Cad Bane's crew, also known as Cad Bane's group, are recurring antagonists in the 2008-2020 animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and its spinoff Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
They are a group of bounty hunters led by the Duros bounty hunter Cad Bane from before 32 BBY until at least 19 BBY. The group's lineup differs from mission to mission but is often composed of the galaxy's most dangerous mercenaries. They were often seen employed by the Sith, the Hutt Clan and the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars.
History[]
Working for Darth Maul[]
At some point prior to the invasion of Naboo, the Sith Lord Darth Maul hires Cad Bane and his crew to assist him in seeking the Jedi Padawan Eldra Kaitis who is being auctioned by Xev Xrexus' cartel. Bane, Aurra Sing, and Vordheilo first aid Maul in a brawl on Nar Shadda while Troo-tril-tek forces a captured protocol droid to reveal the auction's location. Maul and the crew then infiltrate the auction, dispose of the highest bidder, and leave with the captive Kaitis. As it turned out, Xrexus had rigged the crew's ship with explosives which caused them to crash land on the planet's surface. Troo-tril-tek is seriously injured and the others are forced to abandon him. Maul duels Kaitis while Bane's crew fight against the auction's guests who had been tipped by Xrexus. Bane and Sing commandeer another ship and later regroup with Vorhdeilo and Maul, the latter of whom had killed Kaitis. They then bring Maul back to Coruscant and the remaining three members received a larger cut due to Troo-tril-tek's presumed death.
Clone Wars[]
Working for Darth Sidious[]
In 21 BBY, Cad Bane was hired by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious to steal a holocron from the Jedi temple. Although he initially refused, Bane agreed to the job after being promised a hefty reward by Sidious. He enlisted the aid of the Clawdite bounty hunter Cato Parasiti who could shapeshift and his techno-service droid Todo 360 whom Bane secretly rigged with a bomb. Parasiti disguised herself as a Jedi to infiltrate the temple archives and provide Bane and Todo with the location of the holocron. Although the Clawdite was later exposed and captured by Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Bane fooled the Jedi by having them pursue Todo to the communications center while he made his escape. He then activated the bomb inside Todo to further distract the Jedi but Mace Windu is able to neutralize the blast. Parasiti later told the Jedi that Bane was after a Jedi named Bolla Ropal, allowing the Jedi to piece together that Bane was after the location of all force-sensitive children in the Galaxy.
Working for Jabba and the Hutts[]
Sometime later, Cad Bane is hired by Jabba the Hutt to acquire the plans for the Republic Senate Building. He had the IG-Assasin droid HELIOS-3E and a rebuilt Todo 360 kidnap two of Senator Padme Amida's droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. Bane then had the smelter droid J0-N0 hack into the senator's droids' memories to acquire the plans. With his plan successful, Bane wiped both droids' memories.
Jabba and the Hutt Council then hire Bane to free Jabba's uncle Ziro from Republic Custody. With the information he acquired from Senator Amida's droids, Bane assembled a larger crew to infiltrate the Senate Building and hold the senators hostage to force the Republic to release Ziro. This crew consisted of Aurra Sing, Robonino, Shahan Alama, HELIOS-3E, HELIOS-3D, and 2 BX-Series Droid Commandos. Sing used a sniper rifle to pick off multiple Senate Commandos while Bane killed several by hand and later, with a grenade. After killing a belligerent Senator and shutting off power to the building, Bane holds the Senate hostage and contacts Chancellor Palpatine to demand Ziro's release. The crew also face off against Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker who does not have his lightsaber at the time. Palpatine ultimately acquiesces to Bane's demands and has Senator Orn Free Taa bring the pardon disk to the prison. After rescuing the Chancellor, the Coruscant Guard surround Bane's crew but are forced to stand down as the Duros reveals he has the Senate Building rigged with explosives. Bane then departs unopposed with his crew and demands a payment from the free Ziro. The Hutt is subsequently placed in another prison by the Hutt Council who fear that he may reveal the Council's dealing to the Republic should he be killed.
