Trivial pursuit for Star Wars fans: regarding 501st Garrison...


kriegsketten

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Apr 7, 2010
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Does anyone knows where does the "501" of the 501st Garrison comes from? As we all know where George Lucas draw most of his ideas from...

I'm an avid Star Wars fan, albeit not a thoroughly hardcore type.. Having done Ganbatte Japan lately with fellow Clubsnappers as well as "troopers" from the 501st Garrison cosplay, it suddenly dawned on me where that specific number might have come from... In order to confirm my thoughts, I did a brief google on it but came up naught. But I have some inkling where that number might have come from. Anyone who have in-depth knowledge of Star Wars (supported with references), could you please enlighten me about this? For ardent followers of WWII history, you might be able to come up with an answer (very likely with an answer similar to mine). Maybe I'm the last one to figure this one. :bsmilie:

Would anyone care to jump into a small Star Wars trivia with me? I know for sure George didn't get the number totally out of the blue, a lot of things in Star Wars are related to history...
 

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501st Legion is actually based on Star Wars story right? Or is that an actual Army Unit/organisation?
Nope. As far as the Star Wars series is concern, the term was first coined in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith for the very reason that I had previously mentioned. Now why would the founders of the 501st Legion name their organisation as such is another question altogether.

501st Legion @ Wookieepedia said:
501st Legion @ Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki

The 501st Legion was first canonized in 2004 by the novel Survivor's Quest and e-book Fool's Bargain, both written by Timothy Zahn and released simultaneously. This was a reference to the fan organization known as the 501st Legion charity group. Formed by Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in 1997, it was originally composed of members who wore stormtrooper costumes, and has since expanded to include all trooper variations, as well as Sith Lords, bounty hunters, and other villains from the series. It boasts over 3,500 members in 40 countries. The 501st Legion helps coordinate volunteers at Celebration, the official Star Wars convention. The group also has the nickname "Vader's Fist," which was subsequently also made the in-universe designation for the legion. The honorary leader is David Prowse, the actor who physically portrayed Darth Vader in the original trilogy.

In a further tribute to the real-life organization, the legion of blue clone troopers led by Darth Vader into the Jedi Temple in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was designated the 501st. Although this name was not mentioned in the film itself, much of the support material and merchandising for the film make this reference, including the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, which first gave backstory to the legion.

501st Legion @ Wikipedia Encyclopedia said:
501st Legion @ Wikipedia Encyclopedia

As a tribute to the dedicated group of fans, the blue clone troopers led into the Jedi Temple by Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith were officially designated as the 501st Legion, with the nickname "Vader's Fist" due to his exclusive use of the unit. Although not mentioned in the film itself, all of the licensed support material and merchandising for the film make this reference, including Hasbro's 501st Legion action figures, the DK Publishing Star Wars Visual Dictionary books, and the Star Wars: Battlefront II game (the story-driven campaign mode of Battlefront II even expanded the role of the 501st Legion to the main fighting force in almost every battle in the "Clone Wars" and "Galactic Civil War" eras of Star Wars, from the Battle of Geonosis to the Battle of Hoth). There are also references to the 501st in other Expanded Universe material including novelizations and the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars feature film (2008) and television series.
 

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I've just read on the website where that number came from or how it originated... totally random... :(
 

Coincidentally... 501st... or otherwise known as/renumbered from the 101st SS... was Hitler Germany's most elite armour fighting unit... subordinate to 1st SS LSSAH (Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler)

As we all know most of Star Wars, particularly the imperial side, has great influence from WWII...
Some of the gears are modified from actual German weapons to be cleverly disguised as such... even the name Storm Troopers was originated from WWII Germany...

So I thought that number couldn't have been derived out of the blue... Instead of using "101" (as it would have been totally obvious), "501" was used as it was lessen known fact.... bummer... totally wrong I've been... :bsmilie:
 

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Thanks man, for straighten this out for me. At least I can sleep... :bsmilie:

I have a lot of other things to talk about, like how they super detail their space crafts to look so cool... but that would have to wait another day...
 

Coincidentally... 501st... or otherwise known as/renumbered from the 101st SS... was Hitler Germany's most elite armour fighting unit... subordinate to 1st SS LSSAH (Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler)

As we all know most of Star Wars, particularly the imperial side, has great influence from WWII...
Some of the gears are modified from actual German weapons to be cleverly disguised as such... even the name Storm Troopers was originated from WWII Germany...

So I thought that number couldn't have been derived out of the blue... Instead of using "101" (as it would have been totally obvious), "501" was used as it was lessen known fact.... bummer... totally wrong I've been... :bsmilie:

Star Wars was also born because George Lucas is a fan of Akira Kurosawa. haha. and is actually inspired by the movie The Hidden Fortress
 

Now that's something new for me! :bsmilie: I guess a number of Holywood movies were inspired by Akira Kurosawa. I remembered Magnificent Seven... which was inspired by Seven Samurai.
 

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Star Wars was also born because George Lucas is a fan of Akira Kurosawa. haha. and is actually inspired by the movie The Hidden Fortress

Now that's something new for me! :bsmilie: I guess a number of Holywood movies were inspired by Akira Kurosawa. I remembered Magnificent Seven... which was inspired by Seven Samurai.

Both George Lucas as well as Francis Ford Coppola were executive producers in the international version of Kagemusha (another master piece film by the late Akira Kurosawa).

i love Star Wars as well as Indiana Jones films when i was a kid in the 1980s. i am also a fan of Akira Kurosawa's samurai films.

There are some similarities between the Jedi and the Samurai.

http://www.sagajournal.com/rwayofjedi.html
 

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