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Star Wars Episode IV (A New Hope) and Episode VII (The Force Awakens) are the only movies in which we see a Stormtrooper (as opposed to a Clone Trooper) with his helmet off. In both movies these are 'goodies' who don't belong in the uniform, i.e. Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Stormtrooper disguises and then Finn when he has his revelation that he won't fight for the First Order.

An Imperial Stormtrooper without a helmet on is quite a striking image subverting as it does the iconic anonymity of the uniform. Both Episodes IV and VII open with a squadron of Stormtroopers overwhelming Rebel forces and a droid fleeing the scene of his comrades' defeat carrying information vital to the survival of the Rebellion/Resistance.

The image of the de-humanised and invincible Stormtrooper is then undermined during the rescue of a prisoner on the Death Star / Star Killer base. Humorous scenes in both movies start to subvert the reputation of the Empire's / First's Order's foot soldiers. In A New Hope we have Princess Leia's 'aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?' when she is rescued by Luke and also Han's insane charge into a squadron of ill-prepared and decidedly clumsy Stormtroopers.

In The Force Awakens we have Finn's muttering to himself 'stay calm, stay calm' when escorting Poe through the hangar bay, introducing us to our first nervous Stormtrooper and one who talks to himself. In both, fear of the Stormtrooper is eclipsed by a little laughter at their expense.

As well as the removal of helmets, the removal of masks is also an important theme in Abrams' first Star Wars movie. We have the remnants of Darth Vader's mask which takes us back to the pathos of the mask removal scene in The Return of the Jedi and this is used as a sharp contrast with the moment in which Ren removes his mask in front of his prisoner Rey. All the terror and mystique of Ren vanishes in an instant and all we see before us is a petulant, angry teenager. It is a moment bereft of any of the gravitas or momentousness of either the meditation chamber scene from The Empire Strikes Back or even the scene of the creation of Vader in The Revenge of the Sith. It shows Ren for what he is, a pretender to the role of Darth Vader. Ren's place as a Sith Lord is a purely aspirational one and this is what Supreme Leader Snoke is able to exploit, his need to measure up to the infamous legacy left by his grandfather. However, put Ren up against Count Dooku, Darth Maul or the fallen Anakin and he wouldn't have lasted five minutes.

Taken as a whole, masks and helmets in Episodes IV to VI serve to maintain much of the anonymity and mystery of the characters which kept us guessing when the movies were originally shown in the cinema. By contrast, in Episodes I through to III masks and helmets are more about revelation. We see Anakin, Jango Fett, Boba Fett and the clone troopers before they put their masks and helmets on and with the later three their headwear is interchangeable with their bare heads. This fits with these episodes being all about showing and explaining the origins of the characters we meet in Episodes IV to VI and answering the questions which these earlier films didn't answer.

By the time of Episode VII however masks and helmets have taken on a different role. They are now about emulation. The helmets of the conditioned troops are meant to immediately invoke the memory and terror of the original cloned Stormtroopers. Ren's helmet is his affectation to recall the fear and obedience which his grandfather commanded. In short, we see through this that The First Order is a movement which is trying to emulate the Empire much more than it is trying to find its own totalitarian voice.

It will be interesting to see whether this theme continues in the third Trilogy and whether we have one trilogy that focuses upon origins and revelations, one which focuses upon concealment and mystery and another which is grounded in emulation, nostalgia and reminiscences.

Note: by the end of Episode VI The Return of the Jedi the terror represented by the helmet had largely started to be broken down. Firstly, through the pathos of Darth Vader's removal of his helmet during his dying moments and also by the Ewoks using Imperial helmets as drums to celebrate their victory over the Imperial forces on Endor. When we remember Wicket's initial fear of Princess Leia's helmet we can see that the role of helmets and what they represent has now taken on a significant shift by the end of the movie. By Episode VII then the impact of the masked and helmeted villain has already been effectively diminished before Kylo Ren even takes his off to reveal the spotty, petulant teenager beneath.

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All Star Wars action figures, vehicles, collectibles and Star Wars toys shown on this website are the 3.75 inch scale and from my own private Star Wars collection unless otherwise stated. Where possible original vintage accessories have been used but in some instances I have placed Kenner Star Wars figures with either reproduction weapons and accessories or for Hasbro figures close approximations have been used. This is mostly the case for modern Star Wars lightsabers where the correct item can be very difficult to identify on some ocassions. Vintage Star Wars action figures are shown with their original weapon or accessory when I have them. When a vintage Kenner action figure is shown with an accessory which is not original I have tried to point this out where possible.

All of the Star Wars action figures shown were purchased second hand, usually incomplete, and in bulk. They have been reunited with their original weapons and accessories where we could get hold of them.

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