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I'm Hujiana and today we're looking at the new TIE fighter from last week's trilogy of Andor episodes. This thing was in the trailers, but be warned about spoilers because we're going more in-depth on it and other ties from throughout the years. First off, this is the Thai Avenger prototype, taking its name from a similar advanced craft from the 1994 Tie Fighter game, which was modeled by Martin Cameron.
But interestingly, this new one was partly inspired by Kylo Ren's Whisper as well. So, the new Avenger builds on things from all sides of the franchise. It certainly looks extremely cool.
The slanted wings and pointed panels is certainly nothing new. With both of these elements coming from the original trilogy, but this specific shape of the solar wings, where the middle chunk of them is inset just a little bit, really makes it its own thing amongst all the ties. It just makes the whole thing that extra bit spiky and aggressive looking.
Plus, this wing layout really stands out when you see it at a distance. It's like a ball of knives, a solidification of potential violence, all accentuated by the solid flat armor on the exterior of the wings. Going beyond just its stabby shape into what it has equipped and how it's built, this thing is a very peculiar craft.
It's got an extreme armorament for a craft of this size, like the drop down Gatling blasters and the superpowered whatever the heck this is that pops out of the chin. We didn't actually see what this thing looked like when it fired, though. But I like to think it's got tributary lasers like we've seen on other small craft throughout the franchise, and one very big craft, which would only be fitting for Cassian to be flying something like that.
But it's also got asymmetric stuff attached to the wings. On one side of the dual gun turret thing that can probably spin around to shoot backwards, and of course, the payload of rockets and missiles it carries. And this is just the weapons we can plainly see.
There might be more blasters on the front, like in the wing tips and in the usual spots on the chin. Beyond those obvious features, it's also built like a tank. Has life support, passenger seats, a hyperdrive, and a holographic headsup display for its advanced targeting system.
I mean, look, compare this to what Vader had on his TIE Advanced years later. Take all that along with the unfamiliar controls and the layout inside, and what kind of craft was this? Even though it's not said in the show, it is strongly implied to be a prototype that Cassine is there to steal.
But this thing goes beyond just that. Sina was clearly experimenting with it. But is it just there to try out different weapons for larger deployment?
Is the ship itself meant to be a pre-production thing, or is it a crazy one-off test bed meant to try out a whole ton of stuff all at once? Either way, it's got to be an extremely expensive craft. So, you can see why the Empire doesn't field anything nearly this capable later on in the setting.
And naturally, all this got me thinking about other advanced ties and TIE fighters in general, really. The original one is just such an incredibly strong design and is instantly readable thanks to its basic shape of ball in the middle with two vertical hexagons on the side. Yeah, the lore around it being this kind of cheap thing the Empire just made a bunch of is cool, too.
But the visuals of the thing are probably more iconic than even the X-wings in Millennium Falcon. The design language of the simple shapes and form and the two-tone grays make it a very malleable ship, too. You can do all sorts of tweaks to the wings and bubble and get something out the other end that still reads as being from the Tai family, even if it's a really dumb tank.
For a very basic example, the other tie that chased after Cassian as he was stealing the Avenger was the curved panel advanced V1 model previously seen throughout Rebels. It is fairly close to the base model, but you can also tell it's got something different and special about it, just not a lot different. Vader's advanced X1 at the end of A New Hope goes a lot further.
Not only does it tilt the wings inward, changing its front and rear silhouette to be unmistakable when compared to its escorts, but the bubble body is also extended. That changes the silhouette from other angles and further builds the idea that it's a special spaceship for a special someone. But the extra bulk and mass makes it seem longer ranged or like it can take more hits or has more power or something.
So, it combines instant readability to the audience with a sense of being more than just a regular tie. The bomber variant was the next new one we saw in The Empire Strikes Back, and I don't know how to feel about this one. Yes, the double hull immediately stands out, and that's great, but mixing it with the angled panels, I'm not sure on that move.
It makes what I think should be some cheap mass-roduced design into something more advanced and expensive. At least it does imply progression in tech coming from Vader's ship, but also crosses over with it in an odd way. Like it diminishes the specialness of the angled wings to stick them on something so routine and slow.
But then the angled wings do look nice and they look even better when angled outward like on the first orders bomber. Like I said, I'm conflicted about it. The same cannot be said of the Interceptors from Return of the Jedi.
For these, it makes sense to have them as like a special variant of the regular ties that feels more advanced and capable. And that amazing cutout in the front of the panels that makes them into spiky stabby things. They're the Empire's answer to the A-wings on the Rebel side.
And it's understandable why this amazing panel shape went on to be used on so many other ships, including the Avenger from the expanded universe and now the Andor version. It's just so perfectly aggressive. Like the Shrike in season 3 of Star Trek Peicard or the updated Sylon Raiders from Battlestar Galactica.
This shape works so well because it's the exact feeling you want on an antagonistic ship design and is so unlike what we see on real life vehicles, which also goes for the trilateral symmetry of the TIE Defender, which in both the expanded universe and cannon is supposed to be like a really high-end version of the TIE design that solves a lot of the thing's flaws, like its fragility, but that's also suitable for mass production. And I don't like it. Just to be clear, I'm not against the trilateral symmetry idea by itself.
It can look great as it does on the Tai Phantom. It's just the use of three sets of sideways panels. To me, they feel a bit goofy and like a very basic way to show it's more than other ties.
But at least that does read very easily for the audience. So, it does work there. And I will admit they can look cool from some angles.
If we're talking about goofy ties, then I really should talk about some of the goofy ties, right? I've already joked about the way the form doesn't translate to ground vehicles. But also some of the stuff throughout the years has been kind of silly or at least just not the best, demonstrating that while the Thai design language can be used really well, it's not a guarantee.
One of the more recent things we've seen is taking that design language and really changing the form up in a big way. Like with the TIE Reaper and Striker from Rogue One, both of which I absolutely adore. They've got that aggressive angry panel shape I highlighted earlier, but in a form that more closely resembles actual wings.
It's a great evolution of the look that sells how these craft function differently with their focus on atmospheric flight while also just looking really cool, especially the Reaper. That thing just fits really well into the troop transport role, leaving Lambda shuttles to be more of a backline logistics transport. It's an important distinction, and having both makes both more interesting.
So to reiterate, TIE fighters and their design language are absolutely iconic. They are one of the things that make you instantly understand that a fighter come from the bad guys in Star Wars. But there's a conflict between making use of that audience recognition and also designing new things like from earlier on in the prequels, like the Vulture Drids, which are wait a second.
Oh god, how did it take me 26 years to notice their resemblance to TIE fighters? Anyway, if going completely new and original isn't desired, there's still plenty of room for expanding on the look of ties that the Avenger does really well. Differences in the look of the core and the engines, differences in wing shape to change or accentuate the feeling of the whole craft.
Differences in colors from the armored outer panels to even whole paint jobs. Like imagine a tie in splinter camo, kind of like the partisan X-wings. How cool would that look?
So yeah, the Tai Avenger is really interesting for how it pushed the TIE design language, but the real question is, is this the last we've seen of it? You can support Space Talk by joining our Patreon, where you can get our frig and space fighter design reference books. Alternatively, you can support us directly through YouTube by becoming a channel member.
Thanks to our supporters, and thank you for watching.
