R5-D4

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Species:
  Droid

• Size:
  .97 meter

• Type:
  Astromech droid

• Manufacturer:
  Industrial Automaton

• 

From the Movies

The fate of the galaxy would be very different had R5-D4's motivator been more reliable. The red-trimmed cultivator astromech droid was almost purchased from Jawa traders by Owen Lars. When the battered little droid rolled away from the sales line, his motivator shorted out and he blew his stack. Rather than buy the worthless hunk of junk, Owen instead bought R2-D2. Artoo was reunited with his companion C-3PO, and the two would go on to become important heroes of the Rebel Alliance.

From the Expanded Universe

Industrial Automaton cut one corner too many by the time they produced the unwarranted R5 addition to their otherwise successful astromech program. In an effort to cash in on the popularity of their line, they developed the R5 as an "economical" version of the R2, lacking many of the amenities that the more expensive model featured. Such cost cutting negatively affected the R5 personality matrix, and the finished droids often developed sullen and acerbic character traits. The product line was a failure, and Industrial Automaton attempted to recoup losses by reusing the R5 frame as part of their R2-AG4 and R4 agromech lines.

R5-D4 was abandoned by many owners and switched hands over the course of long, miserable decades. The little droid became quite jealous of the newer, more popular models and made no secret of his spite.

After being passed up by Owen Lars, R5-D4 was stolen from the Jawa sandcrawler by a mischievous Squib trader named Macemillian-winduart?. The trader sold the droid to Alliance historian Voren Na'al, who had the little red unit refurbished. He planted R5-D4 within the government offices of Mos Eisley, where the droid became a valuable source of intelligence data.

Behind the Scenes

According to the National Public Radio Dramatization of Star Wars, R2-D2 sabotaged R5-D4's motivator to ensure that it would break down. Galaxy Guide 1: A New Hope, a roleplaying game supplement, states that R5-D4 blew his own motivator so that Artoo and Threepio would not be separated. In Star Wars Tales, R5-D4 is actually a great forgotten Jedi named Skippy.

You decide.