Palpatine’s dreaded flagship fromStar WarsLegends is back in canon, although it’s likely nowhere near as dangerous.Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalkertold a familiar story for fans of theStar WarsExpanded Universe(now dubbed “Legends”). Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy’sDark Empirefeatured Palpatine’s resurection, via cloning and essence transfer no less, the same techniques he demonstrated in the sequels. In those comics, the Emperor used a terrifying flagship.
Palpatine’s Dark Empire was the deadliest Imperial military force of all, with troops, warships, superweapons, and battle droids deployed in what was known as Operation Shadow Hand.The flagship of Palpatine’s fleet was the Eclipse(and its sister ship, the Eclipse II); an Eclipse-class dreadnought, larger and far deadlier than even the iconic Executor-class Super Star Destroyer. The Eclipse was equipped with gravity well projectors and an axial superlaser, making it a truly formidable vessel.
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The Eclipse Is Back In Star Wars Canon
The Eclipse made its way into canon via the 2016Star Wars Rebelliongame, which featured an unidentified Executor-class Star Destroyer - named the Eclipse inChuck Wendig’sAftermathtrilogy. It’s now been mentioned again, inStar Wars: Battle of Jakku - Last Stand#4 by Alex Segura and Jethro Morales, and apparently is still active after the Empire’s fall - with Grand Admiral Rae Sloane traveling to the Unknown Regions to find the Eclipse and commandeer it.
The Xyston-class Star Destroyer is the modern canon’s closest equivalent to the Eclipse-class, as the vessels came equipped with axial superlasers and were deployed by the reborn Emperor Palpatine. The canon Eclipse is a dangerous weapon, a Super Star Destroyer, but nowhere near as massive as the Legends iteration.
What Happened To The Eclipse By The Mandalorian Era?
UntilThe Battle of Jakku, there had been claims the Eclipse had been destroyed before the end of the Galactic Civil War. The future of the Eclipse after it was presumably claimed by Rae Sloane is unknown, so it may still be active inThe Mandalorianera. It could easily be claimed byGrand Admiral Thrawn, who returned to the mainStar Warsgalaxy at the end ofAhsoka. Alternatively, it is possible it was destroyed since; hyperdrives from Super Star Destroyers were absorbed into theEye of Sion, the vessel that found him.
If the Eclipse does indeed appear inThe Mandalorianera,Star Warscould perhaps switch things up by restoring the vessel to itsDark Empirescale.The Eclipse might be depicted as an Eclipse-class dreadnought if it appears in a film or TV series, giving the vessel its modern canon debut. Perhaps the modern canon’s Eclipse-class dreadnought is a precursor to the Xyston-class Star Destroyers seen in theStar Warssequel era.
The Mandalorian and Grogu
