Star Wars: Zero Company revealed the official look of Hawks amid uncertainty about the new Star Wars game's fully customizable protagonist. Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars: Zero Company allows players to command a small covert unit designed for off-the-books missions while the Clone Wars are happening in the background. The lead character in the covert unit is Hawks, the leader of Zero Company, and the only operator who cannot permanently die because the campaign is built around him. If Hawks dies in a story mission, the operation restarts.
In the game, Hawks is a customizable protagonist, meaning that players can choose his species, sex, first name, face, voice, clothing, and combat specialization. Embracing this freedom to choose who Hawks is for the player opens up many storytelling opportunities for the game, but the Star Wars Databank, the official online Star Wars encyclopedia, confirms that Hawks is a human male.
Hawks is depicted as a bearded human male wearing a dark leather coat over a high-collared green shirt. This design was heavily featured in Zero Company's opening cinematic before diving deep into character creation.
Hawks' official description in the Databank entry uses the same short biography used across Star Wars: Zero Company's marketing, noting that he was a former Grand Army captain who was dismissed after a defeat against the Separatists. As the new leader of Zero Company, a covert intelligence group from the Ring of Kafrene (a major Rogue One: A Star Wars Story location), Hawks is capable of working with any operators from any background as long as they intend to get the job done, no matter the costs.
In the players' playthrough, the customized version of Hawks remains the on-screen character, but the bearded human male in the Databank serves as the version Lucasfilm treats as canon, while the rest of the franchise needs a single official look.
Speaking with IGN, Star Wars: Zero Company director Greg Foertsch said that "Hawks can be anything you want Hawks to be," giving fans a chance to showcase how they express themselves as players:
"Hawks can be anything you want Hawks to be. You can make Hawks a Twi'lek or a Zabrak, a male, a female... It should be however you want to express yourself as a player."
Despite the customization and the many different paths and outcomes for the plot and characters, what happens in the story matters, considering that the developers of Zero Company have confirmed that the game is canon.
In the same interview, Foertsch reiterated that "all the stuff that happens in the middle" is defined by the players' experience, but the story "funnels" into a shared ending that counts as Star Wars canon:
"All the stuff that happens in the middle, your experience will be different from mine, but in the end, where it all wraps up, that's where it funnels into the Star Wars canon."
As for Hawks, it's reasonable to assume that his backstory before the events of the game is part of Star Wars canon, such as his background of being part of the Grand Army of the Republic under Pong Krell and the tragic outcome of the Battle of Antine (the clash that killed most of the clone troopers under Hawks's command that led to his discharge).
It's a different story, though, on what happens in the middle of the game because there are various paths of where his narrative will go, depending on the players' choices. It's possible there is a "canon path" for the game's plot that has yet to be revealed.
Why Hawks Is the Most Important Character In Star Wars: Zero Company
Star Wars: Zero Company is clearly treating Hawks as its most important character, and his backstory proves that he is more than just a covert officer assembling a team of unlikely heroes for a high-stakes mission. Hawks is the only operative who cannot permanently die during missions, while everyone else is expendable, reaffirming his narrative priority in the grand scheme of things.
As a Republic captain in the 100th Clone Company, Hawks was a recognized soldier who was pulled from duty after taking the blame for a mission gone wrong. His noble act defined him and pushed him to keep going even after his dismissal.
His debts to the Hutts, the uneasy work for Republic Intelligence, and his tactic of hiring anyone (regardless of background) who could do the job stemmed from Hawk's fall and his refusal to disappear amid the ongoing Clone Wars.
Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex's respective returns in Star Wars: Zero Company matter for Hawks because they mark the moments when the former Republic captain takes a huge leap into the story, serving as a reminder of how far he has fallen from the Grand Army. It also allows the player to see what kind of captain Hawks is when these Star Wars legends show up in the campaign.
All in all, Hawks serves as the natural barometer for whether Zero Company succeeds in the missions thrown at them.
