|
| “ | Crosshair, on the other hand, is not much of a conversationalist. But when you have to hit a precise target from ten klicks, Crosshair's your man. | „ |
| ~ Hunter's description of Crosshair. |
| “ | You want to know why they put me in charge? It's because I'm willing to do what needs to be done. Good soldiers follow orders. | „ |
| ~ Crosshair to an Elite Squad Trooper before executing him for insubordination - also his most famous quote. |
| “ | Hunter: Crosshair, forget the Empire. This isn't you. It's your inhibitor chip. We can help you. Crosshair: Wrong. I had my chip removed a long time ago. Hunter: Since when? Crosshair: Does it matter? Hunter: Yes. Crosshair: This is who I am. |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair claiming that his inhibitor chip had been taken from him and that he was fully aware of his vile choices. |
| “ | Crosshair: Hunter! I...I thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being...a good soldier. Hunter: Nobody really understood what was happening back then. Crosshair: I've...done things. I've made mistakes. Hunter: I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better and who knows, there just might be hope for us yet. |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair's redemption. |
CT-9904 (nicknamed "Crosshair") is one of the four tritagonists of the Bad Batch arc of Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and one of the three tritagonists in its 2021 spin-off/sequel Disney+ animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Despite being one of the main characters of The Bad Batch, he becomes a villain and turns against the other members of Clone Force 99 after Order 66 was executed in the pilot episode, believing he has a purpose in the Empire. Due to this, he serves as the secondary antagonist of Season 1 and Hunter's archenemy. However, he later had a change of heart in Season 2 after his fellow clone Mayday died due to Lieutenant Nolan refusing to give him a medic, which led to him redeeming himself and ending up rejoining Clone Force 99 shortly afterwards, with Dr. Royce Hemlock being his new and actual archenemy due to imprisoning him on Mount Tantiss.
Just like the rest of The Clones, Crosshair is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also voices Admiral Trench in the same series, Klaus Heissler in American Dad!, Bubble Bass in SpongeBob SquarePants, and Admiral Kassius Konstantine in Star Wars Rebels.
Appearance
Unlike regular clone troopers whose only defining features were various cosmetics, Crosshair was not an identical copy of his genetic donor Jango Fett.
Crosshair was more slender than his brothers, and stood ten centimeters taller than the standard 1.83 meters. His head was also slimmer, featuring sharper features and higher cheekbones that when coupled together made his face look gaunt.
Crosshair's skin was also lighter than his regular brother's, although his eyes were brown like theirs. His hair was light grey and cut into a buzz cut. A thin semicircle marking with a pair of long perpendicular lines running through it was carved under his right eye, a feature that was reminiscent of a crosshair on a firearm (hence his name).
After a botched attempt to kill his brothers resulted in him suffering a large third-degree burn on the right side of his head near his inhibitor chip, Crosshair was forced to shave his hair off.
At first, he wore grey armor consisting of a helmet with a circle on the right and a pointy end. He also had red shoulder plates. He also wears a backpack which he uses to hold his sniper. After his fall, he abandoned this armor and gained one similar to his previous armor but with several modifications. His visor changed to a green colored one that was straight and the helmet now gained breathing holes. He seemingly lost it once on Tipoca City and again on Barton-4 where it was buried for good. The rest of his Imperial Armor was confiscated on Mount Tantiss. After escaping and rejoining the Bad Batch, he got back his old equipment, where it was revealed Wrecker kept it because it felt wrong for him to throw it away. It was painted in all black on the way to rescue Omega.
History
A genetically defective clone of Jango Fett, Crosshair served as a sniper in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. He was a member of Clone Force 99, also known as the Bad Batch, a squad of elite clone commandos who each bore favorable genetic mutations that gave them individually unique skills and abilities.
He also seemed to be very distrusting with regular clones, implied to be steering from a feeling of rejection and being ostracized by them, feeling excluded from the Clone Brotherhood, which he thankfully found one with Clone Force 99, who were also viewed as Outcasts among the rest of their brethren. Despite his detached demeanor, Crosshair cared greatly for his brothers and valued them as family (even still yearned for their company, even after deserting the Empire, which Crosshair stayed and secretly wished they had with him).
