Howzer

On the planet Kamino, Howzer was created as a clone of the human male bounty hunter Jango Fett to serve in the clone army of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars against the Separatist Alliance. Howzer, with the rank of Clone Captain, was sent to Ryloth in the Outer Rim, the homeworld of the Twi'lek species, to liberate the world from Separatist control. The Republic and the native Twi'lek Resistance, under the leadership of General Cham Syndulla, eventually united against the Separatists, agreeing that the Republic would leave Ryloth after their shared enemy was defeated. The coalition successfully overthrew the Separatists on the planet. Howzer, having participated in the battle and being stationed on the world for several months, eventually became friends with Syndulla.

During his time on Ryloth, Howzer assisted in defending the world from Separatist attacks, with Republic forces experiencing a setback at one point but ultimately maintaining control of the planet for the remainder of the war. In 19 BBY, the Clone Wars concluded with the defeat of the Separatists and the reorganization of the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Howzer continued his service as a stormtrooper officer in the new Imperial Army, retaining his rank of Captain. He commanded a squad of clones, all of whom had fought alongside him during the battle for Ryloth, within a battalion stationed around the desert world's capital city, Lessu. The Empire did not honor the Republic's promise to leave Ryloth and instead established its own doonium refinery on the world. Many Twi'leks, including several of Syndulla's fighters led by his lieutenant Gobi Glie, grew wary of the Empire's military presence.

In Lessu, a crowd gathered before the Capitol building, where Howzer was present on a balcony. The captain spoke with Cham Syndulla while Orn Free Taa, Ryloth's Senator, talked with Eleni, Cham's wife. Vice Admiral Rampart, who had been observing the crowd, questioned the loyalty of Ryloth due to Taa, Eleni, and Cham's cooperation with the Empire. As Taa, Rampart, and Eleni prepared for Taa's speech, Howzer asked if Cham was alright, and the general expressed concern about his people not embracing peace.

Howzer reassured Cham that Ryloth was safe because the Twi'lek fought for it, and they joined the others for the speech. Taa urged his people to relinquish their military roles and allow the Empire's clones to protect them. The crowd resented Taa's request, so Cham stepped in, expressing his trust in the clones who had aided the people of Ryloth during the Clone Wars. Cham invited Howzer to join him during his speech, which was met with applause from most of the audience.

Shortly after, Hera, Cham and Eleni's daughter, and her droid, C1-10P "Chopper," were discovered in a restricted area near the Imperial refinery by some clones. Howzer and his troops returned the young Twi'lek and her droid to Cham, explaining what she had done. After Hera dismissed the incident as "exploring," Howzer spoke with Cham privately. He explained that he was in a difficult situation and promised not to report the incident, but warned that it could not happen again. Cham assured Howzer that it would not and thanked him, after which Howzer and his soldiers left.

Meanwhile, Rampart had Commander CT-9904 "Crosshair" and his Elite Squad Trooper unit investigate Glie's activities. The unit soon intercepted Glie, accompanied by Hera and the Twi'lek Serin, when he returned to Ryloth with purchased weapons. Howzer joined Rampart and Taa aboard a HCVw A9 turbo tank, escorted by BARC speeders, and traveled to Crosshair's location. Upon disembarking, the captain flanked the admiral and senator as they inspected Hera and discussed Cham's potential involvement. When Rampart suggested punishing Hera, Howzer intervened, pointing out that she was just a child. Taa declared her an insurgent and ordered that the three captured Twi'leks be taken away.

Though hesitant, Howzer had Glie, Hera, and Serin taken into the Juggernaut, followed by Rampart, Taa, and himself. As the transport moved through Sector 3 of Ryloth's western outskirts, Twi'lek reinforcements led by Cham and Eleni arrived. Cham began assaulting the escorting clones on speeder bikess, and Howzer was informed of the attack via his comlink. Knowing Cham was responsible, Taa ordered Howzer's forces to retaliate, and Howzer complied after a moment of hesitation.

Howzer listened over his comlink as his speeders were defeated by the Twi'lek militants. The comms were then jammed by Lenk, who had hijacked the juggernaut's cockpit, and the transport halted as the last speeder pilots were defeated, prompting Howzer to don his helmet. After the transport's power was cut, Howzer raised his DC-17 hand blaster to defend his colleagues, but Rampart advised him to stand down, and the juggernaut passengers watched as Cham and Eleni entered their compartment.

