Though insignificant next to the power of the Force, these weapons are still terrifying.
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00:00 Alongside lightsabers and the Millennium Falcon, one of the most iconic aspects of Star Wars is its constant use of superweapons.
00:08 These weapons and their destructive capabilities have been, and always will be, a mainstay across the space opera,
00:15 with new writers at the films, shows, comics and games seemingly always finding a way
00:20 to either utilize a pre-existing superweapon from Star Wars Legends or canon,
00:25 or invent a completely new terror machine for the heroes to inevitably blow up.
00:31 So with that in mind, I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 Deadliest Superweapons in Star Wars.
00:37 Number 10. World Devastator.
00:40 The World Devastators, or World Smashers, were created by the Dark Empire in the Star Wars Expanded Universe,
00:47 and were one of the most useful superweapons used by the Imperials.
00:51 The large machines were equipped with strong tractor beams on their lower halves,
00:55 meaning they were able to tear the surface beneath them, causing complete and utter chaos.
01:01 Unlike Death Stars for instance, these World Devastators were not merely planet-killing machines.
01:07 No, no, no, these superweapons could be used to ruin a planet's surface, stomping out rebellious defense
01:13 while harvesting the resources of the planet that it was actually wreaking havoc upon.
01:18 These resources would then later be used to both power the machines' foundries,
01:22 which produced warships and weaponry, as well as fueling itself,
01:26 making the World Devastators very sophisticated yet very terrifying machines.
01:31 The World Devastators were first seen in Star Wars Dark Empire back in 1992,
01:37 where they began to devastate the New Republic's temporary homeworld, Mon Calamari.
01:42 It was only through R2-D2 creating a virus which would then be fed to the machines,
01:46 that Luke Skywalker was able to destroy the World Devastators and free the planet from the Imperial destruction.
01:52 Number 9 - The Inhibitor Chip
01:54 When Revenge of the Sith released in 2005, there was virtually no explanation as to why the clone troopers
02:01 turned against the Jedi that they had been fighting with for years, and just execute them with no remorse.
02:07 For a long time, the explanation of this betrayal remained a contentious topic,
02:12 with writers choosing to opt for the idea that the clones were loyal to the Chancellor and the Republic first and foremost,
02:18 and so any order coming from Palpatine was to be immediately followed without hesitation.
02:24 However, with the sixth season of The Clone Wars, this idea had changed.
02:28 See, the show introduced the Inhibitor Chip as the cause of the clones' turn.
02:33 While strictly not a megastructure, Inhibitor Chips were placed in every clone during their creation,
02:39 and were then used to control the soldiers' every action.
02:42 Therefore, because of the chip, Palpatine was able to strip the clones of their free will,
02:47 and force them to kill their friends and generals through Order 66.
02:52 The chip was also used for other evil orders as well, namely Order 37,
02:56 as this order forced troops to round up nearby civilians,
03:00 and murder all of the innocents if a Jedi did not show themselves.
03:04 Number 8 - Malevolence
03:06 Seen in the first season of Star Wars The Clone Wars,
03:08 the Malevolence was a separatist heavy cruiser and flagship of General Grievous,
03:13 which had a pair of massive ion cannons on its hull and the ship's port.
03:18 When fired, the blast disrupted any starship it came into contact with,
03:22 and these ships had all of their energies, weaponry, and defense measures disabled,
03:27 meaning they were completely vulnerable and were usually destroyed in a matter of moments
03:32 by the Malevolence's many laser cannons.
03:34 Now, not only was the warship equipped with its dangerous ion and laser cannons,
03:39 but the Malevolence also carried an abundance of Vulture droids,
03:42 rocket battle droids, and a plethora of B1s, B2s, and droidey cars on board,
03:48 making an invasion of the ship a Herculean task.
03:51 Still, what The Clone Wars proved is that no matter how dangerous a weapon might be,
03:55 a well-placed bit of Jedi ingenuity could overcome and stop it,
04:00 as was proven when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker crashed the ship
04:04 into a nearby moon.
04:06 7. Mass Shadow Generator
04:09 The Mass Shadow Generator was a horrifyingly destructive superweapon
04:13 created by the Jedi Knight Revan,
04:15 that was able to pull local natural shadows created by celestial bodies,
04:20 with it then unleashing a deadly blast,
04:22 annihilating anything on and above the planet that it was stationed at.
04:27 In an attempt to end the Mandalorian Wars once and for all,
04:30 Revan allued a massive Mandalorian fleet to Malachor V,
04:34 where the generator would then be activated,
04:36 which drew many ships into a gravity vortex and crushed them,
04:40 as well as fracturing the planet itself.
04:42 Because of the Mass Shadow Generator,
04:44 Malachor V became a broken graveyard of both Republic and Mandalorian warships,
04:50 with nearly all life on the surface being completely annihilated.
04:54 6. The Death Star
04:55 The first and of course most recognisable superweapon in Star Wars is the Death Star.
05:01 Appearing in A New Hope, the Death Star could produce a powerful blast,
05:04 which could range from destroying a city to an entire planet.
05:08 And considering the Death Star was a complete and fully operational battle system,
05:12 one of the biggest dangers the superweapon posed to the galaxy
05:16 other than its laser blasts was its manoeuvrability.
05:19 See, the Death Star was fully equipped with a hyperdrive,
05:22 meaning it could travel to virtually anywhere in the Star Wars universe.
05:26 Therefore, if the Empire deemed a planet to be a threat,
05:29 the station could get from one side of the galaxy to the other
05:32 and completely obliterate the planet,
05:35 as was seen with the Rebel-sympathising Alderaan.