During Order 66, Crosshair was the only member of the Bad Batch that complied with the order, due to his inhibitor chip being partially activated. However, his inhibitor chip had not fully activated like the regular clones, leading to him sticking with his team, though he chastised them for not following the order. When the Republic was transformed into the Galactic Empire by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Crosshair (unwillingly) continued to serve despite the defection of the rest of his team. When Governor Tarkin had the influence of his chip amplified to beyond maximum effect, this led to him betraying and turning against his former team.
Despite his loyalty to the Empire, Crosshair took an immediate disliking and even hatred for the non-clone Elite Squad he was assigned to command, often feeling a sense of alienation and even questions their own ability to act as soldiers. In addition, his new squad shows little to no respect or regard for their commanding officer, despite Crosshair being the more higher-ranked and experienced in the group.
Crosshair's hatred for the Elite Squad Troopers caused to him feel lonely and feel like an even bigger outcast than he was with the regular clone troopers to the point where he misses his old squad, wishing they'd join the Empire like he did. This hostility led him to killing one member on Onderon for refusing to execute civilians, and four more in an attempt to convince the Bad Batch to join the Empire willingly.
He eventually had the chip removed, but he continued to willingly serve the Empire, and desired to reunite with his former teammates, albeit under the Imperial regime. This failed, however, and after escaping alongside his former squadmates during the destruction of Tipoca City on Kamino, Crosshair decides to remain with the Empire and the rest of the Bad Batch depart without him.
After spending thirty-two days alone, Crosshair was finally rescued by the Empire but was not immediately returned to service due to medical reasons. Things would not go well for Crosshair, as the Imperial Clone Troopers kept their distance from him, making him even more alone. Crosshair later participates in Imperial Governor Grotton's rescue mission on the independent world of Desix but is re-elected by Rampart as a simple subordinate. His mission commander turned out to be his old friend Cody, perhaps his only remaining friend. Ultimately, Crosshair executed Tawni Ames in cold blood on Grotton's orders, which disgusted Cody with the Empire to the point of deserting after the mission, leaving Crosshair permanently embittered.
Crosshair is later enlisted for the mission on Barton IV by Lieutenant Nolan, an Imperial officer xenophobic towards Clone Troopers. Arriving on the frozen world, Crosshair slowly befriends the jaded clone commander Mayday, whose opinions on the Empire's mistreatment of clones are openly displayed. Following the thefts of Imperial equipment by insurgents and the deaths of Mayday's last men, Nolan absurdly sends Crosshair and Mayday alone to recover the equipment in the blizzard-plagued landscape. During the trip, Mayday deactivates a pressure grenade that Crosshair had stepped on. Mayday continues to assert the cruelty of the Empire due to their ungrateful orders without helping to continually improve the conditions for success, to which Crosshair begins to acquire. After confronting the insurgents, the two clones discover that the stolen equipment was only TK Trooper armor, replacing them with Clone Troopers, and this pushes Mayday to the breaking point. An avalanche later falls on them but Mayday pushes Crosshair out of the path of a rock before they are submerged in the snow. With Mayday seriously injured, an ailing Crosshair braves the worst weather conditions of Barton IV to return Mayday to the depot. Unfortunately, the indifferent and racist Nolan refuses to provide medical treatment to Mayday who ends up dying from her injuries. Enraged and finally realizing that he and the Clones were just disposable pawns to the Empire, Crosshair mercilessly kills Nolan with a blaster shot to the chest before losing consciousness.
Crosshair is then taken to Mount Tantiss where Dr. Royce Hemlock and his scientific assistants use him as a subject of experiment. When Hemlock becomes interested in capturing Omega, Crosshair manages to briefly escape to send a message to his former teammates to warn them of the danger, only to be captured afterwards. Despite Crosshair's efforts, Omega ends up capturing and taking on Tantiss.
