Skeleton Crew Finally Unleashed The Most Underrated Star Wars Starfighter
The B-Wing is back.
The most overpowered starfighter in the Rebel Alliance fleet has finally shown just how hardcore it can be. In the season finale of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, several B-wing fighters show up to repel the pirate invasion of At Attin. Along with the X-wings, these are very familiar spaceships to anyone who is a longtime Star Wars fan and loves thinking deeply about all the various ships. But would you believe this is only the second live-action appearance of the B-wings?
In Episode 8, “The Real Good Guys,” Skeleton Crew finally shows on-screen just how cool and impressive the B-wing starfighter is. And in doing so, the show has quietly made Star Wars history.
Mild spoilers ahead for the Skeleton Crew finale.
Back in 1983, the B-wing starfighter was designed by Joe Johnston and Bill George working for Industrial Light and Magic on Return of the Jedi. Along with the A-wing, the B-wing was then, a new addition to the Rebel forces, though it barely has any screen time in the Battle of Endor. Part of this was because the unwieldy design of the ship made it hard to film, and as such, many B-wing scenes never made it into Jedi, to the chagrin of Bill George.
In Star Wars continuity, both in current canon and Legends, the B-wing is classified as a “bomber” and “heavily armed” starfighter. Unlike the nimble X-wings or A-wings, the B-wing is used for missions that require more weaponry than maneuverability. So if anyone has played a Star Wars video game since 1993, you know that you’re only taking the B-wing on missions that allow you to be slower, but more heavily armed and armored.
The creator of the B-wing, Quarrie in Star Wars: Rebels.
But because the B-wings aren’t really shown much in Return of the Jedi (not even the Special Edition!) the finale Skeleton Crew features the first time we see them in action, outside of games and the various animated shows.
Back in 2015, the Rebels episode “Wings of the Master” effectively retconned the origin of the B-wing, attributing its creation to Quarrie, a Mon Calamari inventor who built the prototype for this specific craft. ( The name “Quarrie” is a tribute to Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, who created some concept art for the B-wings). And it’s in this episode that the B-wing’s unique ability to fire a composite-beam laser, which vaguely resembles what the Death Star does, albeit on a smaller scale.
Ralph McQuarrie-created B-wing concept art for Return of the Jedi.
So, while the B-wing’s functionality has been explored in games like X-wing (1993) or Rebel Assault II (1995), the canonical abilities we’re seeing in Skeleton Crew are a mash-up of what it has been rumored to be capable of in Legends, as well as real-deal canon from Rebels. Just like the composite laser beam of the ship itself, the story of the B-wing comes from various sources. It's a testament to both wonderful classic Star Wars trilogy design, and a mishmash of Star Wars ephemera, stretching back, a long time ago, to novels, comics, and more.
In the end, Skeleton Crew didn’t need to include the B-wings as the ships that took down the pirate frigate. We probably would have believed that the X-wings could have handled those tasks on their own. But by bringing these ships back, and showing off their powerful abilities, Skeleton Crew delivered one last pew-pew love letter to Star Wars fans everywhere.
