Pre Vizsla was a human male Mandalorian warrior who, during the final years of the Galactic Republic Era, led the terrorist organization known as the Death Watch and briefly ruled as the Mand'alor before his death. A descendant of the ancient Mandalorian ruler Tarre Vizsla, Pre Vizsla's rise to prominence came with his desire to restore the warrior heritage of his people and dethrone the pacifist ruler Duchess Satine Kryze and her New Mandalorians. Publicly serving in Kryze's regime as the governor of the moon Concordia, Vizsla secretly organized the Death Watch to oppose her reign and sought to overthrow her government. Joining sides with various external groups during the Clone Wars, Vizsla made his bids for power amid the pan-galactic conflict, but his obsessive quest to achieve his goals would result in his death and Mandalore's subsequent decline.

Recognizing the New Mandalorian government's vulnerability after the spark of the Clone Wars, fought between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Vizsla forged an alliance with the Confederacy in hopes of gaining the necessary aid to conquer Mandalore. With Confederate backing, Vizsla increased his campaign against Duchess Satine and openly targeted her, leading to the revelation of his true allegiance. Expelled from his office as governor, Vizsla and the Death Watch prepared for a joint invasion of Mandalore alongside Confederate forces pending a Republic occupation of the planet, but Kryze's political maneuvering ensured Mandalore's continued neutrality and caused the Confederacy to withdraw from Vizsla's plan. Vizsla and his forces fled the Mandalore system in defeat and settled on Carlac, where the once-strong militia was rendered nothing more than a cultish gang that terrorized the locale.

The opportunity of a second chance came to Vizsla when his forces rescued the rogue Sith Lords Maul and Savage Opress, who agreed to aid their crusade. Under Maul's direction, the Death Watch became part of his Shadow Collective cartel, which launched a surprise attack on Mandalore that caught the New Mandalorians unprepared, allowing Vizsla and the Death Watch to act as saviors. With widespread public support due to the sham victory, Vizsla deposed Kryze and installed himself as Mandalore's prime minister before turning on Maul. Vizsla's brief rule was marked by the political suppression of the Mandalorian people, and was brought to an end when Maul challenged him to a duel for the throne. Adhering to his traditions to the end, Vizsla accepted the challenge and was executed by Maul upon his defeat. Although Vizsla succeeded in ending Mandalore's era of pacifism, his actions and death not only tore the Death Watch asunder between supporters and opponents of Maul's rule but contributed to further conflict and devastation on Mandalore.

Biography[]

Early life[]

A scion of Clan Vizsla,^[8] a Mandalorian family aligned with House Vizsla,^[9] Pre Vizsla was born on the homeworld of his people, Mandalore, in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories.^[10] Vizsla was a descendant of the ancient Mand'alor Tarre Vizsla,^[11] who formed House Vizsla and forged the Darksaber, a unique black-bladed lightsaber that served as the symbol of House Vizsla. Being a member of the once-great Vizsla clan,^[11] Pre Vizsla was a staunch adherent of the Mandalorian warrior tradition, admiring his people's legacy of warmongering and even inheriting the Darksaber. Though Vizsla was proud of his people's traditions,^[4] the warrior culture he worshipped was considered archaic^[11] by 42 BBY,^[12] when Mandalore faced a crisis of identity and its future. As Mandalore's natural ecosystems and biodiversity declined due to advanced and destructive warfare, many Mandalorians began seeking reforms to their way of life to ensure their continued survival.^[11]

Answering the calls for societal reform were the New Mandalorians, led by young activist Satine Kryze,^[13] who was the daughter of Adonai Kryze, the respected Duke of House Kryze,^[14] which had been considered the Mandalorian royal family^[15] despite not being in power. The rising strength of the New Mandalorians threatened the martial traditionalists in control of Mandalore, and soon the Mandalorian Civil War broke out between both factions to determine the future of their world.^[16] Though he thought little of Adonai Kryze's daughter, Pre Vizsla respected the duke,^[14] who died while defending Mandalore^[15] in the brutal war.^[16] At Adonai's death, Satine inherited his titles and position as the technical ruler of Mandalore, only adding to Vizsla's resentment of her, as he believed she was unworthy to succeed her father.^[14] He thought that Satine's pacifism ruined Adonai's warrior reputation.^[17] The Mandalorian Civil War eventually ended with the New Mandalorians and now-Duchess Satine ascendant, and the warrior culture Vizsla had held dear seemed under threat of extinction.^[14]

Forming the Death Watch[]

Under Duchess Kryze's reconstruction policies following the civil war,^[11] the remaining martial traditionalists splintered; some, called the "Old Mandalorians," accepted their loss to the New Mandalorians and scattered throughout the galaxy, while the rest were exiled to the moon Concordia.^[18] On Concordia, these violent groups began fighting between themselves,^[19] leading the New Mandalorian government to believe that they had died out.^[7] In secret, Vizsla rallied the exiled warriors into the Death Watch, a hidden sect of commandos determined to overthrow the New Mandalorians and restore the Mandalorian warrior culture back to its full strength.^[20] Utilizing Concordia's defunct mines, the Death Watch outfitted a base of operations, where they used the mining facilities to fabricate new armor and weaponry.^[11] Despite forging the Death Watch into a well-trained and equipped militia, Vizsla knew that his forces would be unable to retake Mandalore alone^[21] and instead sought long-term plans.^[11]

To cover his involvement with the Death Watch,^[11] Vizsla, already a gifted statesman, publicly proclaimed loyalty to Kryze and was appointed the Governorship of Concordia,^[20] which was legally considered a semi-autonomous province.^[7] As the Governor of Concordia, Vizsla became a trusted ally of Duchess Satine.^[22] Despite his deep hatred of the woman, Vizsla was able to be outwardly loyal and maintained appearances whenever with her as part of his official duties.^[7] As Governor, Vizsla pretended to track down the remnants of Death Watch on Concordia.^[23] In his secret life, however, he slowly made moves to undermine her rule. Though Kryze's reforms had been popular and generally supported, some Mandalorians continued to hold onto their traditions in thought if not in deed, and the Death Watch sought to gather support from these individuals across the Mandalore sector. Using fear propaganda to recruit more to their cause^[11] and vandalizing public spaces in the New Mandalorian capital Sundari, Vizsla was able to make Death Watch's presence known,^[7] but these tactics had limited success in swaying public opinion against the duchess.^[11]

Among those recruited to Death Watch by Vizsla was Bo-Katan Kryze, Duchess Satine's sister, who believed in embracing Mandalore's warrior past and was thus estranged from her pacifist sister. A fearsome soldier, Bo-Katan was faithful to Vizsla and became his right-hand lieutenant. Because of Bo-Katan's numerous skills and loyal service, she was placed in command of the Nite Owls, a crack team of female soldiers that ran missions for Vizsla and the Death Watch.^[24] While waiting in secret for the opportune time to strike and overthrow Satine's rule, Vizsla and the Death Watch worked as mercenaries^[11] and established smaller bases across the galaxy.^[25] Refusing to recognize the New Mandalorians' rule,^[7] Vizsla believed that he was carrying on the tradition of the Mand'alor, the title sometimes used by Mandalorian rulers of old, including his ancestor Tarre Vizsla.^[11] Claiming the position of the "one ruler" for himself,^[20] Vizsla wielded the honored Darksaber as a symbol of his leadership.^[11]

Plot to overthrow the Duchess[]

A galaxy at war[]

When, in 22 BBY, the dominant galactic government, the Galactic Republic, entered into the Clone Wars with its splinter state, the Confederacy of Independent Systems,^[10] Vizsla found a path to toppling the New Mandalorian regime. Although the Republic had long co-existed with Mandalore through treaties^[26] and had supported Duchess Satine during the Mandalorian Civil War,^[16] Kryze announced that she would not align Mandalore with either the Republic or the Separatists during the Clone Wars. Vizsla was already a detractor to the Republic, given Mandalore's ancient history of waging war against both the Republic and the Jedi, devotees of the Jedi Order that had become aligned with the government due to political instability and social unrest.^[7] Because of Kryze's vocal neutrality, which included the founding of the Council of Neutral Systems,^[11] however, relations between Mandalore and the Republic became strained.^[7] Recognizing the use Vizsla could provide in his war against the Republic, Confederate Head of State Dooku forged an alliance with Vizsla and helped supply the Death Watch, earning their loyalty in return for help in overthrowing Satine.^[1]

With Dooku's vital backing,^[21] the Death Watch grew into a military operation that could properly threaten the New Mandalorians' power^[21] and established secret bases across the galaxy, including the outpost Vizsla Keep 09, which was hidden in the rings of Phelbos.^[25] As the Death Watch grew, so did their activity, drawing the notice of Kryze and her administration. Still unaware of his treachery, the duchess assigned Vizsla and several of her closest advisors, including Prime Minister Almec and Tal Merrik, who represented Kalevala in the Republic Senate, to investigate and root out the Death Watch. With this power, Vizsla continued to cover his organization's actions^[7] and recruited Merrik to his cause. Despite being one of Satine's oldest friends,^[14] Merrik was greedy, had his own shady political goals, and harbored some sympathy for the Death Watch, all traits that made it easy for him to betray her.^[27]

