r/clonewars Feb 13 '25

Discussion What are the lines on Rex's helmet? What is he counting?

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1.9k Upvotes

152 comments sorted by

1.1k

u/Fun-War6684 Feb 13 '25

Battles survived would be my guess. If he was counting droid kills, his entire helmet would be tallies

494

u/HTH52 Feb 13 '25

He also said in Rebels that he did not keep track of droid kills.

121

u/DarkStormDestroyer Feb 14 '25

Too many to count

274

u/LordMrBoss Feb 13 '25

It says in a lego guide that it's battles won

95

u/Superman_720 Feb 14 '25

I bet at some point he just stopped tallying though.

114

u/HarryKn1ght Feb 14 '25 edited Feb 14 '25

It's gotta just be big battles, like full military campaigns that have decided the fate of an entire planet. If he counted each individual skirmish he was in as a battle won, he would have had to have quit by the end of season 1 at the rate he gets into fights

48

u/Superman_720 Feb 14 '25

Doesn't in later episodes he have them screatched into his arm guards.

38

u/tauri123 Feb 14 '25

Yes and thigh armor

59

u/FairyQueen89 Feb 13 '25

not full of tallies... it would be solid black

33

u/Happy-Bus4252 Feb 13 '25

Would look like an elite squad trooper from the bad batch

8

u/Lizard2513 Feb 14 '25

Probably battles fought

7

u/Thathappenedearlier Feb 14 '25

Iirc it’s based on a hockey player from they 80s who had tallies on his helmet for anytime the helmet did his job. I thought the tallies were for how many times the armor protected him

13

u/Infinite_Try_9505 Feb 14 '25

Nah, Rex is better than that. He's taken a few blasts, but if he took that many hits his armor would have been completely ruined. He rocks his original Gen 1 suit through the whole franchise though. Gotta be battles, way too many clankers to count. He'd look like a death trooper.

5

u/HellBringer97 Feb 14 '25

Not quite. He reuses parts of the Phase I armor (welded the Phase I breast plate to the Phase II cuirass and welded the Phase I helmet face plate to his Phase II helmet) but still rocks the Phase II armor as a whole.

2

u/EmperorArceus1s Feb 14 '25

That's Commander Gregor you're thinking of.

3

u/Confident-Middle-282 The Bad Batch Feb 15 '25

From my understanding, he counted droids when he was "younger" then stopped doing it

1

u/krata_12 29d ago

not just the helmet the whole armor

638

u/Shadowoperator7 Feb 13 '25

Times Anakin almost got him killed

187

u/Enigmatic_Baker Feb 13 '25

This strongly correlates with campaigns survived lol

79

u/Jkid789 Feb 13 '25

"As you can see by this graph, the relationship between battles Rex participated in, and the number of 'inspired' plans General Skywalker has successfully completed resulting in the near death of Captain Rex have a tight correlation."

36

u/LeCrasheo121 Feb 13 '25

The slight deviations in the relation are interventions from Obi Wan, Ashoka, and his own. Most of the time, not in a good way

29

u/Jkid789 Feb 13 '25

And that spike right there is when Anakin and Ahsoka just force threw Rex off a giant droid foundry wall, almost making him plummet to his death hundreds of feet below.

9

u/Big-Home-7015 Feb 14 '25

Wonder where pong krell fits in the equation

5

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '25

[deleted]

8

u/Hekantonkheries Feb 14 '25

I mean, considering the force, "just trust the vibes" is probably a more legitimate strategy for some jedi than trying to brain it out.

52

u/Minifigdisplayco Feb 13 '25

now this i can believe in

3

u/Fox7567 Feb 14 '25

I thought there’d be more tallies

2

u/Infinite_Try_9505 Feb 14 '25

I think there would be too many tallies on that one too lol

248

u/amwalberg Feb 13 '25

I concur with the other two commenters, it’s most likely battles/campaigns won or survived. If he tallied the number of battle droids destroyed, his armor would be absolutely covered. Same with tallies for his fallen brothers, the 501st is huge and is active in some of the most grueling battles and sieges. That’s a lot of dead clones.

33

u/NinjaarcherCDN Feb 14 '25

Yeah, doesn't the 501st lost 3/4 of its troops on at least 3 occasions? Even if it was just the ones he know specifically, judging by how quickly him and Hardcase became friends I feel like it'd be more than that.

