Purge Troopers, also known as Purge Stormtroopers, were a specialized variant of stormtroopers utilized by the mysterious Inquisitorius of the Galactic Empire as special forces and expendable death squads. These soldiers were assigned to hunt the survivors of the Jedi Order across the galaxy, being activated after the Clone Wars. The first Purge Troopers were actually the last generation of clone troopers produced from the bounty hunter Jango Fett's template. As with their precursors in the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic, those early Purge Troopers were programmed to obey Order 66, making them hostile against all Jedi. Among those Purge Troopers, some clones were assigned security roles under the designation of Clone guards. They were resistant to most Jedi mind tricks; only when a Jedi had the power of a Master, the Purge Troopers would be affected by it. They were eventually supplemented and replaced by non-clone human recruits drawn from the Stormtrooper Corps. They were few in number and kept out of the public eye, with most galactic citizens unaware they even existed.
In 18 BBY, Purge Troopers accompanied Darth Vader as well as the Sixth Brother, Ninth Sister, and Tenth Brother to the planet Mon Cala, where they confronted Padawan Ferren Barr and his disciples. Purge Troopers were also involved in the hunt for Cal Kestis, another Padawan of the fallen Jedi Order, during which they primarily served under the Second Sister. Purge Troopers were also assigned to protect key locations of the Empire like Kashyyyk, which housed a prison that was later attacked by Kestis and his crew with the unexpected help of Saw Gerrera, whose Partisans liberated Wookiees from a resistance movement led by Chieftain Tarfful. In addition, Purge Troopers were a component of the garrison stationed at Fortress Inquisitorius, harrying trespassers such as Kestis and, later, the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and the young Princess Leia Organa.
Purge Troopers served as an expendable death squad for the Inquisitors of the Galactic Empire.
Purge Troopers were specialized Imperial soldiers placed at the disposal of the Imperial Inquisition, often accompanying them in pursuit of Jedi Knights, although some engaged their enemies without nearby support. The early detachments of Purge Troopers were made up of a batch of clones from the last production line and were therefore young human males. They served as a death squad for the Inquisitorius and had a red tattoo on the right side of their faces as well as no hair. Among clone Purge Troopers, some were assigned secruity detail roles under the designation of Clone guards. Later Purge Trooper deployments were instead made up of stormtroopers—naturally-born citizens who were recruited or conscripted into the Imperial Military to replace their cloned predecessors—who displayed great loyalty and talent. Purge Troopers borrowed tactics and techniques from the clone troopers that accompanied Jedi Generals during the Clone Wars. Serving in the purge trooper division, they were an elite group that were small in number and avoided public attention. As such, few citizens knew of their existence.
Purge Troopers used specialized armor and weapons as part of their role in the Great Jedi Purge.
Initially, clone Purge Troopers wore Phase II clone trooper armor, modified with a green visor and painted in black, similar to the Empire's Elite Squad Troopers. Additionally, a darker black stripe was added to the helmet and limb armor. Later deployments of Purge Troopers were subsequently outfitted with Phase I Purge Trooper armor, which was similar to the armor worn by clone paratroopers. The black and red lightsaber-resistant armor included several silver and/or red designs, and a black helmet. Purge Trooper Commanders wore red pauldrons, while other troopers either wore black pauldrons, gray ones or did not wear one depending on their rank or specialty. The pauldron was worn over the right shoulder. Most troopers also wore kamas with commanders having red sections on them, but some members did not wear one. Furthermore, some members had bandoliers wrapped around the left shoulder. Every member had the Imperial crest on both shoulder pads, either in red, usually for commanders, or in white for other ranks. By 9 BBY, Purge Troopers assigned to Fortress Inquisitorius were utilizing updated armor. While retaining the black color, pauldron, red visor, and kama of the previous armor model, this new armor was stylized in a manner more resembling a standard stormtrooper. Despite the introduction of this new armor, numerous deployments of Purge Troopers retained use of the original Phase I armor model.
