Shadow Trooper. "Prototypes" of blasters in "Star Wars". Every Hollywood movie always has black actors.

In Star Wars, we can see various soldiers in helmets and armor - stormtroopers and clones. At first glance they are similar. But these are completely different characters, both in origin and in equipment.

Quick response:

Stormtroopers are soldiers of the Empire and representatives of human races, clones of soldiers of the Republic and quickly grown genetic copies from one prototype.

Let's look at the basic differences between clones and stormtroopers, since many simply confuse them or even think that they are the same thing.

Let's start with basic differences:

• - cloned soldiers of the Republic army. They lived before the stormtroopers. They were made in the image and likeness and were sharpened for certain combat missions, and also had the same good physical parameters. The clones unquestioningly obeyed orders and were almost ideal soldiers of their time, devoid of unnecessary qualities. Clone armor and helmets were created during combat by practitioners, not theorists.
• - soldiers of the Empire. Initially they consisted of surviving clones, then they were replaced by ordinary people. In the context of the rapid development of the Empire, the corps of infantry stormtroopers looked more like a militia than a highly organized army. Stormtroopers inherited their armor and helmets from clones with modern modifications. Many officers who witnessed the clone wars were disappointed by the mediocre state of the Imperial troops.

The most striking visual difference is the helmet.

The clone helmets had different crests and were taller. The stormtroopers' helmet was more massive and flattened. As mentioned above, the Stormtrooper armor and helmet are a reworking of the Phase 2 clone uniforms. In turn, the clone armor of the 1st phase is a reworking of armor.

The end of the Republic revealed the clones' biggest drawback, which would later lead to

IN The Force awakens(2015) and The Last Jedi(2017), upgraded stormtroopers serve as First Order, under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and his commanders, most notably Kylo Ren, General Hux and Captain Phasma.

The helmet and armor were redesigned for the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force wakes up costume design by Michael Kaplan with director JJ Abrams.

Legion five hundred and one

The 501st Legion Elite Stormtrooper Unit, or "Vader's Fist", is a stormtrooper unit of Star Wars films and Star Wars Legends continuity. Commanded by the ruthlessly cunning General Maximilian Veers and composed of the most trained soldiers in Star Wars galaxy, the Legion has gained a brutal reputation; completing a mission is considered suicidal or impossible to defeat. The 501st serves as Darth Vader's personal death squad, which leads the 501st in destroying the Jedi. The 501st lead an attack on the Tantive IV consular ship and capture Princess Leia. During the Battle of Hoth, the 501st plays important role in the destruction of the Rebel Alliance base, and almost managed to capture Millennium Falcon. Most of the background history associated with the 501st comes from Star Wars novels and games Star Wars: Battlefront II And Star Wars The Force Unleashed .

The Elite Five Hundred and First designation is resurrected by Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is Traune trilogy is accused of defending the "Hand of Empire" Empire forces. Thrawn's Five Hundred and First consists of aliens, normal people and Jango Fett of the Clones.

501 First Order units wear striking white armor, a derivative of this worn by Republic clones and Empire stormtroopers. Members of this new generation of stormtroopers are trained from birth, growing up with single designations instead of names, and fed a constant diet of first-order propaganda to ensure absolute loyalty. Where the Empire has chosen to numb routine, First Order Simulation training and live-fire drills encourage improvisation on the battlefield, making these stormtroopers more dangerous than their Imperial predecessors.

The Legion's name is based on a fan organization of the same name; their inclusion in the official succession was based on loyalty world organization V Star Wars fandom.

Specialists

In the original Star Wars trilogy, several types of "military occupation specialist" stormtrooper units are covered. These include:

Imperial variants

• Sandtroopers seen on the desert planet Tatooine during star Wars(1977). Sandtroopers can be distinguished by their large, black, white, or orange shoulder pads, slightly different markings on the back of their helmets, diamond-shaped knee plates, and stomach armor different from regular stormtroopers.
• Shocktroopers Is there a red version of stormtroopers? Sometimes they carry long rifles or electrostaffs.
• Snowtroopers seen in the attack on Echo's base The Empire Strikes Back(1980) on Hoth and in video games Star Wars: Empire at War , Star Wars: Battlefront , Star Wars: Battlefront II , Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy And Shadows of the Empire on Nintendo 64 (and also Lego Star Wars II And Star Wars Battlefront(2015) are regular stormtroopers wearing minus armor. Their helmets and armor are different, with goggles and a breathing hood.
• Scout paratroopers first seen in Return of the Jedi(1983). They are trained in advanced reconnaissance and survival skills for all terrains and have also been seen in Star Wars: Battlefront , Star Wars: Battlefront II , Star Wars: The Force Unleashed And Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II like marksmen and scout snipers.
• Deadly Troopers elite Imperial Intelligence soldiers, encased in specialized armor with a dark, sinister sheen. These soldiers serve as bodyguards and enforcers for VIP Imperial individuals, such as Director Krennic and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Their name comes from the legend of the New Death Troopers, and, in canon, these soldiers are so named due to rumors that they are like zombie fighters.
• Shoretroopers, or simply Scarif stormtroopers, stormtrooper specialists stationed at the top-secret Imperial military headquarters on Scarif, where soldiers patrol the planetary facility's beaches and bunkers.
• Assault tank combat pilots And commanders, or tank soldiers, operating arsenal of the Empire armored repulsor Vehicle, from a squad of transports of heavily armored hovertanks. Combat drivers are lightly armored, relying instead on the thick leather of their vehicles to protect them in combat. The commander is in contact with his command and with headquarters to keep abreast of changing combat conditions.
• Shadow Troopers, also known as Black Hole Troopers, is an elite special-OPS cavalry type only seen in Star Wars Legends material. Assigned to the mysterious Imperial Shadow Guard, one of the more prominent appearances in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, where they have shiny, reflective black armor that allows them to turn invisible. Since the Star Wars Expanded Universe was declared non-canon and rebranded as Star Wars Legends, Shadow Troopers has not been seen in any form of media since then.

First order options

• Flametroopers in advance in combination with standard first order infantry. These specialized units flush out entrenched enemies with roaring sheets of flame from their flamethrowers. They wear backpack style fuel tanks, special helmets with slit-like lenses that reduce glare and glove the body's temperature-regulating devices under their armor.
• Riot control stormtroopers V Star Wars: The Force Awakening(2015), specializes in riot control and uses non-lethal betaplast shields and Z6 batons.
• Snowtroopers assigned to cold planets. They wear special armor and equipment that allow them to work effectively in icy conditions. Snowtroopers wear a backpack-style personal environment block and wear insulated helmets with glare-reducing slit lenses, gloves, a kama and a heat-resistant body glove underneath in a wind-resistant fabric coverall. Snowtrooper teams the planet to reconnoiter, which once housed StarKiller Base, ridding local life forms that pose a potential threat.
• Stormtrooper Executioners are a branch of specialists specifically established to dispense final justice to stormtroopers who are found guilty of treason.

Performers

While stormtroopers are performers like Michael Leader ( Episode IV), Laurie Goode ( Episode IV), Peter Diamond ( Episode IV-VI), Stephen Bailey ( Episode IV), and Bill Weston ( Episode IV), as a rule, were credits in the film series, there were a few exceptions.

IN Attack of the Clones(2002), Temuera Morrison plays bounty hunter Jango Fett and his many clones, who are the first clone army.

IN The Force awakens(2015), Boyega stars as Finn, a former Stormtrooper FN-2187 who defects from First Order and joins the Resistance, and Gwendoline Christie portrays Captain Phasma, commander of the First Order stormtroopers. Daniel Craig has a small uncredited role as a stormtrooper who Rey forces using a Jedi mind trick to allow her to escape captivity, and director JJ Abrams also cast Alias And Lost composer Michael Giacchino as FN-3181, and Radiohead producer Godrich as FN-9330. A control riot stormtrooper who calls a Chukhonian a traitor during the Battle of Takodana, portrayed by stuntman Liang Yang and voiced by sound editor David Acord, identified as FN-2199 in the almanac book Star Wars: Before the Awakening(2015) by Greg Rucka. The soldier, armed with a "Z6 baton" and dubbed the "TR-8R" by fans, quickly inspired several memes and paintings. Actor/director Kevin Smith also expressed Stormtrooper in the Takodana sequence.

IN Star Wars Rebels Various voice actors provided the voices of the Stormtroopers, including David Acord, Dee Bradley Baker, Steven Bloom, Clancy Brown, Robin Atkin Downes, Greg Ellis, Dave Fennoy, Dave Filoni, Tom Kane.

