Revan

Creation

Revan was created in the 2003 RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game as the main playable character. While none of the player’s dialogue features voice-overs other than some instances of using the security skill, the male player character’s cries of pain and shouts during combat are voiced by Rino Romano. His story was expanded upon in the 2005 sequel Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and the 2011 novelization Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan. He also appeared as the primary antagonist in the 2014 Shadow of Revan expansion of BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMOwhere he was voiced by Jeff Bennett.

The character has become one of the most beloved and fan-favorite in the Star Wars expanded universe to such lenghts that many consider him to be even better than Darth Vader himself, sporting cameos and mentions in various other works such as the 2006 novelization Star Wars: Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and the 2006 to 2010 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comic series.

Character Summary

Early Years and Training

“Revan had many Masters, Zhar, Dorak, Master Kae before Kae left for the Wars. Toward the end of his training, he sought out many to learn techniques. It is said that he returned to his first Master at the end of his training, in order to learn how he might best leave the Order.”
―Jedi Scholar Mical

Revan was believed to have been born 3,994 years before the Battle of Yavin somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories. He was taken to be a Jedi at an early age and was apprenticed to Kreia, who would eventually go on to become Darth Traya. She soon discovered his immense command of the Force and he quickly learned everything she had to offer. However, her teaching methods and content raised concern by fellow Jedi Masters. Revan went on to study under many others alongside his friend Alek, and mastered everything the other masters had to offer as well. He quickly became the Jedi Order‘s most promising pupil and padawan, much to the caution of the Jedi Council who sensed something deeper. In the end, he returned back to his first master as a heroic Jedi Knight, wishing for knowledge on how to best leave the Jedi Order.

However, the Mandalorian armies, led by Mandalore the Ultimate and Cassus Fett, soon began expanding their empire to more and more worlds. Eventually, they moved inward and began conquering some of the Outer Rim Territories and Hutt Space. Among the battles included the Battle of Cathar, in which Cassus Fett ordered the mass genocide that almost completely wiped out the Cathar population. Eventually the Senate ordered the Galactic Republic military, under Saul Karath, to intervene, causing skirmishes to erupt on numerous fronts. Revan began to call for Jedi intervention in the war, rallying fellow young Jedi to his cause under the banner of the “Jedi Crusaders” to end the threat. The Jedi Council, however, condoned Revan’s actions, believing the Jedi should not get involved in the war for unspecific reasons.

The Mandalorian Wars

“The Mandalorian Wars were a series of massacres that masked another war, a war of conversion. Culminating in a final atrocity that no Jedi could walk away from… save one.”
―Jedi Master Kreia

As the war between the Galactic Republic and the Mandalorian armada waged on, Revan and his Jedi Crusaders went to the planet of Cathar. Where they experienced a Force Vision that showed them the atrocities committed by the Mandalorians. In outrage, Revan picked up a fallen Mandalorian mask, donned it, and swore that he would not remove it until the Mandalorians were defeated forever. Pressing the Jedi Council’s hand, Revan’s movement was sanctioned and jumped into space, saving the shipyards of Duro from complete Mandalorian destruction in 3,962 BBY. Following the battle, Revan was named Supreme Commander and General of the Galactic Republic’s military. A gifted master tactician and strategist, Revan began pushing back the Mandalorian armies alongside his right-hand man Malak, formerly known as Alek.

As the war waged on, Revan continued to sacrifice his morals for victory, drawing closer and closer to the dark side. However, the Mandalorians respected him for this, believing that he was worthy advisory and among the greatest military leaders in history. Eventually, Revan came across the world of Malachor V, where he discovered a treasure of Sith artifacts. Revan embraced the dark side willingly, believing that its power was needed for ultimate victory. After studying the teachings of the ancient Sith who came before him, he orchestrated a plot where he would lure the Mandalorians into a great battle above Malachor V, in which he would completely eradicate their armies and seduce his fleet with the terrible energies of the dark side. Revan kept his true plans a secret.