For ranged weaponry, they were usually equipped with DC-15A blaster rifles, DC-15LEs, DC-15A blaster carbines, E-11 medium blaster rifles, or E-11D blaster carbines. In close quarters combat, certain Purge Troopers utilized electrostaffs, electrobatons or electrohammers. To carry out their duties, Purge Troopers made use of Zeta-class shuttles, TIE/rp Reaper attack landers and LAAT/le patrol gunships.
Early Purge Troopers escort Barriss Offee within Fortress Inquisitorius
As part of the final production line of clones, the Purge Troopers were activated during the Great Jedi Purge and were used as expendable death squads for the Galactic Empire's Imperial Inquisition, a group of Jedi hunters governed by the Emperor's Fist Darth Vader and obedient to his and to Emperor Darth Sidious's whims. In 19 BBY, shortly after Operation: Knightfall, Galactic Republic prisoner and fallen Jedi Barriss Offee was recruited into the Inquisitorius and taken to Fortress Inquisitorius on Nur, which was undergoing major construction. At least twelve Purge Troopers were stationed at the under-construction fortress, providing security to the Inquisitors and acting as guards.
The first Purge Troopers of the Galactic Empire were of the last batch of Jango Fett's clones.
In 18 BBY, the Purge Troopers accompanied the Lord Vader and the Inquisitors Sixth Brother, Ninth Sister and Tenth Brother to the planet Mon Cala in order to hunt down a possible Jedi who was allegedly advising King of Mon Cala Lee-Char. Using the Zeta-class shuttle Infernum, the squad touched down on a landing platform in Dac City. After the death of Ambassador Telvar, the Empire dispatched landing craft to Dac City under the command of Major Rantu, as well as landing craft throughout the world. Eventually, the Battle of Dac City commenced and the squad aided the Inquisitors in securing the platform, and then escorted the Dark Lord of the Sith and his underlings to Dac City palace to capture King Lee-Char in order to uncover the location of the Jedi.
Two enormous creatures jumped from beneath the ocean's surface and crashed back down, unleashing a tidal wave that destroyed the city. At the palace, the Dark Lord and his Inquisitors created a Force barrier in an attempt to stop the wave but were ultimately unsuccessful. Vader was separated from the others and the squad lost two members. The Inquisitors were able to regroup and requisition an Imperial submarine and rescued their master from the Great Ungeness Trench as he defeated a large squid-like creature.
Darth Vader led the Inquisitors and Purge Troopers through Bel City.
After Lord Vader was rescued, the submarine headed to the cave where the Jedi, Padawan Ferren Barr, and his disciples were located, and engaged each other just as Barr and his group were escaping. In the fight, which continued to Bel City, several members of Barr's following were killed and Vader left the group to find the Lee-Char, while the Purge Trooper squad and the Inquisitors continued. Barr, Verla, and Daren became trapped in an enclosed chamber. The Sixth Brother killed Daren with his lightsaber and the Tenth Brother told Barr and Verla that there was no escape. Although Verla was ready to face the Inquisitors and the clones, Barr revealed he had another idea.
Barr informed the Inquisitors he knew who they were and mentioned their former names, Prosset Dibs, Bil Valen, and Masana Tide, and explained they were once Jedi. After the Ninth Sister retorted that they knew him as well and that their original names were dead, Barr countered, saying that the past didn't die and that he studied how Sidious had manipulated the galaxy, including the role clones had, and unmasked the clones, revealing their faces. Barr continued, as he then knew he was correct when he thought that the Purge Troopers present were from the last production line on Kamino and were activated after the Jedi Purge. When the Sixth Brother stated that the past did not matter, Barr retorted, saying that once someone was a Jedi, they were always a Jedi, and used the Force to command the squad to execute Order 66.
