Star Wars 101: the difference between Jango Fett and a Clone Trooper

Posted by Andrew M.

This post is for my lovely wife, who, although a proud and successful mother to two beautiful girls, feels somewhat out of place with the prospect of raising a little boy. Admittedly, her knowledge of Star Wars is scant. So, to bolster her confidence, here is phase 1 of her first Star Wars lessons.

WARNING: the following content is of a nerdy nature. Take two aspirin before proceeding, as the information herein and the images will probably baffle the non-nerdy. I didn’t ever say that it all made sense, or even that it could really happen.

DISCLAIMER: although I will readily claim that I am a nerd and a geek, as I like Star Wars, I must admit here (lest anyone post a comment mocking me) that this post is meant to be humorous. Sometimes sarcasm is hard to see in written form…. Also, this post will be very long, so drink some caffeine beforehand.

Let me quote from one of my favorite websites. And by favorite, I mean I just found it today: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page, also known as “Wookiepedia”.

"I'm just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe."

―Jango Fett^[src]

Jango Fett was a renowned human bounty hunter, assassin, mercenary, and the "father" of Boba Fett, a genetic clone of his, whom he raised as a son. A Human from Concord Dawn, Fett was adopted by Mandalorian warriors following the murder of his parents and the disappearance of his older sister Arla in 58 BBY. Years later, he would go on to lead them through much of the Mandalorian Civil War. After being imprisoned by Jedi, Jango was responsible for destroying the Death Watch, a Mandalorian group who killed Jango's mentor, Jaster Mereel.

Following the conclusion of that conflict, Jango left the Mandalorians and became a bounty hunter, quickly establishing a reputation as being one of the best inthe galaxy. Later on, Fett agreed to serve as the genetic template for the clones that would form the bulk of the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars. When Master Obi-Wan Kenobi located Jango and Boba on Kamino, Jango fled to join Count Dooku. Though struck down by Mace Windu in combat, Jango’s legacy would live on through his son Boba, as well as his cloned brethren, who would have a profound impact on galactic history.”

So, Jango Fett was the genetic template for the clone troopers and father-figure to his own clone, Bobba. I mean, can we get original here, or what?!?

Here are a few pictures of Jango’s outfit so you can get an idea of the subtle differences between him and the clone troopers:

Here is a picture of Jango and his son Bobba Fett, who later on hunted down Han Solo and took him (frozen in carbonite, mind you) back to Jabba the Hutt:

Autographed copy, no less. Nothing but the best for my wife!

Here is what Jango and Bobba would have looked like had Mace Windu not cut-off Jango’s head before Bobba grew up…or, had both Jango and Bobba been a couple of middle aged nerds, still living in their mother’s basement, that saved up from their paper route all year just so that they could attend a Star Wars convention:

That’s Bobba on the left and Jango on the right.

Here’s what Jango would look like if he were a Lego character. You need to memorize these things, Brooke, if you are ever to be a successful mother for a young boy:

Focus, Brooke, focus.

Here is what Jango’s helmet looks like, close-up. Pay attention to the detail, because the clone troopers’ helmets look similar, but there are differences:

Now, here is a picture of Jango along with the clone troopers:

Now you can see the similarities and the differences, eh?

Okay, the clone troopers.

Back to Wookiepedia:

“"A weapon they are. Obey orders without question for good or ill. For now they fight for us. Who is to say what the future holds?"

―Yoda^[src]

Clone troopers were an army of identical, genetically-modified clones, created to serve in the Grand Army of the Republic during the conflict that came to be known as the Clone Wars.^[1] Cloned and raised in the cities of Kamino, the clone troopers, trained and drilled since birth, and came to be regarded as one of the most efficient military forces ever to have existed in galactic history. This was not only due to their training, but also to their unwavering loyalty to the Galactic Republic and its leader, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.”

Here are a few pictures of clone troopers. Some had different colors on their helmets, which I think corresponded to rank or specialty. The ones with blue stripes, I believe, were members of the 501st Legion, a unit commissioned later by Darth Vader himself that came to be known as “Vader’s Fist”:

Now, sometimes, clone troopers were assigned very mundane activities, such as guarding a hotel lobby:

Sometimes, rare genetic defects would arise and some clone troopers would not quite grow to full size:

They were deemed “less-advantageous”, though, as another trooper would have to hold their hand in scary situations.

After the fall of the Galactic Republic, when Chancellor Palpatine became Emperor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, the clone troopers got a “new look” as well as a new name. Summarizing from Wookiepedia, the stormtroopers of this period were about 1/3 of the clones from Jango Fett. Essentially, the Emperor started to let these die out, replacing some of them with 3 different genetic templates. Eventually, the stormtroopers were used less and less, replaced by human recruits. The stormtroopers, without the guidance of Jedi generals, were left to their own and quickly gained a reputation for being brutal and ruthless. More of that in a minute.

Here is a few of the variants of stormtroopers:

This was the infantry type.

These were the scouts/snipers.

This is the front-line trooper (infantry) with a snow-camouflage twist.

This was the pilot class.

Okay, back to the part about the stormtroopers being left on their own. Well, isn’t this just a lesson about the importance of families? I mean, give the boys some direction for crying out loud!

Is it any wonder that they started getting a little, well…flippin’ weird?

Needless to say, some got in quite a bit of trouble:

But, cut them some slack. At the end of the day, these guys take their specialized battle armor off one leg at a time, just like you and me:

I clearly need to watch the Star Wars series again, because I do NOT remember this:

You got to admit, some of these stormtroopers were pretty inspirational:

Speaking of inspirational, here are a few Star Wars-related motivational posters that I found whilst conducting my research:

That last one will make sense to you, Brooke, someday. Perhaps when you complete these lessons.

Aww, what the heck, here is a little hint for that last one:

Well, there is one last part of this lesson, Brooke, before we are concluded. Here is a view of what we will cover in the more advanced lessons:

Now, the last part of this lesson falls into the category of “unexplainable and slightly disturbing”. Of course I am making reference to the social phenomenon known as the Star Wars Convention. This is a forum where a bunch of geeks dress up and fantasize about what it would be like to be in the Star Wars universe. I like Star Wars, but this is beyond me, Brooke. I will make no attempts to explain any of this, Brooke. These pictures, I believe will speak for themselves.

The only thing I will say is this: WOW!