I don’t get why a futuristic mechanized army would need an army of clones. Couldn’t they just conscript enough soldiers? Why would an army with space ships, space fighters, giant walking tanks and laser blasters need thousands upon thousands of cloned infantrymen?
It saves on having to produce uniforms of different sizes.
Well i noticed one thing when i whatched Phantom Menace… those attack robots SUCKED!! one little kick or a force push and they fell apart! hell, even that tard jar jar took out a slew of them without even trying. Stormtroopers might not have been able to shoot fish in a barrel, but at least you never saw C3PO taking them out and they didn’t die to one kick.
(Incidentally)
There are quite a few advantages to an army of clones. It’s hard to know where to start. A group of men who all wear the same size uniform?
(To the point)
I thought the issue was that they were fighting wars ABOUT clones, not that they WERE clones.
The clones in Star Wars, and in most Sci-Fi, are more than just genetic clones. They are instant adults with the full memories and skills of the person who is the original. So you don’t have to train a half million solders. You just grab one of your most experienced veterans and run them thru the copier. Viola! Instant seasoned fighting force.
In The Phantom Menace, the obviously superior droid army was routed . So we need a human army.
Clones which were mass produced and properly indoctrinated ,
( brainwashed),would be easier to gather and control.
The movie takes place before the Empire. They don’t have the resources to make all the nice toys the empire has.
That’s just my two cents, hopefully we’ll get a full explanation.
::putting on the Geek Hat::
According to the "Heir to the Empire" trilogy, clones were picked to copy the best warriors. They were speed-learned as they grew so that within a few months a fully-grown adult with an education popped out of the tank, ready to do your bidding.
However, growing a clone too fast would cause stress on the mind as the body grew out of sync with the Force, causing it to go insane - hence the use of ysalimiri in the books that allowed mass production on a higher scale.
Now, I can't remember if the clone factory in *The Last Command* was an original Clone Wars factory, but I had assumed that the reason for the CW was because a lot of 'em went insane in the manner above.
Of course, it's ultimately George Lucas's story, so he can blow Zahn's explanations out of the water if he has the inclination.
That, and making action figures will be really cheap. "Clone in Battle Suit," "Clone in Clone Battle Playset," "Jumbo Bucket 'o' Clones with Wings and Thighs," etc. It's all the same figure with different colors.
::tugs at the Geek Hat::
Aw frell, it won’t come off. I need a testosterone booster.
And yet they’re going to have the robots kill a bunch of jedis!!
Please.
I have a question for the experts, do the clones become the stormtroopers of the later episodes?
Hub, even if they suck, you throw thousands of 'em at a handful of Jedi, and some of the Jedi are going to get killed.
(SPOILERS)
And yes, from all indications the Stormtroopers of Episodes IV-VI are clones of Jango Fett just like the Clonetroopers of Episodes II and III.
Which pretty much blows Zahn’s book out of the water.
Kirk
+++POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT+++
By the way, not wanting to spoil anything really, but the clonetroopers are not created to replace the battledroids.
Instead, SuperBattledroids are created to replace the battledroids. And it is these SuperBattledroids who manage to decimate the Jedi.
+++END POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT+++
Okay, I admit, I don’t know much beyond the movies and what my old roomate told me, but I thought Stormtroopers were simply people, not clones. The benefit to clones was…hell, lots of fighters. But this was before the Empire, so that when the empire came into power and now controled galaxies, it no longer became a priority to have clones because, well, shit, you had a planet of thousands you could just slap a suit on and throw into battle. Life was cheap in the empire’s eyes, and seeing as for some reason the Clone Wars ended the act of cloning, I just assumed the Empire put its resources elsewhere (like building Star Destroyers and shit).
Maybe I’m getting this wrong but maybe thier not cloning fighters but actual people to work as spies for the whoever Maniquin and Obi-wan have to fight this time.
But if they are cloning an army it would be eaiser cause if you have brainwashed clones the likely hood of them turning against you is pretty low. they are pretty loyal and will do what they are told.
Thats just my two cents. 
Who did they clone for the stormtroopers? The stupidest, nearsightedest, no peripheral visionest Gomer Pile in Stormtrooper Boot Camp?
(SPOILERS)
No, Jango Fett, the same person they cloned to make Boba Fett.
But by the time of Star Wars, you’re dealing with the copy of a copy of a copy…
Kirk
You would rather have had them kill Luke, Leia, Han, et al in the Death Star? Would make for an awfully short movie 
I also was under the impression that the stormtroopers were average joes. Especially when the two are talking while Obi-Wan turns off the tractor beam.
Then again, when Lucas wrote ANH, he probably had no idea about clones as stormtroopers.
Well, if you guys are getting frustrated with the movies, then read the bloody books! Zahn’s books are the best of the bunch.
However, I don’t think Stormtroopers would be clones. If Zahn’s theory holds, people strong in the Force would sense that they were clones.
Plus, if you read the novelizations of the movie, you’ll see that the stormtroopers are actual people.
And no one had an idea about the ysalimiri until Thrawn came along. The cloning equipment was just gathering dust in the mountains at Wayland.
Clones would have attracted way too much attention. There are tons of trading academies and such for officers of the Empire. Besides, stormtroopers sometimes go on to become the Imperial Guard-a HIGH honor, and not something left to clones.
Aren’t clones people too? Do they not deserve the same chances to rise up in the Imperial military as anyone else (anyone, apparently except for women, blacks, hispanics, asians, jawas, wookies and every other non white-human-male).
The movies supercede the nonsense in the books. As of Episode II it will be revealed that the Stormtroopers, and their predecessors the Clonetroopers, were clones. So that part of Zahn’s books is reduced to nil.
Kirk
Reason 1-Looks good on the screen. People love a good infantry action scene
Reason 2-It’s intimidating. How would you feel if you saw an army like that attacking your home?
Reason 3-They ran out of ships
Reason 4-They’re from another galaxy, no one here can really say how wars are fought over there
Reason 5-A star ship with thousands of men operating it can only manuever in one direction at a time, while a thousand foot soldiers can do all kinds of things independant of eachother.
Funny, I’m re-reading the Zahn trilogy even as we speak.
Mara Jade kicks serious ass.