The Rebel Alliance’s reliable Y-Wing bombers were given a new and more interesting backstory in canon, thanks to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. While not as fast and maneuverable as the iconic X-Wing fighter, the Y-Wing is nevertheless one of the Rebellion’s most effective craft and one of the first shown in the Star Wars franchise. The Y-Wing’s origins were rather straightforward in Legends, but The Clone Wars gave them a history as Republic Clone vessels.

Y-Wings debuted in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and cemented itself as one of the Star Wars franchise’s most recognizable ships, participating in the 1977 film’s action-packed finale. Legends material established that the Y-Wing was an outdated bomber by the time the Galactic Civil War began, but its history was explored in more detail in the 2007 sourcebook Starships of the Galaxy. The Y-Wing was revealed to have been developed for the Republic during the Clone Wars, but it never saw service until the war ended. The Galactic Empire didn’t use the vessel, so the ship ended up in the hands of other Star Wars factions, with the Rebellion being the most notable one.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

This history was rewritten in The Clone Wars, which showed more heavily-armored and two-seated Y-Wings being flown by Clone Pilots throughout the Clone Wars. With the highly-skilled Clone Pilots flying them, the Republic Y-Wing was extremely effective against Separatist Alliance starfighters and capital ships. Star Wars Rebels showed a Clone Y-Wing variant, with far less armor and only one pilot seat, being adopted by the fledgling Rebel Alliance, creating a connection between the heroic Clones and the Rebels in their fight against tyranny.

Republic Clone Troopers were initially thought of as little more than organic automatons who followed any orders, but canon and Legends material repeatedly proved that all Clones—even the standard troopers and pilots who underwent extensive conditioning—possessed free will and a genuine belief in the Republic’s democratic ideology. The Clones’ true purpose, of eliminating the Jedi and clearing the way for the fascist Galactic Empire, was enforced through brainwashing, reducing the normally-heroic troops to mindless drones as many mistakenly believed them to be. Many Clones, however, managed to overcome their brainwashing through various means, turning against the Empire and even joining the Rebellion in some cases.

In canon, Y-Wings became closely associated with the Republic Clones, thanks to The Clone Wars. Just as numerous Clones joined the Rebellion and fought for a faction that truly aligned with their ideals, a starfighter that Clones famously used became a commonly-flown Rebel Alliance vessel. In a way, the Rebellion using a Clone bomber symbolically shows the Clones fighting back against their manipulators.

See also  Alice In Borderland: 10 Characters, Ranked By Intelligence

The Legends-era backstory for the Rebellion’s Y-Wings is serviceable, explaining why they were never seen in the Clone Wars yet were still outdated by the time they were used by the Rebels. Canon, however, ties the ships to two major heroic factions in the Star Wars franchise and shows that the bombers were as effective against the Separatist Alliance as they’d be against the Empire. Star Wars: The Clone Wars gave Y-Wings a more interesting history that symbolically links the heroic Clone Troopers to the Rebel Alliance.

Key Release Dates
  • Rogue Squadron (2023)Release date: Dec 22, 2023
Fear The Walking Dead Continues Season 7’s Timeline Problem

About The Author


David Miller
(631 Articles Published)

David Miller is a staff writer for Screen Rant, indie comic writer, and life-long lover of all things Star Wars, Marvel, and DC. He was born and raised in New York and has a degree in English from Rider University. He relates to Peter Parker maybe a little too much.

More From David Miller