How This Underrated Clone Wars Character Saved the Entire Star Wars Galaxy (2024)

There are many moments in Star Wars where the ultimate fate of the galaxy could have been avoided had events gone even slightly differently. One of the most pivotal moments in the franchise's lore fell onto the shoulders of the Clone ARC Trooper, Fives. During a standard mission in The Clone Wars, one of Fives' Clone companions began acting strangely, culminating in him prematurely executing Order 66 before the time was right. This puts Fives on a path to learn the truth behind the creation of the Clone Army. Although he is tragically killed before he can reveal the secret, Fives still manages to change the course of the galaxy.

Fives' actions, while they could not save the Jedi Order and the Republic, did allow some of his clone brothers to escape their programming and even aided in the escape of Ahsoka Tano from the Great Jedi Purge. It was a small act of rebellion that ultimately contributed to the downfall of the Galactic Empire. Fives may not have succeeded in stopping the clone conspiracy, but he definitely helped create one of the first sparks of resistance in the galaxy with his actions.

The Mystery of the Biochips

• Fives was drawn into the clone conspiracy when his friend, Tup, prematurely executed Order 66.
• The ARC Trooper later learned that all clones were implanted with biochips that inhibited their aggression.
• Fives would expose the biochips' existence to the Jedi, but even he didn't know their true purpose.

Fives' character trajectory underwent a major shift when his best friend, Tup, killed one of their Jedi Generals in mid-battle. This was due to Tup's biochip — the source of all clones' conditioning and programming — malfunctioning, causing him to execute Order 66 prematurely. Since the Jedi, clones, and the Republic at large had no idea such a thing was implanted into all clones when they were still infants, they had no way of determining what was wrong with Tup. All that could be assumed was that he was extremely hostile to any Jedi and that his health was rapidly deteriorating.

Fives volunteered to go with Tup back to Kamino in order to help his friend recover, thereby dragging him into the conspiracy surrounding the clones and their ultimate purpose. The doctor in charge of studying Tup, Nala Se, was actively trying to deflect attention from the revelation of the biochip, advocating for Tup to be terminated and then dissected to "learn more" a convenient cover to hide the truth. Fives, unwilling to let Tup die, broke into the lab and scanned him, discovering and then extracting the biochip from his friend. While this restored Tup's mental to normal, he unfortunately died immediately after, the physical toll from earlier being too much for him to bear.

This adversely affected Fives, as he no longer trusted that the Kaminoans had the best interests of the clones in mind. He defied orders and went on an unauthorized investigation throughout Kamino to learn more about the biochip. Initially laboring under the notion that the chip was a tumor, Fives was stunned to learn that all clones had these chips inserted. When the truth was out, Nala Se further deflected, claiming the chips were meant to inhibit a clone's more aggressive tendencies, but Fives, not understanding the full scope of what was happening, believed that the chips potentially threatened to unhinge all clones if the rest malfunctioned like Tup's did. His argument won him the chance to speak with the Supreme Chancellor about his views but also set him on the path towards his inevitable death.

The Conspiracy Against Fives

• Fives was drugged and told the true purpose of the biochips by Chancellor Palpatine.
• The revelation regarding the Clones' true purpose caused Fives to try and kill Palpatine, making it look like Fives had lost his mind.
• Fives was later killed trying to explain the truth to Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex.

Had Fives not exposed the chips' existence and then advocated for their removal, he might have survived the events to come. However, Palpatine was now aware of how close this glitch in the system was to being exposed. Using Nala Se as a tool, Palpatine arranged for Fives to be injected with a mind-clouding drug, making it seem like Fives, who had removed his biochip, was suffering from mental degradation. The final nail in the coffin was the pair's one-on-one meeting.

Requesting to speak to the clone alone, Palpatine revealed the true purpose of the chips as well as the intended use of the clones. Horrified, and his stress already heightened by the drug, Fives attempted to kill Palpatine, making it look as if he had lost his mind without the chip. Forced to go on the run, Fives escaped into the lower levels of Coruscant. He managed to make contact with another member of his battalion to reach out to Anakin Skywalker and Captain Rex, requesting a private meeting, hoping to explain what happened.

Due to his drugged state and increased paranoia, Fives was unable to properly convey what he had been told. He only managed to reveal that there was a plot against the Jedi, that the chips could make the clones do whatever someone else wanted, and that the conspiracy was known by the chancellor. The unstable way Fives explained all this made his friends doubt him, and shortly after, Fives was killed by a clone security team who had tracked him. Fives died, but his words would remain in the back of Rex's mind for the duration of the Clone Wars.

Fives' Legacy of Rebellion

• The knowledge Fives shared informed the Jedi of the biochips' existence.
• This enabled Ahsoka Tano to free Rex from their control.
• They later helped the Rebel Alliance bring down the Galactic Empire.

Though nothing ultimately came of Fives' incident beyond the Jedi now being aware of the chips, Rex was still concerned by Fives' allegation. He filed a report, likely knowing it would lead nowhere, but this file would be vital to the survival of Ahsoka Tano. When Order 66 was finally executed, Rex managed to resist the effects of the chip long enough to tell Ahsoka to find the files on Fives before attacking her. Researching these files helped Ahsoka learn about the chips which in turn enabled her to extract Rex's freeing him from the control of Palpatine and allowing both to escape and disappear.

While Ahsoka would remain in hiding for years, Rex began slowly helping to build up resistance against the new Galactic Empire. This would begin with freeing captured clones from the Empire's Advanced Science Division, and then later assisting the crew of the Ghost as they attempted to bring together various pockets of resistance to form the Rebel Alliance. All this was possible because Fives almost uncovered the truth about Palpatine's plot against the Jedi.

While his death and the knowledge lost with it was a tragedy, Fives' act of rebellion was the foundation upon which future rebels would stage their own war against tyranny. Ahsoka would go on to assist the crew of the Ghost and even teach Ezra Bridger some of the ways of the Jedi before her fateful duel with Darth Vader.

Once she returned to the galaxy, she would do her part to ensure the empire would never return, eventually allowing Ezra Bridger to return home. Likewise, Rex became an important member of the Rebel Alliance, assisting in the climactic Battle of Endor that saw the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, as well as the beginning of the end for the Empire. All this is because of Fives' bravery and refusal to accept being a cog in someone else's machine.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

TV-PG

Animation

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

• stream
• rent
• buy

Not available

Jedi Knights lead the Grand Army of the Republic against the droid army of the Separatists.

Release Date

October 3, 2008

Cast

Tom Kane , Dee Bradley Baker , Matt Lanter , james arnold taylor , Ashley Eckstein , Matthew Wood

Main Genre

Animation

Seasons

7

Studio

Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm Animation

Creator

George Lucas

Number of Episodes

133

Network

Cartoon Network , Netflix

Streaming Service(s)

Disney+

Franchise(s)

Star Wars