A Human served as a stormtrooper in the 501st Legion, an elite Imperial Military unit under the direct command of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader. By 0 BBY, the stormtrooper was stationed on the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator, Darth Vader's flagship.
That year, agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic managed to steal the secret plans for the Galactic Empire's first Death Star battlestation, and transferred them to Senator Leia Organa's consular ship, the CR90 corvette Tantive IV. The Devastator pursued and overtook the Tantive IV in the Tatoo system, and the stormtrooper was among the first wave of troopers who entered the corridors of the corvette and engaged the Rebel troopers defending the vessel in battle. Seconds after entering the corridor, the stormtrooper was shot and killed by blaster fire—the first casualty of the battle. The skirmish ended in a victory for the 501st Legion and with Organa's capture. However, the Rebel droids R2-D2 and C-3PO managed to evacuate the ship in an escape pod, carrying the Death Star plans with them.
The stormtrooper wore full stormtrooper armor, and wielded an E-11 blaster rifle.
The stormtrooper first appeared in the December 1976 novelization of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. One year later, the trooper appeared in the film itself, portrayed by an uncredited extra, whose scenes were filmed in mid-1976 in the United Kingdom. While in the film, he is depicted as being shot in the chestplate, the novel described him as shot in the helmet and having "pieces of armor, bone, and flesh [sent] flying in all directions."
The stormtrooper orders another stormtrooper to be the first to board the Tantive IV.
On December 12, 2001, the tenth issue of Dark Horse Comics's Star Wars Tales series presented a story entitled "Trooper," which featured the stormtrooper who was shot by Leia Organa later in the A New Hope film as its protagonist. Leland Chee, the Keeper of Lucasfilm Ltd.'s Holocron continuity database, stated that elements of those Tales comics are considered S-canon until referenced by C-canon materials. However, he would later confirm on his Facebook page that this particular story was intended to be non-canon.
This stormtrooper made an appearance in the comic, in which he was given the military rank of Sergeant. Following the Tantive IVs capture by the Devastator, he was in charge of the boarding party, and they were assembled in the Star Destroyer's hangars, where Darth Vader inspected them. The Sith Lord told the Sergeant to take his mission seriously, to which the frightened stormtrooper assured the Dark Lord that he and his men were. Right before the Imperial troops entered the Tantive IVs corridors to engage the Rebel troopers, the stormtrooper ordered the comic's protagonist to be the first one to enter, and, upon entering right behind the protagonist, was killed by a shot to the helmet, as opposed to the chestplate as seen in the film.
- The Art of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic