Here's everything you need to know about the heroes of Star Wars: The Bad Batch - if you haven't watched (or have forgotten) Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Lucasfilm and Marvel are the stars of the Disney+ streaming service; Disney+ launched with The Mandalorian, and - after initial disruption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic - things are now moving to a time when the typical week involves the release of at least one MCU or Star Wars TV show.
Star Wars has a proud history of animated tie-in TV shows, with George Lucas himself working with Dave Filoni on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. That series was revived for a final season for Disney+, which introduced a whole new group of Clone Troopers to the galaxy - Clone Force 99, aka the Bad Batch. To viewers' delight, Lucasfilm wasted little time in confirming the Bad Batch would return in their own animated series, which will begin on May 4, 2021.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is a spiritual sequel to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which means it's primarily aimed at existing audiences. At the same time, though, it should be extremely accessible for new viewers. Here's everything you should need to know about the Bad Batch before tuning in to watch them take the galaxy by storm.
Clone Force 99 Team Explained
The story of the Bad Batch technically runs back to the immediate aftermath of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, in which Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas - a Force-sensitive gifted with the ability to peer into the future - began to see visions of a coming galactic war. He argued the Jedi needed an army to fight in this conflict, but was overruled by the Jedi Council. Frustrated, Sifo-Dyas visited the cloners of Kamino, and commissioned them to create the army of clones he believed would be essential to fighting against the coming darkness. Unfortunately, Palpatine learned of this plan and corrupted it, with Sifo-Dyas killed and Palpatine's new apprentice Count Dooku taking charge of the project, claiming to still be working for the Jedi.
The Kaminoans are some of the galaxy's best cloners, and by the time of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones they had created a massive Clone Army for the Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi stumbled upon the project at just the right time, and the clones became the so-called Grand Army of the Republic, allowing the Republic to fight against the militant Separatist movement. The Republic commissioned the Kaminoans to continue creating more batches of clones to participate in the conflict.
As good as the Kaminoans may be, though, sometimes cloning creates mutations. The Kaminoans traditionally deemed such mutant clones unusable, but one - Clone Trooper 99 - proved them wrong. Subsequently, they began to keep an eye out for what they deemed "desirable mutations," mutant clones who possessed abilities beyond those of other Clone Troopers. A group of these banded together as Clone Force 99, named in honor of the Clone Trooper whose heroism had proved mutants could still be useful, and they informally call themselves the Bad Batch. They are:
- Hunter, the Bad Batch's leader, who possesses heightened senses
- Wrecker, a physical powerhouse with superhuman strength
- Crosshair, a phenomenal marksman
- Tech, a genius with an instinctive grasp of technology
Bad Batch's Story In Clone Wars
Viewers first encountered the Bad Batch in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7, when they were introduced as an elite team of clones who worked on some of the most dangerous missions. They were brought in to infiltrate a key Separatist facility on the planet Anaxes, and discovered the Techno-Union had secretly captured a Clone Trooper strategist - CT-1409, known as Echo - and were forcing him to give tactical advice to repel Republic strategies. The Bad Batch worked with Anakin Skywalker to rescue Echo, impressing the Jedi General and his agent Commander Rex.
Although the Bad Batch succeeded in rescuing Echo, the experience he had suffered at the hands of the Techno-Union had transformed him - physically as well as psychologically, for he was now a cyborg. Echo felt he no longer fitted in alongside regular Clone Troopers, and instead he was offered the chance to join the Bad Batch. His strategic skills and cybernetically-enhanced abilities made him a natural fit for the group.
Bad Batch Series In The Star Wars Timeline
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is confirmed to be set shortly after the events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, a period known as the Dark Times. This was a time in which the Republic was transitioning into the Empire, with Palpatine establishing power bases across the galaxy and ensuring the most corrupt, lethal figures rose to positions of prominence. Although rebel movements naturally kicked off on many worlds, they were isolated and disorganized, and most were swiftly overwhelmed by the might of the Empire; others were brutal and immoral, with Saw Gerrera swiftly coming to lead a group of extremists called the Partians who cared nothing for collateral damage in their war against the Empire.
More strategic Rebels, such as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, bided their time in the shadows. Organa - who has been shown to have played a key role in the nascent Rebel Alliance - was particularly reluctant to act straight away, simply because he knew the only hope against Palpatine and Darth Vader lay in the children of Anakin Skywalker, who had to be kept safe in order to grow up. Given this context, it's easy to see why this era is referred to as the "Dark Times." This was a period without hope, when the dark side of the Force dominated the galaxy.
The Empire decommissioned the Clone Army, for unknown reasons, and they may have been particularly reluctant to work with the Bad Batch; trailers have suggested they were able to resist Order 66, the command to kill the Jedi. Cut off from the army they traditionally identified with, the Bad Batch will be forced to reinvent themselves in this dark new context, and in so doing introduce viewers to a whole new part of Star Wars history.