The Mandalorian The Mando Armor/Gadget Thread

I hope so... I also hope for a paint job.

 

I don't think hes going to lose the armor unless he dies at the end of the series as a definitive end to the character. Boba could accomplish that. It would put him right back up in the list of great Star Wars villains if he takes out a newly beloved character like that.

 

I know it's been widely accepted for decades that Mandalorian armor is resistant to lightsabers, but the latest episode made it seem like beskar was completely impervious. Did Ahsoka's saber even make a mark on the armor? I couldn't tell.

 

We still haven't seen what a direct thrust can do. Ahsoka only went for cutting strikes. Beskar probably couldn't hold up to this:



Plus in TCW i think we've only see Mandos get killed by sabers in areas the Beskar doesn't cover or by getting killed by their Achilles' heel: their own jetpacks.

 

Are the jetpacks not made of Beskar? I mean any old stick hitting it and it's out.

 

They seem to be quite volatile. Maybe that's why the Armorer asked if he was ready to use one.

 

Recall that the Magistrate clarified when Din asked “beskar?” by saying “pure beskar” [her emphasis]. So it may be that the spear, Din’s armor, and the armor of rich Mandos like Bo-Katan are pure and totally lightsaber-resistant, while other Mandos have beskar armor with impurities that make it resistant but not impervious.

 

Actually Djarin's armor is impervious too . He uses his vambraces to stop Ashoka's lightsaber strikes. How he knew they could do that is unknown since he didnt know about Jedi(and presumably their weapons, laser swords). Perhaps it was just instinct, or director told him to,lol. But in universe I think he was sure beskar is would've protected from such laser weapons. His armor is even able to withstand high powered sniper shots.

Death Watch Mandalorians died left and right on TCW, even in SOD from Clone, Droid or their own weapons being reflected it didn't matter. Even Grievous' fingers was able to cut through their armor. Even Satine's police force wore armor and they died from getting shot ect.

This show has Mandalorian beskar as impervious to almost any assault except from mudhorn impacts and concussive. What badly wounded Djarin last season was the explosion of the E-Web, not actual blaster fire from Gideon or the Death Troopers.

I kinda suspect only a beskar sword can cut through beskar armor at this point. Or maybe the Darksaber was created so it could be used against such metals.

 

That’s what I just said above. Din’s armor seems to also be made of pure beskar. But his was made specially from those ingots stolen from Mandalore by the Empire. It’s possible, and quite likely, that most other Mandos have less pure beskar armor. As for how Mando knew to block her lightsabers with his vambraces? Simple. Just think about it for a second. His beskar armor has blocked everything up to this point. So why would he not assume that it would block Ahsoka’s sabers? He knows nothing about Jedi, and would have no idea that their “laser swords” are known to cut through some of the most durable material.

 

They all used pure Beskar:

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Beskar

You're taking Morgan's comment to mean something it didnt, it just meant the spear was authentic beskar and of great worth to a Mandalorian during this era where the metal was plundered after the Clone Wars by the Empire.

The problem with him assuming, was how did he know it can withstand anything like blocking laser swords. He walks around all the time like a great big target and more than half the time and always gets attacked. The only thing saving this guy is plot armor in the form of beskar sadly. Its the same problem with him running directly into heavy blaster fire while the Nite Owls ducked behind cover, they had the same armor on they why didnt they do it? Is he stupid, just insane or did the director tell him its OK?! So far the only thing that can solder through Beskar is the Armorer's forge but her tools are impervious to the smelting which is interesting but also strange.

 

I don't think so since we see quite a few other orginizations or individuals, such as the clone troopers who use the same JT-12 jetpacks.

 

Right. I see no evidence in canon that all Mandos wear 100% pure beskar. It’s an unexplored issue, and so this show is free to introduce some layers of detail here. Some Mandos have pure beskar armor, and other might have less pure armor. Makes sense and would be a realistic bit of cultural detail.

 

In legends death watch sometimes wore durasteel since there was not much beskar left.

 

There are some Star Wars words that I think the creators could’ve been more creative with. Durasteel and caf being too primary examples. Those always take me out of the world.

 

I think the show might have benefited from a scene early on where a mandalorian in pure beskar armor gets defeated by some powerful foe, so that we have a metric for understanding what it takes to kill one of them. Din's "power level" is kind of ambiguous, and it feels like he's never in danger due to how strong his armor is. I'd like to see Gideon be a tactician who *can* defeat Din by outsmarting him, like Thrawn, rather than just throwing his dark tropers(?) at him. But if the dark troopers are indeed the big enemies for the season finale, then it would be nice to see them in action beforehand - maybe vs. Bo's retinue - to establish their capabilities.

 

We did sort of get that in Episode 8. Gideon knows he probably won't get a clean shot on Din around his armor, so he shoots the Eweb battery which more or less kills Din with the concussive force. Dude's brain was bleeding. Without GFFA medical magic, he gone.

