The Empire's Newest Shadow Agents Are So Much Darker Than You Think

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: The Bad Batch Season 3, episodes 6-7

Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 3 debuts Imperial Shadow Agents, a new type of soldier created by the Empire that's much darker than they may seem at the onset. With Omega and Crosshair having escaped Doctor Hemlock's cloning facility held within Mount Tantiss, the Empire is desperately searching for the young clone girl due to her crucial value to Project Necromancer. As such, Hemlock has deployed none other than his brand-new Shadow agents to find Omega, though their origins are incredibly dark.

As seen in The Bad Batch season 3, episodes 6-7, Omega and Clone Force 99 rendezvous with Commander Rex and his group of rogue clones who've chosen to defy the Empire. However, one of these new Shadows is hot on their trail after the rogue clones kidnap one of these merciless assassins. To that end, here's why these new Imperial Shadows are so dangerous, and how they may be one of the many reasons why it took so long to defeat the Empire in the Star Wars timeline.

The Shadows Are The Ultimate Sleeper Agents

Ready To Be Activated By The Empire

Ultimately, these new Shadow agents debuting in The Bad Batch season 3 look to be a brutal extension of Order 66. This is because these Shadows whose previous identities as clone troopers have been stripped away can be called upon by the Empire at a moment's notice when needed. The Shadows are "activated", which likely means that their intense and mind-breaking conditioning is triggered whenever the Empire wishes. While this has been rolled out initially with the numerous clone troopers held within Mount Tantiss, it follows that this dark conditioning could potentially be expanded beyond to other soldiers serving the Empire.

Additionally, there have been dark theories since the first glimpse of these Shadow agents in The Bad Batch season 3's trailer that Clone Force 99's Tech might be alive...though wearing the armor of these new Shadows. Now, the idea is that Tech might have been among the few clones who managed to survive Hemlock's brutal reconditioning. Although Tech is currently presumed dead following his sacrifice in The Bad Batch season 2, it's possible that Hemlock had his body recovered and revived to become one of his Shadows, a dark prospect for the rest of The Bad Batch's final season.

Imperial Shadows Would Be A Terrifying Threat

Just Imagine Shadows Infiltrating Rebel Cells...

Assuming that The Bad Batch's Shadows can be activated at a moment's notice, one could imagine that they could be put to dark use when it comes to any kind of insurgency or resistance movement against the Empire. For example, a Shadow could be positioned to join a Rebel cell, gaining trust and integrating among key leaders before their activation by the Empire. They'd then be able to wipe them all out with extreme prejudice.

Having been outfitted with target lists contained on classified bounty pucks, the Imperial Shadow Agents were essentially highly trained black ops assassins and private bounty hunters in service to the Empire alone. Likewise, they are incredibly capable with their ability to operate in the shadows, fulfilling missions and executing targets where the Empire values secrecy and silence as priorities. As such, the Shadows are a truly terrifying threat as the Empire's newly revealed means of maintaining its hold over the Star Wars galaxy.

Star Wars May Finally Be Explaining Why It Took So Long To Overthrow The Empire

Keeping Resistance Movements Divided

The Empire's shadows could have been used to delay galactic rebellion during the Dark Times. After all, Rex and his allies stopped a Shadow agent in The Bad Batch season 3 episode 6 who'd been deployed to eliminate Senator Avi Singh from the planet Raxus. Notably, the senator had agreed to meet with Pantora's Senator Chuchi about the growing galactic unrest under Palpatine's new rule (and what might be done about it).

As a result, it's not hard to see how these Shadow agents and similar methods employed by the Empire were used to prevent significant movements of resistance. Even if it did come all the same with the Rebel Alliance led by Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, and more, it follows that agents such as the Imperial Shadows were behind the reason why a meaningful and unified resistance didn't come together sooner in the established Star Wars canon. The first few that tried were perhaps silenced before they could gain any kind of momentum.

Are The Empire's Shadow Agents A Precursor For Classic Shadow Troopers?

There Are Some Similarities

While not overtly stated, it's certainly possible that these new Shadow agents created through the dark reconditioning of clones could be a precursor to the more classic Shadow Troopers. While canonical, the Empire's Shadow Troopers have barely been featured in the Star Wars franchise beyond a handful of appearances in various games. However, there are some key similarities between the two types of Imperial soldiers.

Not only do Shadow Troopers share all-black armor with The Bad Batch's Shadow agents, but they were also tasked with various infiltration and stealth missions during the Dark Times and Galactic Civil War. However, Shadow Troopers were armed with advanced cloaking devices that rendered them nearly invisible. To that end, it does seem as though the deciding factor will be if The Bad Batch's Shadow agents also employ similar cloaking devices in the episodes still to come, though the new Shadow Agents could certainly be the inception of the more well-known Shadow Troopers in the Empire's future all the same.