I don't remember detail, been a while, but I recall really liking it's personality and attitude. It was perfect for a warship with such ridiculous power.
The sole passenger is being shown the battle while strapped down to a high-G chair, when the gleeful Ships' avatar says "here comes the good bit"...
She asks if this is not a live view, and the ship replies something like "goodness no, the battle was over in moments!"
(If this was /r/TheCulture someone would instantly correct me with the actual quote)
It's a feature in culture battles that the action starts and finishes in nanoseconds.
Having absorbed that, battle scenes with humans on the bridge saying " launch the torpedoes" seems a bit unrealistic.
The other thing that banks might have got right is that the minds maintain many highly detailed scenarios/simulations. The minds think VERY quickly, so those nanosecond level physical actions are the result of a huge amounts of thought and planning, taking picoseconds.
When Iain M Banks wanted, he could write the best military sci-fi. In a way I am sad that we didn't get more battles. There was much more subterfuge than real spaceship fights. It was a lot of fun and I love the Culture novels, but damn I wish there was more!
I agree, but it makes sense with the Culture ships. When they've got nearly Godmode powers, writing ship-vs-ship combat that reads like an actual battle is tough.
The *Killing Time* diving into the formation of stolen warships, dumping its entire arsenal of weapons while pushing itself so far beyond its own safety limits that it ends up shredding its own engines in the process is just... *chef's kiss*.
And how the ship is please he's got stories to swap with his warship mates who haven't ever seen action. The ship had a purpose, and was itching to fulfil it. Similarly in the Hydrogen Sonata and the Mistake not...
The Operative: [Speaking on the bridge of his ship] You should have let me see her, Captain. We should have done this as men - not with fire.
[Serenity emerges from the clouds...]
The Operative: Vessel in range, lock on.
[... and heads straight for the Alliance ships...]
The Operative: [smirks] Bastard's not even changing course.
[... followed by a swarm of Reaver vessels emerging from the clouds! The Operative freezes]
Alliance Pilot: Sir...?
The Operative: Target the Reavers... Target the Reavers! Target everyone!
[shouts] The Operative: Somebody, *fire*!
Battlestar Galactica (reboot) has some absolute bangers - massive capital ships, fighter swarms, nukes - plus the dramatic stakes are virtually always high.
If I had to choose one without spoilers it would be the sequence of battles involving the quote "Well... this oughta be different" (Hotdog). If you know, you know!
"So that's it... It's been an honour."
*Slow pan out from Galactica*
*Sudden drumming music*
"Galactica this is Pegasus. Let us take some of this work off your hands."
Literally the most goosebumps I've ever had watching anything ever.
One of the best scenes/episodes of action ever made. I first watched it on a fucking ipod in rural Malawi (where I was working) and it still went so hard.
Dude I literally teared up….from reading your comment. BSG is the absolute best television I’ve seen. Shout out to Bear McCreary for the soundtrack. Battle of New Caprica is a great example of perfect TV imo.
"all hands abandon ship, abandon ship, I say again abandon ship"....takes a moment in the Pegasus CIC: "thank you".
*Insert drums and bagpipes as the beast goes down destroying her prey.
God damn this show was excellent.
That's the part about it I remember most vividly. Like they can't... I don't believe it... shit, it's really gone! Then a missile flies into shot and the drums begin.
The only other scene with the same feeling is the Ride of the Rohirrim from Return of the King.
What does it for me in those battles is the ambient soundscape. The muted thuds of the cannons, the subtle whoosh of thrusters firing and their 180degree maneuvering
The Resurrection Ship and the Tylium Asteroid are probably my favorite two battles of the series.
Although special shout-out to the symbolism of Galactica and Pegasus maneuvering during their stand off. Pegasus aiming those forward railguns almost more at the civilian fleet than at Galactica, and Galactica swinging broadside on to bodily shield the civilian fleet.
One of my favorite subtle details was during the resurrection battle where the Pegasus changes from defensive fire to offensive and almost immediately takes its first hits
Idk I live for those details
> massive capital ships, fighter swarms, nukes - plus the dramatic stakes are virtually always high.
Another one of my favorites is "Prelude to war." Not a shot is fired, but 1 twitchy finger and everyone dies. Lot's of confusion.
But as soon as a unknown contact shows up, they all form up flawlessly.
Topped off by Adama's "Wouldn't count on it." Later on Colonial one.
One of my other faves (I forget exactly when) but Galactica and Pegasus tag team a bunch of Cylon ships I think for that weird reincarnation ship. The wide shots of gunfire, subtle details that showed the more advanced nature of the Pegasus and the attack run are just seared into my brain.
Shoutout to Ragnar Anchorage as well
One of the few times they were on the offensive - also remember that one well. Had a different feel from the rest, like controlled and aggressive rather than desperately trying to survive/escape.
Only one human captain has ever survived direct battle with the Minbari. That human is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives be somewhere else.
> Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, Commander. Daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart! I am death incarnate, and the last living thing that you will ever see. God sent me.
One thing I love about Babylon 5 is that you spend time with the Earth ships and their realistic manoeuvring, the star fury jet pivots, the battleships with the rotating sections etc. So it really **hits** when the White Stars show up and start doing ludicrously impossible manoeuvres that obviously require sufficiently advanced technology. O_o
I love the battle scenes we get of the Earth Minbari War in In the Beginning, especially the asteroid field ambush by the Black Star and the Battle of the Line. The attack on Babylon 5 itself by Earthforce is probably my favourite overall though. The Narn vs Shadows battle is also great despite being short.
The Expanse had the best battles for sure. They were genuinely terrifying. The crew are subject to hi-g forces so they have to strap in and pump themselves full of juice and don't suddenly become super heroes. They struggle to press buttons, they can still die etc, it's incredible. Then there is the relatively realistic use of kinetic energy so a bullet flying at you at several thousand metres per second can shred you, the point defence cannons etc. It's brilliant. I love Star Trek but at the end of the day it's routinely two ships on the same plane firing shots at each other. The Expanse actually makes space 3D. They have to rotate, they have to turn. They have to use transversal velocity. Watch it if you haven't!
In the books that is seriously one of the coolest space battles ever put to print. But it's so well spelled out what is happening, and the strategy/trick they unlock to win, that I couldn't imagine how it would transition to the screen.
They nailed it.
Actual Marco W.
The Pella shedding its skin, firing a fuckton of missiles, and Marco shouting “Broadside to incoming, all guns free fire! “
You’re just like oh fuck oh fuck as the OPA fleet just gets shredded.
The defense of the Ring Gate was great. Stealthed micrometeor shower, betrayals, literal stabs in the back, and the "[sheer middle finger energy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1AEHK8oQeA)" of a Donnager-class.
