Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories: The Bad Batch: Ghost Agents #5
The Sands of Sapper
The Bad Batch survived Aurra Sing once. But her mission isn’t yet complete, and the clones will have to face the bounty hunter a second time if they want to save her next target!
Clone Force 99 put their lives on the line in one final confrontation with the notorious assassin.
If they fail, it could cost the Republic countless agents…and the entire war!
Writer: Michael Moreci
Penciller: Reese Hannigan
Inker: Elisabetta D’Amico
Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
Letterer: Tyler Smith and Bobby Bradford
Cover artist: Valeria “Lux” Favoccia
Editor: Spencer Cushing
Publication date: July 16 2025
We launch the fifth and final issue of Ghost Agents with our clone heroes in a bit of a spot as Tech steers the Havoc Marauder through a blinding sandstorm at high speed, enough to unsettle the stomach of Wrecker and lead to Hunter ordering him to bring the ship down. They’re in a race against time; get to the elusive ghost agent before Aurra Sing and get him away from his deep cover as a Separatist commander before Sing can end him, and do it as quickly and as quietly as possible.
Moving through the sandstorm they spot the shadowy outlines of Battle Droids, and we watch as a gleeful Wrecker and his clone brothers take them down, turning around to find the towering installation, their target location. Now knowing there’s no other option, they gird themselves and pile in, blasting their way through the throng of Battle Droids as they attack, and we’re treated to a pacey and high-octane action scene as the droids are dispatched and we finally see the ghost agent, still very much undercover as he tells them they’ve made a huge error….until Hunter tells him about the list and how it’s been compromised. As soon as the ghost agent realises Aurra Sing is on his tail he turns to the nearest Super Battle Droid and ends it, prompting Hunter to reiterate how quickly they need to move, only for Aurra to drop through the glass ceiling.
As Aurra and the battle droids face off Clone Force 99, Wrecker leaps in asking Crosshair to give him cover, but his melee attack fails as Sing pushes him back. It’s a tense stand off, but the ghost agent causes all to pause as he shoots the blaster out of Hunters hand and passes equipment to the Batch, telling them all to jump out of the tower. Luckily for them the equipment glides them to the ground, only to once again face Aurra Sing. It’s a key moment; the ghost agent isn’t the only one at risk, as the list contains all the other agents, and Sing has it, so blasters roar again as her blaster is blown out of her hand and Crosshair attacks, tackling her to the ground and moving away, the chip containing the list in his hand.
The Batch don’t waste and time, sprinting for the Marauder before Sing can regroup, and in the roar of the sandstorm, they manage to get into the air with the ghost agent and away, leaving Sing to call back to her paymasters with the bad news and the Batch to Coruscant. There they meet with Mace Windu, who is somewhat surprised by their methods but approving of their success, and he tells them that Master Kenobi has details of their next mission, should they be ready to accept it, and we end the series with Hunter telling the Jedi Master “We’re always ready.”
What a great end to a fun, pacey and action-packed series that nails the tone of the characters we got to know so well in the later seasons of The Clone Wars and through into their own three-season show. With Sanctuary: A Bad Batch Novel on its way next month and this Dark Horse series out in the world, the focus is back on the Batch, and most welcome it is. These are genuinely great characters, and even though we know their eventual fate through the TV show, that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of seeing them in action, especially when interacting with the great heroes of the Clone Wars.
Let’s hope that Kenobi mission lands on shelves sooner rather than later, because given the quality of this series Writer Michael Moreci, Penciller Reese Hannigan and Inker Elisabetta D’Amico deserve another series of Clone Force 99 adventures. Highly recommended, and hats off to everyone involved.
Have a listen to our Canon Fodder interview with Michael Moreci below.
