All Terrain Ion Cannon

The All Terrain Ion Cannon (AT-IC) was one of many All Terrain walkers utilized by the Imperial Military. Although ion cannons were rarely used aboard ground vehicles, the Empire converted a small number of its All Terrain Armored Transport fleet into mobile ion cannons for defensive purposes by replacing part of the walker's structure with a massive ion cannon. The resultant product became known as the AT-IC.

Characteristics
The All Terrain Ion Cannon (AT-IC) was an uncommon variant of the standard All Terrain Armored Transport walker. The AT-IC resembled the standard AT-AT design, except half of the AT-IC's structural body space was dedicated to supporting a massive ion cannon. In this role, the AT-IC effectively represented a mobile ion cannon.

History
The AT-IC was one of many All Terrain-series walkers utilized by the Galactic Empire. Ion cannons required a considerable power output, and so they were rarely found aboard small ground vehicles, with some exceptions. During the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic and Commerce Guild both employed vehicles equipped with light ion cannons: the Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery walker and the OG-9 homing spider droid, respectively, as antiaircraft weapons. Years later, the Empire converted a small number of its AT-AT walkers into portable ion cannons, which became known as the All Terrain Ion Cannon. The Empire utilized the AT-IC as mobile defense walkers for strategic Imperial locations.

Behind the scenes
"They were very complimentary. They said that the new characters and vehicles were all very 'Star Wars-esque' and that they really appreciated the fact that we wanted to keep this going, but they just were not ready to pursue that kind of thing."

- Kenner designer Mark Boudreaux reflects upon Lucasfilm's rejection of The Epic Continues The All Terrain Ion Cannon walker was originally one of several vehicles planned for inclusion in Kenner's 1986 The Epic Continues toy line, an initiative to continue the success of the Star Wars franchise toy line following the 1983 theatrical release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. As part of the Kenner design team's creative efforts for The Epic Continues, they developed a number of new vehicle model prototypes through a kitbashing process, which involved taking pieces of existing toy models and combining them to create an entirely new model. For the AT-IC prototype, the Kenner designers took a full-size AT-AT toy model and replaced a large portion of its aft hull section with a rear-mounted ion cannon, with the conceptualized description of the AT-IC being a "heavily armed A.T.A.T used exclusively for mobile defense of strategic Imperial locations." However, Lucasfilm ultimately rejected Kenner's proposal for The Epic Continues, rendering the AT-IC outside the realm of Star Wars canon.

Details of the AT-IC and the background story behind the failed The Epic Continues toy line were first revealed in the magazine article Tales of Phantom Toys from Star Wars Galaxy 2, written by Stephen J. Sansweet and published in late 1995. The AT-IC was first officially entered into Star Wars canon in the 2004 reference book The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology, co-edited by Sansweet, which provided a brief mention of the AT-IC among other ion cannon-equipped ground vehicles. In 2008, the AT-IC was provided an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, co-written by Sansweet, which included the Kenner design team's original description of the AT-IC as a "mobile defense of strategic Imperial locations."

At present, photographs of one of Kenner's original presentation binders for The Epic Continues are hosted on The Star Wars Collectors Archive website, including a picture of the original All Terrain Ion Cannon prototype model. The website notes that the AT-IC prototype's ion cannon was recycled from Kenner's original Death Star playset. It should be noted, however, that no image of the AT-IC has ever been officially included in Star Wars canon, and so this article does not assert any element of the AT-IC prototype picture from the website as canon.

Appearances

 * The Epic Continues