These 12 Star Wars characters introduced in the franchise’s animated TV shows are the very best. There is a pervasive notion that animated shows are somehow inferior to live-action TV shows and movies, particularly because animation tends to be associated with children, but that is certainly not true in Star Wars movies and TV shows. Many of Star Wars’ best shows have been animated, and as shows such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch have made clear, there are plenty of darker themes for an older audience in Star Wars’ animated storylines.
Several of Star Wars’ best characters have also been introduced in animation, and many have yet to make the jump to live-action, if they ever will. While a number of characters, such as those from the Star Wars prequel trilogy, have gone from live-action to animation, this list represents only those who debuted in animation, and it only considers their animated story arcs. Within those parameters, these 12 characters are the very best from Star Wars’ animated shows.
12 Crosshair
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
The members of Clone Force 99 are incredibly beloved in Star Wars, for good reason. After the crew was introduced in The Clone Wars, the team led their own spin-off show, The Bad Batch, for three seasons. Crosshair was certainly not the easiest of those fan-favorite members to like, though. While the genetically modified Bad Batch members were not as susceptible to the inhibitor chips that caused Order 66 as the other clones were, Crosshair ended up aligning himself with the Empire for quite some time.
Crosshair also had a very brusque nature and tended to be the most negative and pessimistic of the Bad Batchers. Yet, this complex history is precisely what makes Crosshair one of the best animated characters in Star Wars. In The Bad Batch season 3 in particular, Crosshair really came into his own, helping to save Omega and being reunited with his brothers, ready to admit his wrongdoing. Crosshair’s redemption is, in fact, one of the very best in Star Wars.
11 Tech
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Yet another Bad Batch member, Tech was easily one of the most loved characters on the team. Each member of Clone Force 99 had their own unique quirks, which was in part the intention behind their creation—they were meant to have specific skill sets as a type of experiment within the cloning project. Tech was easily the quirkiest, though, perhaps only rivaled by Wrecker.
Tech’s nature was at times even a bit robotic, much to the frustration of Omega, who wanted him to express more emotion about the Bad Batch family. In the end, though, it was Tech’s pragmatism that saved the Bad Batchers. Sadly, this came at the expense of Tech’s life, and The Bad Batch season 2 ending saw his shocking, devastating death. Many held out hope that Tech would return in the show’s final season, but The Bad Batch season 3 confirmed that Tech truly did die to save his team.
10 Hunter
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Although Crosshair and Tech were both brilliant members of Clone Force 99, Hunter is the best clone on the Bad Batch team. This was solidified with his arc in The Bad Batch, which saw Hunter step into a paternal role with Omega, the unaltered young female clone of Jango Fett. Hunter even went so far as to call Omega the Bad Batch’s kid in The Bad Batch season 3.
The clones were never meant to be anything more than soldiers fighting for the Republic, but the Bad Batch crew managed to become a true family.
There have been many precious parent-child dynamics in Star Wars, most notably Din Djarin and Grogu’s relationship in The Mandalorian, but there was something specifically sweet about seeing Hunter become a dad. The clones were never meant to be anything more than soldiers fighting for the Republic, but the Bad Batch crew managed to become a true family, and Star Wars gave them a happy ending—a rarity in a franchise that is often quite dark. In fact, the Bad Batch season 3 ending is about as close to ‘happily ever after’ as the franchise can get.
9 Hera Syndulla
First Appeared In: Star Wars Rebels
Star Wars Rebels remains one of the most popular Star Wars TV shows, even 6 years after the show ended. Like The Bad Batch, Rebels had a specific team that led the show and also became like a family throughout Rebels’ four seasons. Many of these characters are fan favorites not only in terms of animated Star Wars characters but also in the franchise more broadly, and Hera is certainly among them.
Hera was introduced in Rebels as the spunky ace pilot who, like Hunter, also took on a parental role. With Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger in particular, Hera felt like the head of a family alongside Jedi Kanan Jarrus. Hera shone on her own, too, as a fearless Rebel who was willing to sacrifice it all if it meant stopping the Empire. She also had a brilliant sarcastic attitude, often bringing some levity to even the most dire moments.
8 Omega
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Although Omega wasn’t initially part of Clone Force 99, when she was introduced in The Bad Batch as a surprising female clone of Jango Fett, she quickly became one. Like many young characters in Star Wars, Ahsoka Tano in The Clone Wars and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Omega was met with harsh backlash when she debuted. With time, though, criticism of the character softened, and she became a beloved character.
In part, this shift in perspective was because of Omega’s adorably quirky attitude, which made her well-suited to Clone Force 99. Omega also proved to be particularly fierce, though, even facing her incarceration by the Empire at the end of The Bad Batch season 2 with bravery. She was also the real reason she and Crosshair made it off Mount Tantiss together. Given how young Omega truly was throughout these events, she really is one of Star Wars’ most impressive animated characters.
7 Chopper
First Appeared In: Star Wars Rebels
Chopper is a known troublemaker, and that is in part why the droid has become incredibly beloved. While R2-D2 likely still holds the title of the best droid in Star Wars, Chopper often gives him a run for his money with his sarcastic beeps and devil-may-care attitude. Throughout Rebels, in fact, Chopper proved to be more than okay with occasionally toeing the line of ethical behavior in the name of the Rebellion.
Chopper proved to be more than okay with occasionally toeing the line of ethical behavior in the name of the Rebellion.
Chopper also rivaled R2-D2 in terms of human-like behavior, especially given his voice. For one, Chopper elicited real laughter throughout Rebels that distinguished him from most other droids. Many have also said it sounds like Chopper is speaking basic at times, if inflected with a droid ‘accent,’ and on more than one occasion, it has sounded a bit like Chopper’s beeps are hiding some profane language.
6 Sabine Wren
First Appeared In: Star Wars Rebels
Sabine Wren is yet another wonderful animated Star Wars character from Rebels. Alongside the likes of Bo-Katan Kryze in The Clone Wars, Sabine is one of the most prominent Mandalorian characters in Star Wars’ animated shows. Bo-Katan’s animated history is quite a bit more complicated than Sabine’s, though. While Bo-Katan has been developed beautifully in live-action, her animated arc contained some major blemishes, such as her role in Death Watch, that impact her place in this ranking.
By contrast, Sabine’s arc in Rebels was a joy to watch as she, like Ezra, grew from a stubborn teenager into a true Rebel fighter and compassionate person. Sabine also had some major Star Wars moments, such as when she was able to wield the Darksaber, the very first Mandalorian lightsaber from the first (and for a long time, only) Mandalorian Jedi. Although Sabine didn’t hold onto the Darksaber for long, that arc revealed how significant her character really was.
5 Ezra Bridger
First Appeared In: Star Wars Rebels
Ezra Bridger was arguably the protagonist of Rebels, even though the show fits the bill for an ensemble cast. Ezra began as a troublesome kid in the show, stealing food to survive but also stealing without knowing what he was stealing, as was shown in the first Rebels episode. Ezra crossed paths with the Ghost crew specifically because they were stealing speeders and crates from the Empire and, without knowing what they contained, Ezra nabbed one in turn from the Ghost crew members.
From there, though, Ezra developed into a powerful and skilled Jedi, trained by Kanan Jarrus, who had been raised in the Jedi Temple and was one of the survivors of Order 66. Perhaps because his Jedi Master had this history, Ezra learned to master the Force and accomplished incredible Force feats, among them his ability to enter and navigate the World Between Worlds. Ezra also managed to go toe-to-toe with Darth Vader, revealing how impressive he became as a Jedi.
4 Kanan Jarrus
First Appeared In: Star Wars Rebels
Easily the best character introduced in Rebels was Kanan Jarrus. Despite Kanan not completing his Jedi training prior to the fall of the Republic and the Jedi Order, Kanan was the perfect example of what a true Jedi should be. Not only did he represent the compassion and bravery of a Jedi, but also, in the end, he gave his life to protect his friends without a second thought. This was without question one of the saddest moments in Rebels, but it also proved the incredible person Kanan was.
Kanan was the perfect example of what a true Jedi should be.
Kanan was also a rather interesting Jedi, especially because of his relationship with Hera Syndulla. While Kanan upheld the Jedi practices in many ways, he clearly didn’t abide by all of them, as he had a romantic relationship with Hera (so much so that they had a son together, although they sadly never met). Unlike so many other Jedi, though, this attachment didn’t seem to draw Kanan to the dark side whatsoever, nor did his familial attachments to the other Ghost crew members. Kanan was arguably one of the most impressive Jedi in Star Wars, in that respect.
3 Captain Rex
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
While Star Wars introduced countless wonderful clones in The Clone Wars, Captain Rex was easily the best. Rex fought loyally by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano’s sides throughout the Clone Wars, and, although he was initially corrupted by the inhibitor chip (and nearly killed Ahsoka in the process), with Ahsoka’s help, he overcame that terrible event and survived along with Ahsoka. That was also not the end of Rex’s story in Star Wars’ animated shows, though.
Rex appeared in Rebels, which happily saw him reconnect with Ahsoka. This plot line was also a bit of closure for the events of Order 66, as Kanan had a reasonably harsh reaction to seeing the clones. As a survivor of Order 66, Kanan, then called Caleb Dume, had seen firsthand what the clones had done during the terrible massacre. With Rex’s gentle wisdom, however, Kanan was able to see that the clones had been acting against their own will, and this moment was critically important in Kanan’s path to forgiveness and acceptance.
2 Asajj Ventress
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Asajj Ventress has had one of the most surprising but also impressive arcs in Star Wars, particularly among the animated shows and characters. Ventress began as an antagonist in The Clone Wars, working as Count Dooku’s dark side assassin. In that role, Ventress proved to be a powerful Force-user and an excellent fighter, holding her own in fights with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker throughout the show. Her skills were due in no small part to her origins as a Nightsister of Dathomir.
Throughout The Clone Wars, Asajj developed considerably, ultimately helping Ahsoka Tano when she was on the run from the Jedi, falsely accused of murder. While that arc could easily be read as Ventress simply acting against the Jedi, Ventress’ shocking return in The Bad Batch revealed that it was more than that. Now wielding a yellow lightsaber, it seems Ventress may have truly turned away from the dark side, which suggests thrilling updates to come in her Star Wars story.
1 Ahsoka Tano
First Appeared In: Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Of all the characters introduced in Star Wars’ animated shows, Ahsoka Tano is the very best. Like Omega, Ahsoka was met with harsh criticism when she first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie. Many were disgruntled to see Star Wars give Anakin Skywalker a Padawan, as the prequel trilogy had made no mention of her.
With time, though, Ahsoka more than proved herself as the perfect Padawan for Anakin and as a powerful Jedi in her own right. Even after she had walked away from the Jedi Order, Ahsoka remained true to the Jedi way, always helping others and remaining on the light side of the Force. Incredibly, Ahsoka also took on the former Sith Lord Darth Maul during the Clone Wars finale, revealing how skilled she really was. While Star Wars has unquestionably introduced a whole host of amazing characters in animation, none so far has come close to Ahsoka Tano.
