Revan/Legends

Revan was a fallen Jedi and Dark Lord of the Sith. He lived around the years 3,963-3,956 BBY; roughly 40 years after the Great Sith War and the fall of Exar Kun. Revan sought what many considered to be the complete annihilation of the Galactic Republic, a tendency later followed on by his apprentice Darth Malak.

Early Life
"Revan had a mother and father, parents, ancestors, like all Jedi do. And when he awakened to his potential, I was there to see it. But where he was born, where he came from, I do not know... anymore than I know where he walks now. Some said that Revan was born in the Outer Regions, beyond the Rim, and that's what called to him during the Mandalorian Wars... and after. It was the call of home."

- Kreia

Details of Revan’s early life are shrouded in mystery, though it is suspected that he was born beyond the Outer Rim. Whatever his origins, it can be assumed that his exceptional strength with the Force was discovered at a young age and that he was inducted into the Jedi Order soon afterwards.

Jedi Training
"At one time, Revan was my Padawan. In times past, long ago. But Revan, when he had learned all he could, had other masters... that fool Zhar, and other Jedi on other planets. He learned from each."

- Kreia

Possessing an insatiable appetite to learn, Revan was schooled on number of different planets by numerous Jedi Masters during his youth, Kreia, Kae, Dorak, and Zhar Lestin being among them. This love of knowledge did not go unnoticed by the elder Jedi, yet most dismissed it as simple exuberance, seeing in Revan a future champion of the Jedi Order.

There is also a distinct possibility that Revan sought knowledge of ancient Sith Magics during his time as an apprentice, as Master Vrook Lamar seemed convinced that he had done so. Whatever the validity of these accusations, however, after his corruption and embracing of the dark side, the general consensus amongst the Jedi Masters on Dantooine was that Revan had been a promising Padawan, yet also headstrong, proud and far too quick to dismiss the dangerous lure of the dark side.

The Mandalorian Wars


"Only Revan was worthy of our respect. We swept throught the Outer Rim without opposition - until Revan assumed command of the Republic forces. Only then did the battle turn."

- Canderous Ordo

At the start of the Mandalorian Wars, the Republic Military was in desperate need of assistance and petitioned the Jedi Council for aid, but the Council refused. The scars from the recent Sith War still ran deep and the Council was reluctant to charge into another conflict so soon after the last. They also sensed that there had to be something amiss about the whole situation, as though the true threat had not yet presented itself, yet not all the Jedi were willing to accept this stance of apparent inaction. Since rising to the rank of Jedi Knight, the charismatic and powerful young Revan had developed a sizable cult of personality - being a figure of admiration and awe amongst his peers. When the devastating events of the Battle of Cathar became widely known, Revan rebelled against the Council and sent forth his call to arms. Hundreds of Jedi, Padawans, Knights and even some Masters, rallied to his seemingly noble cause.

Revan’s entrance into the war marked its turning point as he steadily began to push the Mandalorians back. Praised as heroes of the Republic, he and Malak were rapidly promoted until they were given complete control over a third of the Republic's fleet. Revan’s clever military strategies and obvious tactical ability were hailed by many as the salvation of the Republic, while others admired Malak’s courage and fiery determination to win at any cost. Together, they liberated Taris, fought Cassus Fett - Mandalore's primary strategist - at Jaga's Cluster, and eradicated much of the Mandalorian army at Althir.

