Obi-Wan Kenobi’s Purge Troopers Are Even More Dangerous Than You Think

Obi-Wan Kenobi features the live-action debut of Imperial Purge Troopers, who are among the most dangerous soldiers in the Galactic Empire. When Obi-Wan journeys to the Inquisitorius headquarters on Nur in “Part IV” of the series, he encounters disturbing sights and unique Imperial units, some of which made their respective debuts in the Star Wars Rebels animated series, the Star Wars: Darth Vader comics, and the Jedi: Fallen Order video game. Purge Troopers were a natural addition to the episode, as they’re non-Force sensitive members of the Inquisitorius Program. The troopers also feature a connection to the Galactic Republic’s Clone Troopers, with the earliest Purge Troopers being the Republic’s final batches of Jango Fett clones.

Despite their reputation as bumbling minions with subpar marksmanship, Imperial Stormtroopers are one of the Galactic Empire’s elite units, serving as a specialized division within the Imperial Army (a change from the Legends continuity, which made the Stormtrooper Corps an entirely separate military branch from the Army). Still, in perhaps a means of combatting the meta-narrative of Stormtrooper incompetence, the post-2014 canon continuity includes several examples of elite Stormtrooper units. The most notorious is that of the Death Troopers, cybernetically-enhanced soldiers who famously fought in the Battle of Scarif. Given their history and function within the Empire, Purge Troopers may be even deadlier than Death Troopers, however.

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