One of the most popular sections of StarWars.com is the encyclopedic databank, a listing of key characters, vehicles, locations and other elements from the
Star Wars universe. We recently took a look at what the 100 most popular entries were, based on page views this year. Here are the results:
100.
Jedi Temple.The place to go to hone your Jedi skills, provided you've got the midi-chlorian count to make the cut.
99.
Mas Amedda.In addition to non-stop election season coverage, people still want to know about their politicians from a galaxy far, far away...
98.
E-wing starfighter.An overpowered fighter craft rolled out in the pages of the Dark Empire graphic novel, the E-wing is the sole expanded universe starship to make the top 100.
95.
Banking Clan frigate.Banks in our universe spend a lot trying to convince us that they care. In Star Wars, they can bombard your planet from orbit.
93.
ARC-170 fighter.The gun-laden deep space fighting bird of the clone forces, and one awesome toy to boot.
92.
Wedge Antilles.A born survivor,
Wedge has escaped every major tangle the Rebels have gone through and then some. We're actually a bit surprised he didn't place higher.
91.
Aurra Sing.She was intriguing enough to become an EU superstar after the release of Episode I, Aurra enjoyed a resurgence in popularity following an appearance in the Legacy of the Force series.
88.
R4-P17.Obi-Wan's faithful droid --which, nitpickers, he didn't actually own -- that gets decapitated by a
buzz droid.
86.
Wes Janson.In the movies, it's
Janson who trips up an
AT-AT walker during the Battle of
Hoth. In the novels, he's a wisecracking prankster who can take a cantina brawl or two.
84.
P-38 starfighter.Barely glimpsed in Episode III, this retro-styled fighter earned a two-page spread in the corresponding cross-sections book. It'll get more play in the upcoming
Clone Wars animated series.
83.
Rebel cruiser. You'd think a red starship would look garish, but this government transport carries it off with elegance.
82.
Jedi starfighter.The main Jedi ride during the Clone Wars, available in triangle and forked varieties.
80.
Shaak Ti.Reports of this Jedi beauty's death were greatly exaggerated. She's coming back in 2008 in
The Force Unleashed.
79.
Plo Koon.Yes,
Plo Koon fans, we'll hear the masked one speak in the animated series.
76.
TIE fighter.The classic Imperial cannon-fodder ship, the shrieking sound of its power-dives evoke happy memories for fanboys everywhere.
71.
Dusty Duck.Congratulations Hyperspace member, Hedec Ga! Your fan-created entry -- a perk that was available only to Hyperspace members -- is the only one of its kind to make it into the top 100.
70.
Republic assault ship.The predecessor of the triangular
Star Destroyers seen in the classic trilogy, seeing these ships at the end of Episode II made for a nice harbinger of things to come.
68.
Yaddle.More than just
Yoda in drag,
Yaddle was killed off in the books to make room for cooler Jedi on the council.
67.
Ki-Adi-Mundi.The chattiest of the Jedi Council supporting cast, the cone-headed
Ki-Adi-Mundi is a lousy judge of character.
Count Dooku a political idealist and not a murderer? Yeah, good call on that, Beldar.
66.
Leviathan.Darth Malak's enormous flagship from the Knights of the
Old Republic game. Also the name of that underwater sci-fi film that came out in 1989 that wasn't
The Abyss.
65.
clone commandos.Hard-hitting novels by Karen Traviss plus a first-person shooter game from LucasArts made these special ops troopers unforgettable.
63.
Pash Cracken.Pash Cracken? Really? Okay, yeah, he's been in a couple of books, and underwent that whole P.O.W-thing in the New Jedi Order, but does he really warrant being on here? Really? Who thinks about Pash Cracken?
61.
Darth Vader's suit.No, not Skywalker vs.
Mustafar Scaffolding Limited. These are the black duds that give Vader his unmistakable presence.
60.
C-3PO.The golden droid is far from doomed. He's downright popular. This is his moment to shine.
59.
Sith fighter.These speedy little ships are fun to shoot out of the sky in the gunport levels of Knights of the Old Republic.
57.
Aarrba the Hutt.On second thought, we take back everything we said about Pash Cracken.
56.
X-wing fighter.The unbeatable starfighter design against which all other fighters are judged.
54.
Coruscant.If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere in the galaxy.
53.
AT-AT walker.The toy every kid wanted to have. Remember the old TV ad where it was stomping coffee creamer cups?
51.
Clone Commander Cody. We're pretty sure he's the only
Star Wars character to share a name with a black-and-white movie serial and a country rock band, though admittedly, we really didn't do that much research.
50.
Aayla Secura. A skilled Jedi warrior, she rivals Smurfette as a blue beauty most fantasized about.
49.
Kit Fisto. The tentacle-locks, bug eyes and pearly whites make him one of the most memorable background Jedi in the Republic.
48.
Imperial Star Destroyer. When that almost endless ship lumbered overhead back in '77, audiences knew they were in for something very different.
47.
Ask Aak. The mush-mouthed three-eyed politician from Malastare knows what he wants. He wants a clone army.
46.
Stass Allie. It's hard to say which of the Order 66 deaths was the cruelest, but there's something particularly heartbreaking about Stass's riderless speeder bike crashing into the gloomy
Saleucami landscape while buzzards chew apart
clone trooper bodies in the background.
45.
Naboo. The fanciest of the
Star Wars planets, where everything feels like a museum piece, and you wouldn't dare request service without shirt or shoes. You know, like
Jar Jar.
