Star Wars: The Bad Batch – All Clone Force 99’s “Plans” & Strategies

Clone Force 99 seemingly had a contingency plan for every possible situation, and they conveniently numbered them each time one came up in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Clone Force 99 was one of the most effective and deadly fighting forces in the entire galaxy, and part of the reason they were so good is because of how prepared they were. Over the course of the show, they’ve had to rely on their training and tactics even more as their allies and resources continue to dwindle. Through major changes like the return of Asajj Ventress and reveals like Project Necromancer, the Batch could always depend on their plans.

Because they’ve had to use their plans more, The Bad Batch has also revealed a good number of them. User gooserodi compiled a list of every instance a numbered plan was mentioned in The Bad Batch, along with a brief description of what those plans entailed.

Clone Force 99’s various plans ranged from fully-fledged battle plans to shorthand orders. While only a handful of them have been revealed in the show, they all had their own purpose, and they all say something about the Bad Batch itself.

8

Plan Double Zero

Season 2, Episode 2, “Ruins of War”

Plan Double Zero seems to be one of the most simple in Clone Force 99’s repertoire, as it was just an order to go radio silent. Not every one of the Bad Batch’s plans were fully fleshed out tactics; several of them were just shorthand meant to serve as the team’s internal code. Still, Plan 00 serves as an example of how cohesive the squad was, and how easily they could understand each other after years of collaboration.

Plan 00 might also reveal something about the naming conventions used by the Bad Batch for its plans. Plan 00, like several of the more simple and generally applicable plans in their arsenal, featured a double number. That might be a way to distinguish them from other, more complicated plans so that they could be easily recognized and remembered. It’s unlikely there will ever be an official confirmation of how they named their plans, considering how close the show is to ending, but such a naming convention would show the value they placed in the most fundamental aspects of their work.

7

Plans 5, 14, & 86

Season 2, Episode 8, “Truth & Consequences”

The Bad Batch season 2, episode 8 saw Clone Force 99 combine three different plans together for a particularly complex mission. Clone Force 99 was tasked with infiltrating Admiral Rampart’s star destroyer and extracting data that proved he destroyed Kamino. That data was heavily guarded, though, so they had to combine Plans 5, 14, and 86 together to escape. As such, it’s a bit difficult to determine the exact details of each plan individually.

It seems Plan 5 had something to do with distraction, as Tech turned the ship’s engines on, Plan 14 involved slicing enemy systems, as Echo used the ship’s cannons, and Plan 86 had something to do with an emergency escape, as the squad used the ship’s escape pods to leave the area. This instance of combining plans together highlighted one of the Batch’s greatest advantages: their ability to think outside the box and adapt on the fly. They may have had a long list of predetermined plans to follow, but nothing stopped them from tweaking their strategies as needed, which helped them survive encounters they otherwise wouldn’t have.

6

Plan 7

Season 1, Episode 8, “Reunion”

There isn’t much known about Plan 7, as it was only ever referenced as part of a joke. In The Bad Batch season 1, episode 8, Crosshair had trapped the rest of the squad inside the wreckage of a Republic star destroyer, and he was preparing to eliminate them all by turning the engine on. As they scrambled to develop a strategy to escape, Wrecker suggested using Plan 7, to which Echo responded, “Plan 7 has nothing to do with this situation whatsoever.”

Based on that information, it’s hard to determine exactly what Plan 7 was. It clearly wasn’t helpful in that particular escape situation, based on Echo’s response. It’s possible that Plan 7 had something to do with explosives, as Wrecker, with his known love of explosions, suggested it. The squad also settled on a plan to set charges around the engine well just after Wrecker’s suggestion, and if Plan 7 involved explosives, it could mean that Wrecker’s unrelated plan actually helped them brainstorm an escape.

5

Plan 55

Season 3, Episode 12, “Juggernaut”

One of the Batch’s coolest plans essentially boiled down to letting Crosshair show off his sharpshooting abilities. First referenced by name in The Bad Batch season 3, episode 12, but first seen much earlier, in The Clone Wars season 7, episode 4, Plan 55 was the signal for Crosshair to ricochet his shots throughout an area, taking out as many enemies as possible. While he bounced his blaster bolts, the other members would take out any remaining enemies and provide cover.

