My Lightyear Zurg Mothership came with a drop pod and a giant figure.
Like any good Star Wars fan, I recognized them for what they really were: Lando’s plasma-jet mole miner and bonus Imperial Dark Trooper!
Before and after
Imperial Dark Trooper Program
The dark trooper program was an Imperial Department of Military Research project whose goal was to create a new line of super soldiers for the Imperial Army. These were distinct from Death Troopers, which were designed for stealth, sabotage, and VIP protection. Instead Dark Troopers were envisioned to be smaller walker-type units that could excel in frontal assaults while absorbing punishing amounts of damage.
The program had three phases: the first two iterations used genetically modified soldiers. However, both generations were unsuccessful due to unstable side effects and the shortened lifespan of the modified soldier.
By the third phase, it was determined that human soldiers were the weakness in the design. As such, the research was completely redone and the program turned to using a battle droid design. But the horrors of the Clone Wars and Separatist battle droids left deep scars in galactic culture. It was decided to keep the Dark Trooper program secret from the galaxy.
A Phase III Dark Trooper compared to regular stormtroopers.
Mounting costs and delayed timetables finally forced the Emperor to cancel the project personally. However, he secretly retained the prototypes and all surviving examples were sent to the Emperor’s personal storehouse on Mt. Tantiss.
These would later be discovered by Grand Admiral Thrawn, who used them to spearhead boarding parties and close quarter assaults during his campaign against the New Republic.
“Thanks to big fella over there, we no longer have a roof and I’m baking in my armor.”
“Shut up Gary.”
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