Warning: Spoilers for Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - IG-88 #1!

When it comes to a galaxy far, far away, R2-D2 and C-3PO are two of the most well-known characters in the Star Wars universe, but once the time comes for them to power off and shut down their servos forever, things might get a bit more tragic than even they suspected, especially where Marvel's comics based on the franchise are concerned. Take it from the bounty hunter droid known as IG-88: a legacy is everything unless no one cares enough to remember it.

Admitted during the opening pages of one of the last War of the Bounty Hunter tie-ins dubbed Star Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters - IG-88 #1, by Rodney Barnes and Guiu Vilanova, this issue directly addresses a scary thought for the millions of droids kicking around the Star Wars universe, R2-D2 and C-3PO included. Recounting the events that led to IG-88’s “death” at the hands of the iconic Sith villain known as Darth Vader, this galactic bounty hunter is brought back to life by the machinations of a droid-like tinkerer named RB-919.

Related: C-3PO and R2-D2 Will Reportedly Appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi

Recommissioned and reprogrammed at the request of the relatively new bounty hunter, Deva Lompop, the narration touches on the idea that “everything dies” and how droids like IG-88 aren’t privy to the same fate as other “organic beings” in the galaxy once they're gone. Saying, “…when death arrives, there may be tears from those whom the loss affected. Ceremonies to mark the end of one’s life story,” the captions continue to say that “the enlightened,” i.e. Jedi and Sith, may survive even “beyond the demise of its physical host,” yet when it comes to the most popular droids around — like R2-D2 and Threepio — their fate may mean being forgotten entirely.

IG-88 has no fate

Telling readers and fans that, “These beliefs, whether true or imagined, provide hope that the dead will not be forgotten,” the narration goes on to admit that for droids, “there is no such hope.” Clarifying this upsetting thought by revealing that, “No matter the greatness to which their feats rise, the moment said service is no more, so too is their legacy,” the idea that after everything R2 and Threepio have accomplished over their long years of service could essentially mean nothing simply because they are droids, is a gut punch for fans that have loved this robotic duo since their debut.

Iconic on their own purely based on the idea that they’ve somehow been involved in almost all of the important comings and goings of the galaxy for decades, R2 and Threepio potentially being forgotten once their time is done isn’t exactly the legacy that they — or any droid — deserves. Being robots that have unique personalities, thoughts, and opinions, R2 and Threepio aren’t the only droids in the galaxy that have accomplished the same if not more than their organic brethren, Jedi, Sith or otherwise. Yet when it comes down to it, they’re still mostly considered metal and gears to regular folk, leading to a legacy that should be one of celebration and remembrance (like any other being), but may end up being one that’s regulated to the trash compactor of history instead.

So while fans might like to think that the perfect pair that is R2-D2 and C-3PO might get all the pomp and circumstance once they shut down for good, the idea that droids are treated as just that — robotic servants that carry out their purpose and are forgotten immediately after — is a tragic and upsetting thought, to say the least. Star Wars has given R2-D2 and C-3PO a lot of love in the past, but what ends up happening after their watch is over is something that no droid, living or deceased, can truly be sure of.

Next: Crimson Dawn, Knights of Ren Form An Evil Rebellion Against the Sith