Sister is one of the most remarkable characters introduced in Star Wars canon, the first transgender clone trooper. There’s a sense in which cloning represents conformity, because all the clones in Star Wars are duplicates created from the template of Jango Fett. For all that’s the case, though, Star Wars: The Bad Batch starred the mutant clones who comprised Clone Force 99, while Star Wars: The Clone Wars stressed the individualism of clones like Cut Lawquane.
There’s a sense in which Sister is the ultimate example of nonconformity among the clone troopers. Introduced in E.K. Johnston’s Queen’s Hope she’s officially the first transgender clone trooper. Now, Star Wars has released the first image of Sister in canon, further showing her importance to the franchise’s lore.
Who Was Sister, Star Wars’ Transgender Clone?
Sister was a transgender clone trooper who encountered Anakin Skywalker early on during the Clone Wars. He was struck by the clones’ decision to acknowledge Sister’s uniqueness, acknowledging her gender identity with the assigned name “Sister.” She served as a memver of the 7th Sky Corps, working with Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi on several missions.
Anakin gave an affirming response to Sister, who wasn’t sure how the Jedi would react to her. “The Jedi are all about transcending things,” Anakin told her wryly. “I don’t think we can complain if you’ve transcended gender.“
Were There Other Transgender Clones As Well?
The interesting question, of course, is whether Sister was the only transgender clone. In theory, the clones were designed to be unique, with their individuality and independence suppressed through inhibitor chips. In practice, the clones strove to rediscover their independence and sought nonconformity. That much was clear even from the fact they chose to refer to one another with self-assigned names, rather than just by their CT numbers.
Anakin encountered Sister early on in the Clone Wars, meaning she was probably a first generation clone trooper. It’s unknown how many generations of clones there were in Star Wars canon, but Sister sets a pecedent for there to be other transgender clones as well. At the same time, the fact she is singled out by Rex in Marc Sumerak’s The Secrets of the Clone Troopers suggests transgender clones weren’t common – and that she was the only one he knew of.