Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars a crack team of clone troopers - but where are Clone Force 99 towards the end of the Dark Times, in Star Wars Rebels and even the original trilogy era? At first glance, Star Wars: The Bad Batch is a sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, starring characters introduced in the seventh season of that animated show and even opening with the traditional Clone Wars logo for a moment.
In reality, the series premiere confirmed Star Wars: The Bad Batch serves as something of a bridge between the events of Clone Wars and those of Star Wars Rebels. The point was made in the very opening scenes, when Lucasfilm Animation briefly showed how Caleb Dune - the Jedi Padawan who would go by the pseudonym Kanan in Rebels - survived Order 66. Soon Clone Force 99 was traveling to Onderon in order to catch up with Saw Gerrera, positioning the Republic ally trained by Anakin Skywalker himself to become the freedom fighter seen in Rebels. But this naturally raises a curious question; just what happened to the Bad Batch?
That, of course, will be the story that drives this animated series for however many seasons it runs. The nascent Rebel Alliance could use a team of mutant clone troopers who possess abilities ranging from super-strength to phenomenal hacking abilities. But there's absolutely no mention of Clone Force 99 in Star Wars Rebels, not even after Ahsoka persuaded their mutual friend Rex to join the Rebel Alliance. The natural assumption, given that these are the Dark Times, is that things won't work out well for Clone Force 99 in the end. They're being hunted by the Galactic Empire, they don't have many friends and allies out there, and the Rebels are yet to coalesce into one group.
This isn't the first time Lucasfilm Animation has told a story that appears to be overshadowed by its stars' imminent demise; when viewers discovered Star Wars Rebels featured Force-sensitives and even a Jedi, they naturally assumed Kanan and Ezra were destined to die before Luke Skywalker joined the Rebellion. As the story moved ever closer to the first Star Wars movie, the tension built, and indeed Lucasfilm did choose to kill Kanan - but Ezra was spared by being transported to the Unknown Regions, and his fate is yet to be revealed. So it's quite possible the fate of the Bad Batch will be just as surprising. It's a big galaxy, and they could end up sidelined in some way.
The really interesting character here is Crosshair, who has betrayed the Bad Batch and joined the Empire. Although Tarkin was generally disinterested in clones, he clearly felt enhanced clones - loyal soldiers who possessed skills beyond those that could be taught - would be useful. Consequently, you'd expect Crosshair to be placed in a position of some prominence in the Imperial military, perhaps even running a team of his own. It's logical to assume Crosshair won't make it to the other side of the Dark Times, simply because Tarkin would surely have sent the sharp-shooter to Lothal.
There's plenty of time for all this to happen, though. The Dark Times are actually little-explored in Star Wars canon, meaning the story of the Bad Batch could literally run for decades before Lucasfilm Animation has to bring their story to a close. Meanwhile, no doubt Star Wars: The Bad Batch will continue to serve as a bridge between the various animated series, revealing just how characters - hero and villain alike - moved into their destined places.
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May 05, 2021 at 05:40AM