A few days before the April Star Wars Celebration - where the ninth episode of Star Wars was presented - a poster for the film appeared online. As it turned out, it was never included in the official promotional materials, although all the images, in general, are the same - except for some red stormtroopers.

Now Disney has officially revealed the updated stormtroopers - yes, they actually exist and they are called Sith Troopers. They were first shown on The Star Wars Show.

Hot Toys later revealed what its Stormtrooper figurine would look like:

Subsequently, several more photographs of related products with the symbols of the red stormtroopers appeared on the network: from Funko POP! to baseball caps. They will go on sale at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con.

The new attack aircraft received a “more modern and menacing design.” Lucasfilm calls Sith Stormtroopers "the next level of Imperial/First Order troopers." There are no other details about them yet.

Soldiers with similar name- in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic dilogy, the player fought against the combat troops of the Sith Empire. The opponents were different types of troops, from grenadiers and riflemen to stormtroopers. The design of the fighters in the game was, of course, completely different.

Blackhole Stormtroopers

Characteristics:

Description:

The Dark Jedi Cronal, also known as Blackhole, was one of Emperor Palpatine's confidants. He was the hand of the Emperor, a high-ranking member of the Order of the Prophets (an integral part of the Sith Order of his time), and was one of the heads of Imperial intelligence, secretly sharing a post with Isani Isard.

Cronal carried out many important tasks for the emperor, some of which required him to attract well-armed units. It was probably during these years that he decided to ask the emperor to provide him with... personal troops. With a small personal army under his command, Cronal could not rely on army units or stormtroopers, thereby compromising the secrecy of the mission. Palpatine did not refuse one of his favorites and allocated Cronal his personal Star Destroyer “Singularity”, a select air wing of TIE Fighters and a division of stormtroopers, staffed by experienced soldiers. But Cronal’s stormtroopers were not enough. He convinced Palpatine to raise a legion of clones for him, based on Fett's original DNA used to create the clone army for the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).

In addition to first-class training, Cronal's personal stormtroopers also had the appropriate equipment. Their armor differed from standard storm armor in a special polymer developed by imperial scientists on the planet Aeten II. The armor hid the wearer well from electronic and visual detection means, reflecting or absorbing radar pulses. Camouflage was especially important for Cronal's stormtroopers, as they were not primarily deployed for combined arms operations like Vader's 501st Legion, but rather carried out covert operations in small groups. Due to the distinctive color of the polymer, wearers of the armor were nicknamed “Shadow Troopers.” The polymer was very expensive to produce, which is why black armor cost much more than its “white” counterparts. The total cost of the kit was 28,000 credits. The cost of polymer for one set of armor was 10,000 credits, and the process of applying it cost another 2,000 credits. On this external differences Cronal's soldiers were running out of regular stormtroopers. The armament of the division's attack aircraft was standard for the assault corps.

Before the Battle of Endor, Cronal's stormtroopers carried out covert operations against rebels from the Rebel Alliance. For example, shortly after the Battle of Yavin, they were involved in an operation on Vorzyd V, where Leia, Han and Luke were at that moment. The “immortal trinity” never got into Cronal’s network, but his stormtroopers stumbled upon a local resistance cell and entered into battle with it, virtually destroying it.

After Endor, Cronal, using the highest level identification codes bestowed upon him personally by the Emperor, gathered around him a small army and fleet from the remaining orphaned Imperial units. With these troops, he began conducting raids against planets and supply lines of the Rebel Alliance, which soon declared itself the New Republic. A special role in these attacks was played by his black attack aircraft, who carried out special operations and boarded transport ships.

Six months later, the New Republic decided to put an end to the attacks of the hated Cronal. Having learned of the location of his headquarters, located on the planet Mindor, the former rebels sent a squadron of warships carrying 18,000 paratroopers to destroy it. The squadron was commanded by Luke Skywalker. The operation did not go well from the very beginning. First, the squadron fell into a well-organized Imperial ambush and suffered big losses. The cruiser on which all the paratroopers were located was hit. The HP paratroopers who survived the first attack left the dying ship in rescue and landing capsules. But on the surface of the planet, Cronal’s black stormtroopers were already waiting for them. In the wastelands of Mindor, fierce battles began between squads of stormtroopers and disorganized groups of paratroopers. Only a few republican paratroopers managed to survive this meat grinder. I would like to note that if it were Cronal's will, the black stormtroopers could have eliminated even Luke, but at his expense the servant dark side The forces had their own plans.

