Star Wars: This Is How You Defend The Ridiculous Crossguard Lightsaber

[Dwarfman]

My problem with the light saber in the trailer has nothing to do with it's design. It's the desperate cloying going on.

The architects of this trailer just seem so desperate to try and deliver the sense of excitement from that Darth Maul double bladed lightsaber reveal moment again. It's like the new Beetle from VW, let's repackage this thing that a lot of people liked and sell it back to them in a new package. I don't like pandering in general, but I really dislike it when it's in a Star Wars film.

And this isn't anything new either. Some of the other saber designs that have come along in the years between Darth Maul's reveal and today have been the same level of "PLEASE FEEL AWESOME LIKE THAT MOMENT IN TIME BETWEEN THE HOPE OF PHANTOM MENACE AND THE REALITY OF PHANTOM MENACE... REMEMBER HOW GREAT THAT WAS GUYS??? GUYS??? RIGHT????".

It just seems desperate in a way that I don't think it needs to be. The fact that the added plasma blades are absurd is irrelevant.

But that's just me. I know no one else seems to share this view, and that's fine. Maybe I'm way off base and over thinking it. And I'm still eager to see the movie so it's not like anything was really lost. It's just a brief moment that struck the wrong chord with me.

Yes. This. Absolutely this. It doesn't matter whether or not the sabre is practical or looks cool. It loses serious points for me because it's clearly trying to jump on the band wagon of past movies, books and games. It's like a pissing contest or something - "Check it out guys! My lightsaber design is cooler than your's" "No it isn't!". I got an Idea. How about we do something original kids, leave the lightsabers alone and leave the nostalgia buzz to the fighters and Millennium Falcon.

 

[Dwarfman]

This would have solved the problem, even making them slightly offset.

Both designs look very cool and much more Star Warsy than the 'Highlander - THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!' look from the trailer. That being said I can't help but thinking back to Ghostbusters and all the talk about crossing the beams

But seriously. Awesome designs.

Captcha - loaf of Bread. Thanks for the reminder Captcha I do need to buy bread. And milk as well...

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Well, everyone's already chimed in on the impracticality of a crossguard lightsaber and how the argument doesn't address the main issues with it...

but to add my two cents, honestly, I just don't like the design. If the crossguard was less noticeable, I don't think I would mind, but the fact that it has its own mini-emitters, like the two sides are venting plasma or something, make it seem silly at the very least and dangerously impractical at the most. ... Which everyone's already addressed, granted, but I just felt like sharing.

 

[Oroboros]

Saying that the 'force makes it practical' is a copout excuse, I'm sorry.

Using that excuse, all Jedi and Sith might as well just use Lightsaber Urumi, or Lightchucks, because the force automatically gives them the precogniscience to not murder themselves.

Jedi/Sith may have limited precognisciece, but it's limited, and far from perfect-and their chief enemy has these same benefits-so do they really need a weapon which they need to be spending their precious force precogniscience juice on keeping their unwieldy weapon from being more deadly to themselves than to their enemy? Thats' going to be a fatal mistake either way against a competent jedi/sith with a more practical weapon, IMO.

There is no way that someone wielding something like that isn't going to accidentally brush that massive crossguard up against their forearm or something and dismember themselves. The only 'safe' way to wield it would be with the crossguard perpendicular to one's arms.

The light-claymore designs that are circulating around are much more practical IMO.

 

[gridsleep]

I never expected to see an example of such impeccable logic in a web site dedicated to trivia. Bravo.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

It's far more likely that those aren't emitters on the sides, those are handguards, and the actual emitter is flush with the rest of the hilt. As for the weapon being potentially hazardous to the wielder...okay, and? Sith aren't exactly known for their good judgement.

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

It's far more likely that those aren't emitters on the sides, those are handguards, and the actual emitter is flush with the rest of the hilt. As for the weapon being potentially hazardous to the wielder...okay, and? Sith aren't exactly known for their good judgement.

Of course, one thing a medieval sword trainer mentioned was the crossguard lightsaber (or in this case lightsword) is a way to counter the no crossguard style since Jedi employs a fighting stance similar to kendo. The guy demonstrated that two handed lightsaber combat has significant differences in that there is more momentum, the way the crossguard lightsaber is going to fight is going to be european style swordplay.

 

[x EvilErmine x]

Not really about the cross guard lightsaber but more on the blade balancing thing.

Aren't lightsabrs gyroscopicly stabilized? I remember reading something somewhere saying that they were[footnote]And that compensates for the lack of weight in the blade[/footnote] and that and the fact that the blade is basically a magnetically contained blaster bolt[footnote]meaning that magnetic interactions come into play when two sabers are involved[/footnote] make fighting with one very difficult, even with force powers. That's why the jedi and sith used them, because to use one showed great skill and required lots of practice.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

I've heard the lightsaber described variously, in various sources of dubious canonicity. The movies have certainly never treated the blade as being weightless, watch the fights between Luke and Vader, both actors are very clearly trying to convey that the blades are heavy, and Hamill confirmed that Lucas instructed them to act like they were swinging a heavy weapon.

 

[Thrand Godfrey]

Thrand, Eldgrimr and Marquez devise a test to see if the new Cross-guard Lightsaber from the New Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens Official Teaser Trailer by J.J. Abrams is dangerous to the wielder or the opponent.
http://youtu.be/PLzvznM2dDo?list=UUNz5BlP5XafcfOWGbxCAgxQ

 

[Thrand Godfrey]

We Tested the New Lightsaber with cross-guard or quillons!
Star Wars: Episode VII Lightsaber Crossguard Tested - Is It Dangerous?
http://youtu.be/PLzvznM2dDo