Star Wars' "Black Stormtrooper" to Critics: "Get Used to it"

[Something Amyss]

I find it difficult to believe that race is being brought forward as an issue when one of the most powerful Jedi (if not THE most powerful before the purge since he was the one that beat Palpatine) was black.

Probably not the most powerful, though he was the best swordsman.

Heck I partially doubt that there are really any vocal critics and that disney is just trumping up the issue to get free media buzz.

I mean to most fans the stormtroopers were never important They were just Mooks .

And yet, you get people in this very thread making arguments about this.

This comes close to the most ridiculous thing I've seen all year. Only gamergate was sillier.

I don't know. I'm no fan of gamergate, but think sabergate may be worse.

 

[Winnosh]

So why the fuck do people assume most nerds have an issue with a black storm trooper because "b-but, muh racism"? I haven't seen anything like that so far, apart from a few comments about "so how did a clone become black all of a sudden". But let's be honest: it's all projection and straw manning going on here. I mean, most of them were fucking psyched by Mace Fucking Windu.

Furthermore: it's a very decent distraction technique to divert attention from the fact that THE TRAILER SUCKS AND JJ ABRAHAMS WILL DESTROY ANOTHER PART OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.

I wish you were right, but there's been hate flying all over the place directed soely at his race and flat out defamatory language used. Black Stormtroopers make sense and have always been something that canon allowed, even after Disney removed the EU there was still room for Black Stormtroopers and they've even shown some before.

So the people decrying him being one now are either uninformed about Starwars canon, or choosing to ignore it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The same reason why in that stupid Captain America movie there was a racially divergent squad during WW2 out of nowhere.

Hahaha what the fuck. Google "black american ww2 soldier".

He's making fun of this

Not this

 

[wswordsmen]

The same reason why in that stupid Captain America movie there was a racially divergent squad during WW2 out of nowhere.

Hahaha what the fuck. Google "black american ww2 soldier".

The problem wasn't that there was a black soldier. Blacks served in the US military, mostly in non-combat roles but many notable exceptions exist, with distinction. They were only in all black units though, the smallest mixed unit seems to be at the regiment level (having both black and white battalions). The army was integrated in 1948, so it is reasonable to go "WTF black guy" when there is a black guy in a predominately white squad.

On topic: It doesn't undermine the Nazi analogy (which was never very strong anyway) because humans = Aryans in it, and while they might all be clones now there defiantly are different humans used as templates, look in episode 6 when either Darth Vader or Emperor Palpitine arrive at the Death Star and look at the different heights.

 

[lordmardok]

Holding on to the original analogies is a waste of time. Lucas screwed up most of his work with episodes 1-3. Everything is currently up in the air now that Disney has it. Disney doesn't really make great movies, and with Abrams; I have no hope.

What are you talking about? Abrams makes great star wars movie? Didn't you see Into Darkness? That was the best Star Wars movie I've seen in a long time.

On the note of analogies, just my two cents; the analogies for nazi's and hitler have already been made. The original trilogy did that. It's been done. Clinging to it out of nostalgia and misplaced value isn't really good for story-telling. Good on Abrams for having the balls to make a change or two assuming he has other thematic elements in place to fill the void.

I'm not saying retelling the story of Nazi's and Hitler is bad by the by, I'm just say... as story-telling tropes go I don't think anyone here can realistically say that it has not been done absolutely to death...

 

[hermes]

The same reason why in that stupid Captain America movie there was a racially divergent squad during WW2 out of nowhere.

Hahaha what the fuck. Google "black american ww2 soldier".

The problem wasn't that there was a black soldier. Blacks served in the US military, mostly in non-combat roles but many notable exceptions exist, with distinction. They were only in all black units though, the smallest mixed unit seems to be at the regiment level (having both black and white battalions). The army was integrated in 1948, so it is reasonable to go "WTF black guy" when there is a black guy in a predominately white squad.

He is also a character from the Marvel Universe, called Gabe Jones (created in the 60s, by the way).
The idea was that those men were racially diverse because they were hand picked by Nick Fury himself (the original). If anything, Jones is a lot less out of place than Jim Morita, given the way Japanese Americans were treated during WW 2.
Anachronistic? Yes. Out of nowhere? Hell no...

OT: I am not surprised by the reaction of the Internet on the character. It is a galaxy far away, but some things never change.

 

[RavingSturm]

You can expect the action to move at a frenetic pace to cover up any plot holes and elbows to rib about how cool a similar scene was in the former trilogies. Also I expect stupid amounts of lens flare.

 

[Kardsymalone]

You know a black stormtroopers may buttfuck the canon and the message or whatever but it all honesty it already such a mess I'm not sure if the Star Wars universe has a butt to fuck in the first place.

 

[jabrwock]

If anything, Jones is a lot less out of place than Jim Morita, given the way Japanese Americans were treated during WW 2.
Anachronistic? Yes. Out of nowhere? Hell no...

Fury seemed to have a habit of recruiting members from nationalities of "the enemy". Jim Morita (Japanese-American), Dino Manelli (Italian-American), Hans Klaus (German-American). It fit with the idea of "the resistance". The idea that it was the governments that were evil, not the people.

 

[the December King]

I had just assumed that since the creation of the storm trooper armies, with the deaths of individual clones in combat, other citizens of the empire were cheaper and faster to conscript than making more clones, especially with the expansion of the forces to a broader reach of the empire.

I really don't get what the fuss is about.