Later, on the moon of Dxun, a long battle waged between the Jedi, led by Revan and fellow companion Meetra Surik. Revan drew out the conflict and put his soldiers in harm’s way, believing that the trials they would endure would make them more susceptible to the dark side and easier to corrupt. Following the victory, Revan continued his push, eventually reaching his goal world of Malachor V. There, he split his fleet into two, sending first an army led by Meetra Surik consisting of all of those not loyal to him. Then came his supporters, who turned the tide of the battle. In the chaos, Revan slew Mandalore the Ultimate in single combat, activated a super weapon that destroyed the surface of the planet along with all the remaining Mandalorians, and corrupted the surviving Jedi under his command.

The Second Sith War

“Three years ago, Revan and Malak returned at the head of a massive invasion fleet. Revan had assumed the title of Sith Lord; the hero had become a conqueror.”
―Jedi Master Dorak

Following the victory, the galaxy hailed Revan and Malak as the saviors of the galaxy. However, none could have expected what Revan did next. First, he exiled Meetra Surik, now a shattered Jedi after close exposure to the destruction Malachor V, back to the Jedi Council to show them the hypocrisy of their teachings. Then, his fleet parted into the Unknown Regions. Before Mandalore the Ultimate’s death, the Mandalorian had revealed that it had not been his choice to go to war with the galaxy, and rather a Sith came to him with a prophecy. Revan and Malak searched for this Sith, coming across numerous worlds before finding the new Sith Empire‘s hidden capital of Dromund Kaas. There they learned the existence of a powerful Sith Emperor named Vitiate who planned on invading the galaxy.

Revan and Malak confronted Vitiate in his throne room. However, Vitiate had been informed ahead of time of the Jedi’s plot, and he quickly dominated them with his power. He turned them into servants of his will, christened them as Darth Revan and Darth Malak, and sent them back out to be the vanguard of his fleet and find an ancient factory called the Star Forge. Revan and Malak’s willpower was greater than he anticipated, however, and they quickly broke free of his control. They found the Star Forge and used it to create a massive army of warships to invade the Galactic Republic on their own wishes. They planned on conquering the galaxy so that they could unify it to prepare it against Vitiate’s armies.

Revan and Malak, with a new fleet and millions of fallen Jedi behind them, suddenly reappeared to the galaxy in 3,958 BBY, forcing the galaxy into the Jedi Civil War. Revan established a Sith Academy on Korriban to train hopeful recruits, strengthening his army. Due to Revan’s familiarity with the enemy’s tactics, and the fact that countless worlds joined his cause without a fight due to his actions in the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi and the Galactic Republic were immediately taken aback on the defensive and lost battle after battle. Revan additionally orchestrated the assassination of numerous political figures, including Yusanis of Echani, and planted his own men in their place. He also instituted a sect of deadly Sith Assassins that would capture and corrupt Jedi mindlessly to the dark side of the Force.

Darth Malak, however, soon began to have his own ambitions. He viewed Revan as weak and unfit to be the ruler of the Sith Empire. Tension soon escalated into a lightsaber duel where Revan cut off Malak’s jaw, forcing him to wear a metal prosthetic jaw. Also realizing that if they did not act quickly all hope of recovery would be lost, the Jedi Council soon after lured Revan and Malak into a trap. Bastila Shan and a Jedi strike team infiltrated Revan’s capital ship in effort to capture him. Seizing advantage of Revan’s momentary distraction, Malak fired upon Revan’s ship, nearly killing Revan. Bastila Shan, the only Jedi survivor, healed Revan’s injuries and brought him back before the Jedi Council for judgment. With Revan believed dead, Darth Malak declared himself the undisputed Dark Lord of the Sith.

Knights of the Old Republic

“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.”
―Sith Lord Darth Malak

After the capture of Darth Revan and his transfer back to the Jedi Council, the combined might of the masters used the Force to erase the former Dark Lord’s memories. They knew Revan was the only one powerful enough to destroy Darth Malak and the Sith, and thus they planned on recreating him as a weapon to unleash against them. They trained his new identity as a Jedi Knight, forcing him to undergo trials on the hidden world of Dantooine. After successfully completing the task, the Jedi Council sent out Revan and Bastila Shan to discover the location of the Star Forge by finding Star Maps located across the galaxy. When all the maps were found, the location of the Star Forge would be revealed to them. Revan was originally unaware of the Jedi’s scheme, not knowing he was formerly a Sith Lord.

Revan and Bastila Shan soon assembled a team along their journey as they traveled across Tatooine, Manaan, and Kashyyk looking for the Star Maps, helping and killing many individuals along the way. Their accomplishments did not go unnoticed, however, and soon they were captured by Darth Malak and Saul Karath. In a dramatic showdown, Darth Malak revealed to Revan that he was formerly “Darth” Revan, much to the Jedi’s surprise. Revan and Darth Malak fought, leading to Bastila Shan’s capture by the Sith. Darth Malak had a particular interest in Bastila Shan because she had mastered the rare art of Battle Mediation, which allowed her to boost the power and skills of entire fleets through the Force. Through the power of the Force, Darth Malak quickly seduced Bastila Shan to become his apprentice.

Revan and his crew continued on their mission, however. They infiltrated the Sith Academy on Korriban and eliminated all enemies there, driving the Sith off the planet for centuries to come. With the final Star Map found on Korriban, Revan traveled to the Star Forge. There, he was confronted first by Bastila Shan, who revealed her new allegiance to the Sith Empire. Revan redeemed her back to the light and the two confessed their love for one another. Revan went on to confront Darth Malak at the heart of the space station. An epic battle between the light and the dark followed, resulting in the defeat of Revan’s former friend. In his final words, Darth Malak expressed regret for what he had done. Soon after, the Star Forge itself was destroyed with the Galactic Republic’s final fleet, ending the terrible Sith threat.

Into the Unknown Regions

“I am Revan reborn, and before me you are nothing.”

Years later, Revan lived with his now-wife Bastila Shan on Coruscant. Whereas once Revan had been the Dark Lord of the Sith, he was now officially a redeemed Jedi Master hailed as the “Prodigal Knight.” Despite amending his wrongs by destroying the Sith Empire he had created, the Jedi Council still feared his power and despised him. Revan had his own issues, however. Not all of his memories had fully returned, and he began to have visions of a mysterious world shrouded in darkness and lightning. Believing that the fate of the galaxy was at risk, Revan set out alongside his companion Canderous Ordo, a Mandalorian who served with him against Darth Malak, to find the truth of this lost world. He left behind Bastila Shan, now pregnant with his only son, believing he may not return.

Revan’s adventure soon led him to Rekkiad, where he gave Canderous Ordo the mask of Mandalore the Ultimate. He told Canderous Ordo to resurrect the Mandalorians he had once destroyed because more soldiers may be needed for a great war yet to come. Canderous Ordo would go on to become Mandalore the Preserver and rebuild the clans. Retracing his lost footsteps, Revan then went to the planet of Nathema. The world was completely void of the Force due to a Sith ritual conducted by the Sith Emperor Vitiate centuries prior that granted him immortality. Revan’s ship was ambushed by members of Vitiate’s Sith Empire. Revan survived the crash landing, but was captured.

Revan was held in a prison on Dromund Kaas, the shadowy world he had seen in his visions, for years. Unaware to the Galactic Republic and the other Jedi, another Sith Empire lurked beyond known space with thousands of Sith ready for combat. Revan developed a close bond with his captor, the Sith Lord Scourge, eventually persuading him to join him in his fight against the Sith Emperor Vitiate. Revan’s former general during the Mandalorian Wars, Meetra Surik, came to the world and freed him. Meetra Surik, also now known as the Jedi Exile, had been on a journey of her own for the last ten years. She had regained her connection to the Force lost during the destruction of Malachor V, and defeated a splinter group of Sith who rose from the ashes of Revan’s Sith Empire, led by his former master Kreia.

