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spoilers for the first episode of the Bad Batch

A while back, I remember seeing a text post where someone was trying to make the argument that Rex was a modified clone like the Bad Batch. Some of their reasoning was spotty - the fact that Rex makes different military decisions and has different tactics can more be attributed to his being under Anakin than modification. But one detail in that stuck out to me - the fact that Rex is blond. Jango Fett isn't blond, none of the other clones are, and Rex's hair seems too short for him to dye it.

With regards to Omega - yes, she is a clone, but she's explicitly said to be a modified clone, so her being blond doesn't really make sense when talking about Rex. And the Kaminoans explicitly said that they had five modified clones, so Rex isn't one - so far. Honestly, it's still possible that they'll reveal Rex to also be modified later in the show.

But is there a reason, in-universe or out, for why Rex is the only blond clone?

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    Natural mutation in the cloning process, or hair dye. Crys is also blond. Gree has red hair.
    – Kitkat
    May 11, 2021 at 14:06
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    Maybe he was born with it (or maybe it's Maybelline)?
    – Valorum
    May 11, 2021 at 14:43
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    Rex certainly wasn't the only blonde clone. Crys is explicitly stated on Starwars.com to have dyed his hair. Presumably Rex does the same.
    – Valorum
    May 11, 2021 at 15:36
  • The only explicit reference to Rex's hair I've found is in the Legends novel No Prisoners, in which Rex dyes his hair blue. I'm not posting it as an answer though because it doesn't address his normal hair color.
    – Milo P
    May 11, 2021 at 15:40
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    @MiloP - Indeed. And although the narrator says that it's "another hairstyle", they note that he's gone from shaved bald to blue.
    – Valorum
    May 11, 2021 at 16:41

2 Answers 2

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There are two options.

1. He dyes his hair.

This is certainly possible. Clone troopers exhibit a wide range of cosmetic choices, including hair styles, tattoos, and hair colors. As noted by Valorum, some clones were known to dye their hair.

I probably wouldn't continue to dye my hair while in hiding but I can see the individuality it represents being important to him.

enter image description here

2. He's a natural blond.

Keep in mind that Star Wars is not known for its scientific accuracy, including in how it portrays cloning.

Additionally, the question actually contains an error. The belief that Omega was modified turned out to be inaccurate.

While our genetic structure was modified for growth acceleration and obedience, Omega is a pure genetic replication.

This indicates that Jango Fett had some blond genes. This was true in Legends, as his sister and possibly his mother were blond.

enter image description here

enter image description here

Of course, it's possible that Omega is also dying her hair but I would again question if she would continue to do so while on the run.

enter image description here

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  • You say it's either A or B, but I want to know which it is, not just repeating what OP already said in their question.
    – Valorum
    Jul 5, 2022 at 20:14
  • @Valorum The OP ruled out Omega's blond hair being relevant. My answer argues against their reasoning. Therefore, it is not a repetition. I also discussed Jango Fett's family.
    – Rogue Jedi
    Jul 5, 2022 at 21:44
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Clones often used hair dye to show individuality (https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Hair_dye/Legends). Hair was their one opportunity to show some personality, aside from gaining a nickname, though a nickname was typically given by the squad rather than being self-assigned.

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    Per the comments directly under the question, the sources used for this wookieepedia article don't offer any level of proof as to why Rex's hair is blond. They simply state that he's dyed it, without justifying where/why they think that's the case.
    – Valorum
    Aug 10, 2021 at 16:44
  • @Valorum Unless you say "to gain individuality" is a bad explanation, I fail to see the difference of a source being mentioned or not. Gaining independance seems a perfect explanation to me. For clones we already have innumberable examples of them trying to be more individual (like coloring their armor, gaining nicknames).
    – Christopher
    Aug 11, 2021 at 8:39
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    @Christopher - The wiki makes a a bold statement ("he dyes his hair blond") but there's nothing tangible to back it up, I mean.
    – Valorum
    Aug 11, 2021 at 13:14
  • @Valorum This thread is called "Why is Rex blond?", yet you are saying it is unclear that he died his hair blonde in the first place? Sounds like you should be having a issue with the thread author for making up a quesiton, not Jeremy Nielsens for his reply?
    – Christopher
    Aug 12, 2021 at 16:33
  • @Christopher - The thread author doesn't suggest he dyed his hair, they suggest that "Rex's hair seems too short for him to dye it" which might suggest he's genetically blond, and they ask whether that might imply he's a "modified clone".
    – Hypnosifl
    May 14, 2022 at 1:44

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