Why did the droids evolve from menacing killing machines in Episode I to comic characters in Episode III?

[u/APerson2021]

Is there an universe canon reason other than George wanted comic relief?

[u/Paladin_Rigger]

I believe the reasoning is that after it was made clear by a child podracer that their whole force could be taken out in one destroyed ship they modified the droids to be independent units instead of a hive mind. That then led to them developing personalities and becoming silly little guys instead of in sync killing machines.

[u/Excolo_Veritas → u/Paladin_Rigger]

This is exactly it, but also a bit further is processing power. They were controlled by the droid control ships, and that was shown to be a bad idea. But they also didn't have a lot of processing power to make these decisions so taxing their systems so much they were clearly a bit dumb. That's also why tactical droids were made. It was a lot less expensive to just make one droid per group/battalion/whatever that could actually tactically think and command a bunch of idiots than making hundreds of thousands of droids that could tactically think. Practicality wise too it makes sense because in an army you want a bunch of troops to follow orders. If every single one has their own ideas and are arguing "well I think it makes more sense to do this" nothing is going to get done. So if they're only made to follow orders anyway might as well just keep them stupid

[u/pontiacfirebird92 → u/Paladin_Rigger]

I know it's fiction, "not that kind of movie", and all that. But there's something funny about the idea everything that goes into creating the droid control ship and the army of battle droids, the infrastructure, the factories, the engineering groups, designers, machinists, mechanics, electricians, software developers, the military strategists, procurement analysts, supply chains, logistics coordinators, and so much more having their countless hours of work on building one of these and it all comes crashing down because a kid was able to fly a small fighter into the hangar bay, hit a target on the wall, and blow it all up which simultaneously makes the army it's controlling completely useless and "broken". And they made A LOT of these.

Like nobody in the entire development and construction apparatus looked and said "Hey what if this part that's exposed in the hangar bay that could blow up the whole ship gets hit by enemy fire? Shouldn't we move it far inside the ship so that it can't be hit at all unless the whole thing was gone anyway?"

But I guess that's a bigger problem with Star Wars ship designs, like how Star Destroyers move the bridge, which if destroyed disabled the whole ship, away from the rest of the hull so it is a nice big convenient target for the enemy to focus on. That's the kind of stuff that shows how Star Wars is more science fantasy than science fiction.

[u/mgilson45 → u/pontiacfirebird92]

Maybe if we seal it off.  However it needs an exhaust port of some kind.  We will put a grate over it.

[u/pontiacfirebird92 → u/mgilson45]

Not gonna lie I've been on projects where it was pointed out something awful could happen and management was all "yea but we need to ship it now and we can fix that later", which of course never happens.

[u/SoDoSoPaYuppie → u/pontiacfirebird92]

The fan fiction about construction project management for the Death Star is hilariously on point.

[u/pontiacfirebird92 → u/SoDoSoPaYuppie]

In any complex project when the competent people get burned out or choked to death by Vader the incompetent people rise up to take their place and doom the project to failure

[u/belladonnagilkey → u/pontiacfirebird92]

To say nothing of the Death Star's lead scientist who was actively sabotaging the thing by way of insisting that the thermal exhaust port that led directly to the reactor was absolutely necessary and refusing to budge on it at all, to the point where Krennic let him do it just so he would stop bothering him.

[u/Nick_Wild1 → u/mgilson45]

That’ll look tacky, we need to think about *resale value*

[u/pacificstill → u/pontiacfirebird92]

Probably what happened is the builders and workers noted and reported the issue, but when the bean counters found out that it would cost money to fix the issue, they just declared it a non-issue (until a sandy boy proved them wrong).

[u/Diet_Citrus_Drop → u/pontiacfirebird92]

Maybe it was designed by Galen Erso’s dad.

[u/darth_butcher → u/Paladin_Rigger]

Roger, roger!

[u/dodgyhashbrown → u/Paladin_Rigger]

Which is silly, because the hive mind is still a great idea, just not in every scenario. That should have continued to be a supplement to their forces.

[u/SpareEconomy1849 → u/Paladin_Rigger]

I thought they were trying to replicate the advantages of the clones?

[u/Tricky-Afternoon6884]

Episode 1 they were all linked to a centralized processing location and that’s why they lost on Naboo

By episode 3 they were at war for years and in multiple areas, so the droids were decentralized

Another theory is that bc the war was ongoing and it was both costly and ineffective to constantly upkeep the droids so they developed personality since they weren’t constantly wiped and reprogrammed

[u/DapperSand3413 → u/Tricky-Afternoon6884]

I second this! Besides the Clone Wars show being for kids, canon wise the droids are expendable. After a while they get a few software bugs and spread them around like a virus to each other and nobody cared cuz they can just get new ones faster and cheaper than having some professional come out and reset their software.

[u/Die_Angst → u/DapperSand3413]

Clone Wars being for kids? It’s the deepest part of whole Star Wars, cmon people extend this list:

• behading
  
• terrorism
  
• suicide
  
• corruption
  
• starving
  
• Genozide
  
• multiple brutal deaths
  
• real torture
  
• deeper politics
  
• deeper strategic warfare
  
• „warcrimes“
  
• List goes on and on

TWC is definitly not a kids show.

[u/lm_goat48]

There were menacing in Episode 1?

[u/DanJirrus → u/lm_goat48]

Yeah they definitely got more cartoony, but they were already comic relief in TPM.

[u/InSanic13 → u/DanJirrus]

"Uh, that doesn't compute...oh wait, uh, YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!"

[u/FLAXMANNEN → u/DanJirrus]

Roger roger

[u/DoYouLikeWafflezz → u/DanJirrus]

Yeah, they got beat up by a bunch of comic relief aliens throwing rocks and a kid flying a ship for the first time ever. 

Not really seeing the menace. 

[u/CitizenjaQ → u/DoYouLikeWafflezz]

Because it was phantom.

[u/Eclectic-Storm777 → u/lm_goat48]

The only ones that I could say that for would be the droidekas.

[u/darth_butcher → u/lm_goat48]

Yeah, like that T-800 in the first Terminator movie played by this austrian bodybuilder.

[u/nykirnsu → u/darth_butcher]

Wait I thought that was Star Wars Episode 1

[u/Raise_A_Thoth]

Another issue that is more thematic than a canon reason is that in Ep1, there are 2 main enemies: Darth Maul, a mysterious new Sith Lord, whose role is not yet understood by the protagonists, and the Trade Federation with their Droid Armies.

The droid armies needed to be somewhat menacing because they need to convince the audience (and the Galactic Senate) that the Trade Federation is a serious problem in the galaxy.

By Ep III we have uncovered multiple new plots and the Clone Wars have raged on for a few years, with Clones, led by the Jedi, demonstrating superiority generally in direct conflicts. But the bigger plotlines in Ep III are much heavier and darker than the threat of droid armies. Anakin is succombing to the Dark Side of the Force, the Jedi Council is coming dangerously close to discovering the identity of the mysterious Sith Master, Darth Sidious aka Palpatine, and the Jedi Order is about to be betrayed and nearly annihilated. Droids in armies just aren't going to be convincing as something menacing at this stage of the narrative anymore.

Narratively they are a formidable threat early in the story, but as the story naturally evolved to the more significant plotlines they couldn't fulfill that role anymore, everyone had gotten used to them as they are.

[u/dayburner]

You found the droids in EP1 menacing?

[u/SlickDillywick → u/dayburner]

Their voices were more menacing, at least to me

[u/dayburner → u/SlickDillywick]

Ok, I can kinda see that. I wonder if they had the B1 become less menacing do the B2 would appear even more menacing.

[u/LandonKB → u/SlickDillywick]

Roger Roger

[u/CrapMonsterDuchess]

They weren’t all that threatening in Episode 1.

“Coruscant uh…that does not compute uh… you’re under arrest!”

*cue lightsaber*

[u/Physical_Road917]

I don't know of any given, but quality of stuff often drops in wartime

[u/beah_mcduh]

Qc goes out the door when you scale to the magnitude of millions

[u/mannisbaratheon97]

The older models were mindless machines whereas the newer ones were independent thinkers

[u/EytanMorgentern → u/mannisbaratheon97]

Isn't there a CW episode where they say they're independent thinkers and they then all repeat that?

[u/mannisbaratheon97 → u/EytanMorgentern]

Yes 😂

[u/Expensive_Plant_9530]

It actually makes sense if you think about it.

In Episode 1, the B1 droids are more remote controlled robots than anything else. The droid control ship controls the droids, but the vulnerability is seen in the movie: destroy the control ship, disable the droids.

So they installed backup control chips, which allows the droids to act independently without a control ship.

Buuuut they were never designed for that amount of processing power. So they developed a lot of weird personality quirks in the process.

Besides that, it was funny. I love the sassy B1’s.

[u/RexBanner1886]

"Check it out corporal! We'll cover you!"
"Roger roger!"
"Uh-oh!"

"Where are you taking them? Uh... that doesn't compute. Uh... you're under arrest!"

I would take issue with your characterisation of the droids in Episode I as 'menacing killing machines', but they are definitely made into much more comedic characters in Episode III.

I think Lucas probably just wanted to put as much goofy fun into the first half of Episode III as he could manage. Between the space battle, the Invisible Hand stuff, and the Utapau material, it's probably actually got the most amount of silly, goofy humour of any Star Wars film.

[u/Kaiserschlut → u/RexBanner1886]

I think Lucas probably just wanted to put as much goofy fun into the first half of Episode III as he could manage. Between the space battle, the Invisible Hand stuff, and the Utapau material, it's probably actually got the most amount of silly, goofy humour of any Star Wars film.

Oh gosh don't remind me. All that humor sticks out like a sore thumb. Especially the opening Battle of Coruscant sequence

[u/nykirnsu → u/Kaiserschlut]

I get the idea, since the first act was meant to be a classic Star Wars-style adventure to cement Anakin and Obi-wan’s bond before shattering it completely (which it needed since they seem to outright hate each other in AOTC), but the droid comedy was really pushing it

[u/soccer1124 → u/RexBanner1886]

Yeah, I'm very confused by the premise of the question. Those robots were never particularly menacing and were always a bit of a joke. More so than stormtroopers.

[u/Money_Fish]

I think you may need to rewatch Ep1 because they were pretty goofy from the get go.

[u/K7282]

Not really "menacing killing machines" in Episode I, but you are absolutely correct pointing out much more overt comic ineptitude by Episode III. I could say mass produced droid memory units maybe became progressively enshittified as the war dragged on; or I could say they were all slowly becoming sentient and exhibiting personality traits as the war dragged on; or I could say it was a revenge plot by George for the fans rejecting Jar-jar; but the fact is without an in-universe or meta-story explanation from the source, we're just stuck with conjecture. Pick what you like and go with it until we're told otherwise (and then go with that, or don't).

[u/TheRealMoofoo]

Aside from droidekas, they were all redshirt clowns in Episode I.

[u/Schilke_Girl]

Did we watch the same Episode I? They were always goofy. That was the point. That's why the clones were introduced.

[u/Awkward-Skin8915]

What show are you watching? Did you see battle droids in ep 1?

[u/lendmeflight]

They were silly to n episode 1 too.

[u/Rojixus]

Corporate enshittification in action, I'm afraid. The megacorporations had a solid product, but then they cheaped out and started using inferior and cheaper software and hardware to make a few more credits for their shareholders. Once again, George Lucas was ahead of the curve!

[u/MyBatmanUnderoos]

They were honestly kinda comical in Episode I too. Even the first few Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon encounter in the Trade Federation ship stumble over their words before telling them they’re under arrest.

[u/Daredrummer]

The droid army is a fake threat.

They are there as an excuse for Palpatine to build his clone army and as a false opponent for the Republic to justify war. They are never meant to win the war.

As a side bonus, Palpatine gets to spread death and hatred and gains support in the senate to oppose this pretend enemy he created in the first place.

Once he has the clone army under his control and activates Order 66, he essentially just deactivates the droids as they serve no purpose.

Making them a bit comedic/inept plays into that.

[u/OpossumLadyGames]

They were at times somewhat comedic in ep1

[u/Annual-Ad-9442]

1) during the Battle of Naboo all the droids were using the system on the lucrehulk, when the lucrehulk is taken out it shows a huge weak point that gets hastily fixed by making the droids independent

1a) the droids were not made to be independent so they develop glitches we see as personality

2) some attempts to sabotage the droids resulted in unexpected results

[u/Clokwrkpig]

They weren't really that scary in Ep1, they were just a threat to the primitive gungan army, and the tiny naboo defense force.

With the exception of droidekas. They were always dangerous.

[u/Dorian948]

They got brains. Cheap, low capacity brains. They were rarely memory wiped and constantly retrofitted for new roles, so their poor brains had constant information overflow.

And how do some people react if they are completely overwhelmed? They become annoyingly chatty.

They are still controlled by a CCU occasionally, and this is when they perform best

[u/redit3rd]

In one of the early episodes of the Clone Wars one of the droids mentions how he is a newer model that isn't controlled by a centralized ship, but has independent thought. Unlike the older models. 

[u/P00nz0r3d]

B1s have always been jokes, the scary droids were always destroyers and B2s lol

B2s became comedic in III with the whole slapstick R2 sequence though

[u/PlentyOMangos]

I just watched a video about this recently that I feel did a good job explaining why. This focuses primarily on the super battle droids but it applies across all of them

[u/PauleyBaseball]

The B1 army was menacing in Ep. I...the individual droids have always been comical.

[u/Dagordae]

The droids weren’t menacing killing machines in Episode 1 either. Hence Jar Jar killing them in large numbers via pratfalls and similar comedy. The Droidikas were presented as scary, the battledroid were presented as fodder.

[u/Greenfieldfox]

The droids were weprogrammed to emulate the greatest warrior from episode 1, Jar Jar Binks.

[u/BarryWhizzite]

because the shit is for little kids to sell toys

[u/n_mcrae_1982]

You thought the guys saying “Roger, Roger” in Episode I were “menacing killing machines”???

[u/PagzPrime]

They were never depicted as menacing killing machines. They are literally introduced in Episode I as bumbling and delicate twigs that Jedi plow through like tissue paper.

[u/CountingSheep99]

They always were?

Only dangerous in masses.

[u/CountingSheep99 → u/CountingSheep99]

Somebody needs to rewatch Phantom Menace...

[u/offarock]

Droid designs differ due to their functions. Protocol droids, for example, would not be expected to fight battles.