Famous Mandalorians from the Old Republic through the Clone Wars era

8. BO-KATAN KRYZE

Group Affiliation(s): Clan Kryze, Death Watch, The Nite Owls
Height: 5′ 9″ (animated Clone Wars/Rebels character) 5’ 6” (1.68 meters) (live-action version)
Weight: 122 lbs. (55 kg)
Eye Color: Green
Hair Color: Red
Species: Human, Light-skinned
Gender: Female
Homeworld: Mandalore

Occupation: Former Mand’alor, Leader of the Nite Owls

Adversaries: The Galactic Republic, The Separatists, Maul and his Death Watch loyalists

Relatives: Duchess Satine Kryze (sister), Korkie Kryze (nephew)

First Appearance: Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Season 4/Episode 14, “A Friend in Need”

Character History:

Bo-Katan Kryze was the younger sister of Duchess Satine Kryze, the leader of the New Mandalorians and ruler of Mandalore. The two of them had become estranged, though, due to their ideological differences on the Mandalorians direction following the Mandalorian Civil War.

Because of this, Bo-Katan was exiled to Concordia, along with the rest of those who adhered to the warrior lifestyle. This led Bo-Katan to join the Death Watch, which was led by the moon’s governor, Pre Vizsla. Together they plotted how to dethrone her sister and find a way to reinstitute the old customs of the Mandalorians.

Bo-Katan allowed herself to buy fully into Pre Vizsla’s vision, even when it meant attacking some of her own people, or to make questionable alliances. She remained loyal to her leader even after he was brutally executed in front of her by one of his allies, former Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. This led to a schism between those loyal to Vizsla and those who chose to follow the new Mand’alor.

Fortunately, Bo-Katan would be reconciled with her sister, only later to have her taken away by Maul, who killed Satine to try and break Obi-Wan Kenobi, the duchess’s former love interest. This tragic moment helped Bo-Katan to find redemption and work towards honoring the memory of her dearly departed sister.

Her first order of business came in liberating her homeworld from the rule of Maul and his cohorts. She accomplished this by working alongside former Jedi padawan, Ahsoka Tano, and a contingency of Republic clones led by Captain Rex. Bo-Katan would later be named regent of Mandalore.

Unfortunately, her victory would be short-lived after the Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire, following the conclusion of the Clone Wars. Unable to follow the Empire’s orders against her people, Bo-Katan was deposed and replaced by Maul’s former lieutenant, Gar Saxon, who then became the Imperial Viceroy and Governor of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls would later clash with the Empire again after it was discovered that they had created a weapon capable of massacring Mandalorians by honing in on the unique metallic signature of beskar and incinerating the wearers from within. Adding insult to this abominable weapon was the disturbing fact it had been named the “Duchess” in homage to her sister, Satine.

Bo-Katan worked alongside the young Mandalorian rebel, Satine Wren, who had unwisely designed this weapon and together they were able to destroy it before it could harm any more of their people. Because of her heroic efforts and leadership skills, Bo-Katan was given the Darksaber and appointed the Mand’alor of her people.

Sometime after her ascension, Bo-Katan would find herself yet again dethroned, after the Empire put into effect the Great Purge of Mandalore. This devastating event led to her planet being ravaged by the Empires intense mining operations to extract the beskar contained within it. All attempts to resist this intrusion resulted in the Empire forcing Mandalorians into exile or be dealt with.

During this time of upheaval, Bo-Katan lost her Darksaber, which was later found to be in the possession of an Imperial named Moff Gideon. Disgraced, Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls searched for a way of reclaiming this symbol of her sovereignty. This led to her meeting another Mandalorian on the planet Trask. Din Djarin agreed to assist Bo-Katan on her mission, in exchange for her providing him with the information he needed to fulfill his own mission of reuniting his Jedi-youngling, Grogu, with its own kind.

Later, Bo-Katan would come to the Mandalorian’s aid on a rescue mission to save the Jedi-youngling from the very man she had been pursuing. While the Mandalorian succeeded in both rescuing his charge and reuniting it with one of its own, it cost Bo-Katan her claim to the Darksaber after Djarin was forced to battle the Imperial who wielded it and defeated him.

Even though Djarin had no desire to keep the Darksaber and was willing to hand it over, Bo-Katan could not accept. The reason why was because ancient tradition dictated that those seeking to become Mand’alor would have to earn it through trial of combat. Her only recourse then was to challenge Djarin — who currently wields the Darksaber — which left her undecided on what to do next.

Powers/Skills: Bo-Katan was an extremely talented hand-to-hand combatant, as well as adept at using various weapons, including ranged or melee. She was also a capable leader, albeit, a reluctant one given her past failures. Nevertheless, she had her loyal followers who readily accepted her leadership in battle or otherwise.

Weapon(s): Bo-Katan used WESTAR-35 blaster pistols for her sidearms, as well as vambraces that contained a variety of weapons including dart launchers, gauntlet blades, wrist lasers, grappling-line, and a power-generated combat shield for deflecting attacks. Also, she wielded the Darksaber, the ceremonial weapon and symbol of power of the Mand’alors.

Strange Name, Stranger Origins: Bo-Katan’s unique name came from Star Wars: Clone Wars/Rebels/The Mandalorian director, Dave Filoni, who was inspired by the name of his wife Anne’s cat, Boogie. He then combined the phrase: “Boogie-cat-Anne,” and from their shortened it to the familiar-sounding name we’ve come to know this character by.