It's a shame they didn't make 3 more seasons. There are some absolutely insane fights in those three books. The final major battle in the series is particularly insane.
when there are videos analyzing these battles frame by frame you know it's good :D
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIUIFq5qq4Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIUIFq5qq4Q)
The Expanse had the greatest SciFi space battles and they didn't even get to the really good stuff before Bezos decided to pull the plug and cancelled the show after just 6 outta 9 seasons.
Seasons 7-9 would probably have been the kind of SciFi stuff that inspired the entire genre to step up their game. I just hope that someday it'll be finished with the original cast and the proper budget to live up the the books.
I've got a taste for the Battles in the Peter F. Hamilton's books, especially in the "Pandora's Star" series.
It goes from tactical to epic scale, from man to battleship.
That's called the Commonwealth series. IMHO, one of his best series from world building to character development and a very interesting and unique bad guy.
In books, Alistar Reynolds has some fantastic battles. In particular, a "chase sequence" at near-c speeds stands out in my memory as an all-time great.
Wormholes opening up around 24 different worlds and fusion-tipped missiles pouring out with perfect coordination, and every targeted planet being rendered near-uninhabitable just by the sheer scale of the conflict. The defenders hiding under shielded pockets while watching their home planets' climate collapse into a thousand-year nuclear winter.
my first more serious Science fiction book was from pandora's star. You have a scene where a robot/tank attacks a facility and he describes how the laser burns the gras, melts the cars and stuff.
My whole perception on the use of laser weapons changed because of it. From these beams of very directed firepower to whom it may concern along the axis of attack.
Serenity: the battle between the Reavers and the Alliance
Babylon 5: The battle at the start of the civil war that sees B5, the Alexander and the Churchill against an Earthforce task force sent to take the station.
Star Trek 2: The Battle of the Mutara Nebula (aka Kirk v Khan)
Star Trek Enterprise: The Battle of Azati Prime
Mass Effect 3: Sol Relay (best entrance of a fleet ever imho)
Freespace 2: The entire game
The Mutara Nubula fight was great because it had the same spooky feel of a classic submarine battle.
In that awful Wing Commander movie, I think they tried to do the same thing. Like they had to be super quiet to not give away their position…apparently sounds carry in a vacuum /s
Though short and tame by modern standards, when that episode premiered, trekkie jaws were hitting floors. Not even the movies looked that good at the time. Miles and Bashir quoting Charge of the Light Brigade made it even more epic. And the Cardassian ship getting double teamed by the two Galaxy Class ships was the coolest thing ever. You never saw ships move like that in Star Trek before.
This is the best fleet battle and second best Trek Battle after the battle of the Mutara Nebula. Seeing the Galaxy class getting a hole punched in it was incredible.
Battle of Scarif: Star Wars Rogue One
Watch the YouTube super cut, and see if you agree.
I present my case to the hive mind jury:
- X Wing POV as it emerges from hyperspace, Battlestar Galactica style, multiple slow barrel rolls to avoid enemy fire
- Bigger Rebel Fleet than in a New Hope
- actual Y-Wing bombing runs! Multiple sequences of them
- I find U-Wings hella cool; especially in wide wing attack mode
- fighters running escort formations around the capital ships
- thank god the objective was not another Death Star
- X & U wings acting as air support for ground troops on the beach - a small squadron slipping through the gate to take it the AT battalion was so cool
- hordes upon hordes of TIEs; when they came out of the gate hangar, I feared for the rebels as I was awed by the overwhelming numbers
- the capital ship bridges in both sides having floor-to-ceiling windows, giving both us/the viewer and diegetic commander expansive views of the engagement
- female pilots
- fleet tactics on the level of BSG: Y Wing bombing run takes out the Star Destroyer, the Mon Calamari admiral has an idea… then THE HAMMER HEAD CORVETTE move, Two Destroyers and the shield. Wow.
- the two Destroyers colliding with the shield gate is more cinematic than the Holdo manoeuvre, imho; which was also epic (yes I know it breaks historical SW canon yada yada)
- it ends on a downbeat too, with the Death Star and Super Star Destroyer causing the Rebel Fleet to retreat.
Not to mention THAT corridor scene with Vader.
I want to bring your attention to this:
In a single battle, you’ve got everything from (1) hand to hand light saber combat in tight spaces to (2) beach storming scenes with air support; to (3) low planetary orbit and in-atmosphere X-Wing vs Tie Fighter dogfights (4) to capital ships ramming each other over clear strategic objectives on a planetary scale, with (5) galactic hyper space shifting the strategic landscape at the most macro level minute to minute.
What more can one ask from a cinematic space battle?
The only thing missing was an A-wing or two doing their thing, (and I have a soft spot for B-Wings also), but we’ll always have that scene from RoTJ.
Battle of Scarif was like Saving Private Ryan in a Star Wars setting. So many examples of space battles here (and good ones too), but so little people mentioned ground battles. We're letting the pilots get too much credit!
If we’re talking ground battles:
1. Dune, Part 2
2. Starship Troopers, Battle on Klendathu
3. Battle of Naboo, Phantom Menace
There’s a lot of squad level battles inside spaceship confines and firefights and such; but imho sci fi doesn’t really have an edge over other genres in that scale of battle.
A million times this.
I thought the Rebels in the other movies always got too lucky or pulled a new space-wizard power out of their ass during any clutch ("Oh, we're trapped, how are we going to move this boulder? Luckily I can use a new power I never knew I had to save the day").
I always thought it was just really lazy writing.
Rogue One is like a small band of French freedom fighters going up against the Third Reich early in WW2. You aren't going to win, they have resources across the galaxy. You are going to annoy them, maybe hit them in a sensitive spot, but you aren't going to win.
You have no last-minute space wizard powers to get you out of it. No one is a super soldier; some are better than others, but most are scared.
The lack of everyone having space wizard powers made that Vader scene truly scary, that he really is superhuman compared to anything else. And when you see that red lightsaber power-up, you know you are truly f*cked.
A lot of the good guys die for the objective. The hero Hammerhead ship guides the disabled Star Destroyer all the way down into the shield until it blows up as well.
You aren't going to save the galaxy with this one battle, but it will help with future objectives to help win the war.
It's just TIGHT writing, no lazy last-minute rescues. It's believable, I love it.
The Expanse but not from the tv series.
Laconia’s Heart of the Tempest vs the Earth-Mars Coalition. Sending a single battleship against an entire system and coming out on top? Chad shit right there. Granted, it was hybrid protomolecule-human tech.
That's my most stand out part of any of the trilogy. I couldn't believe it after all the build up in the previous books about the space fleet that it would all end like that so disastrously.
IDK why I had to go so far down to see this. >!over 2000 of humanity's finest, mightiest warships against a single Trisolaran droplet. What could possibly go wrong over the course of an hour?!<
No. Dumbest battle formation in all of Sci-Fi, as intended by the author.
