'Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection' Features Ben Solo and Second Sister's Lightsabers

Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection is a visual guide that is set to be published by Insight Editions on October 20, 2020. It is written by Daniel Wallace and contains illustrations by Lukasz Liszko and Ryan Valle. It has been promised that this book would feature lightsabers from various Star Wars media, not just the films. Recently, Syfy reported on images (accompanied by descriptions) from pages of the book that have been unveiled, and The Direct focused on two of arguably the most interesting ones: Ben Solo’s lightsaber and the Second Sister’s lightsaber.

Ben Solo’s lightsaber, which has a blue blade, is only seen briefly via flashbacks in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, at a pivotal turning point in his personal journey when he turns against Luke Skywalker, who had ignited his own lightsaber after sensing darkness within Ben and then felt ashamed at the fleeting thought of attacking his only nephew. The description of the incident plays up the multiple accounts aspect that viewers experienced while watching the film. We also get details about the design.

“Closer inspection of the hilt reveals notable similarities to the red blade crossguard lightsaber wielded by Ben after he reinvents himself as Kylo Ren. In truth, Ben's saber and the crystal within become the structural basis for Kylo's fire-blackened broadsword.”

It goes on to mention the weapon’s similarities to the ones used by his grandfather and his mother, showing that there is an influence from a light sider and a dark sider:

“The finned grips on the hilt of Ben's saber are similar to those found on Darth Vader's lightsaber, but with additional flaring at the base. With geometric lines and squared-off corners, Ben's lightsaber shows a similar style to his mother Leia's saber, and almost resembles a medieval watchtower when stood on end."

Beyond the films, we also get to see the lightsaber used by the Second Sister, an Inquisitor from the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This double-bladed lightsaber, with the circle around it, is indeed a memorable design. The details about it include spoilers for the video game pertaining to the Second Sister’s backstory, so keep that in mind if you intend to read her page in the book. Other than that, design details are explored here as well.

“The Second Sister carries an Inquistiorius lightsaber with a ring-shapped spinner that supports a pair of energy blade emitters. The silver ring is notable for its finned protrusions, and the central hilt has an indented grip. Indicator lights in the hilt and the blade emitters glow a dull crimson.”

We even get a behind the scenes rundown of the thinking that went behind the weapon.

'We wanted to build thoughtful combat,' explained Fallen Order technical developer Brandon Kelch of the team's approach to battling enemies like the Second Sister. 'We didn't just want to build a button-masher where you charge in and spam one button and everything dies. We wanted something that was more methodical and thoughtful'"

Based on these glimpses, it seems that this book will be doing a good job balancing the in-universe details with the out-of-universe details. Readers will be able to go over the context of the characters while also reading up on some of the choices made in the real world when developing certain things. Plus, incorporating lightsaber designs from all across Star Wars media into this one book helps to make the media feel like they are all part of the same cohesive universe. For those who enjoy pointing out the differences, however small, between lightsaber designs, this is sure to be a must-read.

Written By Tommy Durbin

Syndicated From Culture Slate