Clone Troopers are LEGOminifigures based on the Star Wars characters known by the same name. Clone Troopers fought against the Separatists for the Republic during the Clone Wars. After the war ended, they were reorganized into the Stormtrooper Corps of the Imperial Military. Clone Troopers have appeared in many different variations and have been playable characters in all of the LEGO Star Wars video games. The first Clone Trooper minifigures appeared in 2002.
Clone Troopers were created by the Kaminoan cloners on Kamino under the direction of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas ten years prior to the Clone Wars. Their genetic template, recruited by Count Dooku, was taken from the legendary Mandalorian mercenary Jango Fett, who requested an unaltered clone as part of his payment (this clone would later become the legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett).
Their existence was unknown to the Republic and the Jedi Order prior to the Clone Wars, until Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi learned of them during his investigation of the assassination attempt against Naboo Senator Padmé Amidala. These growth-accelerated clones were bred as soldiers from birth, spending their early lives utterly immersed in military training, and were said to be superior to battle droids in most respects. Loyalty to the Republic, and the Chancellor, formed a key part of their psyche.
After the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic by Chancellor Palpatine, immense numbers of Clone Troopers were deployed to Geonosis under the command of Jedi Master Yoda, to reinforce the 212 Jedi Knights led by Mace Windu who were suffering heavy losses and now down to 37 Jedi during their attempted rescue of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Senator Amidala from the execution arena. They proved their worth after rescuing the surviving Jedi from the arena and subsequently forcing the vast Separatist Droid Army into retreat in the ensuing battle.
The Battle of Geonosis was only the beginning of the long and harsh days of the Clone Wars; the conflict was between the galaxy governing Galactic Republic and the Separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems. The Clones served the Galactic Republic, which was headed by Chancellor Palpatine at the time. Jedi Generals led Clone Troopers into the massive battles of the Clone Wars.
Clone had no rights, no pay, and little respect. Civilians on Coruscant and throughout the galaxy saw them as little more than organic droids, and most had no idea that these soldiers were in fact extremely young, conscious men, with their own thoughts and dreams. A handful of clones tried deserting, an act punishable by death. Clones had nothing in life, no material possessions beside their basic survival gear and weapon, no money or homes; the only thing these men had was each other. The bond between Clone Troopers was very strong, having grown and trained and fought side-by-side.
In the closing hours of the war, on the command of Emperor Palpatine, Clone Troopers across the galaxy turned on their Jedi Generals, slaughtering a large proportion of the Jedi Order with ease. This was the main objective of their creation: to wipe out the Jedi. Palpatine had planned this from the start, the war was engineered and played by him (he was in control of both the Republic and the Separatists). Jango Fett agreed to provide his DNA because of his hatred of the Jedi, and he knew that although he alone couldn't defeat the Jedi, an entire army of Jangos certainly could. With the formation of the Galactic Empire and the destruction of the Jedi Order, the Clone Troopers were issued new weapons and armour, and were reformed into Imperial Stormtroopers. Eventually, the original clones became displaced by newer, faster grown, "un-pure" clones. At the time of 0 BBY, few clones remained.
Variations
There have been three distinct variations of LEGO Clone Troopers, each made to resemble those seen in the movies.
The first was designed to match the Phase I Trooper armour seen in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of The Clones. The second was made to look like the Phase II Troopers from Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The third and most recent variation was based upon their revised Phase I appearance in the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated movie and television series.
Phase I Appearances
Clone troopers in original Phase I armour appear in some Episode II sets, and there are also revised Phase I troopers for Clone Wars sets, which more closely resemble the Clone Troopers from that series.
While only one variation of Phase I Troopers from Episode II was made, there have been several variants of the Phase 2 style Troopers in the LEGO line.
The earlier clone minifigures had blank black heads, because facial features were not visible under their helmets, and because the helmet had a groove so the black head made it look like it had a visor.