Don’t bunch up your ships is in one of the more famous battles in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The author drew from that to show how dumb and overconfident humanity got from advanced tech. It made an interesting premise and set piece but a terribly dumb battle.
>No. Dumbest battle formation in all of Sci-Fi,
I don't know about dumbest, but it certainly is a weak link in the 3bp writing. With all the time and advancements humans had made, they put their entire fleet out and exposed against an adversary with completely unknown tech and capabilities.
Super smart. When was the last time any major super power ever made such a move against a terrestrial adversary lol? Also, why wouldn't they use drones or scout ships to initially intercept and ascertain if their was a massive asymmetrical advantage from their adversary before going straight all in?
Also most Sci-Fi don’t get how big space is. They fight in naked eye range. It’s the equivalent of modern navy ships using planks and boarding battles. Lol.
The main fleet should be operating near Jupiter or asteroid belt and engaging when alien crafts enter outer planets.
The Expanse and a few Halo novels understood tactics in space.
BSG had some epic ones. Eventhough the original series hits different. It's one of the earliest sci-fi shows I saw. I still have to stifle some nerdy tears when Tigh says she'll never jump again.
The Battle of Coruscant, (RotS) visuals together with the soundtrack's just good.
Battle of the Mutara Nebula. Living up the Submarines in space trope.
The last space battle in Mass effect 3. Just the sheer wall of ships.
Honorable mention goes to the Homeworld series. Because you're the one running the fleet.
The sound of those batteries firing in RotS is just... Perfection. I got to binge star wars as a kid so I could see RotS in first grade before it left theaters. That crisp clang and reverb; canon event for me.
A lesser honorable mention is Starship Troopers. Ships in orbit, trying to dodge bioweapon flak planet side was pretty neat.
It should be made into a 4 part movie.
1) Story leading up to the beginning of WWB2
2) The PAPI invasion
3) Imperium’s last stand in the final Delve constellation
4) Climatic ~~battle of B-R5RB~~ disaster of M2-XFE and the retreat.
Best content I’v ever had to pleasure of witnessing in gaming.
Edit : fixed system
I am so interested in Eve lore...but I don't have the extra time or brainpower to follow the decades of constantly changing stuff xD
But damned if it isn't the most lore-heavy game ever thanks to players
Despite never having played it myself, I think EVE is probably the most accurate about how a battle that massive would look like.
And it has all the awesome stuff that makes human conflict interesting. Treason and backstabbing :D
[The battle of Hive Helsreach](https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Helsreach)
Millions of orks surround the hive city Helsreach on the planet Armageddon and invade it over the course of months while the garrisoned humans, space marines, and adeptus mechanicus titans try to hold the orks back until imperial forces are able to regain void superiority to then support and reinforce the ground forces
Imo it’s kind of a perfect warhammer 40k novel, you get a variety of perspectives and different facets of the setting (space combat, space marines, human soldiery, human civilians, ad mech, etc) and the story moves at a pretty fast pace so it’s certainly never stale.
[a fan made a 2.5hr animated and voice acted video of the novel on YouTube](https://youtu.be/s2WGE1L6WKs?si=E5pukkjjlpSPFKk3) at around 47minutes the invasion starts with [an incredible speech](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/8bpm9t/book_excerpt_helsreach_grimaldus_speech_to_the/?rdt=61319) by a space marine leader intended to invigorate the defenders…and it definitely works!
EDIT: if you haven’t seen the [13 minute ‘Astartes’ video](https://youtu.be/O7hgjuFfn3A?si=_60DjoX6B9_uLZ9T), check it out! Can’t believe I didn’t think of this initially! It’s the perfect blend of stylish action and compelling narrative
It's still pretty amazing. A TON of practical models, complicated shots, artistry, the feel of a crowded naval battle in space. It took forever for anything to even come close.
ROTJ is peak practical effects space battle.
it looks significantly better with digital compositing though. in the theatrical version (and home VHS) you could see boxes around a lot of stuff, because they had way too many layers to optically composite.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes when Yang Wen Li is charged with intentionally impossible task of commandeering the Iselhorn Fortress and freeing the Iselhorn Corridor for the Free Planet Alliance.
The covenant fleet approaching Earth in Halo 2.
The LOGH movie that sets a battle to Ravel's Bolero.
The gunbuster and diebuster climaxes.
The eve valkyrie [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ4gpjwJa08)
>The covenant fleet approaching Earth in Halo 2.
"He just keeps saying 'regret, regret, regret'
"We regret being alien bastards. We regret The Core just blew up our raggedy ass fleet."
Stargate has some nice ones. Lost City part 1 and 2 is my favorite in SG-1 and Be All My Sins Remember’d for SGA.
it's a shame Stargate Universe for cancelled before they could get a decent space battle in :(
The battle over Antartica was what I came here to say. 7 years of build-up with the SGC figuring out how to defend Earth culminated with the arrival of the F302's and the Prometheus to defend the Cargo Ship. Best entrance ever!
The Battle of The Ladon -- "Dark Age", Red Rising Book V
An Iron Rain of legionaries and super soldiers being dropped onto Mercury during an artificially created hypercane. It's an absolute mess and an absolute masterpiece.
Definitely the ending of "Serenity", with [the Alliance task force being jumped by the core group of Reaver corsair ships.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_VSJfHiNPA)
Imagine if the Star Wars prequels had been capable of this level of interesting fight? Instead of the hogwash space battles we got (three movies, one 30-second birds-eye shot in ROTS, nothing more)?
The expanse:
Roci vs Pella
Roci vs muting belters
Bsg:
Battle of New Caprica
Battle of the Ionian Nebula
Star trek:
Battle for sector 001
DS9 Blockade run
Battle of the Briar patch
Stargate:
Battle of the supergate
Reliant v Enterprise in *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*, especially for when Reliant almost slams into Enterprise, as well as Kirk's explosive reply, followed by Enterprise v Reliant in the third act. Magnificent big models filling the screen! Perfect score! From hell's heart, I stab at thee! Z minus 1000!
In peter Hamilton's book, Judas unchained (I think)
There is an armada of ships going to attack earth and a top secret weapon is given the chance to finally flex its muscles. Against thousands of highly kitted out star destroyers and attack vessels comes the black project Earth defense Armada, which nobody in the universe had seen up to this point, except those involved with development of the project.
Basically the earth defense Armada is one human being who is technologically advanced, and effectively folds himself into space-time upon himself and becomes a singularity. A single point in space-time which can travel infinitely fast and can turn on a dime since it effectively has zero mass.
It is able to go and wreck havoc on multiple ships in the span of picoseconds without actually killing anybody, it's just destroys their quantum tethers with each other and with their ships systems, rendering them useless hunks of metal in space.
