Captain Rex has been a fan-favourite character since the Clone Wars animated series debuted in 2008. He was shown to be a close friend and second in command to Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker throughout the titular Clone War era.
However, did he ever find out that Anakin was Darth Vader?
Contents
Who was Captain Rex?
Captain Rex (designation CT-7567) was the Clone Commander that served under Anakin Skywalker, as well as his Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano. After Order 66, Rex went on to oppose the Empire, joining up with various groups including the Bad Batch and the Phoenix cell of the Rebel Alliance.
You can find out if the clones were considered Mandalorians (since they were derived from Jango Fett) here.
Did Rex know that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker?
While one might make a case for Rex figuring it out (and we will), there is no evidence in any Canon material to suggest that Rex ever discovered that Anakin was Vader, the Empire’s most prolific enforcer.
Vader’s true identity as former Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was a secret few were privy to, in no small part due to the tendency of those that Anakin met during his fall to the Dark Side to wind up dead.
As of the fateful battle on Mustafar that cost Anakin his limbs and completed his transformation into the Sith Lord that Rex undoubtedly heard rumours of in subsequent years, only Senator Bail Organa and the Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi were aware of this fact. Rex had no cause to ever meet any of the three again.
You can find out if Bail Organa knew about Anakin here, and if he was considered as a king in Alderaan.
In the Star Wars Rebels episode Shroud of Darkness, Ahsoka Tano receives a vision that reveals Vader’s true identity to her, which she later confirms when she duels him on Malachor.
However, after this, she never saw Rex again and had no opportunity to reveal this to him.
Could Rex have Known that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker?
While there is no Canon evidence of this, it’s entirely possible that Rex figured out for himself that Anakin had become Sidious’ apprentice after Order 66.
In the final season of the Clone Wars, Maul reveals to Ahsoka Tano that Anakin had been covertly groomed by Darth Sidious to replace Count Dooku after the Sith Lord’s death.
She shared this information with Rex, who at the time was her closest ally and confidante.
Furthermore, we see that after Order 66 is issued, Rex noticeably puts up some resistance to complying, possibly indicating that the pieces had fallen into place in his mind.
He even addresses the Chancellor as Lord Palpatine when accepting the order.
While none of this is conclusive, we see time and again that Rex is resourceful and capable of sussing out things that others might miss. It isn’t unthinkable that he’d come to the correct conclusion.
Conclusion
Whether Rex was able to figure out Darth Vader’s identity or not, he has certainly proven to be one of the most interesting and noteworthy characters from the Clone War era.
While his story has certainly been done justice to, there’s always a chance that we’ll get to see more of Rex in upcoming projects!
You can find out why the Empire stopped using clones, and why Pong Krell hated them so much here.
Moreover, you can find out more about why Vader was so feared here.
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