Captain Rex (birth number CT-7567) is a generation one clone trooper commander who fought alongside Jedi KnightAnakin Skywalker and his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano.
At the end of the war, Rex, Bo-Katan and Ahsoka (who had unofficially rejoined the order) led part of the 501st in the Siege of Mandalore, intent on capturing the renegade Sith Darth Maul. They succeeded in capturing Maul, but on the way back to Coruscant, Palpatine issued Order 66, activating the clones' inhibitor chips that compelled them to follow all orders. While the rest of the clones, including Jesse, immediately tried to kill Ahsoka, Rex resisted his programming and told Ahsoka to "find Fives", who had died while trying to warn him about the conspiracy against the Jedi.
Rex then began shooting at Ahsoka against his will, but she escaped. After being forced to free Maul to use him as a distraction, Ahsoka successfully removed Rex's chip, freeing him from its violent programming, although this also turned the rest of the clones against Rex. After he, Maul, and Ahsoka escaped the Venator-class Star Destroyer, all three of them faked their deaths. Rex went into exile on Seelos with fellow clones Gregor and Wolffe, who had also had their inhibitor chips removed.
Rex is later recruited by the crew of the Ghost to join the Rebellion, and eventually fought in the climactic Battle of Endor.
Rex is a gruff, aggressive and fearless captain among the clone troopers. Aside from his strength, he is an excellent tactician and capable of cunning maneuvers around his enemies. Despite Rex's serious demeanor, he has a good sense of humor, as well as a strong sense of loyalty, honor, and good morals. He also cares about his fellow soldiers and clones, considering them his brothers.
Abilities[]
Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Despite Rex's old age, as a former clone commander, he is an extremely skilled hand-to-hand combatant.
Expert Marksman: Despite Rex's old age, as a former clone commander, he is extremely skilled in utilizing blaster pistols and blaster rifles.
High-Level Intellect/Expert Tactician/Leader: Rex is highly intelligent. As a former clone commander, Rex is an extremely skilled tactician and a very capable leader.
High Tolerance for Pain/Indomitable Will: As a former clone commander, Rex has been trained to resist interrogation as a prisoner of war. Initially, he was vulnerable to Force Mind trick (mind control) powers. Although, throughout the Clone Wars, Rex's willpower is further amplified to the point where he is completely resistant to all forms of mind control powers. Rex also was able to resist the inhibitor chip that was implanted in his brain long enough to tell Ahsoka of it.
Weapons and Equipment[]
Armor[]
Phase II Clone Trooper armor: Rex utilizes Phase II Clone Trooper armor to protect himself from his enemies in battle.
Blaster[]
Dual DC-17 hand blaster: Rex utilized a DC-17 hand blaster pistol as his main and second weapon of choice. Rex continued to use them while fighting against the Empire.
DC-15A blaster rifle: Rex utilized a DC-15A blaster rifle as his weapon of choice.
Former Weapons and Equipment[]
Armor[]
Phase I Clone Trooper armor: Rex utilized Phase I Clone Trooper armor to protect himself from his enemies in battle.
History[]
The Clone Wars[]
Rex is the most prominent clone trooper in the series. He is good friends with Anakin Skywalker, Cody, and Ahsoka Tano. He was the only one besides Anakin who saw right away that Ahsoka was being framed and was devastated when she refused to rejoin the Jedi Order. He was also devastated when ARC trooper Fives died, as they had known each other since fighting together to save the Rishi outpost. He is tough and loyal, evidenced when Asajj Ventress interrogated him and he refused to talk.
At the end of the war, Ahsoka contacted the Republic in hopes of having them assist her in retaking Mandalore from Darth Maul's puppet leadership. However, Chancellor Palpatine publicly revealed himself as a Sith Lord and issued Order 66, which caused the clones (including Rex) to turn on their Jedi generals, including Ahsoka. Rex had already learned about the clones' inhibitor chips, which the Kaminoans claimed were to curb the clones' aggression but were actually intended to compel them to obey Order 66, from Fives, but did not know their true purpose. Resisting his programming after receiving the order, Rex told Ahsoka to "find Fives" before opening fire. Ahsoka then learned about the chips and managed to capture Rex and have his chip removed, freeing him from its mind control but also causing the other clones to now want to kill Rex for treason. In the confusion, Maul attempted to escape, and Ahsoka was forced to choose between killing Maul and saving Rex. She chose the latter, and after faking their own deaths and crashing their Venator-class Star Destroyer into a moon, Ahsoka and Rex parted ways, with Rex going into retirement.[1][2]
Age of the Empire[]
Shortly after Order 66, Rex visited his old friend Cut Lawquane, a deserter clone, to warn him and his family of what had happened before leaving soon after. Still loyal to the now-extinct Republic, Rex hired the Martez sisters to retrieve a tactical droid head from Corellia. When the mission was over, the sisters contacted Rex to inform him that they had crossed paths with Clone Force 99, genetically modified clones that Rex encountered at the end of the Clone Wars.
