GNK power droid

GNK power droids were effectively power generators with legs and simple artificial intelligence so they could understand rudimentary commands. They were most commonly found on under-developed worlds that did not have an expansive power grid, or in mobile military operations.

They often made a low honking noise that sounded like the word "gonk," resulting in the nickname gonk droids or simply gonks. This form of droidspeak was referred to as "Gonkian."

A year before the Clone Wars, Groodo the Hutt, in his bid to destroy the Fondor Shipyards and Spaceport, employed, as part of his Droid Control Army, GNK power droids that were modified with rapid-repeating blasters in their upper casings. Jedi Master Mace Windu, joining the mission to Fondor, handily defeated a GNK attack with his lightsaber, neatly severing the blaster that had emerged from beneath a lid in the droid's upper frame.

Sometime after the Battle of Endor, rumors began to spread regarding a "Cult of the Power Droids." Apparently, a pair of GNK power droids would come to one's door and request funding for a fringe religious group. Advice from renowned linguist Ebenn Q3 Baobab was that one should merely utter the phrase "Gonk. Gonk. Gonk ko kyenga see," a highly controversial statement that was not allowed to be legally translated (see Baobab Security Directive 51-C).

The GNK power droid derives its name from the "gonk" sound it makes in Episode IV. The droid was originally called simply a "power droid," but a newsgroup posting in 1993 led to the now-official name becoming quickly popular.

In the Battlefront series, gonk droids are called Ammunition Droids and dispense ammo to the troops who stand near them.

In the LEGO Star Wars games, gonk droids are slow-moving, weak, and unable to jump, attack and interact with their surroundings. They can be interacted with, such as being Force Pushed, shot or destroyed. They explode when shot. However, they are invincible when they appear in the Dex's Diner hub area. Gonk droids are included mainly for the player's amusement, as they are universally ignored by enemies. Gonk droids are also a Separatist character in The Clone Wars version. A "Super Gonk" upgrade can be purchased with in-game currency, permitting the player's gonk droid to run and jump, though not attack. Several gonk droids can be found wandering around the Mos Eisley Cantina.

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