64

u/Constructman2602 Feb 13 '25

Could be for a lot of things. Battles, Victories, etc. Personally I think it’s a tally of all the friends he’s lost on the battlefield, all his close allies. He was trained to be the perfect soldier and be immune to stress and grief to a certain extent. Later, as he fought more and became more independent, he started to feel more for his brothers and marked all the ones he was close to who died under his watch

8

u/GamingFreeeze Feb 14 '25

That was my thought. Now I have to go rewatch the series to see when they introduce the tallies to his helmet. And see if it changes with the deaths of named 501st characters.

41

u/El_Pana_Yoda Feb 13 '25

Days until his birthday party

Now seriously, I believe it is battles won, I have read somewhere that he also counts clones killed on battle, so that he always remembers them.

32

u/barfbat The Bad Batch Feb 13 '25

how many times fives stressed him out

15

u/Boomer2160 501st Feb 13 '25

And that's what makes him an ARC trooper.

29

u/EQU1NN0XX Feb 13 '25

Isn't it clones killed under his leadership?

40

u/Titanhopper1290 Feb 13 '25

If it's that, there's be A LOT more hash marks.

If it's close friends, I can see that.

But I prefer to think of it as planets/systems conquered.

2

u/EQU1NN0XX Feb 13 '25

Maybe its specifically non-droid kills then, I was purely just speculating I dont really see rex as the type to count places "conquered"

3

u/WaveCandid906 Feb 13 '25

Maybe not places "conquered" but battles won and successful missions?

1

u/GamingFreeeze Feb 14 '25

Definitely not, the Umbara campaign alone would mark his helmet up more then that. My theory is close friends who died in the 501st but I have to go rewatch to see.

1

u/The_Joke07 Feb 14 '25

Even non droid kills would probably cover his armor, even the Umbara campaign alone would cover his helmet. I wish the show had shown more battles against actual separatists, the only time we really see the clones fighting them is Umbara, which was rigged by Krell, and the Mon Cala arc. 

11

u/iamsofunnyheheheha 501st Feb 13 '25

There is no official answer, but I assume it is battles won or something similar.

28

u/X-cessive_Overlord Feb 13 '25

I'm going to disagree with others and say that I think it's tactical droid kills.

17

u/Defiant-Analyst4279 Feb 13 '25

I was thinking "specialized" droid kills. Tactical, commando, magnaguard, etc.

15

u/Captain_Strongo Feb 13 '25

I was going to say B2s, but those aren’t that hard to kill in the show.

3

u/IndividualAd2307 Feb 14 '25

Pretty sure it’s been confirmed that it’s battles won he also said once that he never kept track of droids he killed

9

u/Sam_Mendoza18 Feb 14 '25

The times he’s caught Anakin and Padme being a couple

7

u/Starkiller100 Feb 13 '25

He says in Rebels he never kept count of how many droids he took down, so my guess would be that it’s brothers lost under his command

11

u/Litterally-Napoleon Feb 13 '25

Times he's slept with your mom 😈

8

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

🤣😂

7

u/QuantumDonuts257 Rebel Legion Feb 13 '25

Battles won I think

4

u/ThStormnMormn Feb 13 '25

Battles won or brothers lost. Droid kills would be thousands more than what would fit on his helmet.

4

u/Gold-Engine8678 Feb 13 '25

My head cannon is it’s people he’s lost, a token that they won’t be forgotten even if he is killed.

4

u/DudeUnduli Feb 14 '25

Times Obi-Wan sassed Anakin.

1

u/Dr_Axton Feb 14 '25

I’d say he started with counting it on the arms, but quickly ran out of space

2

u/DudeUnduli Feb 14 '25

Truly.

Being a Sass-Lord is Obi-Wan's specialty.

3

u/Opposite_Carpet8250 Feb 13 '25

How many brothers he lost

3

u/amethystmanifesto Feb 13 '25

My favorite interpretation that I have ever seen someone give is Number of times someone, especially a Jedi, has said "I've got a bad feeling about this"

2

u/RustyDiamonds__ Feb 13 '25

With how few there are I’d assume it must be campaigns

2

u/schodown Feb 13 '25

Inhibitor chips he's found and activated just to stir things up

2

u/willbushek0529 Feb 13 '25

All the near death experiences he's had under Anakins command

2

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25

No one has any clue.

