The Bad Batch Archetypes Analysis

Hunter's Anima

This is the second part of the character analysis for Hunter. I will be referring to "Goddesses in Everywoman" by Jean Shinoda Bolen for this analysis.

Hunter's anima is Demeter, or Ceres as the Romans called her, and she is the Goddess of Grain. She was worshipped as a mother goddess, specifically as mother of the grain, and mother of the maiden Persephone. Her most important myth is told in the Homeric "Hymn to Demeter", which talks about her response to the abduction of Persephone by Hades, and this myth became the basis of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Demeter represents the mother archetype. She has three important roles: as the mother of Persephone, as the food provider since she is the Goddess of Grain, and as the provider of spiritual sustenance, which is the Eleusinian Mysteries. She also represents maternal instincts – the desire to nurture and foster growth on one's own children or other children. She is the most generous goddess as she gives humanity agriculture and harvests, helps in raising Demophoön (and would have made him immortal), and provides the Eleusinian Mysteries. People who identify as Demeter express their generosity by providing tangible food and physical care, emotional and psychological support, and spiritual wisdom.

Despite being the "dad" of the group, Hunter does take on the Demeter's maternal role well. He has strong maternal instincts and deeply cares about children. When Order 66 happens, Hunter tries to comfort the distraught Caleb Dume and protect him from the regular clone troopers, who are ordered to kill all the Jedi. When Omega sits with the Bad Batch in the mess hall, Hunter asks her what she is doing on Kamino and whether she has family and parents. When the Bad Batch manages to track down a group of insurgents on Onderon, Echo questions their identities as he sees children are part of the group, which concerns Hunter. In "Rescue on Ryloth", Hunter suggests taking the young Hera off-world as he believes that rescuing her parents is too risky. In "Tribe", the Bad Batch rescues Gungi from smuggling droids and returns him to his homeworld Kashyyyk because "he is a child who is in trouble" as described by Hunter. Hunter also expresses his concern of the wellbeing of Gungi and Omega as children should not live in the warzone. In "Retrieval", Hunter tries not to fight the adolescent miners despite their presence will ruin the Bad Batch's mission to reclaim their stolen ship.

Hunter's maternal instincts motivate him to nurture others, like how he nurtures Omega to be a good soldier. He is the food provider, which is evident in "Replacements" when he gives ration bars to Omega and Wrecker, and in "Faster" when he and Echo are sent to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets. Besides food, he also provides other physical needs like credits to financially support the team, and the Marauder as their home. In "Replacements", he sees Omega reading a datapad while lying against Gonky, and remarks that it does not look comfortable for either of them. He greatly cares about her comfort that he reminds Wrecker that she does not have a place to sleep. This prompts Wrecker to refurbish the ship's gunport into a personal room for her. Hunter also provides emotional and psychological support to his loved ones. He gives praises to his teammates when they have done a great job. He comforts Omega by giving her shoulder or head pats, and reassuring her that the Bad Batch will protect her. At the end of "Kamino Lost", he respects Crosshair's decision to stay with the Empire and reminds him that they do not have to be enemies just because they want different things. He also respects Echo's decision to leave the Bad Batch by the end of "Truth and Consequences", reminding Echo to find them if he needs their help. Hunter also provides spiritual wisdom in some occasions. He warns Crosshair that the Empire only regards him as a number rather than a living being, and that his choice to stay with the Empire will only lead to a meaningless life. Hunter also helps Omega to accept Tech's sacrifice as a meaningful and heroic act that ensures the team's survival.

After realizing that Zeus has allowed Hades to kidnap Persephone and make her his unwilling bride, Demeter sets an eternal winter throughout the world, threatening to wipe out the human race and deprive the Olympian gods and goddesses of their offerings and sacrifices. She shows her persistence by letting everyone know that she will not allow anything to grow until Persephone is returned to her. Her stubbornness, patience and perseverance eventually influence Zeus to summon Hermes to bring Persephone back to her. Hunter has this maternal persistence in him and this is most evident in "Aftermath" when he decides to disobey orders and return to Kamino to rescue Omega even though he is aware of the consequences of his actions and that Kamino is no longer safe. Crosshair strongly opposes to this, which prompts Hunter to tell him that Omega is one of them and they are not leaving her behind. His stubbornness and persistence eventually influence the unyielding Crosshair to accept the change of plans. After Omega gets kidnapped by Cad Bane, Hunter is determined to find her even though he has sustained injuries from his earlier gunfight with the bounty hunter.