The Mandalorian Season 2 introduces the Dark Trooper, find out who he is

The Mandalorian Season 2’s latest episode proved to be a surprisingly eventful episode on multiple fronts. One of the most iconic moments on the show came when the show makers introduced a major Star Wars video game villain, The Dark Trooper to the fans. The Dark Trooper is officially a part of Disney's Star Wars timeline, which means he is the new enemy Mando and his friends have to contend with. Read on to know more.

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The Dark Trooper in Star Wars: Dark Forces

A report in IGN, reveals that the Dark Trooper was first introduced to the science fiction franchise in the 1994 PC game Star Wars: Dark Forces. Dark Forces chronicle around Kyle Katarn, an ex-Stormtrooper and mercenary who is hired by Mon Mothma to steal the plans for the first Death Star. After this Star Wars game pivots to a series of missions involving Kyle and his partner Jan Ors investigating the top-secret Dark Trooper Project.

Source: @Rasco213 (Twitter)

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The game’s storyline reveals that the Dark Trooper Project is the brainchild of General Rom Mohc, who is a notable Imperial known for his obsession with one-on-one combat and his distaste for impersonal super-weapons like the Death Star. The Dark Trooper has been designed to be a much more powerful alternative to Palpatine's ordinary Stormtroopers. The Dark Troopers are armed with stronger weaponry and jetpacks. They also have a nearly indestructible armour forged from the rare metal phrik.

Source: @SoCriiispy (Twitter)

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Dark Troopers in the Dark Forces game

The Star Wars game introduced three variations of the Dark Trooper. Most Dark Troopers seen in the game are merely battle droids rather than living soldiers. The Phase 1 Dark Trooper looks like a cross between a Stormtrooper and a Terminator endoskeleton. The Phase 2 Dark Trooper is larger and more heavily armoured. The Phase 3 Dark Trooper is the culmination of Mohc's plans. It's an exoskeleton suit rather than an autonomous robot, and Mohc himself wears the sole Phase 3 suit in existence when he battles Katarn in the climax of the game. Naturally, Mohc gets defeated, and the Phase 3 suit is destroyed along with the majority of the Dark Trooper Project aboard Mohc's Star Destroyer.

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Can The Mandalorian reinvent The Dark Trooper?

In the final scene of The Mandalorian season 2 episode 4, it appears as though there are Phase 2 or 3 Dark Troopers. The majority of Dark Forces game takes place shortly after the events of Episode IV, whereas The Mandalorian is set five years after Return of the Jedi. So according to the Star Wars timeline, the Dark Trooper Project should be long gone by now.