Sister is one of the most remarkable characters introduced inStar Warscanon, the first transgender clone trooper. There’s a sense in which cloning represents conformity, because all the clones inStar Warsare duplicates created from the template of Jango Fett. For all that’s the case, though,Star Wars: The Bad Batchstarred the mutant clones who comprisedClone Force 99, whileStar Wars: The Clone Warsstressed the individualism of clones likeCut Lawquane.
There’s a sense in whichSister is the ultimate example of nonconformityamong the clone troopers. Introduced in E.K. Johnston’sQueen’s Hopeshe’s officially the first transgender clone trooper. Now,Star Warshas released the first image of Sister in canon, further showing her importance to the franchise’s lore.
Who Was Sister, Star Wars' Transgender Clone?
Sister was a transgender clone trooper who encountered Anakin Skywalker early on during the Clone Wars. He was struck by the clones' decision to acknowledge Sister’s uniqueness, acknowledging her gender identity with the assigned name “Sister.” She served as a memver of the 7th Sky Corps, working with Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi on several missions.
Anakin gave an affirming response to Sister, who wasn’t sure how the Jedi would react to her. “The Jedi are all about transcending things,” Anakin told her wryly. “I don’t think we can complain if you’ve transcended gender.”
Were There Other Transgender Clones As Well?
The interesting question, of course, is whether Sister was the only transgender clone. In theory, the clones were designed to be unique, with their individuality and independence suppressed through inhibitor chips. In practice, the clones strove to rediscover their independence and sought nonconformity. That much was clear even from the fact they chose to refer to one another with self-assigned names, rather than just by their CT numbers.
Anakin encountered Sister early on in the Clone Wars, meaningshe was probably a first generation clone trooper. It’s unknown how many generations of clones there were inStar Warscanon, but Sister sets a pecedent for there to be other transgender clones as well. At the same time, the fact she is singled out by Rex in Marc Sumerak’sThe Secrets of the Clone Trooperssuggests transgender clones weren’t common - and that she was the only one he knew of.
