I've noticed that thermal detonators have a somewhat varied reputation. References show them ranging from frag grenade type devices to C4-like demolition explosives. So what's the deal, I ask?

Note: This is blog is very much me talking about video games and explosions. If that ain't you're cup of tea... you've been warned.

The Movies
We got our first taste of thermal detonators in Return of the Jedi, when Leia (disguised as Boussh) uses one to threaten Jabba the Hutt. Here, it is obvious that the mere mention of "a thermal detonator" is rather frightening, judging by C-3PO and the crowd's reaction, and is surely capable of at least laying waste to a room.

With the knowledge that a thermal detonator is like a grenade, that means a significant blast radius and amount of power. But looking only at that scene, it's actually hard to tell what it does at all. I know that when I first watched it, I didn't think of it as an explosive, but some sort of special targeted weapon. In fact, when I was very little, I even thought it was somehow responsible for the green stuff on C-3PO at the time. The way Leia holds it, pointing at Jabba, it doesn't seem very grenade-ish at all. Only the handheld and spherical nature make it seem that way at all.

All we get for sure in this scene is that it's a dangerous, unique, and unpredictable weapon.

Then there's The Empire Strikes Back. Luke single handedly takes out an AT-AT using a grappling hook, a lightsaber, and some explosive. But the explosive is, as far as I know, unidentifiable. Is it a simple frag grenade, an actual demolition charge, or a thermal detonator? What was the driving force behind it's effectiveness? The location of the blast or the magnitude? It's hard to know for sure, so ESB doesn't really help.

Books?
In expanded universe sources there are references to Thermal Detonators being at least as dangerous as suggested in in ROTJ. For example, the same type of detonator that Leia used was shown to be able to level a large building when detonated in the basement.

Uh oh, Video Games
But then video games come along and embrace thermal detonators as a perfect Star Wars analogy for hand grenades. The Jedi Knight series portrays thermal detonators, which appear the same as Leia's, as exactly that: hand grenades. Enemies that wield them are not all that common, but not all that rare, either. No more or less so than a sniper. Their explosive nature makes them dangerous and a nuisance, but they are not the mega death bombs that Jabba's entourage views them as.

In the Battlefront games, they are even more common. They are standard issue on many of the troops of the galaxy, and once again, act like simple grenades.

In Knights of the Old Republic, things get more confusing. There are many types of grenades, the most basic being an actual frag grenade, but thermal detonators do exist, and are the best grenade type weapon in the game. (Keep in mind, the game takes place 4000 years prior to the movies). In a cut scene, Calo Nord threatens to use a thermal detonator, with the implication that it would be able to ensure the deaths of everyone in the sizable hangar bay. Also, it again implies that the thermal detonator is a rare and powerful weapon.

But later in the game, thermal detonators turn out to not be as rare, and while they are the most powerful grenades in the game (IMO, at least, but you'd be hard pressed to argue otherwise), they do not represent the projected damage that Calo Nord described.

One thing to consider- Calo Nord was using threats as a last ditch measure, so he may have been exaggerating, since he knew that the thermal detonators of the time would not be up to the task he suggested (namely "blowing us all to bits")


Confused yet?
So with all these different accounts, what do we end up with?

Different models of thermal detonators, of course. Really, it's not that hard a question. The discrepancies are not so much confusing as interesting, really.
Wookieepedia reveals three different kinds of thermal detonators, and Starwars.com's own Databank doesn't dispute it.

There is the Class-A, which is what Princess Leia used, Class-E, the kind that are standard issue on troops of the galaxy, as well as the V-1, which seems to be nothing more than a Class-E modified to be quieter.

Presumably, there at least could be plenty of other classes of thermal detonators (B through D, for example). The Jedi Knight series, which takes place mostly beyond the ROTJ, could show a later model, that resembled the Class-A, but didn't actually share it's effectiveness. Dark Forces, though, which is earlier in the timeline (and possibly the first extra-ROTJ example of a thermal detonator) still shows thermal detonators the same grenade-like way, but there's no reason not to believe that other types of detonators didn't highly resemble the Class-A's even back then.

In Conclusion...
So there it is. Thermal Detonators: diverse in capability and use, but daunting and terrifying by reputation.

It's funny, I never expected myself to write such a long blog on thermal detonators, of all things. Oh well, there's no controlling the muse. (Hmm, did one of the nine muses specialize in explosives? I wonder...) Thanks for reading.


Fun Fact! Ever wonder what that cylindrical white thing on the small of a Stromtrooper's back is? That's their thermal detonator. It's code protected and modifiable, hence the multiple buttons. Don't believe me? Check out the Databank entry.