Clever New Star Wars Retcon Makes the Oldest Clone Wars Concept of Legends Canon… From a Certain Point of View

A new Star Wars retcon of the aftermath of the Clone Wars brings back an old concept of Star Wars Legends, but gives it a twist that has the same devastating effect on the clone troopers. Maybe one of the best Star Wars retcons to date have concerned clone trooper inhibitor chips in Star Wars: The Clone Warswhere it was revealed that the clones complied with Order 66 and swore allegiance to the new Galactic Empire because they could not control their own actions. This made the event a true tragedy, and Star Wars it just intensified it.

Star Wars: The Bad Batch covers the early days of the Empire from the perspective of the clone troopers, providing an intimate look at what happened to these troopers after Order 66 was enacted. Over time, the chips in the clone troopers' heads wore thin, allowing many of them to rethink and, in some cases, rebuke their loyalty to the Empire. This, as well as the high cost of the Kaminoan cloning operation, motivated the Empire to exchange clone troopers for enlisted storm troopers. What the Empire did next to the clone troopers became one of the galaxy's greatest tragedies.

The Empire purposely spread misinformation about the clones

They wanted the galaxy to see clones as “military equipment”

The Empire could not, or simply refused to, let the clone troopers go and be assimilated into the galaxy's society without “justifying” their reason for phasing out the clones in the first place. By Marc Sumerak Star Wars: Secrets of the Clone TroopersCaptain Rex explains how the Empire covered this large-scale military replacement. “Thanks to years of disinformation promoted by the Empire,” Rex writes: “You're hardly the only person who feels this way [clones are something less than human].“ The Empire not only expelled the clone troopers, but also spread misinformation to prevent the galaxy from sympathizing with them.

Buy Star Wars: Secrets of the Clone Troopers, by Marc Sumerak, on Amazon

Considering all the atrocities of the Empire, this doesn't come as much of a shock, but it's still devastating to hear – especially the way Rex describes it. He insists that the Empire “saw us as nothing more than military equipment”, something that is unfortunately seen quite often in The bad lot. An Imperial officer, Lieutenant Nolan, even told clone Crosshair to his face that he doesn't care about “used equipment” as a way to justify his aversion to clones. As the Empire viewed clones as a purely military asset, they found no problem disposing of them.and they wanted the galaxy to feel that way too.

This smear campaign started with the Imperial Defense recruitment bill

Palpatine manipulated the galaxy to fear the clones

The beginning of this massive clone smear campaign in Star Wars canon was the Imperial Defense Recruitment Act, as seen in The bad lot season 2. This bill was intended to officially eliminate all clone troopers in favor of recruiting stormtroopers, which would leave thousands and thousands of clones completely displaced with absolutely no protection. Although Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora, Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, Rex, and Clone Force 99 attempted to prevent this bill from passing, it backfired and gave Palpatine the opportunity to begin the purposeful spread of disinformation. .

When Senator Chuchi provided the Imperial Senate with video evidence of the project's creator, Vice Admiral Edmon Rampart, ordering and executing the destruction of Kamino, she and her allies hoped this would lead to the project's outright rejection. Instead, Palpatine entered the chamber and denounced not only Rampart's actions, but also those of the clones. insisting that the clones were too blindly loyal to refuse the admiral's orders – and were therefore too dangerous to be kept as military agents.. This lie not only led to the bill's passage, but also to more complications for the clones.

This would begin the clones' massive smear campaign at all levels, after the execution of Order 66 and the rapid takeover of the Empire had already damaged their reputation in a way that none of them could control. Years later, as seen in Obi Wan Kenobi TV show, clone veterans were left begging on the streets, with no home, no money, and, perhaps worst of all, no kind faces willing to help them. Instead of being respected for their service during a brutal war, they were treated like villains, which has taken precedence since a 33-year-old man. Star Wars history.

Star Wars Legends Set the Precedent for Seeing Clones as Villains

“Clone Madness” and the first impression of The Clone Wars

Timothy Zahn Heir to the Empire The novel was the first to introduce the idea of ​​“clone madness,” which resulted from the production of clones too quickly. Some said that if a clone's growth process was too rushed, its brain would not be able to properly process all the new information it was being fed, and the clone's overloaded mind would go crazy. Others insisted that it was the “dual presence” of a clone in the Force that caused this, meaning that the Force refused to accept the same version of a person who was already alive or who already existed.

If the idea of ​​”clone madness” going around wasn't enough to make the galaxy distrustful of clones, then a war called the “Clone Wars” would certainly be a contributing factor – something that villainized clones in Legends long before the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and it certainly remains the case in the current universe. Star Wars canon. When Obi-Wan first spoke about the Clone Wars in A New Hope, many audiences assumed this meant the Jedi fought the clones. While that wasn't the case, the clones that attacked the Jedi in Order 66 quickly made them look like villains.

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 to the trouble of villainizing the clones, when they could have easily tried to make the galaxy forget their existence. This is because the Empire wanted to continue its militarization; the galaxy needed a common enemy if it was going to escape with stormtroopers parading 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 faced – and from whom people needed protection.

The years of unrest during the Clone Wars made people even more willing to listen to the Empirefor all they really wanted was some semblance of peace, protection and order after so much violence and uncertainty. This also intensified the way people viewed clones, as it became even easier to turn against those who actively fought in the same war. Unfortunately, it wasn't difficult for the Empire to turn the galaxy against the clones, and it was something they would continue to do for many years into the future. Star Wars Galaxy.

Star Wars

Star Wars is a multimedia franchise started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning numerous sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and 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

TV program(s)

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: Adventures of the Young Jedi, Star Wars: Visions

Character(s)

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

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