Following his friends' trail to Ord Mantell, Rex found them in a bar where the reunion was off to a good start until the former captain learned that the clones still haven't removed their chips. Rex almost comes to the blasters remembering what the fleas did to his brothers but he pulls himself together as he thinks of a way to prevent the tragedy from happening again.
Meeting on Bracca, Rex takes Clone Force 99 and their protege Omega, a clone child, inside a Venator to access the only hardware that can remove the chips. After escaping a dianoga, the clones arrive at the right place but unfortunately Wrecker eventually succumbs to Order 66 and attacks the others until Rex knocks him out with a crippling shot. Clone Force 99 then removes all their chips and separate from Rex who leaves in the fog.
Months later, Rex is contacted by the Slip clone wanting to be evacuated from Coruscant after an assassin nearly kills him to silence the truth about the Kamino bombing. Unfortunately, Rex didn't arrive in time to save Slip but was able to knock out the assassin before he killed Riyo Chuchi, the Pantora senator whom Rex had previously met during the Clone Wars. Bringing the assassin to Martez's repair shop for questioning, Rex discovers that the mercenary is also a clone. During interrogation, the assassin clone claims that Rex is fighting the wrong battle, to which Rex asks what that makes of the assassin just before he kills himself with a shocker suicide after saying he is a believer.
Eager to also expose the truth about the bombing of Kamino with Riyo, Rex recruits the Bad Batch to infiltrate Admiral Rampart's Venator where Slip was on duty when Tipoca City was destroyed and store a command log there that could compromise Rampart. Infiltrating the shipyard where the Venator is docked, the clone team reaches the bridge undetected until they are forced to turn the power back on to access the command log, revealing their presence to the Imperial force. They manage to escape by using an escape pod to eject themselves from the Venator and then escaping through the sewers.
Although Rampart's misdeeds are exposed in the Senate, Emperor Palpatine distorts reality by placing all the blame on Rampart and the blind loyalty of the Clone Troopers under his command, allowing the Imperial Stormtrooper's initiative to prevail. Despite this setback, Rex intends to continue to help his brothers in danger because of the Defense Recruitment Bill, now supported by Echo who has decided to temporarily leave the Bad Batch to help Rex in his crusade.
The Rebellion[]
Coming out of Retirement[]
Years later, Rex retired to the Seelos syster with his fellow clone officers Wolffe and Gregor, living on an old AT-TE. Rex and his brothers are surprised by the arrival of the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, and quickly, Wolffe and Gregor open fire. Kanan, however, deflects them back, but Ezra Bridger, Kanan's apprentice, stops the fighting.
As the rebels and clones bond, Kanan still has sour feelings for the troopers, but Ezra looks up to Rex. As Rex puts together a list of locations for possible rebel bases, Garazeb Orrelios, Sabine Wren, Ezra, and Kanan help Gregor and Wolffe hunt for a giant worm. However, unbeknownst to the rebels and Rex and Gregor, Wolffe contacts the Empire and gives them the rebels' location. An Imperial probe droid zones in on them, and gives their location to the Imperial command.[3]
Rex and Kanan then confront Wolffe about his betrayal, and he replies that he simply wanted to protect his brothers. He then joins the rebels and clones as they battle the probe droid and wait for the arrival of the Imperial war machine. When Imperial Agent Kallus arrives with three Imperial AT-AT walkers, despite losing one to a sandstorm, Kallus has the other two, including the one he's piloting, engage Rex and the other clones as they buy time for the Lothal rebels to escape. However, the clones' AT-TE is no match for its Imperial descendants, and just as Kallus is about to finish them off, Kanan and Ezra return to commandeer the second AT-AT with Zeb, turning it on Kallus' until Rex delivers the killing blow with the main cannon of the AT-TE to the lightly-armored neck of the AT-AT, its weak spot. Kallus and his pilots escape, and the clones join the rebels, allowing Rex to reunite with Ahsoka, calling her "Commander" as he did during the Clone Wars.[4]
Phoenix Squadron[]
Some time later, Rex joins Ezra and Zeb to collect proton bombs from a wrecked Separatist ship, only to find a collection of battle droids still operational under the command of General Kalani, a super tactical droid from the Onderon occupation during the Clone Wars. Kalani had prevented his droids from being deactivated when Darth Sidious and Darth Vader sent out the call for the Separatist Droid Army to shut down following Vader executing Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray and the other Separatist leaders, ending the Clone Wars, as Kalani wanted to end it on his terms. However, when the Empire arrives to the area, Ezra convinces Rex and Kalani to put aside their differences and focus on escaping from the Empire, whom Ezra logically tells Kalani are the real tyranny that the Separatists had been fighting against since the Empire was originally the Republic. As they prepare to flee, Rex calls it "the last day in the Grand Army of the Republic" as he prepares for battle. Once they escape the Empire, Kalani and his surviving droids part ways with the rebels, but not without agreeing with Rex that, thanks to Ezra, they could finally consider the Clone Wars officially over and make peace with each other.