 

That's precisely what Gideon did in season one. He outsmarted Mando by shooting the power generator for the E-Web Din was standing next to, rather than shooting him directly. And the explosion almost killed him (and would've killed him if IG-11 didn't deliver his emergency bacta treatment). So we have a metric for what it takes to...almost kill a Mando. And it's simple. Deliver a blow that their armor can't block. Whether that's an explosive, or just...chucking them off a cliff (after snatching their jet back, of course).

 

I don't mind seeing every now and then some cool jet pack flying but instead of justifying old role playing games 100 feet vertical and 200 feet horizontal guidelines just show it sparingly. I've already seen TCW and Rebels use the jet pack extensively and seen Iron man/superman type flying. We don't need a lot of that. Season one Episode 4 we had some good jet pack action. The only part that was way off was the heavy gunner at the end flying all the way into the stratosphere catching up to Mando's ship for a quick salute and taper off. If we are a cynic he probably tapered off, ran out of fuel and crashed and burned but he didn't. The role playing game restrictions sure didn't apply to that scene. All I'm going to say is don't over use the jet pack.

 

Yes, I think he will. As it is, his unpainted armor signifies a rebirth, right? He had colors, such as the red for honoring his parents. However, the things that drove his actions changed after he discovered Grogu and turned him over. The way I see it (I can’t claim this is entirely original) selling Grogu shattered his sense of self. It was the Mandalorians that had rescued him when he was a child—he should’ve died shortly after his parents. Instead of following in the footsteps of the people who took him in, he took the reward, but it clearly troubled him from moment one. He kept asking about the intentions of the Imperials and afterward when he remarked to the armored the his armor had “lost its integrity” it felt like he was talking about more than just the metal plates that covered him. In many ways he seemed to feel like he had lost his integrity.

Flash forward and he is reborn in his new beskar outfit, with only a few small splashes of the old paint remaining. He is a new person though the transformation hasn’t been completely internalized. This internalization happens when he decides that he is willing to risk everything to save Grogu. During the gunfight with the other hunters Din is in the cusp of failure and seems resigned to his fate: I’ve looks at Grogu as if to say, “I’m sorry but I tried my best”. It is interesting from a storytelling perspective that it is only then that the other Mandalorians come to rescue him. It is as if they wanted to see him ready to lay down his life for their beliefs (eg- we don’t trade in children and we don’t trade with the imperials) and once that had been established all was well with them again.

From the point Din and Grogu’s escape is covered by the Mandalorian covert the new identity of this pair, and Din in particular, in being formed. It is noteworthy that the Mandalorians paid with their lives for helping Din. Bo Katan may dismiss them as fanatics, but they are also loyal and Din carries the burden now of having been rescued, twice, by these “extremists” when he likely would have died.

This will all likely come full circle in the new colors Din will eventually adopt, IMHO. Where he once fought for his parents now he has something living to protect. Grogu and the other people that he has come to rely on have started to penetrate his emotional armor and he is slowly (very slowly) letting down a bit of his guard with them. You see this with Din raising his helmet ever so slightly in Grogu’s presence while he drinks his soup. This sign of trust is the first time Din has shown his true self to another living creature since not long after his parents were killed.

I am sure I have missed plenty, but that’s my (admittedly incomplete) analysis. Din will paint his armor as his rebirth coalesces into the new identity he has come to adopt. That’s my $.02

 

Not sure if this is the appropriate thread for this or not, but since we're talking about gear - I'm currently reading The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and on page 28 concept artist Brian Matyas explicitly refers to Jango Fett's armor as Beskar.

"I played with the armor color spectrum because, at least at this point, Jango Fett is the only canonical live-action example of unpainted beskar steel. So, I wanted to push it: "Can this metal be a dull brass matte sort of sheen? Something a little bit darker?" - Matyas

I know there's been some discussion about whether Jango/Boba's armor is actually Beskar but this seems to clear that up - though I guess Boba's replacement helmet (since Jango's original was destroyed in The Clone Wars, could be a different metal).

 

I suspect they have an in-world answer to this. Notice that when the armorer is reforming Din’s armor and it is at its most “liquid” state she uses a magnetic field, right? This suggests that there is simply nothing that can touch the beskar while it is molten that wouldn’t also melt. The press closes on the molten steel for a moment, but even here we don’t know what the press is made from and it is only in contact with the cooling beskar for a moment. Afterward, when she is hand forging the cooling steel is when she uses her hand tools. So the tools themselves are likely made of beskar. I think of it as similar to what jewelers do in using diamond to cut diamond (or something like that).

Anyway, I think the smelting issues and whatnot make sense. As for the level of imperviousness of the armor in the different series, this is harder to explain but not impossible. For example, I’m sure the standard issue police armor is thinner than what Din has. Din basically took 20 ingots (minus two for the foundlings) and turned it into his armor. As someone mentioned before, I suspect the quality (level of thickness) of his armor is now rivaled by only the oldest and wealthiest Mandalorian families.