Stormtroopers are soldiers in the fictional Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. The term originates from the original SA of the Nazi party in Germany before Hitler's rise to power, Sturm Abteilung (Stormtroopers) abbreviated to SA. Introduced in the original Star Wars film, the stormtroopers are the shock troops/space marines of the autocratic Galactic Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine and his enforcers, most notably Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin, during the original film trilogy (1977–1983) and Rebels (2014–18). The prequel trilogy (1999–2005) and The Clone Wars (2008–2020) explores their predecessors in the Galactic Republic's clone troopers, clones of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, used by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to "win" the Clone Wars and later to take over the government and exterminate the Jedi. After this, in The Bad Batch (2021–present), stormtroopers are established as human recruits, trained by clone troopers gradually being phased out of active service; at the time of the original trilogy, only a few stormtroopers are clones, with the only known legion to still contain a significant number of clones being the 501st Legion, a.k.a. "Vader's Fist", with many stormtroopers remaining in service to Imperial remnants following the Empire's fall under Moff Gideon and Grand Admiral Thrawn in The Mandalorian (2019–present) and Ahsoka (2023). In the sequel trilogy (2015–2019), the First Order employs stormtroopers (including Finn and Jannah) under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and his enforcers, most notably Kylo Ren, General Hux, and Captain Phasma.
The order of battle of the Stormtrooper Corps is unspecified in the Star Wars universe. Accompanying the Imperial Navy, stormtroopers are able to be deployed swiftly and respond to states of civil unrest or insurrection, act as a planetary garrison, and police areas within the Galactic Empire. They are shown in collective groups of varying organizational sizes ranging from squads to legions and for some, their armour and training are modified for special operations and environments.
