Starkiller Base is the name of a military installation, as well as the planetoid upon which it is located. It is featured in the Star Wars multimedia franchise and played a key role in the 2015 feature film Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
Starkiller base is a scientific research and military installation utilized by the First Order. It is housed on an unnamed icy planet in the Unknown Regions. Starkiller base is the main weapons platform of the First Order and is where the Order's great super-weapon was constructed. This weapon was an immense space-gun that was charged by draining the energy of a nearby star, which it contained within a network of magnetic fields in its planetary core. Once fully charged, it emitted a multiple-beam blast that could travel through hyperspace, sterilizing entire star systems, and wiping out multiple worlds with a single shot. This great super-weapon effected a devastating blow against the New Republic when it destroyed the Hosnian system, which contained the seat of power of the New Republic. [1]
History[]
Capturing Rey[]
When the First Order mounted an offensive on the planet Takodana, Kylo Ren captured a young human woman named Rey. He brought her back to Starkiller Base, where he attempted to interrogate her using the Dark Side of the Force. Rey not only proved resistant to Kylo Ren's power, but also telepathically perceived the Dark Force user's greatest fear - that he would never become as powerful as his grandfather, Darth Vader. After Kylo Ren left the interrogation chamber, Rey tapped into her own intuitive ability to use the Force and mind-controlled a First Order stormtrooper into releasing her from captivity. [2]
The Hosnian system[]
Starkiller Base.
It was at this time, that First Order Supreme Leader Snoke ordered the destruction of the Hosnian system. The trailing blast of the Starkiller super-weapon could be seen from other planets as it ripped through the galaxy, destroying the Republic home world, several moons, and the entire Republic Fleet. Afterward, the First Order prepared to charge the station's weapon once again in order to destroy D'Qar, which housed the Resistance.
A Resistance fighter pilot named Snap Wexley ran a reconnaissance mission of the planet and provided a detailed layout of the base itself. From here, the Resistance were able to make preparations for a counter-offensive. A new member of the Resistance was a former stormtrooper named FN-2187 (or Finn), who provided invaluable information relating to a vulnerability on the station. Destroying a thermal oscillator port while the base's super-weapon was fully charged would create a critical explosion that would destroy the base. [2]
The Battle of Starkiller Base[]
As Starkiller Base primed its superweapon with the intent of destroying D'Qar, the Resistance sent a squadron of X-wing fighters to take out the thermal oscillator. They encountered several wings of First Order TIE fighters and engaged them in combat across the surface of the planet.
Han Solo piloted his own ship, the Millennium Falcon, along with his co-pilot Chewbacca and FN-2187 through the thick of battle onto the base. The second stage of their offensive involved planting explosive charges throughout the base, rupturing the structural integrity of the thermal oscillator. Han, Chewbacca and Finn caught up with their colleague, Rey, who had already escaped from captivity.
As the team deployed the charges, Han Solo met up with Kylo Ren, who was actually his son, Ben, who had been corrupted by the Dark Side of the Force. Solo made a final desperate attempt to reach his son, and it was clear that Kylo himself was struggling with the temptation of the light side. However, the Dark Side of the Force proved strong in Kylo Ren and he brutally murdered his father with his lightsaber. Chewbacca howled in anguish and succeeded in firing his bowcaster at Ren, dealing out a critical injury. However, time was at the essence at this point, and they needed to evacuate before the charges detonated. [2]
Mountain showdown[]
While Chewbacca made it back to the Falcon, Finn and Rey encountered Kylo Ren in the frozen forests outside. Finn possessed the lightsaber of Luke Skywalker (the one originally owned by Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker), and fought against Kylo Ren. Though he was an apt combatant, Kylo dealt him a crippling blow by slashing Finn across the back. He then tried to use the Force to telekinetically will the lightsaber to his hand, but it actually went to Rey.
Kylo and Rey fought one another in the snow, and Rey found herself on the defensive as the injured and enraged Kylo Ren kept after her. He backed her towards the edge of a cliff, but Rey was able to calm herself through the Force, and found the strength to fight back, ultimately disarming Kylo Ren.
It was at this point that the thermal oscillator exploded and there was precious little time to escape. Rey collected the unconscious Finn and made it back aboard the Falcon, while First Order Supreme Leader Snoke ordered his top staff off the base, including Kylo Ren, General Hux and presumably Stormtrooper captain Phasma (who had been dumped into a trash compactor by Finn and Han Solo earlier on). [2]
Staff[]
Notes[]
- The name "Starkiller" goes back to the mid 1970s when George Lucas began sketching out original first drafts for what would eventually become Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The name was attributed to a protagonist character named Kane Starkiller who, after numerous rewrites and revisions, was conceptualized as the Luke Skywalker character from the original series. The Starkiller name was also used as an alias for Galen Marek, as well as his numerous clones, which were featured in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game series.
- According to the computer blueprint provided by Snap Wexley, the Starkiller base instillation was twice the size of the second Death Star, which in turn was twice the size of the original Death Star.
- The world on which the Starkiller base was constructed is actually a mobile planet according to Star Wars continuity guru Pablo Hidalgo, implying that it can travel beyond its own orbit, though the scientific explanation behind this remains unclear. Hidalgo briefly clarified this in a tweet shortly after the U.S. premiere of The Force Awakens by simply saying, "Yeah, it moves". [3]
- The January 16th, 2015 episode of late night comedy sketch series Saturday Night Live featuring guest host Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, did a sketch called "Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base", which poked fun at not only Star Wars, but the reality series Undercover Boss as well. In the sketch, Driver reprised the role of Kylo Ren, but this time went undercover as a blonde-haired radar technician named Matt. [4]