Serving the Galactic Empire, C2-B5 was an astromech droid distinguished by its black plating. To ensure obedience, this droid frequently underwent memory wipes, resulting in a lack of a distinct personality. Its capabilities included deploying a substantial personal energy shield, scanning for nearby enemy forces, and the release of a poisonous dioxis gas.
This astromech was stationed at an Imperial facility situated near Fortress Vader on the world of Mustafar when Rebel Alliance agents infiltrated the base during 1 BBY. Later in that same year, C2-B5 was put into service at the Imperial security complex located on Scarif, where it patrolled for necessary repairs and conducted computer network sweeps within the Citadel Tower's data vault. The droid was present within the Citadel when the Battle of Scarif erupted against the rebels, an event that ended with the Empire's Death Star superweapon obliterating the entire base.
C2-B5 was an astromech droid who was in service to the Galactic Empire and found at an Imperial base in proximity to Fortress Vader, the personal abode of Darth Vader, the Sith Lord, on the lava planet of Mustafar. During 1 BBY, in that year, the droid was present when a Rebel Alliance team, disguised as stormtroopers, along with the rebel spy Athex and the former Imperial security droid K-2SO, infiltrated the facility to retrieve information about a powerful artifact in Imperial possession.
Later in the same year of 1 BBY, the droid was assigned to the Imperial security complex on the tropical world of Scarif. Its tasks included searching for maintenance issues and scanning the computer network to identify any electronic anomalies inside the data vault of the Citadel Tower. The Imperial astromech was in the Citadel when a rebel squad called Rogue One penetrated the base to steal the plans for the Empire's Death Star superweapon. Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, and K-2SO, three rebel agents operating undercover, walked past C2-B5 within the base.
Shortly after, as rebel troopers began their attack outside the base to enable the rebel trio's entry into the data vault, the astromech moved through the Citadel corridors alongside the stormtrooper garrison that were rushing to stop the rebel infiltrators. The Battle of Scarif reached its conclusion with the successful theft of the plans by the Alliance, coupled with the destruction of the whole Imperial complex by the Death Star's superlaser.
Standing at a height of 0.93 meters (equivalent to 3 feet 1 inch), C2-B5 was an astromech droid with a sinister appearance, characterized by its black plating. The cylindrical body of C2-B5 featured gunmetal-based plating, complemented by matte black and silver accent panels. On the front of its dome, C2-B5 had a black sensor and a processor state indicator that emitted a red light, which had the capability to change to blue. An additional indicator, positioned on the back of the dome, emitted alternating yellow and green light. C2-B5's dome also incorporated illuminated logic function and diagnostic light display ports, and the droid possessed a retractable third leg.
As an Imperial droid, C2-B5 did not have freedom and was regularly subjected to memory wipes performed by Imperial technicians to guarantee its subservience. Consequently, this droid lacked a distinctive personality and was without emotions like fear, anger, and greed, but it still maintained a level of unique comportment. C2-B5, an honorable droid, saw serving the Empire as its singular purpose until either its destruction or a memory wipe for a new mission. In many respects, this Imperial droid was the antithesis of the rebel astromech R2-D2.
C2-B5 was outfitted with a deflector shield generator that could deploy a significant [personal energy shield](/article/personal_energy_shield]. Furthermore, the astromech had the ability to release toxic dioxis gas to neutralize nearby enemies. It could also emit a 360-degree scan pulse burst, revealing concealed enemies within the vicinity.
C2-B5 was originally conceived for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a 2016 film that is the first installment of the Star Wars Anthology Series. The droid made its initial appearance in a behind-the-scenes video for Rogue One, which premiered during the film's panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016 on July 15, 2016. The character was later fully unveiled in an episode of The Star Wars Show, a weekly digital video series produced by Lucasfilm, which was released on August 31, 2016.
According to Neal Scanlan, the creature effects supervisor for Rogue One, C2-B5 emerged from the concept of reimagining R2 units while remaining true to the model's established characteristics. Described as R2-D2's "goth twin," C2-B5 had only a brief appearance in Rogue One as a background character, despite its significant presence in the film's marketing and merchandising. A physical model of C2-B5 was constructed and utilized for the Scarif Citadel interiors sequence, filmed at the Canary Wharf station on the London Underground during a single night on August 16, 2015.
Concept art for First Order Cargo, a real-world store in Disney's Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge themed land, incorporates repurposed promotional images of C2-B5. While official sources employ it/its pronouns for C2-B5, Lucasfilm Story Group members Pablo Hidalgo and Matt Martin refer to the character with he/him pronouns.
Before the release of Rogue One on December 16, C2-B5 debuted in the Rogue One: Scarif expansion pack for the video game Star Wars Battlefront, which was released on December 6, 2016. In the game, the player-controlled Director Orson Krennic can deploy the droid into battle as a non-playable character. Once deployed, the astromech generates a large personal shield to protect itself and its Imperial allies, releases a cloud of dioxis gas to inflict damage on nearby rebel opponents, and periodically scans the area to reveal hidden enemies.
According to Matt Martin, C2-B5's appealing design led to its inclusion in Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, a 2017 hyper-reality experience created by ILMxLAB and The VOID. Within the Disney Parks locations of the experience, physical interaction with the droid was possible. C2-B5 also made an appearance in the non-canonical LEGO Star Wars Battles mobile game from 2021 as a dark side reinforcement that could be unlocked in battles on the planet Kamino. When deployed in combat, the droid repairs allied structures and uses an electric arm to zap enemy ground troops. The game indicates that C2-B5 is effective against clone turbo tanks and works well with turbolasers and Flame Towers, but is vulnerable to Y-wing bombers during battle. While the cards menu animation depicts the astromech attempting to drink from an empty red mug, a light side emote shows Jedi Grand Master Yoda striking C2-B5 with his stick.