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The shadow stormtroopers, sometimes called Blackhole stormtroopers because of their use under Agent Blackhole, were specialized Imperial stormtroopers and were the successors of the Republic's clone shadow troopers.[source?]
Equipment
Their most distinguishing feature was their all-black armor—a stark contrast to the typical white armor common to other stormtroopers that the armor otherwise strongly resembles. This unique black armor provided some stealth benefits, which resulted from the stygian-triprismatic polymer material used in the production of the armor. Lord Blackhole also incorporated meltmassif into his shadow stormtroopers for use when he would disable them.[1] Shadow stormtroopers also carried cloaking devices that rendered them invisible, or at the very least enter a state close to such, for a short period of time by warping the light around them.[2]
History
- "Answer me this: Why is the armor of my stormtroopers black?
I'll give you a hint: It's not just paint." - ―Lord Shadowspawn
The shadow stormtroopers acted as the personal stormtrooper unit of the head of Imperial Intelligence, Agent Blackhole, which earned them their moniker of "blackhole stormtroopers." They frequently underwent special training in infiltration and ambush tactics, and were often assigned to extremely classified missions.[2]
Around 2 BBY, shadow stormtroopers fought against the secret apprentice of Darth Vader on his missions, and were frequently seen under the command of Emperor's Shadow Guards. These troopers were all slain by the apprentice.
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa were sent on a mission to Vorzyd V, the "Gambler's World," where they were to disrupt the Imperial gambling operations with the support of the president of that world. However, the operation was disrupted by Blackhole himself, and platoons of his stormtroopers were seen fighting the local resistance and the Alliance troops.
Lord Shadowspawn led legions of shadow stormtroopers against New Republic forces at the Battle of Mindor in 5 ABY. These shadow troopers armor was made of meltmassif which allowed Shadowspawn to control them completely at will.
In 11 ABY, a squad of shadow stormtroopers formed a bodyguard for aspiring Dark Lord Carnor Jax during his attempt to take control of the Empire; it is believed that these were soldiers from Blackhole's old elite unit, but it is not known how they had come into service with Jax, or whether their attachment to him implies any contact with Blackhole. It is possible they were some of the forces placed under his command by the Imperial Ruling Council following the Battle of Endor. It is notable that Jax himself had formerly served in Blackhole's old unit. Although crack troops, they were all slain by Kir Kanos on Yinchorr.
The only noticeable difference between Jax's shadow stormtroopers and the original group were black viewplates on the helmet. The first Blackhole stormtroopers had white viewplates.
Behind the scenes
Hasbro produced a shadow stormtrooper action figure for the 2006 San Diego Comic Convention, although it was only sold at StarWarsShop.com.[3] The exclusive figure is referred to as a "shadow stormtrooper" on the packaging; however, the Databank entry has the name as "Blackhole stormtrooper". Hasbro later re-released the action figure as part of the Saga Legends line.[4]
The LEGO Group Released two Shadow Stormtrooper Minifigures in 2007 in the "TIE Crawler" set. Another Shadow Stormtrooper also came with the 2008 "Imperial Dropship", along with three standard Stormtroopers. It also was released by the Lego Group as a limited edition maquette in partnership with Gentle Giant. A battle pack has been released in 2015 including 2 dark-silver troopers, which may be shadow troopers. The box has no obvious expanded universe reference, suggesting an appearance in The Force Awakens. According to DK's Lego Star Wars mini-figure book the Imperial Dropship set incorrectly labled the Shadow Stormtrooper as an Imperial Pilot.
In the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies, Shadow stormtroopers were called "black hole stormtroopers" (note the space between the words black and hole). In appearance, they were little more than standard stormtroopers with black armor. They would often be given randomly-generated names, such as TK-807.
Appearances
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Non-canonical appearance)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- Star Wars: Tiny Death Star (Non-canonical appearance)
- Gambler's World (First appearance)
- Template:SWG
- Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
- Crimson Empire
Sources
- Handbook 2: Crimson Empire
- "The Emperor's Pawns" — Star Wars Gamer 5
- Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience: Prima Official Game Guide
- The New Essential Chronology (Picture only)
- Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties (Indirect mention only)
- Legacy of the Force (Star Wars Miniatures)
- Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Galactic Hunters (Card: Shadow Stormtrooper) (backup link)
- Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — The Shadow Syndicate (Card: Black Hole Stormtrooper) (backup link)
- Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — The Nightsister's Revenge (Card: Shadow Operations) (backup link (https://swg.fandom.com/wiki/Special:Redirect/file/Shadow_Operations_(card).JPG) not verified!)
- Rebellion Era Campaign Guide (as "Blackhole Stormtrooper")
- "Blaster" — Star Wars Insider 111
- Star Wars: The Saga Collection (Pack: Shadow Stormtrooper (StarWarsShop.com Exclusive) (backup link (TSCshadowstormtrooper.asp) not verified!)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars Art: Visions (Picture only)
- Shadow stormtroopers in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- "Authors of the Expanded Universe: Russ Manning" — Star Wars Insider 140
- "Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 3 {{{3}}}" — {{{4}}} — [[{{{5}}}|{{{5}}}'s]] StarWars.com Blog (Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 3 backup link (2014/01/07/the-imperial-warlords-despoilers-of-an-empire-part-3//The Imperial Warlords: Despoilers of an Empire, Part 3) not verified!) (Mentioned only)
- "Star Wars Spy Game: SPIN Declassified {{{3}}}" — {{{4}}} — [[{{{5}}}|{{{5}}}'s]] StarWars.com Blog (Star Wars Spy Game: SPIN Declassified backup link (2013/12/12/the-star-wars-spy-game-spin-declassified//The Star Wars Spy Game: SPIN Declassified) not verified!) (as "black-armored Stormtroopers")
- Premium Format Figures (Pack: Blackhole Stormtrooper) (backup link (SSC-BHStormtrooper.asp) not verified!)
- Animated (Pack: Blackhole Stormtrooper Limited Edition Maquette) (backup link (story/front/Blackhole_Stormtrooper_Animated_Maquette_Gallery_108220.asp) not verified!)
- Bust-Ups (Pack: Stormtrooper (Blackhole Variant) (StarWarsShop.com Exclusive)) (backup link (ggBUbhstorm.asp) not verified!)
- Statues (Pack: Blackhole Stormtrooper Limited Edition Statue (SDCC Exclusive)) (backup link (GGSDCC09blackhole.asp) not verified!)
- Star Wars: The Legacy Collection (Pack: Star Wars: Comic Packs - Stormtrooper/Blackhole Hologram) (backup link (TLCcomicpacksLC13.asp) not verified!)
- Saga Legends (Pack: Shadow Stormtrooper (Fan's Choice)) (backup link (TACSLshadowstorm.asp) not verified!)
- "Imperial Icons" — Star Wars Insider 148
- "15 Things You Never Knew About LEGO Star Wars!" — Star Wars Insider 150
- Star Wars SDCC 2014 Exclusives Checklist on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
Notes and references
- ↑ Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
- ↑ Star Wars: The Saga Collection (Pack: Shadow Stormtrooper (StarWarsShop.com Exclusive) (backup link (TSCshadowstormtrooper.asp) not verified!)
- ↑ Saga Legends (Pack: Shadow Stormtrooper (Fan's Choice)) (backup link (TACSLshadowstorm.asp) not verified!)
External links
- Black Hole Stormtrooper on the SWG Wiki