Death Star vs. Starkiller
In The Force Awakens, the Resistance is dismayed to find that the First Order has constructed an enormous superweapon called Starkiller Base. One officer remarks on Starkiller Base's resemblance to the Empire's original superweapon: "It's another Death Star." Despite their similarities, though, the two superweapons' names – Death Star and Starkiller – are almost exact inversions of each other, pointing to their underlying differences. The Death Star is a false star that kills planets; Starkiller Base is a false planet that kills stars.
The Death Star is a cold, sterile space station, completely technological and utterly devoid of nature. Starkiller Base is also cold – it is a snowy, icy planet – but its surface is still covered with natural forests.
The Death Star destroys single planets with surgical precision: when it fires, several laser beams converge into one, and the laser is so controlled that technicians can stand right next to the beam when it fires. When Starkiller Base fires, the unruly blast destroys the nearby trees, and the single laser beam diffuses into several, hitting multiple targets.
The Death Star's laser apparently generates no heat, whereas Starkiller Base's destructive capacity is entirely based around the hot solar energy it draws from a nearby sun. To destroy it, the Resistance pilots target the "thermal oscillator" that prevents the weapon from overheating.
The differences between the two superweapons reflect the differences between their two commanders. The Death Star is commanded by the cold, dispassionate Grand Moff Tarkin, who coolly gives his technicians the order, "You may fire when ready." Starkiller Base is commanded by the fanatical General Hux, who delivers a zealous screed against his enemies before screaming the command to "Fire!"
The Death Star is destroyed by a simple intellectual miscalculation; when his aide urges him to evacuate, Tarkin confidently retorts, "I think you overestimate their chances." Starkiller Base is destroyed because it is unstable by nature, barely able to contain the power it needs to function. Unlike the calm and collected Tarkin, Hux panics and flees when Starkiller Base begins to collapse and the First Order's machine burns away, leaving only the light of the sun that it tried to consume.
EXPLORE FURTHER…
Characters: General Hux / Grand Moff Tarkin
Films: Episode IV: A New Hope / Episode VII: The Force Awakens
GO DEEPER INTO THE ARCHIVES…
Concepts: cold and heat / forests / ice / light and darkness / names / nature and technology / passion / power and weakness
READ MORE ABOUT…
Follow The Jedi Archives on…