05:38 The Death Star's only weakness was an intentional flaw
05:41 created by the rebellious Galen Erso,
05:43 but even that didn't stop it from coming back in Return of the Jedi,
05:46 but more on that in a bit.
05:48 5. Sun Crusher
05:51 Residing in Star Wars Legends, the Sun Crusher was created by the Empire
05:55 and would fire energy resonance torpedoes which burrowed into stars,
05:59 collapsing their core and ultimately causing a supernova,
06:03 which would obliterate an entire star system.
06:06 As well as this devastating weapon, the machine was also equipped with a hyperdrive,
06:10 making it even more dangerous than it initially seemed,
06:13 for reasons that I just explained in the Death Star entry.
06:16 Worse still, the Star Crusher was coated in a powerful material,
06:20 quantum crystalline armour,
06:21 which was so strong that all fire from starships would just bounce off it,
06:26 making the Crusher nearly invincible.
06:28 And in the Star Wars Legends continuity,
06:31 the Sun Crusher was used to destroy the Cauldron Nebula
06:34 and was only stopped when it was sucked into a black hole.
06:37 And you know something's pretty hard when its only weakness is a literal black hole.
06:42 Like, that's just badass.
06:44 Although the Sun Crusher is not part of canon,
06:46 its capabilities make it a complete nightmare for the galaxy,
06:49 with its power being nearly unbelievable.
06:52 Number 4 - The Death Star 2
06:54 Being much bigger and more destructive than the first,
06:57 the second Death Star was a fun, albeit kinda lazy addition to Return of the Jedi.
07:02 As well as the laser dish,
07:03 the battle station was equipped with tens of thousands of heavy turbo laser and super blaster cannons,
07:09 making it a nearly invincible and impenetrable fortress.
07:13 And whilst the weapon was never used to eradicate a planet,
07:16 it was used several times to destroy a few Mon Calamari starcruisers with ease.
07:21 So not only was the Death Star 2 a planet destroyer, but it was also a fleet killer.
07:27 Still, much like its predecessor, the second Death Star had a few major weaknesses.
07:32 I mean, by Return of the Jedi, the battle station itself was still under construction,
07:36 despite it being fully armed and operational.
07:39 This meant that the weapon had to be tethered to the forest moon of Endor,
07:42 where a shield generator provided defense for the Death Star whilst it was being completed.
07:47 And as the film shows, when that reactor was destroyed, the entire weapon collapsed.
07:52 Number 3 - The Final Order Star Destroyers
07:56 One of the many, many failings of the Rise of Skywalker was its insistence to cram in yet
08:01 another superweapon amongst its overbearing original trilogy pandering.
08:05 Even so, the Final Order's Star Destroyers were very powerful indeed,
08:10 with them being nearly as dangerous as Starkiller Base itself.
08:14 See, the Star Destroyers had all of the abilities of the Death Stars,
08:17 that being planet-killing laser fire, but the Phantom Emperor had hundreds of them,
08:23 making them the most hazardous superweapon in terms of mobility.
08:26 If you wanted to, Palpatine could destroy hundreds of planets in one go with the Star Destroyers,
08:31 making them exceptionally dangerous.
08:34 Even so, the Star Destroyers suffered heavily from lacking many defensive measures.
08:39 As the Rise of Skywalker shows, the large cannons attached to the bottom of the ships were
08:43 very delicate and susceptible to attacks of any kind.
08:47 So a few torpedoes would start a chain reaction of explosions,
08:50 ultimately resulting in the ship's destruction.
08:53 Number 2 - Starkiller Base
08:55 One of the biggest focuses of the Force Awakens' plot was Starkiller Base.
09:01 Although it was only used once on screen, the base was able to produce a planet-killing laser
09:06 by channeling the strength of its local star.
09:09 The laser itself had the capability to split once it had been fired as well,
09:13 meaning that it could actually hit and destroy more than one target with a single blast.
09:18 This was of course seen during the events of the film,
09:21 where the First Order used the weapon to destroy Hosnian Prime amongst other Republic planets,
09:26 which essentially gave Snoke clearance to reinstate a form of Imperial rule,
09:31 since every major planet that had governed the galaxy no longer existed.
09:35 Because of this, the Starkiller Base is more dangerous than both Death Stars combined,
09:39 simply because it could destroy multiple planets at once.
09:42 Number 1 - The Star Forge
09:45 Included in the 2003 classic Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic,
09:49 the Star Forge is quite possibly the most dangerous superweapon in Star Wars history,
09:55 hence it getting the number one spot.
09:57 Created by the Rakata, the Forge fed off the dark side itself,
10:01 and was capable of utilising nearby components to mass-produce starships and weapons
10:06 at an exceptionally fast rate, much like the World Devastators.
10:11 Put in the wrong hands then and someone would have enough resources to take over the entire galaxy.
10:16 And this nearly happened after Darth Malak gained control of the Forge,
10:20 and began an operation to crush the Republic and take over the Star Wars universe.
10:26 It was only due to a redeemed Bastilla Shan that the Star Forge was able to fail.
10:31 Although certainly not the flashiest superweapon on this list,
10:34 the potential of the Star Forge makes it the deadliest and scariest superweapon in the franchise.
10:40 With enough demented determination, a Sith Lord could choose to either conquer the galaxy,
10:45 or wreak total havoc on it with the Forge, without any hope of stopping them once they got going.
10:51 So that's our list, I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below.
10:54 What do you think of these Star Wars superweapons,
10:57 and are there any incredibly powerful ones I missed off here?
11:00 Let me know, and while you're down there, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe,
11:03 and head over to WhatCultureStarWars for more lists like this on the regular.
11:06 Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.