Anyone who has watched Star Wars has wondered why the Imperial Clone Troopers are so absurdly bad at their jobs. The incompetence of the Empire’s military can only be offset by its enormous numbers and firepower. Having a laser that destroys entire planets, the aim of a Blaster may not be as important.
The combat efficiency of Clone Troopers has been debated for many years and is now considered a settled issue. The movies, series and comics have given enough clues to obtain a very clear answer: the uniform prevents them from seeing well. A piece of plastic meant the difference between victory and defeat for the rebels.
From the Republic to the Empire: a significant change
In it Episode IV: A New Hope, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (with Chewbacca) infiltrated the Death Star in Clone Trooper suits to rescue Princess Leia. And it was the Jedi apprentice who said: “With this helmet I don’t see anything” (exact moment: 1:13:20). Furthermore, during several films we see soldiers adjusting or tapping their helmets before taking aim.
The Clones were created from the DNA of Jango Fett himself, feared bounty hunter and father of Boba Fett (unaltered clone of his father), so the performance of each soldier in combat is unquestionable. The evidence is found in the Clone Troopers of the Republic during the Separatist War, which we can see in the second film trilogy and in the series The Clone Wars.
We are talking about the same soldiers who fought against the separatist droid army and the proud Mandalorians, and who executed Order 66, which ended with the death of hundreds of Jedi in all corners of the galaxy. The Imperial Clone Troopers could never have done that with the marksmanship we see in the original trilogy.
The helmet: an annoying common denominator
There are two more events to take into account for this theory to make more sense: the series Star Wars: Rebels and the third trilogy of films. It was in episode 2×09 where the topic of imperial helmets was mentioned again. Old Captain Rex and Jedi Kanan infiltrate a space base to rescue Ezra in Imperial armor. Rex, who had never worn an Empire helmet, removed his helmet during the firefight and said, “I shoot just like a Clone Trooper.”
Republic, Empire and First Order. There are many variants of each type of helmet.
The Galactic Civil War It continued after the fall of the Empire. The Age of Resistance showed a new type of mixed army between Clone Troopers and recruited civilians. There is an explanation, but we are going to avoid it because it can be considered a spoiler. The helmet was redesigned and the soldiers’ aim improved significantly, although it is clear that the First Order also made the same mistake as the Empire: the helmets are very uncomfortable and still make aiming difficult.
Disney has not said verbatim that this theory is correct, but just take a look at the evidence to realize that the uniform is responsible for the ineptitude of the Imperial Soldiers. Now, how short would the Star Wars story have been if we had a good aim? YouTube user Corridor imagined it a while ago in a 6-minute video.
The Clone Troopers have been parodied and even ridiculed for many years due to their ineffective Imperial version, but the truth is that they are a force to be reckoned with. The Republic era (not to be confused with the New Republic) showed us that they are very competent in combat and that they developed special abilities thanks to their long relationship with the Jedi.
On the other hand, the series The Bad Batch o The Bad Consignment showed us that the Caminians went further in their cloning experiments with the Clone Troopers and created troops with special abilities. So much so that they were one of the few units that did not revolt against the Republic and the Jedi when Palpatine promulgated Order 66… although that is a topic for another post. I recommend taking a look at The Clone Wars on Disney+ to clear up any doubts.
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