After Ziro escapes with the help of his girlfriend Sny Snootles, Jabba and the Hutt Council again hire Bane and Todo to track down and kill the fugitive Hutt. At the same time Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Quinlan Vos are also searching for Ziro after he escaped Republic custody. Both parties later find Ziro's corpse, having already been murdered by a heartbroken Snootles. Bane then tries to kill the Jedi to receive a bounty from the Separatists. He is able to pull up a fair fight against both Kenobi and Vos but winds up retreating with Todo.
Working for Count Dooku and Moralo Eval[]
In 20 BBY, Bane is imprisoned at the Republic Detention Center on Coruscant. There, He is hired by Count Dooku and criminal mastermind Moralo Eval in order to free the latter from Republic custody. Eval is approached by Rako Hardeen, a bounty hunter who allegedly killed Obi-Wan Kenobi. While Eval is impressed by Hardeen's skill and visible brutality, Bane is discourteous as Kenobi was "killed" with a sniper rifle instead of face-to-face. Unbeknownst to Eval and Bane, "Hardeen" was actually Obi-Wan Kenobi who had gone undercover to discover Eval's secret plot. After paying Boba Fett and Bossk to cause a riot in the prison, Bane and Eval escape with Hardeen to Bane's chagrin.
After escaping to Nal Hutta, the crew acquire new equipment and weaponry. Bane and Eval try to abandon Hardeen by leaving him to Hutts while they leave on their ship. Hardeen then sabotage their ship and force them to make him a permanent partner by providing another ship ( secretly paid for by the Republic) for all of them to escape on. After refueling, the crew is confronted by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano, the former of which is furious that Hardeen "killed" his master and is on the loose. Bane saves Hardeen from being killed by Anakin who is then incapacitated by Hardeen. Eval repairs their ship and the crew then leaves for Serenno, leaving Ahsoka to tend to her master.
After arriving on Serenno, Bane and Hardeen join a contest held by Dooku and Eval inside enormous cubical structure called the Box. Along with 12 other bounty hunters, the two fight through a gauntlet of obstacles and death traps. Despite multiple fatalities, Dooku begins to question Eval's ability to lead the secret operation. Angered that his position is at risk, Eval tries to eliminate Hardeen but is stopped by Bane. Hardeen and Eval then fight in a single-combat with the former emerging victorious while refusing to kill the latter. By the end of the challenge, only five hunters remain: Cad Bane, Rako Hardeen, Embo, Derrown, and Twazzi. Dooku then announces that the secret operation is to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine during the Festival of Light on Naboo and hold him hostage to demand the release of all Separatist prisoners. To Eval's dismay, Bane is chosen to lead the group.
Bane's new crew travel to Naboo with Dooku to carry out their plan. After incapacitating a group of warehouse workers, Bane explains his plan that involves the use of the Holographic disguise matrix: Derrown will deactivate the shield generator around the podium, Embo and Twazzi will disguise themselves as the chancellor's guards, Hardeen will incapacitate him with a sniper shot, and then Bane himself will take the Chancellor's body to Eval who is waiting with a getaway speeder. Dooku praises the plan but advises Bane to watch Hardeen. During the festival of light, Derrown disguises himself as a Senate guard and uses his Parwan's electrical resistance to destroy the shield. The resulting explosion knocks out Palpatine which allows Twazzi to take on his appearance as a disguised Embo leads her to safety. Hardeen shoots down Derrown with a sniper shot and informs Mace Windu that the guard escorting the "chancellor" is Embo. Both Twazzi and Embo are apprehended but a disguised Bane drags away the incapacitated Chancellor who appears as a Senate guard due to the disguise matrix. Bane and Eval escape with the Chancellor and meet up with Hardeen only to find that Dooku is not at the rendezvous spot. Hardeen then reveals his identity as Obi-Wan and defeats Bane while Windu apprehends Eval. Both criminals are then taken into custody.
Working for the Kaminoans[]
Shortly after the formation of the Galactic Empire, Cad Bane and Todo are hired by the Kaminoan prime minister Lama Su to capture Omega, a female clone who is critical to their cloning operation. He tracks Omega and her protectors Clone Force 99, also known as the Bad Batch, to the planet Bracca just as an Imperial garrison is dispatched to dispose of the rogue Clones. Bane kills all the Clones commandeering the Bad Batch's ship. He then confront Omega and the Batch's leader Hunter, musing about how he has killed so many clones over the years. Bane incapacitates Hunter after a gunfight and Todo deprives Omega of her laser bow, allowing Bane to capture her.
