 Clone troopers storm Geonosis "Clones can think creatively. You will find they are immensely superior to droids" - Lama Su, Attack of the Clones
Clone troopers are fictional soldiers from the Star Wars saga. The precursors of the stormtroopers seen in the classic trilogy, clone troopers first appeared in Attack of the Clones, and returned in Revenge of the Sith. In both films, the troopers are completely computer-generated; not a single clone trooper suit was ever built for either film.
The clone troopers were created by the cloners on Kamino, as part of the secret Army of the Republic commissioned by the mysterious Sifo-Dyas. The clone troopers were cloned from, and trained by, Jango Fett, outfitted with armour styled on Fett's Mandalorian battle armour, and armed with weapons and vehicles from Rothana Heavy Engineering.
The Battle of Geonosis marked the first engagement of the Clone Wars, and the first battle for the clone troopers. Working with precise coordination to rescue the remnants of Mace Windu's Jedi strike team, the clone army fought the Separatist forces on the rocky surface of Geonosis. Downing countless Confederate transports, the clones earned their first victory.
Following that battle, the clone troopers were spread throughout the galaxy to engage the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After three years, the Confederacy was defeated, but the clone troopers had one more mission to fufil. On the orders of Chancellor Palpatine - who held supreme control over the clones - the soldiers of the Republic turned on the Jedi Knights, and helped forge the Galactic Empire.
The clone troopers became Palpatine's loyal stormtroopers, though by the time of A New Hope, most of the original clones had been replaced by recruits from the Imperial Academy. According to one of the Star Wars Empire comics, only one survived to fight for the Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War, Able-1707 who was stranded on a planet for 20 years after his unit was decimated in an attempt to destroy Separatist Confederate forces attacking them.
During the Clone Wars, a number of special clone trooper squads were created. These included:
- ARC troopers, or the Advanced Recon Clone trooper; deadly soldiers representing the elite of the Republic armed forces.
- ARC trooper captains, leading the deadly ARC troopers
- Clone SCUBA troopers, adapted to work and fight underwater.
- Clone trooper pilots, trained to fly anything from a military speeder to a Venator-class Star Destroyer.
- Clone trooper commanders, tasked with leading squads of clones into battle. Many of these commanders were grown with more capacity for independent thought than their troops, and were sometimes known by names rather than numbers. Notable clone commanders included Cody, Bly and Thire.
- Clone commandos, or Republic Commandos, seen in action in the video game of the same name.
- Clone trooper captains, clone troopers below the Clone trooper commanders.
Rank of the troopers is determined by color worn on their helmet, arm and shoulders armor.
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