Revan and Meetra Surik, with the help of Scourge, devised a plan to assassinate the Sith Emperor. Scourge agreed to him them believing that a war against the Galactic Republic, which Vitiate planned, would result in the total annihilation of their Sith Empire. As Revan and Malak had done a decade earlier, the three confronted the Sith Emperor in his throne room. Revan waged a fierce battle against the dark master but was eventually overwhelmed. With the aid of his companions, Revan healed his injuries and stood again, ready to fight once more. At that moment, Scourge had a vision that revealed the trio would not win in their battle, and rather another Jedi in the future would. In an effort to save his own life, Scourge betrayed the two by killing Meetra Surik, allowing Vitiate to capture Revan once more.

Fall into Darkness

“The Emperor is death – for you, for me, for the galaxy!”

With his life prolonged by Sith alchemy, Revan was imprisoned in stasis for three hundred years. With the Force, the Sith Emperor ravaged his mind, seeking information and power. Revan resisted his efforts, however, with the aid of Meetra Surik’s spirit. Revan also used his unique connection with Vitiate to influence him to postpone the war he had planned for centuries. Eventually, when the time for the Great Galactic War came, Revan then persuaded the Sith Emperor to agree to the terms of the Treaty of Courscant, which still allowed the Galactic Republic to have half the galaxy. When tensions began rising again, an ally strike force freed Revan, believing he could help the war effort. However, during his time in captivity, Revan’s mind became consumed by hatred for his captor, and he plotted revenge.

Following his release, Revan went to the Foundry, a space station similar to the Star Forge he had destroyed so many years prior. With the Foundry, Revan planned on creating an army of war droids that would eliminate trillions of beings with Sith genetic material, believing them all to be abominations. Among the dead, of course, would be his tormentor Vitiate. His plan never came into fruition, for another strike force of the Sith Empire’s finest warriors confronted and killed Revan. However, Revan’s will was so strong that, in death, his mind split into two.

While his light side embraced the Force, a darker side fueled by vengeance against Vitiate overcame death and resurrected his own body from the dead. The dark Revan vowed that he would not die until the Sith Emperor was forever ridden from the galaxy.

The Shadow of Revan

“War is coming. Conflict on a scale we’ve never seen. Revan has forged an army with a single purpose – to change the galaxy forever. Empire. Republic. We must unite, or fall.”
―The Coalition Strike Force

Due to Revan’s accomplishments, a cult was founded in his honor known as the Order of Revan. Behind the scenes, the returned Revan expanded the cult to a galactic power with thousands of followers. A few years later, Revan revealed himself once more as the group’s leader. He believed that all distractions must be swept aside so that the galaxy, and himself, could solely focus on eliminating the Sith Emperor. Revan and his followers tried to create an army of cyborgs fueled by the remains of the Star Forge. However, a joint task force stopped their efforts. Next, they attempted to lure the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire fleets above Rishi so that they could destroy each other and allow Revan to pick off the remaining survivors, thus making his faction the galaxy’s sole power. They were stopped once again.

Unfazed, Revan continued his crazed crusade. The Sith Emperor had been slain by a Jedi named the Hero of Tython three years prior, but his spirit remained. Revan planned on resurrecting Vitiate’s spirit on Yavin IV so that he could destroy him once and for all. The Galactic Republic and Sith Empire agreed to a temporary ceasefire so that they could end Revan’s plan before it was too late, believing that his meddling would only result in Vitiate’s return to the galaxy, and thus certain death to all. Even the Sith despised Vitiate, believing their former ruler wanted nothing more than to see the galaxy be consumed to fuel his bid for infinite power The joint factions, led by the Hero of Tython, the current Sith Empire leader Darth Marr, and Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan, confronted and defeated Revan. Fueled by all the death waged by Revan’s war, the Sith Emperor still returned more powerful than ever before.