After the events on Mindora, the black stormtroopers again went into the shadows, like their mysterious leader. The galaxy only remembered them again during the Reborn Emperor's campaign against the New Republic in 10 ABY. Cronal's role in these events is unknown, but the fact that his personal stormtroopers fought for the Reborn Emperor may indicate that Cronal remained loyal to Palpatine.

After Palpatine's repeated and final death, the fate of the Black Stormtroopers is unknown. Most likely, the survivors scattered across the Galaxy alone or in small groups. Only this can explain the fact that these soldiers (along with their armor) were in the service of the ex-guardsman Carnor Jax in 11 ABY. Jax dreamed of becoming the new ruler of the Galaxy, and to fulfill this plan, he, like no one else, needed experienced soldiers to carry out special tasks.

After Jax's death at the hands of fellow former Guardsman Cyrus Qaynos, the trail of the legendary Blackhole Stormtroopers is lost. They are not mentioned anywhere else.

Sources:

• Official site StarWars.com (encyclopedia of the old site)
• Insider #88 "Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties"
• Crimson Empire (comic series)
• Crimson Empire Handbook
• A Cracken's Crew Web Supplement, Art. 6
• Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor (novel)

Stormtroopers

Characteristics:

Description:

Imperial Stormtroopers are the tip of the spear of any Imperial invasion. They support the Imperial army and naval infantry and are always in the thick of battle. They are everywhere where the Galactic Empire is, becoming one of the symbols of this state.

The history of the Assault Corps begins in the early days of the Galactic Empire, successor to the Old Republic. At that time VAR ( Grand Army Republic) consisted of only a few million clones and tens of millions of non-cloned soldiers, the so-called "militia". The need to control a vast territory, suppress local rebellions, the remaining separatist enclaves and destroy pirate bases forced the use of a huge number of well-trained soldiers. Due to the losses suffered during the Clone Wars and the small number of the GAR itself, at first the emperor was severely short of soldiers. This led to the formation of an imperial army of non-clones and a sharp increase in its numbers. At the same time, using spaarti spheres, the accelerated cultivation of new clones began, but their level of training was much lower than that of their Kaminoan counterparts. The only thing in which the new clones were superior to ordinary soldiers was the speed of maturation and utmost loyalty to the emperor and the New Order. Over time, thanks to the active use of cloning technology, the Empire managed to significantly increase the size of the storm corps, but there were still not enough stormtroopers and many of the tasks of maintaining peace and order fell on the shoulders of the imperial army.

Only in 9 BBY, when military leadership finally became convinced of the futility of growing clones in the current conditions, and most of the opponents of the Empire were defeated, they made the long-awaited decision - they allowed ordinary people to serve in elite units. This is a decision for short term, made it possible to significantly increase the size of the assault corps. At the same time, the level of professionalism of the soldiers remained at high level, which was facilitated by a long and grueling training program. At the same time, the soldiers’ devotion to the ideals of the New Order was ensured not by genetic programming, but by competent ideological training. The soldiers of the assault corps believed and knew what they were fighting for. It was almost impossible to bribe a stormtrooper, and the number of deserters in the storm corps, numbering hundreds of millions of soldiers, tended to absolute zero.

An important consequence of recruitment ordinary people was a change in the image of a stormtrooper in the eyes of the average person. Now they were perceived not as faceless clones “without family or tribe,” but as defenders of the state. Despite the anonymity given by the armor, the vocoder built into the helmet, which hid the features of the fighter’s speech, and the use personal numbers instead of names (a tradition left over from the time of the GAR), the average person could be sure that under the helmet was hiding a citizen like himself, with a family, children and a home that he must and wants to protect at any cost.

Soon after ordinary people were accepted into the assault corps, they abandoned the cultivation of clones, completely switching to a contract basis. As a result, by the time of the Battle of Yavin, only a third of the Imperial assault corps consisted of clones. And to the Battle of Endor in assault troops There are practically no cloned soldiers left. A separate topic is the service of women as part of the assault corps. Traditionally, female military personnel in the Empire were treated with poorly concealed disdain. Only a few particularly determined ladies managed to get into the elite imperial troops, having undergone a strict combat training program.

During the Rise of the Empire and the Galactic Civil War attack aircraft could be found as part of the garrisons of all strategically important planets, as well as on trade and military space stations under the control of the Empire. It was the stormtroopers who guarded the prisons where especially dangerous criminals were kept, thousands of plants and factories. And of course military operations. Without the participation of attack aircraft, not a single major operation carried out by the navy and army.

