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Were TIE fighters really worse than X-Wings?
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00:00This fully armed and quite operational list is about to reveal the truth about certain legendary vehicles,
00:07what Imperial personnel really thought of a well-known cyborg,
00:11the Emperor's awesome-looking guard,
00:14and so many more things fans have understandably assumed about the Empire for a long old time.
00:21So I am Gareth, this is WhatCultureStarWars,
00:24and here are 10 things everyone gets wrong about the Empire.
00:29Number 10. Not Everyone Followed the Empire for Greed and Power
00:33When you think of the Empire, there's a decent chance your mind jumps to a bunch of cold, suited and
00:38booted villains,
00:39who are motivated only by greed and the quest for power.
00:43But not every Imperial employee followed the Empire for those specific reasons.
00:48Just look at one of the most captivating villains in Star Wars history, Grand Admiral Thrawn.
00:54Now sure, he was unquestionably a rather ruthless individual,
00:57and one who relished the opportunity to outthink any opponents he was faced with.
01:02But he actually only joined up with the Galactic Empire in the first place,
01:07as he felt there would be a strong ally who could help protect his people, the Chiss, from the Grisk
01:12hegemony.
01:13Thrawn wasn't greedy or that bothered about power,
01:16he was just doing all he could to keep his people safe.
01:19If you're looking for another example, Del Miko, from the Star Wars Battlefront 2 video game,
01:24was another person who served in the Imperial military that wasn't in it for those aforementioned selfish reasons either.
01:31Being a quite conflicted soul, a conversation with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker during that game's campaign,
01:38sees the Inferno Squad member admit that he's well aware of what the Empire was capable of,
01:43but he didn't know what else to do to keep the galaxy safe.
01:46After being told he had a choice to be better though,
01:49Miko would eventually defect to the rebels with Iden Versio,
01:53as they attempted to save innocent civilians from the Empire.
01:56In other words, not every Imperial's motivations were the same, folks.
02:01Some genuinely just wanted to protect people, and saw the Empire as a means to an end.
02:05Now I've got a quick question for you,
02:08what is a cool fact about the Empire that you just need to share with the world?
02:12If you've got one, then pop it in that comment section down below,
02:15and we'll all look at it and we'll give it loads of likes.
02:17Number 9. The Empire were defeated by the Ewoks.
02:20One of the more divisive moments in Star Wars history occurred during Episode 6, Return of the Jedi.
02:27As the Empire's forces look to have foiled our heroes' attempts to destroy the shield generator
02:31that's protecting the Death Star 2,
02:34the little furry Endor natives known as Ewoks arrived to save the day.
02:39For many though, the idea of a bunch of teddy bears
02:42defeating the technologically superior Imperial Army on their own
02:45seemed like a silly step too far.
02:48But that's not actually what went down here
02:50when you really analyse the ground section of the Battle of Endor.
02:54By spreading out the Imperial forces and unleashing everything from flying logs
02:58to many a rock from the sky,
03:00these Rebel allies simply acted as a distraction to buy Han Solo and the rest of his strike team
03:06enough time to blow up the shield generator and join the fight.
03:10Even George Lucas himself has confirmed in the film's DVD commentary
03:13that the Ewoks' purpose was just to distract the Empire here.
03:17So the next time someone balls up their fists at the thought of these primitive aliens
03:21defeating the Emperor's stormtroopers and ATSDs,
03:24gently remind them that they weren't solely responsible for this Rebel victory.
03:28Their clever distraction just played a crucial part in it.
03:31Number 8, the second Death Star being built a lot quicker actually makes sense.
03:36Sticking with that final chapter in the original trilogy,
03:39Episode 6, Return of the Jedi,
03:41brings with it the return of the Empire's planet-killing superweapon,
03:45the Death Star.
03:46With that first version of the space station taking a whopping two decades to construct, though,
03:51many were understandably quick to question how the Empire were able to mostly build another
03:57just four years after that original Death Star was destroyed.
04:01Now sure, this second gigantic sphere wasn't actually completed by the time the Rebels arrived to explode it,
04:07but it was still operational enough to cause chaos with its laser.
04:10After spending years secretly developing and gradually building that first devastating weapon and its laser, though,
04:17the process of making another of these terrifying spheres was logically a lot quicker,
04:22due to having already pulled off the feet once before.
04:24And then you have the fact that the Emperor was more concerned with getting this rushed Death Star
04:28fitted with a laser than fully completing it this time around.
04:32He just wanted to get rid of the Rebel threat as quickly as possible,
04:35and even lured them into discovering the unfinished weapon by leaking information about it
04:40in an attempt to wipe them out ASAP.
04:42It didn't really work out for him, but you can see what he was going for.
