Clan Vizsla

Clan Vizsla

Clan Vizsla was aMandalorian clan that was active during thetime of theGalactic Republic, and theGalactic Empire. TheMandalorianJediTarre Vizsla served as theMand'alor of the Mandalorians sometime prior to the fall of the Old Republic. During theClone Wars, his descendantPre Vizsla was the leader ofDeath Watch, a Mandalorian splinter faction that opposed theplanet'spacifist government. He succeeded intaking overMandalore and became Mand'alor andPrime Minister, but waskilled shortly thereafter by the renegadeSith LordMaul.

During theMandalorian Civil War against the Galactic Empire andClan Saxon, Clan Vizsla rallied behindBo-Katan Kryze ofClan Kryze, along withClan Eldar,Clan Rook,Clan Wren, theJourneyman Protectors, and others, making Bo-Katan the new Mand'alor.

Description[]

Clan Vizsla was aMandalorian clan^[9] that was the leading clan ofHouse Vizsla, one of thepolitical factions ofMandalorian society and government.^[1]

The ancient emblem of the clan was a stylizedshriek-hawk, orjai'galaar inMando'a. Eventually, the Vizsla shriek-hawk was adopted by the entire Death Watch faction.^[14] By the time of theGalactic Civil War, Vizsla warriors adorned their armor with a different emblem, representing aflowered branch.^[13] Clan Vizsla had a rivalry withClan Tal.^[15]

History[]

During the Old Republic[]

Clan Vizsla was formed prior to the foundation of the modernGalactic Republic.^[10] During this time,Tarre Vizsla was inducted into theJedi Order as the first Mandalorian to do so.^[16] As aJedi, Tarre created theDarksaber, a uniqueblack-coloredlightsaber that became the symbol of leadership forHouse Vizsla.^[12] Eventually, Tarre becameMand'alor and led his fellow Mandalorians.^[2]After Tarre'sdeath, thesaber was kept in theJedi Temple until it was stolen by members of House Vizsla who snuck in and liberated it^[12] during thefall of the Old Republic.^[4] The members of House Vizsla used the Darksaber to unify the people and defeat those who opposed them, allowing them to rule all of Mandalore at one moment.^[12] During that time, the Darksaber was used to kill many Jedi.^[4]

During the modern Galactic Republic[]

Early coup attempt[]

Manyyears later following the end of theMandalorian Civil War, the Mandalorian warriors were exiled to themoon ofConcordia, where most of them were believed to have died out. The survivors, however, regrouped and secretly rallied behind Tarre Vizsla's descendant,Pre Vizsla,governor of Concordia, and became known as theDeath Watch. The Death Watch opposed the pacifist New Mandalorian government and its leader,DuchessSatine Kryze during theClone Wars.^[4] The Death Watch believed that Duchess Satine presented a weak-minded rule and degraded Mandalorian traditions and their reputation as fierce warriors.^[9]

Early during the Clone Wars, Pre Vizsla and the Death Watch allied themselves with theSith LordCountDooku, leader of theConfederacy of Independent Systems that fought against the Galactic Republic. After abombing of theMemorial Shrine inSundari, Mandalore's capital, and subsequentfight on Concordia, Pre Vizsla and his organization were exposed and forced to retreat.^[4] After anfailed attempt to capture Duchess Satine on theCoronet by MandalorianPrince andSenatorTal Merrik on behalf of Death Watch, Duchess Satine was able to present her case to theGalactic Senate to maintain her planet's neutrality in the Clone Wars.^[17]

Working with the Confederacy, Death Watch and Pre Vizsla attempted to orchestrate a Republic occupation of Mandalore, so that Pre Vizsla and Death Watch could move in to liberate the people, and thus usurp Duchess Satine from power. The coup ultimately fell apart, when Duchess Satine managed to persuade the Senate on Mandalore's position.^[18]

Exiled and in retreat[]

Following the failed coup, Pre Vizsla and with Dooku had a confrontation which resulted in Death Watch and the Confederacy severing ties. Eventually, Death Watch was located onCarlac, where they subjugated the localMing Po population and entered in league withLux Bonteri in an attempt toassassinate Dooku. Unknowingly, JediPadawanAhsoka Tano, who was with Bonteri, was revealed as a Jedi and following askirmish on Carlac, Tano and Bonteri escaped Death Watch and Pre Vizsla.^[5]

Rise to power[]

In19 BBY,^[19] Pre Vizsla and Death Watch came across anescape pod containing the rogue SithLordMaul and his brother andSith apprentice,Savage Opress. Curious about their situation, Pre decided to rescue them and bring them toZanbar. After the two recovered, they agreed to an alliance to bring down Duchess Satine and seek revenge againstJedi MasterObi-Wan Kenobi. Pre Vizsla and his Death Watch forces, alongside Maul and Opress traveled toMustafar and recruited theBlack Sun after killing theirruling council. ThePyke Syndicate also joined them after hearing of their move to build anarmy. Eventually, after amission to Nal Hutta andattack on Jabba's Palace, theHutt Cartel joined Pre Vizsla and the others, forming theShadow Collective.^[9]