Bane and Todo bring Omega to an abandoned cloning facility on Bora Vio and await their payment. They are then confronted by fellow bounty hunter Fennec Shand who is also after Omega. Bane and Shand engage in extensive fight which allows Omega to send her location to the Bad Batch. Shand overpowers Bane and destroys the case containing Bane's payment. As Omega escapes with the Bad Batch and Shand escapes on her ship, Bane and Todo find that their own ship has been sabotaged much to the Duros' fury. Unbeknownst to Bane and Su, Shand had been hired by Nala Se to protect Omega from her colleagues.
Working for the Empire[]
Bane and Todo are regularly hired by the Galactic Empire to capture M-count targets for Dr. Royce Hemlock's experiments. On one such mission, Bane and Todo capture a force-sensitive infant named Bayrn after being tipped off by an informant. They then deliver the captive infant to Dr. Emerie Karr and Commander Scorch at the Imperial Orbital Space Station.
Members[]
- Cad Bane - De-facto Leader
- Todo 360 - Bane's personal butler droid
- Cato Parasiti - Assisted Bane in infiltrating the Jedi Temple
- Darth Maul - Hired and worked alongside Bane's crew during the auction of Eldra Kaitis
- Aurra Sing - Assisted Bane during the auction of Eldra Kaitis and the Senate hostage crisis
- Vorhdeilo - Assisted Bane and Maul during the auction of Eldra Kaitis
- Troo-Tril-Tek - Assisted Bane and Maul during the auction of Eldra Kaitis
- Robonino - Assisted Bane during the Senate hostage crisis
- Shahan Alama - Assisted Bane during the Senate hostage crisis
- HELIOS-3D - Assisted Bane kidnap Padme Amidala's droids and during the Senate hostage crisis
- HELIOS-3E - Assisted Bane during the Senate hostage crisis
- 2 BX-Series Droid Commandos - Assisted Bane during the Senate hostage crisis
- J0-N0 - Assisted Bane kidnap Padme Amidala's droids
- Moralo Eval - Hired and worked alongside Bane's crew during the plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine
- Rako Hardeen (Obi-Wan Kenobi) - Infiltrated Bane's crew to uncover and sabotage the plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine
- Derrown - Assisted Bane during the plot to kidnap to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine
- Embo - Assisted Bane during the plot to kidnap to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine and sided with him during Boba Fett's insurrection before turning on him
- Twazzi - Assisted Bane during the plot to kidnap to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine
- Boba Fett - Assisted Bane in his prison escape and later acted as Bane's protégé before turning on him
- Bossk - Assisted Bane in his prison escape and sided with him during Boba Fett's insurrection before turning on him
- C-21 Highsinger - Sided with Bane during Boba Fett's insurrection
- Marrok - Embo's pet Anooba who sided with Bane during during Boba Fett's insurrection before turning on him
Trivia[]
- Cad Bane's crew would serve as the main antagonists on an unreleased Clone Wars arc that would have seen Bane mentor a young Boba Fett. The two would go on a "rescue mission" to save a kidnapped child from Tusken Raiders on Tatooine. Fett would acquire his signature green armor and would later lead an insurrection against his former mentor who hurt innocent people. During the insurrection, C-21 Highsinger, Bossk, and Embo would've sided with Bane while other bounty hunters such as Sugi and Seripas would've sided with Fett. In an unfinished scene, Fett confronts Bane and demands that Highsinger release Seripas and another character named Stim. Bossk, Embo, and Marrok then corner Fett and drop Sugi's weapons (her knife and EE-3 carbine rifle), implying they killed her. Bossk and Embo would betray Bane by allowing Fett to challenge him to a gunfight. The shootout would end with both hunters being shot, revealing the origin of the dent on Fett's helmet. Despite the arc not being finished, the events are implied to have happened as indicated by the metal plate on Bane's head during The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett.
- Although given that Sugi is alive during the New Republic shows that the duel did happen but it ended differently.
- Bane was also implied to be killed off for real until his reappearance in The Book of Boba Fett.