Were the Stormtroopers watered down?

When I watch the PT I see the Clonetroopers are a good shot. They hit their target. We all know about the Stormtroopers. Not such a great shot. However, I'd like to open some talk as to why. First off I think the Troopers (both Clone & Storm) have a sad existance. Built to die.

But, here's my thinking. I think like all things that are made over time they get watered down and even cheapend. Weather it's genetics or a flaw in the system. I think this may have occured from the Clonetroopers to the Stormtroopers. Some many clones were made their surely had to be some flaws. Not to mention the templet that was suppled by Jango surely would have been worn down. Hince the bad shot and lack of athourity in the Stormtroopers.


Thoughts?

 

Well, in the PT, they're soldiers fighting a total war against billions of battle droids across thousands of systems and planets. By the time of the OT, they're basically policemen, chasing "insurgents" around, searching for data tapes and keeping the peace in dingy cantinas. So, yeah, they've kind of lost their edge.

 

The stormtroopers in the OT aren't all Jango clones. I guess that's why Lucas didn't change their voices in the OT like he changed Boba's voice.

But to answer your question let us not forget the Battle of Hoth where the stormtroopers get the job done and don't forget that the stormtroopers make quick work of the Tantive IV defenders. So why can't the stromtroopers hit the Leia, Luke, Han, Chewy, Lando, 3PO and R2 at close range? Maybe for the same reason Anakin, Obi-Wan, Padme, 3PO and R2 can't be hit by battle droids and that's because "Nothing happens by accident" in Star Wars.

"Yeah, man, that's what it means. That's exactly what it means! God came down from Heaven and stopped the bullets."

 

"They're not gonna catch us. We're on a mission from God." -- The Blues Brothers

 

"It was a miracle and I want you to ****** acknowledge it" - Mace Windu

 

"I don't even have an opinion."--Stormtrooper who gets shot in the face

But seriously, folks.

 

What's not serious?

 

Yeah, I think the Stormies weren't what they used to be. In the PT, they easily took down freakin' Jedi, and in the OT, they couldn't kill a farmboy who had never seen adventure before.

There's probably a combination of things that led to the Stormtroopers' decline. The original clones were all clones of Jango and professionally trained. Later, the Stormtroopers were made from different clone templates and enlisted men. The Empire was probably more lax on training than the Kaminoans were, and the Empire did stuff on a budget.

Modern Stormtrooper equipment, training and quality of clones were probably inferior that of prequel-era Clone Troopers as a cost-cutting procedure. After all, on Kashyyk, Clones were fully camouflaged, yet on Endor, they fought in shinny white armor that made them stick out like a sore thumb. I guess they couldn't be bothered to paint their armor different colors anymore. Plus, they could never hit a damn thing.

 

Stormtroopers were feared for a reason. They made short work of the defenders on Leia's ship, against the defenders on Hoth, caused panic on Bespin, and quickly overran the commandos on Endor. That's all well and good when fighting against normal folks like Rebel troopers, but Luke and his friends were heroes. They were bigger than life and while stormtroopers might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, they were no match at all against the heroes.

 

My thinking is that the Stormtroopers were feared for a reason. Because of who they came from. The Clonetroopers. But, as it were they didn't do their job nearly as well as the Clonetroopers did.

 

I don't think they were watered down as every time we see them fighting standard Rebel soldiers the Stormtroopers decimate them. They simply aren't able to defeat Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, or Lando.

 

The Clonetroopers mowed down all kinds of Jedi, but failed against Yoda and Obi-Wan for the same reason. Yoda and Obi-Wan were heroes while the rest of the Jedi were just guys. Same thing when you're looking at Luke & Co. versus regular rebel troops.

 

Movie magic aside, all in all they are sort of watered down but not for the genetic reasons since Stormtroopers are not all clones, most are recruits from human worlds. However, unlike the Clonetroopers they do not live for combat. They are like regular soldiers. Also, their training was not as good. The reason they are feared is the shear numbers. There are simply too many of them. The reason they can't hit anything? Well, the heroes are just damn lucky to come accross the particular bad shots. Oh, don't forgett Leia was shot on Endor.

 

Personally, I've yet to see any mention in the movie, or from Lucas that suggests that any of the stormtroopers are recruits. If there is any sort of quote that backs that claim up, outside of the EU, then could someone provide it? It doesn't make sense to me either that they'd use more independent thinking recruits. All I've heard on the matter of why the stormtroopers sound different from the clone troopers, is that by the time of the Battle of Yavin, the stormtroopers were being cloned from a variety of different sources, and that the system was corrupted as officers with less combat skill were still getting cloned to gain prestige.


EDIT: nm, I did some searching and answered my question. Yes, it appears that the stormtroopers are a mix of clones and recruits.

 

I had another Mystery Science Theater moment watching ROTJ.
It's the part where Han is wearing an Imperial helmet and saying "It's over, commander. The rebels have been routed and are fleeing into the woods."( something like that )

One of the officers should have said, "Since when have we been cloning that guy?"

 

Main Character Syndrome, lol.

But the stormies are getting a too bad rep. After all, they were under orders to allow Luke, Han and Leia to escape the Death Star.

Although not all of them are clones, I suspect that their training involves so much intense brain-washing and indoctrination that they are just as loyal as the clones when it's done.

 

Lucas apparently used the word "shanghaied" in an interview to describe the Empire's acquisition of recruits; he says it was "cheaper" than cloning. So just as the Empire sacrificed efficiency in the TIE fighter design in exchange for the ability to mass produce a cheaper craft, it's possible that by the time of the OT the Empire had sacrificed efficient obedient clones in exchange for cheaper less efficient soldiers that may have been forced into their position.

Thus, the reason the stormtroopers seem less efficient in combat compared to the clone troopers might simply be because they were less efficient.

 

Since Jango died in Episode II, the later clones may have been cloned from other clones thereby weakening the gene pool. Also, the volunteer troopers may not have been well-trained as others of you have pointed out.

 

From a storytelling perspective, the army of the good guys is usually excellent in battle in this genre. The army of the bad guys on the other hand, is cannon fodder.

Within the story itself... maybe the Empire had become complacent and/or the stormtroopers have slightly different duties than the clones? The stormtroopers seem more like glorified law enforcement in the films, rather than soldiers as the clones were. And what plastic-clad cop stands a chance against Han Solo?

 

In the novelization of Ep II Taun We asks Jango for another "donation" as she says "the original is always better than a clone". And after the uprising on Kamino I guess the cloning process also isn't executed as good as it used to. From a genetics point of view the part of the troopers that were clones would become "less good", too. Look at what happened to clone sheep Dolly: It died way earlier than it's donor.

Also, I suppose the stormies aren't trained as well as the clone troopers were.

And after all ... they're not completely useless

 

Just something to point out..the clones never kill any major characters, either.

 

The clones never killed any major characters? did you miss the entire order 66 sequence?(not exactly major, but still)

MY favorite part that shows stormtrooper accuracy is when Ben dies and Luke yells no!
AND HE JUST STANDS THERE
takes his time, slowly shooting each trooper
HE WAS JUST STANDING THERE!!!!!!!!!
-___________-

 

Two answers.

1. They cannot kill the main characters, the story would be over. They can injure or kill faceless characters, but not the main characters.

2. The Force was with Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie and Lando.

 

Hey, he thought Luke was cute. Give a guy a break!

 

Yeah, Jedi that you need to read the EU to even know the names of and only one of which has had any speaking parts in the last two films are not major characters.