J.J. Abrams’s secrecy around Star Wars: The Force Awakens is so complete that fans have resorted to reading toy labels in the hopes of finding out something — anything! — about the world of the film. Force Awakens merchandise isn’t coming out until September, but IGN’s Eric Goldman got a peek at the descriptions for the Stormtrooper action figures available for purchase at Comic-Con in July, and here’s what they reveal about the movie’s new bad guys, the First Order:
Shock troopers clad in white armor first appeared on the galactic stage during the opening battles of the Clone Wars. Clone Trooper armor became iconic almost immediately; its stark white design stood for hope that peace and stability might be restored to a galaxy at war. But this dream of peace died with the Republic, and the Empire that rose to take its place imposed order by any means necessary. Soldiers within the grand army of the Republic were given a new name: Stormtroopers. As these former protectors of galactic peace mercilessly crushed resistance across the galaxy, their white armor came to symbolize oppression and the indomitable power of the Emperor’s will. Yet the tyranny of imperial rule sparked rebellion, and the Stormtrooper legions were scattered in the aftermath of the Empire’s fall. Now, the rise of the First Order ushers in the next chapter in the Stormtrooper’s legacy as a new era of ruthless brutality begins.
Ruthless brutality — can’t wait. Still, it doesn’t answer the biggest question about these new Stormtroopers: Who is making all their uniforms?