Tor Vizsla

Tor Vizsla was the leader of the Mandalorian Death Watch. He formed the group following Jaster Mereel's ascension to Mandalore in 60 BBY and his promulgation of the Supercommando Codex. Vizsla wished to continue their marauding ways, with the ultimate goal of starting a new Mandalorian War and conquering the galaxy.

Hunting Jaster Mereel
When he first appeared, Vizsla was a darkly handsome man, and a charismatic leader who opposed Jaster Mereel's reforms. Gathering other amoral Mandalorians to his cause, he led a bloody coup against Mereel's True Mandalorians and formed the violent splinter group known as the Death Watch. Scattering Mereel and his men on Concord Dawn, Vizsla's forces hunted them across the planet. Finding a young Jango Fett working his father's fields, Vizsla questioned the boy while his companion held him at gunpoint. Learning that Jango's father had been sheltering Mereel, Vizsla brutally interrogated the Journeyman Protector. Before any harm could come to his son, Fett urged Jango to run. Hearing blaster fire in the fields, Vizsla ordered his men to set them on fire while they murdered Jango's parents and kidnapped his sister. Confident the fire had finished off his nemesis, the Death Watch settled in for two days rest and recreation in a nearby town. There, they came under attack from Mereel and what remained of his army. During the battle, Jango placed an explosive on Vizsla's tank. When the explosion cleared, Mereel searched the debris and, though no body was found, Vizsla was presumed dead.

Laying traps
However, Vizsla was encountered alive some years later, albeit horribly scarred by the explosion. Luring the True Mandalorians into a trap on Korda 6, the Death Watch whittled away more of Mereel's forces between them and the native Kordans. Vizsla gunned Mereel down himself when the Mandalore was abandoned by his own second-in-command, Montross. When the True Mandalorians retreated, leadership passed to Jango Fett who swore to hunt down Vizsla once and for all.

When the Governor of Galidraan agreed to pass information about the Death Watch's whereabouts on to Jango Fett in exchange for his Mandalorians putting down a rebellion, Vizsla set yet another trap for his foes. He coerced the governor into requesting help from the Jedi Order, claiming the Mandalorians were slaughtering political activists. The trap succeeded and the Jedi, led by Master Dooku, killed every Mandalorian except for their leader. Jango was handed over to the governor, who promptly had him sold into slavery. At last, Vizsla had realized his dream of leading a dominant Mandalorian faction.

Endgame
After years aboard a spice freighter, Jango made his escape during a pirate attack. Returning to Galidraan, he recovered his armor and held the governor at gunpoint, demanding to know where he could find Vizsla. Over Corellia, Jango used a starfighter to disable the Death Rattle engines while he himself stormed the bridge by smashing his way through the main viewport. As the ship began to break up, Vizsla fled toward the escape pods, ordering his men to abandon ship. Jango gave chase and the two made their way down to the planet. During the battle, both men were evenly matched until Vizsla injected Jango with a poison that made him near-lethargic.

Before he could deliver the death blow, however, Fett slashed Vizsla's stomach open with a pair of blades ejected from his gauntlets. As Jango slipped into unconsciousness, the Death Watch leader was attacked, killed, and eaten by a pack of dire-cats who ignored Fett completely.

Personality and traits
Described by Count Dooku as a barbarian, Vizsla was indeed utterly brutal in his methods and personality. He resented Jaster Mereel for stealing the title of Mandalore from him and fed his ego by claiming he and his followers would conquer the galaxy as their Mandalorian forefathers had intended. On Concord Dawn, he commanded his troops to slaughter the young Jango Fett's family, and later permitted them to take whatever they wanted from a local town. When he orchestrated the Battle of Galidraan, he ordered the governor of the planet to tell the Jedi that Fett's Mandalorians had been slaughtering women and children. When the governor protested that there was no evidence of such crimes, Vizsla promised that he would make some.

Behind the scenes
The name Tor translates to "justice" in Mando'a.

Appearances

 * Jango Fett: Open Seasons
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Imperial Commando: 501st
 * Sacrifice

Notes and references
Tor Vizsla トー・ヴィズラ Tor Vizsla Vizsla