Pong Krell (voiced by David Henderson Fennoy) was a supporting character in the fourth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, appearing in the four-episode Umbara arc. He was a Besalisk Jedi Master who served as a General in the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars and was noted for his stern, by-the-book style of command. However, as the war dragged on, Krell grew disillusioned with the Republic and the Jedi Order. He foresaw the downfall of the Republic and the rise of a new order under the control of the Sith, ultimately turning to the dark side of the Force in a bid to gain greater power and secure a place for himself in the new order.
History[]
In 20 BBY, the Galactic Republic invaded the Separatist-allied planet of Umbara. While General Anakin Skywalker commanded the 501st Legion in the initial landing, he was soon called back to Coruscant to meet with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Jedi General Pong Krell would take command in Skywalker's stead, though the clones under his command would soon learn that he had a particularly rigid style of leadership; he expected absolute obedience from his soldiers and did not care for their concerns or opinions regarding his decisions.
While leading the 501st, Krell devised a number of seemingly ill-considered and outright suicidal strategies, expecting his clone troopers to carry them out without question. Though bred for loyalty, the clones expressed concern over the General's tactics, unaware that he was purposely trying to kill off as many of them as possible. Several times, Captain Rex and the other clones voiced their concerns, and each time Krell was quick to threaten them with punishment if his orders were not carried out exactly as he had instructed.
After the 501st succeeded in capturing an Umbaran airfield, Krell made plans to have the battalion march on the Umbaran capital city to reinforce Obi-Wan Kenobi's forces. Looking over the attack plans, Captain Rex suggested the idea of cutting off enemy supply lines by destroying a Separatist support ship in low orbit. The strategy was sound, but Krell forbade it and demanded that the clones adhere to his proposed strategy, regardless of the amount of lives that would be lost unnecessarily. Rex reluctantly followed Krell's lead, but other members of the battalion were not so content; Fives, Jesse and Hardcase went behind the General's back and drew up their own plan to destroy the Separatist supply vessel, taking the time to learn how to pilot the Umbaran starfighters they had seized when they took the airbase. While Rex did nothing to stop the trio from going ahead with the mission, he warned them that he would not be able to help them when they returned to face the consequences of their insubordination.
The mission to destroy the Separatist supply ship was successful, though Hardcase had sacrificed his life in the process. When Jesse and Fives returned to base, General Krell was furious and demanded to have the two clones executed for treason. Though Jesse and Fives later faced a firing squad, the clones would stand down as the prisoners urged them to consider Krell's behaviour and what it meant to be a loyal soldier. Only Dogma was dissatisfied by this turn of events.
Krell would later order Captain Rex and his platoon to head into the forest to intercept a group of Umbaran dissidents planning to retake the airbase. He informed Rex that the dissidents had disguised themselves in clone armour in order to confuse them, but the terrible truth was that no dissidents were coming; Krell had ordered another clone unit under Waxer's command to go into the forest under the same pretense of intercepting dissidents, intending for both clone battalions to wipe each other out. However, during the engagement, Rex inspected one of the bodies of the supposed "dissidents" and discovered the truth. He then led his troops back to the airbase where they confronted Krell, who revealed his true nature.
Igniting his twin double-bladed lightsabers, Krell attacked the clone troopers and slaughtered many of them as he fled into the forest. Rex and his men pursued the fallen Jedi, but lacking any Force sensitivity, they found it extremely difficult to defeat him. Fortunately, the clone trooper Tup was able to trick Krell into becoming snared by a vixus, an immobile tentacled creature that dwelled within the forest. Krell struggled to free himself from the creature's grasp, but just as he did so, he was stunned by Tup. After being returned to the airbase and locked in a cell, Krell was questioned about why he had caused the deaths of so many clones, telling Rex and the others that he did it because he could and that he no longer considered himself a Jedi, explaining how he foresaw that the Republic would be destroyed from within and that he wanted a position of power within the coming new order.
Death[]
Although Krell was in custody, Rex and the other clones knew that he remained dangerous as long as he lived. Though the clones thought of executing him, they knew that whoever did the deed would likely face court-martial for killing a Jedi. In the end, Rex decided that he would go ahead with the execution. He and the other clones went down to the brig and opened Krell's cell, having him turn to face the wall as Rex raised a blaster pistol to the General's back. However, Rex hesitated to pull the trigger and Krell mocked him for it, but he was suddenly shot and killed mid-sentence when Dogma, who had been his most loyal supporter up until then, decided to pull the trigger himself.