Warning: contains spoilers for Star Wars: Obi-Wan #3!
The Clone Troopers of the Republic are the most recognizable soldiers in the Star Wars franchise, but their sheer numbers can’t make up for their abysmally-idiotic tactics on the battlefield. During the time of the Clone Wars, Jedi including Obi-Wan Kenobi were promoted to generals and led legions of clone troopers against the Separatists droid armies. In Star Wars: Obi-Wan #3, Kenobi leads another team of clone troopers into battle – in which the worst tactics are demonstrated.
The Clone Wars were a three-year conflict between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, in which the Republic fended off Separatist attacks while the Jedi protected the government. In reality, the entire war was manipulated by Chancellor Palpatine to take over the entire galaxy. While the Clone Wars isn’t covered in the films, the conflict is expanded upon in many comics, tv shows and novels – and the recent series Star Wars: Obi-Wan chronicles the Jedi Master’s memoirs as he remembers the long, brutal conflict.
In Star Wars: Obi-Wan #3, written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Alessandro Miracolo, Kenobi recounts the battle of Abrion Major, in which many clones were tasked with taking a bridge and eventually destroying a Separatist facility. The battle is a disaster; anti-air weapons pick LAAT dropships out of the sky and many clones are killed before they even reach the ground. Once on the surface, Obi-Wan blocks bolts with his lightsaber and finds a clone named Airo without a blaster. He has “only this banner, sir, but it’s an honor to carry it.” Charging across an open bridge without a weapon is a subpar battle tactic, and sure enough, Airo is shot by the enemy and killed.
For two pages, Airo makes no effort to pick up a weapon from the ground (of which there are many, considering the number of clone casualties) and holds tight to the banner until death. Banners are of little use in a war where every side has easily-identifiable armor, ships and weapons (the vast majority of the Separatists armies are droids, not humans), not to mention radio communications in their helmet. The conflicts in Star Wars often echo real-world wars, but in this case, the technology of the universe has far outpaced the source material.
Clones may be human, but are still highly trained and created specifically for war. Medieval tactics and traditions do not mix well with science fiction weapons, spaceships and sword-wielding Jedi Knights. Star Wars battles borrow from every major era of world history, but clone tactics are borrowed straight from antiquity – and are hopelessly outmatched even before the battle begins.
