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- "Shock troopers, closing in!"
- ―Admiral Gial Ackbar of the Rebel Alliance
Imperial shock troopers were specialized stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire that served as elite troopers on the front lines of combat as well as security for the Imperial Center and Emperor Palpatine. They were typically armed with heavy weapons.
Description[edit | edit source]
Successors to the clone shock troopers that served the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars, Imperial shock troopers were high-class stormtroopers selected from the Stormtrooper Corps of the reformed Galactic Republic—the Galactic Empire. The troopers specialized in heavy weapons on the battlefield, forming elite frontline forces of the Empire. They also served as high-end security forces on Coruscant, as well as bodyguards for Emperor Palpatine himself.[source?]
History[edit | edit source]
- "Do you want me to stun her, sir? I'd be more than happy to. Stop those Jedi lies."
"Jedi? You idiot, you don't even know who you're supposed to hate. You're taking orders from a Jedi! This man is Anakin Skywalker. A Jedi Knight." - ―An Imperial shock trooper and Jocasta Nu

Imperial shock troopers during the earliest days of the Galactic Empire.
Following the initiation of the Great Jedi Purge, a squad of shock troopers patrolling the vicinity of Coruscant's fallen Jedi Temple—then under the jurisdiction of the newly-formed Galactic Empire—were personally led by Commander CC-1010 "Fox" when Jedi Master and librarian Jocasta Nu ran into them. Proceeding to use a Jedi mind trick on the soldiers, Nu confused them as she herself entered a secret doorway which led to the Jedi Temple.[6] As events unfolded on Coruscant, Fox mistakenly ordered his troopers to open fire on the Sith Lord Darth Vader, believing him to be a fleeing Jedi. An enraged Vader then strangled Fox by way of the Force for his ineptitude.[7]
The Imperial remnant residing by the planet Jakku deployed Imperial shock troopers as infantrymen at the Battle of Jakku[5] in 5 ABY.[8]
Equipment[edit | edit source]
- "Alert! Those shock troopers have heavy blasters!"
- ―Admiral Ackbar
Imperial shock troopers wore stormtrooper armor with distinctive red markings on the helmet, spaulders, shin guards, and utility belts, which maintained extreme resistance to small-arms blaster fire.[5] However, some of the troopers still wore the armor model of their Clone Wars-era predecessors well into the Galactic Civil War.[4] Often deployed in pairs, the stormtrooper variant served mainly as a support unit—taking vantage points, occasionally driving tanks, and suppressing enemies with their heavy arsenal at their disposal, which included a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle, RT-97C heavy blaster rifle and a DLT-20A blaster rifle[5] or an E-60R rocket launcher.[4] They also used the standard issue E-11 blaster rifle, just like every other stormtrooper.[source?]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
- "Sharing the Same Face"—The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark (Vision to Yoda)
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (First appearance)
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 7
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 8
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 9
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 10
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 16 (Appears in flashback(s))
- Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 20
- Star Wars: Commander (First identified as Imperial shock trooper)
- Star Wars Battlefront
Sources[edit | edit source]
Star Wars Battlefront: Co-Op Missions Gameplay Reveal | E3 2015 "Survival Mode" on Tatooine on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
LEGO Star Wars (Set: 75134 Galactic Empire Battle Pack)
- Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, New Edition
- The Art of The Mandalorian Season One
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Star Wars Black Series 6" - Battlefront Imperial Shock Trooper. Order 66 Toy Store. Retrieved on October 24, 2015. (backup link not available)
- ↑ Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Star Wars: Commander
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Star Wars Battlefront
- ↑ Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 7
- ↑ Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith 10
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas