nothing common about Han, but there were plenty of Lukes. Luke only loses that “everyman” label once he learns about his heritage, decides to go on a journey and discovers the powers that he possessed all along.

    3. Han and Leia married in current canon, so to any who’d recognize Leia’s royal title by then Han would have been a prince consort.

      (Interestingly enough, in the Expanded Universe Han may or may not have had a royal claim; Wookieepedia’s article for the purported royal ancestor in question — his possible great-grandfather Korol, hanged as a pretender — mentions the possibility that the invalidity of Korol’s claim is itself misinformation “in line with Han’s preference to keep his ancestry opaque.”)

  28. Han Solo was the Earth equivalent of a common thief and smuggler in A New Hope. He was an outlaw and had a bounty on his head. He was a Class A rogue and more people identified with Han Solo than they ever did Luke (for some strange reason) because deep down inside, Han was livin’ the intergalactic dream, I suppose. After all, he had a faithful sidekick, his own ride in the form of the Millennium Falcon, freedom, no responsibilities and he temporarily got the Princess.

    Han Solo had his charms but ultimately it was proved that he was neither husband nor boyfriend material (too unsettled and a man perpetually trapped in a juvenile mind set.) Poe Dameron at least is more noble and a trained pilot. So yes, maybe Han Solo wasn’t an “every man” as it where, but every man wanted to be him.

    Maybe Han’s hands off approach to fatherhood is why Ben Solo went rogue. I betcha dollars to donuts Han was an absent dad and Princess Leia had to raise him….solo. As a single mom with no dad for Ben, Ben went to the Dark Side and worshipped and ended up emulating the only father figure he had or could dream of….DARTH VADER, his maternal grandfather. HELLO, KYLO REN!

  29. Some people are trying to attach a “slave narrative” to FN-2187 and the only reason why that could possibly be is for the simple fact that he’s Black. I posit that if Finn where cast as White, no one would be advancing that theory.

    I mean is Captain Phasma the overseer, then? (Whom we know to be a White female underneath the armor). Interesting allegory.

    1. I think many fans wanted more, and there’s been a lot of that expectation expressed in many new minority characters. But from the opinions we’ve gotten so far, they can’t help making comparisons between the new characters and the old ones. We’ve got a few ranting like Hooper X from Chasing Amy.

      It doesn’t help that this new film recycled a lot of the narratives and imagery from the previous films. It forces the comparison to be made and we lose less appreciation for what these new characters have to offer.

  30. Yes, this article is a rather poor attempt to clean up and glorify a very transparent runaway slave character, hence the name “Finn”, an allusion to the Mark Twain novel “Huckleberry Finn”, about a runaway slave. There is a lot going on in this film for social engineering purposes, and the problem is that some people have a problem understanding the messages being conveyed to them because they don’t want to accept or acknowledge that they are being programmed. It would ruin the cinematic orgasm provided by a “Star Wars” release. “Finn” is not a strong character. He is Jar Jar Binks without the CGI black face. He is a slave on the run from the “New Order” (i.e. the Deep South/Nazi regime). This is why he must flee to the “north” i.e. the “Outer Rims”. Many other commentators have elucidated some of the character inconsistencies associated with a trained storm trooper who is so incompetent, so I’ll concentrate on the notion that I do agree that Finn is a Han type character, but he is an updated post-Feminazi Han. He is the new sensitive male that modern females claim to like. He is Han without the backbone, a Han who puts women on a pedestal, follows the orders of women without question, and has been doing so his entire life (notice that even his storm trooper commanding officer was “female”). This is exactly why Han’s character had to be killed off. Han’s sacrificial death represented the expulsion from the Star Wars universe of the old machismo archetype of men who took control and spoke to “princesses” without awe. The men who were about their money and could not be emotionally manipulated. The men who found the escape route and held a woman’s hand while both ran from the bad guys until he could think up a plan. The old Bogart type of hero that called women “broads” lol. Not only was Han subconsciously set up to be killed by his resentful baby mama “General” Leia, his ship (the only woman he ever seemed to truly care for) was immediately taken over by a woman in “Rey” (of light) who magically knew the ins and outs of the ship better than he did lol. She even took over ownership of his overgrown dog, Chewbacca. The one consistent theme of “The Force Awakens” is that men run from their problems (as Han, Luke, Finn, and Kylo Ren were); while women are strong, assertive, decisive creatures who solve problems and face challenges head on lol. No wonder the story takes place in a “galaxy far, far way”, because that is certainly not the case in this galaxy…..but hey, propaganda is a b!tch.

