Tag Archives: The Clone Wars

The Bad Batch Have a New Nemesis, and It’s Not Just the Clone Bounty Hunters – Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents #2 Review

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Warning: Spoilers for Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents #2

The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents puts the team of four unique clones on a new mission in the midst of the Clone Wars. This time, while searching for a scientist who’s created a powerful weapon, they run into another team of clones. Issue one revealed these clones to be defectors from the Republic that picked up a bounty from the Separatists to hunt down the same scientist as The Bad Batch. This issue reveals that this new group of defecting clones are not working alone, but with Aurra Sing, a bounty hunter that The Bad Batch has dealt with before.

Title: Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents #2

Writer: Michael Moreci

Artist: Reese Hannigan

Colourist: Michael Atiyeh

Letterer: Jimmy Betancourt

First Appearance of: Laruche

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Timeline: 21 BBY

In the second year of the four year Clone War, The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents allows us to see the Bad Batch in the first half of the Clone Wars, since we were only introduced to the team in the final season of The Clone Wars TV show. This is the third Bad Batch comic story, all of which take place back-to-back between The Clone Wars episodes “ARC Troopers” (S3, E2) and “Sphere of Influence” (S3, E4). The first was a one-shot story in the main Hyperspace Stories (2022) run, and the second was titled The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents.

Clones Have Defected Before, but These Are the First Clone Trooper Bounty Hunters

Sergeant Cole and his unit are not the first clones we’ve seen that have gone rogue. In season two of The Clone Wars, we’re introduced to the former clone trooper Cut Lawquane, who deserted the army when he was left as the only survivor of a Separatist attack. He no longer believed there was any meaning in his life until he found his future wife. In season one, Sergeant Slick became a clone deserter when he thought the clones as slaves to the republic, and traded Republic intel to the Separatists in exchange for money and the promise of freedom.

Now technically, Cole and his unit are not the first clones of Jango Fett to become bounty hunters. Boba Fett was also one of Jango’s clones that he raised as his son, but Boba was never a member of the Republic’s Grand Army, meaning he could not be a clone trooper bounty hunter. Cut Lawquane deserted to find meaning, Slick went rogue in exchange for freedom, and Cole and his unit defected because they saw money as more valuable than loyalty to the Republic. That love of money led Cole’s unit to work with another bounty hunter named Aurra Sing.

The Bad Batch Bested Aurra Sing Before, and Now She Wants Revenge

In the last Bad Batch mini comic series, Asajj Ventress hired Aurra Sing to assassinate a list of Republic double agents working within the Separatist Alliance. The Bad Batch foiled Sing’s plans, took the list back, lost her the payout, and embarrassed her in front of Ventress. Now it seems like Aurra is working with Cole and his unit of rogue clones to exact her revenge. Aurra is no stranger to deserting the Republic like these clones, because before she was a bounty hunter, she was a member of the Jedi Order who left to be trained as a killer.

I really like getting to see The Bad Batch in the height of the Clone Wars. We missed a lot of their adventures, because they didn’t often work with the other characters that the show focused on. In The Bad Batch TV show, we saw the team face off against armies of stormtroopers and their Imperial nemeses like Vice Admiral Rampart, so it’s nice to go back and see what villains from the Clone Wars era they often crossed paths with. I’m excited to see how The Bad Batch deals with Aurra Sing, and who they face off against next.

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories – The Bad Batch: Rogue Agents #2 is available now – Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch Rogue Agents #2 (Cover A)

Next Week’s Comic Review:

A Brand New Character Steals the Spotlight from Darth Maul’s Own Story – Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #1 Review

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Warning: Spoilers for Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #2

Shadow of Maul takes us to a new planet called Janix. The story follows the captain of the local tactical defence force, Brander Lawson, and his droid nicknamed Two Boots, as he investigates crime lords operating in the planet’s capital city, and navigates corruption amongst his own ranks. It’s an interesting crime-mystery story, but has one glaring omission; Maul, the titular character of the book, is missing from it save the last two pages. Maul’s main story will take place in the show this book is a prequel to, but it seems Maul doesn’t have much to do here.

Title: Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #1

Writer: Benjamin Percy

Artist: Madibek Musabekov

Colourist: Luis Guerrero

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artist: Derrick Chew

First Appearance of: Brander Lawson, 2B0T, Clariveen Ruhl, Klyce, Hendrix, Jam Jam, and Fraxmoor.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Timeline: 18 BBY

Shadow of Maul takes place in 18 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin), one year after the end of The Clone Wars, but still during the height of the Great Jedi Purge when the Inquisitors are hunting down the surviving Jedi of Order 66. After escaping Republic captivity of on the Venator-class Star Destroyer, Tribunal, Maul returned to the underworld, planning to rebuild his empire. Post The Bad Batch TV show, the Empire is still in their early days, and are still a minimal threat, allowing syndicates like Maul’s Shadow Collective to grow and rise in power amongst the shadows.

Maul is Still a Looming Threat, But Has Yet to Make Any Big Moves

As I said before, Shadow of Maul is the prequel comic series to the upcoming Disney+ show titled Maul – Shadow Lord with the first two episodes releasing April 6th, 2026. Maul – Shadow Lord bridges the gaps of Maul’s story between the events of The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. It seems they’re saving the majority of Maul’s plan for the show, and using the comic to get him to where he needs to be when episode one starts. Maul doesn’t seem like he has much to do, the only thing he does in issue one is secure transportation to Janix.

Sadly, because of Maul’s minimal involvement in issue one, it feels like I was duped out of the Maul story I was looking forward to. Instead, this series seems to be developing new character Brander Lawson, who will make his animated debut in Maul – Shadow Lord. That’s not to say that Captain Lawson’s story is not interesting and well told, it’s just not what I was expecting. Looking at the covers for the next few issues, it seems that Lawson’s story will continue to be the focus, and Maul will continue to operate in the background.

Captain Brander Lawson’s Story is Unexpected, Yet Interesting

Ignoring the glaring exclusion of Maul, the story told in issue one of this comic is quite interesting. After a sting goes wrong, Brander Lawson is assigned a new team. Sure one of the officers under his lead is a mole, Captain Lawson sets up a trap, but the mole is assassinated by a third party, and now Lawson is being pressed by internal investigations. Lawson is an archetypal police officer with questionable morals, believing that things can’t get done without breaking a few rules. Him and his buddy cop droid TB0T have a dynamic that reminds me of Cassian Andor and K-2S0’S bantering.

Though I enjoy Captain Lawson’s do-what-has-to-be-done attitude, I do think he could’ve done well with some changes to his physical appearance. He stands out from the rest of his colleagues, wearing a brown jacket over his uniform, but I think they could have gone a step further and given him a Cad Bane like hat to resemble the style of wild west rangers, which I think would match his personality much better. I’m interested to see how he faces off against Maul. I assume he’ll learn about Maul in this series, but I don’t think they’ll meet until the show.

Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #1 is available now! – Star Wars: Shadow Of Maul #1

Next Week’s Comic Review:

  • Imperial Guardians #1