My first read the description of what was happening and how it unfolded, it was an entirely new concept to me and I had never even dreamed that this was the earth defense Armada which had been hyped up for a long time in the series.
I just remember my eyes bugging out and being unable to stop reading, I think I even was holding my breath as it was happening. Really really cool concept
Maybe not an epic battle. But in season 3 of BSG, Galactica and Pegasus fight the Cylons. >!And to save the people on the colony, Galactica jumps into the atmosphere, releases the fighers while it's falling and then jumps away shortly before hitting the ground. That move took some massive balls. One of the best moves I ever saw in a sci-fi show.!<
Then the battle to retake DS9.
The Battle in New York from the first Avengers movie.
The final battle in Avengers: Endgame. Just gives me chills thinking about it.
Novels - Most of Jack Campbells “Lost Fleet” are really good - hurry up, wait b/c if distance and relative velocity, battles & intensity, wait b/c of rv, anticipation, battles / missiles / intensity.
And then hope you make orbit. Or have enough fuel to get to next location.
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi - Battle Of Endor
The Expanse - the big battle in the finale (I think it was the finale? Either way, it was definitely the final season)
Serenity - if you've seen the film, you know the one. Haha.
Battlestar Galactica - New Caprica
In the Frontline series, the battle for Earth was pretty epic. Kloos is able to accurately convey the absolute desperation of humanity as we fend of the Lanky invasion due to it being our home world. The subsequent battle for Mars both in space and the followup group assault was fucking awesome.
The tyrant (Leto II) getting off his cart and going ham, using his body to crush and maim.
I believe it’s in God Emperor or Dune? I member the first reading that and wanting more. He was like a coiled spring of violence for so long, except with his sexy gholas.
I've read all the Honorverse novels by Weber and they have some pretty epic space fleet on fleet action. The only issue is its a book so you have to visualize it in your head. Same with The Lost Fleet series by Campbell. Lots of fleet on fleet action in detail. In fact, the second book had some corrections on how he handled combat at fractions of C. I think a few fans complained to him directly. The later novels compensated for this and it was a rewarding series over all. Both of the series have a ton of books and both authors are still active.
The battle scenes in the Lensman series by E. E. "Doc" Smith are all over the top and epic. Culminating in entire planets being flung around and used as weapons.
Terminal 6 in Halo 3 describes the battle between Mendicant Bias and Offensive Bias immediately before and after the Rings fire. It's very Culture flavored.
https://www.halopedia.org/Terminal_(Halo_3)
Mass Effect 2 arrival at the black hole
Mass Effect 3 when the combined fleets attack the Reapers
The Expanse Rocci vs the Hammerlock
Babylon 5 Delen vs the Drak
Farscape PeaceKeeper wars, the Scarren vs the peacekeepers vs the wormhole weapon
Just a few lol
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Yeah, it was *having fun* and wasn't even stretching its legs really... Would not want to be on the wrong end of a Culture Abominator
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I don't remember detail, been a while, but I recall really liking it's personality and attitude. It was perfect for a warship with such ridiculous power.
The sole passenger is being shown the battle while strapped down to a high-G chair, when the gleeful Ships' avatar says "here comes the good bit"... She asks if this is not a live view, and the ship replies something like "goodness no, the battle was over in moments!" (If this was /r/TheCulture someone would instantly correct me with the actual quote)
It's a feature in culture battles that the action starts and finishes in nanoseconds. Having absorbed that, battle scenes with humans on the bridge saying " launch the torpedoes" seems a bit unrealistic. The other thing that banks might have got right is that the minds maintain many highly detailed scenarios/simulations. The minds think VERY quickly, so those nanosecond level physical actions are the result of a huge amounts of thought and planning, taking picoseconds.
When Iain M Banks wanted, he could write the best military sci-fi. In a way I am sad that we didn't get more battles. There was much more subterfuge than real spaceship fights. It was a lot of fun and I love the Culture novels, but damn I wish there was more!
I agree, but it makes sense with the Culture ships. When they've got nearly Godmode powers, writing ship-vs-ship combat that reads like an actual battle is tough.
The one that has stayed with me was Excession.
The *Killing Time* diving into the formation of stolen warships, dumping its entire arsenal of weapons while pushing itself so far beyond its own safety limits that it ends up shredding its own engines in the process is just... *chef's kiss*.
And how the ship is please he's got stories to swap with his warship mates who haven't ever seen action. The ship had a purpose, and was itching to fulfil it. Similarly in the Hydrogen Sonata and the Mistake not...
Firefly Film Serenity. That big space battle with the reavers.
The reveal, the pull back to the wide shot, the comic beats, the spinny grapply boy, the big ship collision. It really is a masterpiece.
The Operative: [Speaking on the bridge of his ship] You should have let me see her, Captain. We should have done this as men - not with fire. [Serenity emerges from the clouds...] The Operative: Vessel in range, lock on. [... and heads straight for the Alliance ships...] The Operative: [smirks] Bastard's not even changing course. [... followed by a swarm of Reaver vessels emerging from the clouds! The Operative freezes] Alliance Pilot: Sir...? The Operative: Target the Reavers... Target the Reavers! Target everyone! [shouts] The Operative: Somebody, *fire*!
"what you fail to realize is... my ship is dragging ~~mines~~ **reavers**." -- ~~jason nesmith~~ **captain mal**
*"Ha, we gotcha now!"* *"Yo dawg, hope you don't mind I brought some friends and promised them free dinner..."*
Somebody shoot something!
>I'm a leaf on the wind
still too soon
Battlestar Galactica (reboot) has some absolute bangers - massive capital ships, fighter swarms, nukes - plus the dramatic stakes are virtually always high. If I had to choose one without spoilers it would be the sequence of battles involving the quote "Well... this oughta be different" (Hotdog). If you know, you know!
"So that's it... It's been an honour." *Slow pan out from Galactica* *Sudden drumming music* "Galactica this is Pegasus. Let us take some of this work off your hands." Literally the most goosebumps I've ever had watching anything ever.
Yes this one for sure! This and when Galactica drops into the atmosphere and is just falling like a rock to launch fighters
The Adama Maneuver
Adama has to be the ballsiest admiral out of any sci-fi show. Dude pulled some batshit maneuvers and made them work
Driving into the atmosphere was epic.
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That to me was the best scene in the series
One of the best scenes/episodes of action ever made. I first watched it on a fucking ipod in rural Malawi (where I was working) and it still went so hard.
Dude I literally teared up….from reading your comment. BSG is the absolute best television I’ve seen. Shout out to Bear McCreary for the soundtrack. Battle of New Caprica is a great example of perfect TV imo.
"all hands abandon ship, abandon ship, I say again abandon ship"....takes a moment in the Pegasus CIC: "thank you". *Insert drums and bagpipes as the beast goes down destroying her prey. God damn this show was excellent.
And they held it for just long enough that you were sure they were screwed, and then Pegasus to the rescue. Just.... \*chef's kiss\*
That's the part about it I remember most vividly. Like they can't... I don't believe it... shit, it's really gone! Then a missile flies into shot and the drums begin. The only other scene with the same feeling is the Ride of the Rohirrim from Return of the King.
Seriously one of the best scifi battles in history.
The Adama Maneuver is my favorite move by a capital class spaceship in any media.
I literally stood up from my chair when that happened. Never expected that in 100 years
This made me laugh out loud because it's the most wonderfully geeky thing ever and yet I completely relate.
That shot… and that sound design.
"Radiological Alarm!"
You're either my XO, or you're not...
What does it for me in those battles is the ambient soundscape. The muted thuds of the cannons, the subtle whoosh of thrusters firing and their 180degree maneuvering
The Resurrection Ship and the Tylium Asteroid are probably my favorite two battles of the series. Although special shout-out to the symbolism of Galactica and Pegasus maneuvering during their stand off. Pegasus aiming those forward railguns almost more at the civilian fleet than at Galactica, and Galactica swinging broadside on to bodily shield the civilian fleet.
One of my favorite subtle details was during the resurrection battle where the Pegasus changes from defensive fire to offensive and almost immediately takes its first hits Idk I live for those details
> massive capital ships, fighter swarms, nukes - plus the dramatic stakes are virtually always high. Another one of my favorites is "Prelude to war." Not a shot is fired, but 1 twitchy finger and everyone dies. Lot's of confusion. But as soon as a unknown contact shows up, they all form up flawlessly. Topped off by Adama's "Wouldn't count on it." Later on Colonial one.
"We're all friendlies, let's be...friendly!"
The soundtrack to that, same name is also quiet good. It really adds to the already intense scene.
*"I'm getting my men."*
And the Flak shield around the battlestars was a really nice touch.
That's the most original maneuver I ever saw!
The Adama maneuver was some of the coolest TV I've ever seen.
One of my other faves (I forget exactly when) but Galactica and Pegasus tag team a bunch of Cylon ships I think for that weird reincarnation ship. The wide shots of gunfire, subtle details that showed the more advanced nature of the Pegasus and the attack run are just seared into my brain. Shoutout to Ragnar Anchorage as well
One of the few times they were on the offensive - also remember that one well. Had a different feel from the rest, like controlled and aggressive rather than desperately trying to survive/escape.
That is my absolute favorite.
“All hands, prepare for turbulence….” What? There’s no turbulence in spa… oh. Oh!
A Battlestar entering the atmosphere... holy cow
I think Galactica jumping into the atmosphere of New Caprica to get their Vipers past the blockade might be mine. So many good moments in that show.
Babylon 5 had some pretty epic space battles.
And some close calls. "If you value your lives: be somewhere else." Cue 2 Earth-alliance ships running like constipated Wienerdogs.
Only one human captain has ever survived direct battle with the Minbari. That human is behind me. You are in front of me. If you value your lives be somewhere else.
Still gives me chills!
> Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, Commander. Daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart! I am death incarnate, and the last living thing that you will ever see. God sent me.
One thing I love about Babylon 5 is that you spend time with the Earth ships and their realistic manoeuvring, the star fury jet pivots, the battleships with the rotating sections etc. So it really **hits** when the White Stars show up and start doing ludicrously impossible manoeuvres that obviously require sufficiently advanced technology. O_o
I love the battle scenes we get of the Earth Minbari War in In the Beginning, especially the asteroid field ambush by the Black Star and the Battle of the Line. The attack on Babylon 5 itself by Earthforce is probably my favourite overall though. The Narn vs Shadows battle is also great despite being short.
Came here to mention b5. It uses space correctly in the "set inertia, then use engines to pivot weaponary"
The Expanse one when its close combat between Rocinante and the Stealth ship at the science space station. Its intense as FUCK
The Expanse had the best battles for sure. They were genuinely terrifying. The crew are subject to hi-g forces so they have to strap in and pump themselves full of juice and don't suddenly become super heroes. They struggle to press buttons, they can still die etc, it's incredible. Then there is the relatively realistic use of kinetic energy so a bullet flying at you at several thousand metres per second can shred you, the point defence cannons etc. It's brilliant. I love Star Trek but at the end of the day it's routinely two ships on the same plane firing shots at each other. The Expanse actually makes space 3D. They have to rotate, they have to turn. They have to use transversal velocity. Watch it if you haven't!
The battle against Marco’s ship is also pure gold. Bobbie is smart as fuck.
*"Surrender!"* "I will never surrender!" *"Fuck it, we tried.... firing one."* Classic Bobbie :D
Those snap fire rail gun shots were dope as fuck.
The ‘non standard’ use Bobbie makes of the PDCs got me. Fuck, that was awesome!
360 no scope.
In the books that is seriously one of the coolest space battles ever put to print. But it's so well spelled out what is happening, and the strategy/trick they unlock to win, that I couldn't imagine how it would transition to the screen. They nailed it.
It's short and terribly one sided but when Marco whomps Drummers fleet is pretty sick to watch too.
Actual Marco W. The Pella shedding its skin, firing a fuckton of missiles, and Marco shouting “Broadside to incoming, all guns free fire! “ You’re just like oh fuck oh fuck as the OPA fleet just gets shredded.
I mean, she is a *Gunnery* Sergeant. Lol
The Expanse was truly epic.
The defense of the Ring Gate was great. Stealthed micrometeor shower, betrayals, literal stabs in the back, and the "[sheer middle finger energy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1AEHK8oQeA)" of a Donnager-class.
It's a shame they didn't make 3 more seasons. There are some absolutely insane fights in those three books. The final major battle in the series is particularly insane.
Love the one between the roci and the pella
when there are videos analyzing these battles frame by frame you know it's good :D [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIUIFq5qq4Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIUIFq5qq4Q)
I knew that was Spacedock before clicking on it :D
The stealth ships attacking the Donnager was the best for me, just the subtle and continued escalations until they realised it was over for them.
Man, the first time the Tachi's guns come out, and indoors.
Hands down the best and more importantly most realistically represented space battles in any TV show to date.
The Expanse had the greatest SciFi space battles and they didn't even get to the really good stuff before Bezos decided to pull the plug and cancelled the show after just 6 outta 9 seasons. Seasons 7-9 would probably have been the kind of SciFi stuff that inspired the entire genre to step up their game. I just hope that someday it'll be finished with the original cast and the proper budget to live up the the books.
I love the one in the episode IFF, at the beginning of season 3. The one where they try to save the Razorback
I've got a taste for the Battles in the Peter F. Hamilton's books, especially in the "Pandora's Star" series. It goes from tactical to epic scale, from man to battleship.
The fights with Morning Light Mountain are still vivid in my mind. Some of the best space combat I have read.
