Scorpenek Droid In The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 7 Explained

The Book of Boba Fett was able to once again contribute to the Star Wars continuity when it revealed the Scorpenek droid. This droid made its appearance as a duo in the middle of the war between the Boba Fett gotra and the Pyke Syndicate on Tatooine. Meant as the Pykes’ trump cards, they gave a lot of problems to Boba Fett’s army. So, for those who don’t know about the Scorpenek droid, we are here to explain what this droid is.

What Are The Droids In The Book Of Boba Fett Episode 7 & What Are They Called?

The Book of Boba Fett finale showed us an amazing war between Fett’s faction and that of the Pyke Syndicate’s forces stationed on Tatooine. This fight was entertaining to watch because we saw a good back-and-forth exchange between the two parties, as the momentum swung multiple times in favor of one side before switching over to the other side.

Boba Fett’s gotra started out with a clear disadvantage because his forces were ambushed by the forces of all of the other crime lords in Mos Espa. Then came the Pyke forces, which completely overwhelmed Boba Fett, Din Djarin, Black Krrsantan, and all of the other fighters on Fett’s side. However, the tide of battle changed momentarily when the people of Freetown came over to help them fight.

The Freetown fighters allowed Fett’s army to outmatch the foot soldiers that the Pykes fielded as the momentum swung in favor of Boba’s gotra. However, just when they thought that they were winning, the Pykes dispatched two big droids that the Boba Fett forces were completely unable to defeat. Not even the full arsenal of weapons that Boba Fett and Din Djarin possessed could damage these droids.

Overwhelming the entire Boba Fett forces, the droids ran them down and pinned them on multiple occasions. We don’t often see droids as powerful as these in the Star Wars continuity. So, what are these droids, and what are they called?

The droids that the Pyke Syndicate fielded against the Boba Fett forces are called Scorpenek annihilator droids. These droids were meant to be frontline droids because of their amazing capabilities when fielded against forces that mostly used energy and kinetic weapons. On top of that, they are also armed with strong enough blasters that could easily take out plenty of personnel.

What you should know is that these types of droids look familiar to hardcore Star Wars fans. That’s because they might be similar to the Droideka or destroyer droids that became quite popular in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. These very same droids were also quite prominent during the entire Clone Wars era of Star Wars because of how the Separatists realized how effective they were against the Jedi and Clone Troopers alike.

In fact, in Episode I, the Droidekas were such a threat that both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi retreated when the Separatists fielded them while the Jedi duo was onboard their ship. That is how strong Droidekas are.

Going back to the Scorpenek droids, they are essentially bigger versions of Droidekas because they have appearances that are quite similar. On top of that, they also have four legs that support upright bodies. However, considering that Scorpenek droids are bigger, they have more guns and are much more powerful. The only advantage that the Droidekas have is their superior speed and mobility.

However, the Scorpenek droids were surprisingly non-canon before they made their appearance in the finale of The Book of Boba Fett. That’s because they never appeared in any canon Star Wars media prior to making their debut.

The Scorpenek droids only appeared in non-canon works that were created before Disney acquired Lucasfilm. And considering that they never appeared in any of the Star Wars movies and shows before the Disney acquisition, the Scorpenek droids were only classified under the Legends category, and that means that they were non-canon.

Regardless, one of the reasons why the Scorpenek droids never made it to any Star Wars media prior to their debut in The Book of Boba Fett is that they were not manufactured by the Trade Federation, which was known to be the best when it comes to droid manufacturing. Instead, they were manufactured by the Colicoid Creation Nest, a manufacturing company operated by the Colicoids of Colla IV.

Although the Colicoids were part of the Separatist faction, they were hardly featured in the Clone Wars. As such, the Scorpenek droids weren’t able to make an appearance in any of the past Star Wars shows, especially during the time when droid warfare was at its peak.

It was only during The Book of Boba Fett that these droids were made canon. However, considering that these droids are probably quite expensive and rare, the Pyke Syndicate was only able to get their hands on two of them.

Why Do Scorpenek Droids Look Like Spiders?

Like the Droidekas, the Scorpenek droids look like four-legged spiders that have upright bodies where their weapons are located. However, because they have multiple legs, they look a lot like spiders. So, why is it that these droids resemble spiders?

Probably the best reason why the Scorpeneks and even the Droidekas are designed to look like spiders is to support their heavy upright frames and to improve their mobility. If you noticed in the Clone Wars, two-legged upright battle droids were never the most mobile or most powerful droids. These hampered their effectiveness in battle.

Now, considering that the Scorpenek droids have more weapons and have better equipment that allows them to become strong enough to annihilate enemy forces quite easily, they need to have multiple legs that are capable of supporting their heavy upright frames. Of course, having multiple legs also allows these droids to move well enough on the field, especially when pursuing enemy forces that are retreating.

What Is The Shield The Scorpenek Droids Have?

Another aspect that makes the Scorpenek so similar to the Droideka is that they also have shields that they can generate through a built-in shield generator. 

This shield is not something that’s entirely new to the Star Wars canon because, way back in the original trilogy, the Death Star had a shield generator that allowed it to generate a shield to protect itself. And in Episode I, the Gungan army used shield generators to generate a protective barrier against the Trade Federation droids.

Basically, there are two kinds of shields in the Star Wars continuity. The first is a deflector shield that was capable of repelling energy weapons. The second is a ray shield that serves as something that’s quite similar to a physical wall because it prevents almost anything from passing through it.

The one that the Scorpenek droid has is a deflector shield that is capable of deflecting different types of energy and kinetic weapons. Droidekas also have a similar shield, and that is why the Jedi are reluctant to face them head-on. Jedi are known to deflect blaster shots with their lightsabers, and the fact that regular blasters or even lightsabers struggle to penetrate Droideka deflector shields make them these droids the perfect weapons against Force users.

Why Can’t The Darksaber Penetrate The Scorpenek’s Shield?

As mentioned, deflector shields are capable of deflecting energy and kinetic weapons. While we have seen lightsabers penetrating the shields of Droidekas, remember that the Scorpenek is a much larger droid. Different types of deflector shields have varying levels of strength. And the bigger the shield generator is, the stronger the shield is.

The Scorpenek, being much larger than the Droideka, most likely possesses a larger shield generator that can deflect even the Darksaber. And considering that the Darksaber is like any other lightsaber in the sense that it is an energy-based weapon, it cannot penetrate the Scorpenek’s shield.

What Is The Best Way To Defeat Skorpenek Droids?

As strong as the Scorpenek’s shield is, it isn’t invincible. A strong enough physical force or even a powerful blaster coming from a tank-like weapon may be able to weaken the shield to a certain degree.

In The Book of Boba Fett, it was clear that the physical strikes coming from Boba Fett’s Rancor were causing damage to the shield. And doing considerable damage to the shield may cause it to weaken so that anything physical can get inside it.

Also, as seen in numerous Star Wars movies and shows, a good way of stopping something that relies on a deflector shield is to destroy the shield generator itself. If someone were to find a way to get inside the shield and attack the Skorpenek’s shield generator, that would prevent the droid from generating a shield. As such, any kind of weapon would be able to stop it.

How Did Mando Get Inside The Shield?

We mentioned that deflector shields are not invincible because they can still fail when they take enough damage. In The Book of Boba Fett, there was a red spot that appeared on the shield when Boba Fett’s Rancor attacked the Skorpenek. 

The proof that a Skorpenek’s shield will eventually weaken if it takes enough damage is the fact that Din Djarin was able to get inside the shield. And once he was inside the shield, he used his Darksaber to damage the Skorpenek considerably.