The Stromtrooper effect is a common phenomena observed in action movies, comics, animes and mangas by fans and critics. It is usually referred to in blogs and reviews as the “stormtrooper effect.” The origin of this expression is Star Wars (see below), although who originally identifed and named this effect is unknown. The phenomena in question takes place when heroes/protagonists (main/major characters) of a story are in combat (usually with firearms) against a large number of “bad guys” (minor characters). At which point two or three different events are observed:
1. The minor characters, no matter how much training or skill they are claimed to have, are usually incapable of hitting the major characters, sometimes demonstrating extremely poor aim. A good example is of course the Imperial Stormtroopers from the Star Wars movies, who despite their supposed training/conditioning appear incapable of hitting air if they were aiming at it. A commonly cited correlation is that the more “bad guys” and the more volume of fire they produce, the less likely they will hit the protagonist.
2. The minor characters are unrealistically easy to kill. Again a good example is the Imperial Stormtroopers who appear armored yet seem to fall over died from a single shot to the abdomen or even to the shoulder. Sometimes the “bad guys” death will be made more exciting with over exaggerated movements supposedly caused by the impact of the bullet. A good example is the anime Noir were a protagonist will shoot a “bad guy” once with a 9mm pistol and the bad guy will tumble over backwards a meter or two, instantly dead.
3. Sometimes a third event in exact opposite to the second is noted: If a major character is in fact hit, it is usually minor and not severely debilitating. Commonly a major character will not die from a single bullet wound or at least not instantly. The movie Last Action Hero made significant mention of this when the hero (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) was shot in the “real world” he was left slowly dieing, but when placed back in the action movie world, his injury was reduced to a “flesh wound” and the hero immediately recovers. Usually a major character will have an elaborated and horrific death that adds drama and action to the story. For example even being riddled full of bullets may not be exciting enough, so a major character may also fall of a cliff or building sometimes inside a vehicle, followed by a very large explosion. Countless action movies follow this formula for the deaths of the central evil villains. Although this 3rd event does not seem directly related to the 1st or 2nd, it is usually mentioned to show the stark contrast in endurance and survivability between minor and major characters.