Rex was with some of the other rebels when he receives Senator Mon Mothma's call to unite into a single Rebel Alliance to face the Empire together. However, they are soon forced to abandon Chopper Base on Atollon when their location is compromised by Grand Admiral Thrawn knowing where they were and taking Agent Kallus, who was now a Rebel spy, prisoner. Both Phoenix Squadron and General Dodonna's combined fleets are no match for Thrawn and the Imperial fleet from Lothal, blocking their escape with two gravity well generator-equipped Interdictors, and tearing the combined Rebel fleet apart, forcing the remaining survivors to return to Atollon, where they are soon surrounded by Thrawn and his troops. However, before Thrawn can execute them, he is interrupted by an unnatural storm created by the Bendu, who demands all Rebel and Imperial forces to leave his planet at once or face annihilation by him. The distraction allows Rex, Hera, and the surviving Rebels to flee, while a Mandalorian strike team led by Ezra and Sabine take out the remaining Interdictor after Commander Sato sacrificed himself and the Phoenix Home to take out the first one. Having escaped Thrawn and his forces, the surviving Rebels make haste retreating to Rebel Headquarters on Yavin 4.
After retreating to the Rebel Headquarters on Yavin 4, Rex continues to aid the Lothal Rebels, including when they launch their plan to remove the Empire from Lothal completely. After capturing Imperial Governor Pryce, they use her as a hostage to force all the Imperial forces on Lothal back into the Dome that serves as their headquarters in the Capital City. Unfortunately, Thrawn returns earlier than anticipated, and Rukh had managed to shut off the capital's shield generators, leaving it vulnerable to aerial bombardment by Thrawn's Star Destroyers. Rex works to get the generators back online, leading to Rukh being electrocuted to death when the generators are restarted, ending his threat permanently, and the Imperial blockade and Thrawn's escort Star Destroyers are destroyed piecemeal by a large herd of Purrgil, who then latch onto the Chimaera and prepare to launch into hyperspace with it, taking Thrawn and Ezra with it. However, Rex's fellow clone trooper Gregor is killed during the fight to get the shield generators back online, but his sacrifice was not in vain. With Thrawn gone, the skies were clear, and the Rebels evacuate the Dome before launching it into the sky and destroying it, killing Pryce, who chose to go down with her men, remaining loyal to the Empire, and all her Imperial forces. Afterwards, the Rebels prepare for the counterattack that was sure to come from the Empire as Lothal was too valuable to give up, though the Rebels had the full support of Lothal now should the Empire ever return.
The Battle of Endor[]
However, their counterattack never came. Rex later served in the Battle of Endor that saw the end of the Galactic Empire with the deaths of the Emperor, Darth Vader, and thousands of Imperial men and materials, including their flagship Executor and the second Death Star, leaving the Rebel Alliance the winners of the Galactic Civil War and establishing the New Republic to succeed the original Galactic Republic that the Emperor dissolved at the end of the Clone Wars.
Rex is actually 31 years old, though his biological state is likely closer to at least sixty years, due to the accelerated aging that was genetically installed in all Clone Troopers. Because of their accelerating aging, Clones age twice as fast as regular humans.
In the episode "Warhead" the story was going to be focused on Rex and Zeb, but Rex was changed for Chopper.
He shares the same name and title with the Star Tours droid RX-24.
According to the DVD commentary for Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), the creators initially planned for Alpha-17 to be the main clone character in the series. However, George Lucas objected, believing that having another "A" name (with Anakin, Artoo, Ahsoka, and Alpha) would create an awkward alliteration. As a result, the character of Clone Captain Rex was created to take Alpha's place.[5]
Rex joining the Rebellion is similar to how a clone trooper name Able/CT-1707 joined the Rebellion after being saved by Luke Skywalker.
Rex later joined in the Battle of Endor, as part of Han Solo's Strike Team. Older Expanded Universe material listed this character as Nik Sant, but the "animated" Galaxy of Adventures short "Han Solo - From Smuggler to General" retcons Nik Sant into Rex. However, just because it shows Rex in there, doesn't officially confirm his appearance in Return of the Jedi.
Nik Sant was also wearing a Scout trooper armor during Endor and perished during the battle.
