Star Wars: Republic Commando changed how clone troopers were depicted in Star Wars by showing them as people rather than one-dimensional drones. Making the main characters clones and giving them individual personalities had never been done before. Even the prequel movies Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith showed clones as faceless soldiers. Republic Commando found a way to give each of the four of Delta Squad a unique personality, helping players to better connect to the clones of Jango Fett.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Republic Commando.]
Star Wars: Republic Commando is a first-person shooter originally published by LucasArts back in 2005, although it was recently remastered and released for consoles in April 2021 by Aspyr. When Disney bought the Star Wars IP in 2012, Republic Commando became part of the Legends universe, ing many other Star Wars video games removed from canon. However, despite Republic Commando's events no longer being considered truly canon, it still heavily influences current canon games and TV series.
Star Wars: Republic Commando gave the main characters their own identities beyond that of simple cloned soldiers, which became the norm in later Star Wars media. This idea of the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic being depicted as realistic people became one of the main elements of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and, more recently, Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Without Republic Commando's Boss, Fixer, Scorch, and Sev, there would be no Hunter, Rex, Fives, or Wrecker.
Star Wars: Republic Commando's Delta Squad
Star Wars: Republic Commando follows the clones of Delta Squad as they fight in the Clone Wars, an intergalactic conflict in Star Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, also knowns as the Separatists. Starting during the battle of Geonosis, the squad moves to a rescue mission on a Republic battleship and later even more dangerous missions on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Throughout Republic Commando, the player controls Boss, the leader of Delta Squad, as the team completes the missions assigned to them. At the end of the game, it is heavily implied that Sev has been killed, and the remaining of Delta Squad are forced to leave him behind.
Each of the clones of Delta Squad in Republic Commando is voiced by a different voice actor, which helps players quickly differentiate who is speaking in-game but also helps to draw attention to the differences in their personalities. Temuera Morrison, who had played Star Wars bounty hunter Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones and currently plays Boba Fett in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, voices Boss. As the leader of Delta Squad, players issue orders to the rest of the team as they conduct ultra high-stakes missions behind enemy lines. Boss is a gifted soldier but quite taciturn, preferring to let his actions do the talking.
RC-1140, known as Fixer, is the second in command of Delta Squad and is voiced by Andrew Chaikin. Fixer is the most serious of the group, preferring to call the other clones by their numerical designations rather than their chosen nicknames throughout the classic Star Wars shooter. He also keeps quiet, similar to Boss, although Fixer does speak up whenever Scorch and Sev's playful teasing annoys him.
RC-1262 is, also known as Scorch, is the team's demolitions expert and is voiced by Raphael Sbarge, who had previously voiced Carth Onasi in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Scorch is the joker of the group and often pokes fun at the situations Delta Squad encounters. A lot of his jokes are pretty sarcastic with his use of irony, sometimes rubbing other team the wrong way. The friendly rivalry between him and Sev is often apparent through their verbal sparring, something seen amongst many Star Wars game companions.
The final member of Delta Squad is Sev, RC-1207, who is voiced by Jonathan Cook and is described as an expert marksman. Sev ired his training sergeant, Walon Vau, to the point of reverence and believed that any failure on his part would reflect poorly on Vau. Outwardly Sev behaves quite aggressively to mask his own securities, which along with his grim sense of humor, can cause other of the team to tease him and playfully call him a psychopath.
Delta Squad are further identified by the coloring on their armor, similar to how special forces soldiers customize their kit and vehicles. Visually distinguishing the clones was something deliberately integrated by the developers into Republic Commando after being inspired by real soldiers. This is something that writers carried over to the Clone Wars and Bad Batch animated series, where many clones were seen with custom paint jobs on their armor, tattoos, and unique hairstyles.
The Legacy Of Delta Squad In Clone Wars And Bad Batch
The Clone Wars took the foundation laid in Republic Commando and expanded it when creating the clones seen in the series. These clones were shown as separate people rather than mass-produced parts of the background scenery. Notable clones such as Captain Rex, Fives, Jesse, and all of the Bad Batch owe their individualism to Republic Commando.
Fans of The Clone Wars are familiar with how clones on the series use customization to better show which Jedi they serve and their own personality. Most clones accomplish this by using art on their armor and, more importantly, giving each other and themselves nicknames. There are several episodes where clones are shown gaining their nicknames, such as the season three premiere Clone Cadets, where CT-4040 gains his nickname Cutup. Another episode that draws attention to the importance clones put on their names is season six, episode one, titled The Unknown, when Fives accompanies Tup back to Kamino, and he emphasizes to the medical droid AZI-3 that he has a name, not a number.
Delta Squad and the role they played in establishing how clones are portrayed has been acknowledged by writers of both The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch as of the Republic Commando squad have appeared in both series. All four of Delta Squad appeared in The Clone Wars season three, episode 14, Witches of the Mist, when they accompany the bodies of a Jedi Master and his padawan back to the Jedi council. However, only Boss speaks to the gathered Jedi Masters to give a mission report.
Scorch appears in episode 14 of The Bad Batch, War-Mantle, where he fights against Hunter, Echo, and Tech, who are attempting to rescue Gregor from the Empire. Scorch is seen leading the new none clone troopers wearing armor directly inspired by Delta Squad's look in Republic Commando. Scorch, however, has no dialogue as he is quickly stunned as the team helps Gregor escape.
Bringing Legends video game characters into Star Wars canon opens up a lot of possibilities for more content involving Delta Squad. More of Delta Squad could appear in future episodes of The Bad Batch or vice versa, as well-known clones could appear if there were ever a sequel or remake to Star Wars: Republic Commando. Even if the original adventures of Delta Squad are never officially continued in canon, their legacy lives on through the personalities of all clones.
