187th Legion

This article is about 187th Legion. You may be looking for the 187th Battalion, or the regiment of Galactic Marines led by Mace Windu.

The 187th Legion was a legion within the Grand Army of the Republic. The legion of clone troopers participated in the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.^[1] The legion was led by Jedi General Mace Windu.^[2] The troopers of the legion customized their Phase II clone trooper armor with purple markings. As such, the legion's clones shared their armor color with their Jedi General's^[1] unique purple-bladed lightsaber.^[3] Like other units in the Republic Army,^[4] 187th clones would wield DC-15A blaster carbines and DC-15A blaster rifles.^[1] The 187th Legion shared the same unit designation as the 187th Battalion,^[5] another unit led by Windu.^[6]

Behind the scenes[]

"Get ready to team up with Jedi Master Mace Windu and his elite 187th Legion Clone Troopers."

―Kristin Baver announces the new LEGO Star Wars set featuring the 187th Legion^[7]

187th-Legion-LEGO — Legion clone troopers in LEGO

The 187th Legion was introduced into the canon era of Star Wars as an elite force depicted through the "Republic Fighter Tank" set from LEGO Star Wars that was revealed by This Week! in Star Wars on March 31, 2022 by Kristin Baver.^[7] The 187th Legion initially debuted in Star Wars Legends, first appearing in the 2006 Hasbro Inc. exclusive set for Target in "Mace Windu's Attack Battalion."^[8] The box cover art for the "Republic Fighter Tank" set depict two B1-series battle droids fighting against Mace Windu, two 187th Legion clone troopers, and an 187th Clone Commander aboard a TX-130 Saber-class fighter tank in a mountainous and desert surface. In the set, the clones had markings that included a small, dark pauldron on their right shoulder. Their commander utilized clone paratrooper armor with purple markings, a similar pauldron, and a beige kama.^[9]

The legion's status as a canonical unit was confirmed by a 2023 Hasbro figure set, "Mace Windu & 187th Legion Clone Trooper," for Star Wars: The Black Series. The Hasbro Pulse listing gives the name "Mace Windu & Clone Trooper," but the complete name can be seen on the release's box.^[1]

The Clone Wars[]

"The decision not to use the purple color scheme in Clone Wars goes back to CW Season 1, though I can't speak to why. It's a conscious decision to try [to] keep them as different units rather than the same unit that uses two different color schemes."

―Story Group member Leland Chee^[10]

A clone unit led by Mace Windu appeared in the first episode of the seventh and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, titled "The Bad Batch"^[11] and released in February 21, 2020.^[12] The episode had originally aired in an unfinished format during Celebration Anaheim on April 17, 2015.^[13] According to Lucasfilm Story Group member Leland Chee, the decision to not use the purple color scheme of the 187th Legion was made in the first season of the series,^[10] which began airing in 2008.^[14] The unit was later named the "187th Battalion" on the Hasbro Pulse livestream for May the Fourth, 2022 as a Star Wars: The Black Series set.^[5]

Windu unit Anaxes — The clone unit Mace Windu led in *The Clone Wars*.

In the penultimate episode of the first season that aired on March 13, 2009,^[15] titled "Liberty on Ryloth," Clone Commander Ponds served under Mace Windu and had customized his armor with similar color^[16] of Mace Windu's unit in the seventh season.^[11] Sources including Star Wars Helmet Collection 76^[17] and Star Wars: On the Front Lines^[18] clarify that Commander Ponds served as the leader of Lightning Squadron^[17] of the 91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps.^[18] Chee further elaborated that it was a conscious decision to try to keep them as different units rather than the same unit that uses two different color schemes.^[10] The reveal of the Black Series Hasbro figure accidentally conflated the 187th legion and battalion.^[2]