Obsidian 8

Manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems,^[1] Obsidian 8,^[2] also designated as Obsidian Eight,^[4] was a modified TIE/LN starfighter serving the Galactic Empire's Obsidian Squadron^[2] by the year 3 ABY.^[5] Obsidian 8 was operated by OS-72-8, a TIE pilot who was previously stationed aboard^[2] the Star Destroyer^[6] Devastator. Obsidian 8 was used most often to pursue raiders attempting to take refuge in the upper atmosphere of nearby planets.^[2]

In 3 ABY, the Empire occupied the planet Bespin with the goal of capturing the YT-1300 light freighter Millennium Falcon. When the Falcon escaped from Bespin's Cloud City,^[5] Obsidian 8 was among the TIE fighters that pursued the freighter into space.^[4] However, Obsidian Squadron was unsuccessful in their pursuit, and the Millennium Falcon evaded Imperial capture. Obsidian 8 was armed with a pair of L-s1 laser cannons.^[3]

Behind the scenes

Obsidian 8 first appeared in^[7] the April 12, 1980^[8]^[9] novelization of the Star Wars original trilogy film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back,^[7] simultaneously with The Empire Strikes Back Storybook,^[10] prior to appearing in the film,^[3] which was released May 21 of the same year.^[11] The fighter was first named in Decipher, Inc.'s 1997 Cloud City Limited expansion set of the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, though the image used to represent Obsidian 8 was not taken from the Empire Strikes Back film.^[2] It was later mentioned in 1998's Star Wars: Behind the Magic, where it was given the alternate spelling of "Obsidian Eight" and further identified as one of the TIE fighters from The Empire Strikes Back.^[4]

The 2003 The Empire Strikes Back expansion set of the Star Wars Trading Card Game placed an image of the same fighter on a card which identified the fighter instead as "OS-72-8."^[12] The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia from 2008 resolved the issue by specifying that OS-72-8 was Obsidian 8's pilot.^[13]

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