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The crossguard lightsaber was an ancient lightsaber variant with three blades: a primary blade and two vents just below it called quillons. It was once common among Makashi practitioners by the time of the Great Scourge of Malachor. The Sith Lord Darth Atrius wielded a pair of such lightsabers imbued with his anger. Later, during the High Republic Era, Jedi Master Stellan Gios wielded a crossguard lightsaber with an additional, folding physical crossguard which supported the quillon blades. First Order warlord and later Supreme Leader Kylo Ren wielded a lightsaber where the quillons served an additional function as vents to balance out an unstable, cracked kyber crystal.
Description[]
- "With perpendicular vents to release additional energy generated by unusually powerful or damaged kyber crystals, this cross-shaped lightsaber—based on an ancient design—emits two shorter side-blades from its hilt that not only protect a user's hand but are also deadly in battle."
- ―Luke Skywalker
The extra vents of a crossguard lightsaber released additional energy
Crossguard lightsabers[7] were similar in size to normal single-bladed lightsabers, but possessed two small vents below the primary blade, positioned opposite each other on the hilt. These vents, called quillons, projected two smaller blades and thus could be used to vent out additional energy. The smaller blades were tributaries of the main blade. Quillons vented out the energy using an array of focusing crystal activators to split the energy from the kyber crystal inside. Emitter shrouds were used to protect the wielder's hands from injury or being cut off from battle.[1]
An ancient design, it was once common among practitioners of the lightsaber combat Form II, also known as Makashi.[8] During the High Republic Era, another type of crossguard lightsaber was popular among the Jedi Order. These lightsabers featured a physical crossguard made from metal without having any additional energy blades. Known users include Avar Kriss, Burryaga Agaburry, and Creighton Sun.
The crossguard lightsaber was often wielded as a heavier alternative to the single-bladed lightsaber, with users such as Cal Kestis or Kylo Ren opting to wield it with both hands while attacking in some circumstances. This technique allowed the wielder to break an opponent's guard with ease, or inflict far more grievous wounds in comparison to the more balanced single-bladed lightsaber.[9]
History[]
During the High Republic Era, Jedi Master Stellan Gios utilized a crossguard lightsaber.
The crossguard lightsaber was an ancient lightsaber variant. It proved especially popular among practitioners of the lightsaber combat style known as Makashi, or Form II, and many of them fought at the Great Scourge of Malachor.[8]
Darth Atrius owned a pair of crossguard lightsabers during a time when the Sith were plentiful and powerful. Imbued with the Sith Lord's anger, the lightsabers survived long after the perceived downfall of the Sith, capable of driving their wielders insane with anger. They were eventually destroyed by Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader during the Imperial Era.[3]
During the High Republic Era, Jedi Master Creighton Sun utilized a blue-bladed lightsaber.[10] Later, Jedi Master Stellan Gios owned a lightsaber with a retractable physical crossguard, the arms of which would fold up when the weapon was inactive. When the lightsaber was ignited, the arms would fold out and support the two quillon beams, providing an additional layer of hand protection.[11] The Pooba Jedi Master Barabo also had a blue-bladed crossguard lightsaber of his own.[12]
The Jedi Padawan Burryaga Agaburry had a blue lightsaber with the lightsaber's hilt was plated in[13] meryx,[14] the amber of the white wroshyr tree[13] which had been extinct for millennia,[14] and was finished off with an electrum crosspiece.[13]
Cal Kestis modified his second lightsaber with a crossguard design.
During his crusade against the Galactic Empire, Jedi Knight Cal Kestis fought against several lieutenants of the Bedlam Raiders, several of whom—among them Drya Thornne—wielded crossguard lightsabers that had been taken from dead Jedi by Rayvis. Kestis later added a crossguard feature to his blue-bladed lightsaber, using parts salvaged from Thornne's lightsaber.[5]
During the Galactic Civil War, Ezra Bridger found an ancient green-bladed crossguard lightsaber on Malachor. When he picked it up and activated it, it almost immediately broke and deactivated itself.[4]
Kylo Ren wielded a crossguard lightsaber due to his cracked kyber crystal.
Modifying his Jedi lightsaber and bleeding his kyber crystal,[15] Kylo Ren built his own crossguard blade[1] because his kyber crystal had cracked in the process.[16] With the extra vents providing an outlet, Ren's blade was unstable but functional.[1] Ren was one of the few wielders of a lightsaber at that time.[17] Ren's light side counterpart, Rey, briefly claimed the lightsaber while confronting Supreme Leader Snoke during the Battle of Oetchi.[18] At the end of his time as a Knight of Ren, Kylo flung his weapon into the sea on the moon Kef Bir as a sign of renunciation of his commitment to the dark side of the Force.[19]
Behind the scenes[]
A crossguard lightsaber first appeared canonically in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.[20] The concept of a crossguard lightsaber was first introduced in Star Wars Legends. The lightsaber, which had two beams rather than three, made its first appearance in the 2004 comic book Republic 61.[21] Crossguard hilted lightsabers with metallic quillons first appeared in Jango Fett: Open Seasons Issue #3.[22]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- Disney Infinity 3.0
- Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Disney Magic Kingdoms
- The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
"First Order Fighters" — LEGO Star Wars 97
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ Gadgets and Gear
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars Annual (2015) 4
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
Star Wars Rebels — "Twilight of the Apprentice"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- ↑ Star Wars: The Secrets of the Jedi
- ↑ "Twilight of the Apprentice" Episode Gallery on StarWars.com (backup link); image #6 (of 51)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gadgets and Gear
- ↑ Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
- ↑ The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha
- ↑ An Elegant Weapon: Get an Up-Close Look at a Lightsaber from Star Wars: The High Republic - Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures — "Nubs's Big Mistake"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 The High Republic: Light of the Jedi
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Master & Apprentice
- ↑ The Rise of Kylo Ren 4
- ↑ Skywalker: A Family at War
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Awakens novelization
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
- ↑ Republic 61
- ↑ Jango Fett: Open Seasons 3
