Summary
A nightmarish Imperial superweapon from theStar WarsLegends continuity was quietly reimagined for the modern canon inStar Wars Rebels– and made far less dangerous. TheStar WarsLegends continuitywas the original canon for theStar Warsfranchise, but whenStar Warsunderwent a partial reboot in April 2014, Legends became both an alternate continuity and a wellspring of inspiration for the newerStar Warstimeline. In many cases, an element of Legends-era lore will be significantly reimagined when reappearing in the modern canon.
In the Legends continuity, Emperor Palpatine returned from the dead multiple times in the variousDark Empirecomics by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. Using the dark side power of essence transfer, Palpatine placed his consciousness in mindless clone bodies stored in his citadel on Byss in the Deep Core. Byss also housed a hidden backup portion of the Empire itself, known as the Dark Empire, whose military consisted of Palpatine’s deadliest forces. This included deadly droids like TIE/D drones and Scorpenek annihilator droids (appropriated from the Separatists), deadly vessels like the Eclipse-class dreadnaught, and terrifying superweapons.
While originalStar WarsLegends materials are almost as old as the original trilogy movies themselves,Dark Empirewas part of a resurgence of popularStar WarsLegends properties in the early 1990s.
10 Star Wars Superweapons That Should Have Conquered The Galaxy - & Why They All Failed
The number of outrageous superweapons in Star Wars has become a running gag among fans, as many should have triumphed but failed nonetheless.
Star Wars Rebels Secretly Brought Back The World Devastators
The World Devastators are among the Dark Empire’s superweapons, and a case can be made thatthey are significantly more dangerous than the Death Stars or any other superweapons, save for perhaps the Sun Crusher. World Devastators are massive war machines that harvest a planet’s natural resources with powerful tractor beams. At the expense of whatever planet they’re absorbing, World Devastators churn out warships for the Dark Empire, upgrade themselves and grow in size, and even produce other World Devastators. These monstrosities are comparable to the Star Forge, only they do not require a dark side-user and are mobile.
As World Devastators grow and improve themselves, they also become virtually indestructible to conventional means of attack. While Rogue Squadron managed to destroy three small World Devastators during the Battle of Mon Calamari, the rest could only be destroyed thanks to internal sabotage from Luke Skywalker and R2-D2, with the former feigning his fall to the dark side and allegiance to the Dark Empire and the Sith.Rebelsseason 4 introduced similar machines to the modern canon called ore crawlers, though they were nowhere near as dangerous as the original Legends iterations of the World Devastators.
The “World Devastators” Aren’t Quite As Dangerous As Legends
Ore crawlers, despite having a similar visual design and basic function to the original World Devastators, are trivial in comparison to the Dark Empire’s abominations. Ore crawlers strip mine a planet’s surface to provide theGalactic Empirewith materials for their military, butthey are not the self-replicating, virtually-indestructible, planet-killers that their Legends counterparts are. InStar Wars Rebels, ore crawlers simply mine materials and transport them to Imperial facilities, so while they are certainly destructive, they are a far cry from superweapons.
Star Wars Rebels
Cast
Set between Episodes III and IV of the Star Wars film franchise, Star Wars Rebels is a canon animated series that follows a group of ragtag heroes who band together to face the Empire. In an age where the Galactic Empire is hunting down the last of the Jedi, a teenage outcast named Ezra Bridger is discovered to be force sensitive by a surviving Jedi known as Kanan Jarrus. Agreeing to join them and accept Jedi training, Ezra becomes a part of a small but growing crew of rebels determined to destroy the empire covertly.
