190
votes
Accepted
Why are ships in Star Wars so ridiculously easy to steal?
Many of your examples are military. In real life military, many vehicles do not require a key to start. They rely on the security of the base to prevent unauthorized usage. I'll try and find a link ...
- 2,083
122
votes
Do the Imperials know they are evil?
Some viewed the Republic as a corrupt bureaucratic nightmare where nothing could be accomplished. The Galactic Empire was a chance to make a government that worked.
But perhaps it was enough to ...
- 114k
106
votes
Accepted
Do the Imperials know they are evil?
TL;DR:
In general, the perspective of the Imperial leadership can be broken down into a few broad categories. In order of how common each of these attitudes were, from most common to least, the ...
- 68.6k
82
votes
Accepted
How was construction of the Death Star(s) kept secret?
The canon explanation is given in the novel Tarkin.
The Empire used a combination of secluded and inhospitable bases which each supported only part of the project. This made sure no single person (...
Null♦
- 69.4k
79
votes
Why are ships in Star Wars so ridiculously easy to steal?
Let's start with a real-world analogy...
From what I can recall of my experience learning to fly, all of the school's aircraft were parked unlocked with keys in. I never had to pick up a key to enter ...
- 10.9k
78
votes
What did Darth Vader mean by “There’ll be no one to stop us this time.” Who had “stopped” Vader—or the Empire—previously?
You are overthinking this. He just means Leia, who he has correctly inferred stopped him from getting the plans when he captured the ship. Vader evidently did not reckon on the possibility of a ...
- 94.8k
77
votes
Accepted
Toilets in the Star Wars galaxy
Update:
In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we see a sign labeled "LATRINE" in a bar, with symbols representing various races. From that, we can assume that bathrooms provided options for at least a few ...
- 66.5k
73
votes
Accepted
Where did the idea that TIE Fighters are weak and disposable come from?
It's probably the other way around - TIE-Fighters being expendable is a general conclusion that leaked into EU works.
The earliest mentions I can think of are the Official Nintendo Star Wars Rogue ...
- 10.2k
72
votes
Accepted
Has the A-Wing been retconned?
In Legends continuity, A-Wing were designed and fielded after the Battle of Yavin, which is why you don't see them before Endor. Disney did a semi-retcon by having them show up in Rebels around 5 ...
- 3,998
68
votes
Accepted
What did Darth Vader mean by “There’ll be no one to stop us this time.” Who had “stopped” Vader—or the Empire—previously?
My assumption was always that he meant the senate; his later conversation with Tarkin is that the senate had been dissolved, giving total power to the Moffs. Given that Leia and her (adopted) father ...
- 584
66
votes
Are Stormtroopers paid or rewarded in any way for their service?
In the new canon book "Battlefront: Twilight Company" - we follow the story of a female volunteer Stormtrooper on Sullust named Thara Nyende.
In Chapter 3 we see:
She'd joined with the intention ...
- 39.9k
65
votes
Accepted
How did C3PO know the Ewok Language?
C-3PO learnt the Ewok language through observation.
A few points from Legends have to be made to come to this conclusion:
The 3PO-series protocol droids are equipped with a TranLang III ...
- 34k
64
votes
Do the Imperials know they are evil?
This is going to start sounding like a lecture, but bear with me:
First of all, we're approaching this subject with an (understandably) preconceived notion that the Empire is evil. Throughout Episode ...
- 769
61
votes
Accepted
What is Darth Vader holding on the cover of the original Star Wars novelization?
In the original John Berkey painting, it appears that Vader is holding his lightsaber, stylized in a similar manner to Luke's lightsaber. (In fact, it almost looks like a solid metal blade with light ...
- 8,412
60
votes
Accepted
How do Droidekas fire blasters through their shields?
On careful examination, the Droideka's gun turrets appear to extend outside of the defensive shield. When they fire, they either do so with the muzzle precisely aligned with the front of the shield or ...
- 667k
60
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't Chewbacca learn to speak Galactic Basic?
It clearly states in the factbook Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know that Wookiees cannot speak Basic (e.g. English) for physiological reasons.
