Summary
- Stormtroopers in the Star Wars franchise are considered the elite vanguard of the Imperial Military and are fanatically devoted to Emperor Palpatine.
- In the current Star Wars canon, the Stormtrooper Corps is a division within the Imperial Army, indicating that they are better-trained and better-equipped than Imperial Army Troopers.
- Stormtroopers are shown more frequently in Star Wars properties because they are the first to subjugate worlds and are relied upon for the Empire’s toughest engagements, while the Imperial Army and Navy serve as occupying forces.
Stormtroopers are not the standard foot soldiers of the Galactic Empire in the Star Wars canon or Legends continuities, but there are real-world and in-universe reasons why they are seen far more often than the more common Imperial Army Troopers. Throughout the Star Wars franchise, Stormtroopers are among the most iconic visual signifiers of an Imperial presence on a world, yet the two continuities specify that they are an elite contingent of the Imperial Military. The Empire’s most basic troops are Imperial Army Troopers, who appear in Return of the Jedi as well as numerous properties exclusive to the canon and Legends continuities.
While Stormtroopers appear throughout the Star Wars original trilogy and nearly every canon and Legends Star Wars property that includes the Empire, Imperial Army Troopers are only shown briefly in Return of the Jedi operating AT-ST walkers. In Legends, these more common troops appear in Shadows of the Empire and Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy. The current canon brought Imperial Army Troopers back to the realm of live-action via Solo: A Star Wars Story and Andor.
Stormtroopers Are Only A Small Part Of The Imperial Military
In Legends, the Stormtrooper Corps and Imperial Army were separate military branches, with the former being far smaller and more elite than the latter. Stormtroopers were stationed alongside the Imperial Army and Navy, and since the Corps had few land and space vehicles at its disposal, stormtroopers were often ferried into battle by the Army’s walkers and the Navy’s Star Destroyers. The Stormtrooper Corps, ultimately, answered specifically to Emperor Palpatine and were fanatically devoted to him. Stormtroopers were not only the elite vanguard of the Imperial Military, but they also ensured that the other branches acted according to Palpatine’s will and rooted out traitors for arrest or execution.
In the current Star Wars canon the Stormtrooper Corps is a division within the Imperial Army. While the Stormtroopers Corps’ relationships with the other Imperial Military branches are not as clear, properties like Andor demonstrate that Stormtroopers are still better-trained and better-equipped than Imperial Army Troopers. Star Wars canon lore suggests that as the threat of the Rebel Alliance grew, the Empire gradually replaced its Army Troopers units with stormtrooper divisions, making the former somewhat rare by the end of the Empire’s history.
Why Does Star Wars Show So Many Stormtroopers?
Stormtroopers are shown far more often in Star Wars properties than Imperial Army and Navy Troopers, and there is a simple explanation for this in the Legends continuity. The Stormtrooper Corps is the first to subjugate a world and are relied on for the Empire’s toughest and most vital engagements, with the larger, yet less elite Imperial Army and Navy serving as long-term occupying forces, especially on less strategically important planets. From a real-world perspective, stormtroopers are one of the most iconic and recognizable elements of the Star Wars franchise, so it is not surprising that they are more prominent than the troops of the Imperial Army and Navy.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
