The Astromech who Darth Vader Replaced R2-D2 With [Legends]

R2-D2 was gifted to Anakin by Padme following his knighthood of the Jedi Order. The two quickly became friends, with Skywalker viewing the droid not only as a reliable companion, but also as a constant reminder of his wife while separated from her during the Clone Wars. So, after R2 left to go get blue milk, who came to replace his role as the chosen one’s trusted copilot? Following his recovery from Mustafar, Darth Vader was allowed to obtain and modify nearly all starfighters used by the forme

r Republic to his liking. As a result, Vader came to acquire numerous Eta-2 Actis-class Interceptors stored for use within his primary star destroyers. Despite the Starfighter being one of his personal favorites as a Jedi, it quickly became apparent to the Sith Lord that the cybernetics and increased height given by his new armor, made the original cockpit both uncomfortable as well as difficult to see through due to his helmet’s lenses. Because of this, extensive modifications were undertaken t

o correct these issues, a practice once done by Skywalker to stimulate his creativity, now done to ease his suffering. Nonetheless, these modifications saw Vader’s Interceptors’ have slight variations from one another, all implemented in the desperate attempt of returning the natural feel the starfighter once had to him. Although Vader had several Interceptors to pick and choose from, he continued to use a single astromech throughout his early missions. Picked to replace R2-D2, R4-K5 was formerl

y owned by a deceased member of the Jedi Order, perhaps being chosen by Vader for already having flight experience with a Force-sensitive pilot. Just like the Interceptors it would fly in, R4 was given a new paint job, dawning black and silver plating, which were chosen to reflect Vader’s own inner darkness. While R4 accompanied Vader on nearly all of his missions during his early years, no bond was formed between the two, with the Sith Lord viewing the droid as just another piece of equipment,

often referring to it as “astromech” rather than its designation. This cold relationship likely would have continued even if R2-D2 remained at his side, as following Anakin’s fall to the dark side and return to Padme’s apartment prior to his departure for Mustafar, R2 briefly communicated to C-3PO about the drastic changes in Skywalker’s personality, confiding over how his master had distanced himself and completely stopped chatting with him besides giving orders. Darth Vader’s decision to use t

he same astromech likely was done to have it build up experience with his flying style as well as to alleviate the difficulties faced with the ships he flew, as R4’s modifications gave him pre-programmed control systems that could be integrated to other astromech-capable starfighters when necessary. These frustrations, along with wishing to stop using a starfighter which reminded him of his Jedi days, led Vader to personally request a new ship to be designed by one of the Empire’s best engineers

. Along with requests for a starfighter which better suited the Sith Lord’s armor, he also wanted one which was outfitted with advanced systems that did not require the assistance of an astromech. This ultimately led to the creation of the Tie Advanced Fighter, with it becoming Darth Vader’s primary starfighter upon completion. His old Interceptors were later given to various Imperial outposts. R4-K5’s fate is unknown, with the astromech likely being turned to scrap or reprogrammed for other pur

poses within the Empire after having no further use to Darth Vader.