Due to Mandalore's location in the galaxy, both the Republic and Confederacy saw the Mandalore sector as a key addition to their war strategies. Republic military leadership especially coveted Mandalore due to its positioning between the Republic capital Coruscant and the Outer Rim along the Hydian Way hyperlane, but were forced to refrain from seriously considering the planet as a viable staging ground due to opposition from Kryze and the Mandalorian people.^[28] Conspiring to exploit the volatile situation, Vizsla and Dooku crafted a plan to oust Kryze by forcing a Republic occupation of Mandalore, which the Death Watch would fight back against with aid from the Separatists. If Vizsla and Dooku's plan were to succeed, the Mandalorian populace would rebel against both Kryze and the Republic occupiers, allowing Vizsla and the Death Watch act as liberators and be accepted as their new leaders, granting him the power to reverse Satine's reforms and return Mandalore to its historic roots.^[16]

The Death Watch began increasing their visibility with more frequent attacks on Mandalore, enough that Kryze and her fellow leaders began to downplay^[11] and minimize^[14] their growing influence in public.^[11] Because much of his plan to force a Republic occupation of Mandalore depended on Republic leadership believing Kryze's regime was unable to protect itself,^[21] the Death Watch began upping the ante with his sect's terrorist activity and started targeting Republic ships attempting to install themselves in the sector.^[28] In 21 BBY,^[2] one saboteur launched a solo attack on a Republic cruiser located in a shipyard, but the terrorist was discovered^[29] and forced to engage the Republic soldiers before choosing to take his own life to avoid questioning. Holographic feed of the Mandalorian, wearing his people's signature armor, reached Republic leadership.^[7] In tandem with the New Mandalorians' opposition to a Republic presence on Mandalore and previous Death Watch attacks on their ships,^[28] rumors started circulating that Kryze was building an army for the Confederacy.^[7]

Allegiances revealed[]

As a result of the rumors that Duchess Satine was building an army for the Confederacy, the Jedi High Council dispatched Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to Mandalore to speak with the New Mandalorian leadership and investigate. Concerned that Kenobi's arrival would interrupt their plans, Vizsla contacted Count Dooku from one of the Death Watch camps on Concordia. To Vizsla's initial dismay, Dooku was unbothered by Kenobi's presence, and he believed that Dooku had turned back on their deal. Dooku reaffirmed his promise to help the Death Watch overthrow the New Mandalorians and told Vizsla that the Republic intervention, though earlier than planned, would still lead to the same outcome they needed.^[7] Shortly after, a Death Watch bomber carried out an attack on the Memorial Shrine in Peace Park, which had been a frequent target of vandalism by the Death Watch due to its status as one of Kryze's favorite locations in Sundari.^[11] The bombing damaged much of the shrine and caught those in Peace Park, including Kryze and Kenobi, off guard.^[7]

Because Kryze had been present at Peace Park during the bombing, Kenobi and her royal guard,^[7] the Mandalorian Protectors,^[30] were able to respond immediately. Frightened, the Death Watch bomber attempted to flee, only to commit suicide once cornered by Kenobi. As Kryze consoled the dying man, he spoke to her in Concordian, leading her to realize that he had been native to Concordia. Kenobi requested a visit to Concordia as part of his investigation, and Kryze scheduled a meeting with Vizsla. Accepting her proposal, Vizsla, donning his persona as Governor of Concordia, awaited Kryze and Kenobi, who traveled on the shuttle transporting the bomber's corpse. Vizsla welcomed the duchess when they arrived at the government complex, and Satine introduced him to Master Kenobi. As Vizsla and Kenobi nodded at one another, Kryze told the latter that Vizsla had been a leading part of her official investigation into the activities of the Death Watch.^[7]

Vizsla rhetorically asked Kenobi if he had heard the rumors regarding Kryze, and Obi-Wan responded that he only sought to learn the truth. Seeing Kryze's Protectors escorting the receptacle containing the bomber's remains, Vizsla asked if it was indeed the man who had bombed the Memorial Shrine. Kenobi confirmed that he was and informed Vizsla that the man had apparently been affiliated with the Death Watch, which Vizsla feigned concern at. Telling Kenobi that he had to attend to the body, Vizsla bid the Jedi farewell before joining the Protectors with the coffin. Though Kryze began to follow, she was stopped by Kenobi, who distrusted Vizsla and left the city to investigate Concordia's defunct mines, which Kryze had told him about beforehand. Meanwhile, Vizsla went to his dining room to write a condolence letter to the dead man's family and arrange for them to retrieve the body.^[7]

Kryze joined Vizsla in the dining room and explained Kenobi's absence by lying that he had gone to meditate. As Satine explained the situation she was in, Vizsla prepared drinks for themselves. She told him that she suspected someone was feeding misinformation directly to the Republic Senate, and asked who would gain anything from such lies. Vizsla replied that it had to be the Death Watch, but Kryze refuted him and stated that the Death Watch was incapable of engineering such political intrigue without help from an external force. Recognizing that her suspicions were correct, Vizsla commented that it was hard to believe, given that it could only have been someone among the highest influence in the Separatists. Satine asked why they would target her, and Vizsla explained that she threatened the Separatists' goals as the leader of the Council of Neutral Systems. He joked that she should take the campaigns against her as a compliment since it meant someone powerful was seeking her downfall.^[7]

Meanwhile, Kenobi was discovered while exploring the mines by a pair of Death Watch soldiers, who confiscated his lightsaber and took him captive, suspending him on the functional conveyor belts. Back in his residence, Vizsla suggested that he and Kryze begin their planned dinner without Kenobi and offered her another drink. Using an earpiece he had given to her, Kenobi contacted Duchess Satine and updated her on the situation. Needing to leave the governor's residence and rescue the Jedi without alerting Vizsla, Kryze covertly but awkwardly responded to Kenobi. Acting confused by her odd behavior, Vizsla asked if the duchess was unwell. Satine stood to leave to get some fresh air, and Vizsla offered to escort her outside but was turned down. After Kryze left the residence and journeyed to the mines on a speeder, Vizsla left as well and went to his camp so he could deal with Kenobi and Kryze himself, even though it would reveal his true allegiance.^[7]

Donning his armor and Kenobi's lightsaber, Vizsla and his soldiers went to confront Satine and the rescued Obi-Wan, who had attempted to flee the mine only to end up in the Death Watch's base. As they walked towards Kryze and Kenobi, who were hiding behind a boulder, Vizsla executed one of the warriors defeated by the Jedi. Once within sight of his two enemies, Vizsla removed his helmet and proclaimed that Duchess Satine had tarnished the name of the Mandalorians, then tossed Kenobi his lightsaber and challenged him to defend her. Drawing the Darksaber, Vizsla briefly explained some of its history before striking. Though confident that he could best the Jedi Master, Vizsla was quickly proven to be no match and was forced onto the back foot, first by a Force push that sent him hurling backward and then with a kick that knocked the Darksaber out of his grip. Vizsla continued his assault on Kenobi until forcing him to the ground, giving him a chance to retrieve the Darksaber.^[7]

While Kenobi was still down, Vizsla used his jetpack to leap into the air, prepared to deliver a killing blow. Kenobi, however, jumped into the air to intercept Vizsla, battering the Mandalorian to the ground. Defeated, Vizsla ordered the three soldiers accompanying him to finish Obi-Wan. The warriors fired missiles from their jetpacks, but Kenobi and Kryze were able to evade them and jump down a mineshaft. Vizsla's soldiers inspected the damage and found that Satine and Obi-Wan had escaped. One soldier asked if Vizsla wanted them to go after them, but Vizsla, knowing they didn't have the time to spare, denied their request but affirmed that they would catch up to the duchess soon enough. With his true allegiance revealed and part of his base located, Vizsla and his Death Watch fled to another one of their encampments on Concordia. With aid from Tal Merrik,^[7] who was still a useful asset inside Kryze's administration,^[31] however, the New Mandalorian government's investigation was temporarily paused.^[7]

Failure and fallout[]

Just as Dooku had suggested, Kenobi's involvement in the conflict between the Death Watch and the New Mandalorians spurred renewed Republic interest in occupying Mandalore.^[7] Believing that the Death Watch posed a threat to Mandalore, the Galactic Senate opened deliberations on launching an occupation of the planet to protect its citizens from the terrorist sect. Though Dooku and Vizsla's plan was on track, Duchess Satine sought to advocate for her planet's neutrality before the Senate in person. To keep Kryze from speaking before the legislature and to add to doubts in her leadership, Vizsla conspired with Senator Merrik to assassinate the duchess while she was en route to Coruscant on her diplomatic spaceliner, the Coronet, which Merrik would be present on. Vizsla provided Merrik with numerous Confederate SD-K4 assassin droids, which Merrik smuggled onto the Coronet in containers marked with the Seal of the Senate. As a backup plan if the assassination attempts failed, Merrik wired the ship's engines and was prepared to take Kryze hostage.^[31]

