Star Wars The Clone Wars Bad Batch Explained

Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Bad Batch Explained

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 premiere introduces audiences to the Bad Batch, a squad of clone troopers unlike any we’ve seen before.

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Star Wars The Clone Wars Bad Batch Explained

Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 premiere introduces audiences to the Bad Batch, a squad of clone troopers unlike any we’ve seen before. Airing on Disney+, Clone Wars season 7 is expected to be the final installment of the beloved animated series, delivering the conclusion fans were initially denied upon The Clone Wars’ cancellation after Disney acquired Lucasfilm.

Set between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars largely focuses on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and the latter’s apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, as they and the Jedi help the Republic in their fight against the Separatists. The show also greatly develops the Republic’s Clone Army and its troopers, giving the clones names and personalities that help to establish them as real characters who viewers come to care for over the course of the show. Furthermore, Clone Wars has been able to expand on elements from the prequel trilogy and even set up character developments for the original trilogy.

But what makes the Clone Wars series so interesting is how it humanizes the clones themselves, and that’s very much evident in the latest episode. In The Clone Wars season 7 premiere, “The Bad Batch”, the clones are again in the spotlight with an episode that sees Commander Cody and Captain Rex working alongside Clone Force 99 – aka the Bad Batch. But just who are these mysterious clone troopers and how are they different from the most other clone troopers?

Cloning Can Produce Mutations

Star Wars The Clone Wars Bad Batch Explained

Using Jango Fett as their clone template, the Kaminoans created thousands of clone soldiers for the Republic Army. However, while the clones are genetically based on Jango, they are not entirely identical to him. During the cloning process, the Kaminoans modified Jango’s genetic code in order to ensure their clones are more docile and easier to control than the willful bounty hunter. They also altered them to accelerate the aging process, creating clones who reach maturity in half the time of a normal human. (Otherwise, as the Kaminoans noted, it would take a lifetime to produce the first batch of clone troopers for the Republic.) The sole exception to this is Boba Fett, who Jango asked to be left unmodified and therefore is a pure genetic copy of Jango, whom Jango raised as his son for a short while, until his death in Attack of the Clones.

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Yet, while the Kaminoans are master cloners, there are some variables that even they cannot control, and occasionally the clones they produce are defective. Mutations are uncommon, but they can still happen. In The Clone Wars season 3 episode, “Clone Cadets”, we’re introduced to just such a clone, 99 – a malformed clone who wasn’t suitable to be soldier due to his genetic and physical defects and was instead repurposed for maintenance work on Kamino.

Some Mutations Are Desirable – Like The Bad Batch’s

Star Wars The Clone Wars Bad Batch Explained

Not all mutations, though, are as debilitating as 99’s. In some cases, the mutations that occur can actually make the clones better soldiers. Clone Force 99, aka the Bad Batch, is a squad comprised of clones who have some of these desirable mutations. Their mutations have also altered their appearance and voice, making them distinct from each other and even more so from their fellow clones. They even see themselves as superior in some ways. Considering that they have special abilities, it makes sense that they view themselves differently when they are, quite literally, different from the other clones.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Bad Batch is made up of four clone commandos (who were first revealed at Star Wars Celebration in 2015 when Lucasfilm released the Bad Batch story reel) – Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Tech – and each have a unique mutation that gives them special skills or abilities. Hunter is the Bad Batch’s leader and has heightened senses; Wrecker has super strength; Crosshair is an impeccable marksman, able to easily hit targets from 10 km away; and Tech has an incredible grasp of technology, engineering, language and more. Together, their abilities allow them to accomplish tasks no other clones could, but it’s also earned them a reputation for being unpredictable in battle.

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The Significance Of The Name Clone Force 99 In Star Wars

Though commonly known as the Bad Batch, the squad’s actual codename is Clone Force 99. It’s a name that’s derived from another mutated clone, the aforementioned 99 who wasn’t deemed fit to be a soldier and served as janitor instead on Kamino. However, the squad takes its name from 99 not simply because he was also a mutated clone – they do so to honor his courageous spirit, since he, too, wanted to fight alongside his clone brothers and finally got a chance to do that at a later point.

First introduced in that Clone Wars season 3 episode, 99 is fundamental in helping Domino Squad (Hevy, Echo, Fives, Droidbait, and Cutuop) pass their Citadel Challenge test and graduate into fully-fledged troopers. Specifically, 99 stops their leader, Hevy from going AWOL, convincing him to stay and work as a team with the rest of Domino Squad. In recognition, Hevy gifts 99 his medal as thanks for helping him become both a better trooper and brother to his fellow clones.

In The Clone Wars season 2 episode, “ARC Troopers”, 99 also takes part in the defending of Kamino from a Separatist invasion. He assists both Fives and Echo as they lead a team of clone cadets, helping them to defeat General Greivous’ forces. Sadly, 99 loses his life during the battle when he’s shot while retrieving more ammunition, but he leaves a lasting impression on his fellow clones. 99 may not have been considered fit to be a clone trooper by the Kaminoans, but he dies a soldier’s death and his sacrifice is still honored by his brothers. Furthermore, Clone Force 99’s legacy lived on well into the reign of the Empire, as Task Force 99 was a designation still in use by an elite squad of stormtroopers.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/star-wars-clone-wars-bad-batch-troopers-99-explained/

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