WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Episode 1, "Aftermath," streaming now on Disney+.

The premiere episode of The Bad Batch begins in Clone Wars territory. But it doesn't linger there for long, giving fans a look at the uncertain transition from the Republic to Palpatine's kingdom. The genetically deviant clones of the Bad Batch are uneasy, watching their brothers turn coldly robotic after Order 66. However, one of them takes the change in stride -- Crosshair's Kaminoan implant still works, keeping him loyal. But with that chilling turn for the soldier comes a chance to make history.

Crosshair's genetically forced loyalty is just one thread of tension that ties the premiere together. Watching him abandon his friends under the thrall of his programming is tough for loyal fans who fell in love with the Bad Batch in Season 7 of The Clone Wars. The end of the premiere episode sees Crosshair in command of a new squad of his own, firing on his former teammates with every intent to kill. And to make things even more ominous, the greys and reds that decorate the Bad Batch's personalized armor have been replaced with dead black.

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It's confirmation of an April toy leak that apparently revealed Crosshair's betrayal of the Bad Batch and predicted his new leadership role over an elite squadron. But both the toys and Crosshair's new look foreshadow something much worse to come -- the Hasbro Black Series Elite Squad Trooper looks shockingly like a Death Trooper.

Death Troopers entered canon with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, taking place over a decade before the Battle of Yavin. These elite troops sported top-of-the-line weaponry, and the Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary suggests they benefited from top-secret augmentation. They also appeared in later seasons of Star Wars Rebels, already part of Tarkin's Death Star initiative and often assigned to Imperial Intelligence. The latter makes their post-Empire appearance in The Mandalorian alongside former ISB officer Moff Gideon a logical choice, but also a terrifying sight for Din Djarin and his friends on Nevarro.

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The horror that comes with the Death Troopers benefits from in-universe rumors that come from their original introduction in the Legends novel Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber. Firmly non-canon, these "death troopers" were zombies, victims of the Emperor's necrotic experiments. The rumor adds a layer of unearthly fear to the troopers. But with Crosshair's turn at the end of the premiere and the hints of what's to come, the truth may be mundane but equally inhumane.

Tarkin is mildly impressed with the capabilities of the Bad Batch, but only Crosshair has the loyalty he requires. It makes the clone sniper a potential template for Tarkin and the new Empire to engineer more soldiers like him. Brainwashed into loyalty, with the best of both Kaminoan gene-tech and droid machinery installed to upgrade their abilities, troopers based on Crosshair would sacrifice their humanity to become living weapons.

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Crosshair and Omega Star Wars The Bad Batch

Timothy Zahn's first new Thrawn trilogy introduced named Death Troopers, Waffle and Pik, and by spending time with them, fans discovered that they're still relatively human under their black helmets. But they're coldly efficient, despite their names. By watching Crosshair be drained of his agency and humanity in real-time, Star Wars fans are likely to see how these elite troops got that way in the first place.

Making Crosshair the first Death Trooper would also add a new layer to the franchise's most elite troopers and enhance what fans already understand of the relentless, fascist drive of the new Empire. It would be more of the emotional, nuanced storytelling fans came to love with Dave Filoni's sprawling take on Star Wars, and that just makes Crosshair's future as a Death Trooper all the more likely.

Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: The Bad Batch stars Dee Bradley Baker, Andrew Kishino and Ming-Na Wen. The second episode airs Friday on Disney+.

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