Star Wars: The Droid Who Almost Killed Darth Vader – IG-88 Breakdown
Impossible to kill and ruthless, one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy is no other than the infamous assassin droid, IG-88.
The Book of Boba Fett is delving into one of the stories of one of the galaxy’s most famous bounty hunters and introducing old colleagues from the comics. But there are still plenty of bounty hunters to talk about. Like Black Krrsantan, this character is a former partner of Boba Fett‘s. But IG-88 is one of the few known droid bounty hunters out there, which makes him especially interesting.
IG-88B: The Kill-Droid
Officially called IG-88B, this assassin droid is more commonly known by the shortened IG-88. He was the first droid of his series, created by Holowan Laboratories, and had a desire to kill from the moment he was first activated.
Which was unfortunately deadly for his creators working in the lab. His deadly nature and a lingering fear of droids following the Clone Wars combined to make IG one of the most notorious and feared droids and bounty hunters in the galaxy.
His fame allowed him to take jobs from and against some of the biggest names in the galaxy. For instance, ISB agent Kallus hired IG-88 to track down Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon.
Later, he pursued Princess Leia to retrieve the data-tape of the Imperial base location. Perhaps most interestingly, IG-88 has both been hired by and to kill Darth Vader himself.
Along with Bossk, Dengar, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM, IG-88 was hired by Vader for the successful live capture of the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo, and anyone with him. It’s a job he would take on multiple times throughout his career.
After successfully following Han’s ship to Bespin, IG-88 was destroyed and left for scrap. This left the job to be completed by Boba Fett.
Return of the Droid
Of course, being a droid allows for IG-88 to have a looser relationship with death than his targets. He was reassembled and sent back about his business. Eventually, Sly Moore hired IG-88 to kill Darth Vader along with the codes needed to slice into the Sith Lord’s armor.
The two fought fiercely, Vader realizing that he needed information programmed into IG-88. In the end, despite having a huge advantage in the slicing codes, Vader defeated IG-88, leaving him once again out of commission.
After rebuilding itself, the droid reported back to Sly Moore that Vader couldn’t be defeated. Unfortunately, Darth Vader discovered who had hired IG-88, confronted her on Coruscant, and struck IG-88 down once more.
This time cyborg RB-919 would find and rebuild IG-88. Much like the droid’s first creators, RB-919 was immediately killed for his effort. After taking over RB-919’s ship, IG was hired by Qi’ra of Crimson dawn. Once again, he was working for someone he has previously been hired to neutralize.
What’s Next for IG-88?
IG-88 is likely still bounty hunting to this day. It doesn’t seem like this droid is going anywhere anytime soon. His speciality is being ageless and proving himself nearly impossible to kill time and time again.
Is IG-88 your favorite of the galaxy’s bounty hunters? Which of his jobs- from canon or legends- is most memorable to you? What do you think could destroy IG-88 once and for all? Let us know in the comments!
May The Force Be With You, Adventurers!
