Star Wars (1977) #47: Droid World!
Writer: Archie Goodwin
Penciler: Carmine Infantino
Medium: Comic
Publication date: February 1981
Timeline placement: 3 ABY
The plot of this issue is described below, in the section for the much better children's book adaptation. I'll mention a few things worth pointing out here, though. Kligson, the cyborg ruler of Droid World, reveals that he is a veteran of the Clone Wars who lost most of his organic body fighting in that conflict. "I suffered enough in the Clone Wars to make me hostile to my fellow organics forever!" Weird that this was his takeaway when his injuries presumably came from the Confederacy's droid armies. Maybe Kligson was a Separatist who fought against the clones. Except he didn't, because the Author's Cut of The Essential Guide to Warfare revealed that Kligson went on to serve the Empire after the Clone Wars and got his injuries by being shot up by stormtroopers for not being evil enough. Ah well nevertheless.
He also describes himself as "more machine than man," an interesting turn of phrase that Obi-Wan Kenobi's ghost would use to describe Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. But that movie wouldn't be released for more than two years after this comic. Did George Lucas pilfer that line from Archie Goodwin? Probably not, but in my headcanon he did.
The Further Adventures: Droid World
Author: Jymn Magon
Illustrator: Dick Foes
Medium: Picture book
Publication Date: January 1983
Timeline Placement: 3 ABYThe Rebels have captured a damaged Imperial Warbot, a giant combat droid equipped with multiple blaster cannons and, even more frightening, huge grasping robot claws. Luke Skywalker and an Alliance technician attempt to obtain the Warbot's technical readouts by having R2-D2 jack into it and download the data, but this only causes the droid's innards to start shooting out sparks and melting. The technician tells Luke that the only person who can retrieve the data from the droid now is a man called Kligson who lives on Droid World, a giant space station of his own design.
Luke and the droids travel to Droid World, where Kligson fires warning shots at their vessel and demands that they leave. Kligson reveals that he is a cyborg and wants no contact with non-mechanical humans. Luke appeals to the man's ego by telling him he's the only one who can repair their Warbot, so Kligson agrees to allow Artoo, Threepio, and the Warbot onto Droid World on the condition that he be allowed to keep whatever he repairs.
Aboard the space station, Kligson dismisses the Warbot as cheap Imperial junk not worth fixing and orders his second-in-command, Z-X3, to dispose of it. He also tells Artoo and Threepio that they are now free and don't have to return to their life of servitude. But Threepio protests that they love Master Luke.
Meanwhile, Artoo is suspicious of Z-X3, so he follows the Imperial experimental droid trooper and learns that he is still loyal to the Empire and planning his own droid mutiny. Artoo and Threepio reveal this treachery to Kligson, who leaps into action and is immediately blown away by Z-X3. The mutinous droids chase Artoo and Threepio around Droid World for a while, with a droid tank cornering them at the edge of a melting pit before plunging to its own doom while the good droids are hoisted out of danger by electromagnets.
Kligson reveals that he's still alive, having sent a robotic double to die in his place. He has long suspected Z-X3's treachery and has been building a droid army of his own to fight against Z-X3's army of droid mutineers. In fact the battle is raging now! When it's all over, Kligson ponders the loss, sending Artoo and Threepio on their way with the schematics they wanted.
Luke congratulates the droids on accomplishing their mission, but he can't help feeling bad for Kligson, who loved droids but had to kill them. And soon the Empire will come to finish what Z-X3 started. But just then, the engines of Droid World blaze to life, carrying the giant space station into deep space. Safe at last, maybe Kligson will finally be able to find peace after all.
This is a picture-book adaptation of Marvel Comics' Star Wars #47: Droid World. The story here isn't quite as in-depth as the comic's, but the illustrations are much better, and the picture book comes with an audio version of the story on record or cassette, so really it's a toss-up on which version to get. Well at this point it's probably a lot easier to come by the comic. But this is way cooler!