DUM-series pit droid/Legends

DUM-series pit droids were droids manufactured by Serv-O-Droid, Inc. and constructed in large quantities on Cyrillia by the native Cyrillians for use in labor, repair and light construction.

Characteristics


Pit droids stood at a relatively diminutive 1.19 meters tall and came in many different colors. Their most remarkable feature was their immense strength, able to carry objects many times their own size or weight. They could also repair a broken-down podracer at a remarkable pace.

Their immense strength would make a malfunctioning (or unattended) unit extremely hazardous, possibly resulting in significant damage. The worst-case-scenario being a unit with a damaged ON/OFF button. Because of this owners would often keep an ion blaster at hand as a precautionary measure. If a unit was past the brink of repair they would need to be disposed of, this would often result in the disintegration of the particularly unlucky droid.

Pit droids could compress themselves into a compact, disk-shaped package. A tap on their "nose" would signal them to return to their upright position, and vice-versa. The antenna on their disk shaped heads served as a means of communication with other droids.

History
They had seen much use on Tatooine in Watto's Shop and at the Boonta Eve Classic working on podracers, though a handful were also purchased by Aneesa Dym to make repairs to her ship, the Dusty Duck.

During the Boonta Eve Classic of 32 BBY while the racer Ody Mandrell had his pod in a pit-stop, a single DUM-series pit droid was sucked into the engine and thrown out the opposite end of the engine. The droid "survived," (even letting out a cheer of excitement) but Ody's engine did not, costing him the race. Pit droids would also be used to scavenge any reusable rubble from podracers that had blown apart. This action could be quite hazardous, as the droids were likely to be destroyed by functional podracers that were still running the course; the low cost of an individual unit made the loss of a single droid worth the risk.

Behind the scenes
In the game Star Wars: Pit Droids (Lucas Learning Games), the droids have various equipment: ladders, wrenches, cases, gas tanks, or nothing. They also have different colored heads and bodies.

The name of the pit droids' series, "DUM," is almost certainly a pun on the word "dumb", referring to a pit droid's generally low intelligence and bumbling, but none the less comedic, behavior. In Danish and Swedish, dum means stupid.

In LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, DUM-series pit droids are featured as playable characters, although they are incapable of doing anything useful. This is likely because the character was only added for novelty purposes.

According to the DVD commentary in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, a scene that showed a squabble between three pit droids was an homage to The Three Stooges.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Math: Jabba's Game Galaxy
 * Anakin's Pit Droid
 * Catch That Pit Droid!
 * Droids Everywhere!
 * Episode I Adventures 6: The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker
 * Star Wars: Episode I Racer
 * Podracing Tales
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novelization
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Episode I: Anakin Skywalker
 * Episode I: Qui-Gon Jinn
 * Jar Jar's Mistake
 * Bad Business
 * ''I Am a Droid
 * Star Wars: Pit Droids
 * Star Wars: Racer Revenge
 * Star Wars: Republic: Emissaries to Malastare
 * Star Wars: Republic: Twilight
 * Jedi Quest: The Dangerous Games
 * Jedi Quest: The Moment of Truth
 * Boba Fett: Hunted
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Star Wars: Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars Volume 2: Crash Course
 * The Clone Wars: Covetous
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures video game
 * The Last of the Jedi: Master of Deception
 * Star Tours: The Adventures Continue
 * Sand Blasted
 * Thank the Maker
 * Backlash
 * Star Wars Legacy 34: Storms, Part 1
 * Thank the Maker
 * Backlash
 * Star Wars Legacy 34: Storms, Part 1

Non-canonical appearances

 * Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * Skippy the Jedi Droid