We rank the 50 most memorable Star Wars deaths ever
By Ryan Wrenn
32. Clone Troopers
When Did They Die: Episodes II and III
What Were They: A genetically manufactured army of supersoldiers to be used in the Galactic Republic’s fight against the Separatists in the aptly titled Clone Wars.
How Did They Die: Usually in more tame and less graphic ways than the Droid Army, but no less frequently
Again, like the Droid Army they fought, the Clone Army were meaningful only in a collective sense. They played their part in the staged fight between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists, serving as a limitlessly replenishable force for their masters.
On a narrower level, they share with the Droid Army the primary quality of being a soulless vessel that can be killed or otherwise disregarded with virtual impunity.
We hear a lot in the early parts of Episode II that the Republic would have to create an army to deal with the increasing threat of the Separatists, suggesting that there was not a standing army to call upon for situations like that. Without a firm military tradition in the majority of the galaxy under Republic or Separatist control, it makes sense that both sides would decide to create rather than recruit a fighting force to deal with the other.
If there’s some way the Clone Army is different than their Droid Army counterparts, it’s mostly centered around the fact that clones are still, in theory, actual living beings. While they are killed at about the same rate as the droids, there’s a little tinge of empathy associated with each and every death.
Next: 31. Tarkin