Mandalorian Armor Colors Meaning
The Mandalorians have become extremely popular thanks to the success of Disney’s The Mandalorian, a spin-off TV show set during the early days of the New Republic. Despite their turbulent history, the Mandalorians have remained fierce fighters and one of the best-known races in George Lucas’ Star Wars universe. Among other things, the Mandalorians are known for their specific armor, which is similar in design for all Mandalorians, although each clan has some specific details. Today, we are going to talk about the Mandalorian armor colors meaning.
The meanings of the colors of Mandalorian Armor, after the Clone Wars, are as follows: grey for the mourning of lost love, red for honoring a parent, black for justice, gold for vengeance, green for duty, blue for reliability, orange for a lust for life, and white for a new start.
When George Lucas launched the franchise in 1977, with the movie Star Wars (later titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope for continuity reasons), no one expected that it would become one of the biggest stories of the modern area. Star Wars wasn’t initially that successful, but as the years passed, the franchise became a cult classic, attracting generations of fans and now encompassing nine main continuity movies, video games, several TV shows, comic books and a variety of merchandise that made George Lucas famous. The franchise is today owned by Disney, but wherever it might go after the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars will undoubtedly remain one of the pivotal parts of modern culture.
Now, let us see the answer to the main question.
Mandalorians
The Mandalorians were actually a clan-based ethnic group founded on the planet Mandalore. Contrary to popular opinion, they’re neither a race, nor a people but a multi-ethnic group comprising of members of different species and races (but are predominantly human) bound together by a code. This means that anyone who adheres to the Mandalorian code and the associated culture can become a Mandalorian.
The history of the planet Mandalore – a planet in the Outer Rim – is one of violence and war. Mandalore has been a martial planet for most of its history, which culminated in the great Mandalorian Civil War, where the pacifist New Mandalorians – with the help of the Jedi Order – defeated the martial traditionalists. This was the beginning of a new area in Mandalorian history that lasted until the Clone Wars, when a new Civil War topped the pacifist regime and reinstalled the martial traditionalists.
Mandalore was, because of that, subsequently occupied by the Galactic Republic and the occupation continued through the period of the Galactic Empire. The Mandalorians didn’t get along with the Empire which resulted in a third civil war, which was part of the general uprising against the Empire. The Mandalorian order went into hiding after the formation of the New Republic, due to being hunted by the remnants of the Empire during the Great Purge. As a result, most Mandalorians were killed and the order was practically wiped out, but some members survived.
Despite not being featured in the main film universe, the Mandalorians played an important part in the history of the Star Wars franchise. They are especially known for their fights against the Jedi, whose skills initially surprised the Mandalorians (especially the Force), but ultimately inspired a rapid technological advancement, as Mandalorians needed to adapt to their opponents. The Mandalorians, although sometimes employed by the Sith, weren’t actually a pro-Sith fraction – especially later, when they even allied with the Jedi – but were just perceived as enemies by the Republic, and since the Jedi protected the Republic, clashes were inevitable.
The history and the importance of the Mandalorians is explored in the Star Wars Legends universe, so you’re always welcome to consult the comic books and the books from the expanded universe. Until they appear in the main movie continuity, you can also enjoy a look into their lore in the TV series The Mandalorian.
Mandalorian Armor
Mandalorian armor is one of the most distinctive features of the Mandalorians. These armors are highly specific, especially the masks, which is why they are highly recognisable throughout the Galaxy. Common traits included a helmet with a T-shaped visor that concealed their faces, and armaments like whipcord throwers, flamethrowers and jetpacks. Mandalorian armor was made from beskar, which was one of the strongest metals in the galaxy. Beskar could protect the wearer from blasters and even lightsabers.
The Mandalorian Armor changed throughout the years, becoming more elaborate as more time passed. Most of the history of the Mandalorian race, as well as their armors, is presented in the expanded Legends universe and not in the main continuity, although The Mandalorian has explored this subject in more detail than the movies themselves.
The appearance of a Mandalorian’s armor was largely up to the individual, as the highly independent Mandalorian people customized their armor with different colored paint schemes, clan and unit sigils, personalized glyphs, or other marking patterns in accordance to their own tastes.
Throughout the history, though, there have been three distinctive features of all Mandalorian armors:
- The wearer was always protected from the majority of all blaster fire, which was the point since they were warriors and mercenaries. Armor made of actual Mandalorian iron, which could also deflect blaster bolts, made it, likewise, lightsaber-resistant.
- The helmets almost always possessed a T-shaped visor and a sophisticated heads-up display (HUD). The technology improved with time.
- Mandalorian warriors always decorated their armor to reflect personal accomplishments, clan affiliation, or simply personal preference. They often repainted their armor to reflect rank, clan, and possibly the current terrain. Some Mandalorians wore pieces of armor to honour relatives, both dead and alive.
Mandalorian Armor Colors Meaning
The meaning of colors in Mandalorian armor evolved through time, just like the armor itself. The Mandalorians were known to paint their armor in the traditional colors that represented specific causes the individual might currently be undertaking, so they have changed during their lifetime. The colors, however, did not always have a specific meaning. Sometimes they were just colors that the particular Mandalorian liked.
The first mention of any specific coloration of Mandalorian armor stems from the early days of the Mandalorian race, when the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders, a group of Mandalorian warriors, used differently colored armors that reflected their ranks. The suits had four colors: silver for veterans on the front line, gold for Field Marshals, crimson for Rally Masters and blue for all others.
This, of course, changed, and as of the Clone Wars, the colors received specific meanings and they came to represent a sentiment held by the Mandalorian warrior. The officially confirmed colors and meanings are:
Color | Meaning | Famous Wearers |
---|---|---|
Grey | Mourning a lost love | Din Djarin |
Red | Honouring a parent | Ghes Orade, Revan |
Black | Justice | |
Gold | Vengeance | |
Green | Duty | Boba Fett |
Blue | Reliability | Jango Fett, Bo-Katan Kryze |
White | A new start | |
Orange | Lust for life | Mirta Gev |
And with this, we can conclude our story on Mandalorian Armor and the colors whose meaning is officially confirmed. Some fans have also attributed specific meanings to other colors, but that hasn’t been officially confirmed.
And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we helped solve this dilemma for you. See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!