Droids are as important to the Star Wars universe as the most well known characters–heroes and villains alike. R2-D2, while more subversive than C-3PO, was responsible for some of the highest level missions during the Clone Wars with Anakin and contributed a lot to the Rebellion. If not for Artoo, the Rebel Alliance would never have been able to destroy the Death Star. But not all droids are as helpful or friendly as the two most famous Star Wars bots. C1-10P, affectionately known as Chopper, is an astromech like Artoo, but with a very different attitude that has branded him with the title of “war criminal” amongst the Star Wars fandom. Chopper debuted in the animated series Star Wars Rebels as Hera Syndulla’s trusty droid. When a young Hera saved Chopper from a downed Y-wing during the Clone Wars, she repaired him, took care of him, and eventually the two formed an unbreakable bond.
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Chopper, cranky and chaotic, cares little for abiding by any rules or tenants of war. He frequently disobeys orders, wanders off on his own self-serving missions, and terrorizes his friends aboard the Ghost. There’s a reason Chopper managed to rack up approximately 50,000 kills in the first three seasons of Rebels alone. With a kill count like that, let’s take a look at some of Chopper’s war crimes.
Attempted Murder
The newest arrival on the Ghost is Jedi padawan, Ezra Bridger. From the moment Bridger and Chopper met in the first episode, he was a full-force menace. From unscrewing all the bolts on the bunk beds that Ezra shared with Zeb, to actively ramming into Ezra, Chopper did not hold back at all with the newest crew member. However, there was one instance where terrorizing turned into attempted murder. While aboard an Imperial Interdictor ship, Chopper turns on the gravity, causing Ezra to fall to assured death. Ezra, however, manages to grab hold of a ledge and pull himself up, but not without Chopper kicking him as he tries to avoid certain death.
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Homicide
Chopper’s kill list speaks for itself with 50,000 kills in only 3 out of the 4 seasons. In Season 2, Episode 19, “The Forgotten Droids,” Chopper finds himself on a ship he was not supposed to be on after disregarding Hera’s implicit instructions to not steal from the market. But Chopper knows someone in the market is selling a replacement for his leg; one that will match the other. After stealing the leg, he runs for safety, only to find the Ghost is already gone. He stows away onto an Imperial ship where meets a protocol droid named AP-5 who is being mistreated by the Imperial workers. Once the Stormtroopers find out a rebel (Chopper) is on board, the droid lures a whole squad of them to the airlock and happily jettisons them into space to die.
Sabotage
Chopper is as cunning as he is slightly unhinged. In Season 3, Episode 14, “Warhead,” the rebels are faced with an infiltrator among them. Agent Kallus, acting as the rebel spy Fulcrum, warns the rebel base that the new droid sent is an Imperial spy. As soon as its cover is blown, the droid goes into attack mode, fighting Zeb, Chopper, and AP-5. Chopper electrocutes the droid and they manage to subdue it. Creating a plan to send the droid back in its pod to the Star Destroyer it came from, AP-5 begins to work to reset the droid back to base protocol. However, Chopper makes unknown comments while AP-5 is working. Later, when the Imperial droid reaches its home ship, it immediately begins a countdown and explodes, damaging the ship in the process. All part of Chopper’s plan.
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Destruction of Property
In Season 3, Episode 5, Grand Admiral Thrawn takes up his post to hunt down the Rebels, he eventually infiltrates Hera’s family home. Everything that had once belonged to the Syndulla family was now at Thrawn’s hands, as he used family art to learn more about his enemies. When the crew finds out about the infiltration, they rush to Ryloth and try to infiltrate the home. However, Thrawn is too smart and catches on, unveiling Ezra in a Stormtrooper outfit and Hera pretending to be a servant girl. Hera tries to snatch back an important heirloom, but Thrawn takes it from her. Realizing they cannot win, Ezra and Hera move to plan B: Run. As they run, they’re met by Sabine and Chopper, who whizzes excitedly. As soon as they are far enough from the complex, Chopper activates the bombs and blows up the Syndulla home.
Child Endangerment
The Inquisitors, first introduced in Rebels, are dark side Force-users who act under Vader’s directive to hunt down and kill any Jedi of Force-sensitive children. In Season 2, Episode 10, “The Future of the Force,” two Inquisitors kidnap two Force-sensitive babies before moving on to a third location to secure the third child. When Ezra and Kanan figured out their plan, they move to intercept the Inquisitors, and find the baby first. While Ezra and Kanan are on their hunt, they check in with Zeb and Chopper, who are looking for the other two babies. The pair find a baby in one of the Inquisitor’s ships and an exasperated Zeb tells Chopper no, they cannot just leave the baby there; yes, they can blow up the ship; but no, they cannot blow up the ship with the baby in it. Zeb is most taken aback by Chopper’s suggestion of blowing up a baby, as anyone would be. But despite his original plans, Chopper winds up protecting and tending to the baby.
