The Complete History Of The Darksaber
John F. Trent
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Following the season finale of The Mandalorian Season 2, there appears to be quite a bit of misinformation and confusion surrounding the history of the Darksaber.
So, I am going to break down everything we know about the Darksaber from Disney’s current Star Wars continuity.
First off, the Darksaber is actually an ancient lightsaber created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order.
We learn about the history of the Darksaber in the Star Wars Rebels episode “Trials of the Darksaber” when Kanan Jarrus shows the weapon to Fenn Rau.
Rau then details the history of the blade stating, “It is the Darksaber, a symbol for the leader of House Vizsla, and later the group known as Death Watch.”
He continued, “Legend tells that it was created over a thousand years ago by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. After his passing, the Jedi kept the saber in their temple. That was, until members of House Vizsla snuck in and liberated it.”
“They used the saber to unify the people and strike down those who would oppose them. One time, they ruled all of Mandalore wielding this blade,” he added.
Rau would then state, “This saber is an important symbol to that house and respected by the other clans.”
While we know the blade was stolen by members of House Vizsla and then used to unify Mandalore, not much else is known about the blade during this time period. It doesn’t really show up until we see it in the hands of Tarre Vizsla’s ancestor Pre Vizsla during the Clone Wars.
And Pre Vizsla echoes much of what Rau claims. He tells Obi-Wan Kenobi, “This lightsaber was stolen from your Jedi temple by my ancestors during the fall of the Old Republic. Since then many Jedi have died upon its blade.”
This information also appears to be accurate as there is a painting seen in The Clone Wars Season 2 Episode 12 “The Mandalore Plot” that does appear to show a Mandalorian wielding the blade. It’s unclear who this Mandalorian is, but he does appear to be defeating an enemy that wields a lightsaber, more than likely a Jedi.
After informing Kenobi of the history of the blade, Vizsla attempts to kill him in battle using it. However, he is unable to do so.
Later, Vizsla would attempt to assassinate Dutchess Satine, the leader of Mandalore, in order to spark a civil war on the planet. However, the plot would fail and Count Dooku would punish Vizsla by scarring his cheek with his lightsaber.
Vizsla and the Death Watch would break ties with the Separatists and retreat to Carlac, where they set up operations.
It’s there we see him use the Darksaber again against the natives of Carlac when he attempts to strike down the Ming Po chieftain.
Then in combat against Ahsoka Tano on two different occasions. The first they would end up capturing and subduing her.
The second she would escape and destroy the Death Watch encampment in the ensuing chaos.
After their camp was destroyed on Carlac, Pre Vizsla and the Death Watch would relocate to Zanbar and continue to plot against Dutchess Satine. They would ally themselves with Maul, Savage Opress and their Shadow Collective that included the Hutts, the Pykes, and the Black Sun.
Vizsla would eventually take control of Mandalore with the help of the Shadow Collective. He would use the Shadow Collective to launch an assault against the planet and then had his Death Watch forces subdue the criminal army in order to make them look like heroes.
The ruse worked and he was able to depose Dutchess Satine and announced himself as leader of Mandalore assuming the title of Mand’alor. With Mandalore under his control he would betray Maul, Opress and the Shadow Collective and have them imprisoned.
However, Maul and Opress would escape with Maul eventually challenging Vizsla to an one on one duel for leadership of the Death Watch.
Maul would disarm Vizsla of the Darksaber during the duel and execute him with it. He would claim leadership of the Death Watch and Mandalore. However, the Nite Owls lead by Bo-Katan Kryze, the sister of Dutchess Satine, would refuse to join him given he was not a Mandalorian.
Maul’s reign on Mandalore would be short-lived. Seeking revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi, he baited the Jedi to Mandalore and then used the Darksaber to execute Dutchess Satine in front of him. Kenobi would eventually escape with the help of Bo-Katan.
Shortly after Kenobi escaped, The Emperor sensing Maul as a threat to his own power would arrive on Mandalore and challenge him and Opress to combat. He would kill Opress and then defeat Maul, disarming him of the Darksaber.
The Emperor did not kill Maul, but instead imprisoned him in the Spire on Stygeon Prime. The Darksaber was abandoned on Mandalore, where it appears to have been recovered by Prime Minister Almec and his forces.
After Mandalorian forces loyal to Maul and Almec rescued him from the Spire, the Darksaber was returned to him during the events of Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir.
