“ | Yes, she offered me money. But she offered me something more important, something you wouldn't understand. FREEDOM! | „ |
~ Slick |
“ | It's the Jedi who keep my brothers ENSLAVED! We do your bidding, we serve at your whim! I just wanted something more. | „ |
~ Slick explaining his motive for betraying the Republic. |
Slick is the titular secondary antagonist of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "The Hidden Enemy".
He is a clone trooper sergeant who betrayed Republic in order to become free from the Jedi's orders, believing the Jedi were enslaving the Clone Army.
Just like the rest of the clones, he was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also voiced Admiral Trench and Robonino in the same series, Crosshair and Clone X in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Admiral Konstantine in Star Wars: Rebels, Klaus Heissler in American Dad!, The Gravemind in Halo, Ra's Al Ghul in Batman: Arkham City, and Bubble Bass in SpongeBob SquarePants.
Biography[]
Early Life and Duplicity[]
Like all Clones, Slick was born in the breeding labs on Kamino from the DNA of famous Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett as a soldier for the Galactic Republic. He became a sergeant in the Grand Army of the Republic and was sent off to the Clone Wars to defend the Republic from the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a war of which he and the other clones were bred to fight. Slick was eventually put in charge of a small platoon of Clones and he considered them to be the best in the entire Republic.
At some point during the early days of the Clone Wars however, Slick had turned traitor and secretly defected to the Confederacy and supplied information to the Separatist Military and its Commander Asajj Ventress to aid them in their campaign to take Christophsis. He also started to believe that the Jedi Order was corrupt and that he and the other clones were simply slaves to the Jedi and was offered money by Ventress to assist her plans.
Battle of Christophsis[]
Ambush in the City[]
During the early days of the Clone Wars, the Separatists swiftly entered and took over the Outer Rim Territories shortly after the First Battle of Geonosis, and Christophsis was another planet to fall under the Separatist banner. The people of Christophsis had originally tried to defend themselves against the Separatists but were easily overran and crushed instantly, before calling on the Republic for help. Slick was one of the many clones who were deployed to Christophsis and was under the command of Commander Cody and Captain Rex as well as Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
During the first stages of the Battle of Christophsis, the Republic forces had staged an ambush against the advancing forces of the Separatist Droid Army in one of the planet's cities when Slick leaked out the information days in advance and allowed the Separatists to ambush the Republic forces and force them to fall back and retreat via an LAAT/i Gunship that sent the troops back to the Republic base. After heading back to base, Slick snuck into the command center and narrowly escaped being caught by Rex and Cody by hiding in the Mess Hall. Realizing that the spy was a clone, they began investigating every Clone battalion while Kenobi and Skywalker were gone.
Duplicity Discovered[]
“ | Chopper: Everyone else turned right, toward the barracks and the mess. You turned left, toward the command center. Where were you going, sir? Slick: Obviously, the kid feels cornered. Cody: Sergeant, what did you mean, 'til the Jedi come back'? How did you know the Jedi were gone? Slick: I really wish you hadn't noticed that, sir. |
„ |
~ Slick getting exposed as the Separatist turncoat. |
After safely avoiding his commanding officers, Slick remained in hiding and blended in amongst the members of his squad unaware of the search being conducted. Both Rex and Cody had concluded that the computer used to send the information about the Republic attack to the Separatist forces was most likely in the barracks of Slick's platoon and they went there to see which of them was the mole. Each member of the platoon was individually questioned until they came across Chopper who was the most suspicious.
It was eventually revealed that Chopper had snuck into a private space and—in secret—made a necklace out of Battle Droid fingers as something that the Separatist owned him from the battle. Slick then attempted to frame Chopper as if he was the mole, but after slipping up and accidentally revealing that he knew that Kenobi and Skywalker were gone despite the rest not knowing, Slick was then the target of suspicion. Things then heated up when Chopper revealed that Slick headed towards the command center while the rest of his men went to the Mess Hall and thus, knowing that this cover was blown, Slick attacked Rex and Cody and escaped.
Last Stand and Capture[]
“ | Slick: It's the Jedi who keep my brothers ENSLAVED! We do your bidding, we serve at your whim! I just wanted something more. Rex: And all you had to do to get it was put the rest of us all at risk. Slick: I…I love my brothers! You're too blind to see it. But I was striking a blow for all clones! Cody: If you loved your brothers, you wouldn't have put them at risk. |
„ |
~ Slick attempting to justify his actions to Rex and Cody. |
After his cover was blown, Slick ran outside where he ended up in the airfield of the base where the gunships and AT-TE walkers were stationed at. There, he detonated explosives that he had set to give him cover for his escape and cripple the Republic's defenses for the Separatist forces to march into the city. He later headed towards the command center and hid in the vents when Rex and Cody came in. Knowing that he was hiding somewhere in the room, Rex and Cody deceived Slick into coming out of hiding so they could arrest him but it wasn't done so easily.
Slick fought both of his superior officers in hand-to-hand combat all the while he was asked on what he truly wanted and why he betrayed the Republic to the Separatists. Slick then revealed that he viewed the Jedi Order as corrupt and believed that the clones were their slaves and was fighting to acquire "freedom" for himself and his brothers. Right when he said that however, he was struck down and arrested right when Anakin and Obi-Wan returned where he echoed the same statements to them and was then taken away and put into custody.
Trivia[]
- Slick is the first clone chronologically to betray the Republic.
- Although Slick betrayed the Republic, his idea of freedom for his clone brothers ironically inspired Rex, albeit in a non-misguided perspective, to realize the he and the clones are individuals instead of mindless soldiers blindly following orders. This makes Slick indirectly responsible for Rex standing up to Pong Krell during the Battle of Umbara, refusing to obey Order 66, leading an underground resistance network to rescue clones imprisoned and mistreated by the Galactic Empire, and eventually joining a rebellion to fight for freedom against the Empire.
- This makes Slick not only a foil to Rex, but also the first clone to inspire him to value freedom and individuality over blind loyalty for all clones, followed by his heroic counterparts, Cut Lawquane and Fives.
- Unlike Slick, who betrayed both the Republic and the Jedi, Rex, Cut, and Fives remained loyal to both factions.
External Links[]
- Slick on the Star Wars Wiki
- Slick on the The Clone Wars Wiki