Summary

• Star Wars Rebels brought a new era of storytelling, focusing on a linear format with a central group of heroes unlike The Clone Wars.
• Chopper, the rebellious astromech, proved to be a standout character with a unique and aggressive personality in Rebels.
• Despite his unconventional and sometimes dangerous methods, Chopper remained a loyal and vital member of the Spectres crew.

Star Wars Rebels reintroduced the world of George Lucas' space opera to a whole new generation of fans. Helmed by Dave Filoni, Rebels was a bold, new animated series that continued some dangling plot threads from Star Wars: The Clone Wars while also introducing a host of brand-new characters. Unlike The Clone Wars, which adopted more of an anthology style of storytelling that followed a different lead character at a different point in the Clone Wars timeline, Rebels followed a more linear and semi-serialized format with a recurring central group of heroes.

As the titular band of Rebels who traversed the galaxy in their ship, the Ghost, the Spectres consisted of many archetypal Star Wars characters. Hera Syndulla was a hotshot pilot and strong-willed leader; Kanan Jarrus was a Jedi survivor of Order 66, trying to find his way in the Imperial era; Sabine Wren was a Mandalorian warrior and outcast, who had turned against her Imperial training; Zeb Orellios was the lovable muscle from a race oppressed by the Empire; and Ezra Bridger was Kanan's bright-eyed Jedi apprentice, discovering the ways of the Force for the first time. The crew were also joined by their trusty astromech droid, C1-10P, better known as Chopper. However, Chopper was a stark departure from the droids of Star Wars' past.

Who is Star Wars Rebels' Chopper?

Chopper was introduced in Star Wars Rebels' premiere episode, "Spark of Rebellion," as the cantankerous astromech of the Spectres. He was first seen chiming in on Kanan and Hera's bickering in the Ghost's cockpit, before later butting heads with the Spectres' new recruit, Ezra Bridger. Even as Ezra was welcomed to the crew and became a regular part of the Spectres' adventures, he, Zeb and Chopper continued to struggle to get along. The droid's agitating interactions with his fellow Spectres ranged from harmless pranks (such as removing the screws holding up Ezra's bunk bed), to near-enough attempted murder, such as almost dropping Ezra to his death when turning an Imperial Interdictor's artificial gravity back on and running over Ezra's fingers as he clung to the edge of a walkway for dear life.

Clearly, Chopper was no R2-D2. While the starring astromech of the first six Star Wars movies was always a little impudent and could have a fierce attitude when provoked, R2 was never quite as standoffish, grumpy or outright bloodthirsty as Chopper. The Spectres' C1-series astromech was a breath of fresh air for Star Wars, introducing a droid without the typical helpful personality of other astromechs, who was more of a reluctant antihero than an obliging servant of the Rebellion. The fact that Star Wars Rebels was able to make Chopper so distinct from R2-D2 when neither character has the benefit of any human features or discernible dialogue is a testament to the strength of the series' character development through actions and reactions alone.

Chopper's unconventionally disobedient nature can likely be attributed to his history with Hera Syndulla. While most astromechs in the Star Wars galaxy spend the majority of their lives in service to a larger power structure -- be it the Jedi, the Rebellion, the Empire, or simply the galaxy's aristocrats -- Chopper was found by Hera when she was a young girl on her home planet of Ryloth. Chopper had been aboard a Y-wing that crashed on Ryloth during the Clone Wars. Hera found the damaged droid and fixed him up as best she could, taking him on as her personal astromech droid, as seen in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Accompanying the rebellious young Hera as she grew up likely influenced Chopper to become more of a free-thinker than his fellow droids.

Despite his often rocky relationship with the other Spectres, Chopper remained a faithful member of the Rebel crew throughout Star Wars Rebels, serving as a vital part of the team during some of their darkest days and helping them secure some major victories. Chopper was still at the Spectres' side when they liberated Lothal, taking care of Ezra Bridger's lightsaber when the young Jedi prepared to face Thrawn for the final time. Beyond this, he remained Hera's loyal friend and astromech long after the Galactic Civil War. By the time of Ahsoka, Chopper had also become a close friend of Hera's son, Jacen Syndulla.

Chopper's Greatest Feats in Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka

One of the things that set Chopper apart from other astromech droids in Star Wars was just how much he was able to achieve on his own. While the likes of R2-D2 and BB-8 typically served as trusty sidekicks to the heroes of their respective stories, Chopper often took the lead on his own adventures and proved instrumental in winning the Rebellion some hugely significant victories. Infamously, Star Wars Rebels Season 2's "Stealth Strike" saw Chopper single-handedly sabotage an Imperial Interdictor (a Star Destroyer fitted with an experimental gravity well weapon), resulting in the destruction of the ship along with two Imperial light cruisers.

Later in Rebels Season 2, in the episode "The Forgotten Droid," Chopper was separated from the Spectres while attempting to steal a replacement for his mismatched left leg. Ending up aboard an Imperial cargo ship after fleeing from a group of Stormtroopers, Chopper met the Imperial protocol droid AP-5. The two would form an unlikely friendship, becoming Star Wars Rebels' harsher, grumpier counterparts to the Star Wars movies' R2-D2 and C-3PO. In their first meeting, AP-5 alerted Chopper to the fact that the Empire was waiting for the Rebellion on Yost, a world that the Rebels had identified as a potential base. With AP-5's help, Chopper led the Rebellion to the safer planet of Atollon, where they established Chopper Base, named in his honor.

During the duo's first meeting, AP-5 was attacked by the captain of the Imperial cargo ship, only surviving thanks to Chopper's retaliation against the captain -- again, exhibiting more aggressive tendencies and physical capabilities than most other astromech droids. When Sabine repaired AP-5, she revealed Chopper had offered up the thermosensors from his replacement leg to save AP-5, sacrificing his new leg to save the protocol droid in a rare and touching moment of selflessness from Chopper. However, AP-5 simply chided him for having a "malfunctioning logic circuit," as Chopper hit back at his new friend with a much more characteristic barrage of foul language.

In the days before the Spectres' final success in liberating Lothal, Chopper was there to support Hera as she grieved the loss of Kanan Jarrus. Holding Hera's hand in one quiet moment, Chopper demonstrated a depth of character that extended beyond his abrasive facade, showing more nuance in a droid than has been seen anywhere else in Star Wars. Chopper continued to support Hera and her child by Kanan, Jacen Syndulla. On Ahsoka, Chopper and Jacen were seen working together to locate Ahsoka in the oceans of Seatos, following her defeat at the hand of Baylan Skoll. It was Chopper's scans that resulted in Hera locating and saving Ahsoka.

Chopper's Deadly Reputation in Star Wars

When many Star Wars fans think about what sets Chopper apart from other droids in the galaxy far, far away, the most prominent feature that likely leaps to mind is his impressive body count. Chopper has never been a character to shy away from violence. While droids such as R2-D2 have been seen setting Super Battle Droids on fire, or shocking enemies with their arc welders, Chopper has destroyed entire Star Destroyers and is not afraid of picking up a blaster. While caught in the middle of a standoff between the pirate Hondo Ohnaka and crime lord Azmorigan, Chopper wielded two blasters and chased down Azmorigan, firing wildly at him.

Typically, Battle Droids and Assassin Droids are the only droids to wield blasters in the Star Wars galaxy, again setting Chopper apart in his unorthodox nature. Stunts such as the destruction of the Interdictor, racking up a body count of thousands, have earned Chopper a reputation as an unlikely war criminal amongst Star Wars Rebels fans, but his smaller actions often show just as much of a ruthless streak. Season 1's "Rebel Resolve" saw Chopper open a light cruiser's airlock, killing four Stormtroopers by exposing them to the vacuum of space.

The same episode saw Chopper pushing an Imperial astromech who had been helping the Spectres off of the Ghost while the ship was in flight. Chopper's lack of moral qualms were also made apparent when he proposed blowing up an Inquisitor's TIE Fighter with a kidnapped baby still inside, much to Zeb's disgust, in "The Future of the Force." At first glance, Chopper may be a simple astromech droid, but he's a far more complex (and dangerous) astromech than has ever appeared anywhere else in the Star Wars saga.