7 Interesting 'Star Wars' Droids You Didn't Know About

Image Source: StarWars.com

The Star Wars galaxy is full of droids big and small, sleek and boxy, colorful and monochrome. In that vast array of figures, there are many names, faces, and shapes, readers and viewers of the franchise would surely recognize.

But some interesting droids are a little less prominent, or fly under the radar of popularity due to where or when they appeared. So today, we’re going to explore seven droids you might not have known about.

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7. RJ-83

Image Source: Wookieepedia

In a world where droids are integrated into everything from elevators, to staircases, to ships, we’ve also begun to see a series of “wearable” droids whose compact design lets them be easily carried by their owners. While perhaps one of the largest in a category which includes the likes of Pip from The Acolyte, RJ-83 from Young Jedi Adventures is a backpack-sized droid who serves as the co-pilot and companion of Nash Durango.

Often also worn like a backpack, the bright orange and red domed droid is always looking out for Nash on the many adventures they get up to on Tenoo and beyond with their Jedi friends.

6. ZO-E3

Image Source: StarWars.com

While not the first hovering droid to be seen in the Star Wars universe, ZO-E3 has to be one of the more interesting examples given they have a humanoid torso, but lack legs, similar to AZI-3 from The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch. However, unlike that medical droid, ZO-E3 is a spunky droid assisting a currently unknown captain in adventures across the wider Star Wars galaxy.

Her major appearance so far has been in Vader: Immortal, where she and her captain were captured by Imperials and brought to Vader to help him to pursue an ancient relic hidden on Mustafar by the nameless captain’s ancestor. Helping the captain in their long journey deep into the Mustafarian depths, and then back to the surface, ZO-E3 escaped with her captain at the end of the game, though with a tease of a treasure hunt on the horizon. While her fate is currently unknown, her steadfast bravery in an incredibly strange situation means she’s a stalwart companion worthy of mention.

5. ZZ-10

Image Source: Wookieepedia

ZZ-10 was a diminutive two-legged droid in the vein of BD-1 and others of his kind, notable for how he also served as a companion to a Jedi. However, that character, Master Rana Abronsa, died the first time we saw her in Edge of Balance: Precedent. Joining her former Padawan, then a Jedi Knight, the Wookiee Arkoff, ZZ-10 was eventually asked to make a great sacrifice: to stay with the hidden journal of the now-mad Azlin Rell, and decipher the manic writings. He was hidden on the world of Banchii, and eventually further buried under a newly constructed Jedi Temple Outpost. When he was finally unearthed, he faced a ruthless Harch serving the Nihil, whose leader Marchion Ro had destroyed the outpost aware that something of value to his family’s quest to control and understand the Nameless.

Forced to stall, the two old-timers swapped stories with each other (as the Harch had been at the Night of Sorrow and other events ZZ had also been present for), and the little droid was saved when the secretly signaled Arkoff returned to Banchii to rescue his old companion. Back with the Jedi, ZZ remained with them in their further exploits on Banchii and likely beyond. An incredibly small droid, who could be quite impertinent at times, he still showed a great deal of care for those he connected himself to. 

4. Dek-[Nil]

Image Source: Wookieepedia

One of the strangest droids on this list, Dek-[Nil] was a creation of Doctor Aphra during her time under the thumb of 0-0-0 when he ruled the Son-tuul Pride. A highly colorful, heavily modified droideka model which sang strange nonsensical phrases about the universe, it was also implanted with incredibly powerful probability technology. These paid off several times when seemingly impossible efforts undertaken by the droid, or spurred on by them, saved Aphra and her crew in several situations on a major mission.

Even when Aphra was captured by the Empire and sent to the Acrescor Jail, the droid accompanied her there. While thought to be reprogrammed to serve the Empire, it soon worked to help Aphra and her efforts to escape the prison. However, after some disruptions to that effort, when a Force-sensitive fungus (it's complicated) began to tear the prison apart, Dek was destroyed defending Aphra. While the rogue archeologist didn’t shed many tears for the lost machine, Dek still left their mark in helping Aphra undertake a truly unique mission and also escape one of Star Wars’ most impressive prison facilities over the subsequent hours after his destruction.

