The TIE Fighter is a classic Imperial starfighter that debuted alongside the Rebel X-Wing in Star Wars in 1977. The ship's shape and window were designed by Colin Cantwell and Joe Johnson respectively, and famed sound designer Ben Burtt is credited with crafting its distinctive screeching engine noise by combining the sounds of an elephant with a car driving on a wet road.
Since then, the TIE Fighter has spawned numerous variations: the TIE bomber, the TIE Interceptor, the TIE Defender, and even The Rise of Skywalker. However, while TIE Fighters in the Star Wars universe are named after their "twin ion engines," but many fans may not know that George Lucas chose to name it after something its iconic shape resembled.
While in the Star Wars universe, TIE stands for "Twin Ion Engine," George Lucas gave the starfighter the name "TIE" simply because he thought that they looked like bow ties. It's true that the ship's round cockpit between two hexagonal s vaguely resembles a bow tie; however, a bow tie probably isn't the first thing that comes to fans' minds. As a result, even though Lucas's name is painfully on the nose, most fans don't realize that the starfighters' name is linked to its design.
The origin of the TIE Fighter's name is just one example of George Lucas's ideas that are zany at best and frustratingly ludicrous at worst. There's no denying that George Lucas is the mastermind behind Star Wars, but he is also responsible for some of the strangest parts of Star Wars canon. After all, he named the Rebel ship that had X-shaped wings an "X-wing," so perhaps the origin of the TIE Fighter's name isn't that surprising.
Before Disney bought Lucasfilm and Lucas retired, everything he said, even in interviews, was considered canon. For example, while interviewed by comedian and talk-show host Jon Stewart, Lucas's changes and additions remain canon, including the Obi-Wan's homeworld of Stewjon, which still appears on the official Star Wars Databank.
The fact that Lucas named TIE Fighters after bow ties might make them seem less menacing, but ultimately, the TIE Fighter, like Star Wars, has a life beyond the mind of its creator. Within the Star Wars universe, not only are there are no references to TIE Fighters looking like bow ties, but there aren't any prominent characters who wear bow ties, meaning that Lucas's reference would likely be lost on his characters.
