4-LOM

"While most LOM units only needed an old-fashioned reboot when they went bad, 4-LOM took advantage of the glitch and overrode his core programming to become the galaxy's second-most-successful droid bounty hunter. This cold and calculating killer was usually found on missions alongside his organic companion, Zuckuss, a member of the insectoid species 4-LOM was built to resemble."

- R0-GR

4-LOM was an ambitious LOM-series protocol droid who overrode his programming and became a galactic thief and later a bounty hunter. He often worked together with Gand findsman Zuckuss. Following the Battle of Hoth, both 4-LOM and Zuckuss were hired by the Sith Lord known as Darth Vader to capture Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon and hero of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. However, the bounty on the smuggler's head was instead claimed by the infamous Boba Fett.

Biography
"Solo, wait— you'll never get away with this.''" "You sure about that?" "''Affirmative. The probability of you escaping is approximately 11,289-to-one."

- Zuckuss, Han Solo, and 4-LOM

A LOM-series protocol droid manufactured by Industrial Automaton, 4-LOM was assigned to a luxury liner, but logic glitches and personality software corruption allowed 4-LOM to override his programming and become a galactic thief and later bounty hunter. The mechanical often worked together with the tracker Zuckuss, one of the first traditional Gand findsmen to leave his homeworld, the planet Gand, and claimed several high profile bounties for the Hutt Clan.

Capturing Beris Ford
"Beris Ford— A small-time hoodlum with ideas above his station. Still, the reward for his capture will pay for our tractor beam repairs."

- 4-LOM

Zuckuss and 4-LOM captured the small-time criminal Beris Ford, keeping him imprisoned aboard their ship and hoping to use the reward for his capture to pay for tractor beam repairs. Weeks later, the hunters took up a bounty placed by Rekias Nodo on Han Solo, and confronted him at Valtos Space Port. Zuckuss incapacitated the smuggler inside a stun net fired from his snare rifle, and he and 4-LOM loaded Han's cargo into the Mist Hunter, where they imprisoned him along with Ford. Sensing a disturbance in the Force, Zuckuss checked on the stolen cargo only to be attacked by Chewbacca bursting from one of the containers, and was hit with a stun net from his own rifle. Zuckuss was left tied up while the Wookiee rescued Han and Beris, and the scoundrels fled with their cargo back to the Millennium Falcon. However, the hunters pursued, and after a firefight Zuckuss chased the Falcon into space.

Following Solo and Chewbacca to an unidentified planet, Zuckuss again sensed something was wrong, but 4-LOM continued the pursuit through a heavy cloud layer until their ship's systems&mdash;and 4-LOM himself&mdash;suddenly powered down, forcing them to drop out of the sky and crash-land on a beach. Zuckuss was trapped in the wreckage, and called out to Solo for help in freeing his legs, though slapped stuncuffs on Solo when he was in reach. However, the planet's technology-negating effects caused the cuffs to release Solo, who left Zuckuss in his predicament. After Solo and Chewbacca found an energy projector transmitting an immobilizer beam, Zuckuss attacked them with native spears as they climbed the tall mast. Chewbacca dislodged the projection sphere from the top, causing it to crash on the beach below, which caused mechanical drones to erupt from the sand and attack all three interlopers.

The hunt for the Millennium Falcon
"There will be a substantial reward for the one who finds the Millennium Falcon. You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want them alive."

- Darth Vader to 4-LOM and several other bounty hunters

Shortly after the Battle of Hoth, both 4-LOM and Zuckuss assembled, along with fellow bounty hunters Boba Fett, Dengar, Bossk, and IG-88, aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor by Darth Vader, who hired them to locate the Millennium Falcon. However, the bounty was collected by Boba Fett who tracked down the light freighter to Cloud City on Bespin.

Characteristics
"He may look like a nightmarish version of C-3P0, but this nasty fella is actually a LOM-series protocol droid. These units had weird bug-like heads designed to look like the insectoid alien species they served. They also had a pretty nasty flaw in their programming that allowed their personality software to become corrupted."

- R0-GR

A cold, calculating and ambitious mechanical, 4-LOM suffered from logic glitches and personality software corruption that allowed him to escape his original programming.

A LOM-series protocol droid, 4-LOM stood 1.67 meters tall and was covered in battered rusted black droid plating. His head was designed to emulate the insectoid species he was designed to serve, with two large green compound photoreceptors.

Equipment
4-LOM utilized a BlasTech Industries DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle.

Behind the scenes
"The bounty hunter switch is a mistake, albeit an ironic one for anyone who collected action figures once upon a time."

- Jason Fry

4-LOM first appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, where he was portrayed by Chris Parsons, who was also a stand-in for Anthony Daniels and played K-3PO and E-3PO in the same movie. His costume was made from a variety of different parts of protocol droid costumes originally designed for C-3PO that the set designers of The Empire Strikes Back cobbled together.

In 1982, Kenner released action figures of 4-LOM and Zuckuss, but transposed their names.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Force Arena
 * Star Wars: The Original Trilogy – A Graphic Novel
 * Darth Vader 1: Vader
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization
 * Darth Vader 1: Vader
 * Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization