Riot Control Walker

For other uses, see riot.

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"This is so cool. I'm trampling these guys!"

―A stormtrooper piloting a Riot Control Walker against rebels^[5]

The Galactic Empire used the single-seated Riot Control Walker against rebel troopers during the Galactic Civil War. The small walker was piloted by a stormtrooper and was armed with two laser cannons that could strike targets above and below. Used in conjunction with death troopers, the Jedha walker ran across the sands of the worlds Jedha and Scarif. It was also present at an Imperial walker factory on the planet Sayho.

Characteristics

"Huh."

―A stormtrooper, observing another trooper mounting a Riot Control Walker^[6]

The Riot Control Walker,^[1] also known as the Jedha walker,^[2] was a modified version of the All Terrain Scout Transport, which was nicknamed the "chicken walker."^[1] It seated a single stormtrooper of the Galactic Empire who operated the vehicle from atop its body. The walker was armed with a pair of forward-facing^[2] laser cannons^[3] that made "PIF-PAF!" sounds when firing its red bolts,^[5] with one installed at each side of the ground vehicle. From the walker's seat, the pilot was protected by a small gray windscreen that functioned as a blast shield^[2] and could manipulate each cannon individually, rotating the ranged weapon to point downwards and upwards to strike both airborne and ground targets.^[1]

With its open cockpit, small size, and two legs^[2] that could run on its two clawed feet on sandy terrain,^[6] the walker resembled the Clone Wars–era All Terrain Reconnaissance Transport, and its front had an engine intake grille while the back had space for the trooper to stow their blaster.^[2] The walker's legs made "TUUUP! TUUUP!" sounds.^[5]

Role

"Ahh!"

―A rebel, defeated by the walker^[6]

Ostensibly used for riot control,^[1] the walker could prove an efficient weapon against multiple armed opponents in battle.^[7]

History

Jedha and Scarif

"Argh!"

―A stormtrooper pilot, whose walker blew up^[7]

The walker stops a speeder, whose rider has been flung into the air.

The Riot Control Walker was deployed alongside death troopers and stormtroopers in a ruined settlement^[3] on Jedha, a moon that the Empire occupied by 1 BBY.^[8] The Imperials fought four rebel troopers, including one riding a speeder bike and another behind a laser cannon in a defensive trench.^[9]

The walker was also used on^[6] the Imperial planet^[2] Scarif, the site of a pivotal Galactic Civil War battle against the Rebellion later in the same year,^[8] against four rebel troopers who joined the squad Rogue One,^[10] with a stormtrooper showing off the vehicle's weaponry. The blaster shots fell short of the rebels on a beach, prompting them to laugh and a death trooper to climb onto the walker and demand the stormtrooper to jump off; the new pilot then defeated three of the rebels while a fourth rushed toward the Imperials on their speeder.^[6]

However, the walker's leg stomped on the front of the bike, throwing the rebel into the sky.^[6] In another encounter, a stormtrooper-piloted walker ran toward three rebels and their bike to chase them away from a landing pad that was defended by Imperials, but the vehicle was destroyed by a fourth rebel's laser cannon.^[7]

Factory fever

"There's no way we can complete the mission now. Not with that walker hot on our heels."
"You've got to be kidding! During the Clone Wars, a major Separatist factory was blown up. We'll do what we came here to do."

―Han Solo and Rex, as they face a Riot Control Walker^[5]

A Riot Control Walker was also present at an Imperial walker factory on the planet Sayho when the facility was infiltrated by the rebels Rex and Han Solo. Sent by the rebel leader Princess Leia from the rebel flagship Home One, they aimed to blow up the factory but were discovered by stormtroopers. Several troopers initially exchanged blasterfire with the infiltrators who were sheltered behind some walker parts, but the troopers suddenly stopped firing as one of them brought the Riot Control Walker to the scene. That trooper expressed glee at piloting the machine, exclaiming that they would trample the pair of rebels as Rex and Solo realized their predicament. The pair jumped away from their spot just as the Riot Control Walker fired at them, which caused a blast that knocked down a nearby trooper.^[5]

Rex (center) battles a Riot Control Walker with his blaster-deflecting shield while Han Solo (left) takes cover.

Although Solo was pessimistic of the odds of successfully destroying the factory, Rex insisted that they would complete their mission, just as his Republican 501st Legion had done against a Separatist factory during the Clone Wars. Despite Solo's skepticism, Rex built a shield out of parts for an All Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) walker that deflected blaster bolts just before they were found by the Riot Control Walker. Rex braced his shield against the walker's laser cannon fire while Solo hid in a nearby corner, and the Clone War veteran successfully angled his shield so that a deflected bolt struck the trooper off of the walker.^[5]

Rex then hopped onto the walker, hanging his shield on its back and obliging with Solo's request to shoot down a medium blaster cannon in the factory production line—Solo directly used the cannon against a stormtrooper nearby while Rex used the walker's cannons against another trooper, scaring off other troopers. Rex then dismounted the walker to tell Solo that they had forgotten to bring explosives to destroy the factory, but Solo improvised a sabotage of its AT-AT production line: the rebels successfully fooled the AT-AT pilots stationed there with AT-ATs that broke apart upon first use and left Sayho with their U-wing.^[5]

Behind the scenes

"A modified AT-ST aka chicken walker aka… wait, does this galaxy even have chickens?"

―LEGO Star Wars Battles's description of the walker^[1]

The walker was made for the Imperial Trooper Battle Pack.

The Riot Control Walker debuted in a video uploaded by LEGO to YouTube on January 3, 2017, to promote its toy set featuring an "Imperial walker" released on February 27 that year.^[6] The vehicle was given its full name in Playdemic's 2021 non-canon mobile game LEGO Star Wars Battles.^[1]

Serving as merchandise for the 2016 anthology film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,^[11] the set's package cover depicts the walker being piloted by a stormtrooper alongside a stormtrooper and a pair of death troopers, engaging in battle facing the left of the scene on a sandy, ruined settlement. LEGO recommends combining the product with another battlepack^[3] that has a connecting package cover, featuring four rebels firing toward the right of the scene.^[9] The vehicle was identified as a "Jedha walker" by the non-canon reference book Ultimate LEGO Star Wars, published in October 2017, confirming the battle's location.^[2]

The walker was featured in the comic "Escape from the Imperial Factory" in the 59th issue of the LEGO Star Wars magazine, written by Martin Fisher, illustrated by Bob Molesworth, and published by Blue Ocean Entertainment^[5] on April 18, 2020,^[12] where the walker is shown with a light blue^[5] rather than gray windscreen as included in the actual LEGO set.^[3] In the 2021 game LEGO Star Wars Battles, the Riot Control Walker is a dark side unit that can be unlocked in battles on Scarif. The game recommends using the unit against Rebel Commandos and turbolaser emplacements and alongside B1-series battle droids, B2-series super battle droids, and Tusken Raiders. The game also warns that the walker is weak against flocks of porgs and the Jedi Luke Skywalker.^[1]