He would proceed to use it in combat against the forces of the Separatist leader General Grievous and Count Dooku. In fact, Maul and his forces would capture both Dooku and Grievous in a massive battle on Ord Mantel.
He specifically used the weapon against Grievous after infiltrating his ship and placing it underneath his neck.
After Maul defeated Dooku and Grievous’ forces, The Republic launched an attack on Ord Mantell, where Maul allied himself with Dooku and used the blade first against Obi-Wan Kenobi and Tiplee.
When Mace Windu and Aayla Secura arrived, he would also use the weapon against them.
With the Republic overwhelming his forces, he and Dooku would flee to Dathomir, where Sidious alongside Grievous would attack.
Maul would again use the blade in battle against Sidious as well as Grievous.
The blade would eventually be abandoned on Dathomir in the aftermath of the fight that saw Grievous kill a revived Mother Talzin and Maul flee with his Death Watch forces.
The Darksaber would not be discovered until Maul takes Ezra Bridger to Dathomir. Kanan and Sabine follow Bridger and Maul to the planet, where the two are possessed by Nightsister spirits.
While possessed by the Nightsister spirit Sabine uses the weapon against Bridger.
Ezra is eventually able to drive the spirit from her body and he takes control of the Darksaber. In order to eventually defeat the spirits he uses it along with his own lightsaber to destroy the Nightsister altar.
After defeating the Nightsister spirits, Sabine would eventually recover the blade and take it with her.
Sabine eventually gives the blade to Kanan, who shows it to Fenn Rau, where he provides the backstory on the blade.
Kanan then proceeds to train Sabine with the weapon on the planet Atollon.
Following her training with the blade, she along with Kanan and Ezra travel to Krownest where they try to recruit Clan Wren, led by Sabine’s mother Ursa, to join the Rebel Alliance.
The blade changes hands a number of times during the “Legacy of Mandalore” episode in Star Wars Rebels.
First, Sabine gives the weapon to her mother Ursa hoping that she can lead Clan Wren in uniting Mandalore and rebelling against The Empire.
However, those hopes are dashed when her mother betrays her and Sabine’s friends by attempting to negotiate with Gar Saxon. She tries to win Sabine’s freedom in exchange for Kanan, Ezra, and the Darksaber.
Gar Saxon has his own plans and he attempts to destroy Clan Wren claiming they are harboring Rebels after Ursa hands him the Darksaber.
A battle ensues and Sabine engages Saxon using Ezra Bridger’s lightsaber.
She is eventually able to disarm him and claim the Darksaber as her own.
Sabine would continue to wield the Darksaber, using it on a mission to Mandalore to rescue her father when he was being transported to Sundari.
While on Mandalore she would attempt to give the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, but she refused saying, “I had my chance to rule and I failed. I am not my sister. I am not the leader you seek.”
Sabine would keep the weapon and would proceed to use it against Tiber Saxon’s Star Destroyer that housed the superweapon the Duchess that was created by Sabine.
Following the success of the attack on Saxon’s Star Destroyer and the destruction of the weapon, Sabine would eventually convince Bo-Katan to take the weapon and once again lead Mandalore.
A number of Mandalorian clans pledged their allegiance to Bo-Katan including Clan Vizsla, Clan Rook, Clan Eldar, Clan Kryze, Clan Wren, and the Protectors.
Sabine tells Bo-Katan, “Now I understand why the saber came to me. It came to me so I could pass it to you.’
Bo-Katan responds, “I accept this sword for my sister, for my clan, and for all of Mandalore.”
Bo-Katan would eventually lose the weapon, although it’s unclear when.
The weapon appeared to be in the possession of The Empire during the events of Rogue One. While Jyn Erso is reading off a number of project code names in an attempt to find the plans for the Death Star, she reads Black Saber, a seeming reference to the Darksaber, although this is not confirmed.
The weapon would eventually reappear in the possession of Moff Gideon following a battle with Din Djarin on Nevarro. He used the blade to escape his wrecked TIE fighter.
Gideon would continue to have possession of the blade using it to threaten the Jedi youngling Grogu on his command ship after he captured him on the planet Tython.
The blade would eventually come into the possession of Din Djarin after he defeated Gideon in combat during a rescue mission to save Grogu.
Djarin would attempt to give the blade to Bo-Katan, but she would refuse claiming she would need to win it in single combat in order to rightfully claim the authority the blade symbolizes.
The blade currently is in the possession of Din Djarin following the events of The Mandalorian Chapter 16 The Rescue.
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