"Strange but true: Wookiees cannot ...
- 667k
59
votes
Are Lightsabers ever used outside of combat?
Cutting tool
In Episode V, Han Solo used Luke's lightsaber to cut open a tauntaun on Hoth.
Image taken from a Youtube video
Han's tauntaun had just died from the extreme cold, so Han cut it open to ...
Null♦
- 69.4k
59
votes
Is Palpatine's execution of Order 66 legally justified?
No... but it almost is.
If we are to take some Legends material into account, Order 66 was buried in a set of Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic that outlined protocol for a series ...
- 13.4k
59
votes
Accepted
Is there anything wrong with Thrawn?
This answer is from a Legends perspective; I haven't seen Rebels and I don't know much about the Canon incarnation of Thrawn. Unmarked spoilers ahead for the Thrawn trilogy and the first three or four ...
- 12.9k
58
votes
How did C3PO know the Ewok Language?
Based on what 3PO tells Han, it sounds like he doesn't explicitly know the Ewok language, and that he's extrapolating based on what he does know. He notes that they're using a "primitive dialect" and ...
- 134k
57
votes
What did Darth Vader mean by “There’ll be no one to stop us this time.” Who had “stopped” Vader—or the Empire—previously?
The impression I've always gotten is that Vader is saying this in an ironic (storytelling) way. Send troopers down, grab the droids, and come back. This should be a piece of cake for Storm Troopers.
...
- 50.8k
57
votes
Accepted
Are humans in Star Wars vegetarian?
Luke
I accepted, and an afternoon of trading stories about the desert extended into a dinner of room-service pahzik meat, which was in my opinion tastier than nerf and a significant point in Kupoh’...
- 667k
56
votes
Is there an in-universe explanation given to the senior Imperial Navy Officers as to why Darth Vader serves Emperor Palpatine?
While Star Wars revolves around The Force and its users, not everything is about the Force and its users. If my department is having problems with schedule and word is spread that we are going to be ...
- 629
54
votes
Accepted
Did Luke Skywalker ever refer to Obi-Wan as "Uncle Ben?"
The nice thing about e-Books: searches. The phrase "Uncle Ben" does not appear in the Star Wars novelization. There are 55 instances of "uncle" and all of them refer to Uncle Owen.
Thanks to Valorum, ...
- 6,834
54
votes
Accepted
How much did the Trade Federation know about their 'lord' at time of blockade?
The Trade Federation knows Sidious is a Sith Lord. For example:
Nute: This is getting out of hand...now there are two of them.
Rune: We should not have made this bargain. What will happen when ...
Null♦
- 69.4k
54
votes
Accepted
Did Captain Needa die in The Empire Strikes Back?
He's dead, Jim.
The script confirms his death.
Clutching desperately at his throat, Captain Needa slumps down, then
falls over on his back, at the feet of Darth Vader. Two stormtroopers
pick up the ...
- 134k
53
votes
Accepted
Has a Star Wars character ever been told the odds and not gone on to beat them?
In the Last Jedi,
The odds of such a plan succeeding is logically very low, since security is a vital part of any military operation. It must have been statistically inconceivable that people could ...
- 999
52
votes
Accepted
What is this object seen in Mos Eisley spaceport?
This is a 9000 Z001 landspeeder
Per wookieepedia
The 9000 Z001 landspeeder was a Ubrikkian model commonly used around
the time of the Battle of Yavin. It was modified from the 9000
landspeeder,...
- 667k
52
votes
Accepted
Why was the Millennium Falcon too small for a cloaking device?
If I recall correctly, almost all of Darth Maul's ship was dedicated to the cloaking device, leaving a very small habitable space. (This was in the DK Star Wars Episode I: The Visual Dictionary, which ...
- 1,466
51
votes
Accepted
How does one join the Rebel Alliance?
You know a guy who knows a guy
“You’re going to join the rebellion?” he started. “You’ve got to be kidding. How?”
“Damp down, will you?” the bigger man cautioned, glancing furtively back toward ...
- 667k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible