Clone troopers can be seen sporting various color schemes and designs on their armor in the Star Wars prequels, but what do they mean? Officially, clone troopers were created as an elite military force to support the Jedi and defend the Galactic Republic against the Separatists during the Separatist Crisis and subsequent Clone Wars. Unofficially, they were created by the Sith to gain their Jedi Generals’ trust on the battlefield before being brainwashed into assassinating them when Order 66 was issued. Clone troopers were among the finest non-Force sensitive warriors in the galaxy, with impeccable training and equipment. Their iconic suits of armor often displayed varying paint schemes with different meanings, depending on the phase of the armor and the continuity.

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In the original Star Wars timeline, the Expanded Universe (now called Legends), clone trooper training was closely overseen by the clones’ template, Jango Fett. Jango was both the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter and the Mandalore (Mandalorian ruler) at the time, and he ensured that all clones would be raised as Mandalorian warriors. Fett also helped design the Clones’ armors, basing it on his Mandalorian gear. Shortly after the first year of the Clone Wars, Phase II armor was introduced, and was a vast improvement over its predecessor, with lighter and stronger plating and being far more comfortable. Despite their Order 66 conditioning, Legends-era clone troopers constantly demonstrate their free will and altruistic intentions, and many clones took on names in addition to their numerical designations.

In canon, clone troopers also demonstrate their free will and a genuine belief in the Republic’s ideology. Unlike Legends, Jango was uninvolved and uninterested in their training and equipment, seeing his “son” Boba as the only continuation of his legacy. As a result, canon clone troopers created their own culture, unique from that of Mandalorians. Clone trooper armor was not designed by Jango in canon but was nevertheless extremely protective like its Legends counterpart. In contrast to Legends, however, Phase I was the superior armor in canon. As the Republic’s resources waned, Phase II armor was issued at the end of the Clone Wars, made of cheaper materials and eschewing an onboard oxygen supply.

Color Scheme

As shown in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, most clone troopers wore unpainted armor during the Battle of Geonosis, but many are shown with different colored paint trims. According to both canon and Legends sources, these colors represented clone officer ranks. Green was for Sergeants, blue for Lieutenants, red for Captains, and yellow for Commanders. In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, nearly all clones wore paint trim, including standard troopers. Canon and Legends also reveal that the meaning behind clone color schemes has changed by this point. Rather than signifying rank, they now refer to what division a clone belongs to, with blue for the 501st Legion and orange for the 212th Attack Battalion, for instance. Despite this, standard troopers can be seen wearing unpainted armor in some scenes.

In canon Clone Wars material, particularly Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Republic military is shown to have replaced the Attack of the Clones-style color schemes with the that of Revenge of the Sith almost immediately after the war began. Canon clones are shown wearing Phase I armor with color schemes reflecting their affiliation throughout the war, though most standard clone troopers left their armor unpainted. When Phase II armor was introduced, more standard troopers began using their legion’s paint, though there are still numerous instances of standard troopers not adding legion colors to their suits.

Armor Markings

The clone officers in Attack of the Clones had the same paint designs, with the only difference between them being paint color. In Revenge of the Sith, however, clones had different markings, in addition to their paint schemes representing their division. Coruscant’s clone shock troopers, in addition to being identified by red paint, had noticeably different markings from that of the blue 501st Legion. In addition to names, clone commanders, such as Cody or Gree, would have unique markings and other customizations on their armor, as both expressions of their personalities and to make them visually unique among their troops.

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In The Clone Wars, wholly unique paint designs and customized attachments were common among clones of all ranks. When the troopers Echo and Fives joined the 501st, they decorated their suits with their legion’s blue paint, but also added designs and symbols that referenced their defense of the Republic’s outpost on Rishi. Captain Rex’s blue 501st armor had numerous additions, such as a pauldron, kama, and a rangefinder on his helmet for greater targeting assistance. While clones in the films and Legends are clearly shown to have free will and unique personalities, canon’s The Clone Wars visually depicts this the most clearly, with clones personalizing their armor as well as taking on names.

Legends

In the Legends-era Clone Wars multimedia project, clones generally adhered to the paint color meanings shown in the films. One difference, however, was that clones in Legends left their armor unpainted far more often than in the films or canon non-movie material. As shown in the Star Wars: Clone Wars micro-series, clone officers, like the clone sergeant who followed Anakin Skywalker to Yavin IV, would sometimes eschew the Phase I armor’s paint schemes. This might have been a precaution to prevent officers from being easily targeted by CIS forces. When Phase II armor was introduced, Legends-era clone troopers often continued to keep their armor unpainted, with their divisions potentially being identifiable via their helmets’ heads-up displays.

Armor customization was rare among standard clone troopers in Legends but was fairly common among specialized clones. Standard clone pilots gave their flight helmets unique markings, such as the Mandalorian Journeyman Protector logo, as shown in Revenge of the Sith. Clone commandos, such as Delta or Omega Squad, would give their armor unique designs as individuals or collectively as a squad. ARC Troopers, the least modified clones in the Republic military, extensively customized their armor, like clones of all ranks in canon. Perhaps intentionally, the fan-favorite ARC Captain Fordo kept the red paint trim on his customized Phase II armor during the defense of Coruscant, honoring the meanings behind clone trooper armor customization from both Star Wars prequels.

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David Miller
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David Miller is a staff writer for Screen Rant, indie comic writer, and life-long lover of all things Star Wars, Marvel, and DC. He was born and raised in New York and has a degree in English from Rider University. He relates to Peter Parker maybe a little too much.

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