Axial superlasers were massive planet-decimating superlaser cannons equipped aboard Xyston-class Star Destroyers of the Sith Eternal's fleet, the Final Order.
Ochi inspects the superlaser's schematics.
Focused by bled kyber crystals, harvested from a subterranean mountain of kyber crystal on Exegol, axial superlasers were attached to the ventral hull of the Xyston-class Star Destroyers that served Darth Sidious' Final Order. Similar to the Imperial Death Star superlasers, the axial superlaser fired a red beam in a sustained burst to strike through a planet's surface from orbit, with the energy beam delving deeper by pulsating at a fast rate to unleash shock waves that tore apart the planet's crust and mantle, eventually reaching its core and ripping the target apart. Such power, however, required the superlaser to be directly connected to the Star Destroyer's reactor, and severe damage to such weaponry would destroy its host ship.
Axial superlaser cannons were attached to the thousands of Xyston-class Star Destroyers in the Final Order, a fleet of Darth Sidious' Sith Eternal cult. Developed in preparation for his return to power as Galactic Emperor, he was confident that the new weapon would inspire fear across the galaxy, discouraging any further attempt at resistance. Sidious declared that any world that opposed him would be destroyed like Jedha and Alderaan—which fell victim to the Galactic Empire's first Death Star—and Hosnian Prime—which was annihilated alongside its entire star system by the First Order's Starkiller Base.
The axial superlaser destroying Kijimi
Kijimi—a planet with an estimated population of 310,000,000—was a victim of the axial superlaser—specifically the one affixed to the Derriphan of the Xyston-class, at the disposal of the Sith fleet. The warship was given to the command of First Order Allegiant General Enric Pryde, loyal to Sidious himself, who ordered the Derriphan to eliminate Kijimi due to its ties to the Resistance and as a demonstration of Pryde's steadfast allegiance to his Emperor.
The axial superlaser was introduced to the current Star Wars canon in the 2019 sequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. The axial superlaser originated from the Star Wars Legends continuity as the primary weapon of the reborn Emperor Palpatine's flagship, the Eclipse.
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars Complete Vehicles, New Edition
- Star Wars Starships & Vehicles 4
- Star Wars: The Secrets of the Sith
- Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy