Ranking the top 15 'Star Wars' clone troopers

"You fought in the Clone Wars?"

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) asks Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) this simple question in 1977's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but it was years before this mysterious event took shape on screen. Just who were these clones and how did Obi-Wan find himself fighting alongside them? Where did all these clones come from and where were they now?

It wasn't until 2002's Attack of the Clones came out that we learned the answers. The clones were all genetic copies of the bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and were bred and trained in secret before being unleashed on the Separatist Forces in defense of the Galactic Republic. But little did Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi know as they fought alongside the clones and led them in battle that their brothers-in-arms would spell the Jedi's own doom. An inhibitor chip implanted into the brain of every clone would eventually allow the future Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to enact Order 66 and use the clones to wipe out most of the Jedi.

While the clone soldiers acted as mostly a plot device on the big screen, it wasn't until The Clone Wars animated series that these clone troopers got storylines of their own and became more than an eerily homogeneous fighting force. Voiced by the insanely-talented Dee Baker Bradley, the clones started taking on distinct personalities, and that work continued on Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

After EW ranked the top 100 Star Wars characters, we turned our eyes towards the Kamino born and bread soldiers for a ranking of their own. Though there are literally thousands of them, we're just ranking the top 15 and keeping it to clone troopers (meaning Omega, Boba Fett, and whatever was going on with Palpatine and the vat of Snokes in The Rise of Skywalker don't qualify for this list. Not that the last two would ever made it anyway.) So read on to see if your favorite clone trooper made the cut, and see if EW's fellow Star Wars obsessives agree or disagree as the list is debated and discussed on the Dagobah Dispatch podcast.

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15. Howzer

Clone Captain Howzer in 'The Bad Batch' — Clone Captain Howzer on 'The Bad Batch'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

This is mostly for his hair cut. I mean… look at him. Hubba hubba.

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14. Slip

Slip on Star Wars The Bad Batch — Slip tried to stop the plot to replace the clone troopers on 'The Bad Batch'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

Similar to Fives and Tup (who will come later), Slip tried to blow the whistle on a plot of Palpatine's and paid for it with his life. He and his fellow trooper Cade witnessed the intentional destruction of Kamino and its cloning facilities by Vice Admiral Rampart. After Cade was assassinated for that knowledge, Slip reached out to Captain Rex for help while Senator Riyo Chuchi took his information and tried to stop the passage of the Defense Recruitment Act (which would phase out the clone troopers completely and give Palpatine a fighting force loyal only to him). Slip was killed as well, and even though Rex and the Bad Batch got the Senate the proof of Rampart's misdeeds, the Emperor turned that information to his benefit and ushered in the age of the stormtroopers. Considering how bad the stormtroopers were at… well… everything, whether Palpatine came to regret that decision, we do not know.

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13. Hunter

Star Wars The Bad Batch — Clone Force 99 leader Hunter on "The Bad Batch'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

While the rest of the Bad Batch act as Omega's brothers, Hunter is the true daddy of the group, and his relationship to Omega is reminiscent of that of Mando and Grogu. The Rambo-like Hunter might not be as flashy as some of the other members of the Batch, but he is the kind of reliable and quick-thinking soldier you want to have on your side when a battle begins.

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12. Jesse

Jesse in 'The Clone Wars' — Jesse on 'The Clone Wars'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

Jesse loved the Republic so much he got its symbol tattooed on his face. So for someone who was such a loyal clone trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic, it's chilling to see how quickly he became an enemy once Order 66 turned everything on its head. As Rex and Ahsoka faced off against their former comrade, Jesse was ready to execute both of them without question even though Ahsoka was technically no longer a Jedi at the time. He wound up dying in the ensuing skirmish, but Rex and Ahsoka still gave him a proper burial using his helmet as a grave marker alongside the rest of their fallen friends turned enemies.

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11. Crosshair

Though Crosshair is a bit hard to love, he provides an excellent foil to the rest of the Bad Batch, who were once his loyal teammates. The only member of the group with a fully functioning inhibitor chip, Crosshair saw no issue with Order 66 and decided to stay under Imperial command when the rest of the squad went AWOL. But in season 2, we start to see some of the cracks in his hard-boiled facade, and it's made for a fascinating watch.

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10. Tech

Tech is sort of like the Cliff Clavin of the Bad Batch in that he knows a lot of random facts and will dispatch them at any moment, whether called for or not. Precise, talkative, but almost never emotional, Tech is often an inadvertent source of comic relief because of his complete inability to relate to anyone on human terms. But while he might not be the best shoulder to cry on (and is often befuddled by why Omega is upset), he is an excellent teacher to her, and the Bad Batch wouldn't be the same without his technical expertise.