The young clones, in accordance with their programming opened fire on the three Inquisitors despite their protests. The Tenth Brother, taken by surprise, was almost immediately gunned down, while Barr and Verla escaped. Ninth Sister and Sixth Brother used the Force to push the Purge Troopers out of the way so they could pursue Barr. However, Sixth Brother sliced off Ninth sister's leg to buy him time for his escape. He wished her good luck, and slyly remarked that she was always his favorite. Enraged, Ninth Sister told him he was dead and his actions wouldn't stop her. As the battle came to an end, only one Purge Trooper survived the chaos and sat amongst his fallen brothers.
The Purge Troopers prepared to execute a group of civilians on Bracca, forcing Cal Kestis to reveal himself as a Jedi.
Five years into the Jedi Purge, Purge Troopers accompanied the Second Sister and Ninth Sister to Bracca in search of a Jedi, who turned out to be a Padawan named Cal Kestis. Many Purge Troopers surrounded a group of local workers to find the Force-wielder they were looking for. The Second Sister demanded that the Jedi surrender or they would all be executed. The Purge Troopers immediately positioned themselves awaiting the order to fire. However, this was not necessary, as after Kestis' friend Prauf, who was expressing his frustration with the Empire, was murdered by the Second Sister, Kestis revealed himself as the Jedi attacking the Inquisitor with his lightsaber.
The Second Sister blocked the attack with her lightsaber and pushed the Jedi with the Force towards the Ninth Sister, who suspended him in the air over a cliff. Kestis activated his lightsaber and freed himself, which caused him to fall and land on a passing train. Kestis eventually escaped and left Bracca. At least two of Purge Troopers were based at an Imperial Refinery on Kashyyyk when the former Padawan infiltrated the compound along with Saw Gerrera and the Partisans. One of them fought off two rebels before confronting Kestis, but was killed in the fight. Another was later ambushed by the Jedi while consulting a scout trooper and was also defeated. Purge Troopers were part of the garrison stationed at the Fortress Inquisitorius on Nur when Kestis and Cere Junda, an ex-Jedi, intruded into the stronghold to retrieve a holocron that contained a list of Force-sensitive youth across the galaxy.
The Third Sister and Purge Troopers tried to prevent Obi-Wan Kenobi's escape from Fortress Inquisitorius.
By the year 9 BBY, Purge Troopers were tasked with providing security for the Fortress Inquisitorius on Nur. During the interrogation of Princess Leia Organa conducted by the Third Sister, Jedi in-hiding Obi-Wan Kenobi infiltrated the stronghold to rescue the girl, only to be spotted by an Imperial seeker droid. The droid promptly set off the alarm system, alerting the fortress' garrison. As Kenobi fled the base, one Purge Trooper lead a contingent of stormtroopers in pursuit. They would find themselves in an underwater hallway where the Jedi Master shattered the glass, drowning the troopers. More Purge Troopers accompanied the Third Sister when Kenobi, Organa, and Tala Durith made their way to the fortress' shipyard. The elite soldiers found themselves under fire from two of the Jedi Master's allies piloting T-47 airspeeders, giving the trio time to escape.
Not long after the infiltration of Fortress Inquisitorius, at least two Purge Troopers accompanied the Third Sister and a platoon of stormtroopers during the attack on Jabiim. Prior to the attack, one of the troopers informed the Inquisitor that Kenobi wished to negotiate. When the door to the Hidden Path's hideout was breached, one of the two Purge Troopers stormed into the base, but was quickly cut down in a frenzy of lightsaber slashes by the Jedi Master. Despite their efforts, Kenobi was able to flee from their grasp.
The Hasbro Black Series action figure
Purge Troopers debuted, although unnamed, in the 2018 canon comic, Darth Vader (2017) 13, written by Charles Soule and penciled by Giuseppe Camuncoli and were referred to as "Inquisitor Troopers" at that time. They were later officially identified as Purge Troopers at Celebration Chicago on April 13, 2019 during the panel for the video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order that was released on November 15, 2019. In the Obi-Wan Kenobi episode "Part IV," the live-action Purge Troopers were portrayed by Justin Dobies and Phong Giang.
- Star Wars: Visions — "The Bandits of Golak"