Star Wars has always been at least partially a Western at heart, and like any good Western, the saga is littered with cool-looking firearms. Known in a galaxy far, far away as blasters, George Lucas took the ray guns of his youth with their one continuous death ray and said, “what if lasers but bullets?” There is, of course, an in-universe explanation for how blasters operate — technobabble involving superheated gas — but let’s be honest: all anyone really cares about is how badass Han Solo looks when he’s shooting one. To that end, the propmasters at Lucasfilm further revolutionized sci-fi weaponry design by designing most of the blasters after real-world weaponry, albeit with some extra odds and ends glued on to make them look just slightly alien enough to come from another galaxy.
While they might not be a pop culture phenomenon like the lightsaber, to quote Han Solo, there’s “no substitute for a good blaster at your side.” So, in honor of the galaxy’s weapon of choice, here are the 10 coolest blasters in the Star Wars universe.
10) Jawa Ion Blaster
Cobbled together from scraps and looking like an old-timey blunderbuss, the Jawa Ion Blaster packs a heck of a punch, but only if you’re a droid. Like all ion weapons in the Star Wars universe, the Jawa’s blaster is used to disable electronics but does no damage to organic lifeforms. The Jawas would frequently use their ion blasters to disable any droids they might run across during scavenger missions. The desert traders would then take the stunned droids back to their Sandcrawler to fix up for resale.
9) E-11 Medium Blaster Rifle
The Stormtrooper’s weapon of choice, the E-11, was the workhorse of the Empire. The E-11 blaster rifle was used to intimidate and put down insurrectionists across the galaxy, making it the last thing many Rebels saw before becoming one with the Force. E-11s were based on the real-life British Sterling submachine gun and, as a result, carried a real weight to them that many prop weapons failed to match.
8) ELG-3A Blaster Pistol
The ELG-3A, also known as the Naboo Royal Pistol, was the preferred weapon of Queen Padme Amidala. Unlike the bulky, black form factor of the original trilogy firearms, the ELG-3A — first seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace — sports a sleek chrome design that more resembles something out of Flash Gordon than WWII, and that’s by design. The Naboo Royal Pistol is part of a subclass known as holdout blasters. Holdouts are characterized by their petite build and elegant design, making them easy to conceal and the perfect weapon for gamblers, dignitaries, and anyone else who didn’t want to announce to the galaxy that they were packing heat.
Don’t write the ELG-3A off pure decoration, though. Despite its dainty design, the blaster was more than capable of blowing a whole through a standard B1 battle droid.
7) MWC-35c “Staccato Lightning” Repeating Cannon
The MWC-35c “Staccato Lightning” repeating cannon is a big name for a big gun. With an ammo capacity of 35,000 rounds, the MWC-35c required the user to wear a giant coolant tank on their back to keep the blaster from melting in their hands. As shown in Rogue One, the MWC-35c had enough firepower to turn anyone into a one-person army. Freelance assassin-turned-Rebel Baze Malbus used the repeating cannon several times throughout the film and managed to take out a garrison’s worth of Stormtroopers all by himself.
6) Westar-34 Blaster Pistol
When George Lucas created Mandalorian bounty Hunter Jango Fett for Star Wars: Attack of the Clones he really leaned into the gunslinger aspect of the character. Rather than give Jango a single firearm like his son Boba, Lucas armed the elder Fett with a pair of wicked-looking pistols slung low on his hips like a Wild West outlaw. Jango’s weapon of choice — the Westar-34 blaster pistol — is designed specifically for quick draw shootouts like the kind movie outlaws are always getting themselves into. As sick as Jango’s pistols look, though, it’s the unique spin they put on the standard Star Wars “pew-pew” blaster noise that really earns them a spot on this list.
If you’re a Star Wars fan of a certain age, you took one look at the picture above and immediately heard the distinct sound the Westar-34 makes when it fires. Everyone else can listen to it here.
5) Wookie Bowcaster
If you’ve ever seen Chewbacca lugging around one of these badboys, you’ve no doubt wondered to yourself, “Is it a crossbow or a blaster?” The answer is both. Bowcasters are a unique weapon in the Star Wars universe in that they fire a metal quarrel wrapped in plasma. This gives the Bowcaster’s projectiles the appearance of blaster bolts but with an added kick that you only get from a physical shot. Bowcasters take an enormous amount of strength to cock, making them an unpopular choice for most species other than Wookies.
So why bother with a weapon that you have to break your arm to load? Because Bowcasters are strong as the Wookie wielding them. The particular one Chewbacca was carrying in Star Wars: The Force Awakens packed such a wallop that it would send anyone it hit flying through the air like a ragdoll. Now that’s a blaster!
4) Ezra Bridger’s Lightsaber
Yes, you read that right: the fourth coolest blaster in the galaxy is a lightsaber. Specifically the first lightsaber constructed by Jedi-in-training Ezra Bridger of Star Wars Rebels fame. Ezra knew when it came time to build his version of the Jedi’s signature weapon that he wanted something he could use without announcing to everyone that he was a Force user, so he made it with a built-in blaster. Ezra’s blaster/lightsaber combo allowed him to defend himself and engage in firefights without outing himself as a Jedi in an era when the space wizards were largely extinct. The one-of-a-kind hybrid acted as a bridge between Star Wars’ two most popular weapons and let Ezra hold his own against Darksiders and Stormtroopers alike.
3) Amban Phase-Pulse Blaster
The Amban phase-pulse blaster is easily the weirdest-looking blaster on this list. Essentially a rifle with a tuning fork stuck on the end, the Amban made its debut in a little-seen animated segment in the middle of the dreaded Star Wars: Holiday Special. The short titled “The Faithful Wookie”— available to stream on Disney+ — introduced the world to not just the phase-pulse blaster but the character of Boba Fett, albeit with a slightly different color palette.
Fans would get to see the Amban in live-action decades later as part of Din Djarin’s arsenal on The Mandalorian. The weapon was capable of delivering an incapacitating shock or straight-up vaporizing an opponent, depending on its setting. While there has yet to be a canon explanation for why Darth Vader told Boba Fett, “No disintegrations!” in The Empire Strikes Back, we wouldn’t be surprised if the Amban phase-pulse blaster had something to do with it.
2) EE-3 Carbine Rifle
Boba Fett sports one of the coolest designs in all of sci-fi, so it only makes sense that he would have an equally cool firearm. The EE-3 is an interesting beast. Its relatively short barrel would seem to be at odds with its long rifle stock, but somehow, the two elements work together nicely to produce a blaster that’s both unique and powerful looking. Westerns often had two types of cowboys: the ones that preferred revolvers and the ones that used shotguns to get their point across. Jango Fett was clearly based on the former, while his son, Boba, fits the bill of an outlaw more concerned with firepower than fancy shooting.
The EE-3, much like Fett, is a no-nonsense killer that gets the job done with minimal fuss.
1) DL-44 Heavy Blaster Pistol
When you hear the word blaster, chances are you picture the DL-44. The signature weapon of none other than Han Solo — scoundrel extraordinaire — the heavy blaster pistol is one of the most iconic weapons in Star Wars, second only to the Skywalker lightsaber. Based on the German Mauser, the DL-44 was modified using parts from various other sources, including a model airplane, a real airplane, and even a sniper rifle. The result is one of the coolest movie weapons ever created. Just looking at it conjures an image of a charming rogue blasting their way out of an impossible situation.
The Star Wars universe is home to many blasters, big and small, long and short, but Han Solo’s DL-44 will always outclass them all.
Did we miss your favorite blaster? Let us know in the comments!
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