Every Star Wars: The Bad Batch Member, Ranked (2024)

In its three seasons, Star Wars: The Bad Batch has rapidly become one of the franchise's hidden gems. It picks up the adventures of Clone Force 99, who were each developed with specific skills in mind during The Clone Wars. Their unique physiology allows them to resist the commands of Order 66, and they flee Palpatine's New Order as fugitives of the Empire.

The series has been widely praised for continuing the spirit of the celebrated Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series. It clarifies the fate of the Clones after the fall of the Jedi, as the new Empire brushes them out of the way in favor of the cheaper and less efficient Stormtroopers. Along the way, the show turns Clone Force 99 into a winning group of heroes living by their wits in one of the darkest periods of galactic history. Here's a rundown of their various members, with a look at what makes each of them so unique.

8 AZI-3 Provides Needed Comic Relief

Although The Bad Batch has its share of jovial moments, it's largely a very serious show, as the team struggles to survive amid the Empire's monstrous betrayal of its former Clone army. AZI-3 originally worked in Tipoca City on Kamino, only to be rescued by The Bad Batch during its destruction in Season 1, Episode 16, "Kamino Lost." He remains with the team throughout the bulk of Season 2, after a brief stint as a waiter in Ciddarin Scaleback's bar that ends with Cid betraying Clone Force 99 to the Empire. He is expected to return sometime in Season 3.

As a medical droid, AZI-3 fulfills a needed purpose with the team, whose rough-and-tumble lifestyle incurs more than its share of injuries. His previous duties on Kamino make him an expert on Clones, which helps a great deal. But his role as the butt of the joke is sometimes even more important. In many ways, he resembles C-3PO, with fussy sensibilities and a pretense to authority he simply doesn't possess. But like C-3PO, his heart remains firmly with his team, and in his own way, he's fully earned his place alongside them.

7 Gonky Is the Team's Forgotten Mascot

Every Star Wars movie or TV series features a lovable droid. Even the pitch-black Andor abides by this rule. The Bad Batch hits on a nostalgic bit of genius with Gonky, a GNK-series droid with a manufacturer's defect that prevents him from fully charging. Nevertheless, he becomes a trusted member of the team and always endeavors to help, even if that just means serving as weights for Wrecker's exercise routine.

The character's real genius lies in his nostalgia factor. A GNK was one of the first droids ever to appear in the franchise (there was one in the Jawas' sandcrawler in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope), and it became an early addition to Kenner's vaunted line of Star Wars action figures labeled "Power Droid" on the packaging. Gonky speaks to every kid who had one, most of them now grown and who may have been waiting to see a droid like him for a long time.

6 Crosshair Is on the Path to Redemption

In many ways, Crosshair is the team's most tragic member, unable to break free of his loyalty to the Empire, and suffering alone for most of the series. He engages in numerous ethically questionable missions before finally having his fill in Season 2, Episode 12, "The Outpost." After being imprisoned and experimented upon, he and Omega conspire to break free in the early episodes of Season 3.

Even when he was with the Bad Batch, Crosshair stood apart from his teammates by matching his status as a sniper and accompanied by a haughty sense of superiority. Whether or not he ultimately rejoins them, he's learned the error of his ways through terrible suffering, helping him to grow and change. Whichever way his end comes, his long-delayed change of heart will likely have drastic repercussions for the galaxy.

5 Echo Finds Healing and Hope with Clone Force 99

The Bad Batch doesn't begin with Echo as a member. His story stretches back to the very beginning of The Clone Wars animated series, and he spends much of the war as a notable but unaltered Clone. The Separatists turned Echo into a cyborg, though he's ultimately freed, which sets up his joining The Bad Batch. He's remained with them since the execution of Order 66.

Unlike Crosshair, whose ordeal is just beginning when The Bad Batch premieres, Echo has already undergone his trial of fire. It's given him wisdom and insight, as well as a profound sense of peace with the other members of Clone Force 99. It lets him steady and calm his teammates when their path isn't always clear.