Even so, some few became concerned by the cold and calculating methods that the Jedi were willing to implement in order to attain victory. Though Revan’s tactics were flawless and Malak’s righteous fury was unmatched, the pair began to mirror the Mandalorians they were fighting. They grew to despise weakness and indecisiveness in all its forms. At some point during the war, Revan was scouting for bases along the Outer Rim when he learned of Malachor V, a planet that the Mandalorians were “forbidden” to step foot on. Upon the surface, he was nearly destroyed by Sith energies, yet such was his strength of will that he was able to feed on and not be consumed. He survived the encounter, but unlike many who were tainted by the dark side Revan did not let his actions be directed by the dark side. Revan soon discovered the Trayus Academy, an ancient relic of the ancient Sith Empire. What transpired in the heart of that dark place is unknown – what is certain is that there Revan discovered the continued existence of the Sith Empire, long thought defeated during the Great Hyperspace War, and the threat that they still presented to the galaxy. He came to the conclusion that the Republic as it stood was ill equipped to defend the galaxy from such a potent enemy and, as such, a new government would need to rise in its place, an empire founded upon the Sith teachings. He would attempt to save the galaxy through conquest. In that black moment, Revan fully abandoned the teachings of the Jedi. He took up the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith and became Darth Revan.

On Malachor V, Revan eventually uncovered historical traces of the Star Forge, a relic of the Infinite Empire of the Rakata, and an instrument of the dark side capable of producing vast fleets by harnessing the power of the stars. He soon realized that he had discovered the means by which he could rapidly conquer the Republic and prepare it for the coming attack of the ancient Sith. At last, Revan forced a final confrontation with the Mandalorians over Malachor V. He planned to unleash a device (the Mass Shadow Generator) invented by an Iridonian technician in his service, Bao-Dur, on the planet – thereby wiping out the majority of the Mandalorian fleet as well as those Republic forces and Jedi who were not fervently loyal to him. He trusted the device’s activation to a capable Jedi general (later known as the Jedi Exile) whilst he did battle with Mandalore himself.

The Jedi Civil War
"The Jedi Civil War destroyed the Jedi. By the war's end, barely a hundred Jedi remained. Many fell in battle... and many more were seduced by Revan's teachings."

- Kreia

After the slaying of Mandalore and the victory at Malachor, the Republic praised Revan as a hero and saviour, yet the Sith teachings were already sweeping through the ranks of those who had followed Revan to war.

Revan and Malak took the remainder of their fleet and disappeared from the known Galaxy, claiming to be searching for the remnants of the Mandalorian Fleet. In reality they were searching for the Star Forge. For many months they were believed lost, though there were scattered, unconfirmed sightings of Revan and Malak on planets across the galaxy.

A year later they returned to known space, at the head of a massive Sith invasion fleet, having reformed the former Republic forces who followed them into a militaristic imperial force, a new Sith Empire.



Revan's campaign, while bloody, was orchestrated to topple the Republic while doing little damage to its underlying industrial infrastructure. Under his leadership, Sith forces bypassed militarily vital planets that would be required for the defense of the Galaxy against the threat of the True Sith. Revan's plan was to keep the Republic largely intact for the purposes of post-war rebuilding. As such, he could begin his rule with a relatively functional military and economy rather than starting from scratch. Also, had he failed in conquering the galaxy, the end result would be much the same: a stronger Republic, more capable of defending itself.

Revan pioneered new Sith tactics relying on secrecy rather than brute force. His Sith Assassins quietly flooded into the Republic from their base on Malachor V to kill and abduct Jedi throughout known space. Revan reestablished strongholds and academies upon worlds of ancient power such as Rakata Prime, Dxun, and Korriban. In these dark places, his most faithful servants broke captured Jedi and converted them to the dark side. Revan also utilized assassin droids, such as HK-47, to eliminate threats to the stability of his fledging Sith Empire.

With Revan at the helm, the Sith forged vital alliances to expedite the support and deployment of their forces. They conspired with the Czerka Corporation, one of the richest and most powerful galaxy-spanning companies of the time, to amass much needed resources and they secured diplomatic relations with the ocean planet of Manaan so that they were able to export the healing agent kolto.

Revan and Malak separately knew of the Star Forge's almost sentient nature. It wanted to exist and was willing to go to any lengths to keep itself "alive". Whereas Malak, like the Rakata before him, allowed himself to be corrupted by it utterly - one could almost say that the Star Forge actually took control of him, Revan minimised his exposure to it. Also, Revan didn't want to become over-reliant on the Star Forge; once its existance was exposed to his enemies, it would become the number one target hence a strategy of trying to capture planets rather than eradicate them.

The reinvigorated Sith won battle after battle, until a young Jedi named Bastila Shan entered the fray with her Battle Meditation. This powerful Force ability increased the combat effectiveness of the Republic's forces and sapped the will of enemy combatants. Even with this power, however, the Republic forces knew that they could not hold out forever against the Sith. In a desperate attempt to end the war, the Republic set a trap for Revan and Malak, during which Bastila and a team of Jedi boarded Revan's flagship and managed to corner the Dark Lord on the bridge. Undoubtedly one of the most powerful Sith Lords of all time, it is likely that Revan would have defeated Bastila and the remnants of her Jedi strike force.

However, Darth Malak chose that moment to attack his master's flagship, attempting to kill both Revan and Bastila at once. He fired upon the flagship from a nearby battle cruiser, but was unsuccessful in killing either his master or Bastila. In the ironic turn of events, Revan succeeded and failed at his task to destroy the Sith at that time. Unexpectedly betrayed by Darth Malak, Revan's plans were quickly quashed by his brash and violent apprentice, who sought to destroy the Old Republic entirely. It was only chance, or the Force, that kept Revan alive.

Bastila Shan was the only remaining member of the Jedi strike force to be left standing, after the turbolaser blast rocked through the bridge. Upon regaining her wits, she was confronted with the broken body of Darth Revan. The Dark Lord was nearly dead&mdash;by Bastila's own admission, just a tiny spark of the Force remained alive within him. For whatever reason&mdash;perhaps a sense of duty to the Republic, pity, or a simple urge to save his life&mdash;young Shan took the decision to grab a hold of that waning spark and keep Revan alive. Through that act, Bastila somehow tied Revan's life to her own, unwittingly forging a powerful Force bond.

Revan, though, was still in a critical condition and his mind remained heavily damaged. Bastila brought him to the Jedi, where his broken mind was reprogrammed by the Council to conceal the Dark Lord's old identity, while enabling Bastila to draw out Revan's subconscious memories, in order to find a way to defeat the apparently endless Sith fleet. Using his slowly-returning memories, Revan was accomplishing his original tasks.

Search for the Star Forge
"What greater weapon is there than to turn an enemy to your cause?"

- Bastila Shan

Revan, under an implanted name, with no recollection of his real history or even of his mastery of the Force, was enlisted as a common soldier in the Republic army and placed under Bastila's command on the Republic warship Endar Spire. Malak, thinking his master dead, devoted all his forces to the hunt for Bastila. In orbit over the world of Taris, the Endar Spire was attacked by a Sith fleet and destroyed. Bastila managed to escape to the planet's surface, followed soon after by Revan and fellow Republic soldier Carth Onasi. The Sith blockaded Taris, intent on capturing Bastila. They were unaware that the young female Jedi had already been taken prisoner by a swoop gang called the Black Vulkars, who intended to give her to the winner of an underground swoop racing tournament as a slave. Revan eventually succeeded in rescuing her when he infiltrated and won the tournament. In orbit, Darth Malak, deciding that the search for Bastila was taking too long, gave the order to destroy the entire planet. Positioning themselves in strategic positions, the ships of his fleet unleashed a devastating planetary bombardment that wiped out nearly all life on Taris's surface. Revan, Bastila, and Carth, along with their newfound crew, barely escaped in time aboard the Ebon Hawk, formerly the personal spaceship of the late Taris crimelord Davik Kang, whose estate they had infiltrated in order to steal the Ebon Hawk. Davik tried to stop the theft. However, the fight occured amidst heavy Sith bombardment, and Davik was killed.

