Like the nose art of the Clone Wars gunships, the little things that differentiate such mass-produced symbols of the Star Wars universe fascinate me and the Clone Troopers themselves are no different.
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Before we jump into a massive gallery of the different armor worn by the Clone Troopers in Episode III and the Clone Wars animates series, a history lesson is warranted. A short one, at least.
According to “The New Essential Chronology” by Dan Wallace and what little we learned from Episode II, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas had secretly ordered a massive clone army from the geneticists on the watery world of Kamino. And as we all know, the clones were born from bounty hunter Jango Fett.
Master Sifo-Dyas had what you might call Force Vision that forewarned him of what was to come after Count Dooku defected and joined Darth Sidious. What Sifo-Dyas failed to see in his visions was Darth Sidious’ plan to use the Republic army to destroy (Order 66) what it was commissioned to protect, which eventually led to the Clone Wars.
A short excerpt from StarWars.com gives a bit of insight on the clone’s armor and markings:
Clone troopers were fully encased in hard white armor, their identical faces concealed behind a t-shaped visor. In the first units, color-coded flashes on the armor denoted rank, with green troopers being sergeants, blue being lieutenants, red being captains, and yellow being commanders. The clones designated for command duty were specifically trained in that capacity. By the end of the war, color-designation came to signify not rank, but individual units, who often became more customized with mission specific gear and armor modifications. Units such as the Galactic Marines, the Shock Troopers, the Attack Battalion and the Star Corps had distinct armor variations that made them stand out.
Enough with the history lesson, here’s a gaggle of different types of clone armor from Episode III and the Clone Wars animated series.
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