The Rebel Alliance, also known as the Alliance to Restore the Republic, is a fictional interstellar coalition of underground cells in the resistance movement against the Imperialist Galactic Empire whose goal is to restore the Galactic Republic, as reflected in the alliance’s unofficial name. The symbol of the Rebel Alliance, the revolutionary faction in the Star Wars universe, is known as the Starbird. It can be seen on the helmets and uniforms of the rebels.
Star Wars is an epic space science fiction adventure movie. In 2019, it ranked fourth on the list of highest-grossing films in cinematic history, grossing over $2 billion at the box office. But today, it’s not just a movie, it’s an entire universe. And one of the integral parts of the Star Wars universe is the Rebel Alliance.
The Rebel Alliance was founded immediately after Palpatine declared the Empire in 19 B.C. by Senators Mon Mothma, Bale Organa, and Garm White Iblis, who wanted to preserve the ideal of the Old Republic.
The soldiers of the Rebel Alliance Army were heroes dedicated to the Rebellion, who dedicated their lives to the difficult fight against the Empire and its New Order. Unfortunately, because the Alliance was financially inferior to the Empire’s army, they were less well armed and had only minimal combat training, so they had less chance of victory. The formation of a truly professional and well-armed army did not begin until several years after the Battle of Endor.
The Rebel Alliance was a resistance force created to oppose the Galactic Empire. It was formed by a group of adherents to the ideals of the Galactic Republic, which had been reformed into the Empire. Smaller and weaker than the Imperial military, the Alliance possessed loyal soldiers and brilliant commanders. Without this organization, the Star Wars universe simply cannot be imagined.
In terms of the Rebel Alliance’s appearance on screens, the organization was first shown as a major lead character in Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983).
As for the visual identity of the Rebel Alliance, it has always been super constant. The Starbird emblem was created right upon g the foundation of the organization itself and has never been changed. The Starbird is a new interpretation of a very ancient symbol, the Phoenix bird, that always rises from the ashes. The person who chose this symbol was Princess Leia. She said her people needed “a flag… A symbol of hope”. The rising phoenix emblem symbolized the main goal of the Alliance to Restore the Republic – to return the Galactic Republic.
The Rebel Alliance symbol, the Starbird, is a tribute to Galen Marek, a powerful Jedi, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, turned by him into his deadly weapon. The emblem was borrowed from Marek’s family crest. Also, many people suppose that the emblem was borrowed from the seal of the Old Republic used at the time of the Great Galactic War.
According to some sources, the design was based on the phoenix graffiti made by a Mandalorian artist Sabine Wren in Star Wars Rebels (the symbol was actually designed by Chris Glenn). Interestingly enough, there has never been any official information concerning the connection between the two symbols.
Since the primary version of the Rebel Alliance logo does not include any text, the name of the organization may be given in any typeface fitting the visual context.
In terms of color palette, it is also not limited to just one option. Red, black, yellow, grey, and white are the colors typically used for the Rebel Alliance logo. However, most often we can see the Starbird in red, drawn against a plain white background.
The rising phoenix emblem symbolized the main goal of the Alliance to Restore the Republic – to return the Galactic Republic.