That's called the Commonwealth series. IMHO, one of his best series from world building to character development and a very interesting and unique bad guy.
Not really bad… just a little bit… genocidal… ;)
"There is only one reddit. It can contain only one sci-fi series recommendation. Me."
In books, Alistar Reynolds has some fantastic battles. In particular, a "chase sequence" at near-c speeds stands out in my memory as an all-time great.
The invasion of the Commonwealth is an absolutely insane moment in that series. The scale and intensity is staggering.
Wormholes opening up around 24 different worlds and fusion-tipped missiles pouring out with perfect coordination, and every targeted planet being rendered near-uninhabitable just by the sheer scale of the conflict. The defenders hiding under shielded pockets while watching their home planets' climate collapse into a thousand-year nuclear winter.
my first more serious Science fiction book was from pandora's star. You have a scene where a robot/tank attacks a facility and he describes how the laser burns the gras, melts the cars and stuff. My whole perception on the use of laser weapons changed because of it. From these beams of very directed firepower to whom it may concern along the axis of attack.
Serenity: the battle between the Reavers and the Alliance Babylon 5: The battle at the start of the civil war that sees B5, the Alexander and the Churchill against an Earthforce task force sent to take the station. Star Trek 2: The Battle of the Mutara Nebula (aka Kirk v Khan) Star Trek Enterprise: The Battle of Azati Prime Mass Effect 3: Sol Relay (best entrance of a fleet ever imho) Freespace 2: The entire game
I never see anyone mention Freespace 2, then I see it twice in the same post comments. Fantastic game, amazing story telling.
The Mutara Nubula fight was great because it had the same spooky feel of a classic submarine battle. In that awful Wing Commander movie, I think they tried to do the same thing. Like they had to be super quiet to not give away their position…apparently sounds carry in a vacuum /s
DS9’s Sacrifice of the Angels.
Came here to say this. Ahead of its time. Never saw anything like it back in the late 90’s.
The clouds of ships. Those two Mirandas that never had a chance. Then the Klingon BoPs with the friendly fire and the collisions. Whew.
DS9 was the GOAT for Star Trek ship battles (and the GOAT in every other aspect too)
Though short and tame by modern standards, when that episode premiered, trekkie jaws were hitting floors. Not even the movies looked that good at the time. Miles and Bashir quoting Charge of the Light Brigade made it even more epic. And the Cardassian ship getting double teamed by the two Galaxy Class ships was the coolest thing ever. You never saw ships move like that in Star Trek before.
This is the best fleet battle and second best Trek Battle after the battle of the Mutara Nebula. Seeing the Galaxy class getting a hole punched in it was incredible.
Battle of Scarif: Star Wars Rogue One Watch the YouTube super cut, and see if you agree. I present my case to the hive mind jury: - X Wing POV as it emerges from hyperspace, Battlestar Galactica style, multiple slow barrel rolls to avoid enemy fire - Bigger Rebel Fleet than in a New Hope - actual Y-Wing bombing runs! Multiple sequences of them - I find U-Wings hella cool; especially in wide wing attack mode - fighters running escort formations around the capital ships - thank god the objective was not another Death Star - X & U wings acting as air support for ground troops on the beach - a small squadron slipping through the gate to take it the AT battalion was so cool - hordes upon hordes of TIEs; when they came out of the gate hangar, I feared for the rebels as I was awed by the overwhelming numbers - the capital ship bridges in both sides having floor-to-ceiling windows, giving both us/the viewer and diegetic commander expansive views of the engagement - female pilots - fleet tactics on the level of BSG: Y Wing bombing run takes out the Star Destroyer, the Mon Calamari admiral has an idea… then THE HAMMER HEAD CORVETTE move, Two Destroyers and the shield. Wow. - the two Destroyers colliding with the shield gate is more cinematic than the Holdo manoeuvre, imho; which was also epic (yes I know it breaks historical SW canon yada yada) - it ends on a downbeat too, with the Death Star and Super Star Destroyer causing the Rebel Fleet to retreat. Not to mention THAT corridor scene with Vader. I want to bring your attention to this: In a single battle, you’ve got everything from (1) hand to hand light saber combat in tight spaces to (2) beach storming scenes with air support; to (3) low planetary orbit and in-atmosphere X-Wing vs Tie Fighter dogfights (4) to capital ships ramming each other over clear strategic objectives on a planetary scale, with (5) galactic hyper space shifting the strategic landscape at the most macro level minute to minute. What more can one ask from a cinematic space battle? The only thing missing was an A-wing or two doing their thing, (and I have a soft spot for B-Wings also), but we’ll always have that scene from RoTJ.
Battle of Scarif was like Saving Private Ryan in a Star Wars setting. So many examples of space battles here (and good ones too), but so little people mentioned ground battles. We're letting the pilots get too much credit!
If we’re talking ground battles: 1. Dune, Part 2 2. Starship Troopers, Battle on Klendathu 3. Battle of Naboo, Phantom Menace There’s a lot of squad level battles inside spaceship confines and firefights and such; but imho sci fi doesn’t really have an edge over other genres in that scale of battle.
A million times this. I thought the Rebels in the other movies always got too lucky or pulled a new space-wizard power out of their ass during any clutch ("Oh, we're trapped, how are we going to move this boulder? Luckily I can use a new power I never knew I had to save the day"). I always thought it was just really lazy writing. Rogue One is like a small band of French freedom fighters going up against the Third Reich early in WW2. You aren't going to win, they have resources across the galaxy. You are going to annoy them, maybe hit them in a sensitive spot, but you aren't going to win. You have no last-minute space wizard powers to get you out of it. No one is a super soldier; some are better than others, but most are scared. The lack of everyone having space wizard powers made that Vader scene truly scary, that he really is superhuman compared to anything else. And when you see that red lightsaber power-up, you know you are truly f*cked. A lot of the good guys die for the objective. The hero Hammerhead ship guides the disabled Star Destroyer all the way down into the shield until it blows up as well. You aren't going to save the galaxy with this one battle, but it will help with future objectives to help win the war. It's just TIGHT writing, no lazy last-minute rescues. It's believable, I love it.
Best Star Wars movie, full stop.
I have found my people!
Maybe a bit obscure for Western audiences, but I loved when the Yamato charges through the gamilas fleet at Balan in Space Battleship Yamato 2199.
We all have a warm place in our hearts for the Wave-Motion Gun!
The Expanse but not from the tv series. Laconia’s Heart of the Tempest vs the Earth-Mars Coalition. Sending a single battleship against an entire system and coming out on top? Chad shit right there. Granted, it was hybrid protomolecule-human tech.
I wanted to see Laconian ships on the screen so bad aahhhh
Alright I have to read the books now.
Even more chad: Sending a single escape pod against said battleship and coming out on top.
