The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part III)

"The Republic fears the return of an old threat in the moons of Iego!"

- Tagline

The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part III) is an eight-page web comic in The Clone Wars web comic series that takes place between Seasons One and Two of The Clone Wars television series. Posted on StarWars.com on September 12, 2009, it was written by Pablo Hidalgo and illustrated and lettered by Grant Gould. Hunting the Hunters (Part III) shows Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi's return to the planet Iego, after being dispatched there because of the disturbances caused by IG-86 sentinel droid HELIOS-3D's amassing droid army. In the Thicket of Iego space, the Republic forces engage a tier of Vulture droids, and a LaserWeb System is activated. After the defense system is destroyed by Republic clone pilots, Kenobi and Skywalker depart Iego; however, HELIOS-3D survived the battle by transferring his identify into a B1 battle droid.

Plot summary
"Gentlemen, it appears the son of Drol lives."

- Jaybo Hood to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

On the planet Iego, Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker disembark Skywalker's G9 Rigger freighter, the Twilight. Kenobi reveals to Skywalker that while the hunt for bounty hunter Cad Bane has "run cold," Grand Master Yoda dispatched them to Iego to help out a local that had called the Jedi for help. The two Jedi find Jaybo Hood, who tells them that they did not finish their previous task of destroying "Drol," the mythical god of Iego that was discovered to be a LaserWeb Defense Station installed by the Separatists. Skywalker denies Hood's claim, stating that they had destroyed the LaserWeb, but the young boy replies that they had either missed part of the laser grid, or that the Separatists had installed a secret back-up grid.

Reviewing a hologram console, Hood tells them that the grid is within the "Thicket," the debris field surrounding Iego that was named by spacers. Meanwhile, in the Thicket, HELIOS-3D, a IG-86 sentinel droid bounty hunter, has begun to reprogram Vulture droids for his own uses. After the Jedi send a Galactic Republic probe droid to search the orbiting area, the boy then reveals that earlier–launched probe droids stopped transmitting. Kenobi tells Clone Commander CC-2224 to dispatch manned V-19 Torrent starfighters to investigate the area. However, a clone pilot, flying under the call sign of "Torrent Four," reports back to the Jedi; he sees the probe droid traveling fast toward him. The probe droid crashes into Torrent Four's starfighter, killing the clone.

HELIOS-3D's Vulture droids appear and engage the Republic starfighters, and the clones come under attack by the remains of the laser defense systems. Upon witnessing the ongoing events, Hood muses to Skywalker and Kenobi that the "son of Drol" lives. After defeating HELIOS-3D's droid army, CC-2224 tells Kenobi that the control systems have shut down. Hood, Kenobi, and Skywalker then travel through the Thicket inside the Twilight and locate HELIOS-3D's Munificent-class frigate. After boarding the frigate, the group finds the shell of the IG-86 sentinel droid. Hood tells the two Jedi if he can take the droid for refuge, although Skywalker demands that they must take the droid's head to examine it. Believing that their task has been successful, the group departs in the Twilight, unaware that HELIOS-3D had managed to transfer his consciousness to a B1 battle droid floating elsewhere amongst the debris.

Behind the scenes
The Clone Wars: Hunting the Hunters (Part III) is an eight-page web comic and the twenty-fourth issue in The Clone Wars web comic series, which ties into the television series of the same name. Hunting the Hunters (Part III) is the third part in the "Hunting the Hunters" arc, which takes place between the first and second seasons of The Clone Wars television series.

The comics shows Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi returning to Iego, where they meet up with Iego citizen Jaybo Hood. The team foil the plot of IG-68 sentinel droid HELIOS-3D, who was creating a Vulture droid army above the planet. The comic also serves as a prelude to the StarWars.com game, Droids Over Iego, in which the player hunts and destroy HELIOS-3D's droid army. If the player destroys the oncoming battle droid attack waves, the game then pops up a bonus page of Hunting the Hunters (Part III). Hunting the Hunters (Part III) is part of the series Hunting the Hunters, a three-part web comic arc that shows the Republic tracking down the bounty hunters who held Senate members hostage.

The comic was illustrated and lettered by Grant Gould, and written by Pablo Hidalgo. Special thanks were also given to Leland Chee, Sue Rostoni, and Dave Filoni. Hunting the Hunters (Part III) was posted on Star Wars.com on September 12, 2009.