Ah, Commander Fox. One of the only clones actively hated by a large part of the community. But why though? It just doesn't seem right. We'll talk about why right now.
Of course, if you haven't watched The Clone Wars, none of this will mean anything to you.
Fantastic Mr. Fox I: Casting Blame
Commander Fox returned his attention to the Coruscant streets, having just waved through a number of cleaning and maintenance droids that were on their way to tend to the central power distribution grid on Level 5000. The silly droids had almost gone the wrong way, much to his amusement.
As he returned his focus to scanning the streets for threats, one of his fellow troopers addressed him.
"You know Commander, if those completely innocuous droids with absolutely authentic and official clearance just so happened to be secret infiltrator demolition droids here to disrupt the peace talks between the Republic and the Separatists, I think everyone would blame you and only you for the outcome."
Wondering where the hell this was coming from, Fox looked over his shoulder at the trooper with the red trim.
"Those droids had absolutely nothing suspicious about them. Their clearance was authentic. Besides, they're just cleaning droids."
"Yeah but, what if they're secretly transformers that can turn into bombs?"
"And how the hell would I be aware of that?"
The Coruscant Guard to his side shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe you should just, like, sense a disturbance in the Force."
This time, Fox sighed and shook his head.
"I can't sense disturbances in the Force. And if those droids did end up being a problem, why would it only be my fault? What about you? You didn't notice anything. What about the guys flying the shuttle that brought them here who didn't notice anything amiss? What about all the troopers they passed on the way here who also weren't psychically aware that they were a threat despite there being no indication of it?"
Fox folded his arms as he waited for an answer. Of course, the response he got wasn't what he wanted.
"Nah, I think the community would just blame you, sir."
"You know Basketcase, you really are an asshole."
Some people actually hold Fox accountable for the aforementioned situation. It's not his fault he isn't psychic. Moreover, the authentication the droids provided to him would be real, since, you know, Palpatine runs the Republic, probably knows the authentication, and would provide it to the Separatists to facilitate this plan.
Fantastic Mr. Fox II: Can't Let You Do That
Commander Fox stood in the ray shielded command room of the Coruscant prison where Ahsoka Tano was being held after the seeming murder of Letta Turmond, the woman who had bombed the Jedi temple.
Fox didn't know Ahsoka personally, but he still found it unlikely that a Jedi would do that. All evidence pointed to her though, and he was legally obligated to incarcerate her. It was what it was.
Now though, he had Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka's Jedi teacher, standing menacingly on the other side of the ray shield, demanding entrance into the prison to see her.
"Let. Me. In."
"I can't let you in, General Skywalker."
"Fox, I bet the community would be very upset if they knew you were obstructing me. I am a main character who is very well-liked by the people. I mean, I know you're just doing your job, like you were programmed and bred to do, and I know I'm actually trying to intimidate you into breaking protocol and the law, but geez, you're really being a piece of shit right now."
Fox sighed as he contemplated his lot in life. Why did everyone get a pass for doing their job, but everyone hated him for doing the same thing? It just wasn't fair.
I've seen people condemn Fox for obstructing Anakin in this scene. Like, literally being mad at him for upholding the law and his duty just because it was Anakin who was trying to make him break those. Crazy.
Fantastic Mr. Fox III: TR-8R
As Fox and several members of his Coruscant Guard pursued Ahsoka Tano in her escape from the prison alongside Anakin and members of the 501st, his ever-present partner CT-0911 "Basketcase" ran up along side him, firing stun shots at the rogue Jedi.
"Commander, I gotta ask: aren't you worried about how much the people will hate you for betraying Ahsoka?"
Ever the competent soldier, Fox continued running and gunning, even as his incredulity shot through the roof.
"What do you mean 'betraying' her? I have no personal relationship or loyalty to her, what is there to betray?"
"Yeah but, she's like, really popular and liked by the people. They'll probably condemn you for even daring to attack her."
This time, Fox did turn his head to look at his comrade.
"What?! To the best of our knowledge, she murdered Letta Turmond and killed three of our brothers! Why would I not attack her at this point?!"
"Yeah but, what if, like, she didn't actually do that stuff?"
"Basketcase, I can only operate on knowledge that I know. Anakin Skywalker, her teacher, is also pursuing her and trying to take her in! Why wouldn't people condemn him for betraying her?"
Basketcase shrugged as he took a few potshots at the Togruta padawan running on some pipes above them.
"Well, General Skywalker is handsome and charismatic. No one is going to condemn him. Not like you, sir. You have a very easy presence to hate."
"You know Basketcase, you really are an asshole."
It really irks me when people hate a character for fulfilling their purpose, just because that purpose wasn't good for a main character. The "Fox betrayed Ahsoka" argument is really ridiculous.
Fantastic Mr. Fox IV: Five for Fighting
Fox, having been called to the location of the rogue clone trooper CT-5555, entered the warehouse that General Skywalker and Captain Rex had gone into before him and his men.
The scene before him didn't look good. Anakin and Rex were trapped in a force field and Fives was ranting some nonsense while twitching all crazy like.
Unfortunately, Fives noticed the approaching Coruscant Guard, and his wild gaze swiftly moved to two DC-17 pistols on a crate next to him. Fox knew what he was thinking.
"Don't do it!"
His words fell on deaf ears. Fives reached for the guns as he told them to stay back, and he was raising the pistol to point it at Fox and his boys. At that point, Fox had no choice: he was obligated to protect his men.
So he fired one clean shot through Fives' chest, ending the threat to both himself and his comrades.
As the crazy soldier fell to the ground, several of the clone troopers present looked on in solemn quiet. Well, until CT-0911 spoke up.
"Oh my God, you killed Fives! You bastard!"
Fox directed his incredulous gaze to the soldier beside him.
"What? He was pointing a gun at us and he was clearly mentally unstable!"
"Yeah, but Fives was such a good guy!"
"To the best of our knowledge, he tried to assassinate the Chancellor!"
If this made any difference to Basketcase, it didn't show.
"But Commander, Fives was so cool!"
"He had imprisoned General Skywalker and Captain Rex for purposes unclear to us, while ranting at them like a madman!"
"But the people liked Fives, sir!"
Fox motioned to the now lifeless body of the clone in question.
"I warned him, OK?! It's not like I shot him on sight! I only did it when I had to, to protect my men! Which includes you, asshole!"
Basketcase also motioned at Fives' body.
"You could have just stunned him, sir!"
"I didn't have time to switch to stun! What if he had taken a shot while I was hesitating! And come on, he was going to be executed regardless. He tried to assassinate the Chancellor!"
With his hands on his hips, Basketcase shook his head in dismay.
"You know sir, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone blamed you and you alone for the rise of a hypothetical fascist regime, because you killed Fives who knew some critical information that could have stopped it."
At this point, Fox reeled back in shock and incredulity. He also gained some universal meta insight for the moment in order to defend himself.
"Really?! Seriously?! My fault, and no one else? What about Anakin, who just heard Fives talking about a conspiracy using clones to kill Jedi that goes all the way to the top? He doesn't even look into that after this! What about the Kaminoans who put the chips in for Order 66? Or what about the Jedi council, which literally learns that the clones were made by Count Dooku AND that we all have chips that might cause us to kill Jedi, and they didn't investigate that AT ALL?!"
Basketcase and all the other clones stared at Fox blankly. After a few moments, Basketcase let him know how he felt about that.
"Nope, just you sir. It's all your fault. You're the worst clone ever."
Fox couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"What about Slick?! That guy betrayed his brothers of his own free will for personal gain!"
"Nah, he's bad. But you suck even more."
Throwing his hands and his guns into the air, Fox stormed towards the warehouse exit.
"This is bullshit. I saved Padme from Ziro, you know! No one ever remembers that! Screw you guys, I'm going home."
Really, I've seen people blame Fox and Fox alone for the rise of the Empire because he shot Fives. And not, you know, the ton of other people that contributed far more heavily to it. Give the man a break!
Fantastic Mr. Fox V: Order 66
Fox, off-duty for once, was at a bar to relax, though a certain someone was at his side, as always.
"Holy shit, I get it!"
Sighing, the commander of the Coruscant Guard simply waited patiently for Basketcase and whatever revelation he had apparently experienced.
"Your name stars with a F, Fox! And Fives starts with an F too! That's two F's! F is the sixth letter of the alphabet! Which means there's two sixes, like Order 66, to match the two F's, and those two F's stand for friendly fire, which is what Order 66 does, and what the whole arc regarding Fives and the chips was about! I've connected the dots!"
Downing the last of drink, Fox looked over at CT-0911 with a tired look on his face.
"Seriously, Basketcase: lay off the death sticks, God damn."
Funny thing is, I don't really like Fox any more than the other other clone commanders. But whenever discussions of the best and worst clones come up, a ton of people always shit on Fox for crazy, ridiculous reasons. Instead of, you know, Slick, that guy who betrayed his brothers just because he wanted to help himself. Seriously, all Fox did was his job in every scenario that people hold against him. Cut the guy some slack!
