The Darth Revan FAQ

As promised and ready/willing to serve your Knights of the Old Republic needs.

 

Did Revan really ever fall to the Dark Side?

If the answer is no, then how do we account for the evil actions that the DS Revan commits in the first game when the character plays as him.

 

Darth Traya, it should be noted, is hardly objective when it comes to her apprentice. Darth Traya is not only Revan's master and in awe of her former student but she's also a Dark Lord of the Sith. Much like Palpatine accusing Luke Skywalker of wanting to rule the galaxy in his place in DE, she actually is projecting a good deal of her own self-justifications onto Revan. Darth Traya wasn't a "gray Jedi" like she claimed to be but in fact actually an outright Dark Sider.

In the case of Darth Revan, he suffers from Riddick syndrome ("Evil needs to be combatted by a different kind of evil") an to an extent is hardly the first Jedi Knight to believe that the Dark Side is probably best combatted with the Dark Side. It's one of the easiest and best lures of the Dark Side to play upon a Jedi Knights sense of responsibilty to the many and the inefficiency of democracy in order to require the strong hand of a dictatorship.

From a military standpoint, Darth Revan wasn't entirely wrong in his actions. It was right even from a Jedi perspective to fight the Mandalorians and protect the galaxy. The Sith forces (I don't think the original Sith Empire continued and will maintain this until proven otherwise) of Exar Kun's evil sect remanants also probably required a great army to destroy. Darth Revan was a very pragmatic conqueror (much like Grand Admiral Thrawn) and it's easy for us to laud his talents while dismissing this un-Jedi behavior.

Ultimately though, Revan was a dictator and a conqueror that would have brought nothing but oppression had he continued on his path. He might have defeated the Sith and won the galaxy but his own Sith would have abused the priviledges he instituted just like Darth Krayt. No further evidence needs to be shown than the fact that Darth Malak was one of his chief minions and the Korriban Academy (still minions of Revan) is filled with backbiting scum.

For all the "greater good" Revan might have been serving for being a brilliant military leader and strategist....his minions behaved like Huns and he was a tyrant. That is the definition of the Dark Side's consumption.

 

Whilst I don't agree that the "True Sith" are a "Kun Remnant" (since that's not what is implied at all) almost everything else you said =

(I don't agree with you capitalising "dark side" either... )

I'm going to quote two little segments from an old fanfic that (I believe) sum up the dark sided Revan's (messed up) thoughts up pretty well:

...and the failing Republic?s borders trembled as more and more systems were integrated into the ever-growing mass of what some, including his own minions, had dubbed ?the Sith Empire?. Ironic, considering all he had sacrificed to defeat such a power, yet he supposed that was indeed what it was. A reflection of the danger that threatened to consume them, ever growing, hungry and powerful but in the end it was only that, a reflection; the mirror shield that would petrify the greatest threat of all. The galaxy would be harsher, more dangerous, perhaps even cruel yet at least it would be safe - at least it would be strong. No more divisions, no more pointless bickering in the senate, Revan would bring peace and justice to the galaxy? eventually. He would save it from itself, make things the way he wanted them to be ? no - make things the way they needed to be.

and:

The left side of the twisted darksider?s mouth twitched involuntary. It was he who really fought for the salvation of the galaxy - it was he who had discovered the truth. Only united beneath his tyranny and the teachings of the Sith could the galaxy survive the coming storm. He would prove the victor in this ?Jedi Civil War? soon enough.

With the first one, the echoing of Anakin's plea to Padme towards the end is intentional. After all, you can replace "Anakin" with "Revan" and "Padme" with "the galaxy" and pretty much sum up Revan's journey to the dark side.

Both Anakin and R

 

Well it's a debatable matter, the original Knights of the Old Republic implied the Sith whom tricked the Mandalorians into attacking are decidedly remnants of Exar Kun's Empire of the Sith and the Krath. The history given even implies the Sith shut themselves up in their worlds after Kun's defeat.

Knights of the Old Republic 2 alludes to the Sith Empire surviving but only through Darth Traya whose opinion is always suspicious. Furthermore, its never terribly clear.

Exar Kun's legitimacy as a Sith Lord I also prefer not to question with Marka Ragnos proclaiming him the Dark Lord of the Sith after they had been exterminated. "Because of you, the Sith will never die."

At present, what the truth of the story is, is ambigious.

 

Was their ever a point where Revan turned, in a sort of Anakin Skywalker(ROTS) moment, or was it just a descent deeper into darkness until it was too late.

 

It was revealed in KOTOR2 that, after the CANONICAL events of KOTOR1, Revan left his companions to go after the True Sith, all alone.

Now, it was Revan's desire to defeat the True Sith that led him to the Dark Side in the first place. His mentality that it would take one Sith to defeat another led him to becoming a tyrant who was deluded into destroying the Republic to save it.

