Although Star Wars brought the beloved animated series Star Wars: The Bad Batch to an end in 2024, its story is continuing in other media, including one that's turned one of its into the ultimate thirst trap. Star Wars has long since had a very interactive relationship with The Bad Batch fandom, specifically through social media, and has certainly proven that they listen closely to the fans. This seems to be the case even now in Clone Force 99's newest story, Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories—The Bad Batch—Ghost Agents #1 by Michael Moreci - especially in this specific scene.

The illustrations, penciled by Reese Hannigan, inked by Elisabetta D'Amico, and colored by Michael Atiyeh, depict all four of Clone Force 99 wearing civilian clothes on Coruscant - and attention has been brought to that which Sergeant Hunter wears. The look first debuted in previews released exclusively by Screen Rant back in November 2024, but as the full issue has been released, more fans have been vocal about appreciating Hunter's new look. Here's a look at how exactly Star Wars has managed to, perhaps unwittingly, transform the sergeant into a thirst trap.

In one close-up from the cantina on Coruscant, hunterscyarika uses a popular text meme, emphasizing that they won't argue "with a man with big brown eyes", so "whatever you say beautiful."

Including various s in the same outfit is Dreamingastrid, sharing that they were given "butterflies" by this particular look and the illustrations.

In lieu of actually posting any photos of the look, CatDoesArts shares an observation of the motivation behind this particular outfit. Not only are they convinced that one of the artists is "really thirsty for Hunter," but they also add that "it's the greatest thing I've ever seen." They do, perhaps surprisingly, have a very valid point here, though it's not limited to just this comic.

What This Bad Batch Reaction Means For Star Wars

The Franchise Really Does Listen To Their Fans

One of the best parts of this entire Hunter look going viral is that it's generated plenty of unique praise and appreciation for the animated Star Wars TV show, and this character. When the look first debuted in November, there were tons of pieces of fan art created immediately, with plenty of different artists trying their hand at depicting this unique Hunter look. It's happened enough times that the penciler, Hannigan, has taken note of it on his own social media, too, sharing his gratitude for it all. This type of reaction to Hunter, however, is actually nothing new.

This Actually Continues A Long-Running Bad Batch Trend

Hunter Fans Stay Winning, As They Say

Everyone in fandom knows that this kind of reaction is very normal, and within The Bad Batch fandom, it's often been centered around Hunter - to the point where the creatives behind it are very aware. One of Hunter's most unique traits, given the fact he looks the most like a regular clone, is his longer hair, and for years, fans had a simple request: to see it while it was wet. This nearly happened a few times, but The Bad Batch season 3 ending did finally provide this for the fans with Hunter's hair in the rain.

The most hilarious piece of evidence regarding the creatives' knowledge of this Hunter appreciation, however, comes from the animated TV show's composing team, the Kiners. Having always been extremely active with the fandom on Twitter/X, often posting memes to tease episodes, a reply chain in one of their posts led to something that's since become very famous among The Bad Batch fandom. In a now-deleted reply, someone joked about the composer's meme teasing naked Hunter, who Kiner Music hilariously insisted "was inside you all along."

Clearly, the team working on The Bad Batch loves to have fun with this the same way the fans do, which really enriches the experience on the whole. As a fan of Hunter myself, it's been really exciting to see such enthusiastic engagement like this from just about everyone involved in these projects, even on levels we think they may not have noticed. Even after The Bad Batch has come to an end, Star Wars has still found a way to reward its fans and continue a long-running trend that we all love.

Sources: hunterscyarika, Dreamingastrid, CatDoesArts, Kiner Music