Darksaber

"I didn't know Mandalorians developed a type of lightsaber.''" "''We didn't, this was one of a kind. 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. At one time, they ruled all of Mandalore wielding this blade. This saber is an important symbol to that house and respected by the other clans."

- Kanan Jarrus and Fenn Rau

The Darksaber was an ancient and unique black-bladed lightsaber created by Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order, prior to 1019 BBY. The weapon was kept in the Jedi Temple after Vizsla's passing, but members of House Vizsla stole the saber in a conflict with the Jedi during the fall of the Old Republic. The Darksaber was passed down, generation to generation, by the ancestors of Pre Vizsla, who held onto the weapon even after the pacifist ideals of the New Mandalorians replaced the warrior ways of Mandalore.

By 21 BBY, the Darksaber was in the possession of Pre Vizsla, the leader of Death Watch and House Vizsla during the Clone Wars. He used the blade during his conflicts with the New Mandalorians, including his successful takeover of Mandalore. After the coup, Darth Maul killed Vizsla and took the Darksaber as his own, becoming the leader of Death Watch. Maul's old master, Darth Sidious, soon arrived on Mandalore to confront his former apprentice, and Maul used the Darksaber against him. Maul was bested in combat, taken prisoner and held at a Separatist prison, the Spire, on Stygeon Prime.

Maul was soon rescued from the Spire at the behest of Prime Minister Almec, whom Maul had chosen as the public leader of Mandalore. After being freed, Maul returned to Zanbar, the location of a Death Watch camp, and was given back the Darksaber, which had been recovered from the Sundari Royal Palace, the site of Maul's duel with Sidious. Shortly after his return, Zanbar was attacked by the Separatist Droid Army, led by General Grievous, and Maul made use of the Darksaber against the cyborg general. Maul continued to use the Darksaber in several subsequent battles, such as the battle on Ord Mantell, the assault on Vizsla Keep 09, and the second battle of Dathomir.

During the Age of the Empire, the Mandalorian weapons expert and rebel Sabine Wren retrieved the Darksaber from the Nightsister lair on Dathomir. At the urging of Fenn Rau and her fellow Spectres, Sabine agreed to undergo training with the Darksaber under the tutelage of Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus. Later, Sabine brought the Darksaber with her and her rebel companions during a mission to Krownest to seek her family's support for the rebellion. Sabine became the rightful wielder of the Darksaber after defeating Viceroy Gar Saxon in a duel.

After rescuing her father from Imperial custody and destroying the superweapon she had built while an Imperial cadet, Sabine gave the Darksaber over to Bo-Katan Kryze, who she deemed to be the rightful person to lead the Mandalorians against the Empire.

Some time thereafter, the weapon fell into the hands of Moff Gideon.

Description
"Anyone can hold the Darksaber. The trick is keeping it, along with your head."

- Ursa Wren to Sabine Wren

The Darksaber was an ancient black-bladed lightsaber. It had a unique blade that was shorter than that of most lightsabers, and shaped like a traditional sword. Its overall profile was distinctly Mandalorian with an angular pommel, hand guard, and slit-shaped blade emitter. The sound emitted by its blade was also higher pitched than other lightsabers. The Darksaber had a crystal which served as a conduit for Force energy. The wielder's thoughts and actions guided the blade's current of power, with the blade often producing an electrical effect in response to a heightened emotional state. The Darksaber was also capable of parrying lightsaber blades, with them being drawn to each other in an almost magnetic pull. It was respected by the Mandalorians as a symbol for the leadership of House Vizsla, and later Death Watch. According to Mandalorian custom, one could only obtain the Darksaber by defeating the previous owner in combat. Should they have claimed it any other way, their claim was considered illegitimate.

Old Republic
In the days of the Old Republic, the Darksaber was kept at the Jedi Temple after the passing of its creator, Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. However, it was taken by Mandalorians of House Vizsla, who raided the Jedi Temple during the Old Republic's fall. Descendants of House Vizsla used it to kill many Jedi and rule all of Mandalore for many years.

Clone Wars
"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. Prepare yourself to join them!"

- Pre Vizsla, to Obi-Wan Kenobi

During the Clone Wars, the Darksaber came into the possession of Pre Vizsla, Governor of Concordia and leader of Death Watch. Vizsla kept it on his back when he wore his armor.