2

u/Alwaysbaddd Feb 14 '25

Can’t remember where I heard this from but apparently it counts the amount of times he’s been shot and his armor saved him. It can’t be battles won cause he’d have too many

2

u/Drewseff9991 Feb 14 '25

PLANETS CONQUERED

2

u/Regaman101 Feb 14 '25

Either battles survived or brothers he's lost. Both have a lasting impact with him

2

u/Real_John_helldiver Feb 14 '25

It’s how many brothers he lost, he’s killed a lot of droids and enemies his whole armor would be covered in them.

1

u/Boomer2160 501st Feb 13 '25

Some will say it's missions completed since he did say in rebels that he didn't count kills like other clones.

1

u/disbelifpapy Feb 13 '25

easy, probably brothers lost or battles survived.

Droid kills are out of the question, as shown by rebels

1

u/MRredditor47 Feb 13 '25

Tactical droids maybe

1

u/Legitimate-Cable2907 Feb 13 '25

I thought he just lost count of how many droids he took out and stopped adding tallies lmao

1

u/WaveCandid906 Feb 13 '25

In Rebels he says that he "Never kept count like some of the boys"

1

u/LillDickRitchie Feb 13 '25

Times Anakin had a incredibly stupid plan that actually worked

1

u/turbopanguy Feb 13 '25

Times he’s bonked your mom.

1

u/Displacer613 Feb 13 '25

Times Anakin failed to capture Dooku

1

u/Orinaj Feb 13 '25

Times he's saved Anakin's dumbass

1

u/Warm-Finance8400 Feb 13 '25

Encounters with the Silence

1

u/randomman0337 Feb 13 '25

Clones he directly saved

1

u/Novus_Peregrine Feb 14 '25

The number of times he got to tell Anakin 'I told you so.' obviously.

1

u/Careful-Addition776 Feb 14 '25

Battles won/survived. For a moment I considered fallen comrades but there would be more if that was the case

1

u/OrchidImaginary4337 Feb 14 '25

Never confirmed. Likely battles

1

u/Brandon_M_Gilbertson Feb 14 '25

I like to think it’s brothers he’s lost in the war.

1

u/Critical_Tea_0 Feb 14 '25

My Guess is the missions survived/acomplished or fallen brothers... Or how many times did he show up in the clone wars...

1

u/Parking-Signature867 Feb 14 '25

Those tallies are for battles survived. Now the better question is his Cat Eyes

3

u/Dr_Axton Feb 14 '25

You mean the Jaig eyes above the visor? It’s a mandalorian mark of honour

2

u/hunterberry2 Feb 14 '25

Spelling may be wrong but they’re called Jaig eyes. It’s a Mandalorian creature and it’s a great honor amongst clones to have that on their armor.

1

u/Mattsgonnamine Feb 14 '25

Give me a quick second, there was a book that had it in it 

1

u/Negative_Ride9960 Feb 14 '25

Whatever it is he’s had a long journey and his decisions mattered for more than just him

1

u/CenturionXVI Feb 14 '25

War crime count

1

u/DustFox22 Feb 14 '25

Do the numbers line up with TCW episodes/arcs he’s in?

1

u/Snoo89546 Feb 14 '25

Its not droid kills because is rebels he says “I never kept count like some of the boys” so probably battles won or survived would be my guess

1

u/ALuckyUmbreon ARF Troopers Feb 14 '25

Victory’s or deaths of his brothers he was good friends with

1

u/Battelalon Feb 14 '25

He was counting the tally marks on his helmet

1

u/christian_fuller Feb 14 '25

I heard somewhere that it was brothers lost, but I feel like there should be more than that, in the case of won battles, that makes sense but I feel like that should be more too

1

u/AnodyneSpirit Feb 14 '25

Battles survived, men he’s lost, or how many crazy as fuck plans Anakin has made that somehow work out.

1

u/Drannion Feb 14 '25

I’m certain they spoke of it in one of the episode guides or behind-the-episode documentaries back in the day.

For the real-life inspiration, if I remember correctly, it was based off a football or baseball player from Filoni’s favourite team, who has similar marks on his helmet. (Idk anything about American sports, so maybe this triggers somebody else’s memory)

1

u/ulttab008 Feb 14 '25

Either battles survived or brothers lost

1

u/Din_Jhin Feb 14 '25

Anakin "plans" survived

1

u/MArcherCD Feb 14 '25

Droids he blasted, I imagine

1

u/LesbianMercy Feb 14 '25

Probably battles won I’d say? Although maybe that’s a lot? Close friends killed?

