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- "Mandalorian steel is meant for armor, not weapons."
- ―The Armorer
Beskar, also known as Mandalorian iron or Mandalorian steel, was an alloy that was used in Mandalorian armor and was notable for its high tolerance to extreme forms of damage. In its purest forms, the metal was durable enough to withstand a direct blaster shot and could repel lightsaber strikes. A superweapon created by the Mandalorian Sabine Wren and used by the Galactic Empire, called the Arc Pulse Generator, was capable of superheating the metal to the point that it would burn everything it was protecting to a crisp, such as Mandalorian warriors encased within their beskar armor. However, Wren destroyed her weapon during the Mandalorian Civil War.
Description[]
Beskar in its pure form[6] was one of the toughest and most legendary metals in the galaxy.[2] The purest form of beskar[10] was capable of repelling the strikes of a lightsaber[1] for brief amounts of time,[10] and could withstand direct blaster fire.[11][12][13][14] Pure beskar could still be damaged by weapons also made out of beskar; because of this, making weapons out of beskar was considered illegal by the Children of the Watch.[9] The metal could also be reforged to any warrior's liking.[2] Beskar was found only on Mandalorian worlds. In ingot form, beskar was silver with wavy patterns.[10]
Usage[]
- "It is amazing how beautiful beskar can be when forged by its ancestral artisans."
- ―"The Client"
Mandalorian armor across the generations
Beskar was a material used by the various groups,[16] clans[17] and houses[18] of Mandalore's people, such as the clans Wren, Vizsla,[2] Saxon,[19] and Kryze; and the Nite Owls,[2] as well as the Children of the Watch.[20] "The Armorer" used a cryo-furnace, magnetic tongs, and a gravity hammer in her workshop to forge armor from beskar.[20] Her tools were made from beskar, and were able to repel strikes from the Darksaber.[9] The Mandalorian method for forging beskar was a closely guarded secret, a skill passed on through generations to keep ancient armor intact and impervious.[21]
According to Mandalorians, all beskar belonged to them,[13] but, over the course of history, many other parties claimed it.[20] It was also used for weapons, such as a spear,[9] traditional beskad sword, kal dagger,[8] the munit'kad halberd,[7] and the hilt of the Darksaber.[9] The spear was considered taboo by the Children of the Watch, as it could damage other Mandalorians that had beskar armor.[9] Beskar plates were also used to reinforce strength-enhancing gloves known as crushgaunts that were capable of shattering bones as well as turning the blade of a lightsaber.[8]
History[]
Republic Era[]
In the days of the Old Republic, Tarre Vizsla created the Darksaber, and its hilt was made from beskar.[9] Due to its unique properties, beskar was used to forge armor capable of repelling Jedi lightsabers during the Mandalorian-Jedi War.[1] Armor forged from beskar was used as early as 500 BBY.[2] Before joining the Nihil, the future Tempest Runner Lourna Dee took part in bar fights while wearing beskar armor, making her appear Mandalorian whenever her lekku were not exposed.[22]
A Mandalorian warrior of Death Watch
During the Clone Wars, Death Watch[16] continued to use beskar for their armor.[10] Members of Death Watch continued using their armor when their faction split in two; one portion of Death Watch became part of Maul's Shadow Collective as the Mandalorian super commandos, while another banded under Lady Bo-Katan Kryze to become the Mandalore resistance.[23] During her time with the resistance, former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano was given a Mandalorian-designed combat outfit with beskar plates.[24]
At some point in the Clone Wars, the Sith assassin Ochi of Bestoon had a deathblade made of beskar. On Sidious's orders, he attempted to assassinate Depa Billaba on Malathon IX but was disarmed of the blade by her former master Mace Windu.
