It may have taken six years to happen, but Star Wars: The Clone Wars is finally back for its seventh and final season. As the show’s creative team begins wrapping up a story that first began with the 2008 animated film, a new group of heroes is joining the foray for this Disney+ original series.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 7 premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, entitled “The Bad Batch.” If you haven’t watched the episode yet, look away now.
Early in the episode, a new group of “defective clones” are introduced. They call themselves the Bad Batch and are essentially soldiers for hire when there is a mission that might be harder to pull off. What’s interesting about the Bad Batch, though, is who they resemble. It might not be easy to see at the beginning, but once it’s explained that these particular clones have “desirable mutations,” it becomes clear.
The Bad Batch is just the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The group of four defective soldiers share way too many similarities with the four turtle brothers from New York City and, honestly, it’s delightful.
Firstly, there’s Wrecker. As a brash and loud jokester that looks like he’s having too much fun in the chaos, this member of the group is clearly reminiscent of Michelangelo. We wouldn’t go so far as to call him a party dude, but the season is still unfolding. Next up is Tech, the genius who also happens to be good with computers and machines. Clearly, he’s the Donatello of the group. Crosshair is a dark, grim, and angry sniper that is quick to take down his targets. While he doesn’t get in their faces with a pair of sai, he’s obviously the Raphael of the group. That, of course, leaves Hunter–the leader and strategist of the Bad Batch. He’s possibly a better Leonardo than Leonardo, himself.
Interestingly, though, Hunter’s design calls to mind a very different fictional character. With his long black hair and red bandanna, Hunter looks like space Rambo. If you’re going to ape someone’s style, though, Rambo is as good as any.
Were the Bad Batch outright inspired by the Ninja Turtles? We may never know, but it really is fun to think about–especially since the ragtag group of clone troopers isn’t going anywhere. You can expect to see more of them in the coming episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
New episodes of Clone Wars will be released every Friday on Disney+.
