The First Order values loyalty over strength, and thus allows incompetence to permeate from its lowest soldier to its High Command. The Empire valued strength over loyalty, and thus had capable enforcers of its doctrine, from its officers to the Emperor and Darth Vader. Though some Star Wars fans will see many similarities between the two, there are enough differences to give insight into their supremacy.
Where the Empire was a sprawling government body that controlled everything from taxes to education, the First Order is a small faction of fanatics intent on making an even better version of their dictatorial predecessor. The new trilogy of Star Wars films has introduced the First Order, a fascist regime that has risen from the ashes of the Empire’s defeat in Return of the Jedi. Over the course of three films, fans would see the extent of its war on freedom, and when George Lucas announced he was making prequels to the original trilogy, they saw the machinations that led to its rise. But in 1977, it was made clear in a dark theater that it was one of the most fearsome dictatorships in the galaxy. When the iconic yellow print crawled up the screen during the opening of Episode IV: A New Hope, no audience member had ever heard of the evil Empire.
