A massacre occured at the Holowan Laboratories shortly after the Clone Wars. According to legend, the droids were created as part of a secret Imperial project known as the Project Phlutdroid. The first IG-88 assassin droid transferred its consciousness into the other three assassin droids. A set of five identical droids slaughtered their constructors, in part due to their incomplete programming, and escaped their laboratories into the galaxy.
After the massacre, IG-88B's incompletely formed identity led to its obsession with hunting and killing. It played its part by becoming a bounty hunter to draw attention away from IG-88A, who embarked on a plan to overthrow organic life.
The Holowan Laboratories massacre, albeit unidentified, was first mentioned in the current canon in the mobile card game Star Wars: Force Collection, which initially launched in 2013. Although the launch of Force Collection predates the Star Wars canon reset of 2014, Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee confirmed that the game was kept updated to fit with canon. It was first identified as a massacre in the 2018 reference book Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition, which was written by Pablo Hidalgo and David West Reynolds.
The IG-88B card for the Force Collection and the 2016 magazine Star Wars Helmet Collection 2 established that four identical droids, specifically IG-88 assassin droids, were involved in the massacre, while 2018's The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition established that five identical droids were involved.
The Holowan Massacre originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first mentioned in Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, a 1989 supplement written by Michael Stern for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. It first appeared in the 1996 short story "Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88," written by Kevin J. Anderson that was included in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, where it involved four IG-88 assassin droids, IG-88A, IG-88B, IG-88C, IG-88D, and one IG-72.
The Holowan Massacre in the Star Wars Legends continuity
The Holowan Laboratories massacre, albeit unidentified, was first mentioned in the current canon in the mobile card game Star Wars: Force Collection, which initially launched in 2013. Although the launch of Force Collection predates the Star Wars canon reset of 2014, Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee confirmed that the game was kept updated to fit with canon. It was first identified as a massacre in the 2018 reference book Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition, which was written by Pablo Hidalgo and David West Reynolds.
The IG-88B card for the Force Collection and the 2016 magazine Star Wars Helmet Collection 2 established that four identical droids, specifically IG-88 assassin droids, were involved in the massacre, while 2018's The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition established that five identical droids were involved.
The Holowan Massacre originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was first mentioned in Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back, a 1989 supplement written by Michael Stern for West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. It first appeared in the 1996 short story "Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88," written by Kevin J. Anderson that was included in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, where it involved four IG-88 assassin droids, IG-88A, IG-88B, IG-88C, IG-88D, and one IG-72.
- Star Wars: Force Collection
- Star Wars Helmet Collection 2
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition