Star Wars: The Clone Wars introduced audiences to many different and new clones, but none have such a tragic fate as the Domino Squad. The Domino Squad was made up of five clones, and viewers followed them through their journey trying to graduate from their training on Kamino to their first assignment and beyond. Domino Squad includes two fan-favorite clones, Echo and Fives – and while they are the most well-known, they wouldn’t have gotten to where they were without their experiences with their squad.
The Domino Squad was originally introduced in the episode “Clone Cadets.” It’s worth noting that much of the first three seasons of The Clone Wars are not listed in chronological order, so “Clone Cadets” is listed as season 3, episode 1, whereas its companion episode “Rookies” is listed as season 1, episode 5. The Domino Squad also formed a close relationship with 99, a defective clone who resided on Kamino and ran the clean-up crew. Following along with Domino Squad is a wild ride that is filled with high highs and quite low lows.
CT-1409, also called Echo, was the member of Domino Squad who loved following orders and often repeated them – leading to his nickname becoming Echo. He, along with Fives, was able to survive the attack on Rishi Outpost, which was seen in “Rookies,” and would eventually join Captain Rex in the 501st Legion. Echo and Fives would eventually be promoted again by Rex, this time to ARC Trooper, or Advanced Recon Commando. During his time as an ARC Trooper, Echo gained many combat and resonance skills that have been on full display as recently as The Bad Batch season 3.
In a The Clone Wars season 3 arc, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a dangerous mission to the Citadel, a Separatist prison that is nearly impenetrable. They were tasked with rescuing Jedi Master Even Piell and Captain Tarkin. While trying to escape the prison and commandeer a ship, Echo was seemingly killed after the ship blew up. Echo’s dead body was never seen, but his helmet fell near the feet of Fives. Like many things in Star Wars, if a character’s dead body isn’t shown onscreen, there’s a chance they’re still alive – and this was true for Echo.
It was revealed in The Clone Wars season 7 that Echo was actually taken prisoner by the Techno Union and his brain was used to create an algorithm to anticipate Republic tactics. Once Rex realizes that, he, Anakin Skywalker, and Clone Force 99 go on a rescue mission. Echo lost both of his legs and one of his arms when he was presumed dead, but they were replaced with cybernetics. After assisting the Republic with taking the planet Anaxes, Echo decides to join the Bad Batch, as he feels he no longer fits in with the regulation clones.
Echo would go on to be a vital part of Clone Force 99 and form a special bond with all of its other members, including the young Omega. However, in The Bad Batch season 2, Echo makes the decision to leave Clone Force 99 and join Captain Rex, who was looking to free as many clones as possible. In The Bad Batch season 3, Echo has returned and helps the Batch locate Mount Tantiss, both to rescue Omega and the imprisoned clones held there.
Following the attempted invasion of Kamino, because of their bravery, Echo and Fives were promoted to ARC Troopers. Fives would remain in the 501st through many harrowing battles, including the fated Battle of Umbara. Fives was one of the troopers Rex sent to get enemy ships against General Pong Krell’s orders. This act of bravery and defiance ended up saving the lives of many clones, not just the ones in the 501st.
Following Echo’s apparent death, Fives was the sole survivor of Domino Squad. Fives was able to form strong bonds with his other brothers in the 501st and became particularly close with Rex. While he had the company of his brothers, it’s hard to imagine Fives ever got over the loss of his original squad.
When The Clone Wars season 6 came out, it featured an arc revolving around Fives. Following Tup, a fellow 501st member who killed a Jedi, Fives decided to privately investigate why Tup randomly turned on his general. After getting assistance from the droid AZI-3 while back home on Kamino, Fives learned the truth. It was revealed that all clones had an inhibitor chip in their brain from birth that, when activated, caused them to essentially lose their free will. After finding this out, Fives has his own inhibitor chip removed and goes on the run.
Fives eventually is caught and begs Anakin Skywalker and Rex to listen to him, but it is too late. Fives would die in Rex’s arms. Though Rex didn’t know the full extent of what Fives had uncovered, it was eventually what saved him and Ahsoka Tano from their death following the execution of Order 66. Fives died thinking he failed, and while he wasn’t able to save the majority of his brothers from their inhibitor chips, he was at least able to save a key clone like Rex, who would go on to save many others.
For much of the episode “Clone Cadets,” Cutup didn’t have a name until he was mocked by the bounty hunter Bric, who was in charge of his and other clones’ training. He remarked that Cutup’s inability to take anything seriously would be why his unit would fail and never see combat. Bric was unnecessarily harsh towards Cutup, but he eventually got his revenge as he and Domino Squad became one of the best units of clones Jedi Master Shaak Ti had ever seen.
In “Rookies,” Cutup was one of the four clones who survived the initial attack by the Separatist droids, but once they left the underground tunnel, they remembered the Rishi eels lurking about. Seconds later, said eel appeared and snatched Cutup, eating him. Though Fives, Echo, and Hevy tried to shoot the eel and save Cutup, they were unable. While Cutup’s death is horrible, it was a little fitting. Cutup was known for his joking manner, and the timing of the comment about the eels and then Cutup’s subsequent death is meant to be humorous, even if it’s horrible.
Droidbait got his name after repeatedly being used to draw the fire of droids during Domino Squad’s training. Out of all of Domino Squad, Droidbait was the one clone who didn’t have as much of a character arc as his brothers, but nonetheless was a vital part of the squad. Droidbait was actually hurt during the squad’s final test, and because he was left behind in the training exercise, they all automatically failed.
Droidbait would go to Rishi Outpost with the rest of Domino Squad. However, after the Separatist’s initial attack, Droidbait was one of the clones sent to investigate, and he was killed quickly after the blast doors were opened. Droidbait and other clones were able to keep the droids occupied long enough to let Fives, Echo, Cutup, and Hevy escape.
When Hevy was introduced in “Clone Cadets,” he was a lone wolf. He didn’t think he needed his brothers and was fairly certain he was better off on his own. Named for his love of heavy weaponry, Hevy originally rejected his name and instead wanted to be called by his clone designation number. After thinking of going AWOL on Domino Squad, the defective clone 99 convinced Hevy to stay. After his graduation, Hevy even gave 99 his graduation medal, telling 99 to keep it until he got back.
In “Rookies,” Hevy escaped the initial Separatist attack and eventually made his way back into the outpost alongside Echo, Fives, Captain Rex, and Commander Cody. After setting a bomb to signal the rest of the Republic fleet, the detonator wouldn’t work, and Hevy stayed behind. Hevy was shot multiple times, but before the droids could decide what to do with him, he told them that didn’t take prisoners and blew up the outpost, saving his brothers in the process.
Domino Squad is truly the only group of clones audiences get to follow from their time on Kamino through their time serving the Republic. While certain members were killed off fairly quickly, this move helped humanize the clones; they weren’t replaceable, but had feelings and were individuals to root for. Even though Echo’s fate hasn’t been revealed yet, The Bad Batch season 3 may see the conclusion of Domino Squad’s story. The Clone Wars has a lot of meaningful character arcs, but one of the most tragic is that of the rise and fall of Domino Squad.