Revan and his companions fled to the Jedi stronghold of Dantooine, where Bastila convinced the Jedi academy council to retrain the amnesic Dark Lord in the ways of the Jedi. After Revan completed his unprecedentedly short formal training, he and Bastila were sent to investigate an ancient stone structure. Inside, the two uncovered an ancient artifact known as a Star Map, a relic of the long-forgotten Infinite Empire of the Rakata. Though the Map was not complete, it pointed the way to the worlds of Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, and Korriban, on which more Star Maps could be found. Only with the combined information of these five worlds would Revan be able to discover the location of the mysterious Rakatan artifact&mdash; the "Star Forge".

Revan, Bastila, and their companions journeyed to these worlds, tracing the steps Darth Revan had taken years before. On each planet, the powerful dark side aura of the Star Maps had created perilous conditions that made access to the Maps difficult. Additionally, the crew of the Ebon Hawk found themselves hunted by Sith and bounty hunters, and confronted with the problems of the local populace at every turn.



As the crew attempted to reach the fourth Star Map (including the one on Dantooine), Revan and his allies were captured by the Sith flagship Leviathan. They managed to escape from their holding cells, but, as they fled toward the Ebon Hawk, Revan was confronted by Darth Malak, who revealed to him his former life as the Dark Lord of the Sith. A vicious lightsaber duel ensued, culminating with Bastila's capture by Malak. Revan was forced to deal with Malak's revelation and his loss of Bastila as the quest for the Star Forge stepped up, until at last it was found in the home system of the ancient Rakata.

After gaining the support of this race, Revan was forced to confront a fallen Bastila. Following weeks of torture at Malak's hand, Bastila had at last given in to her hate and had fallen to the dark side. She was now, she claimed, the Dark Lord's new apprentice. His original apprentice, a former Jedi named Darth Bandon, had previously been slain by Revan during the search for the Star Maps.

Atop an ancient Rakatan temple, Bastila attempted to entice Revan to reclaim his former title of Dark Lord of the Sith. This was the climax of the quest for the Star Forge, and it ended with Revan, once again, making a choice that would change the fate of the Galaxy.

Revan made the choice of a Jedi, rejecting Bastila's temptation. Enraged, Bastila retreated to the Star Forge. Revan and the crew of the Ebon Hawk pursued her as a Republic fleet commenced an assault of its own.

Aboard the Star Forge, Revan almost single-handedly defeated nearly endless waves of Sith soldiers and Dark Jedi, displaying his incredible power in the Force and mastery of the lightsaber. Revan faced off against Bastila once again. After defeating her, he attempted to convince her to return to the light side by drawing on the powerful bond of love that had formed between the two during the course of their quest. He succeeded and Bastila used her Battle Meditation to aid the Republic now. Finally, Revan again confronted his old friend and apprentice, Malak, in an epic lightsaber duel, while the Republic fleet, now no longer hindered by Bastila's Battle Meditation, continued its bombardment of the Star Forge. During their duel, Malak continually sucked the life-force from Jedi held in stasis to replenish his energies, but even this was not enough to defeat Revan. Revan, instead, freed as many of the Jedi as he could and allowed them to become one with the Force, and shortened Malak's supply of energy. At last, Malak was cut down. Before his friend's death, Revan apologized for starting him down the dark path, even though Malak had continued down it willingly. Malak accepted his apology, realizing that he had no one to blame for his fate save himself. Thus Darth Malak, Dark Lord of the Sith, died, his life ending in darkness and regret, and the Star Forge was destroyed.

Into the unknown
"Savior, conqueror, hero, villain. You are all things, Revan... and yet you are nothing. In the end, you belong to neither the light nor the darkness. You will forever stand alone."

- Darth Malak

A year after the defeat of Malak and the collapse of the Sith Empire, Revan left the Republic, having remembered the remnants of the ancient Sith Empire he had rediscovered as the Dark Lord. Hoping to put an end to the threat it posed before it could attack the weakened Republic, Revan bade farewell to the nine comrades who had accompanied him on his quest, knowing that none whom he loved could safely accompany him in the places he had to walk.