04:44And just like that, the fact this second superweapon popped up so rapidly suddenly makes a lot more sense.
04:51Number 7. Xenophobia was actually not allowed in the Empire, but happened anyway.
04:56A quick look at the Galactic Empire's officers and troops throughout the original trilogy
05:01and in various other forms of media,
05:03and the way the dictatorship generally acted towards non-human species,
05:08tells the story of a quite xenophobic organization.
05:11Now it is worth mentioning that the inquisitorious group the Empire used to hunt down the last remnants of the
05:18Jedi Order
05:18definitely boasted a whole host of alien personalities,
05:22and the legendary Grand Admiral Thrawn was obviously a Chiss male.
05:26But outside of those rare exceptions,
05:29the Galactic Empire seemed like a quite xenophobic organization,
05:33that didn't play nicely with anyone who wasn't a human.
05:35You'd likely be shocked to learn then that being xenophobic wasn't something that Imperial personnel were officially allowed to do.
05:43That's according to Imperial General Orders found in Timothy Zahn's canon Thrawn novel anyway.
05:49But the vast majority of the Empire's forces and employees just opted to ignore that rule, clearly.
05:54So despite what it may look like when watching the poor way the Empire typically treats alien species across this
06:01galaxy,
06:02those putting on stormtrooper suits and officer caps were actually officially instructed not to be xenophobes.
06:08Most of them just didn't listen though.
06:106. TIE Fighters Were Not Worse Than X-Wings
06:13The Galactic Empire boasts some of the most recognizable and coolest vehicles ever to move across a screen.
06:19From the mighty AT-ATs seen stomping their way through snow and sand,
06:24to the monstrous Star Destroyers at the center of many an epic space battle,
06:29these baddies move around the galaxy in style.
06:32However, there is one Imperial mode of transport that has been on the receiving end of a ton of unjust
06:38disrespect over the years.
06:40The vehicle in question is the Roaring TIE Fighter,
06:43a flying eyeball that many feel is completely inferior to the Rebel Alliance's equally iconic X-Wing.
06:49Often seen gunning them down.
06:51But that is not strictly the truth, people.
06:54The TIE Fighter may not have boasted a shield like the X-Wing,
06:57but what it lacked in protection it certainly made up for in maneuverability and speed,
07:02with these unmistakable fighters being able to run rings around the far more cumbersome Rebel ship.
07:08They also required an elite pilot in the cockpit.
07:11Said drivers needed seriously enhanced reflexes,
07:14and a lack of fear to successfully steer these swift, way less protected vehicles.
07:20So while they definitely were quite cheap to manufacture,
07:23and were often blown up by less shots than your average X-Wing,
07:26those who say the TIE Fighters and the people flying them
07:29are worse than the Rebels Fighters and their pilots in every way,
07:33are just plain wrong.
07:34Thank you for dropping in to watch this WhatCulture Star Wars video today, my friend.
07:38If you're enjoying your fine self, then hit that subscribe button down below,
07:41and you will get more of these WhatCulture videos in your life.
07:44Number 5.
07:45They didn't really rule the entire galaxy.
07:47Time and time again, during the rise of the Galactic Empire,
07:51it's made clear that the Emperor and his apprentice, Darth Vader,
07:54are looking to rule the entire galaxy.
07:57They want it all.
07:58And by the time of the original trilogy,
08:00it does seem like they're well on their way to achieving that villainous goal.
08:04Their Death Star was up and running for a bit,
08:07wiping out any planet they wanted to,
08:09and striking fear into the hearts of countless others.
08:12It appeared as though the entire galaxy had no choice but to obey the evil organization.
08:18It wasn't always as simple as that, though.
08:20Take Jabba the Hutt, for example.
08:22In the wake of the destruction of the first Death Star,
08:25the Empire desperately needed to make a deal with the Crime Lord,
08:28one that involved him giving them military resources in exchange for payment,
08:33and the freedom to carry on operating his criminal empire.
08:36In other words, he wasn't being ruled.
08:38This gangster slug and his Hutt clan weren't the only ones the Empire allied with rather than ruled, either.
08:44The Mandalorian protectors on Concord Dawn also formed a mutually beneficial alliance with Papa Palpatino 1.2.
08:52So while the Empire did typically have a habit of controlling through force,
08:57it did occasionally work together with its enemies in order to get what he wanted.
09:014. What the Empire Really Thought of Darth Vader
09:03Though it is somewhat clear in the original trilogy that Darth Vader isn't unanimously adored by those following orders within
09:11the Empire,
09:11many viewers likely didn't realize just how much the Emperor's right-hand cyborg was despised by the Imperial officers scurrying
09:19around the galaxy.
