Darth Bandon

"I have studied at the foot of the Dark Lord himself!"

- Darth Bandon, to Revan

Darth Bandon was a Human male who was a former Jedi Padawan that defected to the Sith Empire during the Jedi Civil War. Sometime after the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Malak betrayed his Sith Master Darth Revan when the Jedi attempted to capture them, Bandon became Malak's first Sith apprentice. He was one of the Sith Empire's most dangerous assassins, murdering many of his former comrades.

When the Sith attacked the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan's ship, the Endar Spire, above the planet Taris, he boarded the ship with the Sith troops and Dark Jedi under his command, killing the Republic soldier Trask Ulgo. Sometime after the destruction of Taris, the bounty hunter Calo Nord, who had been sent by Malak to capture Shan, was slain by a reconditioned Revan, who had in fact survived his apprentice's betrayal. Darth Malak then dispatched Bandon to find and capture Shan.

Bandon tracked down and confronted Revan, Shan, and their allies after they had found the fourth Rakatan Star Map during their search for the Star Forge, an ancient Rakatan space station under Malak's control. Bandon underestimated the former Dark Lord and his companions, arrogantly assuming that they would be no match for him. This proved to be his downfall, as Revan and his team vanquished Malak's Shadow Hand, along with his Dark Jedi.

Early life
The Humanmale who would be known as Darth Bandon was a Jedi Padawan, though he never fully accepted the teachings of the Jedi Code. Even though the Force flowed through him, his powerful emotions, such as anger and hatred, raged within the young Jedi, fueling his strength. Shortly after Darths Revan and Malak, the heroes of the Mandalorian Wars, declared war on the Jedi Council and the Galactic Republic, Bandon rejected his old Jedi Master and the Jedi Order, fleeing to the revitalized Sith Academy on the ancient Sith homeworld of Korriban.



Jedi Civil War
As a student in the new Sith Academy, Bandon fully embraced the teachings of the dark side and the Sith code. This, along with his strength with the Force, his natural cruelty, and his utter ruthlessness in his quest for power, soon set him apart from his fellow students, eventually bringing him to the attention of Darth Malak, eventually winning the Dark Lord's admiration.

In the tradition of the Sith Order, Malak sought a single learner among his followers to become his official apprentice, someone that could learn the Sith secrets and use them effectively to destroy the Jedi and Republic. Two years into the Jedi Civil War, the Jedi and Republic forces set a trap for Revan and Malak in an attempt to capture both Sith Lords. During the battle, Malak betrayed his Sith Master by ordering his flagship's guns to fire on Revan's ship. With this, Malak seized Revan's mantle as the Dark Lord of the Sith and took the promising Bandon as his Shadow Hand, imparting much of his Sith knowledge to him.

Malak was not disappointed with his choice, because many Jedi soon found themselves the victims of Bandon and his double-bladed lightsaber. It was not long before rumors began to spread that Bandon would challenge his Master for the right to rule, as was the manner of the Sith. Bandon even began to set his sights on his Sith Master's throne.

Raiding the Endar Spire
"Damn–another Dark Jedi! I'll try to hold him off, you get to the escape pods! Go!"

- Trask Ulgo sacrifices himself against Bandon



When Malak learned of the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan's location, Bandon led the boarding party that stormed her ship, the Endar Spire, above the planet Taris. Bandon could have killed Revan, who had been rescued by Shan and mind-wiped by the Jedi Council after Malak betrayed him, on the doomed ship. However, before Bandon could do so, the Republic ensign Trask Ulgo made a desperate and futile charge. Ulgo sacrificed himself so that Revan could get to the escape pods and flee the ship with the Republic captain Carth Onasi. After Bandon killed Ulgo, he escaped the Endar Spire before Sith interceptors destroyed the ship.

The search for Bastila and downfall
"My apprentice, Darth Bandon, shall take care of our young Jedi friend. [...] Find Bastila and bring her to me, alive if possible." "As you command, Master."

- Darths Malak and Bandon

After Malak was told by the Sith Admiral Saul Karath of the bounty hunter Calo Nord's failure to capture Bastila Shan, Malak ordered Bandon to bring Shan to him; alive, if at all possible. When Revan and his companions found the fourth Star Map on their quest to find the Star Forge, Bandon confronted Revan. Accompanied by two Dark Jedi, Bandon presumed that Revan and his team would be no match for him.

Not surprisingly, Revan recognized Bandon and told him that he would pay for killing Trask Ulgo. Bandon and Revan fought, but despite all the Sith apprentice's skill, he was struck down by the former Sith Lord along with his companions. With Bandon dead, Malak decided to make Shan his next apprentice, an event which led to his downfall at the hands of Revan.

Personality and traits


During his time as a Sith, Darth Bandon was known for his ruthless and sadistic behavior. It was not uncommon for him to take the lives of people and damage equipment to enforce his position for a perceived transgression as minor as walking in his way. He was also focused on the destruction of the Republic and the slaughter and extinction of the Jedi Order. Bandon seemed to hold contempt for those not Force-sensitive, especially the bounty hunter Calo Nord. Before he fought Revan, he called Nord "pathetic", and thought his skills were more than adequate to defeat Revan and his companions.

Some in the Sith hierachies felt that Bandon would eventually rise to challenge Malak for his mantle of Dark Lord, because of the Sith belief that the strong must rule, and when the apprentice surpassed the Master, the Master must fall. As time went by, Bandon grew arrogant, and he began plotting to overthrow his Sith Master.

After Bandon joined the Sith ranks, he constructed a double-bladed lightsaber containing a red crystal. His lightsaber resembled the one used by the Sith Lord Exar Kun, who initiated the Great Sith War nearly forty years before the Jedi Civil War. Bandon also wore a customized set of light fiber armor which he fitted to his robes. Both his lightsaber and armor might have been acquired by Revan after the redeemed Jedi killed him.

Powers and abilities
"You may have defeated the pathetic bounty hunter my Master sent after you, but you are no match for me!"

- Darth Bandon, to Revan

Darth Bandon spoke and comprehended the Basic and Sith languages. He was proficient in the use of his double-bladed lightsaber, killing scores of his former Jedi brethren. Before he fought Revan, he had yet to meet his equal in combat.

Because of his strength in the Force, Bandon was capable of using many Force powers; he could also use the Force to push his opponents to the ground, and was able to use it to render himself virtually invulnerable to most offensive Force powers for a limited time, demonstrating this against Revan. His strength with the dark side of the Force enabled him to use dark-sided powers such as Force lightning, and he also used the dark side to tap into his rage and direct it against his opponents. He could also use the Force to instill fear in his opponents, driving them temporarily insane. Bandon's strength with the dark side was such that he could drain his enemies' life-forces.

Behind the scenes


Darth Bandon was created by the developers at Bioware as a villian for the 2003 X-box and PC video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Bandon's name was derived from the word "abandon". In the article "The 100 Greatest Things About Star Wars&hellip; Ever!", which appeared in Star Wars Insider 100, Bandon came in the twenty-second place, beating out his Sith Master Darth Malak, who came in at twenty-third place.

The planet on which Revan battles Bandon is determined by the order in which the Star Maps are obtained. Bandon appears on the planet where the fourth Star Map of the journey is found. If Revan has already found three Star Maps, and for any reason returns to the site of one of the previous ones, Bandon will confront Revan. In the Xbox version of the game, Bandon's double-bladed lightsaber appears to have some unusual properties that set it apart from other lightsabers. When certain crystals are added to Bandon's blade, their effects were different than they were on standard lightsabers. The lightsaber loses its effects if the red crystal is replaced with another color crystal. Bandon's unique lightsaber can only be acquired if he is defeated on Manaan.

Bandon is normally accompanied by two hooded Dark Jedi on Tatooine or Manaan. However, if Revan encountered him on Kashyyyk, he is accompanied by two Dark Jedi that resemble the Sith Governor inside the Tarisian Sith Base. On Korriban, he is accompanied by two students from the Sith Academy, the place where he was trained. If Revan found the fourth Star Map on Manaan, Bandon would tell Revan that he knew about his and Malak's search for the Map, stating that he followed the same route Revan and Malak did underwater, leading him right to the Hrakert Station.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Notes and references
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