(Warning: The following contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.)
Crosshair was introduced with Clone Force 99 in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The sharpshooter of the group, he always had an edge that the rest of his unit didn’t. He was cold, calculated and off-putting, barely raising his voice beyond a whisper. But like the rest of his team, he got the job done. And that made him irreplaceable.
The real test of character came in the debut episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch. While fighting on planet Kaller, Order 66 is initiated by Emperor Palpatine, activating every Clonetrooper’s inhibitor chip and forcing them to turn on their Jedi. While most Clones obey the order, Clone Force 99 doesn’t…save Crosshair. Being a cold soldier, Crosshair fires at Padawan Caleb Dume and begins his descent. He even questions the loyalty of his comrades on Kamino, leading to him being taken by Admiral Tarkin, having his inhibitor chip cranked to the max and turned into a weapon for The Galactic Empire.
Most of Season 1 has Crosshair’s appearances focusing on trying to take down his former teammates, with some exceptions. In Episode 3 Crosshair leads a crew of voluntary recruits to finish an unfinished assignment: execute some rebels led by Saw Gerrera. When one of his recruits refuses, Crosshair shoots him and orders the rest to “finish the mission”. All the while, he stands there and watches. Crosshair might be in Order 66 Mode, but he's enjoying it.
Crosshair’s handed a crossroads moment in Season 1’s finale. He captures Hunter, his former leader, and brings him to Kamino to bait his old crew. It doesn’t take long for them to arrive, and he’s tasked to take his team of recruits and kill them. But he doesn’t. Instead, he assassinates them and lectures Hunter about “abandoning” him. Hunter says, “We didn’t have a choice”, to which Crosshair replies, “And I did?” It’s a tense moment with plenty of great lines, including when Crosshair mentions that he’d had his inhibitor chip removed “a long time ago”. Which begs the question: was Crosshair always bloodthirsty, and his teammates had pacified him?
To make matters worse, Admiral Rampart of The Galactic Empire orders a strike on Kamino, causing it to sink. As Crosshair’s forced to work with Hunter, Echo, Wrecker, Tech and Omega to escape, we see glimpses of what could’ve been. Hunter and company really do care about Crosshair, and he knows that. But his duty to The Empire presses on his mind. We even get a hint that his inhibitor chip might still be active when he massages his temple at the end of Episode 16, and that he lied about removing it.
We don’t see Crosshair again until Episode 3 of Season 2, when he’s assigned to Commander Cody and dispatched to Desix to rescue an Imperial officer. There’s an interesting exchange that Cody and Crosshair have about Clone loyalty early on. Clones, states Cody, are increasingly defecting as they question The Empire’s motives. Crosshair makes note of this, pointing out that “they’re traitors, like the Jedi”. Does Crosshair mean that, or is that his sense of duty talking?
To make matters worse, Admiral Rampart of The Galactic Empire orders a strike on Kamino, causing it to sink. As Crosshair’s forced to work with Hunter, Echo, Wrecker, Tech and Omega to escape, we see glimpses of what could’ve been. Hunter and company really do care about Crosshair, and he knows that. But his duty to The Empire presses on his mind. We even get a hint that his inhibitor chip might still be active when he massages his temple at the end of Episode 16, and that he lied about removing it.
We don’t see Crosshair again until Episode 3 of Season 2, when he’s assigned to Commander Cody and dispatched to Desix to rescue an Imperial officer. There’s an interesting exchange that Cody and Crosshair have about Clone loyalty early on. Clones, states Cody, are increasingly defecting as they question The Empire’s motives. Crosshair makes note of this, pointing out that “they’re traitors, like the Jedi”. Does Crosshair mean that, or is that his sense of duty talking?
Either way, Crosshair and Cody free the captured officer. Said officer then orders them to kill the Separatist leader that’d captured him and hang her body in the public square. Cody refuses, opting for a peaceful path. But no sooner can he justify himself when Crosshair executes the Separatist personally. The next day, Crosshair’s informed by Rampart that Cody’s gone AWOL.
Why’s Crosshair blindly obedient to The Empire? He’s had many opportunities to renege his loyalty, and he’s even abandoned on Kamino. If he’s so disposable by them, why go back? Is it his inhibitor chip, or something else? Who’s to say?
Why’s Crosshair blindly obedient to The Empire? He’s had many opportunities to renege his loyalty, and he’s even abandoned on Kamino. If he’s so disposable by them, why go back? Is it his inhibitor chip, or something else? Who’s to say?
This speaks volumes on how Fascists operate. In Star Wars particularly, The Empire holds no allegiances to its own. Krennic is the architect of The Death Star, but he’s killed by it when it fires on Scarif. Luke Skywalker destroys said Death Star, killing thousands of soldiers, but Emperor Palpatine orders a new one created. Even when Darth Vader dies, no Stormtrooper helps him. To The Empire, everyone’s disposable.
So why stay? The obvious answer is “a sense of duty”, but I don’t buy that. As Crosshair shows, The Empire doesn’t value its soldiers. Why, then, does he come back, even after being treated like garbage? What makes the cause appealing?
I think the answer lies in who The Empire attracts. Like real-world Fascists, The Empire’s all about control and subjugation. It’s quick to turn on its own for political gain, but it compels those who are like-minded to join it. Crosshair, in that sense, isn’t anomalous. He’s simply a really efficient cog in a machine that doesn’t value him.
That’s the real tragedy. While it’s true that the Clones were all victims, being forced to turn on their leaders and absorbed into an entity that didn’t value them, Crosshair’s a special example of that. Remember, Crosshair isn’t a standard Clonetrooper. He, like the rest of Clone Force 99, is unique, efficient. So him falling victim to the same trap as other Clones is even more-upsetting.
I think the answer lies in who The Empire attracts. Like real-world Fascists, The Empire’s all about control and subjugation. It’s quick to turn on its own for political gain, but it compels those who are like-minded to join it. Crosshair, in that sense, isn’t anomalous. He’s simply a really efficient cog in a machine that doesn’t value him.
That’s the real tragedy. While it’s true that the Clones were all victims, being forced to turn on their leaders and absorbed into an entity that didn’t value them, Crosshair’s a special example of that. Remember, Crosshair isn’t a standard Clonetrooper. He, like the rest of Clone Force 99, is unique, efficient. So him falling victim to the same trap as other Clones is even more-upsetting.
Nevertheless, Crosshair’s enjoying his descent way too much. Like Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, he feels purpose in his mission. And like Catra from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, he revels in the hunt. But unlike Zuko and Catra, I doubt there’s a way out that doesn’t involve death. I could be wrong, but Crosshair has too much blood on his hands.
I’ll conclude by mentioning this: in a recent piece, I stated that the key to a good antagonist is having sympathy written for someone you despise. Crosshair’s exactly that. He’s a villain who enjoys being evil, but he’s also exploited by a system that doesn’t value him. It’s not unlike how Fascists are drawn in by power, then discarded when no longer useful. It’s a sad, vicious cycle, something Star Wars: The Bad Batch isn’t afraid to call out.
I’ll conclude by mentioning this: in a recent piece, I stated that the key to a good antagonist is having sympathy written for someone you despise. Crosshair’s exactly that. He’s a villain who enjoys being evil, but he’s also exploited by a system that doesn’t value him. It’s not unlike how Fascists are drawn in by power, then discarded when no longer useful. It’s a sad, vicious cycle, something Star Wars: The Bad Batch isn’t afraid to call out.
No comments:
Post a Comment