WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 1, Episode 14, "War-Mantle," now streaming on Disney+.
Fans of Star Wars: The Bad Batch are getting used to looking out for Easter eggs, though usually these have been hints of characters and events from the far-flung corners of the Star Wars universe. Episode 14, "War-Mantle," which sees Clone Force 99 embarking on a dangerous rescue mission, offers something slightly different. Star Wars has always drawn influence from a wide range of other films and stories, and one moment in this episode pays homage to one of the key influences behind the Bad Batch's leader.
Ever since his introduction in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Hunter has been the Star Wars universe's answer to Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo. While the parallels between the two characters have always been evident, the latest episode of The Bad Batch doubled down on the homage, with a direct reference to Rambo: First Blood.
The clones of the Bad Batch all possess particular "defects," which made them useful for special missions. While most of these are almost immediately evident -- Wrecker's enhanced strength, Tech's enhanced intelligence, Echo's cybernetic implants and Crosshair's impeccable sharpshooting -- Hunter's genetic mutation is not as obvious. He possesses enhanced senses, making him an expert tracker and aiding his survival skills. This, along with his headband, long shaggy hair, and vibro-knife, create a striking resemblance between the clone and Stallone's former Special Forces soldier. While Hunter is less of a lone wolf than Rambo, serving as leader of the Bad Batch, he is still slow to trust those outside his team and possesses the gruff manner of a hardened war veteran.
In "War-Mantle," the Bad Batch are contacted by their old ally, Rex, former commander of the 501st Legion. Rex tasks Hunter and Co. with a rescue mission on the planet of Daro, saving fellow clone, Gregor, from the clutches of the Empire. It is soon revealed that an Imperial base has been established on Daro, where the Empire are training their new ranks of stormtroopers. Gregor had been recruited to help instruct the new stormtroopers, but he betrayed the Empire and escaped the facility before being recaptured and imprisoned. During their rescue, while making their own escape from the Imperial facility with Gregor, the clones leap from a reactor port on the outside of the base. However, the rescue is complicated when they come under attack from Imperial forces. In the chaos, Hunter doesn't make the jump, falling through the trees to the forest floor below.
The scene evokes a moment in Rambo: First Blood, in which Rambo, on the run from the authorities, is scaling a cliff face. As he comes under fire from a helicopter, he realizes his only hope for cover is to jump from the cliff. Like Hunter in "War-Mantle," he drops through the trees, crashing into branches, before landing painfully on the forest floor.
While Hunter's fall is a little less violent, with no sign of the broken arm Stallone's action hero endures -- Hunter's armor presumably offering some protection -- the scene is a clear nod to one of the key influences behind Hunter himself and the Bad Batch's daring exploits as a band of soldiers turned outlaws. It serves as a fun reminder of the countless, popular mythologies from which Star Wars stories are born.
See Hunter experience his action-packed Rambo sequence in the newest episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, streaming now on Disney+.