14 Things 'Star Wars' Fans Probably Didn't Know About Clone Captain Rex

Rex obviously opposed the Empire, but he nonetheless believed in elements of the Republic that he had once served. After all, Rex was above all else a dedicated soldier, and it was this dedication that drove most of the major decisions he made over the course of his life. 

In the days after the Republic fell, but before he had decided to join the Rebellion, Rex was kept alive by a belief that he could still serve his fellow clone troopers even if he could no longer fight for the Empire. He helped other clones take steps like removing their inhibitor chips, and in doing so, he was able to fulfill some parts of his initial training. 

Like all of the clones that served in the clone army, Rex was genetically identical to bounty hunter Jango Fett. Rex was among the first generation of troopers for the Army of the Grand Republic, and he eventually came to be known as one of the greatest soldiers in the Army of the Republic. 

Rex's first-generation status also made him one of the older clones in the entire army. Although his life was shorter than many of the character's in the Star Wars universe, he was there from the earliest days of the Clone Wars, and saw the Empire's rise and eventual fall. 

Rex may not have been on screen at all in the prequels, but that doesn't mean he wasn't canonically present for some of the major events depicted in those movies. According to The Clone Wars, he was present at the Battle of Geonosis, battling the droid army in the first battle of what would become the Clone Wars. 

At the time of the Battle of Geonosis, Rex was leading a battalion of troops, the 501st, but he wasn't yet the distinguished leader he would eventually become. His reputation only grew with time, and he eventually emerged as one of the great leaders in the clone army. On Geonosis, he began to create that reputation. 

Because he and Commander Cody were both leaders in the Army of the Republic, they had a hand in crafting many of the protocols and processes that would eventually be used by the Empire. In particular, Cody and Rex had an enormous hand in the development of the various codes and protocols that the Empire wound up using, which became enormously useful when Rex decided to join the Rebel Alliance. 

On numerous occasions, Rex was able to use his knowledge of Empire codes in order to break into their systems and wreak havoc. Even commanders who are no longer a part of a particular army can still cause enormous problems when they are also the ones who designed all of its systems. 

Because Rex's history in the clone army spanned the entirety of the Clone Wars, his armor changed over the course of the war. While he initially, wore all Phase I armor, because that's all that was available, he eventually adapted his armor so that it was a unique combination of elements from the first and second generations of clone armor. 

His most notable divergence was wearing a Phase I helmet visor, even as much of the rest of his armor was Phase II. He also acquired ARC trooper armor, and by the end of the Clone Wars, he was using a jetpack during major battles, including the Siege of Mandalore. 

All clone troopers were obviously bred to be obedient, but as we see across the story of Star Wars, they were also people. Even in spite of the inhibitor chips that forced them to follow orders, clone troopers ultimately developed a wide variety of distinct personalities. Rex, for example, started his career very reliant on authority and protocol. 

As he rose to power, though, he became less strict about following the letter of the law. He never explicitly went against his orders, but he was known to circumvent proper procedure if it meant accomplishing his mission in a way that was safe and effective. It's that rebellious streak that ultimately led him to step away from the Republic as it slowly became the Galactic Empire.