Look, we all love stormtroopers. How could we not? They are one of the most beloved costumes of our time, and the symbol of the Galactic Empire. You can't even think of the term "Star Wars" without picturing stormtroopers in the background, whether they're the sandtroopers seen everywhere from Tatooine to the Battle of Jakku or the Cavetroopers of the Hidden Depths RPG game. They are as varied as they are useful and the Empire wouldn't have gotten half as far as it did without the aid of the seemingly infinite amount of stormtroopers at their disposal.
Like any good villain, stormtroopers are flawed, but here's the thing: stormtroopers are heavily flawed. While it makes sense that an army made up of a diverse array of soldiers, from clones to stolen babies to recruits, would have a pretty wide range of flaws, many of them still don't make much sense when they're examined beneath a microscope. Many are technologically-related while others simply defy expectations or prove major characters wrong, prompting us to ask, "Just what i the make of a stormtrooper?" Sometimes the scope is so wide that even the most hardcore fans have to argue it out.
From their heavily-debated aim to their questionable weapons, their uneven range of skills and training to their so-ridiculous-they-are-awesome uniforms, there's plenty to critique when it comes to a standard stormtrooper.
We certainly don't expect perfection, even from Star Wars. Nevertheless, we have to point out these 25 Things That Make No Sense About Stormtroopers.
Their Awful Aim
It's one of the most highly contested debates within the Star Wars fandom, but the proof is in the pudding: stormtroopers have awful aim. Let's disregard any theories about whether or not they were "supposed" to let certain people go or not; without being privy to that information directly, the assumption should be made that they were aiming for their targets down completely straight hallways and still totally missed. They do that a lot.
If anything needs to be done to upgrade stormtroopers, it's probably getting them to a firing range, stat.
Maybe throw in some clay pigeons while you're at it, First Order.
They Age And Expire Prematurely
The clone stormtroopers had plenty of flaws to render them worth tabling following the Republic's indiscriminate use, but one of their biggest issues was that they age and expire prematurely. What good is it to manufacture so many soldiers if they're all going to burn out and waste away faster than a typical solider in the first place?
Of course, that doesn't mean they should never be used, or that this issue couldn't be resolved with proper study and experimentation, but as it is, the clone troopers just don't make sense.
They Fought With Double-edged Lightsabers
The original plan was to give the stormtroopers some lightsabers, but that was abandoned in order to keep the Jedis looking cool and exclusive.
Why revamp the original idea by giving stormtroopers two-edged lightsaber swords to swing around?
In the Star Wars Legends series, Darth Vader trained these very clone soldiers with red, double-edge lightsaber swords. It seems to defeat the purpose by giving the stormtroopers a much more interesting look than intended. That said, it's also quite cool-- if only it remained canon.
Big Names Played Very Minor StormTrooper Roles
While it's understandable that everyone wants their spot in a franchise like Star Wars, even for a brief moment, it's weird that so many people played teeny, tiny nameless stormtroopers as their claim to fame in the series--especially those with names that are already widely-known across the globe, like Daniel Craig, William, and Harry. Kevin Smith and Tom Hardy have been stormtroopers, and Freddie Prinze Jr. voiced an animated stormtrooper.
It's kind of like how South Park uses celebrities to voice non-speaking roles, like dogs. It's funny to some but it seems like a waste.
Their Armor Doesn't Work
When it comes to stormtrooper armor, the iconic look means that fans love to dress up in it for Halloween and cosplay in it for comic-cons.
As fun as it is to play in and look at, it doesn't really work in any battle situation.
Argue that their numbers remain endless all you want, but we've seen them taken out by Ewoks and rocks, for Pete's sake. If your shiny white helmet isn't protecting your noggin, you need a new helmet.
Their Armor Is Also Cumbersome And Poorly-Designed
In addition to simply failing at its main job of protecting the stormtroopers, stormtrooper armor is incredibly cumbersome, rendering each soldier a clunky, awkward-looking fighter who could really use some sleek, bendy armor that might suit, you know, the time and place.
There's no peripheral vision capabilities in those helmets, and the range of motion in the uniform is pretty much nonexistent.
Vision and basic physical articulation seem like important qualities in an armed force. No wonder they're such awful fighters.
Riot Batons Are Stupid Weapons
Riot batons as weapons for stormtroopers make absolutely zero sense. It's like bringing a morning star to a fight with a lightsaber-wielding Jedi: sure, it looks cool, but between the wide-range weapons and, you know, technological advances of the time, your weapon really doesn't warrant much use in a fight.
We get that they were once supposed to have lightsabers and that didn't pan out, but a baton really isn't a consolation prize. Stick to the blasters and their upgrades, stormtroopers.
No Women Could Serve On The Death Star
Captain Phasma is one of the coolest-looking stormtroopers in history, but she's the only woman we know by name. There are women who serve as stormtroopers and seemingly always have been, without any major rule changes, but there are some really wacky rules surrounding women who do serve.
There was a rule that no women were able to serve on the Death Star, for example. Also, no more than three female stormtroopers could serve in the same legion at the same time. The rules obviously don't make sense and wouldn't hold much water if they were tested in the modern films.
They Have Awful Combat Skills
They're supposed to be these elite fighters, but we're not so sure. Have you seen stormtroopers fight in hand-to-hand combat?
These soldiers are impressive for three reasons: their uniforms, their blasters, and their sheer force in numbers.
Their combat skills leaves much to be desire. It's really no surprise given their cool but bulky, impractical uniforms. Even if Syrio Forel, Master Yoda, and Pai Mei all trained the soldiers together, they'd probably still have that much trouble maneuvering around in those suits.
They Don't Clone The Best Of The Best
While we know that cloning technology exists, we also know that the First Order, like the Galactic Empire before it, cut it from their tactics, preferring humans to work for them instead of the clones the Republic favored. While we can see pros and cons to this, why not use the cloning technology and improve upon it by copying the best soldiers and sending those clones out to fight?
Why introduce such cool technology and a seemingly endless buffet of soldiers only to abandon it later? While we've been given several drawback explanations, there are still plenty of ways the First Order could improve upon cloning methods.
