Meme lore
What is the Stormtrooper Missing meme?
Stormtrooper Missing is a two-panel Star Wars meme from the opening of A New Hope: stormtroopers battle through a Rebel ship corridor in the top panel, and Darth Vader makes his imposing entrance through smoke in the bottom. It contrasts grunt work or chaos upstairs with the boss arriving once the damage is done - or someone vanishing just before authority shows up.
Origin & history
The images are from the very first scene of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, released in 1977. Imperial stormtroopers blast their way aboard Princess Leia's ship, the Tantive IV, searching for stolen Death Star plans while Rebel soldiers fall in the white corridors.
Darth Vader's entrance through the breached airlock - black silhouette against smoke and fallen bodies - is one of film history's most famous character reveals. Meme makers paired the chaotic troopers panel with Vader's arrival to joke about employees doing the messy work while a manager appears only at the end, or about someone disappearing the moment authority arrives.
Darth Vader's entrance through the breached airlock - black silhouette against smoke and fallen bodies - is one of film history's most famous character reveals. Meme makers paired the chaotic troopers panel with Vader's arrival to joke about employees doing the messy work while a manager appears only at the end, or about someone disappearing the moment authority arrives.
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