Your guide to Star Wars memorabilia, toys, games and costumes

R2D2 - Astromech Droid

Constructed on the planet Naboo R2-D2 served as one of the astromech units aboard the sleek, silver Royal Starship of Queen Padmé Amidala. When the Trade Federation invaded Naboo the Queen fled the planet in her starship, and it was R2-D2 who repaired the ship during the escape, allowing it to enter the safety of hyperspace.

When the starship put down for repairs on the barren desert planet of Tatooine R2-D2 came across his friend and long time companion C-3PO for the first time. Threepio was a home made robot, constructed by a young slave boy called Anakin Skywalker. Upon their return to Naboo R2-D2 was the astromech aboard Anakin’s N-1 starfighter, when the young pilot attacked the Trade Federation blockade around Naboo.

Years later R2-D2 would meet Anakin again on the planet Coruscant. Anakin, now a Jedi, was tasked with protecting Artoo’s owner, Padmé Amidala, who was no longer Queen but now served Naboo as a Senator. The three travelled to Tatooine, where R2-D2 was reunited with C-3PO, and then on to the planet Geonosis, to rescue Anakin’s Jedi teacher, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

After the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire R2-D2 and C-3PO were in the service of the Royal House of Alderaan, an influential noble family with links to the underground Rebel Alliance. Artoo was aboard an Aldeaanian consular ship, the Tantive IV, when it was attacked and captured by an Imperial Star Destroyer. Princess Leia Organa hid information vital to the Rebellion in R2-D2’s memory, and told the little robot to find Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Artoo, accompanied by Threepio, fled to the surface of Tatooine in an escape pod. The droids were not on the surface long before they were captured by native Jawa scavengers, and sold to a local moisture farmer named Owen Lars. R2-D2 fled the Lars farm that night and set off in search of Obi-Wan, pursued by Owen Lars’ nephew, Luke Skywalker.

When Obi-Wan saw the message contained in R2-D2’s memory he immediately chartered a ship to take himself, Luke and the droids back to Alderaan. But the ship they were travelling in, smuggler Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon, was captured by the Empire’s new battle station, the Death Star. While on board the station Artoo accessed its computer systems and discovered that Princess Leia was being held captive on board. While the others mounted a rescue mission R2-D2 used his access to the Death Star’s systems to guide and help his companions.

When they all returned to the Rebel base on the planet Yavin IV the secret information Leia had stored in Artoo’s memory was downloaded. The data was full schematics of the Death Star, which were quickly used to plan an attack on the station’s weakest point; a vulnerable but small thermal exhaust vent. During the attack R2-D2 served as astromech aboard Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing starfighter, and sustained some damage. He was fully repaired for the celebration following the destruction of the battle station.

Following the destruction of the Death Star a new Rebel base was established on the ice planet Hoth. Fleeing an Imperial attack on Echo Base R2-D2 accompanied Luke Skywalker in his X-Wing to the swamp world of Dagobah, where the young man started his training as a Jedi. When Luke left Dagobah before his training was completed Artoo went with him to Cloud City, to help rescue his friends from the evil clutches of Darth Vader.

The rescue was only a partial success, as Han Solo was frozen in carbonite and taken back to Tatooine to remain the prisoner of evil gangster Jabba the Hutt. R2-D2 and C-3PO were sent into Jabba’s palace as part of a daring rescue plan, and Artoo was serving drinks aboard the gangster’s sail barge while Luke Skywalker was about to be thrown into the dreaded Sarlacc Pit. Luke had concealed his lightsaber inside Artoo before sending him to Jabba, and the little robot sent the weapon sailing through the air to Luke, enabling him to escape and free Han and his friends.

Following this adventure R2-D2 was sent to the forest moon of Endor, as part of a strike team led by Han Solo whose mission it was to disable the Imperial shield generator protecting a second Death Star. During the mission Artoo was attempting to access a command bunker when he was shot and damaged by a stormtrooper. Despite this the mission was a success, and R2-D2 was repaired in time to witness the destruction of the second Death Star by Rebel forces.