For years, the have Jedi reigned supreme as the coolest characters in the Star Wars canon; wielding their laser swords with deadly precision and throwing around magic powers that made them the strongest beings in the galaxy. But the debut of The Mandalorian popularizes the race of warrior aliens waiting in the wings to replace the Jedi's top spot as the coolest characters.
Originally conceived as an elite force of commandos prepared to hunt down the protagonists of Empire Strikes Back, the Mandalorians needed to wait years for their debut on screen when they were changed drastically in the pre-production stage. Consolidated down into the single character of Boba Fett, the Mandalorian concept went largely untapped for years and was left instead for the exploration of the Expanded Universe that, for years, filled the space between films.
The general idea remained the same: A noble race of armor-clad warriors, the Mandalorians were a formidable military force throughout the Galaxy for millennia. Sometime before the events of A New Hope their race was decimated, and with so few surviving in the modern day it was Boba Fett who represented much of their legacy.
But, as most fans of Star Wars lore know, Boba Fett was not actually a Mandalorian himself. Donning their armor and some of their customs does not a Mandalorian make, and Boba was known as something of a poser among those who truly understood the Mandalorian kind. For years throughout his career as a bounty hunter in service of the Empire, Boba not only committed murder, but cultural appropriation.
The first actual look at Mandalorian culture came with the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Between the cartoon and its successor, Star Wars Rebels, there was quite a lot more to learn about Mandalorians. The series' saw their internal political strife as factions formed between proud warmongers and pacifists that caused a civil war among their people. Eventually, that lead to their takeover at the hands of Darth Maul.
Darth Maul, as most can agree, was the coolest part of The Phantom Menace and his involvement with the Mandalorians was no less cool. The splinter group of Mandalorians -- known as Death Watch -- threatened the pacifist philosophies of their people, and it was not until Darth Maul beat their leader in a duel that he gained control of the group. To represent his role as leader, Maul was awarded the single coolest item in the Star Wars universe: the Darksaber.
Anything that is cool about a Jedi's lightsaber goes doubly for the Darksaber. The black-and-white blade of the Darksaber not only has a distinctive look that makes it unique from other lightsabers, but its historical and cultural status makes its reputation all the greater. Created by the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order, the weapon became a valued part of their culture. While Darth Maul held possession of it for a while, the Mandalorian people eventually won it back when it was claimed by Rebels' Sabine Wren.
The gear and weapons is part of what makes the Mandalorians so cool. Most of the gear is recognizable to general audiences through the pretenders, Jango and Boba Fett, but a lot of people might not realize how widely used many of the items are. Jet packs, blasters, and wrist-mounted gadgets are all standard issue when it comes to the Mandalorian army. Among the gauntlet's armaments are whipcords and flamethrowers, whose cool factor needs no further explanation.
And then, of course, there's the armor itself. While the distinctive helmet comes with a useful array of sensors and targeting devices, even without the bells and whistles, Mandalorian armor is one of the strongest forged substances in the universe. Capable of resisting blaster fire -- as Mando himself showed off after winning new armor in a recent episode -- there's very little that could successfully pierce a fully-armored Mandalorian.
When it comes to swag, the Mandalorians just flat-out have the Jedi beat. A lightsaber may be a deadly and visually appealing weapon but it's got nothing on all the gear a Mandalorian wears. No matter how effective a melee weapon is, it just can't stack up to a good suit of top-notch armor rocketing through the sky, spitting blaster bolts and raining fire down across the battlefield.
Of course, there's quite a lot more to Mandalorians than just what they wear. Their training and very culture itself emphasizes the importance of battle and weaponry. While the Jedi may have a complicated relationship with pacifism and right and wrong, the Mandalorians hone in on a much more focused approach to their philosophy. Yoda and Obi-Wan had all sorts of cute aphorisms, but for the Mandalorians it's as simple as saying: "This is the way."
The Jedi may have been the first ones to kick off the Star Wars craze, but now that the canon is really getting around to putting them in the spotlight there's just no competing with the Mandalorians. It's unknown what the status is on future films delving further into the history of the alien race, but with the Disney+ series skyrocketing their profile higher than ever it will only be a matter of time before they jump from the small screen to the big time.
Created by Jon Favreau, The Mandalorian stars Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Giancarlo Esposito, Emily Swallow, Omid Abtahi, Werner Herzog and Nick Nolte. Episodes 1-4 are now streaming on Disney+.