The Best in Fictional Weaponry: The Death Star

*Originally published on 3/9/12



Throughout this entire series, we've talked about weapons that provide a wide array of offensive options as well as ones that have some defensive properties. We've talked about magical swords, big freaking guns, and even rings that can literally do what the wearer wills them to do. These are all impressive in their own right, but power rings notwithstanding, they all pale in comparison to this next weapon. This is a weapon so powerful that it could send entire fleets of starships quaking in their metaphorical boots.

This weapon is the Death Star, the iconic space station from George Lucas' Star Wars saga. The Death Star is a gigantic space station (so gigantic that it was originally mistaken for a moon) that has a primary laser weapon that can generate enough power to cause a targeted planet to explode.

As if this didn't make the weapon fearsome enough, its shell is covered with turreted laser cannons in order to keep ships from attempting to attack it.

More than that, it is large enough that it can dock not only entire swarms of tie fighters, but several star destroyers as well. Should the Death Star need to go on the defensive, said fleet of ships can be dispatched to take care of any attacking forces.

The station was often touted as indestructible as its sheer mass made it almost impossible to destroy head on. Fortunately for the rebellion, there was one weak point. If a proton torpedo was fired down a specific ventilation shaft, it would trigger a chain reaction that would cause the station's power core to explode, resulting in its destruction. It was a one in a million shot, but with the help of the force, as well as some back up from Han Solo, Luke Skywalker managed to bring an end to the fearsome weapon.

Sadly, the Empire (and by extension, the Emperor) was so fond of the Death Star as a bringer of doom that even after Luke Skywalker blew it up at the end of A New Hope, construction on a new Death Star was ordered to take its place. Unlike the first one, there would be no vulnerable ventilation shaft to target.

If completed, this Death Star would mark the end of the rebellion. Luckily, space stations take a lot of time to construct. This allowed the rebellion to strike when the station was presumably vulnerable. This did not turn out to be the case.

Interestingly enough, while Death Star mk II was also equipped with defensive laser cannons as well as a much larger fleet at its disposal, the primary laser that was generally used for planetary destruction was used on starships during the climactic battle. One has to think it was more of a psychological maneuver as using that in a cosmic dog fight doesn't seem feasible.

When it comes to fictional weapons, the Death Star ranks as one of the deadliest and most fearsome, be it in science fiction or fiction in general. It may not be as versatile in an individual battle, but in an intergalactic war, it is a force to be reckoned with.