OS-72-8 was the designation of a TIE pilot who served in the Imperial Navy by[1] 3 ABY. By that year,[3] the pilot was stationed aboard[2] the Star Destroyer[4] Devastator, and had also joined the Imperial Obsidian Squadron, flying under the call sign of Obsidian 8. While flying under the call sign of Obsidian 8, OS-72-8 flew a modified TIE/LN starfighter used most often to pursue raiders attempting to take refuge in the upper atmosphere of nearby planets. The pilot had also left the Devastator before[2] the Empire's occupation of the planet Bespin in 3 ABY.[3]
During Bespin's occupation, the YT-1300 light freighter Millennium Falcon managed to escape the planet,[5] and OS-72-8 was among the TIE pilots who subsequently pursued the freighter.[1] However, the TIE fighters were unable to capture the Millennium Falcon, with the freighter managing to evade Imperial capture in space.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
The OS-72-8 name was first used for 2003's The Empire Strikes Back expansion set of Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Trading Card Game. OS-72-8 was identified as the designation of a TIE fighter seen in[6] the 1980 original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back,[5] though Decipher, Inc.'s 1997 Cloud City Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game had previously identified the fighter as "Obsidian 8."[2] The 2008 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia resolved the issue by identifying OS-72-8 as the pilot[1] of the Obsidian 8 TIE fighter seen in The Empire Strikes Back.[5] Before the film's May 21, 1980 release,[7] OS-72-8's fighter appeared simultaneously in The Empire Strikes Back Storybook[8] and the film's novelization,[9] both released April 12 of the same year.[10][11]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back (Starfighter only)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization (First appearance, simultaneous with The Empire Strikes Back Storybook) (Starfighter only)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization (Starfighter only)
- Classic Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Starfighter only)
- The Empire Strikes Back radio drama (Starfighter only)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back PhotoComic (Starfighter only)
- The Empire Strikes Back Storybook (Starfighter only)
- The Marvel Comics Illustrated Version of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Starfighter only)
- The Empire Strikes Back Annual 1980 (Starfighter only)
- Star Wars (1977) 44 (Starfighter only)
Sources[]
- The Empire Strikes Back: The National Public Radio Dramatization (Starfighter only)
Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Cloud City Limited (Card: Atmospheric Assault) (backup link) (Starfighter only)
Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Cloud City Limited (Card: Obsidian 8) (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: The Illustrated Screenplay (Starfighter only)
Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Cloud City Limited (Card: TIE Sentry Ships) (backup link) (Starfighter only)
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
- TIE Fighter: A Pocket Manual (Starfighter only)
Star Wars Trading Card Game – The Empire Strikes Back (Card: TIE Fighter OS-72-8) (backup link not verified!) (First identified as OS-72-8)
Star Wars Trading Card Game – The Empire Strikes Back (Card: TIE Pursuit Squad) (backup link not verified!) (Starfighter only)
Star Wars Trading Card Game – Return of the Jedi (Card: Occupied Bespin) (backup link not verified!) (Starfighter only)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 426 ("OS-72-8")
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3
Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Cloud City Limited (Card: Obsidian 8) (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 402 ("Obsidian Squadron")
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- ↑
Star Wars Trading Card Game – The Empire Strikes Back (Card: TIE Fighter OS-72-8) (backup link not verified!)
- ↑
The Empire Strikes Back Turns 40, Queen's Peril Gets a Voice, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
- ↑ The Empire Strikes Back Storybook
- ↑ Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back novelization
- ↑
The Empire Strikes Back Storybook on Amazon.com (backup link) (US hardcover)
- ↑ Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, Updated and Expanded Edition