C-3PO

C-3PO, a protocol droid, is one of the longest lived characters in the Star Wars pantheon, appearing in all three films of the original trilogy, but also in The Phantom Menace and in Attack of the Clones (made after the first three films, but set before them). In The Phantom Menace, we learn that C-3PO was built by Anakin Skywalker who would go on to become Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker's nemesis in the original series of films. Several comments have been made about this link, some suggesting that Luke's life would have been easier if he had listened to the life story of C-3PO and his companion R2-D2 who seem to have met most of the major historical characters in the story long before Luke did.