4 Wrecker Is Just a Big Kid Underneath

On the surface, Wrecker looks like a cliché as the hulking bruiser with a soft heart underneath. As the team's designated "big guy," Wrecker always comes through whether it's firing a massive weapon or effortlessly carrying staggering amounts of weight. As one-man-armies go, he's as effective as any, though his intellect leaves something to be desired.

Beyond the cliché, Wrecker is a surprisingly joyful character. His child-like qualities include an infectious sense of fun by treating every mission like a playground outing, and he even has a capacity for wonder. It also gives him a perennial hopefulness that the rest of the team can lean on in surprising ways. He becomes an endearing every child instead of a dimwitted adult, and keeps spirits high even when the shadows of the Empire loom large.

3 Tech Sacrifices Himself for the Team

Tech's Vulcan-like adherence to dispassionate analysis contrasts with a surprisingly chatty nature, and a willingness to discuss trivial details at length with his team members. His insistence on pragmatism often leaves him mildly annoyed by the rest of the squad, but also capable of accounting for things the rest of the team overlooks. He's slow to anger, and his patience usually pays off in the long run.

Nothing in the first two seasons of The Bad Batch packs quite the emotional punch as Tech's sacrifice at the end of Season 2, Episode 16, "Plan 99." The team's detached intellectual broke every Star Wars fan's heart by enacting the titular plan, which involves a member of squad sacrificing themselves for the rest of the team. It leaves the rest of the squad shattered by the loss, and still picking up the pieces when Season 3 begins.

2 Hunter Is a Level-Headed Leader

As Clone Force 99's CO, Hunter is the show's central protagonist, who leads the team through the aftermath of Order 66 and into the post-Clone Wars galaxy following the events of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. In a show about living templates, Hunter becomes the voice for all of them by expressing their dignity, their righteous outrage, and their right to exist in a galaxy they fought and died for.

Though stoic and somewhat direct, Hunter possesses an unerring moral compass, as well as an instinct for the right move that makes him a capable leader. His ethics come with a price by setting Crosshair at odds with them among other things, but also helps keep the team steady when their path becomes cloudy. In a series that deliberately downplays the Force, he's the voice that separates right from wrong.

1 Omega Is the Heart and Soul of Clone Force 99

Initially presented as the only female Clone created by the Kaminoans, Omega finds her family in Clone Force 99, which forms the crux of the entire series. The Bad Batch fights for her as the Clones' best hope for the future, but she soon proves herself an adept member of the team by playing key roles during missions and rapidly improving in a surprising array of skills. When the Empire imprisons her at the end of Season 2, she quickly escapes -- taking Crosshair with her in the bargain -- through an impressive combination of ingenuity and daring.

The series has bent over backwards to keep her youthful exuberance, but never allows her to descend into the cloying or the cute. Omega is quiet, thoughtful, and mature without being any less a tweener child, and in the process, she helps her "big brothers" in Clone Force 99 become their best selves. At the end of the day, The Bad Batch is her origin story, and though the series is ending with Season 3, Omega may be just getting started.

Season 3 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch streams every Wednesday on Disney+.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch

TV-PG

Action

Adventure

Sci-Fi

Animation

The 'Bad Batch' of elite and experimental clones make their way through an ever-changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars.

Release Date

May 4, 2021

Cast

Dee Bradley Baker , Michelle Ang , Noshir Dalal , Liam O'Brien , Rhea Perlman , Sam Riegel , Bob Bergen , Gwendoline Yeo

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

3

Franchise

Star Wars

Characters By

George Lucas

Creator

Jennifer Corbett, Dave Filoni

Distributor

Disney+

Production Company

Disney+, Lucasfilm Animation, Lucasfilm

Sfx Supervisor

Chia-Hung Chu

Writers

Jennifer Corbett , Dave Filoni , Matt Michnovetz , Tamara Becher , Amanda Rose Munoz , Gursimran Sandhu , Christian Taylor , Damani Johnson

Number of Episodes

32