Imperial Era[]
Beskar was among the profitable cargoes recommended to fellow smugglers by Platt Okeefe in the pirate Maz Kanata's Smuggler's Guide, along with corusca gems, quella gems, and prismatic crystals.[25] An Arcona bounty hunter wore a set of beskar armor.[26] Enfys Nest had beskar gauntlets.[27]
The Arc Pulse Generator targets a Clan Wren warrior's beskar armor
While a cadet at the Imperial Academy of Mandalore, Sabine Wren constructed the Arc Pulse Generator. Invented as a challenge, the "Duchess" was designed to target the beskar in Mandalorian armor and vaporize the wearer. Upon realizing that the Galactic Empire had tested the weapon on her own people and intended to keep using it, Wren sabotaged the weapon, destroyed the plans, and fled, eventually joining up with the Spectres, a band of rebels who later became part of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Although Wren believed she had destroyed her weapon, the Empire salvaged and rebuilt it, although they were unable to restore it to its full power. Rumors spread that the Empire had tested such a weapon, but there was never confirmation among other Mandalorian clans that the Duchess was real.[2]
Eventually, a civil war broke out after Clan Wren rebelled against Clan Saxon, which had been placed in power by the Emperor, and Governor Tiber Saxon attempted to use the Arc Pulse Generator, fitting it onto the AT-DP Arc Cannon Prototype. After Grand Admiral Thrawn suggested that Saxon capture Wren to restore the weapon to its full capacity, Saxon laid a trap for Wren and the Mandalorian resistance aboard his Star Destroyer. However, Wren and Bo-Katan Kryze destroyed the weapon for good after Wren reprogrammed it to target the plastoid in stormtrooper armor, and the weapon's detonation also killed Saxon.[2]
Post-Great Purge[]
- "The Beskar belongs back into the hands of a Mandalorian."
- ―"The Client"
Din Djarin defeated Moff Gideon in personal combat wielding a beskar spear.
During the Great Purge of Mandalore, the Empire took beskar[3] as spoils[20] after killing the majority of the Mandalorians.[28] After the fall of the Empire, beskar was harder to come by.[29] In 9 ABY, an Imperial known as "the Client" gave bounty hunter Din Djarin a piece of the beskar imprinted with the Imperial crest taken from the Mandalorians during the purge, which he then used to forge a new shoulder plate for himself and gave the excess to the Armorer for future foundlings.[3] Later, after capturing a child of the same species as Jedi Grand Master Yoda, the Client gave a camtono of beskar to Djarin in payment. He then used the Beskar to forge a new set of armor for himself and once again gave the excess to The Tribe's foundlings.[20] Morgan Elsbeth had in her possession a beskar spear which she used in combat against Ahsoka Tano. The spear was then gifted to Din Djarin after the liberation of Calodan.[6] The spear was later reforged into an armor for Grogu, as the armorer considered it dangerous to Mandalorians.[9]
Gideon later created the next-generation armor for the Dark Trooper from beskar alloy.[5] The former Imperial Sentinel, who played the part of a loyal stormtrooper in the Hunters of the Outer Rim competition,[30] owned a suit of beskar snowtrooper armor identified as the "Beskar Buckethead" suit. Sentinel claimed to deserve the armor and remarked that it felt very good.[31]
Behind the scenes[]
The name "beskar" originated in the Star Wars Legends article The Mandalorians: People and Culture, published in Star Wars Insider in 2006 and written by Karen Traviss.[32] Before that, it was known as Mandalorian iron. It was first introduced unnamed, in the form of Mandalorian manacles, in the Legends comic Tales of the Jedi 5,[33] and was later named Mandalorian iron in the comic Freedon Nadd Uprising.[34]
Boba Fett's armor was previously stated to be made of durasteel.[35] However, "Chapter 14: The Tragedy" of The Mandalorian retconned the Fett armor into being made of beskar.[36]
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Star Wars Rebels: Heroes of Mandalore
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4
The Mandalorian — "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Solo: A Star Wars Story The Official Guide
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2
The Mandalorian — "Chapter 23: The Spies"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 The Mandalorian — "Chapter 13: The Jedi"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Collapse of the Republic
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 The Book of Boba Fett — "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 The Star Wars Book
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Mandalorian — "Chapter 9: The Marshal"
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 10: The Passenger"
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 7: The Reckoning"
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Mandalore Plot"
- ↑ Star Wars Rebels — "The Protector of Concord Dawn"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Eminence"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Old Friends Not Forgotten"
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 The Mandalorian — "Chapter 3: The Sin"
- ↑ The Armorer's forge in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ The High Republic: Tempest Runner
- ↑ Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 3
- ↑ "Old Friends Not Forgotten" Episode Guide | The Clone Wars on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Smuggler's Guide
- ↑ Bounty Hunters 6
- ↑ Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 6: The Prisoner"
- ↑ beskar in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ Hunters: Battle for the Arena
- ↑ Star Wars: Hunters
- ↑ "The Mandalorians: People and Culture" — Star Wars Insider 86
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi 5
- ↑ Freedon Nadd Uprising
- ↑ Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- ↑ The Mandalorian — "Chapter 14: The Tragedy"