He entrusted Carth Onasi with the Republic's safety, and said goodbye to Bastila. "It would have been better," Kreia would later remark, "if he had made her understand. But she was always strong-willed, that one, and did not understand war as Revan did." Then Revan disappeared, leaving the Ebon Hawk with T3-M4 and HK-47 on Malachor V, on the edge of Known Space.

Behind the scenes
Revan's story, as dictated here, is the plot of the computer game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

Name
Revan's name can be a derivative of a real-life English word, as is the case in other Sith Lords' aliases. It brings to mind Raven or Revenge. It may also be derived from the Latin words "revenio", meaning "to return" and "revalesco", "to recover", since these meanings correspond to plot points in KotOR.

However, it is worth noting that unlike later Darths, Malak and Revan did not choose new Sith monikers but instead used their real names. See also relevant discussion about Malak

Gender
While Revan's gender is specified by the player, the canonical Revan is confirmed by Leland Chee to be male. Also, The New Essential Chronology and the Chronicles of the Old Republic, published prior to the release of The Sith Lords, both refer to Revan as male.

In KOTOR II, if the player chooses not to define Revan's gender during an important conversation with Atton Rand, the game sets Revan to a light-side male by default. However, it is notable that Atton, at first, apparently assumes Revan to be female. This may well have been a genuine mistake, or just an attempt to hide his past. The actual physical appearance of the character has not been defined in continuity.

Alignment
Although the player of the game may have Revan end up as redeemed Jedi or a renewed Sith Lord, the canonical ending has him returning to the light side. This follows the usual practice of LucasArts, where the canonical storyline of all videogames ends in victory for the light.

Lightsaber combat forms
The player can choose which fighting style is used by Revan in the game, either duelling or dual-wielding (known as Form X: Niman / Jar'Kai). In The Sith Lords, the Exile has a vision of Revan fighting in a Jar'Kai stance. However, the main canon reference to Revan's fighting style is in the first game's cinematic when Revan is confronted by Bastila and two other Jedi on his flagship. In this cinematic, he wields only one lightsaber. Also, in Shadows and Light, Duron Qel-Droma has a vision of Revan in which he also wields a single lightsaber. At the same time, one should note that Sora Bulq, the famous dual blades wielder in the Expanded Universe of the Clone Wars era, used only a single lightsaber in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Thus occassional use of a single blade could not totally discard the possibility of Revan being a Jar'Kai practitioner.

As the first game does not include the seven forms of lightsaber combat, it is not known which form Revan favors, and no retcon is known to assign a form to the canonical Revan.

Lightsaber color
While Revan's lightsaber color is selectable by the player (and corresponds to the character class the player chooses - green for Jedi Consular, yellow for Jedi Sentinel or blue for Jedi Guardian), the canonical color is blue, as shown in the comic Shadows and Light during Duron Qel-Droma's vision. This color likely corresponds to the powerful Mantle of the Force crystal Revan obtains during his quest for the Star Forge. This crystal produces a cyan blade.

Comparison with Darth Vader
Many have also noticed a few notable similarities between Revan and another Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Both were considered to be the most powerful Force-users of their time, as well as being highly skilled warriors who fell to the dark side of the Force at the end of Galactic conflicts&mdash;the Mandalorian and Clone Wars respectively. The two characters' identities also went through drastic changes as the result of lightsaber duels (though Revan's were mental, while Vader's physical). Both Vader and Revan also share having constructed and lost protocol droids, only to be reunited with them on the same planet&mdash;Tatooine by the will of the Force. The two Dark Lords also have strikingly similar attire&mdash;black robes and armor, with a face covered by a metallic mask designed to strike fear at the hearts of enemies.

