The Executor was constructed years after Yavin, and given to Vader to find the Rebels on Hoth: 4. The Executor was constructed immediately after Yavin, and given to Vader to kick the Rebels off Yavin: 1, and probably 5.Ĭ. This isn't as unusual an idea as it seems.ī. The Executor was constructed and in service as Vader's flagship before Yavin: 2, 3, and possibly 6. There are at least THREE separate narratives here:Ī. These are now dated around five months after ANH, but I don't know when that date originated.Ģ.) Scoundrel's Luck (1990) has the Executor serving as Vader's flagship during the hunt to recover him and his TIE/X1 after Yavin by implication, it was his flagship already before the battle using this chronology.ģ.) Star Wars: X-Wing (1993) depicts an SSD in a cutscene image before the Battle of Yavin.Ĥ.) Star Wars Adventure Journal #12 (1997) has Executor entering service at Kuat on precisely 23rd of 10th, 2 ABY, to hunt down the new Rebel base the Battle of Hoth is reported just over half a year later, on 9th of 6th, 3 ABY.ĥ.) Star Wars Manga (2006) has Palpatine hand the completed Executor to Vader on Coruscant, after Yavin.Ħ.) The Force Unleashed (2008) has Executor substantially complete by 3 BBY, but undergoing continued construction and fitting-out in the Scarl system. This is a really nasty continuity question, with lots of contradictory answers:ġ.) Darth Vader Strikes and Revenge of the Jedi (1981-3) have the Executor under construction at Fondor after Yavin, and subsequently used by Vader to break the siege of the Rebel base. Pretty cool retcon, and now made more believable because even a third-rate non-Imperial warlord like Tyber Zann can highjack the Eclipse, so why not something smaller like the Sovereign? Then there's the Sovereign-class, which The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia now says began construction some years before the return of Palpatine, because Zsinj is said to have used the lead ship. The Eclipse itself went through several retcons, with it now being begun around the Battle of Yavin ( Forces of Corruption) and used in a climactic battle at the end of the game, right after Endor (in an unfinished state, of course). It's actually common for big construction projects to be utilized before completion, both Jerec's Vengeance ( The Dark Forces Saga) and the Eclipse ( Byss and the Core Worlds) were used as space stations/headquarters during their construction.
I'm not sure when the big shift started, but with TFU, we have the unfinished Executor being used as a base for Vader and Marek. Some games, like Star Wars: X-wing, had it around before Yavin and was considered a non-canon depiction. In most sources, starting with Darth Vader Strikes, the Executor was only built after Yavin.