The training program in the assault corps was very diverse. There were many specializations; desert infantry, combat swimmers, scouts, etc.. The training of an attack aircraft of a specific specialization was distinguished by combat tactics, use certain type equipment and weapons designed for battles in specific natural conditions. During training, as part of the standard program (all attack aircraft took a basic course), soldiers were taught how to handle all types of manual weapons. small arms which was in service with the army and the assault corps, hand-to-hand combat, piloting ground combat and civilian equipment. In addition, attack aircraft took a course to study the design spaceships and had basic skills in piloting starships, from transport to fighter. An additional course to the basic training program could include the study of languages ​​of non-human races, repair and maintenance of military equipment, interrogation and negotiation skills... etc.

Stormtroopers were trained at specialized Academies. At the time of dawn, several academies operated simultaneously on the territory of the Empire. The most famous of them was located on the planet Carida. This planet was ideal for the role of a giant training center. On its surface one could find a variety of climatic zones; hot deserts, cold tundra, deep and shallow seas and lakes, tropical forests...

The organizational structure of the assault corps differed from that of the imperial army. The stormtroopers had their own command, the highest ranks of which had a direct connection with the emperor.

Stormtrooper armor consists of 18 pieces consisting of a material called Impervium, providing good protection from blaster fire.

The armor material itself consists of four layers: 1. Impervium. (Impervium is a trademark of Plasteel) 2. Anti-blaster layer 3. Magnetic protective layer 4. Internal insulator

The armored suit contains a special IFF identification circuit, giving stormtroopers the ability to identify each other from a distance in combat.

The helmet contains breathing filters (protecting against chemical and biological weapons), intercom (comlink) with the ability to change the language (model SoroSuub DH77 or Herzfall Corporation DH107). For quick communication with other units, the comlink also has different frequency selections (the black bar that is located on the eye slits is an omnidirectional antenna). Within a battle group, encrypted messages can be transmitted using a comlink, and the encryption sequence will change every few seconds, making it impossible to decipher the transmission. If the helmet was not removed from a stormtrooper by the stormtrooper himself, the coding frequency is automatically removed from the helmet, thereby preventing the enemy from listening to the messages of other stormtroopers.

Automatically polarizing lenses protect the wearer of the armor from intense bright light, the lenses are supplemented with a special holographic processor and allow you to see clearly through smoke, dust, night twilight, fire... The helmet is equipped with a night vision device. There is an external speaker (Vocoder) for communicating with strangers.

The compartment on the back contains an emergency supply of oxygen for 20 minutes, which allows the attack aircraft to breathe freely in space or underwater. Also in the compartment is energy block suit power supply. The compartment has fastenings for installation additional equipment, such as: field radio, mortars, heavy beam throwers, ammunition and equipment to establish security perimeters around the camp.

Stormtrooper boots have magnetic grips for movement in low gravity environments. Standardized utility belts contain blaster ammunition, concentrated food portions, a compact tool kit, a spare hand-held intercom, and a thermal detonator. The belt can be supplemented with other equipment: a specialized or basic survival kit, handcuffs, electronic binoculars (only for an officer or scout), conventional and high-destructive grenades.

It is possible to install additional equipment on the armor special equipment, such as a built-in holo-camera or flashlight.

The automatic climate control system of the armor allows the attack aircraft to be in excellent shape, regardless of climatic conditions.

The armor of the Imperial stormtroopers was created by analogy with the armor of the mercenary Jango Fett (but from a different material). This armor is very reliable and difficult to destroy; it can still be found on the battlefields that died out decades ago. The cost of assault armor on the black market can reach 10,000 credits. Pieces of this armor, and sometimes a complete set, can sometimes be seen in use by pirates, smugglers, or mercenaries throughout the galaxy. The rebels did not hesitate to use this armor either. For example, the New Republic special forces group under the command of the Devaronian Kapp Dendo is known to actively use captured stormtrooper armor.

Sources:

• Of. StarWars.com website (old site encyclopedia)
• The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook
• X-wing Rogue Squadron series. In the Empire's Service (comic book)
• Death Star Technical Companion, Second Edition
• Imperial Sourcebook, second edition, art. 41 and 50
• The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
• Behind The Magic, electronic encyclopedia
• Star Wars Technical Journal, Vol 2