The Twi'leks held Howzer, Taa, Rampart, and the remaining clones captive. Cham and Taa accused each other of treason, with Cham aiming his blaster at Taa. Howzer urged Cham to consider his actions before Eleni dissuaded him from killing Taa. Rampart then thanked the senator before nodding at a distant Crosshair, who shot Taa in the head. Several Low Altitude Assault Transports then arrived, forcing Hera and Chopper to flee in a landspeeder. The LAATs deployed additional clones alongside Crosshair's elite squad, who arrested the Twi'leks and loaded them onto the transports.

As Taa was carried away on a hoverlift, injured but alive, Howzer approached Rampart, who handed him a DC-15A blaster carbine and ordered him to find Hera. The captain then watched as Rampart joined Crosshair's Elite Squad Troopers and the captured Twi'leks aboard an LAAT, which departed with the other gunships. After failing to locate Hera, Howzer returned to Rampart at the Capitol building, where they visited Cham and Eleni Syndulla in their prison cell. The admiral and the Syndullas exchanged taunts before Rampart left, leaving Howzer to look somberly at his old Twi'lek friends before also departing.

Howzer and Rampart went towards the landing area outside the Capitol, and Rampart ordered Howzer to arrest the Syndullas' supporters across the planet. Howzer insisted that the people he was ordered to arrest were not insurgents, but Rampart argued that they supported one, referencing the attack on the juggernaut and the shooting of Taa. Howzer, who had been present, argued that the Twi'leks had not shot Taa, but when Rampart asked who he thought had fired, Howzer claimed he did not know. Rampart reiterated his orders, and Howzer offered to find Hera himself, but Rampart refused, stating that another squad was already searching for her.

Numerous Twi'leks gathered at Lessu for another public address at the Capitol building, where Rampart, with Howzer beside him, updated the crowd on the alleged assassination attempt on Taa by the Syndullas and their allies. Afterward, they walked through the building's hallways, and Howzer suggested arresting only some of Cham's allies. Rampart insisted that all were to be rounded up, and Howzer expressed concern that it could incite an uprising. However, Rampart suggested arresting more to quell any rebellion. The two entered Rampart's office to join Crosshair, who reported the presence of the rogue clone commando squad Clone Force 99, or the "Bad Batch," on Ryloth.

Rampart and Crosshair debated the Bad Batch's capabilities until Rampart suggested Crosshair's squad continue searching for Hera, or he would assign Howzer to the task instead, prompting Crosshair to leave the room to carry out his orders. Howzer secretly returned to Cham and Eleni's cell. Cham accused Howzer of siding against him and his people, but Howzer brought up Cham's attack on the juggernaut. When Eleni stated that they had to protect Hera, Howzer asserted that he wanted to as well, asking for her location and promising to help her. However, Cham did not trust Howzer and rejected his offer.

Soon after, the Imperial refinery was attacked by the Bad Batch with Hera's assistance. Upon learning of the events, Howzer rushed to Rampart's office to report it, and Rampart ordered him to guard Lessu. Imperial forces deployed from the Capitol building's landing area, but Crosshair halted his elite squad, suspecting the Capitol was the real target. Howzer observed their shuttle from a balcony and learned of a trap Crosshair had set in front of one of the exits with his elite squad and members of Howzer's squad. Howzer went down towards the exit and intercepted Cham and his allies, who had been rescued by two Bad Batch commandos.

Howzer warned the group of Crosshair's trap and condemned the Empire's actions on Ryloth. After Howzer added that all the Capitol's exits were blocked, Eleni decided they would steal Taa's shuttle from the senator's private tower hangar. Howzer apologized to Cham for not opposing the Empire sooner, and Cham promised to return to Ryloth eventually, as their fight for Ryloth's freedom was not over. Although Eleni added that Howzer's actions would be discovered, Howzer did not want to abandon his squad.

Howzer exited the capitol building before Crosshair's trap and openly defied the Empire's occupation of Ryloth, urging his clone brothers to stand with him and doing the same as he dropped his blaster carbine. Six other clones were persuaded by Howzer's reasoning and dropped their blasters and riot shields, prompting Crosshair to order their arrests by his Elite Squad and the clones who remained loyal. Handcuffed, Howzer watched as Cham and his fighters escaped with the Bad Batch on Taa's shuttle. Howzer was then escorted back into the Capitol building.

