Editorial: Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers, Their History and Evolution

With this editorial, I will try to go over the evolution from clone troopers to stormtroopers, also exploring different types of each. Some casual viewers have had trouble in the past trying to figure out their progression across the movies and series, so this might come in handy.



When I got the idea to write this article, my plan was to write about every different type of clone and stormtrooper, but I genuinely had no idea there were so many specialist types across all forms of media, so I've made a selection of the ones that stood out to me.



Before going any further, you should know the header image was made by Timothy Anderson.


<h3>Clone troopers</h3>


Clone troopers are a staple of the Star Wars universe and were created for the prequel movies. These elite soldiers were genetically modified and trained from birth to serve the Galactic Republic and later the Empire. However, with the rise of the Galactic Empire, the clone troopers were gradually replaced with a new generation of regular soldiers, the stormtroopers. I will briefly examine the evolution from clone troopers to stormtroopers and the in-universe reasons behind that change.







Clone troopers were created by the Kaminoans and commissioned by the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, who foresaw the coming war and ordered the creation of a Grand Army to defend the Republic. The Kaminoans used the DNA of Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett to create an army of clones with accelerated growth rates and unwavering loyalty to the Republic.



They first appeared in Attack of the Clones, where they were shown as highly trained soldiers, bred for combat and fighting alongside the Jedi Knights in the Battle of Geonosis. This went on for three more years, until the Clone Wars ended.

They were instrumental in the Republic's victory over the Separatist droid army, but their role serving the Empire was short-lived, as we'll see later.



Clone troopers were equipped with advanced weapons and armour, including the iconic set of white armour that would later become synonymous with the stormtroopers. It provided excellent defense against blaster fire and other attacks, and it was designed to allow for maximum mobility and flexibility while retaining a decent amount of protection.



During the Clone Wars, clone troopers served as foot soldiers, pilots, and commanders in the Republic's fight against the Separatists, forming a formidable army that was able to repel many Separatist attacks and launch plenty of their own.







However, as the Clone Wars progressed, some clone troopers began to question their loyalty to the Republic... The Jedi were concerned about the clones' obedience and free will, and some clones began to develop individual personalities and doubts about their role in the seemingly endless war.



In the later stages of the war, as soon as the cyborg leader General Grievous was destroyed, Chancellor Palpatine executed Order 66, which clone troopers were programmed to carry out without question. They turned on their Jedi commanders, killing most of them.







This is a pivotal moment in the Star Wars universe. Order 66 came from a secret command issued by Chancellor Palpatine, who was actually the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. The order was given with the intent to completely eliminate the Jedi Order and consolidate the power of the Galactic Empire as fast as possible. Order 66 required the clone troopers to turn on and eliminate their Jedi commanding officers, who were viewed as traitors to the Galactic Republic. The order was carried out thanks to a chip implanted in the brain of each clone that controlled their actions if activated and ensured their unwavering loyalty to the Republic.



The order was first seen in Revenge of the Sith, the third installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. But it was also present in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, as well as some of the Disney Plus live-action series.



There were many different types of specialist clone troopers created to achieve maximum performance across different war scenarios. Here are some of the most interesting ones:



Clone Ordnance Specialist aka Bomb Squad Clone Troopers: They were used to protect planet Naboo from biological warfare after Doctor Nuvo Vindi re-created the Blue Shadow Virus, as seen in The Clone Wars animated series.







Clone Flame Troopers: They were in the Grand Army of the Republic under the command of Jedi General Ki-Adi-Mundi and clone commander CC-1993 'Jet', as seen in The Clone Wars animated series. You can guess what they were trained to do.







Clone Jetpack Troopers: These were a variant of clone trooper trained for aerial combat, as seen in The Clone Wars animated movie and series, as well as The Bad Batch and several Star Wars video games.







There were plenty more clone specialists which played huge roles during the Clone Wars. If you're a big fan of this era of Star Wars storytelling, we highly recommend googling and reading about them.



As teased before, after the Clone Wars ended, the remaining clone troopers became the first stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire. And then...


<h3>Stormtroopers</h3>


After the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire, Emperor Palpatine quickly disbanded the Clone Army and replaced them with a new generation of human soldiers: the stormtroopers.







They were recruited from the general population and trained to serve the Empire. They were known for their iconic white armour, which was designed to be intimidating and inspire fear in the enemy. The reasons for the transition from clone troopers to stormtroopers were primarily practical; the clone troopers were genetically engineered and had a limited lifespan, which meant that the Empire would eventually have to replace them anyways. They also were expensive to produce, and the Empire needed to save money.



Stormtroopers, also known as Imperial stormtroopers and referred to as 'bucketheads', were more cost-effective and could be recruited from the general population. They were also easier to control through the use of propaganda, as they had not been genetically engineered and lacked the same level of loyalty to the Republic that the clones had. Moreover, stormtroopers were more expendable, and the Empire could replace them easily.



Another reason for the change was to distance the Empire from the Clone Wars; the Empire wanted to create a new identity for itself, one that was not tied to the Republic. By replacing the clone troopers with stormtroopers, the Empire could easily achieve that.



Stormtroopers were first introduced in A New Hope, where they were shown as highly trained soldiers (though often ineffective), loyal to the Empire, and willing to do whatever it takes to maintain order. As the franchise grew into other areas, like comic books, animation, novels, and video games, the evolution of stormtroopers started to happen... Like the clone troopers before them, there were many types of stormtroopers and highly specialized Imperial soldiers. Here are some of the most famous ones:



Imperial Shock Trooper: They originated as security police for the administrative facilities on Coruscant, as well as bodyguards for government officials during the Clone Wars, as seen in The Clone Wars movie, many episodes of the animated series, The Bad Batch, The Mandalorian, and also in comics, games, and novels. This type of trooper didn't change much during the transition to the Galactic Empire.







Dark Troopers: These fearsome soldiers were first introduced in the Legends continuity through the video game Dark Forces, where they had quite the evolution. The canon version arrived in The Mandalorian as part of Moff Gideon's Imperial remnant -- the iteration we saw was 100% droid.







Purge Troopers: These Imperial specialists were placed at the disposal of the Imperial Inquisition, often accompanying the Inquisitors in their pursuit of Jedi survivors. They were seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series as well as the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, but they were first introduced in the 2017 run of Darth Vader comics.







Like with clone troopers, we recommend looking up the rest of the Imperial troops if you want to go truly deep; you'll be able to see many of the stormtrooper teams/groups were a continuation from clone specialists.


<h3>After the Empire</h3>


Though we know some Imperial warlords were still active well into the New Republic era (see The Mandalorian), the Empire formally surrendered to the New Republic after the defeat of its loyalist forces on Jakku. One of the terms of the peace treaty was that the Empire was forced to dismantle its network of Imperial Academies. The rise of the New Republic drove most of the stormtroopers, Imperial officers, and leaders who refused to surrender to the galaxy's outer reaches, where they found work as mercenaries or ran clandestine operations.







First Order stormtroopers were introduced in The Force Awakens as the primary ground troops of the First Order, a formal successor to the Galactic Empire. They were trained from birth, growing up with unit designations instead of names, and fed a steady diet of First Order propaganda to ensure absolute loyalty. Where the Empire opted for numbing routine, the First Order’s training simulations and live-fire drills encourage improvisation on the battlefield, making these stormtroopers more dangerous than their Imperial predecessors.



Click HERE to check out and comment on this topic on our main site