Star Wars: The Bad BatchintroducedStar Warsaudiences to the idea of defective clones and how they truly differed from regulation clones. WhileClone Force 99was initially introduced inStar Wars: The Clone Warsseason 7, audiences got to know much more about them, their dynamics, and their special abilities better inThe Bad Batch. The show has largely been regarded as the current conclusion of clone trooper stories inStar Wars, as no otherupcomingStar Warstitleseems to include any clones.
ThroughoutThe Bad Batch’s three seasons, audiences saw what family really meant to clones who were designed to just be carbon copies of one another. Clone Force 99’s resolve to stay together and rescue one another from the Empire when things got dangerous made for amazing television, but also one of the most moving stories inStar Wars. This, coupled with the happy ending the characters received inThe Bad Batchseries finale, truly makes the show stand alone in theStar Warsfranchise.
One of the things that was somewhat forgotten throughoutThe Bad Batch’s three seasons is that Clone Force 99 were essentially defective clones, but had desirable attributes for soldiers. Audiences saw another defective clone in 99, who lived on Kamino and worked as a maintenance, or janitor, clone. However, 99 would prove to be a hero himself when the Separatists attacked the clones' home world ofKamino. With audiences only knowing of 99, Hunter, Tech, Crosshair, Wrecker, and Omega as defective clones, it raises the questionwhether there are others out there, and how many.
Nala Se Hinted At Having More Enhanced Clones
WhenGeneral Tarkinvisits Kamino to see if the production of the clone army will continue under the new regime,he’s clearly impressed with the skills and teamwork of Clone Force 99, noting that they are certainly a formidable force.It’s clear that Nala Se is proud of her creations and thinks that the display of the Bad Batch’s skills will be enough to keep producing clones. Tarkin asks Nala Se how many more defective clones like Clone Force 99 she has, and she states,“Five are all that remain.”
Star Wars: The Bad Batch Voice Cast - What The Actors Look Like In Real Life
Star Wars: The Bad Batch has quite an interesting cast of actors that features multiple Star Wars veterans, as well as a few newcomers.
This mention of a fifth clone is how the Batch deduces that Omega is one of them, as Echo is not technically a defective clone; he was experimented on and made into a cyborg - which enhanced his abilities in a unique way. However, because of these changes, Nala Se could consider Echo defective, even if it wasn’t how he originated. Either way,it’s clear from Nala Se’s statement that Clone Force 99 wasn’t the only group of enhanced and defective clones that the Kaminoans createdfor the Republic. However, it is still a mystery about what happened to them.
While audiences have seen other enhanced clones in the CX clone assassins inThe Bad Batchseasons 2 and 3, they weren’t created that way. It also poses the question that if Omega remembered seeing Clone Force 99 growing in test tubes, she may also remember other, later batches of enhanced clones. It would also be easy to create female clones using Omega’s DNA, especially since she is an unaltered clone of Jango Fett.
Fans Have Already Thought About This
While Clone Force 99 is commonly known as the Bad Batch, it’s possible that they were simply the first of the bad batches - or, alternatively, they were the only batch of enhanced and/or defective clones that survived long enough to the Clone Wars. With the success that Clone Force 99 had in the field, it’s hard to imagine thatNala Se and the Kaminoansweren’t thinking of ways to reproduce these results. It’s possible that other batches of clones were created and audiences have just never seen them.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch’s Full Timeline Explained
Star Wars: The Bad Batch takes place during a critical point of the Star Wars timeline, with each season providing new insights on a famous era.
This idea has been explored at great length in different fan endeavors, butThe_Absent_Minded_One’s fanfiction “Magnetic Pull” on Archive of Our Own might just do the best job of imagining and explaining it. While “Magnetic Pull” takes place after the events ofThe Bad Batchseason 2 finale, it reviews events of the past, including a history that saw both Tech and Crosshair once belonging to batches other than Hunter and Wrecker’s. With their sequential CT numbers in canon, this is unlikely to be the case, but it still makes a good point about other batches like theirs existing.
How Many Other Enhanced Clones Were There?
Could Audiences Have Already Met Them?
It’s not too far of a stretch that fan theories about other enhanced batches of clones are true. In fact, inThe Bad Batch, audiences never learned howDr. Emerie Karr came to be. It’s known that she is a clone, but other than Omega, she’s the only known female clone.It’s possible that one of Nala Se’s experiments included creating a batch of highly intelligent doctor clones, and Emerie was the only one to survivelong enough to be indoctrinated into the Republic and later the Empire’s hierarchy.
This could open the door not only to learn more about Emerie’s background and life while on Kamino, but also to introduce other enhanced clone units, such as the one she originated from.
It’s been rumored thatStar Warswill pursue another animated show centered around Captain Rex’s clone rebellion that was teased throughoutThe Bad Batchseason 3. It stands to reason that if Lucasfilm goes through with this idea, characters like Echo and Emerie will be among the clones heavily featured. This could open the door not only to learn more about Emerie’s background and life while on Kamino, but also to introduce other enhanced clone units, such as the one she originated from.
Lucasfilm has not confirmed that they are pursuing anotherStar Wars: The Clone Warsanimated spin-off.
If Clone Force 99 was not affected byOrder 66because of their defects, it stands to reason that other enhanced clone batches also wouldn’t have taken part in the Jedi massacre. If that’s the case, these clones may be on the run from the Empire like how Clone Force 99 was inThe Bad Batchseason 1. It would be interesting to see other enhanced clones interact with clones like Echo, Rex, and Emerie. No matter what the future holds,The Bad Batchwill forever be special because it highlights the struggles of clones following the rise of the Empire.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Cast
Star Wars: The Bad Batch is an action-adventure animated series set after the events of The Clone Wars, following Clone Force 99 (a.k.a. the Bad Batch.) Finding themselves immune to the brainwashing effects of Order 66, the Bad Batch become mercenaries for hire while outrunning the empire, now seeing them as fugitives of the law.
