Stormtroopers (Star Wars)
Stormtroopers are soldiers that feature in Star Wars.
Contents |
History
Stormtroopers were soldiers that were part of the armed forces of the Galactic Empire. Their origins were traced to the Clone Wars when the Galactic Republic fought against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In that time, the Old Republic sought to create an army as none had existed since its founding. Thus, they turned to the cloners of Kamino who created Clone Troopers based on the genetic material of the bounty hunter Jango Fett who became the basis of the Grand Army of the Republic. During the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Emperor Palpatine instituted Order 66 which shut down the Battle Droid army of the Separatists with the Clone Troopers being used to conduct the Jedi Purge. They then were used to enforce the order made by the Galactic Empire that became the dominant power of the galaxy. After the Declaration of the New Order, the Clone Troopers were reorganised to become the part of the new Galactic Empire's military where they became the Stormtroopers. This saw them phasing out the use of cloned soldiers in favour of naturally born recruits. Vice Admiral Rampart was placed in charge of Project War-Mantle by Governor Tarkin that saw the gradual replacement of the Clone Army. Part of this involved the establishment of a secret Imperial base on Daro where 50 Clone Commandos were set to train recruits from all over the galaxy with these encompassing 1,000 TK troopers. Over time, the practice of using clones was abandoned and the ranks of the Imperial Stormtroopers consisted of recruits from various worlds.
With the passing of the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill by the Imperial Senate, the Imperial Military officially transitioned from a clone army to a recruitment-based force. The start of this mass mobilization jeopardized the future of the clone stormtroopers, who still comprised the bulk of the Empire's forces during the early Imperial Era. Though the bill proposed pensions for the clones as they would gradually be rotated out of military service as they aged, many troopers wished to continue their military service.
The Battle of Scarif was the first major rebel victory of the Galactic Civil War, between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Following the Rebel victory at Scarif, Lord Vader commanded a battalion of stormtroopers, who served him loyally, to capture Princess Leia Organa's Alderaanian corvette Tantive IV over Tatooine.
In preparation for the ambush, the Emperor had his finest legion deployed in hiding on Endor as they waited for the Rebel forces.
Following the Battle of Endor, the Empire fell into disarray as it began to collapse. The Stormtroopers came to serve among fragments of the former regime that gained footholds on distant worlds as they attempted to cling to what few powered remained for them. During this time, their ranks consisted of a rag-tag army of mercenaries that worked for lawless gangsters. An Imperial remnant was headed by Moff Gideon who maintained his own army of Stormtroopers that helped protect his operations.
In time, remnants of the Empire came to form the First Order whose military consisted of Stormtroopers.
During this time, a mysterious transmission was broadcast into the galaxy that was seemingly from the deceased Emperor Palpatine. This resulted in Supreme Leader Kylo Ren attempting to track down the source with his search taking him to the hidden world of Exegol. Once there, he discovered that Palpatine had indeed survived and had built his forces on the planet in secret over the years with the intention of taking over the galaxy. This included legions of Sith Troopers that were people abducted from the galaxy and brainwashed to serve the Sith Lord. These made up his military force known as the Final Order which were preparing to launch their invasion of known space.
Overview
In appearance, Stormtroopers were recognisable by their white armour and helmets. The armour offered a wide range of survival equipment and temperature controls to allow the soldiers to survive in almost any environment.
They were held as being elite shock troops who were fanatically loyal to the Empire and impossible to sway from the Imperial cause. It was said that the Stormtroopers were precise when compared to more primitive Sand People.
Stormtroopers were divided numerous specialisations:
- Sandtroopers :
- Snowtroopers :
- Scout Troopers :
- Shoretroopers :
- Death Troopers :
- Jet Troopers :
- Sith Troopers : red armoured soldiers that were part of Palpatine's Final Order and formed form people abducted from the galaxy.
They could be organised into legions with some being elite forces of the Galactic Empire.
Stormtroopers wielded blaster rifles and pistols with great skill where they typically attacked in hordes to overwhelm their enemies.
The first non-clone stormtroopers, designated as TK troopers, were given an updated version of the Phase II armor as the Galactic Empire shifted toward enlisted and conscripted personnel at the expense of clone soldiers. Like its template, the TK stormtrooper armor was a set of white armor components worn over a black body glove. In addition to various aesthetic differences between the two armors which the TK helmet lacked. Stormtrooper armor was a distinctive set of white armor that was intended to instill fear in the Empire's subjects, while also providing the soldiers with an extended range of survival equipment and temperature controls. It also gave limited protection against blaster fire. Rank was determined by a color coded pauldron worn over the right shoulder, with orange or red representing the rank of commander, black indicating an enlisted trooper, and white representing a sergeant. Sometimes on the pauldrons they had specific symbols distinguishing who they were serving
Members
- FN-2187 : a black male abducted as a child and raised to serve as a Stormtrooper in the First Order until he abandoned his position where he took the name Finn and eventually joined the Resistance.
- TZ-1719 : a black female abducted as a child who was raised as a Stormtrooper in the First Order until her unit abandoned their position rather than fire on civilians where she took the name Jannah as she along with her comrades on Kef Bir.
- Phasma : a female Stormtrooper Commander of the First Order.
Notes
- Stormtroopers were created by George Lucas where they featured in the setting of the Star Wars universe.
Alternate Versions
- In Star Wars Legends, Stormtrooeprs appeared in the setting of the former Star Wars Expanded Universe.
In other media
Video games
- In Star Wars: Dark Forces, Stormtroopers appeared as antagonists in the setting of the video game. During the story mode, it was revealed that Imperial General Rohm Mohc was looking to create a series of battle droid Stormtroopers with these being the Dark Troopers. The prototypes were destroyed by Rebel agent Kyle Katarn thus halting the mass production of the Dark Troopers.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront, Stormtroopers were playable characters in the video game.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront II, Stormtroopers were playable characters in the video game. During the campaign mode, it was shown that the Clone Troopers of the 501st Legion were re-organised as Stormtroopers. After a rebellion of clones on Kamino, multiple clone sources were used for the ranks of the Stormtroopers.
- In Star Wars: Empire at War, Stormtroopers were ground units available to the Empire faction in the strategy video game.
- In Star Wars: Empire at War - Forces of Corruption, Stormtroopers returned as ground units for the Empire in the strategy video game sequel.
- In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Stormtroopers appeared as antagonists in the video game.
- In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, Stormtroopers appeared as antagonists in the video game.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront, Stormtroopers appeared as playable characters in the video game.
- In Star Wars: Battlefront II, Stormtroopers appeared as playable characters in the video game. During the campaign, Stormtroopers fought for the Galactic Empire even after the death of Emperor Palpatine that saw the slow collapse of that interstellar government. Remnants of Imperial forces created the First Order with Gideon Hask instituting Project: Resurrection that was a planned initiative of kidnapping children and brainwashing them to serve as Stormtroopers.
- In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Stormtroopers appeared as antagonists in the setting of the video game. One specialised type of soldier were the Purge Troopers who were trained and equipped to assist Imperial Inquisitors during the hunt down for Jedi as well as other Force-sensitive beings that threatened the Empire. They utilised tactics and methods developed from the Republic soldiers that accompanied Jedi Generals during the Clone Wars. Purge Troopers were said to be an elite group that were few in number and whose existence was not widely known to citizens.
Appearances
- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope:
- Star Wars: Episode V - Empire Strikes Back:
- Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi:
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens:
- Rogue One:
- Star Wars: Resistance:
- Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi:
- The Mandalorian:
- Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker:
- Obi-Wan Kenobi:
- Andor:
External Links
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