Due to the presence of Republic soldiers, including Master Kenobi, requested by Kryze's court, the assassin probes were located and defeated before they could kill the duchess. When given the chance in the ensuing chaos, Merrik took Satine hostage and murdered the Coronet's crew, after which he contacted Vizsla. Vizsla asked him if he had completed his mission, and Merrik responded that he had successfully taken Kryze hostage but needed help getting her away. To aid Merrik's escape, Vizsla sent three Droch-class boarding ships, each carrying numerous Separatist B2-series super battle droids, which latched onto the Coronet and deployed their forces. Despite assistance from Vizsla, Merrik was cornered by Kenobi while attempting to flee. He prepared to detonate the Coronet's engines and kill everyone on board but was slain by Kenobi's colleague, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, before he could do so. Because of Merrik's failure to complete his assignment, Kryze was able to arrive on Coruscant safely.^[31]

Undeterred by Merrik's failure, Vizsla proceeded with his plans at Dooku's insistence, amassing an army of Death Watch troops on Concordia in preparation for their conquest of Mandalore. Seeing that his men were anxious to fight, Vizsla contacted Dooku, who reiterated that the Death Watch needed to wait until the Republic moved forward with the occupation. Though confident the Republic would act, Dooku ordered Vizsla to send an assassin to Coruscant to kill Duchess Satine, who had begun testifying on her people's behalf in the Senate, as insurance. Similarly, the Death Watch carried out a bombing on^[21] Kryze's homeworld^[31] of Kalevala that killed Deputy Minister Jerec, who had provided testimony for the Senate supporting the duchess. To Vizsla and Dooku's benefit, unknown Republic agents had tampered with Jerec's testimony. Furthermore, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, who supported the occupation, hid his involvement in her case and his death from Kryze, all of which undermined her efforts.^[21]

As Kryze spoke before the Senate, Vizsla's assassin wired her transport to malfunction. Though the speeder's engines failed while the duchess was leaving the Senate, her Protectors managed to remove her from the vehicle before it crashed. The crash only provided further evidence of Death Watch's danger, and the Republic Senate ultimately moved forward with the occupation, forcing Kryze to turn to alternative methods. The Death Watch assassin tracked her as she discreetly met with an ally, Davu Golec of the Republic Ministry of Intelligence, to retrieve an undoctored version of Jerec's testimony. The assassin managed to kill Golec but was unable to take out Kryze when she was spotted by Coruscant police and suspected of his murder. Unable to present Jerec's message without being arrested, Kryze turned to Master Kenobi, who protected her when the assassin made a final attempt on her life. Kenobi brought Jerec's testimony to Kryze's allies in the Senate, who presented it before the congress.^[21]

Because of the new evidence brought before them, the Senate voted to rescind its approval of the occupation of Mandalore, and the Republic Military scrapped what preparations it had made. Meanwhile, scouts in the Mandalorian Guard had located the Death Watch base on Concordia and reported it to Prime Minister Almec, and Vizsla had to order his troops to stand down. Outraged by these developments, he confronted Dooku via hologram. Vizsla yelled at Dooku for failing to fulfill his promise before telling the count that he would order his soldiers to attack Mandalore anyway. Dooku immediately dismissed Vizsla, staunchly telling him that he'd only be able to hold Mandalore for a day and that, without the backing of either the Mandalorian people or the Confederacy, his revolution would be over before it began. Commenting that a "neophyte" such as Vizsla wouldn't understand, Dooku informed him that he had other ways of achieving their goals, and Vizsla angrily resigned to Dooku's lecture.^[21]

Sometime after their aborted takeover of Mandalore, Vizsla met with Dooku in person, but their meeting turned sour and ended with Dooku scarring him across the cheek^[32] with his lightsaber,^[33] which he considered a "parting gift" from the count.^[32] Bitterly parting ways with Dooku^[1] but vowing revenge,^[32] Vizsla and the Death Watch were forced to live as nomads^[1] after fleeing Concordia,^[21] and their once-strictly regulated army began to disintegrate. They eventually settled into a base on the planet Carlac, where the Death Watch deformed into nothing more than a gang of ruthless outlaws.^[34] On Carlac, Vizsla and his followers began terrorizing the native Ming Po, a simple and trusting population of humans that lived in rustic villages. Among their dishonorable acts against the Ming Po, the Death Watch kidnapped several of their women, who were then imposed into servitude at their camp.^[32] As a result of his failure to retake Mandalore, the Death Watch's diminishment,^[4] and his lingering and deep resentment towards Duchess Satine, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Count Dooku,^[6] Vizsla's mental state began to deteriorate as well.^[4]

Interim on Carlac[]

In 20 BBY,^[2] amidst his stagnating plans to exact revenge on Dooku, Vizsla was contacted by Lux Bonteri, the son of the late Mina Bonteri,^[32] a member in the Separatist Parliament until her death the year prior.^[2] Though the Confederacy had reported that his mother's death happened in a Republic attack, rumors and spy intelligence^[35] led Lux to realize that she had been murdered on Dooku's orders^[32] for supporting a peace initiative.^[35] Bonteri, driven by a desire to kill Dooku, informed the Death Watch that he could provide them with information on Dooku's location, which he gained through a holotrace device. By accusing Dooku of murdering his mother at a peace conference between Confederate and Republic diplomats, coincidentally moderated by Duchess Satine in Sundari, Bonteri was brought before Dooku via hologram and gathered what information he needed for Vizsla. After escaping Mandalore with help from a friend, Ahsoka Tano, and her droid, R2-D2, Bonteri set off to meet with Vizsla on Carlac.^[32]

When Bonteri and his company arrived on Carlac, Vizsla sent Bo-Katan Kryze and a small contingent of warriors to bring them to the Death Watch's camp. Bo-Katan brought Bonteri and Tano, who claimed to be his betrothed, to Vizsla's vacant tent, then left to inform Vizsla that they were waiting. When Vizsla entered the patchwork tent, he walked in on Bonteri and Tano abruptly kissing and rhetorically asked if he was interrupting them. He curtly told Bonteri that it was time to discuss business, then ordered him to send Tano away, which the young man obliged. After Bo-Katan brought Tano out of the tent, Vizsla sat down and told Bonteri to give him his information about Dooku. Bonteri replied that he would only hand it over if he knew Vizsla would use it for the right purpose, at which Vizsla warned his guest not to toy with him. Pointing to the scar on his face, Vizsla told Bonteri that he would give him one just like it if he questioned his resolve to kill Dooku again. Heeding Vizsla's warning, Bonteri gave him the holotrace device.^[32]

Vizsla warranted a feast to celebrate his new alliance with Bonteri and the holo-trace device, and one of his soldiers passed his orders down to the enslaved Ming Po women, now joined by Tano. As his followers feasted, Vizsla sat with Bonteri. Seeing Tano serve some food to Bonteri, Vizsla commented that she had begun to fit in well with the other women, then asked Bonteri how he would fit in with the Death Watch. Bonteri responded that all he wanted was Dooku dead, but before Vizsla could respond, Chieftain Pieter of Ming Po Town entered the tent alongside two fellow Ming Po.^[32] Pieter was the leader of the largest Ming Po settlement that had been brutally oppressed by the Death Watch,^[36] and his granddaughter was among Vizsla's enslaved. Pieter angrily announced that the Death Watch was no longer welcome on Carlac, and Vizsla told the chieftain that he was bold to enter the Death Watch's territory with such bold words. Vizsla sardonically responded that he and the Death Watch would prepare to leave since they were no longer welcome.^[32]

Taking Vizsla's mockery seriously, Pieter asked if he would return the enslaved Ming Po. Vizsla replied that he would return them at sunrise the next day, which was enough to convince Pieter to leave. As promised, Vizsla and his followers, accompanied by Bonteri and Tano, drove into the center of Ming Po Town the following morning to return Pieter's people. Pieter thanked Vizsla for keeping his word, but his sincere thanks were interrupted by Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls, who landed on the nearby rooftops as Vizsla grabbed Pieter's granddaughter, Tryla, by the arm and dragged her before her grandfather. Telling Pieter that he was a man of his word, Vizsla drew the Darksaber and impaled Tryla, then ordered his warriors to slaughter the townspeople. The Death Watch set various buildings on fire as the Ming Po retreated, causing a frightened Bonteri to ask Vizsla what he was doing. Wrapping his arm around Bonteri, Vizsla heartily told him not to let the weak tell him what to do and welcomed the young man to Death Watch.^[32]