44.
Twi'lek. Heads or tails? You get both rolled into one with the
Twi'leks.
43.
Super Star Destroyer. Mathematically more popular than a Star Destroyer, and we're not just eyeballing here -- we have solid stats to back that.
41.
Anakin Solo. The Solo kid whose legend grew exponentially after being killed off at a young age, there are those that still hold out hope, six years later, that this Anakin will somehow return.
39.
Qui-Gon Jinn. Quite possibly the most intriguing character introduced in the prequel trilogy,
Qui-Gon manages to follow both the path of the Jedi and his own ways.
38.
Death Star. The Empire's moon-sized weapon with a two-meter wide Achilles heel.
37.
R2-D2. The galaxy's coolest toy and most reliable friend,
R2-D2 has any tool you need to get you out of a jam.
36.
Tatooine. It may not rank high on galactic lists of places-to-visit, but as the cradle of the Skywalker clan and focal point of the entire
Star Wars saga,
Tatooine earns its slot in the top 100.
35.
Jek Porkins. Proof that you don't need to be able to do sit-ups to be a fighter ace.
34.
Mace Windu. You really have to appreciate a fellow
Star Wars fan who parleyed his love of the original saga into a dream role of a Jedi Master in the new trilogy.
33.
Jacen Solo. He's come a long way down from a likable tree-hugging jokester in the young reader books.
Jacen, or Darth Caedus, has been stirring Sith up as a Jerk Lord-you-love-to-hate in the Legacy of the Force books.
32.
Chewbacca. The hardest working Wookiee in the galaxy, even getting flattened by a moon back in '99 hasn't hurt
Chewie's popularity.
31.
Republic attack cruiser. The first ship that lumbers into view in Episode III, signifying that the shipbuilders in the galaxy have been busy during the Clone Wars.
30.
Count Dooku. Christopher Lee brought his stately elegance and trademark macabre polish to this role as the renegade Jedi swordmaster.
28.
501st Legion. From fan organization to official place in
Star Wars canon, there's almost nothing the
501st can't do. Like defeat #40.
27.
Han Solo. He's the one
Star Wars character every guy, at some point in their lives, wanted to be.
26.
Darth Sidious. Future generations will puzzle over the fact that Sidious' double-identity as
Palpatine could ever have been a point of contention, and will giggle as stratified layers of message board arguments are unearthed to that effect.
25.
Jabba the Hutt. Second only to Santa Claus for having the most famous "ho ho ho."
24.
Galactic Republic. Wasn't built in a day, but was handily subverted within a generation.
23.
Darth Malak. The jawless villain from Knights of the Old Republic.
21.
Mara Jade Skywalker. She's had a rough year. We'll just leave it at that for the four of you who still don't know.
19.
Rebel Alliance. The underdogs of the original trilogy, their crest was the inspiration for countless tattoos.
18.
General Grievous. Robbed of screen-time in Episode III, Grievous gets more time to be truly nasty in the upcoming
Clone Wars animated series.
17.
Palpatine. He got his moment in the spotlight in Revenge of the Sith, when all his wicked plans finally came together.
16.
Boba Fett. An unaltered clone of the original Jango, and an undefeatable walking arsenal... unless you swat at him blindly with a broom.
15.
Padmé Amidala. A strong-willed and idealistic politician and a crack shot, too bad she's also the galaxy's biggest enabler.
14.
Princess Leia Organa Solo. Rebel, lover, mother, slave, Jedi, politician... she's worn a lot of hats and a lot of memorable hairstyles.
13.
stormtroopers. If you're ever pursued by the faceless ranks of the Empire, press yourself flat against the side of a barn. You should be fine.
12.
blaster. The standard sidearm of a galaxy far, far away.
11.
Darth Maul. He's not half the Sith Lord he used to be.
10.
Yoda. The embodiment of Jedi wisdom and also a great warrior, though he'll tell you that "wars don't make one great."
9.
Luke Skywalker. The central hero of the
Star Wars saga... that is until the prequel trilogy came along and tilted the perspective so that Anakin's tale came to the forefront. Still, it's Luke who was our first guide to the galaxy, and it was our eyes that looked through his at that twin sunset.
7.
clone troopers. Same genes, but different gear and paint jobs. Collect them all!
6.
the Empire. The ultimate villains of any saga. Heck, even Ronald Reagan co-opted them for political ends.
5.
Anakin Skywalker. The Chosen One and hero of the Republic, until he made a pact with the devil.
4.
Sith. Think how many years went by when we simply accepted
Darth Vader was a "Dark Lord of the Sith" without asking exactly what being a Sith meant. Now, Sith lore spans centuries, and while we know a lot, they're still holding on to a few secrets.
3.
Darth Vader. This year, he's been a grocery day shift manager, a baked potato, a low-brow art installation, and short-hand for the U.S. Vice President. It doesn't matter how you dress him up, he's still the most recognizable of all
Star Wars character there is.
2.
lightsaber. The classic weapon of the
Star Wars saga, which makes the #1 slot all the more obvious...
1.
the Jedi order. This makes sense when you realize the Force and its followers are the central elements that make
Star Wars so different from other sci-fi fare. With the release of the prequel trilogy, an entire generation of kids now aspires to Jedi Knighthood, and it's almost ended up as an option on census forms as a religion thanks to crusading Force-believers.