    1. It’s sounds more like they resent Finn, and other men by your opinon, have been upstaged by stronger female leads.

      1. It’s a very PC film. I hate to say that but it is. Someone tapped JJ on the shoulder and said you gotta have this:

        A strong white emasculating female
        A Black guy who’s played as a buffoon but shows promise
        A sexual-orientation ambiguous pilot named Poe who’s Latin
        A Jewish looking Darth Vader descendant. (Weird based on all the Naziesque imagery they use for the First Order.)
        Princess Leia turned flaccid General who’s also a single mom w/ a Baby Daddy named Han who paid zero child support and was an MIA father that’s why Ben Solo was at risk for the Dark Side and slipped over the edge finally taking out all his resentment on his no good daddy, Han by killing him on the bridge and sending him into the abyss.
        Asians in the background, some recycled from LOST and Flash Gordon.
        Something called Captain Phasma who’s basically dork and a female but still in charge of the Black guy.
        Maz Kanata creature who is the custodian of Luke’s long lost light sabre. We know she’s played by an African actress and Academy award winner but no one can tell on screen.

        Women Rule in The Force Awakens–aye? Alpha Females and Meta Males…..

    2. You’re really reaching for that one.

      I don’t get butthurt for Finn not being some kind of ultra-badass. He’s a stormtrooper. You know, the guys that drop like flies in these movies every time a main character picks up a blaster? The cover boys for Poor Marksmanship Monthly?

      Finn is not going to start out as the greatest warrior ever. He’s got to work up to that level. It’s called a character arc.

    3. That’s an interesting story you have spun but there are a few holes. It’s true that women comprise many leadership roles in the story but the story actually undermines the superiority of the female leaders. Phasma lost Finn on his first battle and it led to the demise of the First Order’s greatest weapon. Daisy Riddley though powerful was quite easily captured her male counter part Kylo Ren. Ren was able to kill his father but Daisy couldn’t kill Ren. Leia asks Han to bring back their son, which request leads to Hand death. Poe, the male pilot, takes down the Starkiller not a female counter part. Phasma was captured by Han and Finn, then once she took down the major defence of the base she was thrown in the trash. With all these ineptitudes of the women in the story its quite hard to surmise this is a story of female dominance in the least degree.

  31. FN-2187 is supposed to be Jim or “Ni g_ er Jim” from Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer sequel called Huckleberry Finn–aye? That’s a laughable stretch.

    Huckleberry Finn (“Huck” to his friends) was a white boy about thirteen or fourteen years old. He had been brought up by his father, the town drunk, and had a hard time fitting into society. Jim was the big, mild-mannered slave of Huck’s guardian’s sister named, Miss Watson. Huck becomes very close to Jim when they reunite after Jim flees Miss Watson to seek refuge from slavery, and Huck and Jim become fellow travelers on the Mississippi River.

    Hmm, so Miss Watson’s is a combo of Captain Phasma and the First Order and Huck is Poe and the Galaxy is the old Mississippi River–aye? LMAO. It’s too much of a stretch, but people can see such narratives in a pancake or a block of cheese.

    White folks always seeing the stereotypical slave narrative even in sci-fi or space fantasy is laughable especially when American Blacks are oft told to just get over slavery, even though the damage still resonates in society.

    I highly doubt Finn represents the “Brother from Another Planet.” No offense, Mr. Sayles.

  33. You have to begin to understand why Alec Guiness once asked a little boy to stop watching Star Wars.

    1. It’s hilarious how Sir Alec Guinness reportedly became so annoyed when “fan” approached him about Star Wars. I can see that based on his illustrious pre-Star Wars acting career. Always liked Max Von Sydow but he’s nor rival for Sir Alec.