When the soldiers on the rooftops set their flamethrowers on the scattered Ming Po, Tano used the Force to pull a metal pipe towards herself and impaled one warrior with it before attacking two more with another. Realizing that Tano was a Jedi, Vizsla attempted to strike her with the Darksaber. Though she was able to avoid Vizsla's swings, Tano was quickly grappled to the ground by four soldiers with their whipcords. Vizsla ordered his men to take Tano back to their camp and had Bonteri taken captive as well. Back at the Death Watch base, Vizsla confronted Bonteri for bringing a Jedi into their presence despite being invited to join the Death Watch in good faith. Bonteri told Vizsla that Tano was not meant to have joined him on Carlac and asked him to let her go, but Vizsla responded that releasing her was not an option. Bonteri accused the Death Watch of lacking honor and told Vizsla that they were nothing more than murderers.^[32]

Vizsla pointed out that Bonteri was hypocritical since he had sought the Death Watch out for the purpose of killing Dooku. Bonteri countered that he only wanted justice for his mother's death. Vizsla told him that he would still have it, but added that the Jedi were no different than Dooku and that Tano would pay in part for the Jedi's crimes against Mandalore. As he prepared to deliver a killing blow to Tano with the Darksaber, Vizsla was distracted by R2-D2, who entered the tent and began emitting smoke, giving Bonteri a chance to break free from the soldier holding him and ram into Vizsla. R2-D2 gave Tano her lightsabers, and she swiftly cut herself free from the whipcords and beheaded four of Vizsla's men. Bo-Katan and several others stepped forward to fight her, but Vizsla held them back so he could fight Tano himself. Igniting the Darksaber once more, Vizsla and Tano entered an intense duel as his followers watched. Forcing her back towards the tent's opening, Vizsla managed to kick her out onto the snow.^[32]

When he followed, however, Vizsla was met by the sight of the Death Watch's monster droids, repaired by R2-D2 and ready to take revenge against the Mandalorians for their abuse. As his followers dealt with the droids, Vizsla placed his focus on Tano. Re-engaging Tano, Vizsla continued to cross sabers with her but was evenly matched. She managed to gain the upper hand with her acrobatics, which allowed her to slice into Vizsla's jetpack. Upon realizing that she had struck his jetpack, Vizsla quickly removed his gear and ran to escape the ensuing explosion, during which Tano, Bonteri, and R2-D2 boarded one of Death Watch's speeders and fled the camp. Seething and unable to follow them himself, Vizsla ordered Bo-Katan and several other warriors to stop them from escaping. Despite Bo-Katan's tenacious pursuit and a short fistfight with Tano, the trio managed to escape aboard their ship and leave Vizsla and Carlac behind.^[32]

A second chance[]

Enter Maul[]

By the start of the year 19 BBY,^[2] Vizsla and the Death Watch had abandoned Carlac and relocated to the swamp moon Zanbar. On Zanbar, where they established a similar camp for temporary use^[37] and returned to their roots, revisiting their prospects of removing the New Mandalorians from power and restoring his people's warmongering past.^[16] Having languished in their self-imposed exile from Mandalore space for over a year,^[2] Vizsla and his compatriots began exploring the space surrounding their new base of operations. It was during one of these routine expeditions, however, that Vizsla's luck would turn.^[16] While Vizsla was exploring alongside Bo-Katan and several other soldiers, he came across a lost escape pod, out of power and floating freely through deep space. After boarding the pod with Bo-Katan and two others, Vizsla cut into the cockpit with the Darksaber, where they found two badly wounded Zabrak, both near-unconscious and covered in frost from the lost power.^[6]

While inspecting one of the Zabrak, Vizsla saw a lightsaber near his feet and picked it up. Bo-Katan asked Vizsla if he wanted them to kill the two, but he declined and ordered his followers to take them aboard one of the Mandalorians' Kom'rk-class transports so he could hear their story, believing they were potential enemies of the Jedi. Unknown to Vizsla at the time was that he had found the renegade Sith Lords Maul and Savage Opress,^[6] who had recently been on a spree of chaos across the galaxy that led to an encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi,^[38] which brought about their pod being adrift in space. As the three Kom'rk fighters returned to Zanbar, Vizsla glanced at the two Zabrak as one, Maul, briefly regained consciousness. Once his ships had landed, he had Maul and Opress brought into the camp's medical tent, where Maul's damaged mechanical legs were replaced. Shortly after Maul woke and his legs were installed, Vizsla and Bo-Katan entered the tent to interrogate him.^[6]

Recognizing that Maul and Savage were not Jedi, Vizsla asked the former what they were. Maul snarled in response but relented and told him they were Sith when Bo-Katan aimed a blaster at the still-unconscious Opress. Upon learning that they were Sith, Vizsla asked if they served Count Dooku, which Maul immediately denied. Vizsla commented that he thought there could only be two Sith, a master and an apprentice, and Maul informed him that he believed he and his brother were the true Lords of the Sith. Intrigued, Vizsla continued his questioning and asked what had happened to their ship. Maul replied that it was destroyed by Kenobi, after which Vizsla turned to Bo-Katan and nodded. Vizsla asked what he and his brother sought, and Maul told him that he wanted fortune and power. Satisfied with this information, Vizsla ordered his medical droids to finish repairing Maul's legs and to do what they could for Savage,^[6] whose arm had been severed in their confrontation by Kenobi,^[38] then left.^[6]

After Maul's cybernetic legs were completed, Vizsla sent one of his underlings to bring the Sith to a tent containing a makeshift dining table. When Maul entered the tent, Vizsla removed his helmet and told him that he was there in time for tea. Vizsla invited Maul to sit with him and poured him a cup of Cassius tea. Maul noticed the marking on Vizsla's helmet and inquired what it represented, and Vizsla responded that it was the sign of Clan Vizsla, then proceeded to introduce himself. Rising from his seat, Vizsla began proselytizing about the Death Watch, telling Maul that he and his followers were descendants of the true warrior faith of the Mandalorians. Growing angry as he described his hatred of Duchess Satine and the New Mandalorians, Vizsla slammed his helmet onto a table and informed Maul that the Death Watch's struggle was with Kryze's administration for crushing the Mandalorian soul and identity. Maul asked Vizsla why he waited to oust the New Mandalorians if they were as weak as he described, and Vizsla answered that it was because Kryze had allies such as Kenobi.^[6]

Vizsla noticed that Maul became irritated by the mention of Kenobi and remarked that he believed fortune had brought them together. Maul agreed and stated that it had been the will of the Force and told Vizsla that he and his brother would help the Death Watch reclaim Mandalore, and Vizsla promised they would destroy Kenobi in kind. Though Vizsla was excited by his new ally, Bo-Katan stepped forward and reminded him that their previous alliances with the Sith had ended poorly. When she told Vizsla that the Sith were no better or more powerful than the Jedi, Maul used the Force to choke her and informed Vizsla that doubt would only lead him to failure. Vizsla's soldiers aimed their blasters at Maul, but Vizsla ordered them to hold back. Staring at Vizsla, Maul loudly stated that the combined strength of the Sith and Death Watch would reward them: Mandalore would belong to the Death Watch, and Kryze, Kenobi, Dooku, and any other enemies would fall.^[6]

After ending his brief declamation, Maul released Bo-Katan, and Vizsla told him to check in on his brother while his soldiers voted on the proposal. When the Sith left, Vizsla and Bo-Katan smiled at each other in delight. As Maul spoke about what had transpired between him and Vizsla with Savage, who had been outfitted with a poorly-crafted mechanical arm, Vizsla and his followers voted to agree to an alliance with the two Sith. Vizsla and Bo-Katan went to speak with them in the medical tent, where they saw that Opress had destroyed two medical droids when he awoke. Vizsla told the Sith that he still hadn't learned their names, and Maul formally introduced himself and his brother. Vizsla informed them that his men were in favor of an alliance to liberate Mandalore, and Maul, pleased by this development, sinisterly told Vizsla that Duchess Satine would soon learn the true burden of her peaceful campaign.^[6]

Building a Collective[]

Now formally allied with the Sith, Vizsla began discussing strategy for their joint takeover of Mandalore with Maul. Maul suggested that they would need a proper army to do so, but despite Vizsla's insistence that he and the Death Watch still had supporters on Mandalore, Maul stated that their help would come too late. He told Vizsla that they would build an army themselves instead, beginning with the Black Sun criminal syndicate. Though Vizsla was at first uneasy with rallying alongside organized crime, Maul argued that the Black Sun had the resources they would need to sustain a war without the scrutiny of the Republic. Convinced, Vizsla agreed to Maul's plan, and the two set out with the rest of the Death Watch for Mustafar, where the Black Sun was headquartered. As Vizsla, Maul, and Opress approached the main entrance to the Black Sun's fortress, Vizsla's soldiers disembarked their ships and surrounded them on the landing pads. They were met by a battalion led by Ziton Moj, who laughed at their intent but granted them an audience with the Black Sun council anyway.^[6]

