Sergeant Jad Bean Rides Again - as Jad "Scorch" Bean!
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Welcome back! I'm pleased to present PART 2 of the evolving adventures of "Jad Bean", the official Star Wars character named after yours truly - Jad Bean! If you're just joining, be sure to read my original article here, wherein I describe how I identified and located the character in Return of the Jedi.
Nearly five years later, and as a total surprise to me, I've learned that "Sergeant Jad Bean" survived the destruction of the second Death Star and has resurfaced as a First Order TIE Pilot and flight instructor. On May 23, 2019, JH Haynes & Co published the latest in their ongoing workshop manual series: Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Owner's Workshop Manual. Once again, author Ryder Windham has managed to sneak my actual name into the book - and in doing so, he created a very interesting backstory for my namesake character. |
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From Zeta Leader to...
I'm going to step back a few years so I can provide some historical context, and also attempt to provide a bit of insight into how these reference manuals are written. Let's go to the timeline which establishes this new "Scorch" backstory for the Jad Bean character.
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In September of 2015, Fantasy Flight Games published the X-Wing Miniatures Game: Force Awakens Core Set. This tabletop tactical ship-to-ship combat games lets you play out space dogfights using detailed plastic ship models (not unlike Micro Machines), dice, and the like. This release featured content from The Force Awakens and established the existence of Zeta Squadron, a group of First Order TIE Fighter pilots and their ships.
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December 2015 saw the release of an expansion pack for the game featuring a TIE/fo ship. This release expanded the Zeta Squadron by including a specific card for "Zeta Leader", who was, obviously, the leader of Zeta Squadron. Zeta Leader was described as being fanatically devoted to the First Order.
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In September of 2018, Fantasy Flight Games released an updated version of their tabletop game with improved gameplay rules. Because of this, most of the game's core sets and expansion packs were re-released in "Second Edition" versions. (Star Wars is no stranger to multiple editions of the same thing!)
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Finally, in December of 2018, the TIE/fo expansion pack got a re-release. Once again, more information was revealed about Zeta Squadron, which included several newly named pilots. The set included a new card for Zeta Leader, this time giving him the nickname or call sign of "Scorch".
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First Order TIE Pilot Zeta Leader is now known as Scorch - but he's not Jad Bean yet
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Alright, so up to this point, we know a tiny bit of information about Zeta Leader, aka "Scorch". Additionally, we would presume that Sergeant Jad Bean perished aboard the Death Star 2. BUT NO! While writing the Haynes TIE Fighter manual, author Ryder Windham had collected a series of names of First Order pilots - Scorch, Longshot, Midnight, and so on. He had already written the lengthy quote for the chapter-opening spread on page 101, and he needed a name for a pilot in a command position. He chose to match up "Scorch" with the character he had previously named "Sergeant Jad Bean". Lucasfilm approved it, and the rest is history!
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Ryder sent me the following justification for how the two characters are actually the same individual:
"I'm allowing the possibility that Sgt. Bean suffered minor burns when he somehow survived the destruction of the Death Star, and his uniform was still smoldering when some sympathetic allies found him, nursed him back to health, and nicknamed him "Scorch," which became his call sign years later."
In a grand epic about spaceships, wizards, and blue milk, it's certainly not the strangest thing that could happen!
"I'm allowing the possibility that Sgt. Bean suffered minor burns when he somehow survived the destruction of the Death Star, and his uniform was still smoldering when some sympathetic allies found him, nursed him back to health, and nicknamed him "Scorch," which became his call sign years later."
In a grand epic about spaceships, wizards, and blue milk, it's certainly not the strangest thing that could happen!
Let's look at that card artwork...
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But the story doesn't end there. The "Scorch" game card shows an original piece of artwork by artist Leonid Kozienko. In it, a TIE/fo streaks through space, its inner wings reflecting a sinister green glow from its forward lasers, in the background a Resistance Bomber succumbs to internal explosions. The First Order: TRIUMPHANT! This is a lovely piece of art and is not a screencap; however, we can deduce from this that Zeta Squadron, lead by Scorch, was at the Evacuation of D'Qar. Jad "Scorch" Bean is canonically in the opening battle of The Last Jedi!
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Can we find Zeta Leader, Jad "Scorch" Bean, in The Last Jedi?
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So, that opens up the question - based on the information from just this image, can we reasonably locate Scorch on screen in The Last Jedi? Time to put on our investigative glasses.
