The Mandalorian: Dark Troopers Explained

We finally know why Moff Gideon is desperately seeking The Child (AKA Baby Yoda). Chapter 12 (“The Siege”) of The Mandalorian reveled a secret the Imperials were hiding deep in a military base on Nevarro.

The episode starts with Mando realizing he can’t make it to the forest planet of Corvus to meet with “Jedi” Ahsoka Tano in the city of Calodan with his ship falling apart from damages accumulated from Chapters 10 and 11. Din Djarin decides it’s best to get the Razor Crest repaired first, so he and The Child head back to his friends Greef Carga and Cara Dune on Nevarro.

In exchange for repairing the Mandalorian’s ship, Carga and Dune persuade Djarin to help them rid Nevarro of Imperials once and for all. There is an Imperial base on the other side of the planet that is still in operation. The threesome head to the fortress with the Mythrol (from Chapter 1) as their squeamish driver.

The team enters the base and set it for self-destruction, but on their way out they discover the true purpose of the base – biological research on humans. They enter a lab area where scientists start shooting up their own equipment in an attempt to destroy evidence of their work. The Imperial scientists are quickly dispatched and then Mando and crew take a look around. In large glass tubes they find what looks like deformed humans.

A holo recording reveals that Moff Gideon’s scientists were using blood from The Child as the key ingredient in their biological research. The team escapes the base with Imperial speeder bikes and TIE fighters giving chase. The team wins the day, but the episode ends with Moff Gideon on an Imperial Arquitens-class command cruiser standing in a room full of black armored beings in racks.

We see scientists working in the background tending to the armored beings, which appear to be immobilized or in stasis. Gideon doesn’t explain what they are but the inference is they are some form of enhanced trooper — the end result of the biological research on Nevarro. The consensus of many fans is these are some type of Dark Troopers.

WHAT ARE DARK TROOPERS?

Dark Troopers first appeared in the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces, a PC-based game in 1995. The Dark Troopers were actually droids the Empire created to be efficient killing machines. The goal of the game was for the player to destroy the Dark Trooper Project.

Dark Troopers continued to make appearances in subsequent video games including the original Star Wars: Battlefront. In the days prior to Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, there was less of an effort to control continuity. Star Wars novels, video games, and comics often wandered in their own direction. In the first Star War: Battlefront game, Dark Troopers were playable human stormtroopers, for example.

This was later retconned in The Force Unleashed Campaign Guide for the video game of the same name. Originally, there were three phases of Dark Troopers — all droids. The campaign guide explained the Dark Troopers were actually cyborgs composed of Clone Troopers with major cybernetic overhauls. The guide titled this type of Dark Trooper as a Phase Zero.

Later in the Prima’s Official Strategy Guide for Star Wars: Rebellion, Dark Troopers are described as Force wielders wearing advanced exosuits. This description sounds closer to what may be coming in future episodes of The Mandalorian. These Dark Troopers were made with Baby Yoda’s blood, which has a high “M-count” as described by Imperial scientist Dr. Pershing in the holo recording in Chapter 12.

WHAT IS MOFF GIDEON PLANNING?

After the death of Emperor Palpatine on the second Death Star and ensuing fall of the Empire, the Imperial forces splintered into fiefdoms led by Moffs or other ranking officers depending on the size of the faction. The Moffs essentially became warlords ruling their domains with an iron fist.

Some Imperial factions remained true believers and sought to bring back the Empire. Moff Gideon could be trying to create a near unstoppable trooper to give rebirth to the Empire. This is a valid hypothesis since Gideon is still running his fiefdom as an Imperial region. For example, his soldiers, pilots, and officers continue to wear their uniforms to code and follow a strict chain of command.

It could be that Gideon is simply trying to secure his own corner of the galaxy. His plan could be to create his own little empire. The revelation of the Dark Troopers will likely speed up the reveal of Gideon’s ultimate plans before the end of Season 2.

Whatever Gideon’s motives, we can expect more incredible action this season like we saw in Chapter 12.