Moj led Vizsla and the Sith to the council room inside the fortress, where Maul issued his demands for an army to the syndicate's leaders. The head of the ruling council, Xomit Grunseit, immediately denied Maul an army and bluntly told him that the Black Sun were not mercenaries. Grunseit ordered his guards to dispose of his unwanted guests and plunder their ships and weapons, and one of the councilors stated that he wanted the Darksaber from Vizsla. Moj went to take the saber from the Mandalorian, but Vizsla aimed his wrist gauntlets at Moj and a guard while Opress snapped the neck of another. Maul gave Grunseit another chance to accept, but when he refused again, Maul had Opress throw his double-bladed lightsaber forward vertically, beheading every member of the council. Turning to Moj, Maul told him the choice was now up to him, and Moj accepted, becoming the Black Sun's new leader. At Maul's command, Moj showed him, Vizsla, and Opress what the Black Sun could supply them.^[6]

As the Black Sun and Death Watch set about consolidating their resources in the dockyards outside the fortress, Vizsla approached Maul and exclaimed that they now had their army and informed the Sith that he had a plan to undermine Duchess Satine, but Maul countered that the army was still weak and was not ready to tackle the duchess yet. Vizsla replied that his plan didn't require a bigger force, but Maul again dismissed him again, saying there was only one plan, and Vizsla interrupted and said that the vision belonged to Death Watch. Maul chided Vizsla because his vision lacked clarity before adding that, without Maul and his forces, he had no army or reason to replace Satine. Maul ended their conversation by stating that the depth of the opportunity eluded Vizsla, who had to watch him and learn. With the joining of the Death Watch and Black Sun, the first criminal alliance in the Shadow Collective was formed, and both the Death Watch and resources from the Black Sun soon returned to Zanbar for the next stage.^[6]

On Zanbar, Vizsla and Maul made plans to travel to Nal Hutta to force the powerful Hutt Clans to join the Shadow Collective. As the two and Bo-Katan spoke over a map of the galaxy, three ships belonging to the Pyke Syndicate landed near the camp. Though Bo-Katan was displeased with another criminal element involved, Vizsla and Maul anticipated the Pykes and accepted an offer from their leader, Lom Pyke, who had heard through his connections of their plan, to join the Shadow Collective's army. After shaking hands with Lom, Vizsla told him to ready his troops so they could leave for Nal Hutta immediately. Vizsla, Maul, Opress, and Bo-Katan led three Kom'rk transports and two of the Pyke ships to Gardulla Besadii the Elder's palace on Nal Hutta, where they were allowed to speak before the Grand Hutt Council. When the Hutts asked Maul what they would get in exchange for joining the Shadow Collective and giving him access to Hutt Space, Maul threatened that he would only grant them their lives if they accepted his offer.^[6]

Immediately laughing off Maul's threat, Gardulla, who was attending by hologram, ordered several hidden bounty hunters, Embo, Sugi, Latts Razzi, and Dengar, to reveal themselves and protect the Hutts present in the room. The bounty hunters, joined by members of the Hutts' militia, began firing at Vizsla and the Sith. As Maul and Savage fought the militia entering from the side entrance, Vizsla aimed his flamethrower towards the dais the Hutts and the bounty hunters were on, giving him and the Sith a chance to retreat. When Vizsla, Maul, and Opress reached a landing platform outside, they were surrounded by the Hutt's fighters until Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls arrived to reinforce them. Vizsla ordered his lieutenant to secure the platform, and soon the Hutts' enforcers had to retreat back into the palace themselves, closely followed by Vizsla, his soldiers, and the Sith. As the three walked to the burning council chamber, they were jumped by Sugi, Embo. While the Sith dealt with the bounty hunters, Vizsla drew the Darksaber and slaughtered some of the remaining Hutt enforcers.^[6]

Beaten down by Maul and Opress, Embo and Sugi fled with Dengar and Razzi. When Vizsla moved to go after them, Maul stopped him and reasoned that, as bounty hunters, they had no allegiance to the Hutts. Returning to the council chamber, Vizsla was told by one of his soldiers that all but one of the Hutt leaders had escaped, Oruba. When threatened by Maul and Savage, Oruba frightenedly informed them that the Hutt leadership was also on Tatooine, which Vizsla recognized as the location of Jabba Desilijic Tiure's palace and center of influence. After Opress killed Oruba, the Shadow Collective left Nal Hutta for Tatooine, where Vizsla's warriors led an assault on Jabba's palace. Vizsla helped Maul and Savage force their way into the palace, where they were met by Jabba and Gorga Desilijic Aarrpo. Vizsla told Jabba and Gorga to give up and join the Collective, and after another threat from Maul, the two relented and decided to join the Hutt families with the new criminal enterprise.^[6]

Afterward, Vizsla told Maul that the combined forces of the Hutts, Black Sun, and the Pykes would be enough to retake Mandalore. Unsure of Maul's intent, Vizsla inquired if he was still focused on Mandalore and revenge on Kenobi and learned from Maul that, while he still planned for Vizsla to rule Mandalore, the Sith's new vision was to command a vast criminal underworld from Mandalore, with Vizsla acting as a protector. Though confused and angered by Maul's sudden pivot, Vizsla continued to appease him and informed Maul that Mandalore influenced the Council of Neutral Systems, which would provide him with an array of options for his underworld. Maul complimented Vizsla's intuition, then told him the army was ready to be mobilized and sent to Mandalore. He ordered that Vizsla send an advance guard to locate targets vital to Mandalore's security and warned that he would not get a second chance. As Maul walked away, the enraged Vizsla approached Bo-Katan and told her that once Mandalore was theirs, Maul and Opress would be dead alongside the duchess.^[6]

Attack on Sundari[]

Doing as Darth Maul demanded, Vizsla sent an advance scout to locate officials involved with the New Mandalorians' security branch in Sundari. At his base on Zanbar, he presented a hologram of Sundari with the targets pinpointed in a meeting with Maul, Opress, Ziton Moj, and Lom Pyke, who were each accompanied by several of their enforcers. After showing Maul that his targets were primarily found in Peace Park, Vizsla warned him that attacking Mandalore with force would turn the people against them. Maul devised that his Shadow Collective gangsters would attack key locations in Sundari, making Duchess Satine's unprepared government appear weak, at which point Vizsla and his Death Watch would "arrest" the crime lords, bringing order where Kryze could not. Vizsla complimented the plan,^[8] which, similar to his original takeover plan with Count Dooku,^[7] would result in the Death Watch acting as saviors for the Mandalorian people. Bo-Katan informed Maul that she would prepare the troops, and the meeting ended.^[8]

Vizsla followed his lieutenant outside and dismissed the soldiers accompanying them. Bo-Katan, agitated, told Vizsla that it was a risk to trust Maul and Opress and asked Vizsla how he knew they would keep their end of the bargain. Vizsla reminded her that they needed the Shadow Collective to undermine Satine's rule effectively, and once Death Watch had the throne, no one would doubt why they were in power. Bo-Katan asked what would happen next, and Vizsla explained that he planned on executing Maul and the other Shadow Collective leaders, after which the rest of the criminals would scatter, and Mandalore would solely be theirs. Understanding Vizsla's vision, Bo-Katan smiled and proceeded to muster their forces. Ready to finally overthrow his longtime nemesis, Vizsla, the Death Watch, and the rest of the Shadow Collective army departed Zanbar for Mandalore. As part of Maul's plan, several Black Sun frigates and Pyke gunships docked outside Sundari, ostensibly to deliver shipments of spice.^[8]

When the New Mandalorian port authorities inspected the containers delivered by the ships, however, ground troops led by Moj, Lom Pyke, and Opress revealed themselves and began their campaign. While Moj led a group to Peace Park to capture civilians, Opress led another to Sundari's central bank and raided its vaults. As Maul and Vizsla had anticipated, the sheer number and spread of the Shadow Collective's forces quickly overwhelmed the Mandalorian Guard. As the chaos spread and casualties began to grow, a crowd amassed outside the Sundari Royal Palace, where Duchess Satine appeared in an attempt to quell their concerns and ensure her people that her administration still had the city under control. As Kryze asked the crowd to remain calm, Vizsla appeared, supported by Bo-Katan and another soldier, to confront the duchess face-to-face. Flying above the crowd with his jetpack, Vizsla yelled out that Satine had led Mandalore to ruin. As he hovered above her, Satine demanded to know if he was behind the attacks.^[8]

