By George & Josh Bate
Insight Editions’ The Secrets Of… series includes some of the most unique and underappreciated Star Wars tales. Each installment, beginning with The Secrets of the Jedi and then eventually onto The Secrets of the Sith, The Secrets of the Bounty Hunters, and The Secrets of the Wookiees, provides a comprehensive overview of a given group from the in-world perspective of an actual Star Wars characters. In The Secrets of the Jedi, it was Luke Skywalker himself recounting everything about the Jedi. For The Secrets of the Sith, meanwhile, it was Palpatine who ‘wrote’ the book about the dark side users. The latest addition to this series – The Secrets of the Clone Troopers – is out now.
The new book is narrated by Captain Rex, who provides a detailed chronicle of the history of Clone Troopers, including all sorts of new information and details.
Below are 5 interesting things we learned from The Secrets of the Clone Troopers….
Captain Rex IS in Return of the Jedi
Many have speculated over the years that a background character in Return of the Jedi is actually Captain Rex. The older man with a white beard was first identified as Nik Sant, although the physical similarities between Rex and Sant have made fans speculate as to whether they could be the same character.
While Star Wars Rebels previously confirmed that Rex was indeed a soldier fighting in the Battle of Endor, The Secrets of the Clone Troopers provides the best evidence yet to suggest this character in Return of the Jedi is Captain Rex.
The image below from The Secrets of the Clone Troopers reveals a look at Captain Rex that looks near identical to the character originally identified as Nik Sant.
The Secrets of the Clone Troopers seemingly confirms what many Star Wars fans, including Dave Filoni himself, have speculated about for years. Filoni once said regarding this, “I think the one thing I have really thought about is I really do think that Rex is that guy on Endor. I really do. Why else is there a bearded old guy on Endor, Tano? Why? It makes no sense.”
Jango Fett and the Mandalorian Civil Wars
The section of The Secrets of the Clone Troopers that goes over how the clones came to be features an interesting paragraph about Jango Fett’s origins. Read below….
“From the scattered records I’ve managed to piece together over the years, it seems that Jango Fett was adopted into a Mandalorian clan at a young age. He may have just been a foundling, but he soon proved himself to be as formidable as the warriors who took him in. After earning armor made of beskar steel in the Mandalorian Civil Wars, Fett went on to become one of the galaxy’s premier bounty hunters.”
This paragraph reiterated that Jango Fett was a Foundling, information that was initially revealed in The Mandalorian.
It also points out that Fett fought in the Mandalorian Civil Wars and that it was during his time fighting in the wars that he earned his Beskar armor.
Dooku & Fett
The origins of the clone troopers, as detailed in Attack of the Clones, is shrouded in much mystery and ambiguity. Over the years, attempts have been made to clear things up so that fans have a better understanding of how the clones came to be.
One paragraph in The Secrets of the Clone Troopers reveals that it was Count Dooku who directly handpicked Jango Fett to be the genetic material used to create the clone troopers. Read the paragraph below….
“I’ve even heard rumors that it was Dooku who handpicked Jango Fett as the source of our generic material and oversaw the creation of our army after the death of Master Sifo-Dyas.”
This point in The Secrets of the Clone Troopers aligns with the ending of the recently concluded comic mini-series Jango Fett by Ethan Sacks. In the fourth and final issue of the series, it is teased that Dooku will be the one to reach out to Fett in order to further Darth Sidious’ plan of creating a clone army.
More info about Clone X operatives
The Clone X operatives in The Bad Batch were the source of much speculation among fans. And, while there is still much to learn about this secret group of clone assassins, The Secrets of the Clone Troopers sheds more light on these mysterious characters.
The book reveals that Clone X operatives “called themselves ‘believers’ and were willing to take their own lives to protect the truth about their missions.”
Rex also reveals that he and other clone troopers call these Clone X operatives (or believers) ‘shadows’ ’ since they were such stealthy devils.”
Rex’s clone rebellion
The Secrets of the Clone Troopers provides some additional context to what Rex was up to in between the events of The Bad Batch and Rebels.
“Clones needed more help now than ever, and if the Empire wasn’t willing to provide it, we’d have to take matters into our own hands. Since the Empire assumed I had died along with the rest of my squad, I was able to keep to the shadows and help a lot of clones get out of bad situations. I formed a network of soldiers dedicated to assisting troopers in need. A lot of old friends – including Echo and Gregor – joined the cause, and we recruited plenty of new members, including Howzer, Fireball, Nemec and Samson. We also had the regular support of some rogue clones, like Clone Force 99.”
While this isn’t exactly new information, it is further confirmation about Rex’s efforts to promote clone well-being. Rumors have circulated that a Rex clone rebellion animated series is in development and, based on this section of The Secrets of the Clone Troopers, there’s seemingly much to explore about this topic.
This is just a sample of some of the interesting pieces of information we learned from Insight Editions’ The Secrets of the Clone Troopers.
The Secrets of the Clone Troopers is now available.