Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories — The Bad Batch — Ghost Agents #5.
It’s been two years since we all watched a beloved member ofClone Force 99sacrifice their life inStar Wars: The Bad Batchto let the rest of his family live, but it hasn’t gotten easier - especially not with this new story adding another tragic layer.
Tech famously enacted theBad Batch’s last numbered plan, Plan 99, by shooting himself down and falling to his death to keep the others alive on Eriadu. While rumors of his survival continue to circulate, nothing has been confirmed yet, and the circumstances surrounding his sacrifice continue to get even more tragic.
Still, new stories have also allowed us to spend more time with Tech long before his sacrifice, including Dark Horse Comics’Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories — The Bad Batch — Ghost Agents. Set during the Clone Wars, this comic gives Tech plenty of much-deserved spotlight, though its most recent issue has readers thinking about Plan 99 again.
Ghost Agents Introduces A Device That Would’ve Saved Tech’s Life
Having This On Hand Could Have Prevented Tech’s Death
InGhost Agents#5, written by Michael Moreci and illustrated by Reese Hannigan, Elisabetta D’Amico, and Michael Atiyeh, Tech and the rest of the Bad Batch assist in the rescue of one of the Republic’s ghost agents. In need of escape from a tall tower,the agent hands them all a device and instructs them to jump.
As it turns out,this disc-shaped device transforms into a type of hovercraft that aids their descentto the ground, essentially a small, sci-fi version of a parachute. All five of them, the ghost agent included, make it to the ground safe and sound, proving the device’s effectiveness.
Seeing Tech reach the ground here is especially a relief, given the nature of his death - but it also has fans questioningwhy he couldn’t have had this type of device on Eriadu. As pointed out in the above post by@techispookieon Twitter/X, something like this would have saved his life during his fall on Eriadu.
Times Were Tough & Access Wasn’t Guaranteed
As much as we would all like to hope that Tech might have kept this device and had it on hand on Eriadu, there are a few logical reasons as to why he more than likely didn’t. For starters,these devices didn’t belong to the Bad Batch; they were the agents', and they likely returned them accordingly after their escape.
Secondly, the timing of Tech’s death inThe Bad Batchseason 2 is over a year after the events ofOrder 66, which saw Clone Force 99 - aside from Crosshair - defecting from the newly established Galactic Empire and thus making their own way in the galaxy. They wouldn’t have had easy access to such equipment anymore.
It’s reasonable to think that, as crafty as he always is, Tech might have created a similar device for himself, but his crushed goggles seem to verify something bad happened. It’s also worth noting that,if he had a device like that, the Batch likely would have known as well, and wouldn’t have assumed him dead so quickly.
Tech’s Sacrifice Is Only Going To Keep Getting More Tragic Over Time
Thanks To Wonderful Stories Like These That Flesh Him Out Even More
The age-old question when it comes to Tech, as proven by this moment inGhost Agents#5, is whetherStar Warswill ultimately bring him back to life or not.The details of his actual death are murky at best; some sourcebooks only say he had been “lost,” and we’re never actually shown a body.
The aforementioned sourcebooks were made beforeThe Bad Batchseason 3 premiered, which likely means they worded it as such since they weren’t yet sure if the writers would ultimately bring Tech back in the final season or not.
On the other hand, however,Tech’s sacrifice was extremely noble, and it ought to be honoredas such.The Bad Batchseries finale does a wonderful job of that, with an adult Omega taking Tech’s shattered goggles with her as she flies off Pabu to fight alongside theRebel Alliance.
It stands to reason, then, thatany additional stories based on the Bad Batch will just continue to make Tech’s death more tragic- but all for a good purpose.Ghost Agentshas certainly proven that over the course of its run, with plenty of wonderful moments from Tech and the rest of their squad.
Also arriving soon isSanctuary: A Bad Batch Novelby Lamar Giles, which takes place right before Tech’s death inThe Bad Batchseason 2 finale. LikeGhost Agents, this additional Tech content will more than likely make his sacrifice inThe Bad Batchhurt even worse, but only because it reminds us how heroic and wonderful he really is.
