Throughout Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Captain Rex’s armor has an increasing amount of tally marks. At first, fans might assume that these marks represent kills. However, while that explanation was the original one, newer episodes reveal that this meaning no longer is canon. And by changing the meaning of the tally marks on Rex’s armor, the writers have created new possibilities for Rex’s character.
Dave Filoni confirmed that the tally marks represented kills in a 2011 interview with IGN. In the interview, Filoni states, “[Rex’s] like this veteran now and he’s got little kill marks all over his armor.” Therefore, the original canon explanation for the tally marks was kill marks. Filoni also comments that “Rex doesn’t believe that the new armor is really that good. […] So Rex cut his old helmet up and welded together parts of the new helmet and his armor is a hodgepodge of old gear and new gear.” Thus, even though the original explanation for the tally marks is more conventional, Rex’s armor itself is unconventional and uniquely suited to his own needs.
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While Star Wars: Rebels kept Rex’s tendency to mix and match his armor canon, the show contradicted the explanation for the tally marks five years later. In the third season episode “The Last Battle,” written by Brent Friedman, Zeb asks Rex how many battle droids he shot during the war. Rex responds, “I don’t know. Thousands. Probably tens of thousands. Never kept count like some of the boys.” Thus, Rex points out an inherent flaw in the original explanation for the tallies; he simply killed too many battle droids to account for the tallies. While the tally marks could have represented significant kills, this statement from Rex shows that his focus was never on the number of kills or battlefield glory.
One particularly poignant explanation of what the tallies mean might be that they represent the soldiers he lost in the war. This tracks with Rex’s increasing sorrow over his lost comrades throughout the war and his desperation to save Echo even when most people believed that Echo was dead. However, the Bad Batch arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars both supports and negates this theory. That story focuses heavily on Rex’s survivor’s guilt. He tells Anakin Skywalker, “Sir, I have watched so many of my brothers fall during this war, and I try not to hang on to any one of them.” This statement might suggest that the tally marks may not be fallen comrades because, if Rex is trying to let their deaths go, he might not want to wear a reminder of them at all times. However, the use of “try” here is significant; Rex is not successful at letting go, meaning this explanation could still be true.
Another explanation might have been suggested in Star Wars: The Bad Batch. After returning home to their quarters on Kamino in the debut episode, Wrecker immediately starts making tally marks, indicating that these tallies are a tradition for the team. Wrecker remarks, “Eleven more successful missions. Like there was any doubt, ” confirming that the tallies represent missions, not kills. Like Wrecker and the rest of Clone Force 99, Rex might use the tallies to represent mission successes.
Even though the canon meaning of the tally marks is unclear, the fact that the meaning was changed shows an evolving sense of Rex’s character as more episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels aired. While Rex’s loyalty and devotion to a cause bigger than himself have always been major parts of his character, these qualities received even more attention as the series continued. In between the interview and the Star Wars: Rebels episode, Star Wars: The Clone Wars aired multiple arcs that focused on Rex’s leadership and loyalty to his allies. Ultimately, the people Rex fought for and with mattered the most to him and far outweighed any glory he might receive for his actions in battle.
Overall, even though the audience doesn’t know the full story behind Rex’s tally marks, they still represent an important small character detail that marks his growth throughout the series. With Rex set to appear in Star Wars: The Bad Batch and possibly Ahsoka, fans might still get canon confirmation for the real meaning of the tally marks soon. But by changing the meaning of the marks, Friedman, Filoni and the other writers allowed for the possibility of an explanation that might be more uniquely suited to Rex’s character.
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