Clonetrooper and Stormtroopers: A discussion of the faceless soldiers of the Saga

Assuming that a clonetrooper didn't get killed in combat, how long does a clone live? Is it a short amount of time considering the growth acceleration? What do they do with 'old' troopers? I'm assuming they outlive their usefulness faster than an unaltered human. Any thoughts?

 

Seems likely they would grow old faster yes. But after usable age, they also tend to die earlier. Come to think of it, if they have an aim that is just as good as the stormtroopers: send them to fight the rebellion, a sure way to get rid of them

But maybe this is why in ANH we have the stormtroopers: the emporor used the clone troopers as a temporary force, which he then replaced with a more normal army as the clones dwindled and died? As soon as the Jedi were gone he didn't actually need them anymore that much afterall.

 

I always have thought that the clones were so well created that even though they grew to adulthood quicker,once they reached maturity they would slow down in their ageing.

 

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EDITops

 

So clone troopers all died out.. then actuall people took over, and were storm troopers?

 

I'm going to rename the title of the thread to fit more with the discussion. If the author doesn't mind that is

 

So clone troopers all died out.. then actuall people took over, and were storm troopers?

That's one theory, yes.
Another is that the Stormtroopers are a mix of clones and recruits.
Another is that they are all clones but from differing hosts.

Pick the one you like best.

 

It's probably a lot cheaper to train some people than actually raise clones from infancy in the numbers needed to sustain the empire for 20 years, i'd think. It would potentially make for much better soldiers, being trained all their live ... Oh wait so that can't be since they are not so good at being elite.

 

No. George has said that the stormies are still clones. Just not Jango clones.

 

where/when does/did he say that all stormies are clones?

 

where/when does/did he say that all stormies are clones?

George says it on the commentary track, for whatever that's worth.
He also says Yoda is the kid of Kermit and Ms. Piggy. He says HOth(long 'o'), Goon-Gan, and Nay-boo as well as refering to a jedi weapon as a "laser sword".

As far as the movies and Common Sense goes, there's nothing to suggest that they are clones at all.

 

I always have thought that the clones were so well created that even though they grew to adulthood quicker,once they reached maturity they would slow down in their ageing.

That's only reasonable to expect. A cloned soldier who aged and died after say, five to ten years wouldn't be much of a military asset.

 

The Stormtroopers seem less intelligent than the Clone Troopers. I think the Stoms are clones of the clones. Cloning a clone could not be done flawless, by this the Storms are less nimble.
(Just another theory)

-S-

 

I was under the impression that the Stormtroopers were the Clone Troopers with evolved masks. I'm assuming this will be one of the questions answered in Episode III.

 

<<It's probably a lot cheaper to train some people than actually raise clones from infancy in the numbers needed to sustain the empire for 20 years, i'd think. It would potentially make for much better soldiers, being trained all their live ... Oh wait so that can't be since they are not so good at being elite.>>

I don't think that a trained man could be as loyal as a cloned man who has been altered to obey the commands of the Emperor. I doubt Palpatine would allow his stormtroopers to be replaced by individuals who could be coherced by the rebels. Don't want an entire army turning on you, we've had that happen on Earth a number of times. There are plenty of other positions in a galactic empire for recruits. How about the naval troopers? The AT-ST drivers? Those are recruited individuals along with the officers.

So what you have are continually cloned stormtroopers over the past 20 years after episode III, who only listen to the Emperor, patrolling the galaxy subjegating everyone under his rule. I doubt he'd allow them to be replaced by recruits.

 

Well I know that in some books they talk about Imperial recruitment and recruiting posters/videos. I assumed that the stormtroopers were taken from the best of the regular army troops. In the Thrawn trilogy they talk about there not being enough stormtroopers and that they have to use regular army troops.

I'm not sure though because the Thrawn trilogy was after ROTJ and because the Empire wasn't at full strength the stormtroopers could still be clones and they just were running out.

