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| Imperial Stormtrooper | |
|---|---|
 A fan dressed as an Imperial Stormtrooper |
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| Position | Front-line soldier |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Galactic Empire |
The Imperial Stormtroopers are fictional soldiers from George Lucas' Star Wars universe. Stormtroopers are the personal army of Emperor Palpatine and of his commanders, carrying out the will of their superiors without question.
They are portrayed in collective groups of varying organizational sizes ranging from squads to legions, and, for some, their armor and training is modified for special operations and environments.
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Fictional background
In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, the first troopers were cloned from bounty hunter Jango Fett, to be the Army of the Republic in the Clone Wars. In Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the troopers executed Order 66 at the command of Chancellor Palpatine, attacking their Jedi generals.
Initially, the stormtroopers served as the army of the Galactic Empire, putting down revolts and establishing imperial authority.[1] The Stormtrooper Corps swelled in size after Palpatine allowed the addition of birth born recruits and conscripts alongside the clones.
After the Empire had been stabilised and an Imperial Army/ Imperial Navy established, the stormtroopers became the Emperor’s personal army and were stationed on Imperial bases and cruisers to ensure absolute loyalty and obedience to Palpatine[citation needed], as well as on the Death Star and Death Star II. They maintained these roles until the Empire’s destruction.
Organization
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Imperial Stormtroopers are independent of the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Army chains of command. They have their own command structure, ranking system and support facilities. Imperial Stormtroopers are stationed on Imperial Navy craft and on Imperial Army bases to ensure the absolute loyalty and obedience to the Emperor.
Each stormtrooper is assigned a number for tactical purposes and to reinforce the Imperial ethic of uniformity. TK-421 was the number of the stormtrooper whose armor Luke Skywalker wore aboard the Death Star, for instance.
Stormtrooper armor
The troopers' most distinctive equipment is the white battle armor they normally wear, which was inherited from their time as clone troopers[citation needed]. The complete 18-piece[citation needed] armor set completely encases the body[citation needed] and typically has no individually distinguishing marking outside of rank[citation needed]. This armor is known as Phase III armor[citation needed]. In certain situations, stormtroopers will sometimes wear camouflage armor to help them blend in with different environments[citation needed].
The armor as originally seen on-screen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was sculpted by Brian Muir and Liz Moor (who sculpted the helmet) of Elstree Studios[citation needed], based on conceptual drawings by Ralph McQuarrie[citation needed]. The armor and helmets were manufactured at Shepperton Design Studios with two different helmet designs produced; one for the common stunt trooper and a second design for closeups[citation needed]. This second "hero" design can be spotted throughout the film but was mainly reserved for use by stars Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill[citation needed]. 50 stunt helmets were produced in white-painted Polyethylene (HDPE) and 6 hero helmets were produced in white 1.5mm ABS[citation needed]. Besides the material used, the two designs can be differentiated by differences in the eyes, the ears, and the mouth (or frown) area[citation needed].
Specialized stormtroopers
Within the film series, a number of specialized stormtrooper units are seen, those include:
- Sandtroopers seen on the desert world of Tatooine during the events of A New Hope. Sandtroopers can be distinguished by slightly different markings on the rear of their helmets as well as a diamond-shaped knee-plate.
- Snowtroopers seen in the assault on Echo Base in The Empire Strikes Back on Hoth, and in the video games Star Wars: Empire at War, Battlefront, Battlefront II, Jedi Academy and Shadows of the Empire on the Nintendo 64, they are just regular stormtroopers clad in sub zero armor.
- Imperial Scout troopers seen in Return of the Jedi. They are trained in survival skills, and are also seen in Star Wars Battlefront II & Star Wars: The Force Unleashed as snipers.
Within the extended universe media such as games and comics, a number of specialized stormtrooper units are seen. The Marvel produced comics of the late 1970s and early 1980s featured blackhole troopers. Other specialists have included commandos and troopers equipped to work in outer space. Others, such as the Beach Troopers, are for comical effect. Appearing only briefly in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, they are clad in a Speedo and the trademark stormtrooper helmet. In Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, they are also wearing life jackets. Shadowtroopers appear in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed whom look like a grey version of the normal stormtroopers but they can turn invisible. They use this tactic to ambush their enemies, but only if stormtrooper officers call out for support.[citation needed]
Use in popular culture
- During the January 1, 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade, the largest conglomeration of Imperial Stormtroopers ever marched in step. The 2007 Grand Marshal was George Lucas. The Stormtroopers were all part of the 501st Legion international fan costuming group.
- Many fandom conventions (particularly gaming conventions such as Origins Game Fair and Gen Con) have security personnel wearing Stormtrooper uniforms.
- The Stormtrooper effect, a common cliché in action movies, was named after these soldiers and their poor marksmanship.
Behind the scenes
- In the commentary for Episode II, George Lucas says that the Imperial stormtroopers were "always meant to be clones," and that children's mistake of thinking they were actually robots was the primary motivation for a specific scene within Episode II
- In a 2005 Q&A session Lucas says that some stormtroopers are clones and others are conscripts[citation needed].
Notable stormtrooper officers
See also
References
- ^ Star Wars Battlefront II, LucasArts
External links
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