Star Wars' new droid sidekick is the best since R2-D2

R2-D2 may be the most popular droid in the entire Star Wars universe, but the series just got another droid that's just as adorable.

While R2-D2 is one of the most beloved droid characters in Star Wars lore, the series introduces a new droid sidekick who might be even more endearing than the adorable Artoo.

R2-D2 made his debut in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, proving he was an integral part of the missions the main characters were carrying out, and then stealing almost every scene he appeared in the ensuing series. A scene. Artoo is an astromech droid from the Rebel Alliance, who has the ability to broadcast and record holographic messages, hack into advanced computer systems, and even engage in physical combat using his taser and circular saw extensions - not to mention his The oil slick and rocket booster got combined (see episode three). Not only is Artoo extremely useful in espionage and combat, but his personality is also hilarious. R2-D2 is a sassy smart-ass who hides his notorious mouth behind his beeps and boos. Overall, R2-D2 is a great character to be loved by fans - and so is the new robot Skoot.

In Star Wars: The High Republic #3 by Cavan Scott and Ario Anindito introduces readers to an android named Skoot, while he and his sidekick, the series' thorny protagonist Tey Sirreck, visit the Temple of Kyber and meet the Guardians of the Whills - a divine order Tey shocks used to be part of. It's here that Tey thinks back to when the two first met, when Skoot was the partner of a crook in the city named Flim. Back then, Skoot would pickpocket unsuspecting people and Flim would distract them. During their first encounter, Tey throws a piece of fruit at Skoot to stop him from stealing other people's things. All three of them have interesting relationships, with Skoot and Flim playing lovable bums and Tey doing his best to keep them from causing trouble (without taking his role as an authority figure too seriously). However, when Tey discovers that Flim has been murdered by a local crime boss, Tey and Skoot quickly bond over their shared tragedy. They killed the gang leader and left the Guardians of the Whills, and from then on, it was he and Skoot who fought against the galaxy.

Skoot is Poised To Be 'The R2-D2' of The High Republic

In the previous issue, Tey Sirreck joins forces with a Jedi and a Padawan after he and Skoot save their lives. This makes Skoot's journey pretty much the same as R2-D2's journey in the Star Wars franchise. R2-D2 has teamed up with the Jedi in all three major eras of the Star Wars movies, and now Skoot is doing the same -- though that's far from the only thing these two droids have in common. Skoot and Artoo are foul-mouthed robots who buzz and beep to hide their inappropriate language, and are both lovable bums. While Skoot was more of an outlaw than Artoo, both were notorious for getting into trouble. Plus, they're both willing to fight when the chips are down, as Skoot uses a flash grenade and Artoo shows off his fighting skills several times in this episode.

Skoot is a foul-mouthed, fight-averse, pickpocket-turned-hero robot with the same energy and tragic backstory as R2-D2, which arguably makes him more likable than Artoo. Plus, Skoot even has a fun nickname: Fruit-Face, which Tey nicknamed Skoot after throwing a piece of fruit at him to stop a robot pickpocketing someone. All in all, Skoot checks every box that makes up a Star Wars droid assistant—perhaps, even more than R2-D2 himself.