One of the great things about Star wars is that it inspires endless debate and opinion on a wide range of topics. Best bounty hunter? The most powerful Jedi? Does Salacious Crumb have the best haircut in the saga? With that in mind, StarWars.com presents From a Certain Point of View: a series of point-counterpoints on some of the biggest – and funniest – Star wars Questions. In this episode, two StarWars.com writers take a stand on Clone Force 99’s most valuable player, featured in the Star Wars: The Bad Lot animated series, now airing on Disney +.

Even as a most recent member, there is a strong case for Echo, Dustin says.

I think we can all agree that the entire Bad Batch line-up is pretty awesome – they have their own show, after all! But if we’re to reduce it to the best of meanness, there’s really only one answer: Echo. I know, I know, he’s only been a member of the crew for about, what, 30 seconds? But he’s definitely part of the gang now, as we’ve seen in the new series before.

So what makes a Clone Force 99 rookie the best of the bunch? Well, speaking of recruits …

For fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Echo is a character that has anchored us throughout the series. From his very first introduction in Season 1, Episode 5 (which was, yes, titled “Rookies”), he became a beloved character who continued to remind us what the show was about – not just the Clone Wars. in all its politics and its Jedi. -the glory of combat, but the clones on the front lines. Many fans, literally, grew up with Echo. Its story (so far) has lasted twelve years – much more time than we could spend with the rest of the Bad Batch. We’re emotionally invested in Echo in ways we may never be with Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Hunter.

A year and a half after his debut in “Rookies”, we had a double of Echo’s Goodness: the season 3 premiere, along with the previous episode, “Clone Cadets”. We were reminded once again of the stakes of the Clone Wars, as well as the names and faces behind those sparkling buckets. And while that was over a decade ago, Echo was actually part of the original “Bad Batch”, also known as the Domino Squad. A group of misfits who have learned the value of pooling their unique abilities to create a formidable, cohesive force, it’s no wonder that Echo is the perfect missing piece for Clone Force 99.

We also can’t forget the other part of this Season 3 premiere: “ARC Troopers”. Fans were finally treated to an on-screen version of these elite soldiers, and seeing Echo join their ranks definitely encouraged me for my favorite recruit.

Finally, what other Bad Batch member gave us such a moving roller coaster? Our brave RCAF soldier apparently bit the dust during the 2011 “counterattack” to introduce himself. nine years later in the last season. It’s a Palpatine level respawn! While Star wars certainly loves resurrecting his villains (Maul, Palpatine, etc.), it’s rare that they bring back our beloved heroes. And seeing Echo again (even in his haunting cyborg state), evoked some pretty strong “stop-cry-this-is-just-a-TV-show-but-OMG-that’s-ECHO” emotions.

With its chic, lobot-esque cybernetic build and a host of amazing-sure-to-amazing cyborg gadgets up its sleeve, let’s just admit they should really be called Echo Squad.

Each turn, Clone Force 99 succeeds with one limb. It’s Tech, Jenn said.

When you assemble a crew to complete a secret mission, you can assemble a familiar cast of characters: there’s the muscle (Wrecker); the cynic with an attitude (Crosshair); the one with good hair and a great sense of fashion (Hunter); multitasking (Echo); and then there is the one who can hack any mainframe, knows multiple languages ​​and often shares fascinating facts at the most inconvenient times (Tech). Each of them offers a unique set of skills, but only one, in my opinion, deserves the title of Most Valuable Player. So let’s describe why technology should be considered the real MVP of the wrong lot.

First of all, Tech is an expert translator. One of the main reasons C-3PO managed to stick around for generations of Skywalkers is that he knew things. As, a lot things. The technology might be human, but it’s the closest you can get to having a protocol droid in your ranks. If you ever found yourself on a new planet where you couldn’t talk to the locals, Tech could help you with interplanetary relations, which is exactly what happened when the Bad Batch landed on Skako Minor. After some kidnappings and a confrontation with the Poletecs, Tech spoke to the Chieftain and was able to translate a crucial piece of information: The Poletecs did not want war on their planet. Tech’s ability to understand and speak their language allowed him to ease tensions and in the end, the Poletecs became allies and aided the crew in their mission – all thanks to Tech’s translation skills.

The technology is precise. Wrecker loves to smash doors, but not all operations require a linebacker-type force. Using the computer terminal in his armor, Tech could easily open a locked door without using any force. This gave the crew the advantage of moving stealthily through the Separatist base in the town of Purkoll. And when the time came to reach their goals, the team had no problem thanks to Tech’s trajectory calculations. Of course, Crosshair had exceptional sharp shooting skills, but Tech did it without the obnoxious demeanor.

And during the infiltration of Admiral Trench’s dreadnought, Tech prevented Echo from accidentally transmitting their whereabouts to the Separatists and managed to mask Echo’s signal so that it appeared to be from Skako Minor. If Tech hadn’t thought a step ahead, their location would have been found immediately.

Let’s be honest. Without Tech, would the crew have succeeded in their mission? The clone wars? I do not think so. Wherever the clones went, Tech was the one who was always supposed to “get down to business on these computers,” as Hunter put it. He was responsible for alerting the squad when there was a battle droid platoon, or if Separatist forces crossed the outpost. Translate any language? No problem. Pilot the squad shuttle? Always on it. And without Tech, the clones would never have made the greatest discovery of all. It was Tech who hacked into the Cyber ​​Center computer on the planet Anaxes, which allowed them to discover that there was a live signal from another planet, which allowed them to learn that the person sending the signal was CT-1409 … also known as Echo!

So here is. Every member of Clone Force 99 is exceptional, but when it comes to the group’s MVP, I’m giving Tech my headset.

Is Dustin right or do you agree with Jennifer? Maybe they are both wrong from your point of view! Let us know on social media using #FromACertainPOV!

Dustin Diehl’s editorial work includes Fortune 500 brands and major publishers like Out Magazine and Avocado – but her first love is Star wars. His dog and cat keep him busy, but he still manages to find time for a good TV frenzy. Geek with him on Twitter @DRJedi.

Jennifer Landa is an actress, host and designer. Follow her on Twitter @JenniferLanda and for more Star wars-inspired content, visit his YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/jenniferlanda.

Site tags: #StarWarsBlog, #TheBadBatch

KEYWORDS: echo, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Tech