During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Jedi High Council discovered Death Watch's camp near the planet's mines. Using the Darksaber, Vizsla fought Kenobi as his troops evacuated. Though he boasted some skill in combat, Vizsla was unable to defeat Kenobi or prevent his escape with Duchess Satine Kryze.

Following Vizsla's fallout with the Separatists and Count Dooku, Vizsla and his fellow Death Watch troops made camp on Carlac. After the arrival of Senator Lux Bonteri, Vizsla attempted to murder Chieftain Pieter with the Darksaber but instead struck down his granddaughter when she threw herself in front of him as his men destroyed the Ming Po's town. Vizsla then attempted to execute Bonteri's friend, Padawan Ahsoka Tano, with the Darksaber. However, Tano freed herself with the help of her droid, R2-D2. She then dueled Vizsla until she slashed his jetpack, and she and Bonteri made their escape.

Following the discovery of former Sith Lord Darth Maul and his brother Savage Opress near their camp on Zanbar, Vizsla agreed to an alliance between Death Watch and Maul's Shadow Collective. Vizsla used the Darksaber on Nal Hutta against the Hutt Clans' Grand Council's Nikto guards. Vizsla led to the Council's leader, Jabba, to agree to join their alliance.

On Mandalore, following the Shadow Collective's attacks on the police in Sundari, Vizsla and his Death Watch troopers stepped in to "protect" the Collective's forces. Vizsla used the Darksaber in a staged duel against Opress and then arrested him. Thanks to his efforts, Vizsla and the Death Watch were hailed as heroes. Vizsla then betrayed Maul and Opress and had them imprisoned. After their escape, Maul challenged Vizsla for leadership of Death Watch. Vizsla used the Darksaber against Maul. Despite putting up a huge fight with the use of both the Darksaber and his armor's numerous weapons, Vizsla was disarmed, defeated and summarily executed by Maul with the Darksaber. Maul then claimed the Darksaber and leadership of Death Watch, much to the chagrin of Vizsla's lieutenant, Nite Owl Bo-Katan Kryze, who refused to follow the non-Mandalorian.

After Maul lured Kenobi back to Mandalore, Maul used the Darksaber to kill Duchess Satine in front of Kenobi as part of his revenge against the Jedi Master. After Kenobi made his escape thanks to Bo-Katan, Maul and Opress were confronted by Maul's former master, Darth Sidious. Together, Maul and Opress fought Sidious. After Opress was killed, Maul drew the Darksaber and wielded it in tandem with his red blade, but was unable to defeat his former master. Sidious tossed aside the Darksaber as he subdued Maul with Force lightning.

Prime Minister Almec and the Mandalorian super commandos recovered the Darksaber following Maul's capture by Sidious. Maul then used the Darksaber against Confederate General Grievous's forces and MagnaGuards when they came to Zanbar. Maul fought Grievous until his forces were forced to retreat.

Maul again used the saber when he boarded Grievous's dreadnought and used the Darksaber to keep him in check during the battle on Ord Mantell. Maul then threatened to kill Dooku with the Darksaber as a means of revenge against Sidious. However, Maul freed Dooku and the two used their weapons against Kenobi's, Mace Windu's, Aayla Secura's and Tiplee's forces as they boarded the asteroid outpost. He used the Darksaber against Secura and Windu whilst Dooku killed Tiplee.

After Maul returned to Dathomir to help Mother Talzin regain her physical form, Maul was confronted by Sidious and Grievous at the Nightbrothers' village. He, along with Talzin possessing Dooku, fought Sidious and Grievous. Maul used the Darksaber in the battle until he tossed Grievous aside.

Age of the Empire
"Is that a lightsaber?''" "''Indeed, yes, but not like any you would know. If your Mandalorian friend was here, she could explain it to you."

- Ezra Bridger and Maul on the Darksaber

The Darksaber was still on Dathomir during the reign of the Galactic Empire, kept by Maul in the Nightsister lair. Sabine Wren used it against Ezra Bridger while she was possessed by a Nightsister spirit. Ezra used his lightsaber and the Darksaber to destroy the altar from which the spirits rose. Sabine then picked up the Darksaber as she, Ezra and Kanan Jarrus left the planet. Upon their return from Dathomir, Sabine gave the lightsaber to Kanan for safekeeping because she was hesitant to use it herself.

