A Brief History of Delta Squad, the Original Bad Batch
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been a year since the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars came to an end. And it gave everything the fans wanted, and even some things they didn’t even know they wanted. Case in point, Clone Force 99, AKA the Bad Batch. They’re a group of Clones clearly inspired by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes them incredibly badass. And now, they’re about to get their own series of the same name. However, they’re not the first group of deadly Clones that Star Wars has focused on. That distinction goes to their predecessors. We got a brief cameo of them in The Clone Wars, but much of their history has been left by the wayside, a victim of Disney’s reset of Star Wars. This is the story of the original Bad Batch. This is the story of Delta Squad.
Delta Squad: The Origin
The story of Delta Squad goes back to the year 2005, a pivotal year for Star Wars. With the imminent release of Revenge of the Sith, Lucasfilms was going all out on Star Wars content. To coincide with the film’s release, LucasArts published a new shooter game set in the Star Wars Universe. Unlike the popular Battlefront games, though, this game would entirely first-person shooter. In other words, it would be Medal of Honor/Call of Duty, but for Star Wars. Either way, the result was Star Wars: Republic Commando.
The game itself wasn’t that long, but fans and critics loved the combat and the gritty war story that it told. Sadly, what could have been the start to a series of games got cancelled, leaving fans left with Republic Commando and the tie-in novels. However, Dave Filoni and the people behind Star Wars : The Clone Wars saw fit to bring them back into the canon with their show. Delta Squad made a cameo in a Season Three episode, but fans will more likely remember Gregor, the amnesiac Clone Commando from the show’s 100th episode. And if one Commando could do all that Gregor did, then imagine what a squad could do?
Delta Squad is that squad.
Meet Delta Squad
In the original universe canon, Delta Squad’s origins remain the same as the rest of the Clone Troopers. Created from the DNA of Jango Fett, Delta Squad started their lives like any other Clone. However, they were meant for different things, as they were Clone Commandos, the elite of the Clone Army. Whereas the ARC Troopers would fight on or near the front lines, the Commandos would take it a step further. Outfitted with the best armor, multi-purpose blasters, and being personally trained by Mandalorian warriors, the Commandos were the Republic’s black ops. They’d go in behind enemy lines and inflict maximum damage, making them one of the Republic’s most effective weapons. And Delta Squad was one of their best.
Delta Squad was comprised of four soldiers, each befitting a different role. Leading the squad was Delta 38, AKA Boss. He was the squad’s Leonardo. Then there was 40, or Fixer. He was the Squad’s slicing expert, second-in-command, and Donatello. There was 62, AKA Scorch. The team’s demolitions expert and wisecracker, Scorch was Delta Squad’s Michelangelo and their heart and soul. Lastly there was 07, or Sev. The team’s Raphael, he was the deadliest of the squad, racking up kills like there was no tomorrow.
Alone, each of these men were formidable. Together, they were capable of doing things that would take entire armies. And the Republic would call on them in it’s time of need.
Clone Wars Exploits
Like most of the Clone Army, Delta Squad got their baptism of fire during the Battle of Geonosis.
Geonosis
Splitting up for their drop on Geonosis, Delta Squad arrived right in the thick of things in the coliseum from the movie. Their goal: find Geonosian leader Sun Fac and eliminate him before he could escape the planet. As Delta Squad joined up, the commandos proved their mettle against battle droids and Geonosian warriors alike. Needless to say, Sun Fac was terminated with extreme prejudice. In addition, they were the first to witness General Grevious as he fled in his fighter.
After that, the squad descended into the bowels of the planet. Tasked with destroying a key droid factory, the squad succeeded before returning to the surface. Their next task? To infiltrate a Trade Federation starship, get the launch codes for the Separatist fleet, and get out alive. Despite being aboard a ship full of battle droids and Geonosian warriors ready to tear them apart, they pulled it off. They got the launch codes, allowing the Republic to ground any CIS ships unlucky enough to still be stuck on the ground. Better still, they destroyed the ship in the process!
The Prosecutor
About a year after Geonosis, the Prosecutor, a Republic assault ship that had previously gone missing suddenly reappeared on the edge of Republic space. Suspecting a trap, the Republic sent Delta Squad to investigate. Once again, the squad split up to cover more ground. This nearly became a fatal mistake.
The Republic was right to worry. When the squad arrived on board, they found most of the crew dead. Worse, the squad lost contact with each other as there swarmed by tiny scavenger droids trying to drill holes in their head! However, they were just pawns for their masters: Trandoshan mercenaries.
Somehow, a group of Trandoshsns had hijacked the Prosecutor and spent the last few weeks seizing control of it. Their goal was to sell it, and all its intel, to the Separatists in exchange for money, weapons, the works. Delta Squad wasn’t having any of that. They fought their way through the ship to regroup, then tore the mercs a new one. However, once that was done, a Trade Federation battleship appeared to claim their prize. Facing an incoming army of battle droids, Delta Squad held the enemy off long enough for help to arrive. And once again, they destroyed the enemy ship!
Kashyyyk
It was two years later that Delta Squad partook in their toughest mission on Kashyyyk, home of the Wookies. The Wookie leader, Tarfful, had been captured by Trandoshan slavers. It was Delta’s mission to find and free him. They did more than that, though. They found that the Separatists were in the process of launching a full-scale invasion of the planet.
Now aware of the droid presence on Kashyyyk, Delta Squad became the Republic’s first line of defense against the Separatist invasion. Making their way to the vital coastal city of Kachiro (AKA the sight of the battle seen in Revenge of the Sith), Delta Squad fought through hordes of battle droids, Trandoshan mercs, and Geonosian warriors. Because of their efforts, the Wookies were able to rally and drive the enemy out of the city. Then, in keeping with their theme of badassery, Delta Squad single-handedly brought down a Separatist cruiser parked above the city.
However, this time, victory came at a cost. Right when they were to regroup for exfil, Sev got ambushed by a group of droids. Despite every fiber of their being wanting to go after him, the commandos were ordered by Yoda himself to get out of there, leaving Sev MIA.
After the war ended, the remaining members of Delta Squad became Imperial Commandos. However, their story ends here. And with Disney having axed the EU, we may never know what happened next to them. Or if Sev was still alive or not.
Delta Squad Lives On
Delta Squad may be a potentially underrated part of Star Wars lore, but their legacy lives on in the franchise. First, they had their brief cameo in The Clone Wars. Then, we saw what the commandos could do with Gregor. Now, we arrive in the present day with Delta’s spiritual successors, the Bad Batch.
Don’t believe me? Here’s proof. Firstly, we have a group of initially four (now five) elite Clones that echo the Ninja Turtles. Hunter’s the leader, their Leonardo, and who I swear looks like a young Rambo! Tech is the gadgeteer genius, much like Donatello. Wrecker’s a fusion of Michelangelo’s comedic nature and Raphael’s blood-warrior. And Crosshair? He got the stone-cold warrior aspect of Raphael.
Like I said. Bad Batch=Delta Squad=Ninja Turtles. This show is going to be epic, and I get wait to see what Dave Filoni and his team have come up with.
If you want to enjoy the story of Delta Squad for yourself, go buy their game Star Wars: Republic Commando. It’s been available on Steam for a while now. Or if you’re a console person, then a port for the game just released on the PS5 and Nintendo Switch.
