Shadow Planet Killer (Babylon 5)

The Shadow Planet Killer was a fictional machine from the television show Babylon 5.

As the name suggests it was a planet killer, a device used to destroy planets. It appeared at first to be a gigantic mobile cloud of dust and gas capable of surrounding a planet. On closer inspection it was revealed that this was in fact its exterior and the cloud concealed a net-like matrix of tubes and beams. The planet killer would expand this net around a planet, the dust and gas cutting off any contact to the outside galaxy. Various hubs around the net would then fire missiles at the surface of the planet. Instead of exploding on the surface these missiles would burrow down through the planet until they reached the core where they would explode, sterilizing the surface of the planet with the resulting seismic upheavals and atmospheric contamination.

A Shadow Planet Killer was brought to bear against Earth, but was destroyed by the new class of starships when they targeted a crucial missile hub used to control the rest of the Planet Killer.