Now with an army and the resources required to sustain a war without the scrutiny of the Galactic Republic, Maul revealed to Pre Vizsla that after Mandalore was under Vizsla's control, Maul would then operate a new criminal underworld. Frustrated, Pre Vizsla suggested that Mandalore was the leader of theCouncil of Neutral Systems, which contained 1,500 worlds, and thus allowed for more opportunities. Satisfied, Maul then ordered Vizsla to sendscouts to Mandalore in order to identify targets vital to Mandalore's security.Bo-Katan Kryze, toplieutenant to Pre Vizsla, expressed her concerns that Maul and Opress could not be trusted, but Vizsla assured her that Maul and Savage would be dead alongside Duchess Satine.^[20]

Taking Mandalore[]

Vizsla's advanced guard acquired their targets, which allowed Maul and the Shadow Collective to devise their strategy. The crime syndicates attacked key targets, and, all according to plan, members of Death Watch arrested them, winning the hearts of the people. Duchess Satine was subsequently captured and removed from power by Vizsla and his forces. He declared himselfPrime Minister and Mand'alor.^[20]

Then, he betrayed and imprisoned Maul and Opress. However, they managed to liberate themselves and bring former Prime MinisterAlmec under their fold. Subsequently, Maul challenged Vizsla for his place as leader of Mandalore and Death Watch, ultimately triumphing over the Mandalorian and beheading him. Bo-Katan and other Death Watch members refused to accept Maul and fled to create theMandalore resistance, igniting anotherMandalorian civil war.^[20]

Eventually, the Galactic Republic invaded Mandalore and Maul was removed from power. Bo-Katan was installed asRegent of the planet as the Republictransitioned into theGalactic Empire.^[21]

During the Galactic Empire[]

Lady Regent Bo-Katan Kryze was removed from power by the Empire during itsoccupation of Mandalore. Nearly twodecades after the end of the Clone Wars, anothercivil war ignited when ImperialViceroyGar Saxon ofClan Saxon was killed during askirmish on Krownest againstClan Wren. After amission to Mandalore by members of Clan Wren andClan Kryze, GovernorTiber Saxon was killed. Bo-Katan became the new Mand'alor, gaining the support of Clan Vizsla,Clan Rook,Clan Eldar, theJourneyman Protectors, Clan Wren, and others.^[13]

During the New Republic[]

Paz Vizsla,^[6] and his son,Ragnar,^[22] were members of the Mandalorian sect known as theChildren of the Watch, were members of Clan Vizsla and descendants of Tarre Vizsla. When he learned thatDin Djarin had come into possession of the Darksaber, he attempted to claim it bydueling him onGlavis Ringworld. Although Vizsla managed to take the saber and briefly wield it, Djarin ultimately won the duel by placing him in a lock and putting avibro-knife to his throat.^[6]

Paz Vizsla was eventually reunited with his son on aplanet. There, Ragnar undertook theMandalorian initiation ritual and was given a helmet. However, the ritual was interrupted by alake monster.^[23] Later, while under Imperial attack on Mandalore, Vizsla sacrificed himself to allow his fellow Mandalorians to escape.^[24]

Behind the scenes[]

In the seventh episode of the animated television seriesStar Wars Rebels'third season,^[26] "Imperial Supercommandos,"Fenn Rau mistakenly referredSabine Wren and Gar Saxon as Clan Vizsla.^[25] The same mistake was repeated in the Gar Saxon'sDatabank entry on theofficialStar Wars website.^[27] OnNovember 7,2016,Lucasfilm Story Group'sPablo Hidalgo stated that Fenn Rau should have said "House Vizsla."^[28]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

• Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
• Rebels Recon#2.19: Inside "The Mystery of Chopper Base" | Star Wars Rebels on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 68Starship Fact File: Gauntlet Fighter/Armed Transport
• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Sabine WrenWeapons & Uniforms: Mandalorians
• Rebels Recon#3.14: Inside "Warhead" | Star Wars Rebels on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars Helmet Collection: First Order EngineerDatabank A-Z: Pre Vizsla–Quinlan Vos
• "Heroes of Mandalore" Episode Guide | Star Wars Rebels onStarWars.com(backup link)
• Knights of Fate
• Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy
• Collapse of the Republic
• The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season One
• The Mandalorian: Allies & Enemies
• "Database" —Star Wars - Das offizielle Magazin 101(Indirect mention only)
• The Mandalorian: Magnetic Fun
• The Book of Boba Fett Cargo Hold: "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian" onStarWars.com(backup link)(Picture only)
• Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian — "The Book of Boba Fett"
• Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy: Updated and Expanded
• Gar Saxon in theDatabank(backup link)(mistakenly)
• Paz Vizsla in theDatabank(backup link)
• Pre Vizsla in theDatabank(backup link)

Notes and references[]