One new Star Wars retcon from the aftermath of the Clone Wars brings back an old concept from Star Wars Legends, but gives it a twist that has the same devastating effect on the clone troopers. Perhaps one of the best Star Wars retcons to date concerned the clone troopers’ inhibitor chips in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where it was revealed that the clones carried out Order 66 and swore loyalty to the new Galactic Empire because they couldn’t control their own actions. This has made the event a true tragedy, and Star Wars has only intensified it.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch covers the earliest days of the Empire from the perspective of clone troopers, providing an intimate look at what became of these troopers after Order 66 was enacted. Over time, the chips in the clone troopers’ heads wore off, allowing many of them to rethink and, in some cases, rebuke their loyalty to the Empire. This, as well as the expensive cost of the Kaminoans’ cloning operation, motivated the Empire to exchange the clone troopers for enlisted stormtroopers. What the Empire did next with the clone troopers became one of the galaxy’s biggest tragedies.
The Empire Purposefully Spread Misinformation About The Clones
They Wanted The Galaxy To See Clones As “Military Equipment”
The Empire couldn’t, or simply refused to, let the clone troopers go and assimilate into the galaxy’s society without “justifying” their reason for phasing out the clones in the first place. In Marc Sumerak’s Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers, Captain Rex explains how the Empire covered for this wide-scale military replacement. “Thanks to years of misinformation promoted by the Empire,” Rex writes, “you’re hardly the only person who feels that [clones are something less than human].“ The Empire not only forced out clone troopers, but also spread misinformation to keep the galaxy from sympathizing with them.
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Considering all the Empire’s atrocities, this is hardly a shock, but it’s still devastating to hear – especially the way Rex describes it. He insists the Empire “viewed us as nothing more than military equipment,” something that’s unfortunately seen quite often in The Bad Batch. One Imperial official, Lieutenant Nolan, even told the clone Crosshair to his face that he doesn’t care for “used equipment” as a way of justifying his distaste for clones. Because the Empire viewed clones as purely a military resource, they found no issue with discarding them, and they wanted the galaxy to feel that way, too.
This Smear Campaign Began With The Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill
Palpatine Manipulated The Galaxy Into Fearing The Clones
The start of this massive smear campaign of the clones in Star Wars canon was the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, as seen in The Bad Batch season 2. This bill intended to officially phase out all clone troopers in favor of recruiting stormtroopers, which would leave thousands upon thousands of clones completely displaced with absolutely no protection. Though Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, Rex, and Clone Force 99 tried to prevent this bill from being passed, their plan backfired and gave Palpatine an opportunity to begin the purposeful spread of misinformation.
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When Senator Chuchi provided the Imperial Senate with video evidence of the bill’s creator, Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart, ordering and carrying out the destruction of Kamino, she and her allies hoped it would lead to the rejection of this bill altogether. Instead, Palpatine rose into the chamber and denounced not only Rampart’s actions, but also those of the clones, insisting that clones were too blindly allegiant to refuse the admiral’s orders – and were thus too dangerous to be kept around as military enforcement. This lie not only led to the bill passing, but also to further complications for the clones.
This would begin the massive smear campaign of the clones on all levels, after the execution of Order 66 and the swift takeover of the Empire had already damaged their reputation in a way none of them could control. Years later, as seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi TV show, clone veterans were left to beg on the streets with no home, no money, and, perhaps worst of all, no kind faces willing to help them. Rather than being respected for their service during a brutal war, they were treated as villains, which has precedence from a 33-year-old Star Wars story.
Star Wars Legends Set The Precedent For Seeing Clones As Villains
“Clone Madness” & The Clone Wars’ First Impression
Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire novel was the first to introduce the idea of “clone madness,” which was a result of clones being produced too quickly. Some said that if a clone’s growth process was too rushed, their brain couldn’t properly process all the new information it was being fed, and the clone’s overwhelmed mind would spiral out into madness. Others insisted that it was the “double presence” of a clone in the Force that caused this, meaning the Force refused to accept the same version of a person who was either already alive or who had already existed.
If the idea of “clone madness” being circulated wasn’t enough to make the galaxy distrust clones, then a war named the “Clone Wars” would certainly be a contributing factor – something that villainized the clones in Legends long before the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and certainly remains the case in-universe in Star Wars canon. When Obi-Wan first spoke of the Clone Wars in A New Hope, many audiences assumed that meant the Jedi had fought against the clones. Though that wouldn’t be the case, the clones turning on the Jedi in Order 66 quickly made them look like villains, anyway.
Why The Empire Continued To Turn The Galaxy Against The Clones
They Needed A Common Enemy
The question that remains is why the Empire continued to go through the trouble of villainizing the clones when they could have very easily just tried to make the galaxy forget about their existence instead. This is because the Empire wanted to continue their militarization; the galaxy needed a common enemy if they were to get away with parading stormtroopers across the galaxy. To give the illusion of protection, the Empire insisted that the clones, the Jedi, and any of their supporters were dangerous enemies who needed to be dealt with – and who people needed protection from.
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What Happened To The Clones In Star Wars After Order 66?
The clones in Star Wars were manipulated and mistreated by the Empire after the Republic’s dissolution and Order 66. What became of them afterwards?
The years of unrest during the Clone Wars made people even more willing to listen to the Empire, as all they truly wanted was some semblance of peace, protection, and order after so much violence and uncertainty. This also intensified the way people saw the clones, as it became even easier to turn against those who actively fought in that same war. Unfortunately, it wasn’t difficult for the Empire to turn the galaxy against the clones, and it was something that they would continue to do for many years in the Star Wars galaxy.
Star Wars
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.
- Cast
- Mark Hamill , James Earl Jones , David Prowse , Carrie Fisher , Harrison Ford , Daisy Ridley , Adam Driver , Ian McDiarmid , Ewan McGregor , Rosario Dawson , Lars Mikkelsen , Rupert Friend , Moses Ingram , Frank Oz , Pedro Pascal
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- The Mandalorian , Andor , Obi-Wan Kenobi , The Book of Boba Fett , Ahsoka , The Acolyte , Star Wars: Skeleton Crew , Lando , Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Star Wars Rebels , Star Wars: The Bad Batch , Star Wars: Resistance , Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures , Star Wars: Visions
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- Luke Skywalker , Han Solo , Rey Skywalker , Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious , Obi-Wan Kenobi , Ahsoka Tano , Grand Admiral Thrawn , Grand Inquisitor , Reva (The Third Sister) , The Fifth Brother , The Seventh Sister , The Eighth Brother , Yoda , Din Djarin , Grogu , Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader , Leia Organa , Ben Solo/Kylo Ren