
Clone troopers are soldiers in the fictional
Star Wars universe. All were clones of a
Mandalorian bounty hunter called
Jango Fett. They first appeared in
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and returned in
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith where they were played by
Temuera Morrison. In these movies, clone troopers comprised the bulk of the
Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. While they were numerically inferior to the droid armies of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the clones' adaptability and creativity made the Republic the superior fighting force.
HistoryIn Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, it was revealed that the genetic template of the clone troopers was
Jango Fett, one of the most feared bounty hunters in the Galaxy. In exchange for a clone "son,"
Boba Fett, Jango provided his genetic material and
Mandalorian battle training to the cloners of
Kamino. The clone troopers were outfitted with armor styled after Mandalorian battle armor and armed with weapons and vehicles produced in secret by Kuat Drive Yards, Rendili Stardrive, and Sienar Fleet Systems.
Clone troopers were engineered to mature at nearly double the rate of a normal human, which allowed the Kaminoans to build an army quickly but resulted in greatly reduced clone lifespans. Other modifications to the clone genome made clone troopers more docile and obedient to orders. Each clone's first ten years of life were spent training on Kamino: standard clone troopers were trained by droids and Kaminoans, while ARC troopers and clone commandos received instruction from Jango Fett and other bounty hunters.
The
Battle of Geonosis marked the first deployment of the clone troopers as well as the beginning of the Clone Wars. Beginning with the rescue of the remnants of
Mace Windu's
Jedi strike team, the clone army fought the Separatist forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the galaxy. After Geonosis, clone trooper armies were led by
Jedi generals, who were in turn accompanied by Clone Commanders. Notable Clone Commanders included Commander Cody, who served with
Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout the war, Commander Gree, who served with Jedi Master
Luminara Unduli and Jedi Master
Yoda, Commander Bacara, who served with Jedi Master
Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Commander Bly, who served with Jedi Knight
Aayla Secura.
While they had normal human emotions (and in the later stages of the war had developed an underground culture), standard clone troopers were genetically modified to obey orders from their superiors. The clone troopers eventually carried out
Order 66 at the behest of Chancellor Palpatine, turning on their Jedi generals. This marked the end of the Clone Wars, as well as the death of the Old Republic. After the war and the birth of the Galactic Empire, the clone trooper army was superseded by the
Imperial Stormtrooper Corps.
According to
Star Wars Battlefront II, the surviving clone troopers were renamed stormtroopers and became the main fighting force of the
Empire. Jango Fett clones throughout the force were slowly replaced by non-clone recruits because of their susceptibility to manipulation by the Kaminoans (who led a revolt against the Empire). One of the few stormtrooper legions to remain "pure" (completely composed of Jango Fett clones) through out the era of the Empire was the fictional
501st ("Vader's Fist"), which was named in honor of a real-world fan group called the
501st Legion.
Only one original Jango Fett clone fought for the
Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War: Able-1707, formerly under the command of
Shaak Ti.
[1] Able-1707 was stranded on a planet for 20 years after his unit was destroyed in battle against Separatist forces. He assisted the Rebels when a group of them - which included
Luke Skywalker - were attacked by Imperial forces while trying to establish a listening post on the planet, and subsequently joined Rebel Alliance Intelligence.
more detail