      FYI: Sir Alec Guinness never seemed too taken with Star Wars like the masses. A few days after he was offered the role of Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi in 1975, he wrote to long-time friend Anne Kaufman, referring to it as “fairy-tale rubbish” and to George Lucas by the wrong first name.(LOL) Maybe Sir Alec wasn’t bowled over by the compensation.

      Guinness said Twentieth Century Fox offered him $150,000.00 plus two percent of the producer’s profit in January 1976 for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi – double what they offered him the week before.

      After SW wrapped in March of ’76, Guinness wrote to Kaufman again to share he wasn’t “enjoying the film.”

      ” … new rubbish dialogue reaches me every other day on wadges of pink paper – and none of it makes my character clear or even bearable. I just think, thankfully, of the lovely bread, which will help me keep going until next April … I must off to studio and work with a dwarf (very sweet – and he has to wash in a bidet) and your fellow countrymen Mark Hamill and Tennyson (that can’t be right) Ford. Ellison (? – No!) – well, a rangy, languid young man who is probably intelligent and amusing. But Oh, God, God, they make me feel ninety – and treat me as if I was 106. – Oh, Harrison Ford – ever heard of him?”

      LOL!

  34. I think people using archetypes to describe star wars characters is fitting since George lucas used the work of Joseph campbell (if you dont know who he is look him up, he is a fascinating and brilliant human being) to write the first three. Luke is the universal hero, Ben is the mentor, darth vader the shadow, and han is the trickster.

    I don’t know if JJ is going for clear cut archetypes in this film but Rey is definately a classic orphan hero character, but seems to be blended with old movie leia, perhaps because she is a girl (i also think this movie is great for our modern age. It shows that females can also fill the universal hero archetype, and its also fresh for the series)

    han fills the mentor archetype in this film, especially since he dies in a similar fashion as Ben in a new hope (iI uless that makes him a Trickster/mentor… also fresh)

    Kylo is the shadow (monster) archetype of the film (but with more depth than darth vader)

    That leaves us with finn. I think he is clearly the trickster archetype, and therefore filling Han’s shoes.

    Think about it Finn decides to betray the new order, lies about who he is to rey, thinks about running away only to change his mind and mount a rescue mission. Classic trickstery type stuff (all behaviour that mimicks han solo) Yes is he has a bit more dimension to his personality than han did. han had a lot of moxy he wasn’t infallible and made a lot of stupid mistakes himself in the original triligy (and in this film) just like finn.

    I also agree finn serves as the everyman character. I know I personally identified with finn more than any other character in the film since he acts pretty much how i would act in those situations. I’m really glad he is a real human instead of a stereotype.

    It also makes perfect sense to me that he is a bit innept. I mean he’s a storm trooper, and stormtroopers have NEVER been elite badasses! Their ineptitude is ifamous!

    In closing I’d encourage everyone to look into Joseph campbell and the universal hero story to get a better understanding of what archetypes these characters fit into.

    1. Campbell got it right on Star Wars methinks after all he allegedly said:

      “Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths.”
      ― Joseph Campbell

  35. @attorneytracey

    Rey didn’t start out as a ‘badass’. She started out as a scavenger.

  36. Pingback: Voices: The Debate Awakens Around John Boyega and Star Wars' Finn - Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

  37. @BernieB, yeah Rey was a “simple” scavenger who could amazingly pilot ships like the Millennium Falcon, understand Wookie and wield Jedi light sabres. Sounds like a pretty ‘badass’ scavenger to me.

    1. Finn started out as Stormtrooper who didn’t want to kill innocents. Then he freed a Resistance pilot, shot down a bunch of Tie Fighters, told the Resistance how to destroy the First Order’s planet, then managed to go past three moves in a lightsaber duel against a trained Sith. That’s pretty heroic to me.

      The Scavenger and the Renegade. What a pair.

      1. Finn more than did his part. He just wasn’t quite cast in the same “heroic” and noble vein as Rey, the heir apparent.

    1. @attorneytracey It was a fan saying that they liked that Boyega didn’t play the magical Negro. It wasn’t that Boyega was directed to play AGAINST it. Did you actually read the article.?

