What Did The 501st Legion Do After Destroying The Jedi Temple With Anakin Skywalker During Order 66?

Anakin Skywalker led his 501st Legion in the attack on the Coruscant Jedi Temple in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but the fate of these clone troopers is never seen on screen in Star Wars. Anakin was the Jedi general of the 501st during the Clone Wars, leading his men alongside the fan-favorite character Captain Rex. Their blue armor makes them distinctive, as does their reputation for being off the cuff as their Jedi general. Unfortunately, they became key players in the tragedy of Order 66, all under the command of their general.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars revealed that there were organic inhibitor chips implanted in all the clone troopers when they were just embryos, which would make the clones follow any order without question when activated. Order 66 acted as these chips' activation, and thus the 501st loyally followed Anakin when he marched to his brutal assault on the Jedi Temple. What happened to these clone troopers after the attack on the Temple, and did they ever gain their freedom back from these invasive inhibitor chips?

The 501st Legion Was Sent To Other Jedi Temples

Their Mission Was Not Over Yet

Close

Unfortunately, the 501st Legion's attack on the Coruscant Jedi Temple was just the first of several others. It was revealed in Star Wars: Inquisitors #4 by Rodney Barnes that the 501st was sent to the planet of Zondula to eliminate Jedi who were still present in the Jedi Temple located on that world. This was more than likely not an isolated incident; there were several Jedi Temples located throughout the galaxy, and it's likely that many different squads within the 501st were sent off to continue the execution of Order 66 the same way they did on both Coruscant and Zondula.

The Clone Legions Began to Blend Into One United Imperial Army

Their Individuality All But Faded Away

Not long after the fall of the Republic, however, the 501st slowly dissolved into a greater army under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Empire. As seen most prominently in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, there were no longer individual legions of clone troopers being led by Jedi generals. Instead, the clone troopers either removed the paint on their armor or exchanged it for a neutral gray, and they began to bleed together into one frighteningly large army. Of course, much of this still had to do with the inhibitor chips.

Related What Happened To The Clones In Star Wars After Order 66? The clones in Star Wars were manipulated and mistreated by the Empire after the Republic's dissolution and Order 66. What became of them afterwards?

Because of Order 66 and the lack of care the Empire had for clones as a whole, these troopers unfortunately lost even more of their individualization, and the blending of the army was even more proof of that. Where the Jedi at least acknowledged the individuality of the clones and addressed them by their chosen names, the Empire saw them as disposable, with some even referring to them as "used equipment." The 501st was thus lost to this tragic blurring of the greater army, but their fate gets even worse.

Eventually The 501st Was Dispatched & Displaced

They Were Cast Aside For A Cheaper Army

Close

The Bad Batch also showed how the clone army was eventually phased out by Imperial stormtroopers, conscripted soldiers who the Empire could use and employ for a much lower cost than the production of the Kaminoans' clone troopers. The Empire even went to the lengths of destroying the clones' homeworld of Kamino by raining fire down upon Tipoca City, taking the regime one step closer to controlling the galaxy's cloning secrets. Many clone commanders were tasked with training these new conscripted soldiers, unknowing of the fact that these soldiers would one day replace them all.

Related Every Clone Who Disobeyed Order 66 In Star Wars Canon & Legends Star Wars' Clone Troopers were bred for absolute loyalty and secretly created to destroy the Jedi...but not every one obeyed the sinister Order 66.

This was the case for the 501st Legion as well. Once the Imperial Senate passed the Defense Recruitment Bill, clones were released from the Imperial army with no means of fending for themselves. With no home on Kamino to return to, no rights, and no representation in the Imperial Senate, these clones - including the 501st - were utterly displaced. Many 501st clone troopers ended up scattered throughout the galaxy, such as the clone trooper Nax, who was forced to beg for money on the planet Daiyu in Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The legacy of the 501st Legion lived on, however, through those who did manage to survive. Captain Rex was with the 332nd Company during Order 66 and had assistance from Ahsoka Tano in removing his inhibitor chip, and for many years, he helped clones escape the Empire - and ultimately helped the Rebel Alliance. The 501st clone medic named Kix was frozen in stasis until the Star Wars sequel trilogy era, which made him the last clone alive. Sadly, however, most of the 501st were simply left to die after Revenge of the Sith, giving them a most tragic fate.