by King Hazard
The Star Wars universe is built largely on the back of its celebrated characters. From Luke to Rey, and with dozens of noteworthy characters in between, these are figures that film fanatics have identified with, cheered for, and in some cases rooted against for years. But as brilliant as the people of the Star Wars saga are, this is also a franchise that’s done a wonderful job of popularizing props like ships, weapons, suits, and more that are entirely out of this world.
We’ve written at length about the Millennium Falcon, which is arguably the most famous ship from the entire series. It’s a bizarre and inventive, “hunk of junk” of a ship that seems to be one-of-a-kind. It’s also among both the fastest and most durable vessels in the Star Wars universe. But here we’ll take a brief look over some of the other objects that stand out as having genuinely contributed to the franchise’s success.
The X-Wing
If the Millennium Falcon is the most iconic ship from Star Wars, the X-Wing is hot on its heels. The difference, of course, is that this ship wasn’t one-of-a-kind, but rather was the chosen vessel for the Rebel fleet. Still, it’s hard to imagine Star Wars without these speedy little fighter ships and their accompanying sound effects. And to give you an idea of just how much fans still appreciate these ships, CNET, which sometimes delves into tech-related, pop culture news, posted a fascinating article about an original X-Wing model selling at auction this summer. Apparently, the model—which was from A New Hope and sized a bit like an elongated golf cart—sold to the top bidder for $160,000.
The AT-AT
This won’t be all about vehicles, but only seems fair to mention an Imperial vessel as well. There’s probably not one that was more unique than the AT-AT. Standing for All Terrain Armored Transport, these were the massive, four-legged land destroyers best known for roaming around Hoth during The Empire Strikes Back. In truth, these are pretty silly vehicles and are laughably vulnerable. But then, that same vulnerability led to one of the great Star Wars battle scenes, which has been recreated in numerous video games and was even imitated in the recent film Captain America: Civil War, which Spider-Man used his webs to tie up the legs of a giant, clumsy Ant-Man.
Luke’s Lightsaber
Really, any lightsaber is significant, but Luke’s original blue one is hard to beat in terms of representing the Star Wars saga. In fact, according to an article at Lottoland, the prop itself is actually worth more to fans than an entire X-Wing! That site is used mostly for lottery games and strategies, but sometimes discusses fun ways to spend a fortune (for those who might actually win a lottery). Thus, this article looked at some high value film memorabilia, and mentioned that Luke’s original lightsaber sold for $240,000 at auction!
Han’s Blaster
Essentially a laser gun, Han Solo’s blaster might not be quite as unique as a lightsaber—but it’s almost as valuable to fans. The same post referenced with regard to Luke’s lightsaber mentioned that Han’s original blaster actually went for a whopping $200,000. In this case, that’s largely a result of who wielded the weapon. It’s a weird steampunk-looking weapon, but in Han Solo’s hands it was a deadly and exciting gun (especially when it shoots first).
Boba Fett’s Jetpack
Boba Fett is one of the most popular second-hand villains in cinematic history, and it’s largely because of what he looks like. Sure, he puts up a pretty good fight in Return Of The Jedi, and his father made a chilling appearance in the prequel trilogy, but the real reason everyone loves Boba Fett is that his suit was awesome. And that was largely a result of his high-powered, ornamental jetpack, which pretty much made this character Iron Man almost 30 years before Robert Downey Jr. took flight.
Darth Vader’s Helmet
“It’s the face of evil.” That’s how this legendary helmet was described in a look back at the history of Star Wars in 10 objects, and there’s not really a better way to put it. Darth Vader might be the single defining fictional villain of our time, and his mask/helmet is as representative of this saga as anything and remains an iconic symbol in the films today.
The fun thing about looking back at a list like this is wondering how it might change in the coming years. Depending on how the new trilogy goes, we could well be adding things like Rey’s staff or some as-yet-unseen Imperial ship to the collection. But for now, these are some of the objects that have been as crucial to Star Wars lore as the characters themselves.
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