The Malevolence functioned as a qaz-class Star Destroyer within the Imperial Navy throughout the Galactic Civil War. Following the Battle of Yavin, despite being a vessel of recent construction, it was one of the few qaz-class Destroyers still in active service during the conflict, as the others were retired. During that time, Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker of the Rebel Alliance embarked on a mission to the planet Tibrin, which was prematurely ended due to Skywalker's capture by the Empire.
Subsequently, Organa adopted a disguise herself as a Imperial officer and successfully infiltrated the _Imperial II_-class Star Destroyer Stormbringer, which was held Skywalker. As part of maintaining her false identity, Organa stated that she had previously been stationed aboard the Malevolence, which led TK-5648, the stormtrooper responsible for inspecting personnel boarding the ship, to voice his astonishment and curiosity about what it would be like to serve on such a warship.
The initial mention of the Malevolence occurred in "The Trouble at Tibrin, Part II," a comic story penned by Landry Q. Walker. This narrative was featured in the fifth issue of IDW Publishing's Star Wars Adventures comic anthology, which was made available on December 27, 2017.