The final events of KOTOR1 returned Revan to his former status as a Jedi devoted to the light. However, one can assume he had not yet retained his full memories as of the end of KOTOR1, otherwise he would have gone straight after the true Sith. Once Revan retained his full memory, he went after the Sith again as a Jedi devoted to the light. Just the way things were before....

Therefore, since the situation is the same- Revan going after the true sith- does that mean events might repeat themselves and he could possibly end up as a Sith Lord again by the events of a possible KOTOR3?

 

Was their ever a point where Revan turned, in a sort of Anakin Skywalker(ROTS) moment, or was it just a descent deeper into darkness until it was too late.


In Revan's case, it was just a gradual descent deeper and deeper into darkness. Each compromise making it worse and worse.

Therefore, since the situation is the same- Revan going after the true sith- does that mean events might repeat themselves and he could possibly end up as a Sith Lord again by the events of a possible KOTOR3?

Revan knew about the True Sith when he regained his memories (and I term the True Sith to be X's group but let's not debate that point in this thread, I'm just as likel to be proven wrong by KotOR3). However, Revan felt his duty was to first take care of Darth Malak. Its incorrect to assume that the True Sith are SUCH A LARGER THREAT than Malak's rapine across the galaxy that Revan would ignore it.

Revan created the monster in Malak and knew it was only through him that it could be destroyed. He also left Carth and Bastilla behind in order to help the Jedi/Republic recover from the disaster.

 

Oh, yeah, you're entirely right on the KotOR I front... but then again, KotOR I changed a number of details of the "Great Sith War", making it a hella lot more epic than the one I remembered reading about. It seemed to me as though the writers had just been given a brief overview, and elaborated on it themselves. Kun converting hundreds of knights? At my last count in the comics it was twenty... I'd actually really like to see the Kun/Ulic tales retold in this sort of light... but that'll never happen

That said, KotoR 2 pretty much directly contradicts KotOR 1, and suggests *heavily* that it's a much more "ancient" Empire than the Kun remnant, because, to put it bluntly, I think the KotOR 2 team misinterpreted what KotOR I had been saying. Or tried to reinterpret it to suit their own ends. Much like what happened with the battle of Malachor V, which as described in KotOR I was *not* a giant implosion...

Whilst there's a lot about KotOR 2's direction in regards to the Sith I didn't like, I really *love* the idea of Kun being nothing more than a pawn in the game of "True Sith Empire"... but that's because I'm horrendously bias against him.

Assuming KotOR 2's info doesn't override KotOR 1's, then I suppose you're right.

 

Revan didn't regain his memories until a year after Malak was defeated. Remember, he only remembered bits and pieces of his old self, nothing conclusive.

 

Again, we're going with some questionable details here but I still imagine that events wouldn't have changed significantly.

But to answer Ulicus, the Sith War has always been much more epic than the Tales of the Jedi comics indicate and the same for the Golden Age of the Sith. Dark Empire's description of Ulic's wrath on the galaxy is certainly inspiring as well.

As for Exar Kun, he's had some bad moments (see the entire portrayal in Jedi Academy) but I'm rather fond of him.

 

Well, assuming that "Canonical Light Side Revan" had the same memory recuperation skills as "non canon Dark Side Revan"...

Bastila: It has been months since Revan's full memories returned...

So when are we going to get the REAL depiction? *Sigh* (With less archiac looking rubbish for ships and weapons! )

I much preferred the description in the Old Essential Guide to Characters, before "The Sith War" had been released. It said that Kun and Ulic disappeared for "several years" building up their strength before they returned to the Republic and totally laid waste to it... (wtte)

I was a a child in awe... then I read the comics and... and... man, it was a *letdown*.

Kun was ok, I just think it's funny that Revan gets hit with the "overrated" tag more than he does. Kun never seemed to do anything of his own power. It was all "amulet this" and "focusing site" that... still... I *had* hoped his spirit would make a Clone Wars cameo in the Yavin Temple when Anakin and Ventress were duelling.

That'd have been cool.

Anyway, Charles, I've got a question...

If Revan had not had his mind wiped/'destroyed' do you think he could have been redeemed?

Oh, and another one:

If Revan had not been betrayed by Malak, do you think he'd have successfully conquered the Republic?

Obviously you can only give your opinion on these, but i'm interested to see what you think.

 

******

This post was supposed to be edited into the one above. Sorry people.

 

If Revan had not had his mind wiped/'destroyed' do you think he could have been redeemed?

Honestly, no, because Revan was too removed from the effects of his actions. Amnesiac Revan was a person that was able to see the full weight of the pain, suffering, and horror that Malak and he had brought across the galaxy.

