The latest episode of Star Wars: The Bad Batch surprised viewers today, as fan-favorite bounty hunter Cad Bane returned. In another action-packed entry in the Clone Wars spin-off, the Duro-born mercenary laid claim to being one of the saga’s most underrated villains.
Why does Cad Bane return in Star Wars: The Bad Batch?
The biggest shock of today’s episode, titled ‘Reunion,’ was the return of Cad Bane. It emerges that he’s been hired as a bounty hunter by Kaminoan prime minister, Lama Su. His job is to locate and retrieve Omega, the Bad Batch’s youngest member. While we don’t know why she’s special, we know there’s a reason that Su wants her back so bad. Hiring Cad Bane is the latest attempt to achieve it.
Before today’s episode, we last saw Cad Bane in ‘Crisis on Naboo’. This was the eighteenth episode of The Clone Wars’ fourth season. In this four-episode arc, he was one of several bounty hunters—including an undercover Obi-Wan Kenobi—hired by Count Dooku to assassinate Chancellor Palpatine. He got away unscathed as the action unfolded there. As the Republic was overthrown by Palpatine to become the Empire, it seems his bounty hunting is still just as fruitful as ever.
Today’s episode ends with Bad Batch leader Hunter gravely injured after a stand-off with Bane, and Omega missing. It means next week’s episode will likely show us where he’s taken the young Clone.
Will Boba Fett cameo in The Bad Batch?
It’s currently unclear, but today’s episode does hint at more bounty hunters in the future – one of which could be Boba Fett. Lama Su’s main aide suggests hiring more bounty hunters to locate Omega, and there aren’t many more famous mercenaries in the galaxy than Boba Fett. However, at this point in Star Wars continuity, Boba is around 13 years old, so he might not be at the peak of his criminal career just yet.
In other news, a remaster of Alan Wake has been revealed through a leak on the Epic Games website. Zack Snyder has weighed in on the ongoing Batman and Catwoman debate – and he’s not on DC’s side.
