Summary
A newStar Warsbook called ‘The Secrets of the Clone Troopers’ was released earlier this week, detailing the Kamino army’s rich history from the first Geonisan troopers tothe Bad Batch, complete with artwork, pop-ups, and booklets. But what really stands out is the first official look at Sister, AKA the first trans Clone Trooper in the franchise’s history.
Written from Captain Rex’s perspective, Sister’s description details her coming out story and how her brothers reacted: “When one of our kind expressed her gender identity differently than her fellow troopers, she [figured] she’d have to hide who she truly was inside. Fortunately, her brothers in the 7th Sky Corps gave her the name Sister as a constant reminder that she belonged”.
Star Wars hasa rich tapestry of LGBTQ+ charactersin its expanded media. The High Republic era introduced Kantam Sy, Terec, and Ceret, three non-binary Jedi. And Star Wars: Squadrons featured a non-binary New Republic pilot, Keo Venzee.
Sister was first introduced by E. K. Johnston in 2022 in her book ‘Queen’s Hope’. While this is our first official look at Sister, Johnston did comission art of the character fromUzuri, depicting a very similar design of a trooper with long braided hair and trans colours accenting her armour. The Arc Helmet even features the same stripes.
Anakin Skywalker Coined The Term Transgender In Star Wars
Sister doesn’t play a major role in Queen’s Hope — hence why she didn’t feature in any promotional art — but she did get to meet Anakin Skywalker. And their interaction would lead to the in-universe coining of the term ‘transgender’.
After a brutal battle, Anakin Skywalker asked Sister for her name. She told him, and explained where it came from and how her brothers had supported her coming out. But she expressed concern about standing out as a Clone Trooper, knowing all too well how dangerous that can be.
“The Jedi are all about transcending things,” Anakin said, comforting Sister. “I don’t think we can complain if you’ve transcended gender. Transcended gender. We’ll work on it, but I like where it is heading.”
So, in Star Wars canon, an interaction between Sister and Anakin Skywalker led to the term transgender. The more you know, eh?