In the spectacle, the light side spirit of Revan that was killed on the Foundry years prior appeared before the part of himself that refused to die. The physical Revan believed he had failed his mission, but the spirit of Revan remarked that they were broken and that they cannot go on until they become whole again. Realizing how far he had fallen and what his struggle for revenge had cost, the darker Revan’s anger subsided, eventually agreeing to bind back with his light self, finally finding peace in the Force. In his final worlds, Revan told the coalition forces that they must prepare against the threat that Vitiate posed to all, and prophesied that the darkest days still lied ahead, so to brace for the worst.

Legacy of a Legend

“Who I am is not important, my message is.”

While Revan’s final years were marked with chaos, he was remembered by Sith and Jedi alike as among the most influential, legendary, and powerful figures in history. Revan’s triumph over the Mandalorians was even felt thousands of years later when they still found themselves to be shadows of their former selves. Likewise, the remnants of the Rakata ended with Revan, alongside the mighty Echani warriors. His leadership and command of the Galactic Republic military made it a legitimate fighting force capable of fighting threats like Vitiate’s Sith Empire. Thousands of years after his death, a Sith named himself Darth Rivan based on a corrupt manuscript about Revan.

Also, Revan’s Sith philosophy and teachings would later be adopted by the infamous Darth Bane, who used his dark techniques to destroy the Brotherhood of Darkness and reform the Sith into the Rule of Two, which led to the rise of Palpatine.

Personality

Before his fall to the dark side of the Force, Revan was a very gifted Jedi whom possessed the potential to become a champion of the Jedi Order, as believed by Jedi Master Vandar. In addition to his exceptional skills, Revan was also noted for having a charismatic personality and insatiable desire for knowledge. His abilities in charisma and persuasion were more than powerful enough to win the personal loyalty of countless Republic soldiers, including thousands of Jedi who willingly stood with him against the wishes of the Jedi Council.

One of his greatest traits as the Dark Lord, however, was his ability as a manipulator. The combination of his charismatic personality and the allure of the dark side was more than enough to cause thousands of Jedi and countless Republic soldiers to break their former allegiances and flock to Revan’s cause. The greatest testament to his skill in manipulation was in the person of his first follower and best friend Darth Malak, formerly the Jedi Alek who once possessed a strong affinity for the Jedi and the Republic. In training Malak, Revan turned a once prominent Jedi Knight, who staunchly upheld the values of the Jedi Order, into a brutish Sith Lord with a bloodlust for extreme violence and carnage.

But even while immersed in the dark side, Revan apparently retained a slight sense of humor. HK-47’s reference to Malak as a “meatbag”, including Malak’s furious reaction, amused Revan enough to cause him to reprogram the assassin droid to refer to all organics as meatbags. HK-47’s multiple use of the term in regards to Malak drove Dark Lord’s apprentice to extreme lengths of frustration, much to Revan’s amusement. Even under his programmed personality, Revan was still just as amused at the thought of Malak being the “original meatbag”.

As a result of the Jedi’s tampering, the “new” Revan was fiercely loyal to the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order, constantly upholding their ideals and determined to end the threat of the Sith for good. Kreia, however, did not believe that the Jedi changed Revan as they later took credit for. She believed that the Jedi merely reversed the effects that war and the dark side had on Revan, thus allowing his true self to reemerge from the depths of his mind—a person who was willing to go to war to protect others.

Physical appearance

Revan was a tall, medium build and somewhat of an unprepossessing man, with fair skin, dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Revan described his own features as “unremarkable” and “average”. During the Mandalorian Wars Revan took to wearing his hair long, sometimes tied back and sometimes flowing freely past his shoulders. After being awarded the Hero’s Cross, Revan ceased wearing Jedi robes in public, seeking to disassociate himself from the celebrity he had become.

Powers and Abilities

Combat Skills

“You, Revan, are the single greatest warrior of this age, and any battle we fight will bring me honor.“
―Mandalore Canderous Ordo

Even at an early age, Revan’s insatiable hunger for knowledge and mastery over the Jedi arts drove him to be the Order’s most powerful champion against the Mandalorian threat. In his prime, Revan was an unstoppable force on the battlefield, a master of multiple forms of lightsaber combat, and regarded by many as the greatest warrior of his age. He accumulated respect from a vast range of different cultures from the Mandalorians to the Echani – the Rakata to the ancient Sith. However, despite his skills, he was unable to overcome the numerous powerful strike teams that challenged him later in life, nor the conflicts rising and tearing him apart within his very own heart and soul, thus leading to his downfall.

As a Jedi Padawan, Revan apprenticed himself to many masters, including Kreia, learning everything they had to teach him. He soon thereafter went off to war, demonstrating his skills with blaster deflection as he battled the Mandalorians and their Basilisk war droids, killing so many that he was regarded as “Revan the Butcher.” At the end of the war, Revan challenged and slew Mandalore the Ultimate in single-combat. Following the battle, the Mandalorians remarked that if Revan had been born Mandalorian, no one in the galaxy could have stopped them. Despite being the architect of their defeat, they still believed him to be the greatest warrior in the Galactic Republic’s history.

In his adventures exploring the Unknown Regions, Revan slew raiding parties of primitive Rakata, making them believe he was a great warrior sent from the sky to save them. When war between Revan’s newly formed Sith Empire and the Jedi Order erupted, it was said that Revan killed many Jedi and Echani in battle. Despite the Echani being butchered, they still respected him for it, believing he had perfected their arts and Battle Precognition. Revan’s mastery in the art of Battle Precognition was rumored to allow him to predict attacks before they happened, the course of battles, and the path of entire wars. Yusanis, the greatest warrior of the Echani, was one of the many victims to Revan’s blade.

Following his mind-wipe at the hands of the Jedi Council, Revan was forged into a weapon that would be unleashed upon the Sith Empire he created, focusing on physical training and lightsaber mastery. Across his travels he defeated many enemies, including the famous bounty hunter Calo Nord and the apprentice to Darth Malak, Darth Bandon. During his stay on Korriban trying to locate the Star Map, Revan single-handedly slew two terentatek, the Sith headmasters Uthar Wynn and Yuthura Ban, and then the entirety of the Sith Academy consisting of dozens of Sith acolytes and masters. So thorough was the massacre that it took the Sith three-thousand years to fully reclaim the world again.

When Revan returned to the Rakata homeworld of Lehon, he and his companions were forced to face a thousand of the One’s finest warriors before defeating him as well in battle, protected by four rancors. Revan, with the aid of Jolee Bindo and Juhani, then went into the Temple of Ancients, facing great opposition along the way with many Dark Jedi confronting them, including Bastila Shan. On the Star Forge, Revan fought through armies of Sith war droids, Dark Jedi, and Sith Apprentices in a spectacle that was said to have went on for over an hour before once again defeating Bastila Shan. Without rest, he then killed Darth Malak, a highly accomplished swordsman and master of the Force, ending the Sith Empire.

Force Powers

“Revan was power. It was like staring into the heart of the Force. Even then, you could see the Jedi he would slay etched on his soul.“
―Sith Lord Darth Traya

Revan was the most powerful Jedi of his era. During the Mandalorian Wars, Revan was considered the Jedi Order’s greatest champion. After becoming a Sith Lord, Revan’s command of the Force grew as he studied the ancient practices of the dark side. Following his redemption, Revan was stronger than ever before, now having a unique understanding of the Force. His mastery allowed himself to open up to both sides of the Force simultaneously, summoning such power that he could then unleash the Force in its purest form. Even after three centuries of imprisonment and torture, Revan’s dominance over his contemporaries continued, only ever being truly surpassed by the Sith Emperor Vitiate.

Revan was a master of telekinesis, utilizing the Force to manipulate the environment and thrash around enemies. On Dromund Kaas, Revan crumbled a stone archway and blew open the large doors to the Sith Emperor’s throne room with simple gestures. He then used his power to hurl Vitiate onto the ground. During the battle of the Foundry, Revan called down nearby meteors, pulling them into the Inner Sanctum. Later, on Yavin IV, Revan was capable of wielding two additional lightsabers with the Force, sending them spinning around the battlefield. He also telekinetically incapacitated almost a dozen separate combatants at once, which included Darth Marr, Satele Shan, and Lana Beniko.

He’s also skilled in defensive applications of telekiensis, being capable of forming protective Force bubbles around himself on the Foundry and Yavin IV. In his battle against Vitiate, Revan managed to recover from Vitiate’s telekinetic attack that sent him flying across the throne room. With tutaminis, Revan even proved capable of absorbing the dark power of Darth Nyriss, sparing Meetra Surik and Scourge from certain incineration. However, he was incapable of fully defending himself against the fully unleashed lightning of Emperor Vitiate, who scorched Revan with severe burns. Nevertheless, Revan still survived the deadly assault, and quickly thereafter healed his injuries with the Force.

Many years earlier, Revan overcame the corruptive and draining dark side energies of the Star Forge – a feat that required considerable willpower and Force capabilities. Revan also proved capable of resisting the benevolent influence of Malachor V, the dark energies of Korriban, and the absolute nothingness of Nathema. During his three-centuries of imprisonment and torture, Revan partially shielded his mind from the combined and continuous efforts of the Sith Emperor and the Dread Masters. After his defeat on the Foundry, his darker half willed himself back from the dead to continue his work, presumably holding his body together through the power of the Force, while his lighter half became one with the Force.

Along with established Force defenses and willpower, Revan had great pain tolerance. His resistance to torment made Saul Karath believe that torturing him would be pointless and surprised the former Sith headmaster Jorak Uln. When in prison, Revan used the Force to block out the pain and drugs induced by Scourge, pushing physical human capabilities to the limit. Following his freedom, first death, and resurrection, Revan was capable of enduring a wealth of combat injuries without faltering. Even after being bested by two coalition forces, Revan managed to rise again, ready to continue battle. Thousands of years later, his drug-resisting techniques would be learned and applied by Darth Bane.

Malachor V and Korriban contained a treasure-trove of Sith artifacts and techniques that Revan studied during the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil Wars. Revan learned to use the Force to slow the minds and bodies of his targets, and replenish his energies by feeding on them. His mastery of Force drain was passed on to his Order’s Sith Assassins, and eventually Darth Bane. Revan also learned how to unleash storms of Force lightning, conceal his darkness from the Jedi, drain knowledge from the minds of the Rakata, and personally developed the infamous thought bomb. Later, he showed the rare ability to teleport, using it to escape the Foundry and navigate around the battlefield of Yavin IV.

Revan had finely attuned senses, frequently experiencing accurate Force visions and being capable of reaching across the entire galaxy to communicate or probe others – a technique he also taught the Sith Assassins. Using such power, Revan called to the Revanite leader Tari Darkspanner from across the galaxy to seek him out. Using telepathy, Revan also learned how to corrupt Jedi to his cause, influencing and breaking their minds with the Force. Revan’s skills in the practice were such that he was able to subtly influence the Sith Emperor to postpone the Great Galactic War for three-centuries as he learned about the Sith war effort, and then later persuaded him to sign the Treaty of Coruscant.

