Stormtrooper are soldiers in the fictional Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Introduced in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), the stormtroopers are the shock troops/space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine and his commanders, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, during the original film trilogy (1977–1983). The prequel trilogy (1999–2005) establishes their origin as the Galactic Republic‘s clone troopers, clones of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, used by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to “win” the Clone Wars and later to take over the government and exterminate the Jedi. Despite this, later stormtroopers are established as recruits; at the time of the original trilogy, only a few stormtroopers are clones, with the only known legion to still contain a significant number of clones being the 501st Legion, aka “Vader’s Fist”. In the sequel trilogy (2015–2019), the First Order employs stormtroopers under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and his commanders, most notably Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma.
This post is part of Top 25 Star Wars Villains Ranked
