Discussions Is Revan overrated?

To break things down specifically, there are many debates about Revan and if he deserves the recognition that he deserves.

Ultimately, I would say that Revan is a very overrated character, his Sith accomplishments being overshadowed by his defeat of Darth Malak and the Star Forge as a redeemed Jedi. While a great accomplishment to his Jedi resume, to his Sith resume much is left to be desired. Even the Sith Empire that he tried to form was ended when Malak betrayed him, Revan thus losing his memory.

To be honest, even his most crowning Sith accomplishments just paved the way for future generations who implemented what he had to offer and made it better, like the Rule of Two.

Darth Bane discovering Revan's Sith Holocron, using it to help him establish the Rule of Two, doesn't really take away from Darth Bane as being the main foundation of the Rule of Two. To put it better into perspective - if the Rule of Two were a cake, Darth Bane would be the cake itself and Revan would be the frosting on top. Adding a flavor to it, but not taking away from the bedrock of the cake itself.

Revan's accomplishments in the Mandalorian Wars were, as well, part of his Jedi resume.

Beyond that, we get into SWTOR stories, and the latest expansion is all about Revan. spoiler He wanted to bring the Sith Emperor back to his physical form just so he could fight and kill him, Revan's mind still haunted by the torture the Sith Emperor gave him. Eventually, he was stopped. end spoiler

I see Revan as more of an accomplished Jedi than some legendary Sith. His Jedi resume is more impressive.

 

I think this thread is misplaced. Not to play backseat mod, but this section is for topics relating to the movies I-VI

Oh, and for the record.... yes

 

Correct. Moving to EU.

 

Of course. Of course Revan is overrated. The fact that he/she/it has been thrust into canon (or have they, given all that Disney has done to shoo that) is absolutely stupid. The character was created for a game, much like Starkiller, and as such was given exponential power so that the player of the game could feel supreme. Also, much the same as Starkiller, the character is over sold and over hyped in such a way that people actually think that the character is beyond the powers of the characters we know and love from the films. As an idea, if he had been created in a book and given limits, the idea of him is fine; his story is sympathetic and people can kind of go "aww," and relate in some ways. But as it is, he's completely overrated and over the top.

 

Afaik, Revan's not canon in any way

As for the topic itself, I must add on -

I absolutely despise what they did to Revan's character (I will refer to Revan as male because more often than not, I choose a male PC)

In the first game, he was a pretty interesting figure even before you knew his true identity. The buildup to the revelation paid off big time and once the player finds out and more options are available in dialogue, and the last stretches of the game, it's suddenly a huge existential crisis he faces and the difficult decision between revenge and redemption

In the second game, where he appears only in a vision, his presence is still HUGELY felt throughout because, as I think the second game has much better writing (mainly thanks to restoration mods) Revan was elevated to some divine, legendary status IN-UNIVERSE, and not as in uber powerful ultimate Jedi either. His actions became mysterious, hard to understand. It seemed like Chris Avellone really had something huge building up that would have been revealed in a depressingly cancelled 3rd game

The along comes the MMO and the novel written as its prequel.... Revan was butchered. His personality was absolutely nothing like ANY of the possible ways to make him in the game, and his actions don't at all fit what was implied in the second game. Suddenly making him the center of the universe around 4000 BBY just feels forced. Yes, he's a cool character, I like the development and complex personality, but he's not the best character ever

I just can't help but wonder what could have been.... it does sadden me a bit to this day

[/rant]

 

In the first game he wasn't really that remarkable beyond a particular gift for corrupting other Jedi and having generally good sense of humor as far as Sith go, in every subsequent installment other then the Bane thing he has been a vehicle to hype Vitiate. So yes. As a character arc KOTOR was a good Star Wars installment, so still glad he exists.

 

Revan hardly stands out as a character whose powers, at least on first glance, would appear to surpass the film characters'. Tales of the Jedi beat KOTOR to it by several years. Indeed, Revan was designed that way; Bioware and Obsidian were sure to add references to TOTJ Sith being "far worse" than Revan or Malak. Bioware considerably toned down the presentation of Force powers and entirely removed Sith sorcery, considering the era they were setting the story in had been previously established to be rife with lost abilities and ancient, evidently superior knowledge.

If there's one point I agree with KJA on, it's that I like a little realism in my Star Wars, and villains building planet-busting superweapons once technology has advanced to that sufficient level, as well as not all powerful Force-users happening to be born right around the time of the one 'star war' that the movies happen to cover, only make sense. Like in LOTR, older eras being saturated in the fantastical with a focus on 'magic'/The Force compared to the modern age having more advanced technology yet less arcane knowledge is readily apparent in Star Wars; even Ben's speech in ANH regarding the mystical grandeur of the Jedi, Palpatine's speech regarding the lost secrets of the legendary Darth Plagueis and of course Lucas' obvious intent that the ancient Sith had "once... rule[d] the galaxy" pay homage to this trope. Technology like planet-destroying superlasers, cloning or advanced droid intelligences became prevalent, contrasting nicely with a general decline in mystical ability as knowledge is lost through various Sith Wars, such as the Alexandria-esque loss of Jedi knowledge on Ossus, or the destruction of the ancient Sith Empire's secrets at the hands of the Jedi after the GHW.

I'm happy to see certain movie characters as the most powerful of their era, even the most powerful in the previous millennium, but with the exceptions of a few (such as Palpatine, after his death at Endor at least), no, I don't think they should necessarily match up with more ancient counterparts, and there's nothing wrong with the EU presenting Force power in such a way as to lead fans to conclude this. 'Power levels' are for children. Palpatine will, regardless, always be a greater Sith Lord than Revan, for his accomplishments and cunning; do we really need to forego common fantasy tropes as well as simple common sense/realism for the sake of having movie characters 'win' in hypothetical fights simply because we 'know and love' them?

As Jolee says to Carth, the Sith War they're fighting in is but one of many, and it's nothing special, only significant because, instead of being found in a history textbook, they're living it. I apply this same belief to the Clone Wars, the Galactic Civil War, and the movie characters in general.

 

I think they overdid it with Shadow of Revan (stop reading now if you don't want spoilers). On the Foundry, when Revan was at one of this strongest states, he was defeated by 2 sith, an agent, and a bounty hunter. On Yavin 4 however, when Revan's mind is split and he is weaker than his whole self (the spirit of the part that died even said so), it took any one of those 4 that killed him the first time only they're stronger than before (or the equally strong republic characters), plus a dark councilor, plus THE grand master of the jedi order, along with a sith lord, an SIS agent, a wookie, and one of the most experienced mandalorians of the time.

 

Revan is vastly overrated but he is also underrated. His achievements are many and had a big impact on Star Wars history but they aren't the most important thing to ever happen. Revan himself isn't all that powerful in the force at least when compared to the more powerful force users but he is quite knowledgable and versatile so people often underrate him when debating if he'd win in a fight. Overall Revan is an interesting character with many accomplishments who many people tend to overrate and underrate.