Headscratchers / Heavy Metal

• While many decide to invoke the MST3K Mantra when viewing this movie, there are still a few glaring holes that deserve speculation.
  • For instance, why did the Loc-nar explode after relating the last tale of Taarna's sacrifice to Grimaldi's daughter? Did it bore itself to death?
    • Seems very clear that Taarna's destroying it in the story caused it to blow up. The stories are likely happening simultaneously as far as it is concerned. It couldn't kill her the same way as it did her father because she had some sort of connection to Taarakians already. I assumed it was trying to stop the re-incarnation.
    • Leaving aside that it may have been doing so in a last ditch effort to attempt to kill Taarna's reincarnation, why didn't it just try to dissolve her? It's not like it had much trouble taking care of Grimaldi...
    • Presumably it has an easier time dissolving regular humans than Taarakians.
    • It's possible the Loc-nar wasn't just telling stories, but giving the girl insight into things happening simultaneously across time and multiple universes, which is implied when it begins telling the last story (it says something like "at the end of your world", so it's showing her the future). It's likely Taarna destroying the future Loc-nar resonated with the version of the Loc-nar currently viewing that future and destroyed it.
    • Possibly driving the next designated Taarakian to abject despair was the only way it could ensure she wouldn't just be reborn again someplace else.
• Many think that Taarna's outfit is too skimpy and impractical. However, there were some warrior cultures in the past where going to war in the buff was not only a thing....but a sign of being a total badass who not afraid to fight without armor. Plus, the idea may be that it allows for better movement. Everything in the Taarna story also takes place on a desert planet.
  • Also, considering she'd already failed to defend the people she's avenging, she quite possibly could have Death Seeker tendencies. Furthermore, if reincarnation is the norm for Taarakians, then she doesn't necessarily need to fear death as much as most warriors; indeed, capture and/or crippling injury could be a worse outcome in her case.
  • Speaking of her skimpy outfit, why do the barbarians even bother to give it back after stripping and (apparently) defeating her?
• This is an incredibly minor nitpick, but it always bugged me. In the B17 segment — if they were in that much trouble (e.g., enemy fighters are present, even though they arent shown) — the Radio Officer would not be at the radio, he'd be manning the top turret gun until the fighters were gone...
  • Isn't that also the backup navigator position? And they were on their final bombing run, and the Bombardier and Cheek gunner positions had already been blown up at that point (he was the first to go), so the Navigator would likely be guiding the bomb run since the Bombardier can't.