Visual Dictionary cover
The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary cover, revealed on July 20th, shows the TIE Dagger

Star Wars space battles have always been a thing of thrilling beauty. Even though The Last Jedi isn’t my favorite film of the franchise, the opening sequence of the Resistance fleet going up against the Dreadnought, and the throw-back homage to World War II-era bombers was a cool thing to behold. Then we were treated to Kylo Ren’s sleek new ship, the TIE Silencer. It is reasonable to expect a step up in The Rise of Skywalker with some newer ship designs. Enter the new TIE Dagger.

TIE Dagger
The TIE Dagger design for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

TIE Fighters are designed and well known for speed and maneuverability. Just as Poe Dameron said in The Force Awakens, “Man, this thing really moves”, when he stole a TIE/SF with Finn. It’s possible we’ll see these new TIE Daggers in action in upcoming previews, and it’s possible my next sentence will be proven wrong, however, I’m going with it anyway. It looks like it would handle as good as my Great-Grandmother’s old 1974 Lincoln Continental.

TIE Dagger: Can it even fly?

I’m no aerospace engineer, but with the front end being that elongated, and a pair of narrowly-placed twin ion engines in the back, the steering and stability would have to be a abysmal. The thrust-to-weight ratio would be an unrivaled nightmare with a front end like that. The solar panel wings block 66% of the pilot’s field of vision. Heaven help you if you have to make a turn in a debris field. Finally, unless those extra wing panels fold backward to create some drag, I don’t see how that chunk could ever get off the ground.

I suspect the Imperial engineers went through a few of these trying to perfect the design. I can picture one of them eating a bag of Imperial-flavored Doritos and jump up saying, “Guys, I have an idea!”. On top of that, it’s ugly and unoriginal. It appears to be a step down from, what I think, is one of the cooler designs for a TIE, the TIE Interceptor.

TIE Interceptor
TIE Interceptor concept design

Before the hate starts, I realize this is a fictional universe and this thing isn’t real. What grieves me about it the most is probably the lack originality and the “Meh” of the design. The cover of the Visual Dictionary, however, does have another cool tidbit: Jannah’s Energy Bow. If there was anything that sparked my interest in the cover design, it was that instead of the TIE Dagger. Perhaps when we see this new ship in action in one of those thrilling space battles I mentioned earlier, I’ll have to eat my words. Until then, the new TIE? …not impressed.

What do you think? Let’s hear your opinion of the new TIE Dagger. What is your favorite TIE design? Let That Hashtag Show know!

Source: ScreenRant