With “The Bad Batch” a new animation series found its way into the ever expanding “Star Wars” universe on this “May the Fourth”. The story follows a group of clones who, due to their outstanding fighting skills, don’t quite fit in with the rest of the young empire’s co-ordinated clone army. We watched the first three episodes of The Bad Batch and reveal to you without spoilers why you can expect pretty good star warrior entertainment.
Good news for “Clone Wars” fans: The successful animation series officially ended with season seven, but it has received a worthy sequel with The Bad Batch. As usual for a spin-off, the new series is also kept in the popular animation style. You can look forward to new and old faces as well as an intelligent story and the laser-loaded action is not neglected either.
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The birth of the empire from the perspective of clone outsiders
The period between the Star Wars prequel films and “Episode IV: A New Hope” is well known to Star Wars fans as the Age of the Clone Wars. Here the clone army of the corrupted republic met the droid army of the separatists. The conflict culminated in the terrible Order 66, at which Chancellor Palpatine orders his troops to kill all Jedi Knights. Shortly thereafter, the republic became the first galactic empire and Palpatine proclaimed himself its emperor.
The Bad Batch starts at this historic turning point. The special force of Kloneinheit 99 consists of five elite soldiers who have been genetically manipulated and therefore differ from the other clone warriors. When Order 66 is proclaimed, the unit helps a Jedi master and her padawan in a skirmish with droids. While the entire clone army carried out the order blindly, the order had no effect on the five exceptional fighters.
Clones that disobey
The clone unit 99 is a group of clones that have been equipped with special skills and thus clearly differ from the other genetically identical clone soldiers.
Hunter, the leader, is endowed with extremely keen senses and, apart from his nose, seems to have a good nose for dubious situations. Tech has an above-average level of intelligence, can easily find its way around other systems and analyze relationships. Wrecker is the tough bully who never avoids a fight, but always keeps a good heart. Crosshair is not particularly talkative, but he does hit any target from a long distance with his sniper rifle. And Echo is a particularly brave clone warrior who is equipped with all kinds of cybernetic enhancements.
Clone Unit 99: Crosshair, Echo, Wrecker, Hunter and Tech. – Picture: 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
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The outsider: Clone Unit 99
The cloning unit 99 – disparagingly called bad batch, i.e. defective batch – is clearly superior to standardized clones in the fight. However, the improved mental abilities come at the expense of adaptability. Not ideal for an empire that demands unconditional obedience to its atrocities.
The first episodes of The Bad Batch show how these outsiders experience the rise of the empire. Until then, they were tasked with clearing mechanical droids out of the way, but now their targets are innocent civilians as well. For the majority of Clone Unit 99, this is inconsistent with their conscience, but one of them remains loyal to the Imperial authorities.
The group receives unexpected help from a little girl named Omega. She was born on the planet Kamino and is actually the medical assistant of a Kaminoan named Nala Se who is in charge of breeding clones. But the young girl feels much more comfortable with the unusual clones. In doing so, she seems to have some valuable skills herself.
Will the young Omega be part of the group? – Picture: 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
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The Bad Batch: only recommended for Clone Wars fans?
As a Clone Wars fan, you should be familiar with the clone unit 99, because it made its first appearance in the first episodes of the seventh season. If you’ve already enjoyed the wild bunch there, it’s clear that you shouldn’t miss the new spin-off series.
Visually, the series has so far – with the exception of a few too dark scenes in the third episode – designed excellently. The story, which is a lot about obedience and rebellion, is also gripping enough to stick with it. If you’ve always wanted to know how the military structures changed with the beginning of the empire and why the reliable clone warriors were replaced by the not-so-sure-fire stormtroopers, this series is just right for you.
The series is also recommended for non-established Clone Wars viewers. Even if you don’t recognize some of the characters, The Bad Batch is an independent, exciting story that is sometimes quite dark. However, a certain enthusiasm for the Star Wars universe is recommended in order to be able to fully enjoy the new series. In contrast to “The Mandalorian”, whose story largely takes place outside the political turmoil of star wars.
The first episode of The Bad Batch aired May 4th on Disney +. A new episode is added every Friday, with a total of 14 episodes in the first season.
What do you think of the new Star Wars series The Bad Batch? Write us your opinion in the comments!
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