The Road to Episode Infinity: Top Ten Troopers

Since the opening moments of "Star Wars", Stormtroopers have invaded the minds of children and post-children alike. Those of us who were lucky had dozens of Stormtrooper figures to pit against our Luke and Han action figures in our youth. Those of us who were unlucky had only one, that would have to be resurrected over and over to provide blaster-fodder. Anyway… let’s get to the list… shall we?

Number 10: Clone Trooper
Specialty: Basic Soldier
Appearances:
Attack of the Clones & Revenge of the Sith.

Clone Troopers don’t exist. Literally no Clone Trooper costumes were ever produced for the Star Wars prequels. So if they seem soulless, it’s because every single one is CGI. Also, they are clones and clones don’t have souls. It always seemed silly to me that Clone Troopers all had New Zealand accents. I mean... the accent doesn't figure into the DNA, does it?

Number 9: Flame Trooper
Specialty: Burning Things
Appearances: The Force Awakens

In the First Order, 1 out of every 10 stormtroopers is a specialist. These specialists include riot troopers, heavy assault troopers, and flame troopers. Flame Troopers can apparently propel 75 meter flames from their weapons, so they are pretty destructive. Come to think of it, I wonder if it wasn't a Flametrooper who burnt the hell out of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru on Tatooine all those years ago...

Number 8: Shoretroopers
Specialty: Tropical Environments
Appearances: Rogue One

Shoretroopers are officially known as “Costal Defender Stormtroopers”, and what makes them especially suited for tropical climates is a mystery. Are there boots especially designed to run on beaches? Are there helmets equipped with air conditioners? Even Pablo Hidalgo, author of the “Rogue One Visual Guide” doesn’t seem to offer much explanation as to why the Shoretrooper design is good for the tropics. But they look cool, right?

Number 7: Sandtroopers
Specialty: Desert Worlds
Appearances: A New Hope, Rogue One

Sandtroopers aren’t much different from Stormtroopers other than the fact that they wear an orange shoulder pad and ride on Dewbacks. Sandtroopers also appear to be weak-minded since Obi-Wan’s Jedi mindtrick worked wonders on them- And if doors are locked, they tend to move on.

Number 6: Death Troopers
Specialty: Body Guards
Appearances: Rogue One

Death Troopers are pretty cool looking. Not only are they stark black, but they are taller and thinner than the normal trooper. They were designed from some Ralph McQuarrie concept arts that Gareth Edwards dug up, during "Rogue One" pre-production. My favorite thing about Death Troopers are the twin neon green circles near the chin. The are officially called "Image-intensifying active pulse emitters". Not sure what the hell that means, but I bet it helps them to see like a hawk!

Number 5: Imperial Stormtrooper
Specialty: Basic Soldier
Appearances: A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Rogue One

Who doesn’t love the original Stormtooper? Sure, they aren’t great shots, and they bang their heads on blast doors, and they are entirely disposable- but so what? My favorite thing about these troopers is what they talk about on while bored and on patrol. In “Rogue One” two troopers are talking about how the BT-15s are obsolete. In “A New Hope” two other troopers are excited about the new BT-16s. Then by The Force Awakens two troopers are declaring that BT-17s are all the rage.

Number 4: Riot Control Troopers

Specialty: Non-Lethal Weapons
Appearances: The Force Awakens

In early-drafts of Star Wars, Stormtroopers had lightsabers and handheld shields. In that way, Riot Control Stormtroopers actually pre-date the other types of troopers. FN-2199 could be the most famous Stormtrooper of fandom (unless you count Finn). In fact FN-2199 (or, as his friends call him, Nines) is actually an important character in the book “Before the Awakening”.

Number 3: First Order Stormtroopers
Specialty: Basic Soldier
Appearances: The Force Awakens

“The Force Awakens” explores Stormtroopers in a way that no other Star Wars film has. Finn, challenges everything we know about Stormtroopers and shows us that not all of these soldiers are totally loyal to their masters. Captain Phasma is the first Stormtrooper we’ve seen with a proper name and her chrome armor is pretty bad-ass. Listen carefully and you will find that there are other female Stormtroopers in this film. The riot-trooper FN-2199 is a fan-favorite as is Daniel Craig’s FN-1824 (or as the fan’s call him JB-007). The Force Awakens also includes an updated version of the Snowtrooper. Speaking of Snowtroopers...