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9. Wolffe

Disney XD's "Star Wars Rebels" - Season Two — Captain Wolffe on 'Star Wars Rebels'. Disney XD via Getty Images)

Leader of the Wolfpack Squad, Wolffe served under Jedi General Plo Koon and lost one of his eyes in a fight with Asajj Ventress, so he was quite the tough cookie during the Clone Wars. Along with Captain Rex and Gregor, he had his inhibitor chip removed and was living in seclusion with them both until the Ghost crew came calling for Captain Rex. Fearing their presence put Rex and Gregor in danger, he initially ratted the crew out to the Empire, but soon saw the error of his ways. Eventually, he came out of retirement along with Gregor to fight in the liberation of Lothal, showing that deep down he was still a true soldier of the Republic.

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8. Wrecker

The Bad Batch Wrecker — Wrecker in 'The Bad Batch'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

The behemoth brawler is delightfully child-like in his enthusiasm for almost everything, whether acting as Omega's big brother or providing the needed muscle to get the Bad Batch out of a scrape. He might not be the sharpest member when it comes to brain power, but he's got the biggest, truest heart of them all.

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7. Gregor

Gregor in Star Wars The Clone Wars — Gregor on 'The Clone Wars'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

From his time fighting in the Clone Wars up through helping to free Lothal from Imperial control during Star Wars Rebels, Gregor had one of the longest storylines of any of the clones. After escaping defeat in battle during the Clone Wars, Gregor wound up in a crash that left him with a bout of amnesia so bad he didn't realize he was a trooper. He later regained his memories, but a second traumatic brain injury left him not entirely together in his later years. Though he avoided participating in Order 66, he wound up training the first batches of stormtroopers before going AWOL. He retired from combat until he could no longer ignore the tyranny of the Empire and fought for the liberation of Lothal. He gave his life fighting for the burgeoning Rebellion, receiving a true soldier's death in the process.

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6. Echo

Echo has possibly the most wild backstory of all the clones. Originally starting out as one of the Regs along with Fives in the Domino Squad and assumed dead after a massive explosion, Echo was captured by Separatist Forces and turned into a cyborg on Skako Minor. He stayed that way for years, barely the shell of the man he once was… until he was saved by Rex and Clone Force 99. Filled with cybernetics, he felt more at home with the Bad Batch than his old comrades until he had a crisis of conscience and joined Rex's burgeoning efforts to help his fellow clone trooper escape Imperial grasp.

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5. Cody

Commander Cody in Star Wars The Bad Batch — Commander Cody on 'The Bad Batch'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

Ok, he did try to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi… but he feels really bad about that now. Putting his actions during Order 66 aside, Cody was always the most reliable of the clone troopers, and had the most screen time outside of Rex. His first appearance stretched all the way back to Attack of the Clones when he was played by Temuera Morrison. Though he thankfully did not kill Obi-Wan during Order 66, what made his participation so sad was that he was always by the Jedi Master's side through thick and thin, his steadfast second-in-command. But like countless other clone troopers, his loyalty was no match for his inhibitor chip. Cody is emblematic of how horrific Order 66 was for everyone involved — not just the Jedi who lost their lives, but all the clones who were forced to betray their friends through no choice of their own.

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4. 99

While the Kamino cloning facility created thousands of clone troopers, the process didn't always run so smoothly, as happened in the case of clone 99. Aging at a rate far quicker than intended and deemed too weak to fight, 99 became a janitor on Kamino, but always helped when he was needed. His wisdom not only helped Domino Squad to unify during their training, but his bravery led to his own heroic death in defending Tipoca City from attack. Though his body strayed from the clone ideal, he showed again and again that he had the true heart of a trooper.

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2 and 3. Fives and Tup

Fives in The Clone Wars — Fives on 'The Clone Wars'. Lucasfilm Ltd.

While The Clones Wars followed the stories of many clone troopers, none were more tragic than those of Fives and Tup. During a mission, Tup's inhibitor chip malfunctioned, leading him to kill the Jedi general he was serving under. Though Count Dooku tried to kidnap Tup in order to cover up the real purpose of the inhibitor chips, Fives learned the truth after Tup died. Having uncovered the conspiracy, Fives tried to blow the whistle, but interference from the Kaminoans and Palpatine prevented his accusations from reaching the right ears and he died before the Jedi could be properly warned. Perhaps the fall of the Jedi Order might never have happened if he had lived, but at least his warning made its way to Captain Rex, and Rex's knowledge helped the Bad Batch and a few other clones like Gregor and Wolffe evade the sad fate of their brothers.

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Captain Rex

If it was up to me, Captain Rex would have ranked in the top 10 of EW's Star Wars character ranking. What makes Rex such a great character? If one thing could sum up his appeal it would be his steadfast loyalty to not only his brothers in arms, but the Jedi he served alongside during the Clone Wars and to the Republic itself. Even when Order 66 came down, his loyalty to Ahsoka Tano enabled him to resist his chip long enough to give her a fighting chance. And once removed, he jumped right into the fray, defending her and fighting against what the emerging Empire was doing to his brothers. He later joined up with the Ghost crew to and made it all the way to the Battle of Endor. No matter what was happening, Rex not only knew the right thing to do, but did it without hesitation. If there is a battle to be won, Rex is the guy you want by your side, and that's what makes him number 1 on this list.