TheStar WarsLegends continuity gave the Clone Wars era one secret, forgotten, legacy in the Imperial era. While bothStar Warscontinuities have countless exciting stories set in the three-year Clone Wars, the war itself was, ultimately, a ruse, with both sides of the war being controlled by Palpatine, who used the war to enact an autocratic coup and destroy the Jedi Order.
Although theGalactic Republic’s clone troopers were, by and large, superior to their Separatist droid opponents, Palpatine needed a prolonged conflict and thus, the CIS military had far greater numbers and plenty of particularly deadly units. While not nearly as formidable as the IG-100 MagnaGuard, B3 Ultra Battle Droid, orScorpenek Annihilator Droid, the Commerce Guild’s DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid was a formidable support unit.
The Dwarf Spider Droid’s heavy blaster canon and emergency self-destruct mechanism made it a threat to Republic soldiers and vehicles alike. While the Republic, both its clone troopers and the Jedi, found ways to take them down, it was never an easy fight. The Dwarf Spider Droid proved so effective that it even had a future past the Clone Wars in the originalStar Warstimeline.
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The Empire Kept ONE Type Of Clone Wars Droid
In theStar WarsLegends continuity, Dwarf Spider Droids saw continued use by Separatist holdouts that survived the Clone Wars and continued their fight – now against theGalactic Empire. The recruited beings of the Empire’sStormtrooper Corps, who gradually replaced Jango Fett clones, would quickly discover how deadly the droids were in such conflicts.This led the Stormtrooper Corps to begin refurbishing and reprogramming Dwarf Spider Droids to fight for the Empire, using them to support infantry.
Scorpenek Annihilator Droids became part of the Dark Empire (a secret contingent of the Empire, using the regime’s deadliest troops, vehicles, and superweapons), where they primarily guarded Palpatine’s Citadel on Byss.
As revealed in Daniel Wallace’s 2006 sourcebookThe New Essential Guide to Droids,one stormtrooper unit fought alongside Dwarf Spider Droids for the first time during the Battle of Ghorman, with stormtroopers using the droids against theRebel Allianceforces. Before this, the Stormtrooper Corps would use Dwarf Spider Droids against Separatist holdouts. Although the Stormtrooper Corps was far more transient than the Imperial Army and Navy, stormtroopers would also use Dwarf Spider Droids to guard checkpoints.
In the Legends continuity, the Stormtrooper Corps used at least three other types of droid units: the experimental dark troopers. Phase I and II dark troopers were solely droids, but Phase III dark troopers could also be used as an exoskeleton for a humanoid.
The Spider Droids Are Canon, But This Legacy Isn’t…Yet
Since theStar Warsoriginal and prequel trilogies are part of both the original Legends continuity and modern canon, Dwarf Spider Droids are also part of both timelines, since they appear in two of the prequel films. For the time being, however,no modern canon source has had the Galactic Empire use appropriated Dwarf Spider Droids. Given how often the modern canon uses the Legends continuity for inspiration, however, a futureStar Warsstory may show stormtroopers fighting alongside Dwarf Spider Droid in the newer timeline.
The Mandalorian and Grogu