Number 2: Imperial Snowtrooper
Specialty: Cold Weather Environments
Appearances: The Empire Strikes Back

The Imperial Snowtrooper can last two-weeks in extreme frozen environments before their internal heaters go dead. With ice-boots and grappling hooks, they can conquer even the hilliest of frozen tundras. Snowtroopers are a rarely seen in the Star Wars universe outside of Hoth, but their spiritual predecessors are commonplace in "Rebels". The creators of "Rebels" again stole some old McQuarrie concept art when they designed their Imperial Cadets. Look closely and you will notice something familiar about these cadets, they are modeled after early McQuarrie designs of snowtroopers. The glyphs on the cadet’s helmets even matches the McQuarrie concept art, and those glyphs can also be found on the breast plates of New Order Snowtroopers in "The Force Awakens".

Number 1: Scout Trooper
Specialty: Long ranged combat and reconnaissance
Appearances: Return of the Jedi

Scout Trooper (or Biker Scouts) take the top spot on this list. The design of these troopers are a radical departure from the original Stormtroopers. They wear the least armor of any of the soldiers on this list, which gives them speed and mobility. They also ride speederbikes (which are way faster than dewbacks) and they seem smarter than the average trooper and harder to kill. Though Biker Scouts only appear in Return of the Jedi, there was a single Biker Scout helmet seen in Rogue One. Look carefully in the Jedha marketplace and you’ll see one of Saw Gerrera’s cronies donning one such helmet.

So… that’s a wrap folks. Those are my top ten troopers (for now). I’m sure Episodes VIII, IX, X, and C will give us some more troopers to consider, but until then… May The Force Be With You!

*UPDATE: June 2020*

5 More Troopers

In the past 3 years more Troopers have been added to the Imperial / First Order arsenal, so I thought I’d post some of my favorite ones. The following troopers were first introduced in the films, “The Last Jedi”, “Solo”, and “The Rise of Skywalker.

Executioner Troopers

Specialty: Loyalty Control

Appearances: The Last Jedi

Executioner Troopers were randomly selected from the ranks of the First Order. Their job was to carry out capital punishment to traitors and enemies. Patches of black on the shoulders and the right side of the helmet, distinguished these soldiers from other stormtroopers.

Swamp Troopers

Specialty: Wetlands

Appearances: Solo

Swamp Troopers (or Mudtroopers) were members of the Imperial infantry that specialized in wetland planets including Mimban. Swamp Troopers were part of an expanding Empire as Clone Troopers were being phased out. Many citizens of the Galaxy saw The Empire as a way to escape poverty and they joined the Imperial infantry. Han Solo served as a Swamp Trooper in his younger years. Eventually the Imperial infantry would be replaced entirely by Stormtroopers which were seen as more elite soldiers.

Range Troopers

Specialty: Mountains & High Altitudes

Appearances: Solo

Range Troopers were a cold-weather variant of Stormtroopers (similar to Snowtroopers). Range Troopers were assigned to high mountain environments including the snowscapes of Vandor. Range Troopers wore magnetic gription boots which could hold tight to fast-moving vehicles or even mountains rich in ore and minerals. Range Troopers prided themselves as some of the toughest units of the Imperial military.

Jet Troopers

Specialty: Aerial Combat

Appearances: The Rise of Skywalker

Sometimes called Rocket Troopers, Jet Troopers were a specialized First Order Stormtrooper unit that operated in aerial conditions which included planetary atmospheres and the vacuum of space. First Order Jet Troopers were follow-ups to the Imperial Jumptroopers and Clone Jetpack Troopers. They shared a design with Sith Jet Troopers and were based on previously unused Ralph McQuarrie concept art.

Sith Troopers

Specialty: Speed and Advanced Weaponry

Appearances: The Rise of Skywalker

Sith Troopers were an army of Sith loyalists from planet Exegol. They were enscripted from members of the Sith Eternal, a dark-side cult. Sith Troopers had red armor reminiscent of red lightsabers and the Imperial Royal Guard. Specialized Sith Troopers included the Sith Jet Troopers and the Sovereign Protectors.

*UPDATE: December 2020*

Dark Troopers
Specialty: Aerial Combat and Advanced Weaponry
Appearances: The Mandalorian Season 2

Dark Troopers were advanced Battle Droids developed by The Empire. They were originally introduced in the 1995 Star Wars game "Dark Empire" but have also appeared in other games including Battlefront and Star Wars: Commander. In the Old Expanded Universe the original Dark Troopers were leftover clones with cybernetic implants, but as the initiative moved forward no organics were used.

Dark Troopers most recently appeared in the second season of the Mandalorian.