Dark side ending
"Malak is dead. All hail the return of Darth Revan, the true Lord of the Sith"

- Bastila Shan

The rejected alternate "dark side" ending:

Accepting Bastila's offer, Revan struck down the Jedi Jolee Bindo and Juhani, the stain of their blood on the temple stone symbolizing Revan's return to power. He returned to the Ebon Hawk and explained the absence of Jolee and Juhani to his stunned party. Shocked by his return to the dark side, Carth Onasi fled, leaving Mission Vao to be mercilessly struck down by Revan. (Alternatively, Revan used his mind-dominating force powers to convince Zaalbar to kill Mission.)

Flying to the Star Forge, Bastila used her Battle Meditation to thwart the Republic fleet, allowing Revan to penetrate the depths of the Star Forge to fight with Darth Malak. Striking Malak down, Revan regained his rightful place as Dark Lord of the Sith. The epilogue cut scene of the game now occurs on Top of the Rakatan Temple.

Using the resources he now commanded as Master of the Star Forge, Revan created an infinite fleet that rolled forth to crush the Republic. Surprisingly, however, Revan soon halted his offensive. It was noted as odd that Revan deliberately avoided striking the Republic's manufacturing facilities in his previous war, and again that he seemingly ended the Star Forge's production of vessels early. Bastila Shan, in a holocron discovered on Korriban, reported that Revan mysteriously vanished one day and told her to wait for him.

Bereft of a strong dark side user to guide it, the Star Forge atrophied and was destroyed by the Republic. It is assumed that Darth Revan visited all his former strongholds searching for something that is not yet readily apparent. It is known, however, that he headed for the Unknown Regions with the intent of stopping something menacingly powerful, something that was apparently responsible for initially coercing the Mandalorians to invade. Revan's former master, Kreia, suggests that Revan was searching for the original Sith Empire.

Forbidden Relationships
"Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled, but passion is not the same thing as love. "Controlling your passions while being in love, that's what they should teach you to beware, but love itself will save, not condemn you"

- Jolee Bindo

Bastila
"I love you too, with all of my heart."

- Bastila

"You aren't afraid to love anymore?"

- Revan

"After this? No. Nothing would make me feel safer than to be loved by you"

- Bastila

In the canonical light side ending of Revan, he can persuade Bastila to redeem herself from the dark side. When Revan fell in love with Bastila before they were separated on the Leviathan, Bastila kissed Revan, though she felt it was best if they were not distracted and to stay on course with their mission. When Bastila asked Revan to strike her down when Revan defeated her on the Star Forge, Revan refused and told Bastila that he loved her. Bastila also loved Revan even dreaded to hear those words, yet also she yearned to hear them. She turned away from the dark side and used her Battle Meditation to aid the Republic, because if she came with Revan to face Malak, she could turn on Revan.

Carth
"I love you. Even now. Even after all you've done. I haven't loved anyone or anything since my wife died and I didn't even think that was possible!"

- Carth Onasi

Although not considered canon, should Revan have been a female, she and Carth Onasi flirt and tease each other through the entire game. Because of Carth's growing affection for Revan, he begins to lose his deceased wife's image. Carth eventually promises to protect Revan from what is to come, and gives him a purpose beyond taking simple revenge on Saul Karath. When he discovers that the woman he is falling in love with was Darth Revan, he remains isolated from her, unsure what to do with this information, being that Revan is the one he believes destroyed his life. Carth eventually comes around and confesses that he can't hate her no matter how hard he tries. And asks her if he can give her a future with him.

If Revan declines Bastila's request to join the dark side, Carth says his feelings out loud on Rakata Prime. Although the scene is open for interpretation, fans have assumed this to be the place of Revan and Carth's kiss (interrupted by Mission Vao). When Revan left him to search for the True Sith, Carth felt an emptiness where she used to be.

However, should Revan join the dark side and murder Jolee Bindo and Juhani, Carth flees, declaring that she is not the woman he loves. When Revan defeats Darth Malak on the Star Forge, she is confronted by Carth again. At this point, Revan kills him or has Bastila murder him.

Appearances

 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords