Does Darth Maul Have Mandalorian Armor? Here’s What It Means

Even though he hasn’t been mentioned once during the entire storyline of The Mandalorian, Darth Maul is still seemingly an influential character in the events of Star Wars because some of his actions in the past had lasting effects on the Mandalorians. He once led Mandalore as its ruler when he won the Darksaber from Pre Vizsla. But did Darth Maul ever have his own Mandalorian armor?

Darth Maul didn’t have his own Mandalorian armor during the events of Star Wars: Clone Wars. However, the Mandalorians that were loyal to his rule wore special armor that allowed them to resemble Maul in the sense that they had horned helmets. These were the Mandalorian super commandos.

Episode 7 of The Mandalorian season 3 opened up a lot of different questions that people are now asking as the connections between Maul and the Mandalorians are becoming clearer. Of course, Death Watch was mentioned in passing during that episode. We also can’t forget about the horns on the Armorer and Moff Gideon helmets. Now, let’s look at this topic in greater detail.

No, But His Super Commandos Had Unique Armor

During the seventh episode of season 3, we saw many different things about the Mandalorians and their quest to regain their home planet. But it was difficult not to notice anything related to one of the most popular Star Wars villains of all time—Darth Maul. That’s because there were details closely related to Maul in episode 7 of season 3 of The Mandalorian. The first was the conversation related to Death Watch, which the Armorer said no longer existed.

But it was the second detail that caught the attention of fans closely watching every minute detail of that episode. This detail came out during the part when the Mandalorians were caught in a trap that was set up by Moff Gideon and his soldiers. When Gideon re-introduced himself to the Mandalorians, he wore the next-generation Dark Trooper armor made from pure Beskar alloy. And interestingly enough, Gideon’s helmet had horns that looked similar to Maul’s horned head.

Of course, the one thing that fans need to know is that Maul has a connection with the Mandalorians. This connection was established in Star Wars: Clone Wars when his Shadow Collective worked with Pre Vizsla and Death Watch to overthrow New Mandalore and bring the traditional ways of the Mandalorians back. However, Maul challenged Vizsla to a fight that allowed him to kill him and win the Darksaber to become the new leader of Mandalore.

Maul’s rise to power as the rightful leader of Mandalore was a painful one on the part of Bo-Katan Kryze, who was loyal to Pre Vizsla. That was the reason why the Nite Owls broke off from Death Watch. Meanwhile, those who were loyal to Maul became his Mandalorian super commandos.

Even though he was the leader of Mandalore, Maul didn’t have his own Mandalorian armor as he stayed true to his roots as a Nightbrother trained in the ways of the Sith. But while he didn’t wear Mandalorian armor, the ones that were loyal to him had special armor that looked a bit different from the ones that Mandalorians usually wore.

The Mandalorian super commandos modified their armor to reflect their allegiance to the Dathomirian Nightbrother sitting on Mandalore’s throne. That was why the super commandos loyal to him had horned helmets that seemed to be inspired by Maul’s horned head. Specifically, the leaders of this elite group were Gar Saxon and Rook Kast, who both had armor that reflected their loyalty to their new master.

As such, despite his relatively short reign as the ruler of Mandalore, Maul’s influence was strong because the Mandalorians respected his power. After all, Mandalorians respect strength above anything else. And because Maul was a powerful warrior, he earned the loyalty and allegiance of the traditional Mandalorians, that wore armor clearly inspired by his appearance. 

Is Moff Gideon’s Armor Inspired by Darth Maul?

Going back to The Mandalorian, one of the things that caught the attention of fans was Moff Gideon’s own Mandalorian armor. Of course, Gideon isn’t Mandalorian in terms of creed and blood, but he did become the ruler of the planet at one point in time when he obtained the Darksaber from Bo-Katan Kryze after she surrendered to him. This is why Gideon sees himself as the rightful leader of the Mandalorians and is now looking to use the planet’s incredible resources to his advantage.

Of course, Gideon’s Mandalorian armor, the next generation of the Dark Trooper armor, comes with a helmet with five horns protruding. So, does that mean that Gideon’s armor was inspired by Darth Maul?

We don’t know whether or not there’s a connection between Gideon and Maul. After all, Maul hated the Empire just as much as anyone else because he hated Emperor Palpatine. That means it is unlikely that he was ever connected to Gideon at one point in his life before he met his death at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi during the events of Star Wars: Rebels.

But there’s a good chance that Gideon chose this helmet design due to a possible connection with a former member of Death Watch and Maul’s Mandalorian super commandos. As much as the Mandalorians hated the Empire, some were loyal to the Empire during the Imperial era because these Mandalorians hated Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls. In that regard, Gideon must have formed a connection with one of the Mandalorians that were once a part of the Mandalorian super commandos and were loyal to Maul.

There’s also the possibility that Gideon simply chose this armor design both as a nod to his Imperial roots and to mock the Mandalorians. He understood that Maul was one of the few Mandalorians who ruled Mandalore despite not being a Mandalorian in creed and blood. And the fact that he chose a helmet design resembling Maul’s horned head could be his way of telling the Mandalorians that he, a person who was never a Mandalorian in creed and blood, was now ready to take his place as their leader.