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So we've all seen and taken part in a "Which is bettter? Wars or Trek?" thread (trick question. The superior Sci-Fi universe is obviously Galaxy Quest), but it always seems to come down to placing each into their ideal conditions. I propose a different methodology. What happens when the weakest link faces off? Consider this scenario:

An Imperial Storm Trooper faces off against a Federation Ensign (red-shirt). Does the Storm Trooper ever hit the target? Does the Red Shirt die anyway?

Is the redshirt human or an expensive-prosthesis alien?

For the sake of simplicity, let's say human.

The important edge is that the red shirt will be avenged, and later a new red shirt will be bred by Riker or Kirk.

You don't see Vader shedding a tear for a dead stormtrooper, much less seducing his widow. That's compassion right there.

At least not in the main canon. I've seen some . . . interesting . . . fan stories regarding Vader and his relationship with the troopers.

If there is really only one Stormtrooper, then the Red Shirt will win. Red Shirts only die in order to demonstrate that there is a danger that the Heroes need to be made aware of. A single Stormtrooper is not a danger to the Heroes, this the Red Shirt wins.
If there are multiple Stormtroopers, then the Red Shirt dies, no question. The danger will be shown to be real, and the Heroes can promptly make quick work of the Stormtroopers (or make their escape to pontificate about things later).

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
If there is really only one Stormtrooper, then the Red Shirt will win. Red Shirts only die in order to demonstrate that there is a danger that the Heroes need to be made aware of. A single Stormtrooper is not a danger to the Heroes, this the Red Shirt wins.
If there are multiple Stormtroopers, then the Red Shirt dies, no question. The danger will be shown to be real, and the Heroes can promptly make quick work of the Stormtroopers (or make their escape to pontificate about things later).

That's one theory, but we all know the stormtropper shoots and misses and the red shirt dies anyways

Is stormtrooper armor as phaser-resistant as Federation cargo crates are?

 EnTyme wrote:
So we've all seen and taken part in a "Which is bettter? Wars or Trek?" thread (trick question. The superior Sci-Fi universe is obviously Galaxy Quest), but it always seems to come down to placing each into their ideal conditions. I propose a different methodology. What happens when the weakest link faces off? Consider this scenario:

An Imperial Storm Trooper faces off against a Federation Ensign (red-shirt). Does the Storm Trooper ever hit the target? Does the Red Shirt die anyway?

Stormtrooper shoots first, misses.
Ensign shoots but has setting on stun, doing nothing.
Stormtrooper shoots again, misses.
Ensign sets phaser to "holy crap" and fires.
Stormtrooper, ensign, and surrounding terrain are vaporized.
McCoy appears and confirms that he's dead Jim.

Are they on camera?

Obi-Wan makes a big deal about how precise the shots used to disable the Jawa's sand crawler are, identifying the attackers as Stormtroopers from that precision. And yet, we never see a Stormtrooper hit a darn thing!

The conclusion is clear. Imperial Stormtroopers are camera-shy and can't perform in front of an audience.

So for this scenario, if the camera remains on the action, eventually the red-shirt has to win, because the Stormtrooper is too nervous to actually hit. But if the camera pans away, or cuts away, the red-shirt is doomed...

Red shirts often do their dying off camera, too. "Captain, I found somethiiiiAAAIIEEEEEeeeeee--"

Stormtrooper fires, misses, the shot ricochets off a wall and burns a cable holding a large crate, which then falls and crushes the redshirt and the trooper.

The winner? Wile E Coyote.

The red shirt trips and falls to his death, the storm trooper goes to investigate and spontaneously combusts. Nobody killed anybody and everyone died.

Are we talking TOS Trek or TNG Trek? Because remember that the security forces of the Federation eventually cottoned on the curse of the red shirt and sneakily switched uniforms with the command crew.

Also, is the Federation ensign Wesley Crusher?

Stormtrooper kills red shirt. Turns around to brag how awesome that shot was, and is knocked unconscious from a low hanging door

The Ensign is firing from cover of a large rock, the stormtrooper is firing from the cover of some plot armour, meanwhile an Imperial guardsman sees them, radios his sergeant, who tells the commissar, who skypes the Inquisitor, who presses the big aquila button and hits the planet with Exterminatus.
Killing both ensign, stormtrooper and the unlucky guardsman they deemed not worth the trouble of getting out.

 EnTyme wrote:
So we've all seen and taken part in a "Which is bettter? Wars or Trek?" thread (trick question. The superior Sci-Fi universe is obviously Galaxy Quest), but it always seems to come down to placing each into their ideal conditions. I propose a different methodology. What happens when the weakest link faces off? Consider this scenario:

An Imperial Storm Trooper faces off against a Federation Ensign (red-shirt). Does the Storm Trooper ever hit the target? Does the Red Shirt die anyway?

Sam Rockwell wins.

Why is a stormtrooper considered the weakest link in Star Wars?

Surely a Gungan armed with those glowing blue balls, or a single B1 battle droids are weaker (and still film-level canon).

 Riquende wrote:
Why is a stormtrooper considered the weakest link in Star Wars?

Surely a Gungan armed with those glowing blue balls, or a single B1 battle droids are weaker (and still film-level canon).

Because they won. Stormtroopers are so bad that they are considered worse than separatist droids, which are worse than blue ball gungans. That's pretty bad.

 ChargerIIC wrote:

Because they won. Stormtroopers are so bad that they are considered worse than separatist droids, which are worse than blue ball gungans. That's pretty bad.

I think the title of "weakest link" has to go to the Neimoidians. I know they're supposed to be business minded, and therefore cheap, but at least spring for a wall that separates the reactor of your linchpin ship from your hangar bay.