Furthermore, I believe his developing love for Bastilla was also a major reason that he chose to redeem himself even after he regained his memories.

If Revan had not been betrayed by Malak, do you think he'd have successfully conquered the Republic?

They had the galaxy on the ropes but unfortunately, its my opinion that Revan's situation was untenable from the very start. As KOTOR2 indicate, the Revan that continued his rampage across the galaxy eventually turned it off and left.

Revan could conquer a HUGE portion of the galaxy but like so many conquerers, there's just a limit to the number of people that one man can control and even with the Republic decapitated, most people remained loyal to it.

It's one of the reasons that Palpatine realized that only through infiltration could the galaxy be conquered.

 

Kun was ok, I just think it's funny that Revan gets hit with the "overrated" tag more than he does. Kun never seemed to do anything of his own power. It was all "amulet this" and "focusing site" that... still... I *had* hoped his spirit would make a Clone Wars cameo in the Yavin Temple when Anakin and Ventress were duelling.

I answered this question on the Lightsaber of Truth some time ago whether Sith were really more powerful than Jedi due to all the amulets and focusing sites they did. My answer was effectively "Of COURSE the Sith use that sort of thing, why wouldn't they?" Exar Kun had no particular problem with 'cheating' and his love of alchemy and 'magical items' was one of the reasons he was so feared and deadly. Palpatine preferred to rely on his own strength but Kun happily took every advantage that he could. It's one of the aspects of his character.

Yes, he's an elitist snob whom never worked for anything a day in his life. You expect differently from a Sith? Honestly, if Kun had been interested in that sort of thing then I expect he and Aleema would have got along splendidly.

 

what was his canon jedi class ? and what color was his saber ?

what type of personality did he have ?

 

Yup. Agree there. It's one of the reasons I don't mind the fact that he *was* redeemed. It was unconventional, and it doesn't really detract from the idea of the dark side "dominating one's destiny". Usually redemptions (or, more accurately, people coming back from the dark side) outside of Vader bug me.

I was under the impression that he did so because Malak had pretty much messed up every aspect of his original plan and he had no other choice. Either that or he went to "scout out" the True Sith and got captured/took them over for himself.

True enough I suppose. I tend to believe that "Mr Charisma" would have been able to woo a majority of people around to his way of thinking though...

Anyway, I'm (finally) going to leave this thread for a bit... I have work tommorow and need to sleep.

 

Okay, I wanted to ask about Revan's mask here. So my question is, did Revan always wear that mask? I assume he did because when he's wondering around the galaxy with a wiped memory, the only people to recognize him for who he truely is are Malak, Jolee & the high council on Dantoonie. Also in a few flashback scenes in both KotOR 1 & 2 where Revan is searching for the Star Maps and recruiting Jedi for the war he's wearing it. So its safe to assume that Reven always had it yeah?

And if thats the case, why was he always wearing it? A tribute to his race thing?

Thanks, love these FAQ's!

 

1. The indications are that Revan was probably a Jedi Guardian from the way things are going. Though the two classes are not really official distinctions in-universe amongst Jedi Knights.

2. Blue.

3. Darth Revan's personality by out of first person scenes seem to indicate that he was a deadly serious man, not predisposed to good humor, and pretty much let his actions speak louder than his words. Oddly, Revan didn't do much of the speaking from what we've seen but instead let Malak and others do the recruiting for him. It's one of the reasons that even Revan's gender is kept a secret in order to increase his "mystique" (though I suspect the gender was merely a case of no one knowing Revan too well outside of the Jedi Order)

 

In "Mr. Charisma's Case" it might have been possible but it's a note that people still hated and feared Revan even though plenty of them held him in awe. It looked like he'd be able to hold the galaxy in his thrall for a short while but its sort of like Hitler, unless they chose appeasement then theres' really no way that he's going to be able to win in the end. The fact that Revan had people like Malak, Bandon, and probably Sion/Nihilus if some implication are true....it was only a matter of time before some high profile atrocities happened under his watch or not.

 

Revan pretty much didn't hide his true face from his inner circle but largely he always wore it for his addresses and in battle. It helped make him a figure that was feared throughout the galaxy and "more than man." (Yes, Batman). Frankly, in Revan's case, he was always prepared for battle.

It's only after Malak is defeated that he decides to laud his 'true form.'

 

Was Dark Side Revan or Light Side Reavn stronger?

 

Dark Revan had the Star Forge and numerous other Sith tools so him frankly.

 

Here's something for you. How did Calo Nord recognize Revan (or, alternatively, how did Saul Karath recognize Revan from Calo Nord's desription of him)? And if you want to explain something else, how the hell did Nord escape Taris's destruction from underneath a rubble pile right in the middle of the bombardment?

 

That's always annoyed me...