The first instance of Plan 55, in The Clone Wars, helped establish the Bad Batch as a fearsome and fun to watch group. Plan 55 is also one of the few plans that has been seen multiple times, and the differences in its appearances highlighted how much of an effect Crosshair’s time at Mount Tantiss had on him. His first two times executing the plan were nearly flawless, but the most recent example required Wrecker to clean up some remaining stormtroopers Crosshair had missed due to the tremble in his hand.

4

Plan 72

Season 3, Episode 3, “Shadows of Tantiss”

Before she was captured and taken to Mount Tantiss, Tech taught Omega every one of Clone Force 99’s plans. That knowledge came in handy when she and Crosshair had to make an emergency exit. To do so, they used Plan 72, which involved the members of the squad splitting up, with some distracting the enemy forces while the others completed some objective. In the first episode it was mentioned, The Bad Batch season 3, episode 3, that objective was securing a ship to escape the planet with, and the task fell to Omega and Batcher.

Though Plan 72 is a seemingly simple maneuver, it also proved very effective, as it allowed Crosshair and Omega to escape. Not every plan can be flashy, and Plan 72 is a great example of one that serves its purpose without extra frills. Those types of plans were essential to the group’s survival, and they were always there to fall back on when the odds were stacked against them, such as during Crosshair and Omega’s escape.

3

Plan 82, “Shockwave”

The Clone Wars Season 7, Episode 1, “The Bad Batch”

The first plan Clone Force 99 ever carried out was Plan 82, also known as Shockwave. Plan 82 was a battle tactic that had the members of the squad rush forward to engage the enemy with shock grenades. In its first and only appearance in The Clone Wars season 7, episode 1, Wrecker protected the squad with a piece of wreckage, Tech calculated where bombs would be most effective, Hunter threw the grenades, and Crosshair shot and detonated them.

Shockwave immediately established that the Bad Batch was a well-oiled, efficient, and cooperative team unlike anything else in the Grand Army of the Republic. The plan was so bold and unusual that it even shocked Captain Rex, who served under Anakin Skywalker and was no stranger to unorthodox tactics. It was also one of the few examples of what Clone Force 99 was capable of in its prime during the Clone Wars, with all of its members working together flawlessly.

2

Plan 88, “The Seeker”

Season 2, Episode 14, “Tipping Point”

One of the few plans that received a proper name was Plan 88, also known as the Seeker. It was also one of the few plans that didn’t relate directly to battle, as Plan 88 was a code phrase to signal to the rest of the squad that they were being hunted and that they should go into hiding. It first appeared in The Bad Batch season 2, episode 14, when Crosshair sent a message to the rest of Clone Force 99 warning them that the Empire and Dr. Hemlock were after Omega.

Plan 88 is one of the best examples of how thorough and forward-thinking Clone Force 99’s strategies were. There would have been little use for such a warning during the Clone Wars, as they would have had access to the Republic’s resources and protection, and wouldn’t have needed to go into hiding independently. At least one of their members saw the need for a plan dedicated to the then unlikely situation where they were truly on their own, and it paid off after the rise of the Empire.

1

Plan 99

Season 2, Episode 16, “Plan 99”

Plan 99 was decidedly the most tragic of all Clone Force 99’s contingency plans, as it called for one of the group’s members to sacrifice their own life to secure the rest of the squad’s safety. The most famous, and luckily only, example of Plan 99 to date was Tech’s death in The Bad Batch season 2 finale. With their getaway tram stalled, the Empire’s forces closing in on them, and Tech hanging over an abyss, he heroically decided to detach the cart that was holding them back, and holding him up.

Tech’s death completed plan 99 and secured the Bad Batch’s escape, however tragic it was. It also served as a fitting reminder of the plan’s, and the squad’s, namesake: 99 from the Domino Squad arc of The Clone Wars. 99 was the first defective clone ever seen on-screen, and he also sacrificed his own life while trying to save his friends during a Separatist invasion of Kamino. His legacy clearly lived on well past his death, and it even partially inspired Tech’s last act of heroism in The Bad Batch.

Source: gooserodi