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. 

Top 10 Lists

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https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2018/01/top-ten-tie-fighters.html

Top 10 Lightsabers
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/02/top-ten-lightsabers.html

Top 10 Bounty Hunters
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2013/03/top-ten-bounty-hunters.html

Top 10 Troopers
http://roadto7.blogspot.com/2017/02/top-ten-troopers.html

Top 10 Star Wars Ships

https://roadto7.blogspot.com/2020/07/top-10-star-wars-ships.html

Top 10 Star Wars Battles
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Top 10 Planets
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Top 10 Jedi Council Members
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The Donald Trump of Star Wars: Borsk Fey'lya

"Consider Borsk Fey'lya, the Bothan diplomat who rose to become Chief of State of the New Republic. He seemed to have a personal grudge against the Jedi, but ultimately, he was just a single-minded politician out to champion his species and homeworld.”

―J.D. Wiker

It is 2017 and the US of A is dealing with the fact that Donald J. Trump will serve as their president for the next 4 years. Some Star Wars fans can’t help but compare Trump to Palpatine. Yet I think the truth is a little more complex.


To some liberals Trump is evil incarnate. To some conservatives Trump is a hero triumphant. Yet perplexingly, Trump was not so long ago, a self-identified liberal. He is also despised by many conservatives. Therefore I would not compare Trump to Palpatine, but to a character that was more morally ambiguous. The Trump of the Star Wars universe is probably Borsk Fey’lya.

"Borsk Fey'lya is quite persuasive…
he has Mon Mothma's ear in many things."
 ~Admiral Ackbar

Fey’lya was created by Timothy Zahn in the early nineties and was a Bothan spy who helped the rebels secure the plans to the second Death Star (although not one of the ones who lost their lives).

In the old expanded universe, Borsk Fey’lya was a constant thorn in the side for Luke, Han, Leia and their allies. Like Trump, Fey’la had an ambitious nature, and he would constantly find ways to discredit his political rivals.

Admiral Gial Ackbar is one such example. Borsk and Ackbar both joined the rebel alliance not long after the Battle of Yavin. From this moment on Borsk wanted Ackbar’s position of Admiral and had Ackbar arrested for treason, (which later turned out to be false charges).

“Borsk does what
Borsk needs to do,
at any given moment,
to benefit Borsk.”
-Luke Skywalker

Borsk was always quick to claim that the New Republic was prejudice against Bothans and used an “us against them” mentality to gain support among his people. Yet most thought that Borsk’s claims of speciesism were hypocritical since he always acted in the best interests of Bothans and, most of all, himself.

"You are involved in a liaison
with a human-you want to marry him...
the vast majority of Bothans consider it
something of a perversion.
He's all but furless and his face is
so squashed it's, well, hideous”
~ Borsk Fay’lya

Like many of conservatives in America today, Borsk Fey’lya was not a fan of “free love”. When Bothan pilot Asyr Sei'lar applied to adopt a bothan baby, Borsk forced her to withdraw the application because she was seeking to raise it with her lover, Gavin Darklighter. Gavin is of course Biggs Darklighter's brother and happens to be a human.

"You refer to us as ‘alien,’
and the Princess calls us
‘non-human.’
Why are we defined by
you and in comparison to you?"
 ~Borsk Fey’lya

Later in his lifetime, Borsk sought to destroy the political career of Leia Solo, while she was the chief of state. Borsk was involved with a group that motioned for a 'vote of no confidence' against her. Not long after this it was Fey’lya who was elected Leia’s successor.

"Chief Fey'lya,
You are a poor
excuse for a sentient being.
I hope one day you
really smell the stink in your
heart and choke on the fumes."
~Jaina Solo

Borsk's dream was realized when he took the highest office in the galaxy, but dark times were quick to follow. Intergalactic invaders known as the Yuuzhan Vong threatened the entire Star Wars universe, and challenged, even the Jedi Order. At first Borsk insinuated that this was a fictitious threat invented to usurp power from him and put "humans" such as Leia Solo back into power. Later, Many blamed Borsk’s distrust of the Jedi and his refusal to act for many of the setbacks of the Yuuzhan Vong War (including the death of Chewbacca). Furthermore, Borsk was satisfied to let many planets be destroyed (such as Yavin IV)- in favor of saving core worlds such as Coruscant and Bothan space.

Despite his many flaws, in the end Borsk gave his life to save the galaxy. He bravely sacrificed himself in an effort to eliminate the Yuuzhan Vong war leader, Romm Zqar. As I said before, Borsk was no Palpatine. He was not intentionally evil and though he was often paranoid and power hungry- it can be said that he always acted in a way that he thought would benefit the New Republic.

“No one cares if their enemies die, and all those who are not on my side are my enemies.” ~Borsk Fey’lya