As soon as Boba Fett showed his mask on the big screen, Star Wars fans were obsessed with the tribe of warriors that created him. Many fans are aware that the Mandalorians did battle with the franchise’s main heroic faction, the Jedi Order. The Mandos have shown off a bit more of their skills since then, but how do they stack up to lightsabers and psychic powers?
Jedi Knights were seenthroughout the galaxy as the most capable soldiers and problem solvers who ever lived. They’re armed with weapons no one else has access to, capable of actual magic, and trained from infancy to become warriors. Imagine the kind of people who heard about Jedi and decided to hone themselves into their mortal enemies.
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How did Mandalorians kill Jedi in Star Wars?
When Boba Fett pittedhimself against Luke Skywalker, he embarrassed himself by losing almost immediately. One wouldn’t guess from that terrible example, but the two groups have a long history of conflict with a somewhat equal record of wins and losses. Mandalorians live to fight, but their early conflicts with the Jedi were unsuccessful. Jedi, armed with the Force, posed an interesting challenge to the Mandalorian warriors. Their early crusaders attempted to face them with traditional blaster pistols and lost, leading their armorers to start innovating.
Almost every piece of gear that Mandalorians are known for was designed to kill Jedi. The Z-6 jetpack allows a Mandalorian the power of flight, keeping them out of reach of lightsabers and granting them unique angles of attack. Their tactical heads-up display allows them to target their foes from a great distance. Their magnetic boots allowed them to walk on wallsand resist the Force push. Their gauntlets hide a variety of clever weapons that regularly take enemies off-guard. Common options include a whipcord that can quickly trap targets, a flamethrower that can’t be easily blocked, fast-moving whistling bird projectiles, and energy shields.
The Mandalorian Beskar armor was the innovation that made Mandalorians so powerful, but its ability to block lightsaber strikes made it invaluable. In the days when Jedi were more prominent, Mandalorianstraded in their blasters for “slugthrowers.“These real guns couldn’t be deflected by lightsabers, and if a Jedi tried it’d still send molten lead barreling toward their body. The crown jewel of their anti-Jedi tech was the Darksaber, which was created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian Jedi. These technological innovations allowed Mandalorians to stand on even ground with Jedi, but their advantage didn’t guarantee them the win.
How did the war between the Jedi and Mandalorians go?
Mandalorians set to work fighting Jedi as soon as they encountered them. Mandalorian Crusaders traveled the universe expanding the territory of the clan, inevitably leading them into conflict with the Jedi Order. Early clashes went extremely poorly, asthe followers of Mandalorethe Great learned about the Force for the first time. Too proud to surrender, Mandalorian innovators created all the aforementioned weaponry to level the playing field. They also developed a new fighting style that would allow them to wield their arsenal with the expert skill they require. After Mandalorians started slaying Jedi Knights, their reputation grew. They became the mostfeared warriors in the galaxyall over again, but their battles continued to rage.
The war between Mandalorians and Jedi went on for generations without either side claiming victory. Things changed forever when Tarre Vizsla demonstrated Force sensitivity and became a Jedi. Vizsla made the Darksaber in the same ritual that gave most Jedi their lightsabers. Vizsla later became the Mand’alor, the ruler of their culture, reigning in a brief period of peace between the enemy factions. That piece ended when the Vizsla died and the Jedi showed up on Mandalore to take the Darksaber back.Vizsla’s descendants went onto seize the Darksaber from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The weapon became the Excalibur of Mandalore, granting whoever held it the right to rule the planet. Unfortunately, some Mandalorian warlords couldn’t let the old grudges go, leading to a final battle that awarded the Jedi Order a decisive victory.
The final battle between Mandalorians and Jedi resulted in a cataclysm that left most of Mandalore uninhabitable. The survivors ceased their expansion, set up bubble cities, and spent decades trying to repair their home planet. Unfortunately, both Jedi and Mandalorians suffered the same fate. They were wiped out by the coldhand of the Empire, leaving only a few survivors. Perhaps, if the armored warriors and the mystical knights could’ve put aside their differences and fought the Empire together, they may have been spared. Alas, the wars ended in tragedy for both sides. The Mandalorians evolved quickly, combating magic with technology, but even that escalation couldn’t save them. Star Wars keeps some of its most interesting stories hidden in the margins of its popular works.