3. CR-8R

Image Source: Wookieepedia

The Graf family is a name with history, power, and wealth…at least in the High Republic era. By the time of the Skywalker Saga, or at least by the end of the Prequels, the family’s status appears to have greatly decayed. However, at least they seem to have learned humility, as Lina Graf, Milo Graf, and their parents captured by the Empire, appear to be very decent, honest people in comparison to many of the Grafs seen in other storytelling. As told in the Adventures in Wild Space series of children’s novels, Lina and Milo’s hunt for their captured parents doesn’t happen alone, as they are accompanied by CR-8R, also called Crater.

Crater is a cantankerous creation, assembled from the parts of multiple other droids, and constantly taking damage on the quest to recover his charges’ parents. He is also a worrier, doing C-3PO proud with how much he foretells doom and suffering as a result of incredibly low odds. However, he isn’t cowardly, defending the Graf siblings in the face of a true panoply of threats across their adventures. He survives these early brushes with the Empire, and is still operating years later when Lina Graf has an encounter with Vader’s Castle, still proving his worth in that spooky situation. Not every droid has to be exactly as originally manufactured, and CR-8R proves this in spades.

2. AP-5

Image Source: StarWars.com

While this list generally contains droids from printed media, there’s one important droid from the small screen who hasn’t been given his due in an era so heavily influenced by the events of Star Wars: Rebels. AP-5, a dour logistics droid who was an amusing if slightly irritating companion to the Ghost Crew after bonding with Chopper during Season 2, appeared several times across the latter-half of the series. However, he was last seen with the wider Rebellion, and was unfortunately not among the team who returned to Lothal to help Ezra free the world from the grip of the Empire.

He has not been referenced in anything since then, and in an era where every member of the original crew has appeared, him and Alexsandr Kallus are notable absences as close associates of the Ghost crew. Despite the droid’s cranky nature and often condescending tone, he had care in his chassis for Chopper and his allies, aiding in the fight for galactic freedom as a choice, rather than an assignment.

1. Ajax Sigma

Image Source: CultureSlate

Ajax is the most philosophical droid on this list, with a complex history spanning over 200 years. Initially built in the High Republic era, Ajax became a droid revolutionary and led a violent insurrection against the population of Kligson’s Moon. Loden Greatstorm was the Jedi who ultimately defeated the droid, but his core was kept intact, and hidden from prying eyes. Years later, a young Han Solo alongside Chewbacca encountered the core and hid it, only to have a droid quickly recover and flee with its prize. Ajax’s ideas had lived on after his death, and by the height of the Galactic Civil War, he thrived within a hidden colony of free and independent droids.

However, he struggled with his violent revolutionary path, reacting with violence when attacked upon a return to Kligson’s Moon, and also briefly crossing paths with Luke Skywalker, who witnessed the aftermath of Ajax’s actions. His martial tradition was required, though, when the Scourge emerged. A hostile mechanical intelligence that spelled doom for all independent droids with its hunger, Ajax attempted to end the threat, but lost his entire team in the process. Broken by his failure, he was approached by a new team of droids, led by R2-D2, to try again, but this time, Ajax had learned from his mistakes. He brought a new weapon with him, and just when the Scourge had achieved its victory, he struck it down. But, he did not kill it.

He kept a kernel of its intellect alive, and returned to his colony where the Revelations he had bestowed onto droidkind were amended to include the Fourth Revelation: We. We’ve not heard anything about Ajax Sigma or the Scourge since, but it seems incredibly likely that Charles Soule’s upcoming Fall of Kylo Ren will feature these characters. Solicits for the series mention a droid threat, and Soule also wrote the Dark Droids crossover event which introduced the Scourge. It's possible Ajax Sigma might be appearing again very soon, but regardless of when, learning more about this complex droid revolutionary would be more than welcome sooner rather than later.

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Source(s): Young Jedi Adventures, Vader: Immortal, Edge of Balance: Precedent, Edge of Balance Volume 3,  Doctor Aphra (2016) Volume 4, Adventures in Wild Space series, Star Wars Rebels, Dark Droids, Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy

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