8 More Star Wars Questions That Always Confused You
5. Why Is C-3PO’s Arm Red?
C-3PO has undergone plenty of appearance changes over the years.
In The Phantom Menace, he was basically naked. In Attack of the Clones, he had his head grafted onto the top of a battle droid. Then, in Revenge of the Sith and the original trilogy, we see him sporting his trademark gold-plated look.
Oh, and then there was the time he had a red arm, for some reason.
When Threepio turns up in The Force Awakens, he remarks how Han Solo may not recognise him because of his different-coloured limb. He then realises that he's interrupted a tender moment between Han and Leia, and scurries off before explaining himself.
As is explained in Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1, the protocol droid lost his original arm on a Resistance mission gone wrong. Threepio survived the encounter, thanks to the brave sacrifice of another droid called OMRI.
Our hero took his fallen comrade's arm, which just so happened to be red, as a way of remembering him. That's a bit like wearing your dead friend's scalp on your head as a commemorative hat, but hey, maybe it's different with droids.