  39. I personally think Finn is a hero. It doesn’t matter, in my opinion, whether he was scared or not. After almost fifteen years of the First Order telling you the Resistance is bad, 99 percent of people that went through that, are going to think the First Order is good because of being brainwashed. Yet Finn didn’t shoot. He ran away from the First Order. That shows the hero inside Finn’s mind. He could have easily joined the other stormtroopers and stayed safe for a little bit longer. Instead, he risked his life, to save Poe. Even if Rey didn’t need rescuing, Finn went to save her, since he knew it was the right thing to do. Even if he made mistakes, every person makes mistakes, and so do I. Finn made mistakes just like anyone else such as leaving Rey behind a little bit, but he made it up. he redeemed himself because he was a hero. Without him, Poe would be dead. The Resistance wouldn’t have known how to take down the Starkiller Base. Rey may have died because if Finn didn’t take on Kylo Ren, while Rey was in coma, Kylo Ren could have killed her. Finn knew he had a high chance of dying while fighting Kylo Ren, but he did it anyway. He was kind and didn’t bully or pick on anyone. Maybe, he lied a bit about being in the Resistance and all of that, but it was his first time ever talking to someone, and he probably wanted to impress Rey. He redeemed himself later and told Rey the truth. Personally, I wouldn’t have the guts to do what Finn did, so I wonder if many people would have the guts to do it either, what Finn did was brave. it is like what this article said. Brave means you could be scared, but you’re doing it because it is the right thing to do. I respect everybody’s opinion, and it is okay if you disagree with me. But this is just my opinion.

    P.S. Happy New’s Years Eve everyone and happy last day of 2015!

  43. Finn was my absolute favourite character! His bravery and determination in going to save Rey was amazing (he’s the best romantic hero Star Wars has ever seen) and just think what incredible strength of character it takes to turn your back on everything you’ve ever known, to pursue good rather than evil? You don’t have to be macho and good at everything to be a hero. Star Wars is about heroism coming from goodness and courage, which Finn has in spades. His supposed disadvantages are what makes him ‘real’ and what made me love his character. And in being able to instinctively use a lightsaber, he definitely has force sensitivity, no question.

  44. Today, I was discussing Concussion and Aloha as well as SW:TFA with a writer friend of mine and we both agreed that FN-2187 a/k/a Finn had to be written the way he was in order to have mass appeal and for the film to make lots of money. That’s Hollywood!

  45. I find it troubling that so many reviews of them that I have read, the negative ones, focus on the fact that he was a quote janitor. In fact the book before the awakening tells us that stormtroopers who were cadets in training had a variety of other duties throughout the first order. I did find it very interesting that thin is being treated as a hero and this first movie. By that I mean that he is having a classic hero’s journey, just like Luke Skywalker, just like Rey. Every hero, at one time or another, tries to deny their calling. We thought with Luke Skywalker, we see it with Rey, and we see it with Finn. Here’s the thing though about heroes… When the chips are down they come through, just like Finn did, just like Rey did, just like Luke did. The Star Wars official canon has now told us that the battle on jakku was not Finn’s first crisis of faith in the first order. There was a reason that Phasma was watching him so closely, namely that he was displaying far too much emapthy for a Storm Trooper.

    1. The Janitor comments are justified because he clearly identifies his primary occupation on the Starkiller was Sanitation. He could have stated any number of positions. He could have said he was a stormtrooper and left it at that or a storm trooper who had sanitation duties along with other ones. I think they betrayed Finn’s character for a quick laugh from the audience. It demeans his character to state that he only handled sanitation. Especially with the books painting him as such a talented and intelligent individual. Plus his so-called expertness with weapons is demeaned further by his seeming lack of any experience with the weaponry he actually uses in the movie. Poe, who has never piloted a tie fighter, gives him directions on how to use the weapons on board. That boggles my mind how he wouldn’t know that. He also does poorly initially in the Falcon, facing off against the tie fighters. He even get beat fairly quickly when facing off against TR-8R. Even if he had the chance to display expertness with a blaster everyone in the movie seemed to be incredible shots in the movie. They even went so far as showing Han hit a Storm Trooper without even looking at him. So being a good marksmen seems pretty trivial.

      Finn does standout in his bravery to face the First Order and save Rey. It seems like he was the only one who actually thought she was important enough to save, but they will have a tough time making him stand out as a leading man if he isn’t the greatest at something or a leader over others.

      1. The inference was that Finn was incompetent and maybe even illiterate that’s why he was handling garbage as a space janitor and a complete dolt when it came to weapons handling.

    2. I know somebody connected with Star Wars has gotta have a garbage fetish but really now, why does the First Seen Black Stormtrooper have to be relegated to the Garbage Detail as some sort of “glorified janitor” in a white tin can suit? There has gotta be an underlying message therein. And, i don’t like it.

    3. Phasma isn’t too swift, herself. She looks “cool” on the movie posters but that’s about it. Window dressing. A total token.

  46. I don’t need FINN, his new named acronym from his slave number to be passenger 57. I don’t need FINN to be Billy D William’s. I need FINN to be anything but a “SCARED RUNAWAY JANITOR/ SERVICE WORKER / SLAVE” Annnnnnnnnny-thing, anything at all, please, for the love of god. I don’t need FINN to have the sexual prowess of the latest “Gangsta” rapper either. BUT, I do need to know where the line in the script of REY “STOP GRABBING MY HAND (…or what ever the cock blocking / ” no inter radical species relations “goin” on here “DISNEY” ” when he grabs her hand to run for safety, fits into Hollywood’s “SAVE THE CAT” hero’s journey TO ADVANCE THE STORY.

    1. I noticed how they had Rey say that, too after FINN’s grabby conduct with the Jakku Desert Child and how yucky it was because it played into that old Lando Calrissian (sp) stereotype about the Black man always lusting after the White woman.

      I read where it was meant to show Rey’s independence and Galaxy Feminism, but it came across as something else. Especially, when you combine how Rey gave FINN that chaste, laughable kiss on the forehead at the end after Chewie and Rey had to save him from Kylo Ren. (Boo!)
      P.S.
      You would have never heard Luke say to Leia, “Don’t kiss me for good luck!” LOL

  47. Has anyone read Star Wars; Before the Awakening? It’s a companion book to the movies that goes deeper in depth about the main characters before they all met.

    Finn’s story is the first one, and spoilers ahead, he isn’t really liked. Not because he is incompetent, but because Finn is excellent at what he does. He is able to orchestrate the rescue of a slower stormtrooper while completing the mission in training scenarios. His emphatic behavior is shown from the start and it causes issues with him and his commander. He never was a drone. He always had a personality. He was never the “incompetent janitor who sucks with weapons.”

    1. That actually makes his portrayal on screen even worse. It totally diverges from established canon. He neither seems like an elite fighter nor acts like a disciplined warrior. His ignorance of weaponary is obvious and his buffunary is paramount. He was like Jar Jar without the accent. They should have given his a sniper rifle and demoed his expertise, not made him a janitor that loses all his battles.

  48. Sounds good, Notta Hippy. Let’s face it. Being a janitor is neither sexy or edgy or heroic. It’s usually drab, dirty yet honest and unsung work that even Norman Reedus and Djimon Hounsou could not turn into something spectacular, hence the box office flop of the movie AIR wherein those two HOT actors played custodians.

  49. Pingback: The Psychology of Star Wars: The Force Awakens — Could a Stormtrooper Become a Hero? – thenerdsofcolor

  50. I was just reading this article from Bustle today about whether or not Finn is force-sensitive. It seems they believe he is and the article has a lot of head scratching information to make you think. Some is not really air tight, but some, like being the only Stormtrooper to defect and the whole Phasma thing, really make you wonder. Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.bustle.com/articles/154577-is-finn-force-sensitive-in-star-wars-proof-that-finn-is-the-awakening-from-the-movie?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=owned&utm_campaign=fangirlsbustle

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