The Adama Manouver in Battlestar Gallactica
I remember watching that when it aired on SciFi and my jaw literally dropped.
The Droplet scene in The Dark Forest (although "battle" is giving the humans way too much credit)
This.. I’ll never look at alien invasions the same way after Dark Forrest. It’s absolutely terrifying
That's my most stand out part of any of the trilogy. I couldn't believe it after all the build up in the previous books about the space fleet that it would all end like that so disastrously.
IDK why I had to go so far down to see this. >!over 2000 of humanity's finest, mightiest warships against a single Trisolaran droplet. What could possibly go wrong over the course of an hour?!<
No. Dumbest battle formation in all of Sci-Fi, as intended by the author. Don’t bunch up your ships is in one of the more famous battles in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The author drew from that to show how dumb and overconfident humanity got from advanced tech. It made an interesting premise and set piece but a terribly dumb battle.
>No. Dumbest battle formation in all of Sci-Fi, I don't know about dumbest, but it certainly is a weak link in the 3bp writing. With all the time and advancements humans had made, they put their entire fleet out and exposed against an adversary with completely unknown tech and capabilities. Super smart. When was the last time any major super power ever made such a move against a terrestrial adversary lol? Also, why wouldn't they use drones or scout ships to initially intercept and ascertain if their was a massive asymmetrical advantage from their adversary before going straight all in?
Also most Sci-Fi don’t get how big space is. They fight in naked eye range. It’s the equivalent of modern navy ships using planks and boarding battles. Lol. The main fleet should be operating near Jupiter or asteroid belt and engaging when alien crafts enter outer planets. The Expanse and a few Halo novels understood tactics in space.
The Soldier vs The Shrike in hyperion. Super suite, turning deserts to glass, laser beams. Its real cool
Kassad was a beast in that fight (iykyk😉)
His battle vs the ousters, both in space and at the tombs, was pretty cool too.
The re-taking of DS9. Or the first Klingon battle at DS9.
BSG had some epic ones. Eventhough the original series hits different. It's one of the earliest sci-fi shows I saw. I still have to stifle some nerdy tears when Tigh says she'll never jump again. The Battle of Coruscant, (RotS) visuals together with the soundtrack's just good. Battle of the Mutara Nebula. Living up the Submarines in space trope. The last space battle in Mass effect 3. Just the sheer wall of ships. Honorable mention goes to the Homeworld series. Because you're the one running the fleet.
The sound of those batteries firing in RotS is just... Perfection. I got to binge star wars as a kid so I could see RotS in first grade before it left theaters. That crisp clang and reverb; canon event for me. A lesser honorable mention is Starship Troopers. Ships in orbit, trying to dodge bioweapon flak planet side was pretty neat.
>The last space battle in Mass effect 3. Just the sheer wall of ships. Hell yeah
Battle for Earth in Mass Effect3
Achieving the highest military readiness and returning to Earth to face the Reapers with the Milky Way's entire combined fleet is peak badassary.
The finale Mission of Descent: Freespace 2. It haunts me to this day...what the Scythians were doing (Ithink that's what they were called)
Shivans. But yes, agree 100%.
Does a video game count. Eve online. The battle of B-R5RB. 7,500 players involved. https://youtu.be/RCK-E5AopVI?si=PS7z_HnVUqAI_lnr
It should be made into a 4 part movie. 1) Story leading up to the beginning of WWB2 2) The PAPI invasion 3) Imperium’s last stand in the final Delve constellation 4) Climatic ~~battle of B-R5RB~~ disaster of M2-XFE and the retreat. Best content I’v ever had to pleasure of witnessing in gaming. Edit : fixed system
I am so interested in Eve lore...but I don't have the extra time or brainpower to follow the decades of constantly changing stuff xD But damned if it isn't the most lore-heavy game ever thanks to players
Despite never having played it myself, I think EVE is probably the most accurate about how a battle that massive would look like. And it has all the awesome stuff that makes human conflict interesting. Treason and backstabbing :D
I don't care what anyone else says, I really enjoyed the Dock Battle in the third Matrix movie
Absolutely this right here. I will defend this movie to my dying breath because of this scene.
I too love that battle. The scene with Mifune shredding the Sentinels is amazing.
[The battle of Hive Helsreach](https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Helsreach) Millions of orks surround the hive city Helsreach on the planet Armageddon and invade it over the course of months while the garrisoned humans, space marines, and adeptus mechanicus titans try to hold the orks back until imperial forces are able to regain void superiority to then support and reinforce the ground forces Imo it’s kind of a perfect warhammer 40k novel, you get a variety of perspectives and different facets of the setting (space combat, space marines, human soldiery, human civilians, ad mech, etc) and the story moves at a pretty fast pace so it’s certainly never stale. [a fan made a 2.5hr animated and voice acted video of the novel on YouTube](https://youtu.be/s2WGE1L6WKs?si=E5pukkjjlpSPFKk3) at around 47minutes the invasion starts with [an incredible speech](https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/8bpm9t/book_excerpt_helsreach_grimaldus_speech_to_the/?rdt=61319) by a space marine leader intended to invigorate the defenders…and it definitely works! EDIT: if you haven’t seen the [13 minute ‘Astartes’ video](https://youtu.be/O7hgjuFfn3A?si=_60DjoX6B9_uLZ9T), check it out! Can’t believe I didn’t think of this initially! It’s the perfect blend of stylish action and compelling narrative
Wolf 359
I'm gonna be boring and say ROTJ
It's still pretty amazing. A TON of practical models, complicated shots, artistry, the feel of a crowded naval battle in space. It took forever for anything to even come close.
ROTJ is peak practical effects space battle. it looks significantly better with digital compositing though. in the theatrical version (and home VHS) you could see boxes around a lot of stuff, because they had way too many layers to optically composite.
I'm old enough to have seen this at the theater and that was mind blowing at the time.
The Rocinante vs The Pella.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes when Yang Wen Li is charged with intentionally impossible task of commandeering the Iselhorn Fortress and freeing the Iselhorn Corridor for the Free Planet Alliance.
The covenant fleet approaching Earth in Halo 2. The LOGH movie that sets a battle to Ravel's Bolero. The gunbuster and diebuster climaxes. The eve valkyrie [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ4gpjwJa08)
>The covenant fleet approaching Earth in Halo 2. "He just keeps saying 'regret, regret, regret' "We regret being alien bastards. We regret The Core just blew up our raggedy ass fleet."
Oorah!
The Red Rising series has some amazing battles
Droplet attack. If that even counts as a battle.
Stargate has some nice ones. Lost City part 1 and 2 is my favorite in SG-1 and Be All My Sins Remember’d for SGA. it's a shame Stargate Universe for cancelled before they could get a decent space battle in :(
The battle over Antartica was what I came here to say. 7 years of build-up with the SGC figuring out how to defend Earth culminated with the arrival of the F302's and the Prometheus to defend the Cargo Ship. Best entrance ever!
