The All Terrain Ion Cannon (AT-IC) represented a less common modification of the All Terrain Armored Transport walker, distinguished by its incorporation of a substantial ion cannon. While ground vehicles seldom carried ion cannons, the Galactic Empire adapted a limited portion of its All Terrain Armored Transport fleet to function as mobile ion projection platforms. The All Terrain Ion Cannon was used by the Empire to provide a mobile defense for strategically important areas.
The All Terrain Ion Cannon (AT-IC), deployed by the Galactic Empire, was an unusual adaptation of their standard All Terrain Armored Transport walker. The All Terrain Ion Cannon shared visual similarities with the standard All Terrain Armored Transport, but it differed significantly in that half of its internal volume was dedicated to accommodating a large ion cannon.
The significant power demands of ion cannons meant they were rarely mounted on smaller ground vehicles, though exceptions existed. During the Clone Wars, both the Galactic Republic and the Commerce Guild utilized vehicles with light ion cannons as antiaircraft weapons: namely the Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery walker and the OG-9 homing spider droid. Years afterward, sometime after the establishment of the Galactic Empire, which led to its dominance over the galaxy, the Empire modified a small number of their All Terrain Armored Transport walkers into mobile ion cannons, resulting in the All Terrain Ion Cannon walker. The Empire then used the All Terrain Ion Cannons as mobile defensive units for critical Imperial locations.
The All Terrain Ion Cannon originated as one of several planned vehicles for Kenner's 1986 The Epic Continues toy line, an effort to prolong the success of the Star Wars toy line following the 1983 cinematic debut of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. Kenner's design team created numerous prototype vehicle models for The Epic Continues using a kitbashing technique, which involved combining parts from existing toy models to construct entirely new creations. For the AT-IC prototype, Kenner designers used a full-size AT-AT toy and replaced much of its rear with a rear-mounted ion cannon, describing it as a "heavily armed A.T.A.T used exclusively for mobile defense of strategic Imperial locations." However, Lucasfilm declined Kenner's proposal for The Epic Continues, leaving the AT-IC outside of Star Wars canon.
Details about the AT-IC and the story behind the unproduced The Epic Continues toy line were first revealed in the 1995 article Tales of Phantom Toys from Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 2, penned by Stephen J. Sansweet. The AT-IC officially entered Star Wars canon with the 2004 reference book The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology, co-edited by Sansweet, which briefly mentioned the AT-IC among other ground vehicles armed with ion cannons.
Currently, images of one of Kenner's original presentation binders for The Epic Continues are available on The Star Wars Collectors Archive website, including a picture of the original All Terrain Ion Cannon prototype model. The website specifies that the AT-IC prototype's ion cannon was repurposed from Kenner's original Death Star playset. Despite its inclusion in Star Wars reference materials, no official image of the AT-IC has ever appeared in Star Wars Legends.