Five months later, during a visit from Emperor Palpatine himself, Omega seizes the opportunity to escape from Tantiss with an initially reluctant Crosshair and the tamed lurca hound Batcher, thanks to the secret help of Nala Se. The trio subsequently crash lands on the planet Lau where after attempting to leave the planet by collecting a large sum of credits and confronting local Imperial forces, they end up reuniting with Hunter and Wrecker on the moon of Ryloth. Of course, the reunion between Crosshair and his former brothers (mostly Hunter) in arms remained tense due to their previous conflict, but after he saved them from an eel and owning up for his past actions, he reconciled with them and ultimately rejoined their squad.
Powers and Abilities
| “ | Being a sniper is more than just looking through a scope. It's about patience. Reading the environment, and knowing when you've got eyes on you. | „ |
| ~ Crosshair about being a sniper. |
- Military Training: Trained since his creation on Kamino to be a soldier, Crosshair went through Advance Recon Commando training, gaining excellent skill in close quarters combat, marksmanship, and battle strategy.
- Enhanced Eyesight: Being a genetically enhanced clone, Crosshair had exceptional eyesight. Crosshair's enhanced eyesight also allowed him to see objects through low visibility. Following the destruction of Tipoca City, Omega nearly drowned when she swam after AZI-3. Crosshair saved them by precisely hitting the droid with his rifles grappling attachment to pull them both to the surface. He was able to achieve this despite his target being several meters under choppy sea water, a feat made even more incredible by the fact that it was night at the time.
- Master marksmanship: Due to his enhanced eyesight, Crosshair had almost unrivaled accuracy with ranged weaponry, particularly with his sniper rifle; no matter the distance, Crosshair could almost always hit any target he was tasked with shooting. Crosshair could regularly hit objects, large or small, with exceptional precision from extremely long distance. As noted by Hunter, this precision could extend to miles away. On Ryloth, despite being positioned at what seemed to be more than a mile away, Crosshair shot Gobi Glie's starship out of the sky by destroying the engine. Not soon after, this was again displayed when he shot Orn Free Taa in the head so precisely, it did not kill him. Crosshair could also hit small objects while they were in motion. On Anaxes, in Clone Force 99's effort to destroy a wave of oncoming droids, Crosshair would shoot at explosive charges whilst they were in mid-air, causing them to activate early, maximizing damage. On Kamino, during Tarkin's battle simulation, he shot Wrecker's airborne knife into the head of a battle droid. On Skako Minor, Crosshair destroyed an entire hallway of battle droids using a single blaster bolt, by precisely firing it into a series of reflective apparatus that bounced off the walls and tore through multiple targets.
- Expert tactician: Given his elite training, Crosshair was capable of creating battle strategies that either utilized his marksmanship, such as how to take out an AAT by shooting down the turret barrel, or to counter the Bad Batch with his insider knowledge of their own strategies. He was also skilled at using his bolt-deflecting mirrors on the fly.
- Expert combatant: Crosshair showed some hand-to-hand combat skills and held his own against Hunter, who is a deadly CQC expert. He even manage to fight against the force user Ventress and lasted longer than Hunter and Wrecker.
Equipment
- 773 Firepuncher rifle: Crosshair's primary weapon of choice was a customized 773 Firepuncher rifle, which had a magnifying scope and several different types of ammunition. For instance, his sniper rifle could fire ordinary blaster bolts, darts that electrified a target on contact, even a homing beacon. The weapon also had alternate barrel configurations that could be manually swapped out, such as a underbarrel attachment that fired a long cable. This was seen so Hunter can save Anakin Skywalker after he was taken by Keeradaks. Another grappling function were two large barrels that made the sniper rifle look like a RT-97C heavy blaster rifle but the barrels both launched a grappling line.
- DC-17 hand blaster: When his primary weapon was destroyed or he desired to fight at closer range, Crosshair wielded a DC-17 hand blaster. The DC-17 allowed for closer range fighting due to its more compact size and higher rate of fire.
- Mirrored Reflector Disks: Crosshair carries these small disk-shaped devices that stick to surfaces and have the ability to deflect blaster bolts. These allow him to hit multiple targets, or those around corners, with one shot.
- Katarn-class Commando Armor: During the Clone Wars, Crosshair wore a suit of heavily-modified Katarn-class Commando Armor. Like the rest of Clone Force 99, his armor was painted dark grey with red markings, and featured the insignia of the Bad Batch on its right shoulder. There was a semi-circular cut out on his helmet visor's right upper edge to adapt to his sniper rifle's scope. He used this armor again after returning to the Bad Batch.
