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[[Image:Death star1.png|right|thumb|250px|Death Star|The Death Star in ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|A New Hope]]'']]
[[Image:Death star1.png|right|thumb|250px|Death Star|The Death Star in ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope|A New Hope]]'']]
The '''Death Star''' is a [[fiction]]al [[space station]] and [[superweapon]] appearing in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies and [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|expanded universe]]. In the films, the first Death Star is featured in ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'', and a second Death Star is under construction in ''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]]''.
The '''Death Star''' is a [[fiction]]al planet-sized [[space station]] and [[superweapon]] appearing in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' movies and [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|expanded universe]]. In the films, the first Death Star is featured in ''[[Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope]]'', and a second Death Star is under construction in ''[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi]]''.


== Origin and design ==
== Origin and design ==

Revision as of 20:53, 29 October 2008

For other uses, see Death Star (disambiguation).
The Death Star in A New Hope

The Death Star is a fictional planet-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. In the films, the first Death Star is featured in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and a second Death Star is under construction in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Origin and design

Although particular details, such as the superlaser's location, shifted between different concept models during A New Hope's production, the notion of the Death Star being a large, spherical space station was consistent in all of them.[1] Portraying an incomplete yet powerful space station posed a problem for Industrial Light & Magic's modelmakers for Return of the Jedi.[2] Only the front side of the 137-centimeter model was completed, and the image was flipped horizontally for the final film.[2] Both Death Stars were depicted by a combination of complete and sectional models and matte paintings.[1][2]

Depiction

The second Death Star in Return of the Jedi

The original Death Star in A New Hope, commanded by Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), is the Galactic Empire's "ultimate weapon", a space station capable of destroying a planet in a single attack. The film opens with Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) transporting the station's schematics to the Rebel Alliance to aid them in destroying it. Tarkin orders the Death Star to destroy Leia's home world of Alderaan in an attempt to pressure her to betray the Rebels. At the film's climactic battle, Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) trust in the Force allows him to destroy the Death Star. Both Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) and Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) die aboard the second Death Star before the Rebels destroy it in Return of the Jedi. The first Death Star also appears in the Star Wars prequel trilogy: its schematics are visible in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and the end of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith shows the Death Star early in its construction.

Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), left, and Darth Vader watch the construction of the first Death Star in Revenge of the Sith

The Death Stars appear throughout the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It is the subject of Michael Reaves and Steve Perry's novel Death Star. In LucasArts' Star Wars: Battlefront II, the player participates in a mission to secure crystals used in the Death Star's superlaser. Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy introduces the Maw Cluster of black holes that protect a laboratory where parts of the Death Star were tested. National Public Radio's A New Hope adaptation portrays Leia (Ann Sachs) and Bail Organa's (Stephen Elliott) discovery of the Death Star's existence and Leia's mission to steal the space station's schematics. The first level of LucasArts' Dark Forces gives the player a supporting role in Leia's mission, while a mission in Battlefront II tasks the player with acting as a stormtrooper or Darth Vader in an attempt to recover the plans and capture Leia. Steve Perry's novel Shadows of the Empire describes a mission that leads to the Rebels learning of the second Death Star's existence, and that mission is playable in LucasArts' X-Wing Alliance combat flight simulator.[citation needed] Numerous LucasArts titles recreate the movies' attacks on the Death Stars, and the Death Star itself is a controllable weapon in the Rebellion and Empire at War strategy game.

The first Death Star had a crew of 265,675, as well as 52,276 gunners, 607,360 troops, 30,984 stormtroopers, 42,782 ship support staff, and 180,216 pilots and support crew.[3] Its hangars contain assault shuttles, blastboats, Strike cruisers, land vehicles, support ships, and 7,293 TIE fighters.[4] It is also protected by 10,000 turbolaser batteries, 2,600 ion cannons, and at least 768 tractor beam projectors.[4] Various sources state the first Death Star has a diameter between 120 and 160 kilometers.[3][5] There is a broader range of figures for the second Death Star's diameter, ranging from 160 to 900 kilometers.[6][7]

Cultural impact

The Death Star is one of the better-known concepts from the Star Wars universe and is widely recognizable outside of that context. Television shows, movies, and games that refer to the Death Star include Clerks, Newsradio, Muppet Babies, Futurama, Lost, Seinfeld, Family Guy, Life on Mars, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Fairly Oddparents, Pinky and the Brain, Farscape, Tripping the Rift, Twister, Metalocalypse, Crayon Shin Chan, Ogame, AstroEmpires, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Metal Gear Solid 4, Sonic the Hedgehog 2[8] and Jazz Jackrabbit.