Howzer and eight of his troopers were imprisoned on the factory world of Balmorra for their dissent and disobedience. Over time, Howzer witnessed other groups of clones being transferred offworld. Of Howzer and his men, only three survived and were taken to an Imperial Gozanti-class cruiser to be transported off Balmorra around 18 BBY. A clone commando and a squad of TK stormtroopers escorted Howzer and his two remaining dissident soldiers to the cruiser. When the imprisoned clone looked around, one stormtrooper nudged him and ordered him to keep his eyes down. The three inmates were loaded onto the Gozanti-class cruiser under the supervision of Captain Pearce, who oversaw the transfer.

As the Gozanti cruiser left Balmorra's orbit, it was attacked by the starship of a clone resistance group. The insurgent ship crippled the Gozanti-class cruiser before sending a boarding party of rogue clones to free Howzer and his comrades and extract information. One of the insurgent clones, Fireball, fought his way to Howzer's cell. Having been alerted to an attack, Howzer and his two fellow inmates watched their cell door, ready to ambush any aggressor, and when Fireball entered, the imprisoned captain immediately recognized his liberator. The clone insurgent led the three prisoners back to Echo’s ship, which made a swift escape from the Balmorra system.

The insurgent ship returned to the Clone Underground's base of operations on Coruscant. There, Howzer spoke with Echo, a veteran of the Bad Batch who had led the rescue mission, and Riyo Chuchi, the Pantoran Senator, about his time on Balmorra, explaining the reason for their detention and how other groups of clones had been transferred to unknown locations. Echo added that he had recovered a portion of data from the Gozanti's bridge, which Pearce had ordered to be purged before he took his own life. The ex-Bad Batch clone left shortly afterward to find his former unit and have the data decrypted.

During that same year, not long after being rescued, Howzer made the decision to officially become a member of the Clone Underground resistance group. He was sent to the world of Pantora alongside his clone comrades Rex, Samson, Nemec, and Greer. Their assignment was to safeguard senators Avi Singh and Riyo Chuchi during a secret meeting. Howzer's specific duty was to stand guard outside the building where the meeting was taking place. Rex, who was leading Avi Singh and his droid GS-8 toward the building, requested an update from Howzer. Ultimately, they were successful in apprehending the operative CX-1. While in hyperspace with their captive, Howzer and Rex had a conversation regarding a datapuck they had obtained from CX-1. Rex instructed Howzer to arrange for Fireball to analyze the item at their base, which was located at the dilapidated B'omarr Order Monastery on the planet Teth. Back at their base, the operative refused to speak during Rex's interrogation, which led to Howzer urging Rex to intensify his efforts. After Fireball informed them that CX-1's data puck contained a target list that included Omega and Senator Singh, Rex gave Fireball the order to contact Echo and Hunter. Howzer suggested that the Bad Batch could offer assistance, but Rex was reluctant to involve them. Howzer was of the opinion that Crosshair could be of assistance and CX-1 could in turn help them acquire the location of Mount Tantiss.

When the Bad Batch finally arrived at the Monastery's location, Howzer and Rex were there, waiting for them. Despite wanting to question Crosshair, Howzer was still unhappy to see him due to unresolved issues from Ryloth. Rex assured the angered Howzer that Crosshair was now on their side. Once they were all inside the base, Rex explained to the Bad Batch their strategy for rescuing their clone brothers from Tantiss Base, also mentioning that Omega's name was on the operative's list. Howzer questioned Crosshair as to why his name wasn't on the list, to which Crosshair responded that he wasn't important to them. Howzer then accused Crosshair of being a traitor, which caused Hunter to warn him to stand down. He questioned if Crosshair was a captive and why Crosshair did not know the location of Tantiss Base, prompting Crosshair to reiterate he did not know the location. Crosshair stated that he was finished with the Empire, but Howzer remained unconvinced.

After Rex made it known to Clone Force 99 that they had captured a clone assassin, Howzer informed the Bad Batch that they had scanned the prisoner. Crosshair cautioned that the Empire was utilizing a specialized tracker that could bypass scanner detection. Shortly after this, CX-2 initiated a sequence of explosions throughout the base, which disabled their communications. He then launched an attack on the Clone Underground in the mess hall, where the operative managed to trap several members of the Underground, killing them and causing the room to collapse. Howzer survived the explosion, along with Omega, the Bad Batch, Rex, and Batcher. They made their way out of the bunker using a secret underground passage, planning to contact Echo via the Remora-one. CX-2 continued to pursue Howzer and the remaining clones. They were able to reach the Remora-one; however, CX-2 fired a long-range blaster at the vessel, damaging its engines. Rex crash-landed the leech vessel, contacting Echo, before they departed the destroyed ship. Commander Wolffe, CX-2, and Imperial forces chased Howzer and the other surviving clones through the jungle. While en route to their rendezvous point, Howzer noticed Crosshair's concern for Omega and inquired about what had changed since their initial encounter on Ryloth. Crosshair explained that he had been motivated by loyalty but had come to realize that the Empire considered him and the other clones expendable, a sentiment with which Howzer concurred.

