In the first season of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, their armor and its coloration scheme retained their Republic-era colors as seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. However, we see a distinct variation from this theme in Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 2.
Their armor completely changes in coloration, and even some significant modifications are made to their gear.
This article will explore what that could mean, and what comments were made at the Bad Batch Panel in reference to this change.
How has the Bad Batch’s armor changed between season 1 and season 2?
One of the significant changes we see right away is the removal of the skull-like emblems as well as the identifying ’99’ markers that were present the previous season. The panelists, which included story editors and the executive producer, commented that the Bad Batch has been forced to change their purpose. In their search for a new purpose, the group is now collectivity responsible for taking care of Omega, and this probably is why we see the removal of the more “mature” sections of their armor.
The removal of the ’99’ symbols that referenced the fallen clone 99 and their unit name ‘clone force 99’ is also linked to the Bat Batch’s change in purpose. The Bad Batch’s time in the Grand Army of the Republic has truly ended, and this change to their armor seems to indicate that the Bad Batch has (finally) begun to accept this fact. The acceptance of this fact marks a significant change in their mentality but also makes it clear that the purpose of reuniting Crosshair with the unit may no longer be the primary goal after the events of the season 1 finale.
The next change is the integration of more clothing elements, in addition to Omega’s helmet. According to the panel Omega’s voice actress, Michelle Ang asked to “not be wearing pajamas anymore” so the writers gave her a helmet.
This helmet also shows that Omega is becoming more of a soldier, and Echo is supposed to be stepping up in his fatherly role to train Omega as the only “reg” on the team. The rest of the Bad Batch’s armor simply is starting to degrade without resupply from the Republic so we see an integration of more easily accessible material to supplement their armor as time goes on.
Overall this new look indicates the growth of the Bad Batch and their changing purpose in the Star Wars Universe. When the writer has been so detailed oriented to make these changes, it is a good sign that The Bad Batch season 2 will be just as awesome as the first season.