The Star Wars universe has been expanding for decades through different media, making the franchise fertile ground for theory crafting. Since the franchise’s inception, the Stormtroopers have been a recurring element, serving as the primary soldiers of the Empire’s army and a symbol of their despotic rule.
Despite having a menacing role in the story, the Stroomtroopers’ actions have often contrasted their status. They are infamous for their alleged poor aim, which has seen several protagonists escape unharmed. However, one fan theory attempted to explain away their incompetence, at least in the earlier installments, and here is why Stormtroopers might not be bad shooters after all.
Star Wars Fan Theory Attempts to Explain Why The Stormtroopers Have a Bad Aim
Stormtroopers were first introduced in 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, directed by George Lucas. They are the primary military arm of the Empire. In the film, the Stormtroopers are tasked to deal with the protagonists, who manage to escape from them unharmed.
Similar incidents have occurred in the franchise’s other installments, leading to some fans claiming that the Stormtroopers have poor aim. A fan theory posted on Reddit attempted to explain the alleged incompetence of the Stormtroopers when dealing with their enemies.
The user pointed out that in Star Wars: A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin had planted a tracker on Luke and his team so they would lead the Empire to the Rebel base. Therefore, the theory suggests that the Stormtroopers were instructed to intentionally miss their shots at the Rebels so they could be tracked to the Rebel base.
Furthermore, another Reddit post also highlighted the Stormtroopers’ actions in the original trilogy. When the Rebels are escaping Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back, the Stormtroopers barely get in four shots before the corridor door closes.
In Revenge of the Sith, the Stormtroopers struck Leia from a distance, injuring her arm. Therefore, evidence suggests that the Stormtroopers weren’t actually incompetent at least during the original trilogy. However, the theory does not explain other instances of the Stormtroopers having a bad aim in other installments.
Star Wars Rebels Also Aimed to Resolve the Confusion About Stormtroopers’ Bad Aim
The evidence provided by fans on Reddit to justify the incompetence of the Stormtroopers only covers the original trilogy. Furthermore, the evidence is circumstantial at best and does not completely settle the debate about the Stormtroopers having a bad aim.
Therefore, it is likely that Dave Filoni attempted to provide a concrete answer to this debate through his animated series Star Wars Rebels. In the ninth episode of the series’ second season, Jedi Kanan Jarrus teams up with clone trooper Captain Rex. The duo disguises themselves as Stormtroopers to rescue their Rebel allies.
During the mission, Rex misses his shots before removing his helmet, improving his accuracy remarkably. Therefore, the animated series attempts to chalk down the Stormtroopers’ bad aim to the faulty design of their helmets, which prevents them from shooting their targets. However, this explanation only makes the Empire look more incompetent overall.
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