As they approached the extraction point, the rogue clones were once again ambushed by CX-2, which eventually led to Crosshair and CX-2 engaging in hand-to-hand combat. In the meantime, Howzer and the other clones continued along their path as the two fought up and down a waterfall. Within a pool of water, CX-2 launched another attack on Crosshair, but Howzer used his stun weapon on CX-2 from behind, causing him to be swept over the waterfall. Howzer and Hunter then pulled Crosshair to safety. Soon after, Howzer, Rex, and the rest of the rogue clones found themselves in a standoff with Wolffe. Rex informed Wolffe that he, Howzer, and Clone Force 99 were fighting against the Empire and extended an invitation for Wolffe to join their cause. When Echo arrived, Wolffe instructed his forces to stand down, which allowed Howzer, Rex, and the Bad Batch to escape safely on the Remora.

Being a clone derived from the human male bounty hunter Jango Fett, Howzer's height was 1.83 meters, he possessed tan-colored skin, and his dark gray hair was closely shaven on the sides. Furthermore, he bore a scar on his left cheek and another on the right side of his chin.

Even though the majority of clones were blindly obedient to orders following the activation of their behavioral modification biochips, Howzer maintained his own sense of self, despite having a chip, remaining friendly with Cham Syndulla. As the effects of his chip diminished, enabling him to question his purpose, he upheld his commitment to protect Ryloth and expressed skepticism when the Empire contradicted its predecessor's promise to withdraw from Ryloth after the Separatists' defeat. Howzer considered Vice Admiral Rampart's undermining of Cham and his people to be reprehensible, and he hesitated to carry out orders that would put him in opposition to the people of Ryloth, including his decision not to report Hera Syndulla's trespassing incident.

When Rampart ordered punishment for Hera, Howzer argued that she was just a child, noticeably hesitating when his men were ordered to arrest her and her companions. He also chose to try and talk Cham out of shooting Orn Free Taa to help the general. The captain was skeptical of Rampart's decision to arrest all of Cham's allies, believing it to be excessive and fearing a resulting uprising. Howzer felt guilty about having to turn against Cham, but tried to make amends with him by pledging to protect Hera Syndulla. After assisting the Twi'lek fighters in escaping, Howzer decided to stay with his fellow clone brothers whom he respected, not wishing to abandon them and well aware that he would be detained for treason.

Having been out in the field when other clones removed the color from their armor, and then simply never doing so himself, Howzer wore white Phase II clone trooper armor with teal blue markings and a teal blue pauldron. He also used a comlink built into his armor and wielded a DC-17 hand blaster and DC-15A blaster carbine. Following Howzer's liberation from Imperial custody, he regained his Phase II clone trooper. While his armor remained mostly the same, the teal markings on his legs and a large portion on his helmet were absent, alongside his pauldron. Additionally, he adorned a large pouch satchel slung over his chest, a rifle holder on his back, and a blaster holster on both of his legs. During this time, he wielded two DC-17 hand blasters, and a DC-15A blaster carbine whilst on Pantora.

Howzer's first appearance was in "Devil's Deal," which was the eleventh episode of the Disney+ animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Steward Lee directed the episode, and it was broadcast on July 9, 2021. Dee Bradley Baker, who provides the voice for every clone trooper in The Bad Batch and other animated series like Star Wars: The Clone Wars, voiced Howzer. Before "Devil's Deal" was released, a Howzer figure was available for pre-order as part of "The Bad Batch Special 4-pack" in Hasbro's Star Wars: The Vintage Collection. The pack identified him as "Ballast."

Molly Denmark's lighting concept art for Howzer's speech at the Capitol depicted the captain with navy blue helmet markings and pauldron, instead of teal blue, as well as a visor resembling that from Imperial stormtrooper armor. Howzer's chest and leg armor also lacked any color markings.