I could see more of a problem with Heimdall being black, from the Thor movies, but only if you try to hold the Marvel Universe to the traditional racial/cultural impetus inherent in the Nordic Mythology. And I can't do that, in light of all of the other adaptations and tweaks and outright fabrications. And that's fine- it's kinda cool that Marvel diverged form the lore. Made it their own.

 

[wswordsmen]

He is also a character from the Marvel Universe, called Gabe Jones (created in the 60s, by the way).
The idea was that those men were racially diverse because they were hand picked by Nick Fury himself (the original). If anything, Jones is a lot less out of place than Jim Morita, given the way Japanese Americans were treated during WW 2.
Anachronistic? Yes. Out of nowhere? Hell no...

OT: I am not surprised by the reaction of the Internet on the character. It is a galaxy far away, but some things never change.

Never noticed him, so "WTF Asian guy". My statements stand just as much. Also you assume everyone knows the Marvel Universe well enough to know that. If you can't tell I didn't.

 

[ExileNZ]

What is this, 1964? Why is this even an issue?

For nit-pickers: the prequels (damn their eyes) are still canon here, so we can start by running with the established prequel canon.

And that means the clone troopers (the main body from with the storm trooper corps was formed) are cloned from someone who is in no way, shape or form white.

Seriously though, I'd have thought this question was answered 50 years ago. Jesus...

 

[hermes]

He is also a character from the Marvel Universe, called Gabe Jones (created in the 60s, by the way).
The idea was that those men were racially diverse because they were hand picked by Nick Fury himself (the original). If anything, Jones is a lot less out of place than Jim Morita, given the way Japanese Americans were treated during WW 2.
Anachronistic? Yes. Out of nowhere? Hell no...

OT: I am not surprised by the reaction of the Internet on the character. It is a galaxy far away, but some things never change.

Never noticed him, so "WTF Asian guy". My statements stand just as much. Also you assume everyone knows the Marvel Universe well enough to know that. If you can't tell I didn't.

I don't... I just think there is a justification for that coming from the comics. Many people don't know him, but it doesn't mean he was created for the movie.
Also, I think its curious that a black guy walking around a bunch of racially diverse characters in an international squad breaks your suspension of disbelief, but you are OK with a man entering combat with a bowler hat, or a Nazi having a red skull for a face and futuristic laser weapons in WW 2...

 

[Slyaap]

Seeing as though you don't see any storm troopers in the original trilogy without their helmets, who's not to say that they're not ALL black? I think the only thing you could say with any certainty is that they were likely to neither be female or alien.
I was actually delighted to see even the little bit of the trailer with him in it. Given that the last films featured acting as wooden as anything you could find at IKEA, it was promising to see someone showing so much emotion in a SW film....now I'm just very curious WHY he looked so frightened!

 

[HaWkE_N7]

They were originally clones. However after the Republic fell and the clones on Kamino rebelled there was a much larger focus on conscripts instead. If you've played the campaign on Battlefront II you'll know the clone troop you play as reference this. The clone programme didn't end completely though as they tried other people in place of the Jango Fett model. The Emperor kept the facility going for his own purposes as well.

 

[DRTJR]

Yeah a set of Quillions is sort of useful, I just wonder why they are going for a more Normand design when the lightsaber is more of a Japanese inspired weapon.
or when this is may be more effective

It could mean we could get some more interesting weapons, I love to see a lightsaber zweihander, it'd be so bloody stupid in it's design

Actually Mandilorian steel is resilient to Lightsabers so if the "Non-Saber" bits of the Cross guard are made of Mandilorian Steel then it would be a very smart move on the Lightsaber Zweihander, since that would be expensive yo

 

[happyninja42]

snip

Actually Mandilorian steel is resilient to Lightsabers so if the "Non-Saber" bits of the Cross guard are made of Mandilorian Steel then it would be a very smart move on the Lightsaber Zweihander, since that would be expensive yo

Except that I don't think we can assume Mandalorian steel actually exists, that's an EU thing, and thus likely didn't survive the purge. Unless they mention it at some point in The Clone Wars? *shrugs* My money is on the idea that JJ Abrams doesn't know how sword fighting works, and just went with "It looks cool!" justification for it.

 

[FFHAuthor]

Well, seeing as how we've seen absolutely zero Stormtroopers out of their armor in the movies up to this point, I don't see what the big deal is. Yes, we've seen CLONE troopers out of their armor, but never a Stormtrooper before now...which should make this a big deal on it's own.

But then the EU did explain this very nicely by pointing out and explaining in detail that Stormtroopers were highly indoctrinated and rigorously trained recruits from across the entire Empire, not an infinite clone of one person...the EU even had ALIEN Stormtroopers. The only Clone Stormtroopers occurred during the Thrawn Trilogy and it's assorted aftermath.

Guess Cardia was traded off for Kamino and that's that.

 

[Unknower]

I'm hoping it's not just another "good guy disguised as a Stormtrooper" -thing.

Anyway, I didn't like the narrator's voice at all.

 

[cleric of the order]

Actually Mandilorian steel is resilient to Lightsabers so if the "Non-Saber" bits of the Cross guard are made of Mandilorian Steel then it would be a very smart move on the Lightsaber Zweihander, since that would be expensive yo

I thought alloys of that nature were exhausted and the weapons made from them destroyed (the handy excuse as to why every imperial officer was not handed a vibro sword for jedi hunting)
That being said

Spoiler: man those sith

they never die

I was thinking in part of
and if this was true I've noticed some zewihanders have curved quillons that cut off the wrist of the wielder if they were to fit like that.
Also it'd require a feat of Cinematography to make a fight like that look epic.
Even then I'd be a riot if it turned out horribly.