Death Troopers are undeniably one of the coolest additions to the Star Wars canon.
Described in lore books and StarWars.com’s databank as elite bodyguards for the highest Imperial officials, they also double as commandos for special operations.
But here’s the strange part—if they’re supposed to guard the Imperial elite, why don’t we ever see them protecting Vader or Tarkin?
You might argue that Vader doesn’t need guards, but let’s be honest, he’s often accompanied by the 501st Legion, so it’s not like he’s above having backup.
And Tarkin? He seems like the perfect candidate for a Death Trooper detail, yet he always opts for ordinary stormtroopers.
I’ve got a theory about this, so hear me out.
Death Troopers Are a Threat to Vader
You’d think someone as powerful as Darth Vader would want the best of the best by his side, right?
The Death Troopers, being the elite of Imperial forces, seem like they’d be a perfect fit. But here’s the kicker—they weren’t just soldiers for Vader; they were also a threat.
In Darth Vader #40, the comic reveals that Vader did have Death Troopers under his command, but they betrayed him.
Because Palpatine had planted them to serve his own agenda.
I won’t spoil every detail of the comic, but the story centers around Palpatine putting Vader through a grueling trial.
After completing it, Vader isn’t exactly pleased with his master’s methods and decides to push back.
But Palpatine, as always, had planned ahead. He turned Vader’s own Death Troopers against him.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Palpatine rubbed salt in the wound, saying: “How does it feel to be betrayed by your own Death Troopers? You picked them out yourself. But they obey my command, not yours. Indeed, without my approval… you command no one and nothing.”
That’s why it makes perfect sense that Darth Vader never relied on Death Troopers in the movies.
Tarkin Didn’t Need Death Troopers
For Grand Moff Tarkin, the absence of Death Troopers might simply come down to his preferred domain. Tarkin was rarely seen outside the safety of a control room or strategy meeting.
His battlefield wasn’t the front lines but the command center, where he orchestrated entire fleets and dictated Imperial policy.
When your primary “weapon” is a control console, it’s easy to see why the need for elite bodyguards like Death Troopers might feel unnecessary.
Adding Death Troopers to Tarkin’s detail would also seem like a waste of resources. These elite soldiers are described as highly specialized and incredibly expensive to train and maintain.
Assigning them to someone who spent most of his time in fortified, secure environments would have been inefficient, especially when standard stormtroopers were more than capable of providing adequate protection in such settings.
For the Empire, allocating Death Troopers elsewhere—where their expertise could be used more effectively—was likely the more strategic choice.