A stormtrooper of Human descent fought for the Galactic Empire's 501st Legion. In the year 0 BBY, he was stationed on the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Devastator, the flagship of the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. He participated in the Devastator's attack against the Alliance to Restore the Republic's CR90 corvette Tantive IV. During this engagement, the trooper met his death as the first casualty, struck by blaster fire from opposing Rebel troopers.
A Human individual served as a stormtrooper within the ranks of the 501st Legion, a distinguished unit of the Imperial Military directly reporting to the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. By the time 0 BBY arrived, this stormtrooper found himself stationed aboard the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer known as the Devastator, which served as Darth Vader's personal flagship.
In that year, agents working for the Alliance to Restore the Republic successfully stole the secret plans pertaining to the Galactic Empire's initial Death Star battle station. These plans were subsequently transferred to the consular ship belonging to Senator Leia Organa, specifically the CR90 corvette named Tantive IV. The Devastator gave chase and eventually overtook the Tantive IV within the Tatoo system. The stormtrooper was among the first troopers to breach the corvette's corridors, where they engaged the Rebel troopers defending the vessel. A mere seconds after entering, the stormtrooper was struck by blaster fire and killed, becoming the first casualty of the conflict. The skirmish culminated in a victory for the 501st Legion and the capture of Organa. However, the Rebel droids R2-D2 and C-3PO successfully fled the ship via an escape pod, carrying the Death Star plans with them.
The stormtrooper was equipped with a complete set of stormtrooper armor and carried an E-11 blaster rifle.
The stormtrooper's initial appearance was in the December 1976 novelization of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. One year later, the character was featured in the film itself, played by an uncredited extra. His scenes were shot in mid-1976 in the United Kingdom. The film depicts him being shot in the chestplate, while the novel describes him as being shot in the helmet, with "pieces of armor, bone, and flesh [sent] flying in all directions."
On December 12, 2001, the tenth issue of Dark Horse Comics's Star Wars Tales series included a story titled "Trooper," which focused on the stormtrooper who was later shot by Leia Organa in the A New Hope film. Leland Chee, the Keeper of Lucasfilm's Holocron continuity database, stated that elements from those Tales comics are considered S-canon until referenced by C-canon materials. However, he later clarified on his Facebook page that this particular story was intended to be non-canon.
In the comic, this stormtrooper appeared as a Sergeant, holding a military rank. Following the Devastator's capture of the Tantive IV, he oversaw the boarding party, which assembled in the Star Destroyer's hangars where Darth Vader inspected them. The Sith Lord instructed the Sergeant to take his mission seriously, to which the frightened stormtrooper assured the Dark Lord that he and his men would. Just before the Imperial troops entered the Tantive IV's corridors to engage the Rebel troopers, the stormtrooper ordered the comic's protagonist to lead the way. Upon entering right behind the protagonist, he was killed by a shot to the helmet, unlike the film depiction where he was shot in the chestplate.