A new Star Wars lore book has reintroduced a canonically trans character into the ranks of the clone troopers. Even though the character is not new and has a small role in the grand scheme of the Star Wars universe, a certain vitriolic corner of the fanbase have unsurprisingly launched a review-bombing campaign.

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On Tuesday, Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers hit bookshelves. The book is an illustrated canon reference guide giving background on the clone troopers, soldiers who play a major role in the Clone Wars saga. The book is part of a “secrets of” series that gives lore descriptions on different factions within the Star Wars universe, including the Jedi, the Sith and bounty hunters.

But one lore description in particular has captured the internet’s attention, for better or worse. The book profiles Sister, a trans clone trooper originally introduced in a short scene in the YA novel The Queen’s Hope by Star Wars author EK Johnston. The Secrets of the Clone Troopers has now provided an extended description

Like all clone troopers, Sister is based on the genetics of bounty hunter Jango Fett—hence, she immediately stands out as a woman among the male clones. “When one of our kind expressed her gender identity differently than her fellow troopers, she figured she’d have to hide who she truly was inside,” the lore description, which is narrated by clone Commander Rex, reads. “Fortunately, her brothers in the 7th Sky Corps gave her the name Sister as a constant reminder that she belonged.”

Despite the fact that Sister has been established since the 2022 novel, news of the character went viral when fan news account “Star Wars Holocron” shared the new description. The post was met with a flurry of negative comments. Star Wars: The Secrets of the Clone Troopers, which has been out for only a few days, is currently being reviewed-bombed on Amazon, sitting at a much lower star rating than its companion “secrets of” books.

The idea that classic nerd properties are all of a sudden overflowing with queer characters and people of color is a delusion online trolls often repeat. The character they are now pointing to as yet another example of Star Wars ‘going woke’ is a masked storm trooper (the definition of faceless henchmen) mentioned with a brief description in a niche lore book.

Queer characters in the Star Wars cinematic franchise at large are still few and far between. A notable exception was the series The Acolyte, which Disney+ recently canceled following a torrent of queerphobic and racist comments online.

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