- Wrist comm: Crosshair also owned a wrist mounted comlink. After the rise of the Galactic Empire, Crosshair's comlink was given to Omega by the rest of the squad, reasoning that he no longer needed it if he was with the Empire. It was destroyed on Bora Vio by Cad Bane.
- Elite Squad Trooper Armor: In service to the Galactic Empire, Crosshair wore a unique set of charcoal grey armor that more closely resembled standard Phase II clone trooper armor. More plain than his Katarn-class armor, Crosshair's Imperial uniform featured a thin green visor, making his armor resemble armor worn by Death Troopers. This armor was confiscated from him after his murder of Nolan.
Relationships
Family
- Jango Fett - Genetic Template
- Clone Troopers - Brothers
- Boba Fett - Brother
- Omega - Sister and Temporary Enemy
- Emerie Karr - Sister and Former Captor
Friends/Allies
- Clone Troopers - Brothers
- Clone Force 99 - Teammates and Temporary Enemies
- Hunter - Former Archenemy
- Wrecker - Former Rival
- Tech
- Echo
- Cody's squad
- Cody - Best Friend
- Wyler
- Nova
- Grey
- 501st Legion
- Rex
- Jesse - Rival
- Kix
- Mayday's Squad
- Mayday - Best Friend and Savior
- Hexx
- Veetch
- Clone Underground
- Howzer - Temporary Enemy
- Gregor
- Nemec
- Fireball
- Clone Force 99 - Teammates and Temporary Enemies
- Jedi Order
- Anakin Skywalker
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Mace Windu
- Batcher - Pet
Enemies
- Wat Tambor
- Battle Droids
- Depa Billaba - Former Ally
- Kanan Jarrus - Former Ally
- Nala Se - Creator and Former Ally
- Lama Su - Former Ally
- Saw Gerrera - Temporary Ally
- Galactic Empire - Former Allies
- Grand Moff Tarkin
- Vice Admiral Rampart - Commanding Officer, Former Attempted Killer and Situational Ally
- Elite Squad - Former Subordinates
- ES-01 - Victim
- ES-02
- ES-03 - Victim
- ES-04 - Victim
- Orn Free Taa - Attempted Victim
- Lieutenant Nolan - Ex-Commanding Officer and Victim
- Dr. Royce Hemlock - Archenemy, Captor, Attempted Killer and Victim
- Scalder
- Clone Assassins
- Cham Syndulla
- Eleni Syndulla
- Hera Syndulla
- Gobi Glie
Quotes
| “ | Crosshair: Hunter let that Jedi kid escape. Or do you want to keep lying to us? Hunter: I don't like to think of executing our commanders as a mission objective. Crosshair: An order is an order. Hunter: Since when? |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair to Hunter. |
| “ | Hunter: So this was your grand plan? Bring us here and kill us? Crosshair: If I wanted you dead, you would be. Not that it wouldn't be justified. You betrayed everything we stood for. And for what? The Republic? Hunter: We're loyal to each other, not some Empire. Crosshair: You weren't loyal to me. I was one of you. You may have forgotten, but I haven't. And it's why I'm going to give you what you never gave me: a chance. |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair expressing resentment towards and hypocritically accusing the Bad Batch for leaving him behind. |
| “ | Hunter: Crosshair, don't. Crosshair: It's for her own good. And yours. Hunter: Omega belongs with us. Crosshair: Living among fugitives where she's in constant danger? You want to protect the kid, then let her go. Stop pretending to be something you're not, Hunter. We're not like the regs. We never have been. We're superior. The Empire can't protect the galaxy without strength. This is what we were made for. Think of all we could do together. [Cut Hunter's handcuffs] We were brothers once. We can be again. Hunter: Why would we trust you? Crosshair: [Aims his blaster at Hunter and addresses Elite Squad] Stand down. ES-03: Negative, Commander. Crosshair: [Shoots the reflective mirror, bouncing the laser through the Elite Squad, killing them] Does that answer your question? |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair trying to rally his old team to his side before killing the Elite Squad in cold blood as proof of his sincerity. |
| “ | Crosshair: You all are meant for more than drifting through the galaxy. It's time to stop running. Join the Empire, and you will have purpose again. Hunter: You really don't get who we are, do you? Crosshair: Don't make the same mistake twice. Don't become my enemy. Hunter: Crosshair, we never were. |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair angered that his brothers are still turning their backs on the Empire. |
