Summary

• Podracers had the potential to be a devastating non-lethal weapon in the Clone Wars, which could have significantly lowered casualties for both the Jedi and the Clones.
• The Emperor likely kept the use of podracers as weapons a secret from the Jedi, as it would have disrupted his plan to rule the galaxy and destroy the Jedi order.
• While podracers as weapons are now ineffective since the end of droid production, it is a thought-provoking idea that if the Jedi had recognized their power earlier, the events of the original and sequel trilogy might have been prevented.

Warning: Contains spoilers for Star Wars: Dark Droids - D-Squad #2!just to introduce Anakin to the story. However, a new Star Wars story has revealed that the podracers had frightening potential.

In Star Wars: Dark Droids - D-Squad #2 by Marc Guggenheim and Salva Espín, R2-D2 teams up with a killer protocol droid called Triple Zero to save his Scourge-corrupted friend Beetee-One in exchange for assisting R2 with getting to C-3PO. In order to do this, R2 and Triple Zero decide that electrocution is the only way to stop Beetee. R2 leads the Scourged droid to their trap, where Triple Zero catches him off-guard with a working podracer.

The power of the plasma energy binders renders Beetee-One completely immobilized upon . While it doesn't necessarily kill him, it still knocks him out for quite a while, which makes one wonder why this wasn't used against battle droids before the rise of the Empire.

Podracers Had the Potential to Be a Devastating Non-Lethal Weapon

Given the Clone Wars were fought against the Separatists' battle droids, this means that militarized use of podracers would have been extremely effective. The plasma energy binders, while non-lethal, could have easily laid waste to a battlefield to lower the numbers both Jedi and the Clones had to fight. What's even better is that they would be nearly impossible to counter since they move so fast. Droids would have no time to move out of the way with the possible exception of droidekas, which could roll into balls for quicker ground coverage. Despite that, though, it would still render the battle lost for the Separatists since their troops would have been mowed down with no hope of recovering anytime soon.

The Emperor Likely Kept This Weapon a Secret from the Jedi

Knowing what readers know now, the question on every Star Wars fan's mind is probably, "Why weren't podracers deployed to help the Clones?" The answer probably comes from a simple source: the Emperor. When Chancellor Palpatine was in charge of the Senate, the Jedi looked to him as a guide for maintaining order across the galaxy. They saw his diplomacy as a key way to preserve peace when he was actually using it against them to destroy the Jedi from the inside. As such, anything regarding the Clone Wars likely went through him. It's entirely possible that he foresaw how effective podracers would be against the battle droids, so he kept it from the Jedi and maintained the narrative that podracers were only used for dangerous racing entertainment. If word got out that these could be deployed against the droids, it would have thrown his entire plan to rule the galaxy into disarray.

Since the Emperor put an end to battle droid production following the Clone Wars, the use of podracers in battle are ultimately ineffective now. Still, it's a fascinating observation that shows if the Jedi had picked up on just how powerful podracers were against the Separatists' battle droids during the Clone Wars, this secret weapon could have stopped the events of Star Wars' original and sequel trilogy from ever happening.

Star Wars: Dark Droids - D-Squad #2 is available now from Marvel Comics!