09:20In fact, there were even times there when certain Imperial personnel attempted to have Vader assassinated.
09:26They didn't like that the masked figure seemingly just popped up out of the blue,
09:30and was now suddenly bossing them around because of his connection to Palpatine.
09:34And how did Vader respond to this?
09:36By force-choking five random Imperial officers in front of the rest of the Imperial officer corps,
09:42showing what would happen to anyone who defied his orders.
09:45Damn.
09:46All that went down after the Emperor had informed the corps that any command from his apprentice
09:50was to be taken as one by the wrinkly big bad himself.
09:54It's also largely thought that the only person Vader answered to away from Palpatine was Grand Moff Tarkin,
10:00as seen in 1977's Star Wars.
10:03However, in the wake of the embarrassing destruction of the Death Star,
10:07Vader actually had a bit of his authority taken away,
10:10with General Cassio Tague actually being made Vader's commanding officer for a while,
10:15before the Chosen One eventually executed Tague after he was demoted for his own failures.
10:20Not hard to see why he wasn't the most popular bloke in the organization then.
10:24Number three, Stormtroopers don't always have terrible aim.
10:27It may be a running joke that the Empire's soldiers on the ground
10:31possess some laughably bad aim.
10:34But is it actually the truth?
10:35When you really stop and think about it,
10:37you realize that these troopers are a lot more accurate than most people choose to remember.
10:41The skeleton-suited troops gunned down a number of rebels
10:45with some rather accurate shooting during the opening scene of 1977's Star Wars, for example.
10:51Rogue One, a Star Wars story,
10:53sees many a hero getting gunned down by a Stormtrooper.
10:56Can't do that if you miss.
10:57And there's even a reason why the troopers seem so incapable of hitting the target
11:02when chasing after Han, Luke and Leia on the Death Star too.
11:05You see, Vader had planted a tracker on the Millennium Falcon
11:08and actually wanted them to escape the space station.
11:11So it's likely he simply ordered the Empire's soldiers to not kill the gang
11:15before they could lead them to the Rebel base.
11:17They obviously still miss the target a decent number of times
11:20across big and small screen projects and media away from the screen.
11:24They're only human, but Stormtroopers definitely weren't as consistently terrible
11:28as the jokes would have you believe.
11:30So give them a break.
11:32Number 2, When the Empire Were Actually Defeated
11:34One of the most impressive visuals to pop up in the sequel trilogy
11:38involved a massive, crashed Imperial-class Star Destroyer
11:42sitting in the middle of the desert world of Jakku.
11:45And what many may not have realized,
11:46even after sitting through Episode 7, The Force Awakens a few times,
11:50is that the battle which saw that ship fall to the planet's surface
11:54was actually the final stand for the Empire.
11:57While it may have felt like the Empire had been defeated
11:59during the final moments of Episode 6, Return of the Jedi,
12:03the organization actually continued battling against the Rebel Alliance
12:06for another year.
12:08The Battle of Jakku, something Battlefront 2 players got to experience
12:11in the video game,
12:13saw the Empire be decisively warped by the now New Republic,
12:17leading to the signing of the Galactic Concordance Treaty,
12:20which ended both the Galactic Civil War and the Empire itself.
12:24And after all that fighting, the galaxy far, far away
12:27never had to worry about Stormtroopers,
12:29irritating officers, or terrifying Star Destroyers ever again.
12:33If only.
12:35Number 1, We Do Actually Get To See The Royal Guard Fight
12:37Speaking of the sequel trilogy,
12:40that collection of Star Wars movies did actually give fans
12:43something they'd wanted to see for decades.
12:45And we're not just talking about the return of the original trilogy icons.
12:49Episode 8, The Last Jedi, saw Rey and Kylo Ren face off
12:52against a recently deceased Supreme Leader Snoke's collection of red-suited guards.
12:57And the end results were pretty damn awesome.
13:00However, those who have long complained about the Emperor's own group
13:04of silent red protectors, known as his Royal Guard,
13:07never really seeing any action or doing much, you know,
13:10protecting in the Star Wars universe,
13:13are actually incorrect.
13:14On the big screen, the closest fans got to the cloaked badasses
13:18getting their hands dirty like Snoke's guards did,
13:21was in an Episode 6 Return of the Jedi deleted scene.
13:24But in the new canon and expanded universe,
13:28the guards are shown doing their thing on a number of wonderful occasions.
13:32Like in the Crimson Empire comics, for example.
13:35And Ezra Bridger actually faced off against a few
13:37during the Star Wars Rebels animated series, too.
13:40So while they may not have done all that much in the movies,
13:44the warriors known for looking after the Empire's leader
13:46were definitely not the slouches you may think they are.
13:50They just didn't like doing stuff in cinemas.
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