Despite the general disregard for droids in the Star Wars universe, the sturdy little fellows are deeply entrenched in the everyday affairs of galactic citizens. They maintain much of everyday life, from cleaning and running households, to transporting goods and acting as drivers. Most endure an existence on the fringes of their so-called families, regularly being traded or sold and undergoing memory wipes for “efficiency.” As far as we know, it’s a life that all droids lead — save for one. Chopper, the loyal droid of Hera Syndulla, the captain of the Rebel ship Ghost, is the only droid who has canonically never had his memory wiped, except perhaps for R2D2, and his clearly fried circuits have made him the absolute G.O.A.T. of the droid world.
What kind of droid is Chopper?
Chopper, designation C1-10P, is a C1 series astromech. Mass-produced for the Clone Wars, the droids were common in the galactic empire, though by that time, they were considered antiques. Equipped with three mechanical arms to help them manipulate objects as well as a tiny arc welder — similar to the one R2D2 uses to electrocute his foes — they were indispensable help for any fighter pilot.
How did Chopper meet Hera?
When Hera was young, her home planet of Ryloth was under Separatist control. The Separatist invaders were cruel, torturing the Twi’lek and allowing them to starve. Their cruelty sparked conflict across the planet and attracted the attention of the Galactic Republic, who sent reinforcements to help the Twi’lek dissidents, led by Hera’s father, Cham Syndulla.
During the fighting, Hera would watch the aerial battles, imagining a future where she was in the cockpit. It was during one of these moments that she tracked a falling Republic starship. When she found the Y-wings wreckage, the only thing still moving was Chopper. Over the years, Hera helped repair the droid’s exterior but left the cranky, sarcastic personality intact.
Who is Chopper?
Chopper is an astromech first introduced in Star Wars: Rebels. While a simple droid on the surface, Chopper is much more than he appears. Most droids are literal yes men, always doing what is asked of them with little pushback. Chopper falls well outside of the bounds of normal droid behavior. He’s cranky, irritable, stubborn, and frequently insults, assaults, or ignores anyone — outside of Hera — who dares to give him a command. He outright tried to murder Ezra Bridger, frequently zaps Zeb Orrelios, and plays pranks. Despite his bad attitude, he shows great loyalty to most of his crewmates and is indispensable when it comes to infiltration missions.
Chopper has a deep disdain for most droids he comes across and has “murdered” any droid he sees as having the potential to replace him. He’s more than willing to put himself in dangerous situations — unless it involves Y–wings, which makes a great argument for Droids having something similar to PTSD. With Droids able to feel pain but not happiness, Chop’s personality makes a lot more sense. Chopper does manage to work past his trauma and get back in the co-pilot’s seat when Hera flies solo for the Rebels, though he remains as surly as ever.
He’s also tricked more than a few Storm Troopers throughout the Ghost crew’s adventures, which either makes a great argument for Chopper’s intelligence or an even better one for the stupidity of Storm Troopers.
What is Chopper’s kill count?
The little droid is an absolute murder machine and makes the Super Battle Droid look like a protocol droid. While Chopper was a military droid before he joined up with Hera, his kill count in Star Wars: Rebels alone puts him on par with the likes of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. An incredibly dedicated fan has made a running tally of the astromech’s kills and it totals out to a whopping estimated 50,000! Chopper managed to take out nearly 37,000 Imperial crew members in one go after sabotaging an I-Class Star Destroyer, which, according to Wikipedia, houses 37,000 crew members with room for nearly 10,000 more Storm Troopers.
He’s also “joked” about killing Ezra at least two separate times, and even tried to convince his crewmates to commit infanticide.