Starkiller Base and Other Superweapons (The Jedi Academy Trilogy)

Those familiar with Star Wars lore will have recognized Starkiller Base for a few reasons. The name “Starkiller,” originally meant to be Luke’s surname in early drafts of Star Wars, has turned up at various times in the old Expanded Universe, including being the title given to Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in the videogame The Force Unleashed. In addition to that, though, there are plenty of superweapons that are very similar.

While the Sun Crusher from the Jedi Academy books is fundamentally different to Starkiller Base (it’s a single, small ship, rather than a giant planetary weapon), it is functionally similar as it contains the power to harness solar energy to destroy entire star systems. In the books, rogue Jedi Kyp Durron steals the weapon, and it’s up to Luke and his friends to track down the Sun Crusher before Kyp does too much damage.

Other notable superweapons in the old Star Wars canon include Centerpoint Station, which is capable of throwing asteroids down onto planets; the Galaxy Gun, which is basically a long, skinny Death Star; and the Star Forge, which draws power from a sun in a similar way to Starkiller Base, but instead uses it to power an enormous ship forge to give its controller unlimited military resources.