 

<<I'm not sure though because the Thrawn trilogy was after ROTJ and because the Empire wasn't at full strength the stormtroopers could still be clones and they just were running out. >>


There's always the possiblity that the clones after ROTJ were replaced by recruits since they were useless after the Emperor's defeat, which is true as far as Zahn's latest novel which has recruits in the place of clones, Mara Jade herself says they were clones before the fall of the Empire. Between episode II and VI, the stormtroopers were clones. After that, you can have your recruits.

 

So I originally posted this tidbit in a thread which I had made on the topic, but soon found it locked and was directed to this one... My bad. Anyway, Lucas himself has recently made a statement about the relation between Stormtroopers and clonetroopers:

One bit of conjecture Lucas finally laid to rest was the question of how close the link between clone troopers and stormtroopers was. He told MTV in an interview that the Empire's stormtroopers in the original series were in fact more of the same clones that form the Republican army in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith ? though by the time of A New Hope, stormtrooper ranks had swelled to include regular recruits as well.

"The idea is that over time, there were new clone strains introduced, and then they even conscripted guys to be Storm Troopers. So it's not just purely clones: It started out as clones, but then it got diluted over the years as they found out they could shanghai guys [more cheaply] than they could build clones."

So there you have it. Unless he changes his mind later, the official word of Lucas himself says that by the time of the OT some troopers are clones, and some are recruits. It makes sense. Clones are worth the money if you need an army really fast, but once the Empire became securely established, it's probably more cost effective to just pay to train recruits.

 

Yeah, it makes sense. Also, the Empire probably needed a gazillion (yes, a gazillion! troops to keep order in the Galaxy. In some situations, recruiting troops and pushing them into action after training would be better than having to wait ten years for clones to mature.

The idea of clones anyway is not to make your civilians fight wars. The Empire didn't mind that.

 

Remember that the creation of the Clone Army was somthing that was unknown and disturbing the Jedi Council. I think the Sith ordered the clone army because they simply needed an army. But they needed it to be superior to the drone armies, and they needed it to be created quietly. The clones simply offered the best available option.

Starting a war was the key to Darth Sidious' plan. But in order to fight a war you need an army.
The republic as a whole had no want or need for a standing army. Recruiting and training an entire army from scratch would take too long, and at this juncture in the Sith's plan, time was of the essence. Palpatine could not be chancellor forever. So the clone army was secretly built, quickly and quietly - and when the time came to start a war and come to the climax of the plan, why there was this standing army ready to fight that for some weird, but fortunate (or unfortunate) reason, some anonymous senator had ordered decades ago.

 

Did anyone else REALLY like the Clonetroopers in ROTS? They were alright in AOTC, and the stormtroopers were...well...stormtroopers, but in ROTS they had personality. They did things. The way they said things was just...it sounds dumb, but they seemed to have more emotion and inflection than the OT stormtroopers.

 

So if the Empire invested and put more money in cloning troops like Jango..then the Ewoks would of met there doom in ROTJ. Correct? I would think so..Did you see Commander Cody and his crew shooting there blasters like the soldiers in Starship Troopers.

 

did anyone else ever wonder why the clones have so many different color variations (ie ranks and specialists) than stormtroopers?

 

"did anyone else ever wonder why the clones have so many different color variations (ie ranks and specialists) than stormtroopers?"

Id guess because the Empire doesnt want its faceless symbol of might so...individualised.

Still, they kept some things, such as the shoulder pauldrons.

 

So if the Empire invested and put more money in cloning troops like Jango..then the Ewoks would of met there doom in ROTJ. Correct? I would think so..Did you see Commander Cody and his crew shooting there blasters like the soldiers in Starship Troopers.

That is a great point. Maybe stormies are so hastily trained and that is why they are so bad. Clones are painstakenly made to be perfect warriors in the span of ten years. That makes them much better fighters.