Vizsla told Kryze that he was not responsible but added that he had a solution before landing beside her and turning to the crowd. Introducing himself as "Pre Vizsla of Clan Vizsla," he told the crowd that he and the Death Watch would repel the gangsters waging war against them, and they would win it. The crowd cheered, and Vizsla added that what the Mandalorians needed was action, not pacifism. Kryze stepped forward and addressed the crowd, warning that Vizsla's "war" would lead to Mandalore's downfall, but Vizsla's passionate rhetoric and the offer of a solution drowned her out. He yelled out to the people that they had no time for discussion, then lifted off and declared that the Mandalorian name should strike fear into the hearts of the attackers. As the crowd at large cheered out for Vizsla, he and his warriors flew from the palace and back to the Death Watch ships, where he waited for Maul's next command. When contacted by Maul, who was satisfied that the people were backing the Death Watch, Vizsla was ordered to commence his sham counteroffensive.^[8]

Over the following night, the Death Watch soldiers fought back against the Shadow Collective and by morning had publicly "arrested" Moj, Pyke, and Opress. The crowd outside the palace, which now shouted support for Vizsla, had grown, and Vizsla returned with his followers to finally remove Kryze and her ministers from power. He and his men forcibly entered but met little resistance due to an order given by the despondent Satine not to stop them. Entering the throne room, the Death Watch spread out and aimed their blasters, but the duchess stopped her Protectors from responding in kind and announced her intention to keep from being driven to bloodshed by terrorists. Vizsla proudly told Satine to listen as her people voiced their desire for change. He informed her that her "weak-minded" rule of Mandalore was at an end and that the resurrection of their warrior past was at hand. Vizsla had Kryze, her ministers, and her guard arrested and imprisoned. His enemies ousted and the Mandalorian throne his, Vizsla claimed the political title of Prime Minister,^[8] as well as his coveted position as Mand'alor.^[39]

The momentary Mand'alor[]

Speaking before the crowds later that night, Bo-Katan falsely claimed that Kryze and the other New Mandalorian leaders had fled in cowardice and presented the "captured" Shadow Collective leaders to the people. She formally introduced Vizsla as the new prime minister, an announcement that drew praise from the crowd. Despite the people's enthusiasm, Vizsla set about enacting his true agenda despite not being the anointed ruler yet.^[8] Although Duchess Satine had been deposed and removed from the throne, the New Mandalorian beliefs remained active,^[16] and Vizsla established a loyalty purge, beginning with the former members of her administration. Though a few willingly denounced the duchess and her views to avoid death, others remained loyal to her and were executed. Similarly, the Mandalorian Protectors faced the wrath of becoming Vizsla's political prisoners.^[8] Though the Protectors were loyal to the Mand'alor by tradition,^[9] many stayed loyal to Kryze as their leader and were imprisoned alongside her,^[8] though a scarce few chose to follow Vizsla.^[40]

As Vizsla consulted with his soldiers in the throne room on the transition of power, Bo-Katan brought Maul before him. Vizsla told Maul that he had kept Satine alive to provide bait for Kenobi, and reminded the Sith that the Jedi's demise would mean the end of their deal. Maul, who needed Vizsla as a public front for his planned criminal enterprise, responded that the Mand'alor's oversight needed correction and that they had the power to expand to the other neutral systems. Laughing, Vizsla revealed that it was not an oversight and that he had no interest in the other neutral systems. Vizsla told Maul that his vision no longer mattered, and Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls pointed their blasters at the Sith Lord. They handcuffed him and removed his lightsaber, and he growled at Vizsla in anger. Vizsla mockingly told him not to fret since he would still honor their deal and kill Kenobi. Later, Vizsla spoke before the crowds still gathered outside the palace and announced that the violence was over. Showing them the captive Maul as evidence, Vizsla used him as an example of the consequences of the New Mandalorians' pacifism.^[8]

Failing to consider Maul's scheming, the Death Watch imprisoned him alongside his brother, and the two easily broke free from containment. Needing someone they could control to be the public face of their underworld, they freed the former prime minister Almec,^[8] who had been arrested two years prior^[2] on corruption charges during a failed coup against Satine.^[41] The Sith left the prison for the palace with Almec, who told Maul that he could challenge Vizsla to a battle for the throne without intervention, according to ancient Mandalorian tradition. Vizsla and his soldiers were suddenly notified by his guard outside that they were under attack, and moments later, the entrance was opened by the Opress, who choked the guard and threw him towards the throne using the Force. Vizsla and his men stood from their seats and watched as Maul challenged him to a one-on-one duel. Not willing to forgo tradition in front of his followers, Vizsla accepted the challenge and ordered Bo-Katan to give Maul his lightsaber. Drawing the Darksaber, Vizsla yelled "for Mandalore" and charged his opponent.^[8]

Death[]

Furiously clashing blades with Maul, Vizsla held his own against the Sith Lord. When briefly disadvantaged by Maul's powerful blows, Vizsla employed his jetpack and blasters before returning to the Darksaber. Unlike his duels^[8] with Obi-Wan Kenobi^[7] and Ahsoka Tano,^[32] Vizsla utilized his wide set of equipment, including his gauntlet's flamethrower and numerous explosives, which shattered the glass floors of the throne room. Despite his efforts, Vizsla remained Maul's equal, but the exhausting and difficult battle soon wore him down. Again dueling with the Darksaber, Vizsla was able to hold Maul back but was unable to match the Sith Lord's agility. When he attempted to use his jetpack for the second time, Vizsla was slammed to the floor by Maul, breaking the device and forcing him to remove it. Though he shot the lightsaber out of Maul's hand, Vizsla's attempt to charge him was unsuccessful and ended with Maul outmaneuvering him in hand-to-hand combat and throwing him to the ground.^[8]

Vizsla crawled away from Maul, an act his soldiers watched with shame. Maul kicked him in the chest, then again in the face as he attempted to stand back up. Maul relentlessly beat Vizsla with a series of hard blows, hitting him multiple times in the head and torso until Vizsla was sent onto his back. As Vizsla writhed, Maul stepped over him so he could stand before the throne. Accepting defeat, Vizsla was only able to get on his hands and knees as Maul took the Darksaber and ignited the blade. Knowing his death was at hand, Vizsla told Maul that it was as he said: only the strongest challenger would rule Mandalore. As Bo-Katan watched in horror, Vizsla closed his eyes and accepted his fate, and Maul raised the Darksaber, then drove it down into Vizsla's neck, beheading him.^[8]

Legacy[]

Consequences on Mandalore[]

Immediately after Vizsla's execution, Maul raised the Darksaber above his head in victory, claiming both the saber and the throne for himself. Though a majority of the Death Watch soldiers stepped forward and knelt before him, adhering to the tradition of the Mandalorian ruler being whoever wielded the Darksaber, Bo-Katan and several others refused. Bo-Katan, disordered by Vizsla's death, frantically told Maul that no outsider would ever rule Mandalore and called those who knelt to him traitors, but Maul dismissed her protests and bluntly told her that history would not see it that way. He ordered the Death Watch warriors loyal to him to execute Bo-Katan and the other dissenters, but they managed to flee the palace after a firefight. Maintaining his plan to establish a criminal underworld using Mandalore as a front, Maul gave Almec the position of prime minister. As prime minister, Almec,^[8] having long abandoned his New Mandalorian beliefs,^[4] adopted Vizsla's declaration that the warrior ways would return.^[8]

In public, Almec covered for Vizsla's death and Duchess Satine's continued imprisonment by falsely claiming that Kryze had murdered Vizsla, that she was under arrest for the killing, and that it was Vizsla's last command that Almec be reinstated as prime minister. He further promoted the Death Watch's propaganda, remembering Vizsla as a martyr who had saved the Mandalorians in time of need while Satine had fled. Behind Almec's artificial patriotism, however,^[8] he and Maul moved forward with the repression of the Mandalorian people.^[42] Where Vizsla had targeted political opponents,^[8] Maul and Almec placed all of Sundari under lockdown and cut communication frequencies into the city. In the meantime, Bo-Katan and her fellow dissenters resolved to remove Maul from power. Her faith in the Death Watch shaken, Bo-Katan decided to reconcile with her long-estranged sister, Duchess Satine, and allied with a militant group of Satine's followers, led by their nephew Korkie Kryze.^[43]

Bo-Katan and Korkie led an attempt to rescue Satine from prison, but the duchess was recaptured after sending a plea for help to Obi-Wan Kenobi. As a result of Kryze's neutrality and a report from Ahsoka Tano about her skirmish with Vizsla on Carlac that the Death Watch had no ties to the Confederacy, however, Kenobi was forced to go to Mandalore undercover without Republic backing. Despite his deal with Vizsla to kill Kenobi, Maul murdered Satine in front of the Jedi instead, wanting the slaying of his enemy's beloved to make Kenobi suffer. Bo-Katan rescued Kenobi from Maul's forces, an act that led to an all-out war between her resistance and the remnants of Death Watch loyal to the Sith.^[43] With Satine's execution, Maul delivered a fatal blow to what remained of the New Mandalorians,^[42] fulfilling the late Vizsla's lifelong goal.^[6] Maul's rule was briefly interrupted by his former Sith master, Darth Sidious, as well as Sidious' replacement apprentice, Dooku. As a result, the Shadow Collective and Confederacy entered a brief war.^[44]