The TIEs in this scene fly by VERY quickly, but from what I can tell, all the TIE Fighters are the same basic TIE/fo model. From the Scorch card artwork, we similarly can't see any unique identifying markers on his TIE Fighter. So, could a person just point at one of the many TIEs in the first battle and say, okay, one of those is hypothetically Scorch? Yeah, but I think we can do better. |
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Fortunately, the card artwork shows a very specific moment in the battle. If you'll recall, there are three distinct moments when we see MG-100 StarFortress SF-17 heavy bombers explode. The first one happens at about 8 minutes and 23 seconds into the film, wherein one lone bomber succumbs to explosions from its bomb bay; this is the one we'll look at in detail. (The other times we see bombers explode are 1. when one crashes with the ball of a TIE/fo cockpit, sending explosive shrapnel out which takes out several other bombers; and 2. when Paige Tico dramatically delivered the fatal blow to the First Order's Dreadnought).
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In the background of the card artwork we see one bomber's last moments, as it explodes both from the lower bomb area, and from the rear part of the hull....
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... whereas, in the film, we see the first lost bomber exploding in a very similar manner!
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I've watched this footage many times, and I think I can identify one TIE/fo that reasonably matches to the card artwork. It all hinges on the distinctive green glow from the lasers that we see reflected on the inside of the TIE's wings, which are prominently shown in the card artwork. In the film there is a TIE that zooms by, ever so quickly, as the destroyed bomber is sinking down. It manages to fire off two blasts from its forward lasers, and each time we see the reflected green light:
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In these copies, I circled the TIE/fo:
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So the commonalities we see between the artwork and the film are:
1. A bomber exploding from below and from the rear, with intact bombers in the further background
2. The position of the planet D'Qar is consistently in the lower right of the artwork and the screencaps
3. A TIE/fo flying outward and away from the bomber, going in the direction of the Dreadnought
4. That same TIE/fo firing its forward lasers, creating a distinct green reflection off the inside of its wings
1. A bomber exploding from below and from the rear, with intact bombers in the further background
2. The position of the planet D'Qar is consistently in the lower right of the artwork and the screencaps
3. A TIE/fo flying outward and away from the bomber, going in the direction of the Dreadnought
4. That same TIE/fo firing its forward lasers, creating a distinct green reflection off the inside of its wings
Jad "Scorch" Bean - Located On-Screen in The Last Jedi - ???
The Sergeant Jad Bean / Jad "Scorch" Bean character may be named after me, but that doesn't mean I can claim to authoritatively say this is definitely "Jad" in The Last Jedi. I love digging through the minute details of films, especially Star Wars; heck, I'd probably be researching this if the character wasn't named after me!
My hypothesis is conjecture, certainly, even a bit of a stretch. But to me, it's reasonable enough to say, yes, that particular TIE/fo is Jad "Scorch" Bean. It's truly the most minor, inconsequential appearance, and I doubt any additional resources will ever come out that would contradict this claim. |
Let's Recap The Tale of "Jad Bean"
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So, to summarize... Sergeant Jad Bean was first identified based off of this picture as seen on page 108 of the Star Wars: Imperial Death Star Owner's Workshop Manual, by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas.
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My analysis of this deleted scene revealed that the character, played by Stuart Fox, is seen in the film. In fact, he's the second person to speak in Return of the Jedi.
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Several years later, thanks to the Star Wars: TIE Fighter: Owner's Workshop Manual, also by Ryder Windham and Chris Reiff, the character is tied to a previously established TIE/fo pilot and flight instructor with the call sign of Scorch.
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Jad Bean, first a young Imperial Sergeant, survived the destruction of the second Death Star. He resurfaced as Jad "Scorch" Bean, fanatical First Order pilot and flight instructor, and engaged StarFortress bombers in the Evacuation of D'Qar. Did he survive that battle as well? Maybe, I guess!
Cool!
Super cool.
Cool!
Super cool.
Sergeant Jad Bean. A Character in Return of the Jedi. And, as Jad "Scorch" Bean, in The Last Jedi.
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One final note: I must give a huge 'thank you' to all the editors at Wookieepedia; this website was an invaluable resource in my research about Zeta Leader, Scorch, D'Qar, the X-Wing miniatures game, etc.
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Here's a bonus CNET article about the TIE Fighter manual, where Ryder sneaks in one more mention of Jad "Scorch" Bean!
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