The Death Star placed ninth in a 2008 20th Century Fox poll of the most popular movie weapons.[9]

File:Mimas1.jpg
The Saturnian moon Mimas

The media in 1980 commented on the resemblance Saturn's moon Mimas' large crater gives it to the Death Star.[10] Astronomers sometimes use the term "Death Star" to describe Nemesis, a hypothetical star postulated in 1984 to be responsible for gravitationally forcing comets and asteroids from the Oort cloud toward Earth.[11]

In the US, networks that compete with FOX refer to American Idol as the Death Star due to its destructive effects on their schedules and ratings.[12][13] Enron labeled one of the false companies used in its fraudulent manipulation of the California power grid "Death Star".[14] In Canada, the term "death stars" was used to describe U.S. Direct Broadcast Satellites capable of broadcasting signals into Canada that were not regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.[15] An AT&T logo has been compared to the Death Star.[16] The Creative Artists Agency's headquarters has been nicknamed the "Death Star" by the entertainment media.[17]

Merchandise

Kenner and AMT created a playset and a model, respectively, of the first Death Star.[18][19] In 2005 and 2008, Lego released Death Star models.[20][21] Both Death Stars are part of different Micro Machines three-packs.[22][23] The Death Stars and locations in them are cards in Decipher, Inc.'s and Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Customizable Card Game and Star Wars Trading Card Game, respectively.[24] Hasbro released a Death Star model that transforms into a Darth Vader mech.[25] Estes Industries released a flying model rocket version.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Death Star (Behind the Scenes)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  2. ^ a b c "Death Star II (Behind the Scenes)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  3. ^ a b "Death Star (Expanded Universe)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-08-09.
  4. ^ a b Slavicsek, Bill (1991-06-01). Death Star Technical Companion. West End Games.
  5. ^ Reynolds, David (1998-10-05). Incredible Cross-Sections of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V & VI: The Ultimate Guide to Star Wars Vehicles and Spacecraft. DK Children. ISBN 0789434806.
  6. ^ "Death Star II (Expanded Universe)". Star Wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
  7. ^ Inside the Worlds of Star Wars, Episodes IV, V, & VI: The Complete Guide to the Incredible Locations. DK Children. 2004-08-16. ISBN 0756603072.
  8. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Sonic & Knuckles feature "the Death Egg," a space station resembling the Death Star as well as the face of series villain Dr. Eggman. A similar superweapon, the Space Colony ARK (with the Eclipse Cannon), appears in Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog.
  9. ^ Sophie Borland (2008-01-21). "Lightsabre wins the battle of movie weapons". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Young (2005-02-11). "Saturn's moon is Death Star's twin". New Scientistfirst=Kelly. Retrieved 2008-08-21. Saturn's diminutive moon, Mimas, poses as the Death Star - the planet-destroying space station from the movie Star Wars - in an image recently captured by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.
  11. ^ Britt, Robert Roy (2001-04-03). "Nemesis: Does the Sun Have a 'Companion'?". Space.com. Retrieved 2008-08-21. Any one of them could be the Death Star, as Nemesis has come to be called by some.
  12. ^ Carter, Bill (2007-02-20). "For Fox's Rivals, 'American Idol' Remains a 'Schoolyard Bully'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-13. If any of Fox's rivals had hopes that this year might signal some hint that the monster — NBC favors the term Death Star — would finally betray some sign of weakness, those hopes were dispelled in just a week. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Bauder, David (2007-01-30). "'Idol' Attracts More Than 32M Viewers". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-03-13. Rival television executives not-so-fondly refer to Fox's American Idol as the "death star."
  14. ^ Kranhold, Kathryn (2002-05-07). "New Documents Show Enron Traders Manipulated California Energy Costs". Free Preview. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Hoskins, Colin (1994). "The Environment in which Cultural Industries Operate and Some Implications". Canadian Journal of Communication. Retrieved 2007-09-09. Their strategy has been to paint a doom-and-gloom scenario with respect to the effect of expected U.S. DBS services, dubbing the satellites "death stars." {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Hood, James R. (2006-05-04). "AT&T Plans to Kill Cingular Name". Consumer Affairs. Retrieved 2008-08-21. Cingular's hip image just may be obliterated when it gets pulled into AT&T's logo, which many advertising types refer to as the "death star."
  17. ^ "Agents: A Big Week for CAA!". Defamer. Gawker Media. 2007-03-16. Retrieved 2007-09-09. We're told that most of the agency is away on a weekend retreat in Ojai, leaving the Death Star defended solely by some call-rolling drones
  18. ^ "Death Star Space Station". SirStevesGuide.com Photo Gallery. Steve Sansweet. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  19. ^ "Death Star". SirStevesGuide.com Photo Gallery. Steve Sansweet. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  20. ^ "LEGO Death Star". Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  21. ^ "3,800-Piece Death Star Diorama Is Coolest Star Wars Lego Ever". Gizmodo. 2008-06-19. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
  22. ^ "#X: T-16 Skyhopper, Lars Family Landspeeder, Death Star II (1996)". Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  23. ^ "#XIV: Landing Craft, Death Star, Speeder Swoop (1998)". Star Wars Cargo Bay. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  24. ^ "Star Wars Customizable Card Game Complete Card List" (PDF). Decipher, Inc. 2001-08-23. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  25. ^ "Star Wars TRANSFORMERS Darth Vader Death Star". Hasbro. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  26. ^ "ESTES INDUSTRIES INC. Model Rockets and Engines". Retrieved 2008-08-21.
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