During the conflict between Maul's forces and the Confederacy,^[44] the base Pre Vizsla had established on Zanbar^[37] was decimated, and Maul was forced to use Vizsla Keep 09,^[45] a secret outpost the Death Watch created earlier in the Clone Wars,^[25] to hold hostage Separatist leaders. Bo-Katan's resistance informed the Republic of this, and a Jedi-led task force assaulted Vizsla Keep 09 but failed to bring Maul to justice.^[45] Maul would eventually lose his conflict with the Sith and the Confederacy,^[46] after which he secretly returned to Sundari,^[47] where he maintained the loyalty of the Death Watch and the Shadow Collective. Among Maul's leading commandos were Gar Saxon^[48] and Rook Kast, who was among the first to embrace Maul and change the colors of her armor from those under Vizsla's rule to those reflecting her devotion to Maul.^[49] With aid from Ahsoka Tano, by then no longer a Jedi, Bo-Katan's resistance was able to locate Maul and convince the Republic to aid them in a siege of Mandalore near the war's end, which resulted in Maul and his forces removal from power.^[50]

The Imperial Age and beyond[]

After successfully ousting Maul during the siege of Mandalore, Bo-Katan was named the planet's regent by the Republic, but her reign was cut short when the Republic transformed into the authoritarian Galactic Empire at the end of the Clone Wars. Refusing to acquiesce, Kryze was effectively removed from office and replaced with Saxon, who pledged loyalty to the Empire, which occupied Mandalore.^[52] In the decades after the Empire's formation, various Mandalorian sects chose to integrate themselves with the Empire out of necessity,^[53] including groups formerly aligned with the opposing beliefs of Pre Vizsla and Satine Kryze.^[54][30] Despite sharing common disdain for the Empire, tensions existed between these groups long after the Clone Wars, and the late Vizsla and his nemesis had polarizing legacies.^[54][52] Although Mandalore largely returned to its warrior ways, Satine's rule had undergone reconsideration,^[52] with even Vizsla's former lieutenant Bo-Katan^[4] looking back on her sister's ambitions with appreciation and repentance.^[52]

Under Saxon's leadership, Death Watch propaganda from Vizsla's lifetime was destroyed.^[55] During conflict between Saxon and Clan Wren,^[53] which had been aligned with the Death Watch,^[54] Saxon was murdered by Countess Ursa Wren,^[53] a former member of the Nite Owls.^[50] The act spurred a war between Clan Saxon and Clan Wren and eventually led to another civil war. Bo-Katan joined Clan Wren and accepted the Darksaber from Sabine Wren,^[52] who had retrieved the legendary sword from the late Maul's lair a year prior.^[2] Wielding the Darksaber, Kryze united various clans and formed a resistance to the Empire in the name of her sister. Among the clans that joined her was Clan Vizsla,^[52] which had replaced the jai'galaar symbol^[56] used by Pre Vizsla^[8] with a peacetime sigil predating the Death Watch.^[9] Kryze's attempt to repel the Empire would lead to failure, with the occupiers enacting the genocide of the Mandalorian people and the decimation of the planet's surface in the Great Purge. Many years later, after the Empire's fall, Kryze rallied surviving Mandalorians of various creeds to return to the Mandalore,^[51] which they resettled.^[57]

In the New Republic Era, long after the Clone Wars, Exantor Divo, grandson of Tanivos Divo, a member of the Coruscant Security Force during the Clone Wars, received his father's lost case files. Among the files was one detailing the Shadow Collective's coup against the New Mandalorians. As Exantor learned from his grandfather's documents, Republic Intelligence had known of Vizsla's involvement with the brief criminal alliance.^[58] At some point after Vizsla's death, accounts of his life were depicted on a series of illustrated maps by the Ithorian artist Gammit Chond. Although he was a recluse, Chond purportedly based his maps on stories he heard from travelers, including those of Vizsla's campaign and his brief reign and death at the hands of Maul. Long after they were created, the maps, which were among what little of Chond's artwork to survive, were stored in the Shadow Stacks of the Graf Archive on the moon Orchis 2 until a student archivist exhumed the set, after which they were painstakingly restored and released as a collection.^[10]

According to^[59] false^[8] claims from the Sith Information Guide, Vizsla survived the Clone Wars and served as a willing ally to the Empire.^[59] In his retrospective overview of Mandalorian history, "Mandalorians Through the Ages," a supplemental guide to the tenth edition of Mandalorian Battlefield Tours,^[17] historian Eloc Throno described the ideological conflict between Pre Vizsla and Satine Kryze in detail.^[23] Although Throno opined that Kryze's reform efforts were largely vindicated,^[17] he admitted that Vizsla had successfully challenged the merit of the New Mandalorian experiment during the Clone Wars. Throno also noted that Vizsla's coup against Kryze and the New Mandalorians was successful in part because he had built himself and the Death Watch into folk heroes, an image that helped the Mandalorian people accept and celebrate the false reality that Vizsla was a liberator.^[23]

Personality and traits[]

Pre Vizsla was a male human with light skin, blue eyes, and blond hair who stood at 1.84 meters tall,^[3] or 6 feet,^[4] and weighed 80 kilograms.^[3] During his tenure as Governor of Concordia, he kept his hair short and slicked back with an undercut. At some point after he was publicly revealed as the leader of the Death Watch,^[7] Vizsla began shaving his head,^[32] and his appearance grew unkempt as well.^[1] It was during this time that he also gained a distinct scar across his left cheek, the result of an altercation with Count Dooku.^[32]

Claiming heritage to Tarre Vizsla, the ancient Mand'alor who first ruled using the Darksaber,^[60] Pre Vizsla was deeply proud of his roots in Clan Vizsla and the traditions therein. Valorizing the Mandalorian tenants of strength and honor,^[6] Vizsla believed in the old ways of the "one ruler," a position he would eventually assert belonged to him^[20] despite the faded influence of the Darksaber, which he had inherited. Because of his ancestry and heritage,^[60] Vizsla was immediately opposed^[14] to the reformist New Mandalorian movement and soon harbored a deep enmity towards the political group's leader, Duchess Satine Kryze.^[16] Although he initially only believed she was unworthy to succeed her father,^[14] Vizsla grew to hate the woman for everything she stood for.^[1] He believed that her pacifist policies were unbecoming of a Mandalorian and that she had tarnished the reputation of their people.^[7] He held that Kryze had crushed the Mandalorian identity and soul,^[6] and considered her pacifism tantamount to a personal attack on everything he held dear.^[11]

Vizsla professed strength, often as a way of contrasting himself and his warrior visage with what he considered the "weak-minded" rule of the New Mandalorians.^[8] Despite his self-ascribed hardiness, however, Vizsla sought his goals^[6] of reversing the reforms enacted by Kryze^[16] anxiously,^[61] a trait that grew more apparent as he kept failing to achieve them.^[6] Vizsla painted himself as an organized militant,^[21] but the failure of his first takeover attempt resulted in further cracks in his facade, revealing him to be little more than^[32] a cultish^[62] zealot^[60] armed with a cruel temper,^[63] and his repeated humiliations by both Duchess Satine and Count Dooku damaged his mental state to the point some believed he had gone mad. Likewise, Vizsla's obsession^[4] with what he perceived to be a Mandalorian sense of honor^[6] had become hypocritical^[32] as he demonstrated brutality against those that disagreed with him as a show of strength,^[20] senselessly bullied, enslaved, and eventually slaughtered the Ming Po of Carlac,^[32] and enacted the executions of his political rivals once in power.^[8]

Narcissistically believing that he was carrying the traditions of his ancestors, Vizsla maintained opposition to the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic, both of which had warred with the Mandalorians during the Old Republic Era.^[7] He considered these ancient enemies of Mandalore his personal enemies, and believed that the individual Jedi in the Order had to pay for the ancient wars, which he referred to as "crimes against Mandalore." To Vizsla, the payback he felt he was due to give the Jedi was a form of justice.^[32] He was willing to ally with anyone as long as they were enemies of the Jedi. Despite his passionate hatred of the Jedi,^[6] Vizsla was unwilling to give them an unfair fight, in part because of his egotistical view that his martial prowess could outmatch that of the Jedi. Vizsla's ego often got the better of him, however, leading to losses in duels with Obi-Wan Kenobi^[7] and Ahsoka Tano. His loss to Ahsoka Tano, in particular, resulted in rage from Vizsla, who seethed as she handily escaped his attempted execution of her.^[32]