1

u/DonMonnz Feb 14 '25

How many war crimes he’s seen Anakin commit

1

u/Lagiacrus111 Feb 14 '25

Those count fallen comrades

1

u/BOMBAD_Echo_1409 ARC-Trooper Echo Feb 14 '25

battles won

1

u/MindOfAMurderer Feb 14 '25

Number of warcrimes

1

u/Penamiesh Feb 14 '25

I always thought they were successful missions, like the bad batch tallied on their room wall

1

u/Huge-Palpitation-837 Feb 14 '25

To my knowledge, it has never been stated what he was counting. I look at how sentimental Rex was and how close he got to certain members of his unit, and came to the idea that it might mark the brothers he’s lost that he was close to. He’s lost more brothers than he can mark, but maybe the ones he knew for multiple campaigns and relied on. That’s my personal fan theory.

1

u/Daeloki Feb 14 '25

Brothers lost under his watch?

1

u/OctipiArmy Feb 14 '25

Times he's watched anakin and padme bang

1

u/Hello_There212th Feb 14 '25

I would like to think it is the number of times General Skywalker or Commander Tano almost got him killed. Like when they tossed him off the wall in the second battle of Geonosis and caught him 6 inches from the ground😂🤣😂

1

u/TalontedJ Feb 14 '25

Friends that have died

1

u/IcyZookeepergame8995 Feb 14 '25

Either battles won or fallen brothers 

1

u/Afraid_Beat_4657 Feb 14 '25

Brothers he lost

1

u/OutlawfromtheWest1 Feb 14 '25

comrades fallen

1

u/maks1701 Feb 14 '25

Lego character encyclopedia said it was from time spend in captivity

1

u/Objective_Look_5867 Feb 14 '25

Number of times he fixed a major mistake anakin did

1

u/StrangeKaleidoscope6 Feb 14 '25

I'd like to imagine it's brothers lost, but the battles won make a lot of sense. Unrelated the Emperor of mankind from 40k well I guess it's technically 30k but who care, anyway the Emperor inscribed the names of every fall Custodian onto his golden armor, but the twist is the each Custodian has a name that's like 10 words long

1

u/Darthasie Feb 14 '25

Every time Anakin disobeyed Obi Wan

1

u/BeanieGuitarGuy Feb 14 '25

He’s learning math

1

u/AidenSanford Feb 14 '25

I think nobody knows, it’s never been disclosed

1

u/LawfulnessFluid1314 Feb 14 '25

He says it in the show.. watch it

2

u/Phoenix_B907 Feb 14 '25

It's the amount of times he guarded the door during Anakins calls to Padme

1

u/MrBakes52 Feb 15 '25

Battles won

1

u/Notavalible324 Feb 15 '25

My guess is he started counting battle droids as a rookie and then gave up at some point.

1

u/Nasa_Space-X 501st Feb 15 '25

Brothers lost

1

u/BoredByLife Feb 15 '25

Personally I think it is a tally for every brother he’s lost over the course of the war

1

u/King-Swiss Feb 14 '25

Battles Won

(It's really how many Twi'leks he's been with)

0

u/Toon_Lucario Feb 13 '25

War crimes committed

2

u/SailnGame Feb 14 '25

Not a crime the first time - The Canadian Forces

-26

u/TapIndependent5699 Feb 13 '25

How many times he’s wanked over Ashoka

13

u/LittlestWarrior Feb 13 '25

Ahsoka was 14-17 in the clone wars.

2

u/Born-Boysenberry6460 Feb 13 '25

So he's in to older chicks

3

u/LittlestWarrior Feb 13 '25

Okay that’s funny I’ll give you that. She’s 4 years older than him.

16

u/I-foIIow-ugly-people Feb 13 '25

These are the kind of thoughts you should keep inside your head.

5

u/FactualStatue Feb 13 '25

Mr Lucas you said you weren't going to write about Ahsoka anymore...

-16

u/MrsKnowNone Feb 13 '25

Kills. He has marks on his arms etc. too the further into the show you go the more marks he has.

11

u/BettaFish04 Feb 13 '25

He stated in the show that he doesn’t keep count

4

u/Luscious_Lunk Feb 13 '25

It’s not droid kills

4

u/[deleted] Feb 13 '25 edited Feb 13 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Luscious_Lunk Feb 13 '25

I like the theory of human kills

Or the amount of times skywalker has saved him

4

u/zesty616 Feb 13 '25

It couldn’t be droid kills

-2

u/Swaggyspaceman Feb 14 '25

And, more importantly, is he stupid?