Clone Wars: “The Bad Batch” and the Dignity of the Human Person

Along with many other Star Wars fans, I was excited by the recent announcement that Disney Plus has ordered an animated spin-off series of Star Wars: The Clone Wars focusing on the exploits of Clone Force 99 – a.k.a. “The Bad Batch.” I thoroughly enjoyed the four-episode arc featuring this special-ops team of divergent clones and, in my opinion, these new characters were among the best things to come out of the seventh and final season of The Clone Wars.

One of the finest aspects of The Clone Wars as a series is how it effectively communicates the human cost and tragedy of war through the stories of the individual clone troopers. Unlike the Separatist armies which are mindless hordes of droids, the Grand Army of the Republic is composed of human beings. Even though they are clones bred in a laboratory and raised from childhood to engage in combat, the Republic’s soldiers are nevertheless individual persons with immortal souls and inherent dignity. The Clone Wars series generally, and the “Bad Batch” arc in particular, are striking for their compatibility with Catholic Church’s teaching on respect for the human person.

Clone Force 99 is composed entirely of individuals whose unique genetic quirks don’t conform to the standard Jango Fett template of all the other soldiers in the Grand Army of the Republic. As Commander Cody puts it: “They’re defective clones with desirable mutations.” Hence the moniker “The Bad Batch.” Team leader Hunter has heightened senses, including the ability to detect electromagnetic fields. Wrecker has super-strength. Tech, as his name suggests, has an uncanny knack for computers and electronics. Crosshair is a sniper with preternaturally accurate aim. As Christians we believe that the great variety of differences among human beings is part of God’s plan. The Catholic Church has always taught that all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, possess rational souls, and are endowed with an equal dignity, no matter their differences in physical appearance and abilities, age, social status, talents, and so forth (see Catechism of the Catholic Church sections 1934-1937).

Cody and Captain Rex enlist the Bad Batch on a critical mission to uncover the source of a mysterious Separatist algorithm that has been anticipating and countering Republic strategies in the battle to secure the vitally important shipyard planet of Anaxes. Friction between the clones almost immediately asserts itself. Some of the normal clone troopers act suspicious and dubious towards the Bad Batch, put off by their unconventional appearance, bizarre abilities, and disdain for proper military protocol. For their part, the members of Clone Force 99 look upon the other troopers with thinly concealed disdain. As Crosshair puts it: “We don’t usually work with regs,” – meaning “regular” clone troopers. In our fallen world fear, prejudice, and pride sadly divide the members of the human family. The Catechism teaches that “Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a ‘neighbor,’ a brother” (CCC 1931). In the Gospel the command of Jesus is clear: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).

The two groups of clones must put aside their differences and learn to work together in order to succeed in the mission. Cooperative use of their skills and talents eventually enables them to overrun a Separatist cyber center where they discover that the enemy intel source is not an algorithm at all but a live signal being broadcast from the Techno Union occupied world of Skako Minor. The audible human voice on the other end of the transmission identifies itself as CT-1409 – the ARC Trooper known as Echo, a close comrade of Captain Rex who was long believed to be dead.

Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, Rex, and the Bad Batch travel to Skako Minor to put an end to the transmissions and (if possible) rescue Echo. Before the team can storm the Separatist facility, Crosshair calls out Rex for allowing his personal feelings of guilt over Echo’s capture cloud his judgement. Crosshair still hasn’t learned to value standard clones, callously dismissing Echo as “just another reg.”

It turns out that Echo is indeed alive, being held in stasis in a Techno Union laboratory. Most of his limbs have been replaced by mechanical prostheses, cords and wires protrude from his skull, linking him to the Separatist computer network. Rex and Tech manage to free Echo even as Techno Union leader Wat Tambor taunts Rex, saying “Your friend is dead. His mind is ours.” Tambor consistently dehumanizes Echo, referring to him as an “algorithm,” an “experiment,” and “Techno Union property.” To the Techno Union, Echo is not a person with unalienable rights, but an object that can be used in a utilitarian fashion, valuable to them only in terms of his continued usefulness and as a source of profit. In this way, the Separatists treat him no better than they would a droid. As Rex later correctly insists, the Techno Union tried to strip away Echo’s freedom and humanity by turning him into a machine. Such utilitarian dehumanization flies in the face of the inherent dignity that all human beings have as children of God. This should give adherents of the contemporary transhumanist movement some serious food for thought.

Although Anakin, Rex, and the Bad Batch are able to rescue Echo and return him to Anaxes, lingering doubts remain about Echo’s loyalty due to the time he spent as a tool of the enemy. Undeterred, Echo insists that he’s not a liability, and develops a plan to turn the tables on the Separatists. By accessing a comm vault on an orbiting Separatist dreadnought, Echo can plug in to the enemy network, feeding them false intel and bogus strategies. He even manages to send a feedback pulse that deactivates the hordes of Separatist battle droids engaging the Jedi and clones on Anaxes. Seeing Echo in action, the Bad Batch quickly overcome any reservations they had about where Echo’s loyalties truly lie. Echo’s disabilities sustained during his time in Separatist custody in no way diminish his inherent worth or dignity as a person. This message stands athwart the euthanasia movement which seeks to remove from society the aged, the terminally ill, the physically disabled, the mentally handicapped and other persons deemed inconvenient.

Upon returning to base, Echo is glad he was able to contribute to a Republic victory on Anaxes but he is also somewhat downcast. Because of his injuries and cybernetic enhancements, as well as the trauma he’s experienced, he no longer feels like he fits in with his brother clones. Hunter encourages Echo, saying that just because his path is different doesn’t mean he’s without a home. Hunter invites Echo to join Clone Force 99. As Echo considers the offer, Rex reveals that he’s come to fully appreciate the value of the so-called “divergent” clones of the Bad Batch, saying “Those are some of the finest troopers I’ve ever fought alongside.” Realizing that his friend fears he will never feel quite at home among the men of the Grand Army of the Republic, Rex encourages Echo to take up a position with the Bad Batch. “If that’s where you feel your place is,” Rex insists, “then that’s where you belong.” I hope that physically and psychologically wounded war veterans can take great comfort from Echo’s story. One’s injuries or disabilities do not define one as a person. No matter our various circumstances or states in life, we are all equally children of God worthy of respect.

The Bad Batch arc is Star Wars: The Clone Wars at its best. It is not only jam packed with exciting action sequences, humorous dialogue, and touching character moments, it also communicates a vitally important message about universal human equality and dignity without ever becoming sentimental or preachy. I earnestly hope that the upcoming Bad Batch series on Disney Plus continues to explore these themes which provide a vitally important witness to a contemporary culture in which respect for human life and dignity has eroded to a frightening degree.