| “ | I killed an Imperial officer. So, yes, I did betray them after they betrayed me. Oh, don't pretend like this is all about me. I tried to warn you, Hunter. I risked everything to send you that message. You ignored it. You let Omega be taken to Tantiss. She went through what she did because you failed. You're angry because she escaped with my help, not yours. | „ |
| ~ Crosshair reveals why he ended up betraying the Empire as he argues with Hunter over their bad terms. |
| “ | Crosshair: You fall behind, you get left behind. Rampart: You used to believe good soldiers followed orders. Crosshair: Depends on who's giving them. The Empire betrayed us both. Rampart: And you think you can fight them? That's not you. You're like me. Loyal to no one but yourself. Crosshair: I've changed. |
„ |
| ~ Crosshair to Rampart. |
Trivia
- Crosshair was created by director Dave Filoni and writers Brent Friedman and Matt Michnovetz for Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
- He was inspired by renowned American actor Clint Eastwood, who often portrayed a cold-hearted gunslinger operating out of the Wild West in his movies.
- Like Cad Bane, Crosshair is often shown chewing on a toothpick.
- Before his redemption, he served as a foil to the other members of Clone Force 99. He chose to stay with the Empire while the others immediately defected after they realized what they’re doing is wrong, the first time was due to a slight modification in his chip, the second time was willingly. Regarding his personality, he was pessimistic compared to the others, especially Hunter and Omega, as he does not see the good in anybody including himself, which made him unable to change for the better.
- According to Tech, he was unable to change due to his cynical nature. However, towards and after his redemption, it turns out that his superiors (Rampart, Nolan and Hemlock) were the real ones who are truly unable to change.
- Crosshair ultimately serves as a foil to his true archnemesis, Dr. Royce Hemlock, as while Crosshair makes effort to improve himself as a person, Dr. Hemlock continuously proves to be unforgivable with his actions.
- It is implied that Crosshair's disdain for the regs sterns from a feeling of rejection by them as well as isolation (which is implied when he tried to sit with two of them during his service to the Empire, only for them to walk away out of disgust), making him feel alienated from the Clone Brotherhood, but finding a family in Clone Force 99.
- This sense of loneliness is further shown in his interactions with the human-born Elite Squad Troopers, who Crosshair held an even greater dislike towards than the "regs," as well as the fact that they showed no respect for him despite Crosshair being more experienced and superior in rank to them. Crosshair seemed eager to avoid them, and this came full circle in "Return to Kamino" when he killed all but one of them.
- In addition, while he commits many questionable things, he doesn't enjoy or revel in them, but rather justifies them as necessary, though it only furthered his misery, but he is too afraid and unwilling to admit that he is suffering from his allegiance to the Empire, who doesn't value him as a person at all, only using him as tool to be disposed of.
- Despite this, he still greatly misses his brothers in Clone Force 99 and wishes they had stayed with him. He was also happy to serve under Commander Cody (one of the few Regs he ever considered a friend, as well as one of the few outside Clone Force 99 who ever treated him with respect), even acting more social around him and his men while working better with them, unlike the Elite Squad.
- He also ended up making friends with another Clone Commander called Mayday. While initially weary of him, Crosshair grew to trust and care about him, to the point he went to great lengths to save him at his own life's risk after he was badly injured in an avalance. He was also disgusted at how Lieutenant Nolan blatantly disregarded Mayday's wellbeing, denied him medical treatment and allowed him to die after they barely made it back to the outpost, which was the last straw, leading Crosshair to kill the Lieutenant.
External Links
- Crosshair on the Heroes Wiki
- Crosshair on the Star Wars Wiki
- Crosshair on the Disney Wiki