Unable to see the New Mandalorian government as a viable power, Vizsla continually misunderstood what it would take to overthrow it. In both his alliances with the Confederacy of Independent Systems^[21] and the Shadow Alliance, Vizsla failed to consider his enemies as anything more than^[6] the weak cowards he believed them to be.^[21] Through his interactions with the much more strategic Dooku^[21] and Darth Maul,^[6] the former of whom believed Vizsla's intelligence was none more than a "neophyte's," Vizsla displayed an inability to think out his plans^[21] or accept criticism. Maul's assertion that Vizsla had no material reason to replace Duchess Satine, in particular, insulted Vizsla's long^[6] and evangelistic^[60] belief that it was his purpose to do so.^[11] Similar to his ability to act cordially with Kryze as the Governor of Concordia,^[7] Vizsla managed to maintain appearances with Maul, enough that he could seize the Mandalorian throne,^[8] but his obsessive quest and adherence to his beloved warrior ways would lead him to his death.^[4]

Skills and abilities[]

A highly skilled warrior, Pre Vizsla was adept at various forms of combat. He was known for his excellent marksmanship^[4] and could expertly handle various ranged weaponry with ease, including the blasters embedded in his wrist gauntlets and his signature pistols. He was a very capable fighter in both armed and unarmed combat and could go up against much more powerful foes, including Force-sensitives.^[8] Though he was not as athletic as his Force-wielding enemies,^[32] such as Obi-Wan Kenobi^[7] and Darth Maul, Vizsla made up for his lack of agility with potent hand-to-hand combat abilities.^[8] In addition, Vizsla was a well-trained swordsman,^[8] a necessity for him to properly wield the Darksaber. Where others were unable to handle the Darksaber without difficulty,^[64] Vizsla carried the saber with ease.^[7] Even if he could not match Jedi or Sith with his combat skills alone, Vizsla was able to hold his own in duels.^[39]

By the time of his duel with Maul for the Mandalorian throne, Vizsla had mastered his ability to mix his martial capabilities and could swiftly alternate weaponry and skillsets as he needed. This dexterity allowed him to grow as a fighter and learn how to go toe-to-toe with Force wielders, shown when he was able to enter a prolonged fight with Maul,^[8] which contrasted with shorter duels with Kenobi^[7] and Ahsoka Tano.^[32] Though he lacked the intelligence of allies like Count Dooku^[21] and Maul^[6] or enemies like Duchess Satine, Vizsla had a strong propensity for leadership,^[4] using his strongman persona and passionate rhetoric to rally Mandalorians to his cause.^[8] Vizsla was also multilingual and could speak both Galactic Basic Standard^[7] and Mand'oa,^[65] though he, like most other Mandalorians during his time, primarily spoke using the former.^[7]

Equipment[]

As a Mandalorian warrior, Vizsla wore the traditional and resilient armor of his people.^[66] Prior to the failure of his first attempt to take over Mandalore, Vizsla's armor featured a clean paint finish, with various shades of blue and gray, as well as several details painted with red and yellow,^[7] including the symbol of the shriek-hawk, which represented Clan Vizsla, on his helmet.^[8] Completing his armored appearance was a gray and blue serape, which was also adorned with the shriek-hawk.^[7] After his attempted coup fell apart and the Death Watch was forced to relocate to Carlac, however, Vizsla's formerly clean armor became battered, and the various vibrant paints faded and worn away. While no longer wearing^[32] his cape,^[7] Vizsla customized his armor still, adding antennae to his helmet,^[32] and his chest plates displayed a traditional Mandalorian design.^[4] Usually heavily armed,^[65] Vizsla's gear included a jetpack, magnetized boots, and a pair of armored vambraces.^[32] Like other Mandalorian vambraces,^[64] Vizsla's featured a variety of gadgets, including blaster barrels, a flamethrower, a whipcord launcher, and a launcher that fired disc-shaped buzz saws.^[8]

In addition to two WESTAR-35 blaster pistols, which he kept in hip holsters,^[4] one of Vizsla's most prized weapons was the Darksaber,^[65] an ancient lightsaber crafted by his ancestor Tarre Vizsla and passed down to him through several generations of Clan Vizsla.^[60] A one-of-a-kind artifact, the Darksaber had a long and storied history among the Mandalorians. Although diminished by the time Vizsla inherited it, the Darksaber served as a symbol of authority for his people, and by tradition, whoever wielded it was the rightful ruler of the Mandalore. Though the Darksaber was similar to the Jedi lightsaber, it was unique in shape and color. The Darksaber's signature flat energy blade, which had an angled point near its tip like some metal swords, emitted from a narrow slit in the saber's rectangular hilt. When activated, the black energy blade crackled and was outlined by white plasma energy.^[67] Vizsla used the Darksaber as his personal weapon, and had an attachment to his jetpack that allowed him to store it there when not in use.^[6]

By 19 BBY, Vizsla owned a Kom'rk-class Mandalorian fighter, simply christened Gauntlet, a name commonly used to describe Kom'rk fighters in general. Vizsla's ship was also called by a name in Mand'oa that translated to Gauntlet in Galactic Basic Standard. Like other Kom'rk ships utilized by the Death Watch, the Gauntlet was designed and built in secret by engineers and technicians loyal to the faction. Vizsla had the Gauntlet proudly finished with the Mandalorian colors of white, blue, and gray, reflecting the traditional colors used in his armor. The Gauntlet measured 52.3 meters in length and followed the sleek, if peculiar, configuration commonly used in Mandalorian ship design.^[65] After the Death Watch settled on Zanbar, Vizsla and his crew used the Gauntlet as part of his campaigns,^[6] taking it into deep space for explorations^[16] and using it in missions to Mustafar, Nal Hutta,^[6] and eventually, Mandalore, where Vizsla used it as his base of operations during his coup against the New Mandalorians.^[8]

Behind the scenes[]

Pre Vizsla first appeared as the primary antagonist in "The Mandalore Plot," the twelfth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The episode was directed by Kyle Dunlevy, written by Melinda Hsu and Drew Z. Greenberg, and first aired on Cartoon Network on January 29, 2010.^[69] "The Mandalore Plot" serves as the first episode of a three-part story arc, followed by "Voyage of Temptation" and "Duchess of Mandalore," which explores the Mandalorian civilization at the time of the Clone Wars.^[68] "Voyage of Temptation" was initially the only planned episode of the trilogy,^[70] but when series creator George Lucas, at the insistence of Dave Filoni and Henry Gilroy, decided to expand on the storyline and feature more of the Mandalorians in The Clone Wars, "The Mandalore Plot" was written. Vizsla featured heavily in promotional material for the episodes, with several mentions in the Star Wars Insider magazine and clips of "The Mandalore Plot" shown at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con International.^[68]

Vizsla is voiced in The Clone Wars by American director Jon Favreau, who was cast when Filoni learned that he was a fan of Star Wars. The two met at Skywalker Ranch while Favreau was working on the 2008 film Iron Man. While showing Filoni some of his work on Iron Man, Favreau mentioned off-hand that he was interested in voicing a character in The Clone Wars, and it happened that the role of Vizsla had not been cast yet. The part marked Favreau's first contribution to the Star Wars franchise,^[68] and he would later create the live-action television series The Mandalorian.^[71] Favreau reprised the role of Vizsla in later seasons of The Clone Wars, voicing the character in three more episodes.^[32][6][8] According to an interview with Filoni that was featured in Star Wars Insider 115, the name "Pre" is a title of stature, like "pre-eminent," while the "Vizsla" name came from Tor Vizsla, the original leader of Death Watch who was featured in the 2002 Jango Fett: Open Seasons comic book series.^[68] Vizsla was given an entry in the The Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia book, released in June 2010.^[72] He was also featured in Hasbro's 2010 toy figure line.^[73]

A concept art model sheet that was published in Star Wars Insider 116 indicated that Vizsla's name was originally spelled "Visla." On the same model sheet, the symbol on his cape was depicted as the Mythosaur, suggesting that the symbol was originally that of the Mandalorians and was adjusted to the shriek-hawk for the final version of "The Mandalore Plot."^[74] Because "Voyage of Temptation" was produced with the television series' first season, well before the other installments in the Mandalorian story arc, the character model used for Vizsla in the episode was based on the Phase I clone trooper armor design—disguised only by his serape—instead of the finalized character design used in the later episodes.^[75]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Galactic Defense
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Mandalore Plot" (First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Voyage of Temptation" (Appears in hologram)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Duchess of Mandalore"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "A Friend in Need"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Eminence"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Shades of Reason"
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Lawless" (In flashback(s))
• Star Wars Rebels — "Legacy of Mandalore" (Indirect mention only)

Non-canon appearances[]

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Mentioned only) (DLC)

Sources[]

Mand'alor[39]
Eventually Tarre Vizsla[76] (Prior to 1032 BBY[64][9]) ← 19 BBY[8] Bo-Katan Kryze[77] (1 BBY[52]) →

Notes and references[]