<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

C-3PO is a character in the Star Wars "universe"

C-3PO is a protocol droid designed to serve humans, and boasts that he is fluent "in over six million forms of communication." C-3PO is generally seen with his long-time counterpart, R2-D2, a small astromech droid. Threepio's main function as a protocol droid is to assist with etiquette, customs, and translation so that meetings of different cultures run smoothly.

He was cobbled together from discarded scrap by a nine-year old prodigy on the desert planet Tatooine. Young Anakin Skywalker had intended the homemade droid to help his mother, Shmi Skywalker. Both were slaves of the junk dealer Watto. With limited resources, the droid that Anakin built was truly remarkable. It lacked an outer shell, though, and Threepio had to live with the indignity of being "naked," with his parts and wiring showing. Eventually Anakin left Tatooine, leaving Threepio behind with his mother. At some point Shmi fitted him with coverings. Years passed before Shmi was eventually freed by Cliegg Lars, a moisture farmer who had fallen in love with her. She relocated to the Lars moisture farm, a small homestead not far from Anchorhead, and took Threepio with her. Tragedy struck when Shmi was abducted by savage Tusken Raiders. A month later, Anakin Skywalker suddenly returned to Tatooine, seeking out his mother. There was no time for a reunion -- Anakin sped off into the desert to find his mother, only to have her die in his arms. He returned to the farm with Shmi's body. After a quiet funeral, Anakin left on an important mission to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi. Since Threepio was the rightful property of Anakin, the Larses let the young Jedi take the protocol droid with him.

Years later, Threepio and Artoo would become the property of the Royal House of Alderaan, an influential family with ties to the growing Rebel Alliance. The two droids were aboard Princess Leia Organa's vessel when it was attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer due to suspected complicity in Rebel actions. The vessel crippled, Leia stored vital Rebel information in Artoo's memory systems -- unbeknownst to Threepio. Artoo then took it upon himself to complete Leia's failed mission. Artoo commandeered an escape pod, crashlanding on the barren desert world of Tatooine. There, the droids were taken captive by Jawa traders, and sold to moisture farmer Owen Lars & his nephew Luke Skywalker. Determined to complete his mission of finding General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Artoo ran away in the middle of the night, leaving Threepio and Luke to search for him the next morning.

This started an incredible chain of events that saw Threepio catapulted into an adventure beyond his imagining. Threepio and Artoo were crucial in assisting Luke spearhead a rescue mission to free Princess Leia from the heart of the Imperial space station, the Death Star. Both droids navigated the Imperial computer system to provide the rescuers with timely assistance & status updates.

Having been returned to Princess Leia, they relocated to Hoth, Threepio assisted in Echo Base's command centers. Threepio's fluency in millions of languages allowed him to postulate that an intercepted signal was in fact an Imperial code, alerting the Rebels to the presence of a probe droid dangerously close to their base. During the evacuation from Hoth, Threepio and Artoo were separated. During a respite in the Bespin system, in Cloud City, Threepio was blasted into pieces by an Imperial stormtrooper. His remains were the first clue to the Rebel fugitives that Cloud City was an Imperial trap. The Wookiee Chewbacca attempted to piece together Threepio's remains, but lack of time meant that Threepio would have to remain incomplete for a while.

During a mission to rescue Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt, Threepio and Artoo were sent into the Hutt's palace on Tatooine. There, they became the crime lord's property. Threepio was pressed into service as Jabba's translator until Luke Skywalker came to rescue his friends.

Not long after, Threepio accompanied the Rebel team that was sent to shut down the Imperial shield generator on the forest moon of Endor. Although some would question the addition of a protocol droid on this mission, it ended up quite fortunate that Threepio went along. On Endor, the team encountered a species of primitives that worshipped the golden droid as a god. The Ewoks, a tree-dwelling tribal people, proved to be valuable allies. Were it not for their allegiance, which was won by Threepio's retelling of key events of the Galactic Civil War, the Rebellion would not have been victorious at the decisive Battle of Endor.

Trivia

• C-3PO is one of the few characters to appear in all six of the Star Wars films, and one of the very few to be played by the same actor. In all his various appearances, he is portrayed or voiced by Anthony Daniels.

• Star Wars creator George Lucas originally wanted a "used car dealer's" voice for C-3PO. He changed his mind when he heard (& saw) Daniels' performance.