May the 4th be with you!
Today is Star Wars day! In celebration of this year's greatest holiday, we decided to do something special. We are going to be talking about some of our favorite things from Star Wars. In order to try and stay on topic, we will be talking about our favorite Capital Ships (Armada), Fighters or Freighters (X-Wing), Characters (Legion), and Star Wars memory.
Favorite Capital ship
CahoonM: I really cannot express in words how much I love the MC75 Star Cruiser. When I first saw Profundity come on-screen in Rogue One I was immediately enthralled. I have been a big fan of Mon Cala ships since I first saw Home One in ROTJ as a kid. Their unique, oblong shape has always captured my attention in a way no other sci-fi ship has. Along with the Mon Calamari being one of my favorite Star Wars races, they were also capable of designing some of the strongest ships in the galaxy. The MC80 is tied for a close second with the Republic's Venator.
Fulcrum: What is more iconic than the Imperial-II Class Star Destroyer? There are few more definitive signs that you're in trouble than an Impstar Deuce dropping out of hyperspace and any Star Wars fan could probably make their way around the bridge of a Star Destroyer with their eyes closed. There's just something about the look of this ship that lets you know it means business. This is kind of a "basic" choice but it was the first thing my mind jumped to; my other thought would have been either the CR90 Corvette or the Nebulon-B Frigate.
Blaze Firestar: It's tough to choose, especially since the Imperial-II was chosen, but I think that the Venator wins my favorite capital ship by a slight margin. It is too dang cool and I love Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars so I can't help but love the Venator. The crimson stripes and the dual bridge are just such cool designs, and I remember flying around these in the classic Battlefront II. The Interdictor is a very very close second, but this wins out just ever so slightly.
Favorite Fighter or Freighter
Fulcrum: Form and function in perfect harmony, the design of the N-1 just slaps. You know from my first article on this site that I love this ship and I feel like it just epitomizes the aesthetic of the first half of the prequel trilogy. Also want to give a quick shoutout to the sound design for its engines. Perfection. The Phantom Menace has its flaws, but it is truly a visual feast. Since I have a very hard time choosing, I also considered the T-65 X-Wing (how can you not?) and the TIE Interceptor for this.
Blaze Firestar: Such a tough choice. The TIE Whisper, TIE Defender, TIE Interceptor, TIE Baron, TIE Silencer, RZ-1 and RZ-2 A-Wing, and the ETA-2 are all such good choices! Because of that, I'm going with the one that stands out: the Upsilon Shuttle. From the start of The Force Awakens, this ship caught my eye and it has stayed there ever since. I love how menacing and impractical it is, it feels very "Star Wars bad guy" which is exactly what it is. Such a tough decision though.
CahoonM: The YT-2400 Light Freighter has such a cool design. It only shows up on the (canon) screen once in an episode of Rebels. My first introduction to this ship was actually playing Armada. Once I used it in-game and loved it, I looked for more images of it and was excited to see it in Rebels, and it makes me excited to read some of the comics it's mentioned in. If I were living in the Star Wars universe this would be my choice of ship. It's like a space van that you can explore the galaxy in.
Favorite character
Blaze Firestar: He's the chosen one. How could I not choose him! He was the first character I thought was cool enough to actually get me to watch Star Wars, and The Clone Wars came out not too long after I saw my first Star Wars movie, so I was immediately hooked. Arrogant, brash, and hateful toward sand, Anakin is the embodiment of Star Wars to me and I cannot wait to (hopefully) see him again in Kenobi. Honorable Mentions: Director Krennic, Kylo Ren, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, Hondo Ohnaka, Count Dooku, Emperor Palpatine.
CahoonM: God I love Yoda so much, but Luke Skywalker is just so so so good. I lean between the two of them on a daily basis, and today I'm on a Luke day. Luke's progression as a character throughout the story of the OT, TV shows, books, comics, and video games is probably my favorite progression for any character ever. There is so much content but of all of it, the one that stands out the most is his appearance in the story of Battlefront II. When he appears on Pillio to get his space compass and meets Inferno Squad member Del Meeko. Instead of letting Del die on Pillio Luke assists him in getting out of a sticky situation. When confronted by Del on why he would help Luke utters a simple line "Because you asked." This is why Luke is my favorite character. He perfectly embodies what it means to be a Jedi and a hero.
Fulcrum: Finn is such a great character and I really enjoyed John Boyega's performance in the new trilogy. Sure, the writing kind of detoured his arc a bit but I still find his journey really compelling as he went from making the right choice and defecting but living in fear to learning to be a good friend and feel safe with others, to finding out some hard truths about the galaxy, then resisting becoming jaded and evolving into a real leader. I personally like how he was teased as our new Jedi protagonist only to have it turn out to be Rey with Finn staying ambiguously Force-sensitive as it freed up his character to grow outside of the Jedi training and redemption path. Just pretty cool all around and I appreciated him as the glue holding the starring trio together. My honorable mentions: C-3PO, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, L'ulo L'ampar (rules never said we can't include comic characters), Cassian Andor, Poe Dameron.
Favorite star wars memory?
CahoonM: When I was maybe 5 or 6 before I ever saw any of the Star Wars movies, my cousin and I would sit on the floor in his living room and play on this Millenium Falcon-shaped plug and play for hours on end. Screaming and fighting to decide which game mode to play or arguing about who got to play as Luke. We got to ride speeder on Endor, play as a rebel trooper on Hoth, fight each other with lightsabers, and speed through the trenches in our own X-Wings. Eventually, after playing everything over and over again I decided it was time to watch the movies. My uncle booted up his OG A New Hope VHS and we watched it. Something clicked in my little kid brain right then and ever since I have loved Star Wars. Coincidentally, my birthday also lies on Star Wars Day so maybe I was always meant to love it.
Fulcrum: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film I saw in theaters. I was alive for the Special Edition releases but was living outside the U.S. and missed them. As a member of the prequel generation, I am enjoying the mini-renaissance the movies are experiencing. Sure they aren't "great" films, but having watched and rewatched the VHS of the original trilogy countless times, seeing these dazzling, epic-looking Star Wars films in the theater was truly special. Of course, I had all of the toys and other tie-ins and it was just so cool to have a Star Wars experience that felt like it was made for me. The design of the movie is so good, both introducing fresh elements (if I could choose a place to live I would go to Theed on Naboo in a heartbeat) while simultaneously feeling familiar and oh-so Star Wars with familiar characters and locations. At 9 years old I made my parents and grandparents take me to see Episode 1 in theaters 10 times.
Blaze Firestar: This is so tough to choose. I have loved watching the sequel trilogy in theaters, and The Force Awakens on opening night is one of my favorite movie experiences ever. I got to watch The Empire Strikes Back in theaters for the fortieth anniversary and that was amazing too, but I think my favorite has to be watching Star Wars with my family. After seeing an ad for The Clone Wars film in the newspaper I asked my grandpa to go and he happily said yes, which led to him sleeping and me wondering why Anakin was hanging out with this annoying teenager and baby Hutt. I recently got my girlfriend (now fiancé) to watch A New Hope for the very first time and she said it was, quote, "Not terrible" which is a victory for nerds everywhere. I got into Legion because of my cousins (heck, I watched my first Star Wars movie because of them). I love being able to bring my family together with a hobby that I enjoy so much, so it has to be my favorite Star Wars memory.