Cantebarius H . Broom Professor Cantebarius H . Broom was a Human male who worked as a scientist at the Baobab Museum of Science in the early years of the Galactic Empire . He was part of the researchers who studied the remains of the Great Heep , an enormous self - constructing droid . After discovering that the Heep belonged to a species of advanced machines from another galaxy , Broom developed an irrational fear of droids . From then on , the professor would trap droids in his laboratory and experiment on them before turning them into scrap . Around 15 BBY , the scientist captured C - 3PO , a protocol unit belonging to Jann Tosh , with the intent to deactivate him and use him for experimentation . The professor ' s plans , however , were foiled when the droid ' s master and the astromech R2 - D2 intervened . Biography . Cantebarius H . Broom was a male of the Human species who lived during the Dark Times that followed the founding of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY . He worked as a scientist , holding the title of professor , and he officiated at the Baobab Museum of Science , an institution established by the scholar Ebenn Q3 Baobab . Originally , Broom was among the researchers who studied the remains of the Great Heep , a huge droid who had once manned a processing plant on the agriworld of Biitu , in the Outer Rim Territories . The researchers came to the conclusion that the Heep belonged to the Abominor , an extra - galactic species of self - constructing machines , which had forced thousands of organic sentients into slavery . Worse still , it seemed that perhaps as many as seventeen other such abominations had already infiltrated the galaxy . Following that sensational revelation , Professor Broom developed a phobia of all mechanical life forms , which prompted him to destroy any droid that would fall into his hands . In order to accomplish his evil purposes , Broom established his own laboratory , hidden aboard a space station . In his lair , Professor Broom would capture droids who ventured on the station , experimenting on them before breaking them down to spare parts . Under the reign of Galactic Emperor Palpatine , droids were not considered citizens , despite their artificial sentience , rendering droid torture legal . Around 15 BBY , the professor found a new victim in the protocol unit C - 3PO , who belonged to a miner named Jann Tosh . Broom threatened to deactivate C - 3PO by removal of his memory diskette . Tosh , however , discovered the trapdoor to Broom ' s secret laboratory thanks to his other droid , the astromech R2 - D2 . The miner ' s timely arrival distracted the professor ' s attention . While aiming a blaster pistol at Tosh , Broom forgot to look over his shoulders . The scientist was knocked down unconscious by the protocol droid , who hit him with a piece of metal . Personality and traits . Professor Broom was a fair - skinned , portly man with black eyes and a crescent - shaped mustache . In the early days of the Empire , he was mostly bald , sporting a horseshoe - shaped ring of white hair around the back of the head . During his encounter with C - 3PO and R2 - D2 , he wore a scientist ' s white coat with pockets , green pants and a pair of red shoes without laces . He also kept a holdout blaster pistol for emergency cases . Because of his discoveries pertaining to the Great Heep and its fellow Abominor , Broom had developed an intense and irrational hatred of droids , which he would vent by committing acts of wanton violence against them . A high - sounding yet villainous mind , the Professor gloated over his own cruelty and cunning , bursting out laughing in mid - sentence . Behind the scenes . Broom was featured in " Troublesome Outing " , a story that was published in 1986 under the " MyComyc " label . In the decades that followed their initial publication , the " MyComyc " strips were mostly forgotten , and were only rediscovered in 2013 . Randy Stradley , Vice President of Publishing for Dark Horse Comics , was interested in including the " Mycomyc " strips in a future Star Wars Omnibus publication , but Lucasfilm Ltd . found no formal proof that those titles were actually licensed , despite the presence of appropriate copyright information . Because of that uncertainty over licensing , " Troublesome Outing " and the characters that appeared in it were considered of ambiguous canon icity for a time . However , Broom ' s inclusion in Part 2 of " The Droids Re - Animated " , an ongoing series of reference articles written by Peña and Handley for the StarWars . com blogs , brought him into canon . Additional details about the professor ' s backstory , including his first name , were first revealed in that article . The " Star Wars " author Abel G . Peña , who translated the story in for the first time in 2013 , stated that he enjoyed Professor Broom ' s portrayal as a cartoonish , over - the - top villain . While translating the story , Peña wondered whether the writer of " Troublesome Outing " knew the meaning of the word " Broom " in English , judging that it did not sound serious enough for an antagonist . He also noted that he may have called the character " Professor " Escoba " , " translating his surname back into Spanish . However , Peña eventually chose to leave Broom ' s surname intact because of its " idiosyncratic charm . "