The P2 astromech droid is a predecessor of the more familiar R2-unit, introduced in the Expanded Universe. The P2 first appeared in
Black Ice (1990, West End Games), a roleplaying game adventure module written by Paul Murphy and Bill Slavicsek. In this game module, Rebel agents infiltrate an Imperial cargo train, the
Black Ice, and encounter a number of droids aboard. Among them is P2-D19. According to the module, the P2 is "an early precursor to the R2 astromech model." It is described as being much larger and simpler than the R2s. An accompanying illustration of the outsized astro-droid by Bob Dvorak is based on an early Ralph McQuarrie concept illustration of R2-D2.
The P2's history was further expanded in "The History of the R-Series Astromech Droids," an article by Pablo Hidalgo that appeared in Star Wars Adventure Journal #7 (1995, West End Games). Here, the P2 is described as the first of Industrial Automaton's astromechs, designed specifically for capital-scale space transports used by Old Republic shipping fleets. The P2 was a test prototype of sorts, and proved successful, but it never became the true series-starter for the more familiar R-series line. An intellectual properties lawsuit kept the P2 from reaching the market, and while this dispute churned its way through the Republic's labyrinthine judicial system, Industrial Automaton instead went in another direction for their R1 unit.
The P2 unit comes equipped with a heavy grasper arm extending from its domed head, and three medium arms within its trunk. It has a laser welder, a video display screen, and a buzzsaw. It incorporates an Intellex II internal computer created to facilitate the droid's new database system of capital ship designs. The droid even included an abbreviated nav computer that allowed it calculate hyperspace coordinates on the fly.
The P2 has made limited appearances in fiction after this introduction, mostly in the form of guides and sourcebooks -- like The Essential Guide to Droids, (1999, Del Rey Books) and The New Essential Guide to Droids (2006, Del Rey Books).
Collecting P2 Unit
A collectible version of the P2 unit has yet to be made... but, the same Ralph McQuarrie sketch that inspired the P2's design was the basis of an R2-D2 concept art action figure from Hasbro in 2007, as an exclusive available at Celebration IV in Los Angeles. Packed with a prototype C-3PO model, this chunky astromech droid is a squat version of the design. Though it is not to described scale of the P2 unit (a height pegged at 2.2 meters tall), collectors and gamers could conceivably use it with their
Star Wars miniatures from Wizards of the Coast to represent the oversized prototype droid.
