"Without the mask he looked more human. It was easier to remember he was just a man, with all the weaknesses and vulnerabilities that implied. With the mask, however, Revan was an icon, a symbol. He was the shaper of history, an individual defined by his actions rather than his thoughts, feelings, and beliefs."
"So you wouldn't recognize Revan if the two of you met?" "Is there any reason I should? Beside the fact that I did not know Revan in life, Revan was known for wearing a full helmet and cape."
―Revan and Yuthura Ban, about the former's old identity as the Dark Lord[src]
"They were beaten! You didn't have to do it! One of you knew, but you didn't listen! I don't know your name—but I take up your cause. I will not remove your mask until there is justice—until the Mandalorians have been defeated once and for all. So swears…Revan!"
―Revan, after the vision of the Mandalorians slaughtering the Cathar[src]
Revan dons the Mandalorian mask and vows to defeat the Mandalorians.
During the early battles of the Mandalorian Wars, this mask was worn by a Mandalorian female who was present during the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders' devastation of the Outer RimworldCathar. After driving the Catharpeople into the sea, the woman tried to convince Cassus Fett—who led the attack against the planet—not to kill the Cathar, believing that they had been sufficiently defeated. However, Fett refused and ordered his Mandalorians to exterminate the Cathar; the woman died trying to defend the Cathar as they were slaughtered, and her mask washed up on the shores of the planet.[1]
Ten years later, the Jedi KnightRevan, his friend and fellow Jedi Knight Malak, and their faction of Jedi were on Cathar searching for evidence of the Mandalorians' slaughter of the Cathar people. Vrook Lamar, a member of the Jedi High Council, and a team of Council loyalists arrived on planet and confronted the Revanchists, ordering them to abandon their efforts. During the discussion, Revan noticed the mask which had belonged to the Mandalorian woman and picked it up. When light shone on the mask, all of the Jedi present experienced a vision through the Force of the battle that had taken place a decade prior. After the vision's completion, Revan recognized that the Mandalorian female tried to defend the Cathar and perished as a result of the Mandalorians' desire to massacre defenseless civilians. In honor of her sacrifice, Revan donned her mask, vowing not to remove it until he and his followers brought the Mandalorians to justice.[1]
Revan wearing the mask 300 years later during the Cold War
Unbeknownst to even the Jedi Council, Bastila Shan, the leader of the Jedi strike team that captured Darth Revan, recovered the mask and hid it for many years. She feared that the mask would not only cause Revan to regain all of his lost memories, but would also restore his original persona, as well as the dark side within him. After Revan disappeared, the Jedi ExileMeetra Surik set out to find him. Before she left, Shan gave the mask to her with instructions to give it to Revan. Surik eventually found Revan on the Sith world Dromund Kaas. After the mask was given to Revan by Surik, all of his memories came back to him.[7]
After Revan's defeat at the hands of the Sith Emperor, the mask remained the property of the Sith for centuries. During the Cold War era, it was in possession of the rogue Sith Lord Grathan until it was stolen by the Revanites, a Sith cult dedicated to emulating the life and teachings of Darth Revan. After Revan was freed from his prison he reacquired the mask and wore it once more. The mask's last known use was when Revan was confronted by a Sith strike team at The Foundry.[10]
Revan's mask first appeared in the 2003Xbox and PCvideo gameStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, developed by BioWare.[3] The backstory of how Revan acquired the mask was explained in the standalone comicMasks, which was the forty-second issue of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic comic series, written by John Jackson Miller.[1] The mask was featured in a preview for BioWare's upcoming PC game Star Wars: The Old Republic that was released on the game's official website. In the video, the player-controlled character fights to shut down an ancient complex that was constructed by Darth Revan during his tenure as a Sith Lord. Near the end of the video, the scene cuts to what appears to be a tomb and Revan's mask lying in front of it.[11] While both Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Masks portray the helmet as having been colored red and gray, various artwork depicts the mask as having been only red.[12][13]