A lot of us have been wondering ever since the Clone Wars series began, when was the
first time Captain Rex fought side by side with his Jedi General, Anakin Skywalker in
battle?
When was Rex first placed under the Command of Anakin Skywalker and the 501st legion?
I’m going to break down Captain Rex’s first battle with Anakin, and how Anakin saved
him from certain death.
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After Rex came freshly out of the laboratories and training simulations of Kamino, he was
immediately deployed to the first battle of Geonosis to assist the Jedi strike force in
the infamous arena battle.
Because of his valiant effort and resolve in the opening conflict of Clone Wars, he
earned veteran status within the Grand Army of the Republic and was put up for assignment
by the Jedi High council, who would eventually appoint him to one of their own Jedi generals.
Of course, we know that Jedi General happened to be Anakin Skywalker.
Rex was appointed to become Anakin’s Clone captain shortly after he was granted the Rank
of Jedi Knight by the Council, making him the second in command of the newly formed
501st legion.
He was of course later moved down to third in command when Anakin was given a Padawan
of his own, Ahsoka Tano.
So this brings us to the first known Canon battle where Anakin and Rex fight side by
side, the battle of Arantara.
This battle is so early in the war that Anakin doesn’t even have the scar on his eye yet.
The story begins with Captain Rex knocked unconscious after a forward push on the surface
of Arantara that had gone horribly wrong.
Rex slowly begins to wake up, with Anakin appearing in his hazy vision.
He is shocked that his General came back for him, but Anakin slowly reassures Rex that
he is going to be ok, and tells him that it should have been him that went charging in
first instead.
Anakin then tells Rex that a true leader always leads from the front, but is quickly cut off
by a massive incoming blast strike.
We then cut straight to the battle of Mimban, where Captain Rex is surrounded by his 501st
and the group called the “mud jumpers” who you might remember were mentioned in the
Clone Wars episode Rookies.
The awesome thing is, the Mud jumpers were part of the 224th division of the Grand Army
of the Republic, which was eventually transitioned into the 224th imperial armoured division,
who you may remember from Solo: A Star Wars Story.
So awesomely, the group Captain Rex is fighting alongside here at the battle of Mimban is
the same division that Han Solo would eventually go on to join the imperial era!
How awesome is that!
The 501st and the mud jumpers are then quickly surrounded by b1 battle droids, b2 battle
droids and massiv, towering spider droids, while Jedi General Laan Tik holds back enemy
blaster fire with his lightsaber.
Following this, Rex orders Hardcase to get a certain Sith Lord, or should I say representative
out of the area.
Rex then tells Hardcase that they needed to bring Jar Jar along on the mission because
he was used to the swampy environments of Naboo and would be more easily able to communicate
with the natives on Nimban.
Jar Jar then clumsily rushes away from the front line of the battle, wishing he had stayed
home in the comfort of the warm oceans of Naboo, as Rex orders hardcase to once again
get the Gungan to safety.
Unfortunately, immediately following this, Jedi General Laan Tik is impacted directly
through the chest with an incredibly large blaster bolt, killing him instantly.
Captain Rex is shocked for a brief moment, but he is able to compose himself and focus
on the battle still currently raging on behind him.
As blaster bolts ring out through the hazy skies of Mimban behind him, Hardcase asks
Rex what his next orders are, believing that Rex is the highest ranking officer on ground
after the death of the General.
Rex then nervously tells Hardcase that with the death of General Laan Tik, Command falls
to representative Binks, and not him.
Jar Jar is incredibly upset as he touches the flaming body of General Tik, but Rex makes
sure that Hardcase and Jesse bring him to safety before he can get himself into any
trouble by standing out in open fire.
Rex, Jesse and Hardcase manage to safely transport Jar Jar back to their forward operations camp,
where they begin planning a mission strategy briefing around a holotable.
As the brothers stare at a map of the muddy surface of Mimban, they come up with a strategy
to target a cluster of unprotected separatist shield generators, only three clicks away
from their location.
Hardcase and Jesse strongly object to the plan, believing it would have absolutely no
chance of succeeding.
The two then look towards Captain Rex to make the final call, to which he quickly tells
them that they should contact Republic command immediately to inform them that they will
be pushing forward towards the shield generators and to send a shuttle immediately.
Jesse and Hardcase object to the idea once more, but Rex firmly tells them that they
have their orders.
The two have great trust in Captain Rex, so they immediately accept his orders and begin
the operation.
We then skip ahead to one of the dense jungles of Nimban, where the small squad of 501st
members have been traversing through thick leaves and damp mud.
Captain Rex tries to sneak off of the main path without the others noticing, but unfortunately
he makes way too much noise moving through the jungle overgrowth.
The others question where exactly he is planning to go without them, and he bravely tells them
that he is going to disarm the shield generator alone because there will be fewer casualties
if the others don’t join him.
Rex accepts that he will likely be killed on this solo mission, but bravely puts the
fate of Mimban and it’s people before his own life.
On top of this, Rex heroically says that he will not lose a single man more than he already
has.
You’ve gotta love Rex, he’s a true soldier and is the perfect example for all other clones
to follow.
Let me know down in the comments below who you prefer out of Jesse, Hardcase and Rex.
Rex then firmly instructs his men to make a push out of the area if he’s able to get
the shields down, and to remember that above all, they must keep Representative Binks Safe.
Jar Jar then appears out of nowhere, popping out of the push, to the surprise of absolutely
none of the Clones.
Rex then sets off on his heroic solo mission, blasting through hordes of b1 battle droids
and b2 super battle droids for several hours on end.
Eventually, the droid forces become too overwhelming for Rex and they surround him in rapid blaster
fire.
Unfortunately, a rapid blaster bolts rings through the air and Rex takes a direct blaster
hit to the neck, which is partially blocked by his pauldron.
Smoke comes rushing out of Rex’s blue painted Clone Armor, as the B1 battle droids surround
him lying on the floor.
As the B1 battle droids are about to blast Rex directly through the skull, something
incredibly chilling happens.
Jar Jar Binks uses a deep blue bladed lightsaber to slice through the B1 battle droids, saving
Rex’s life.
Rex is absolutely astounded at what had just happened, thinking that General Laan Tik had
somehow survived his previous injuries.
To his complete shock though, Jar Jar Emerges out of the Shadows, holding the Jedi’s blue
lightsaber with a firm grip.
For a few moments…
As Jar Jar is holding the weapon, he clumsily lets it slip out of his hands, almost impaling
himself on the bright blue blade.
Jar Jar says he took it so that it wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands, but Rex hilarious,
respoinds, saying “like yours”?
Rex then takes the lightsaber away from Jar Jar, so that he doesn’t accidentally get
himself killed with more clumsy behaviour.
Jar Jar then casually mentions to Rex that he almost did get himself killed with that
thing.
Five times.
The two then argue about why they are both out in the deep Jungle, very far away from
the designated path, but Rex quickly tells Jar Jar that he is trying to get to the shield
generator to disable it.
Jar Jar asks him why he’s all alone on the mission, and Rex again bravely responds that
he didn’t want to risk any of his own men.
Jar Jar tells Rex that he doesn’t think that’s a good idea, but Rex quickly responds,
telling him that “A True Leader always leads from the front”, which is the exact same
line Anakin told him when he saved his life back at the battle of Arantara.
Jar Jar then asks who told him that line, to which Rex tells him “A friend”.
I absolutely love how the brotherhood between Rex and Anakin is already starting to develop,
this early on in the war.
An incredible blast then shreds through the ground in front of them, Revealing another
incoming horde of battle droids, shocking both Jar Jar and Rex.
Rex then awesomely speaks in Gungan to Jar Jar, telling him that he was “muy muy”
brave, and asking him to help him finish the mission with him.
Rex then hands him a blaster rifle, trusting in his aim to finish the job.
We then get an incredible shot of Rex readying his DC-17 blasters for battle, with blast
charges ringing out behind him, painting the sky red and orange.
Jar Jar quickly tells Rex that he’s ready to enter battle, giving Rex the signal to
attack.
The two then awesomely charge towards a large squad of B2 and B1 battle droids, managing
to destroy the first one they see, giving them a major head start.
Jar Jar asks to have the blue lightsaber back, but Rex bluntly tells him no, continuing the
fight.
So that is the story of how Anakin saved Captain Rex’s life, allowing him to go on to fight
in the battle of Mimban alongside Representative from Naboo and Dark lord of the Sith, Jar
Jar Binks.
Let me know what you think happened after the final scene of the comic in the comments
down below.
Thanks so much for watching, cheers guys hope to see you in the next one!