DS-3-12 was the call sign of a TIE pilot who served in the Galactic Empire's navy[1] by 0 BBY. That year, the Battle of Yavin occurred, during which the Alliance to Restore the Republic attempted to destroy the Empire's DS-1 Orbital Battle Station superweapon.[2] DS-3-12 was among the TIE pilots who fought in the battle,[1] which saw numerous TIE/LN starfighters attempting to defend the battlestation from the Alliance starfighters. Ultimately, the TIE fighters were unsuccessful in defending the station, which was destroyed in a major Alliance victory over the Empire.[3]
Behind the scenes[]
The image used by the A New Hope set of the Star Wars Trading Card Game to represent DS-3-12 was instead that of a TIE fighter previously identified as Black 4, piloted by DS-61-4.
The name "DS-3-12" was coined by Wizards of the Coast in the 2002 A New Hope expansion of the Star Wars Trading Card Game. Although the card game identified "DS-3-12" as the designation of a TIE fighter,[4] 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia instead established that name as the call sign of the corresponding TIE pilot.[1] This article assumes the latter source is correct.
Furthermore, the Star Wars Trading Card Game card for DS-3-12 uses a film still[4] of a TIE fighter destroyed by Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles during the Battle of Yavin scenes in the 1977 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.[3] That TIE fighter had previously been identified as "Black 4,"[5] and its pilot identified as "DS-61-4," in the 1996 A New Hope Limited expansion set of the Decipher, Inc. Star Wars Customizable Card Game.[6] This article treats the identification of DS-3-12 by the Star Wars Trading Card Game as an error and as such avoids linking the subject to any of the onscreen TIE fighters seen in the A New Hope Battle of Yavin scenes.
Sources[]
Star Wars Trading Card Game – A New Hope (Card: TIE Fighter DS-3-12) (backup link) (First mentioned) (Visual misidentification of DS-61-4)- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 212 ("DS-3-12")
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- ↑ 4.0 4.1
Star Wars Trading Card Game – A New Hope (Card: TIE Fighter DS-3-12) (backup link)
- ↑
Star Wars Customizable Card Game – A New Hope Limited (Card: Black 4) (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars Customizable Card Game – A New Hope Limited (Card: DS-61-4) (backup link)
