Avenger

> Sir, we have a priority signal from the Star Destroyer *Avenger.*"
> "Right.
>
> An Imperial officer and Firmus Piett,

The ***Avenger*** was an *Imperial II*-class Star Destroyer in the Imperial Navy's Death Squadron, under the command of Captain Lorth Needa. As a part of the Galactic Empire's Project Swarm, the *Avenger* was one of the destroyers responsible for deploying thousands of Viper probe droids across the galaxy in hyperdrive pods, in an attempt to discover the Rebel Alliance's secret base.

## Description

An *Imperial II*-class Star Destroyer, the *Avenger* was equipped with a hangar bay, a communications tower, a solar ionization reactor, and two deflector shield generator domes. Measuring 1,600 meters long, it was propelled by three destroyer-I ion engines and four emergency use gemon-4 ion engines. The Star Destroyer carried with it numerous hyperdrive pods containing Viper probe droids.

## History

### Project Swarm

In 3 ABY, the *Avenger* was owned by the Imperial Navy, and commanded by Captain Lorth Needa. It was involved in Project Swarm, an Imperial operation to dispatch Viper probe droids across the galaxy in order to locate the Rebel Alliance's secret base, from which they waged war on the Empire.

### Pursuing the *Millennium Falcon*

 File:AvengerChaseFalcon-ST.jpg
Following the Battle of Hoth, the *Avenger* and the rest of Death Squadron pursued the rebel vessel *Millennium Falcon*, although its captain, Han Solo, evaded the Star Destroyer. The *Falcon* flew further into the asteroid field evading TIE fighters. To answer a call from Emperor Palpatine, the *Executor* left the asteroid field. After the *Millennium Falcon* underwent repairs in an asteroid cave, it was sighted by the *Avenger*'s Captain Lorth Needa. He ordered the ship to fire and landed a shot on the *Falcon*'s stern. Solo turned his ship around and charged the Star Destroyer, heading towards the bridge. Needa ordered for the shields to be raised but lost the *Falcon*. The rebel ship had hidden itself on the back of the *Avenger'*s conning tower in a sensor blind spot. Needa decided to take full responsibility for losing the *Millennium Falcon* and left to apologize to Vader. Aboard the *Executor*, Vader ordered to disperse the fleet after killing Captain Needa. Following standard Imperial procedure, the *Avenger* dumped its garbage and flew into hyperspace while the *Millennium Falcon* detached and "drifted away with the garbage".

## Behind the scenes

The *Avenger* first appeared in the opening scene of the 1980 original trilogy film, *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*. Although *Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded* and *Star Wars Helmet Collection* 9 both identify the Star Destroyer that deployed the probe droid to Hoth as the *Avenger*, *Star Wars: Complete Locations* conversely calls the vessel the *Stalker*. The *Stalker* was later confirmed to exist in canon by the 2021 book *The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem*, an adaptation of the original trilogy by Jack Mitchell.This article assumes that *Complete Locations* supplies the correct name, being the more recent source.

## Appearances

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* *The Original Trilogy Stories*
* *Star Wars: The Original Trilogy – A Graphic Novel*
* *The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem*
## * *Avenger*

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* *Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back* junior novelization
* *The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?*
* *Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back* Screen Comix
* *Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Graphic Novel Adaptation*
* Template:Shortstory
* Template:Shortstory
* Template:Shortstory
* Template:Shortstory Template:Imo

## Sources

* Template:SWE
* Template:ForceCollection Template:Imo
* Template:ForceCollection Template:Imo
* Template:SWCT
* *Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know*
* *Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded*
* *Star Wars: Complete Locations* Template:ID
* Template:HelmetCollectionCite Template:Imo
* Template:HelmetCollectionCite
* Template:SW
* *Star Wars: On the Front Lines* Template:Imo
* *Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z*
* Template:BuildR2Cite
* Template:HelmetCollectionCite
* Template:HelmetCollectionCite Template:Imo
* Template:HelmetCollectionCite
* *Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition*
* *Starships and Speeders* Template:Imo
* Template:Armada
* Template:EncyclopediaCite
* Template:BustCollectionCite Template:Po
* *Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga: The Official Collector's Edition* Template:Imo
* *Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy*
* Template:Databank
* Template:Databank
* Template:Databank
* Template:Databank

## Notes and references

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `ESB`
2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Card Trader ESB`
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Length`
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Card Trader Stories`
5. ↑ *Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded* establishes hyperdrive pods, which were seen launching from the *Avenger* in *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*, carry Viper probe droids and are equipped with hyperdrives.
6. ↑ *Star Wars: Galactic Atlas* dates the events of *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back*, including the *Avenger*Template:'s appearance, to 3 ABY.
7. ↑ *Doctor Aphra* (2016) 37 identifies the Galactic Empire's effort to find Echo Base with Viper probe droids, which *Star Wars*: Episode V *The Empire Strikes Back* shows the *Avenger* was a part of, as Project Swarm.
8. ↑ *Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded*
9. ↑ Template:HelmetCollectionCite
10. ↑ *Star Wars: Complete Locations*
11. ↑ *The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem*