Mention almost any Star Wars
character, and you'll get fans engaged in a heated debate
with other viewers about his or her relative merits. But
while young Anakin, Jar Jar Binks, Padme, Leia, Luke, and
Jabba the Hutt all have their detractors, there are two
things that are almost universal: everyone loves Darth Vader
and the little droid R2D2. Feisty, loyal, tenacious, and
clever, R2D2 represents everything that made Star Wars
into the phenomenon that it is.
Alongside the more fastidious and anxious protocol droid
C3PO, R2D2 is central to the action, adding humor and
much-needed technical prowess to the team. As we discover
over the six Star Wars films, R2 is equipped with some
pretty cool features, including a retractable third leg, an
arc welder, a radar dish, a circular saw, a fire
extinguisher, and a holographic projector. In Episode III,
fans cheered a scene in which R2 ignites oil spilled from
pursuing droids in order to immolate them and escape.
Fanatics often point out that all of these accessories
couldn't possibly fit inside R2's body--but there are a few
replicas out there that fit all of the most popular goodies.
Some fans spend years building their own droids from
scratch. Others pay upwards of $7,500 for a Don Post Studios
R2D2 replica that was licensed by Lucas Film in the early
1980s--be advised, however, that this particular collector's
item has lights and sound effects but cannot move.
There are countless other ways to pay homage to Lucas's
resilient little bucket of bolts. In addition to the Star
Wars DVDs and videos, there are posters, trading cards,
books, magazines, t-shirts, Trapper Keepers, and Legos--to
name just a few. For more serious collectors, there are
limited edition coins and mint condition vintage action
figures. For fun, there are cake pans, cuff links, skate
boards, alarm clocks--you won't believe the variety of R2D2
merchandise available until you take a look for yourself!
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