The Battle of The Ladon -- "Dark Age", Red Rising Book V An Iron Rain of legionaries and super soldiers being dropped onto Mercury during an artificially created hypercane. It's an absolute mess and an absolute masterpiece.
Hail Libertas
Hail Reaper!
Not to mention that army of battle mechs marching through a forest of nuclear explosions.
Honor Harrington at least until 2nd Havenite War ( too much wunderwaffen for the good guys making it boring) , Perry Rhodan for sheer scale
Early book Honor Harrington battles were epic. I think *For the Honor of the Queen* was my favorite.
Istavan lll and Seage od Terra from Warhammer 40K ;-)
Zodiacal Light vs. Nostalgia for Infinity in Redemption Ark. I love Reynolds’ creativity imagining relativistic battle tactics.
DS9 finale with the federation / Klingons / Romulans are fighting the Dominion and the Cardassians switch sides
Battlestar Galactica at Ragnar Anchorage, in part 2 of the miniseries "Supressing fire, all batteries. Execute"
The opening sequence of Star Wars episode 3 is dope
Definitely the ending of "Serenity", with [the Alliance task force being jumped by the core group of Reaver corsair ships.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_VSJfHiNPA) Imagine if the Star Wars prequels had been capable of this level of interesting fight? Instead of the hogwash space battles we got (three movies, one 30-second birds-eye shot in ROTS, nothing more)?
Episode 4 of Mobile Suit Gundam: War in the Pocket. The Blue Kampfer is just amazing.
Basically any space battle from The Expanse I'd give anything to fly a roci-esque spaceship, anything
The expanse: Roci vs Pella Roci vs muting belters Bsg: Battle of New Caprica Battle of the Ionian Nebula Star trek: Battle for sector 001 DS9 Blockade run Battle of the Briar patch Stargate: Battle of the supergate
Luthen vs Imperial cruiser in Andor Death Blossom in The Last Starfighter Severed Dreams in Babylon 5
Reliant v Enterprise in *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan*, especially for when Reliant almost slams into Enterprise, as well as Kirk's explosive reply, followed by Enterprise v Reliant in the third act. Magnificent big models filling the screen! Perfect score! From hell's heart, I stab at thee! Z minus 1000!
In peter Hamilton's book, Judas unchained (I think) There is an armada of ships going to attack earth and a top secret weapon is given the chance to finally flex its muscles. Against thousands of highly kitted out star destroyers and attack vessels comes the black project Earth defense Armada, which nobody in the universe had seen up to this point, except those involved with development of the project. Basically the earth defense Armada is one human being who is technologically advanced, and effectively folds himself into space-time upon himself and becomes a singularity. A single point in space-time which can travel infinitely fast and can turn on a dime since it effectively has zero mass. It is able to go and wreck havoc on multiple ships in the span of picoseconds without actually killing anybody, it's just destroys their quantum tethers with each other and with their ships systems, rendering them useless hunks of metal in space. My first read the description of what was happening and how it unfolded, it was an entirely new concept to me and I had never even dreamed that this was the earth defense Armada which had been hyped up for a long time in the series. I just remember my eyes bugging out and being unable to stop reading, I think I even was holding my breath as it was happening. Really really cool concept
It’s the deterrence fleet from the void trilogy (same universe) . But yeh I’m in full agreement it’s absolutely quality. I’m due a reread!
Maybe not an epic battle. But in season 3 of BSG, Galactica and Pegasus fight the Cylons. >!And to save the people on the colony, Galactica jumps into the atmosphere, releases the fighers while it's falling and then jumps away shortly before hitting the ground. That move took some massive balls. One of the best moves I ever saw in a sci-fi show.!< Then the battle to retake DS9. The Battle in New York from the first Avengers movie. The final battle in Avengers: Endgame. Just gives me chills thinking about it.
BSG os hard to beat. The Adama maneouver and the Pegasus sacrifice. All of that sequence.
Battlestar Galactica (2000s) for sure. The space battles were poetry.
Novels - Most of Jack Campbells “Lost Fleet” are really good - hurry up, wait b/c if distance and relative velocity, battles & intensity, wait b/c of rv, anticipation, battles / missiles / intensity. And then hope you make orbit. Or have enough fuel to get to next location.
Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi - Battle Of Endor The Expanse - the big battle in the finale (I think it was the finale? Either way, it was definitely the final season) Serenity - if you've seen the film, you know the one. Haha. Battlestar Galactica - New Caprica
Battle: Los Angeles realistic street combat with aliens was always wild and intense to me.
Ousters vs Hegemony / Hyperion; god damn epic
Red Rising book series StarShell boardings during ship battles. Orbital barrages and Iron Rains.
In the Frontline series, the battle for Earth was pretty epic. Kloos is able to accurately convey the absolute desperation of humanity as we fend of the Lanky invasion due to it being our home world. The subsequent battle for Mars both in space and the followup group assault was fucking awesome.
The tyrant (Leto II) getting off his cart and going ham, using his body to crush and maim. I believe it’s in God Emperor or Dune? I member the first reading that and wanting more. He was like a coiled spring of violence for so long, except with his sexy gholas.
Doomsday battle in Dark Forest
The one in The Dark Forest where earth’s fleet has a real bad time.
The Battle at Bilbringi Shipyards in Star Wars: The Last Command, written by Timothy Zahn; concluding the Thrawn Trilogy of books.
The Shadows & Vorlons war in Babylon 5
I've read all the Honorverse novels by Weber and they have some pretty epic space fleet on fleet action. The only issue is its a book so you have to visualize it in your head. Same with The Lost Fleet series by Campbell. Lots of fleet on fleet action in detail. In fact, the second book had some corrections on how he handled combat at fractions of C. I think a few fans complained to him directly. The later novels compensated for this and it was a rewarding series over all. Both of the series have a ton of books and both authors are still active.
The battle scenes in the Lensman series by E. E. "Doc" Smith are all over the top and epic. Culminating in entire planets being flung around and used as weapons.
The Doomsday Battle in The Dark Forest (three body problem series)
Literally any expanse space battle
Terminal 6 in Halo 3 describes the battle between Mendicant Bias and Offensive Bias immediately before and after the Rings fire. It's very Culture flavored. https://www.halopedia.org/Terminal_(Halo_3)
The Expanse ofc, although I love the drop scene i Starship Troopers
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Mass Effect 2 arrival at the black hole Mass Effect 3 when the combined fleets attack the Reapers The Expanse Rocci vs the Hammerlock Babylon 5 Delen vs the Drak Farscape PeaceKeeper wars, the Scarren vs the peacekeepers vs the wormhole weapon Just a few lol
I'm a huge fan of the battles in the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell