Blackout was a special ops Clone Commander who served in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. Under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Republic Admiral Wullf Yularen, he led the clone trooper crew of an IPV-2C Stealth Corvette on a relief mission to the planet Christophsis in 22 BBY. Before their departure, Blackout greeted replacement trooper, Spark, and showed him to his work station. On board the corvette, Blackout and Spark helped Skywalker bypass the Separatist's blockade over the planet by utilizing the ship's cloaking technology.

When Separatist Admiral Trench ordered a bombing run on Senator Bail Organa's refugee camp, Skywalker opted to cripple the blockade and Blackout complied with his alterated objective. Spark was surprised by their new orders but the commander assured him that such drastic change was not out of the ordinary for the maverick Jedi. Blackout and his crew aided Skywalker in the destruction of Trench's flagship and the corvette was finally able to deliver the supplies to Organa's camp. At the conclusion of their mission, Blackout rewarded Spark's efforts aboard the ship with induction into his crew.

Biography[]

The special ops clone trooper^[3] who adopted the name Blackout^[4] was a clone of the human male bounty hunter Jango Fett, born and raised on the planet Kamino. He was created to serve in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars, a conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems,^[1] and acquired the rank of Clone Commander. In the year 22 BBY, in the midst of the Battle of Christophsis, Blackout was present aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Negotiator. There, he led the clone trooper crew that manned the Republic's experimental IPV-2C Stealth Corvette and served under the command of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Admiral Wullf Yularen. Skywalker and the crew were tasked with sneaking past a Separatist blockade in order to deliver vital supplies to Senator Bail Organa, on the surface of the planet Christophsis. The blockade was led by Admiral Trench aboard his Providence-class Dreadnought, the Invincible, who had re-emerged after his presumed death at the Battle of Malastare Narrows. Before they departed in the corvette, enthusiastic newcomer Spark arrived at the ship's door and was greeted by Blackout. The commander told Spark that he would be fulfilling the role of one of their "starting line-up," a trooper who was unable to partake in the mission. Blackout positioned the rookie's station across from his, so that he could keep track of his progress.^[3]

Not long after taking off, Skywalker narrowly avoided collision with a contingent of Hyena-class Droid Bombers headed to Bail Organa's Christophsis refugee camp. In response to Trench's cruelty, Skywalker decided to divert from the mission's primary objective and engage the admiral in a deadly game of "cat and mouse." A confused Spark was assured by Blackout that this was the norm for the ever-offensive Skywalker, implying that the commander had experienced the Jedi's style before. He and Spark were able to lock on to the Invincible and Skywalker fired a volley of torpedoes at the ship. They were dispatched by the ship's thermal shields but the corvette was able to re-cloak and avoid Trench's immediate retaliatory missiles. A further spread of laser fire was also avoided, with Blackout and the rest of the crew visibly relieved at Skywalker's evasion. Following Skywalker's attack and escape, Trench sent a message over the open frequency that was picked up by Spark's station. Blackout asked the rookie about the notification, who told him that the transmission was coming from their enemy. At the commander's advice, Spark notified Skywalker of the message and Trench's hologram was quickly displayed throughout the corvette. The message appeared to disturb the crew, as the Harch admiral promised that their allies on the planet would die and warned Skywalker that he had fought against ships with cloaking devices before.^[3]

After deducing that Trench planned to use tracking torpedoes to lock onto the corvette's magnetic signature, Skywalker de-cloaked the corvette and attacked the Invincible once more. The corvette re-cloaked shortly thereafter and Trench was forced to lower his ship's shields to launch a counterattack. Blackout informed Skywalker that their cloak was successful and that the Invincible had locked on to the corvette's magnetic signature. The Jedi, pleased that the admiral's arrogance had gotten the better of him, flew the corvette directly towards the Invincible's bridge and used Trench's tracking torpedoes to cripple it. With Trench presumed dead and the Invincible left destroyed, the crew of the corvette celebrated and landed on the surface of Christophsis. After they had fulfilled their original mission, Blackout congratulated Spark on his work aboard the corvette and officially inducted him into his crew.^[3]

Personality and traits[]

Like all clones of the human male Jango Fett, Blackout stood at 1.83 meters tall.^[1] He was a stern, yet compassionate commanding officer who took Spark under his wing with a watchful eye. He guided the rookie in an effort to make sure he was up to speed with the rest of the corvette's crew, and congratulated him with induction after their successful mission under General Skywalker.^[3]

Skills and abilities[]

As a special ops trooper, Blackout was trained to operate stealthily and detect enemies at a distance.^[5] He was also fully capable of serving dutifully aboard an IPV-2C Stealth Corvette, whilst performing his service as a Clone Commander. Alongside Spark, he managed the ship's torpedo output and quickly notified Skywalker of the Invincible's lock-on of their magnetic signature.^[3]

Equipment[]

Blackout was equipped with armor that befitted a special ops clone trooper. His helmet featured red-patterned rings on its side and was also decorated with Jaig Eyes,^[3] a battle honor given to those that had shown bravery on the field.^[6]

Behind the scenes[]

Blackout first appeared as an unidentified character in "Cat and Mouse," the sixteenth episode of the canon animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars' second season,^[3] which first aired on March 20, 2010,^[7] in which he was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.^[3] Blackout was identified by name in the episode's corresponding guide, released on StarWars.com.^[4] An action figure of him was released by Hasbro in 2011 as a Toys "R" Us exclusive, although it was simply titled "Stealth Operations Clone Trooper."^[8]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Cat and Mouse" (First appearance)

Sources[]

• "Cat and Mouse" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars on StarWars.com (backup link) (First identified as Blackout)
• Clone Trooper Armor in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references[]