Sometime after, Kanan showed the saber to Fenn Rau, suspecting that the Mandalorian Protector knew something about it, as Sabine had refused to speak of the weapon since their return from Dathomir. Rau told Kanan the legend of the saber's creation, as well as how it was used to unite House Vizsla and, eventually, all of Mandalore. Rau and Hera Syndulla convinced Sabine to learn how to use the saber, so she could attempt to use it to unite House Vizsla and get them to join the rebellion. Sabine was willing to try, but was unsure she would be successful, due to her estranged relationship with her family. Kanan, Ezra, and Sabine traveled to a secluded location on the planet Atollon to train. Ezra taught Sabine the basic lightsaber forms using wooden training sabers, and after several days, Kanan allowed Sabine to wield the Darksaber. During the duel, Kanan was able to convince Sabine to talk about why she left Mandalore. Sabine revealed she left to fight the Empire and save her planet. She felt responsible for weapons the Empire used to enslave her people. Sabine was able to process her emotions, which allowed her to decide she was worthy of wielding the saber.

Following her trials, Sabine, along with Kanan, Ezra, Chopper and Fenn Rau, traveled with the Darksaber to Clan Wren's domain on Krownest. Their mission was to solicit Clan Wren's support for the rebellion. After crash-landing on the planet, Sabine, Kanan, and Ezra sought an audience with Sabine's mother Ursa Wren, the leader of Clan Wren. While Ursa was shocked that her daughter had obtained the Mandalorian weapon, she later disputed Sabine's claim to the weapon since she had not wrested it from Maul in single combat. Later, Ursa tried to trade the Darksaber, along with Kanan and Ezra, to Viceroy Gar Saxon, the Emperor's Hand and the puppet ruler of Mandalore, in exchange for Sabine's safety. Saxon had no intention of keeping his word and ignited the Darksaber as a signal to his men to massacre Clan Wren. While the Super Commandos fought with the Wren Clan warriors and the Jedi, Saxon tried to murder Ursa from behind with the Darksaber but Sabine (wielding Ezra's lightsaber) intercepted the blow. The two then engaged in a fierce duel outside the Wren Stronghold and though Saxon nearly overwhelmed her with sheer force, Sabine managed to use the skills she had acquired to wound him and recover the Darksaber, holding both the black and green blades to his throat and demanding he yield. After Ursa killed Saxon, Sabine became the rightful new owner of the Darksaber. She stayed behind with her family and Fenn Rau to reunify the Mandalorian people and find the true leader of Mandalore.

Sabine eventually led a mission to Mandalore to rescue her father, Alrich Wren, from Imperial custody. She wielded the Darksaber during the fighting, first at a remote prison and later attacking the convoy taking her father back to Sundari. During the mission, Sabine met Bo-Katan and offered her the sword, but Bo-Katan turned it down as she felt she was unworthy and had already had her chance to rule. Later, Sabine and Bo-Katan led a raid on then-Mandalorian governor Tiber Saxon's Star Destroyer in order to destroy the Duchess, the superweapon Sabine had built during her days as an Imperial cadet. Sabine used the Darksaber to breach the Duchess' core, causing a chain reaction that led to the Star Destroyer's destruction and Tiber's death. After the raid, she finally persuaded Bo-Katan to accept the weapon, by showing her that other clans were willing to follow her and stating that the Force had brought the saber to her so she in turn could pass it on to Bo-Katan. Bo-Katan accepted the sword in memory of her sister Satine and for the honor of her clan and Mandalore itself.

After the Empire
At some point prior to 9 ABY, Moff Gideon acquired the blade. He later utilized it to escape from the wreckage of his TIE fighter after a confrontation with Din Djarin, on the planet of Nevarro.

Behind the scenes
Though it had originally been intended for Pre Vizsla to fight using a vibroblade, a familiar weapon in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the vibroblade was later modified at the request of George Lucas, with the creative team altering the blade into an archaic, black-bladed lightsaber they deemed the Darksaber.

The Darksaber first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode "The Mandalore Plot," which premiered on Cartoon Network on January 29, 2010.

In an interview with The Star Wars Show, Sam Witwer explained that the production of Solo: A Star Wars Story originally planned to reintroduce Maul's original lightsaber during his scene with Qi'ra. Witwer suggested using either the Darksaber or his Rebels lightsaber. Ultimately, it was chosen to use the latter. The saber finally made its live-action debut in the eighth episode of the 2019 Disney+ television show The Mandalorian, wielded by the series' antagonist Moff Gideon.