Other Abilities

“Revan was one of the greatest military leaders in the galaxy – in history. He knew what he was doing.”
―Mandalore Candrous Ordo

Revan was an exceptionally capable strategist and tactician, and some believed that he was single-handedly responsible for the Galactic Republic’s victory during the Mandalorian Wars. Revan’s skill as a battlefield commander earned him the undying respect of both the Mandalorian and Echani warrior cultures; the Mandalorians saw him as a supremely worthy foe – one that both embodied their philosophies and showed them their weaknesses. The Echani, on the other hand, believed that Revan represented the epitome of what one could achieve in the arts of war, and that much of his skill was born out of a highly advanced battle precognition.

During the Jedi Civil Wars, Revan won battle after battle against the Jedi. If not for Darth Malak’s betrayal, he would have soon controlled the entire galaxy. Three-centuries later, Revan expanded the small Dromund Kaas-based Order of Revan cult into a galactic-stretching organization with thousands of members. The Revanites were such a threat that the Sith Empire and Jedi Order initiated a temporary cease-fire and coalition in order to bring down Revan. Above Rishi, Revan orchestrated a lot that nearly resulted in the destruction of Darth Marr and Satele Shan’s primary fleet, but was foiled by the efforts of the galaxy’s finest. He was later pushed back and defeated on Yavin IV.

Revan spoke and comprehended a variety of languages beyond his native Basic: Mando’a, Binary, Huttese, Shyriiwook, Selkath and that of the ancient Sith. Revan was also a skilled mechanic, exhibiting a natural talent and interest in machinery and droids. Revan constructed the sophisticated assassin droid HK-47 on his own after the Mandalorian Wars, and even after losing his memories, he was able to repair the droid and restore HK-47’s access to most of his memories and combat protocols. Revan also proved adept at racing swoop bikes after defeating the veteran racer Redros on Taris. He later won both the Arkanis sector and Manaan swoop championships as well during the Jedi Civil Wars.

Battlefield Equipment

“Revan wore the mask during the Mandalorian Wars, and during his time as Darth Revan. To me, it symbolizes his dark past – a relic from a time before he became the man I loved. I was afraid that if I showed it to him, it might trigger something inside his mind. It might awaken some dormant evil, rekindle the spark of the dark side.“
―Jedi Master Bastila Shan

Through both the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, Revan wore his trademark mask and robes; only few were able to recognize him without the mask after he was redeemed by the Jedi. Revan utilized a variety of lightsabers during his lifetime; when he first adopted his name, he carried a lightsaber saber with a violet blade, but he utilized a cyan-colored lightsaber later in the war. As a Sith, Revan wielded a red-bladed lightsaber that he crafted himself, and also utilized a set of robes that had been created by the Star Forge, which were imbued with dark power.

The redeemed Revan made use of a blue lightsaber once again in his battle against Darth Malak and the Sith, though he later changed the crystal to green when he went off to confront the Sith Emperor. After being freed from three-centuries of stasis, Revan once again utilized a violet lightsaber until the time of his disappearance at the Foundry. The battle in the Foundry damaged his mask, leaving a vertical scar across the left half of the mask, but nonetheless the dark Revan continued to wear the tattered remains of the same robes he had worn for centuries.

He also acquired a second lightsaber with a red blade that he wielded in addition to his violet-bladed weapon, and could summon two additional lightsabers – his original purple lightsaber and a blue lightsaber – that he controlled through telekinesis. Revan’s lightsaber, mask, and robes were left behind when his body vanished after becoming one with the Force on Yavin IV.

Other Media

Video Games

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords (cameo)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic

Novel

The Old Republic: Revan

Revan appears in the novel The Old Republic: Revan that takes place two years after KOTOR-I.

Television

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Revan was slated to appear in the third season of The Clone Wars series in episode “Ghosts of Mortis”. Revan would have appeared as a Sith Lord alongside Darth Bane as an advisory to the Son, but they were cut from the episode in late production. The show’s director, Dave Filoni, was apprehensive of using the scene, and the scene was removed at George Lucas’s request because it conflicted with Lucas’s view on the Force and Revan had redeemed himself.