Pharl McQuarrie, a human originating from the planet Ralltiir, distinguished himself as a prominent military advisor during the Clone Wars. Later, in the Galactic Civil War, he rose to the rank of general within the Alliance to Restore the Republic, where his contributions proved vital in the retrieval of the crucial Death Star plans. Leveraging his expertise in planning and logistics, McQuarrie was instrumental in designing the Alliance's base on Hoth, known as Echo Base, and oversaw its construction before assuming the role of second-in-command under General Carlist Rieekan.
In the year 3 ABY, the Galactic Empire detected the Alliance's presence on Hoth, leading to the deployment of forces to attack Echo Base. McQuarrie played a pivotal role in orchestrating a defensive strategy against the Empire, facilitating the successful evacuation of the majority of the base's personnel and equipment to a designated rally point.
Hailing from the planet Ralltiir as his, Pharl McQuarrie served as a key military advisor during the Clone Wars. He later became a general in the army of the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War, fighting against the Galactic Empire. His contributions to the Alliance were partly responsible for the Death Star plans being successfully acquired by Princess Leia Organa after their recovery on the planet Scarif following the Battle of Scarif in 1 BBY.
Following the utilization of those plans to destroy the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, he was deeply involved in the planning and establishment of Echo Base, the Alliance's headquarters situated on the icy planet Hoth. He was handpicked to oversee its construction, proving to be an essential figure by managing everything from the foundational structure to the installation of equipment. The construction of the base required eighteen months, with two of those months dedicated solely to equipment installation. Upon the base's completion, General Carlist Rieekan, the commander of Echo Base, chose McQuarrie as his second-in-command, acknowledging his significant contribution to the base's creation.
In 3 ABY, barely a month after the Alliance began operations at Echo Base, an Imperial Viper probe droid discovered its location and alerted the Empire. After the Alliance located and destroyed the droid, an immediate evacuation was initiated. Amidst these preparations, McQuarrie was seen walking through one of the base's hangars, passing by several other members of the base personnel.
Before the evacuation could fully commence, an Imperial fleet arrived in the Hoth system and deployed ground forces to attack Echo Base. McQuarrie was central to coordinating a defensive holding action against the Imperial forces, providing the Alliance with crucial time to evacuate the majority of the base's personnel and equipment to a designated rallying point, including all members of Alliance High Command who were present.
While stationed at Echo Base, McQuarrie was typically seen wearing a brown cold-weather issue command parka, white command gauntlets, a brown belt, and a white insulated watch cap equipped with a com unit, a face wrap, cap warmers, and green anti-glare goggles. He also frequently carried a clipboard.
Pharl McQuarrie's character was conceived as an on-screen cameo as a tribute to concept artist Ralph McQuarrie in the 1980 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. McQuarrie is shown carrying his sketch clipboard in front of a matte painting that he himself created, in a scene that also features several other concept artists who contributed to the film, including Joe Johnston, Harrison Ellenshaw, and Michael Pangrazio, all making cameo appearances as rebel personnel. While Johnston was given a short line of dialogue, McQuarrie mentioned that the crew hesitated to give him any lines, anticipating he would likely "flub" them. The scene was captured as part of pickup shots at Industrial Light & Magic in California on February 9, 1980, requiring ten takes to achieve the final result.
The name Pharl McQuarrie was initially introduced into the new Star Wars canon with the release of a bust of the character, sold exclusively at Celebration Anaheim in 2015. The name has roots in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where the character was originally identified simply as General McQuarrie on a card in the 1998 Special Edition Limited set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. The first name "Pharl," an anagram of Ralph, was later introduced in the 2004 article "Who's Who in Echo Base," authored by Josh Radke and published in Star Wars Insider 74.