The Mandalorian Super Commandos are major antagonists in Season 5 and 7 of the 2008-2020 animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. They are a group of Mandalorian Death Watch soldiers who swore loyalty to the rogue Sith Lord Darth Maul after he took over the planet of Mandalore by defeating the leader of Death Watch Pre Vizsla in single combat. They act as the primary foot soldiers of the Shadow Collective, fighting in numerous battles against both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
History[]
Formation[]
The soldiers who would go on to become the Mandalorian Super Commandos were originally members of the Death Watch, a terrorist group dedicated to restoring the warrior ways of Mandalore. During the Clone Wars, they served under Pre Vizsla and his second-in-command Bo-Katan Kryze. After allying with the rogue Sith Lord Darth Maul and his brother Savage Opress, Death Watch joined several crime syndicates to form the Shadow Collective, an underworld alliance that opposed both the Republic and the Separatists. Per Maul's instructions, Death Watch overthrew the pacifist government of Duchess Satine Kryze by posing as heroes liberating Mandalore from their criminal allies. Vizsla would subsequent double-cross Maul as he had no intention of expanding the Collective to other neutral systems.
Maul and Savage escaped their imprisonment alongside Almec, the former disgraced prime minister of Mandalore. Maul defeated Vizsla in single combat in front of his soldiers and executed him with the Darksaber, usurping the latter's position as both Mand'alor and leader of Death Watch. While some soldiers swore loyalty to their new leader, others led by Bo-Katan refused to recognize the Sith outsider and formed a splinter group called the Nite Owls. The soldiers loyal to Maul became Mandalorian Super Commandos and would subsequently modify their armor with red and black paint to honor Maul. Some went as far as to add horns to resemble the Zabrak. Almec was reinstated as prime minister and became the second-in-command of the Super Commandos. Gar Saxon and Rook Kast would come to lead the commandos as field commanders.
Mandalorian Civil War[]
Shortly after Maul's ascension, a Mandalorian civil war would break out between the Mandalorian Super Commandos and the Nite Owls in the city of Sundari. The Super Commandos would capture Duchess Satine Kryze who had briefly escaped just long enough to relay a message to her one-time lover and Maul's archenemy Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Jedi Master attemped to rescue the Duchess but was captured by Maul and the commandos. Kryze was executed by Maul and the commandos took Kenobi away to rot in prison. Before they could imprison Kenobi, the commando unit escorting him was ambushed by Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls. As the civil war raged on, the Mandalorian Super Commandos were unable to prevent Kenobi's escape back to Republic nor the arrival of Darth Sidious and his subsequent capture of Maul.
Campaign against the Shadow Collective[]
Almec dispatches Saxon and Kast to rescue Maul from the Spire prison on Stygeon Prime. Although they are successful, Sidious and Count Dooku allowed the escape so Maul could lead them to Mother Talzin. Maul thanks Almec for his release via hologram and is given the Darksaber which was recovered after his duel with Sidious. When General Grievous and the separatists attack the Mandalorians' base on Zanbar, the Super Commandos battle against the Droid Army but suffer heavy losses. Maul orders a retreat and the Mandalorian Super Commandos regroup with their Shadow Collective allies on Ord Mantell. Together, they coordinate an ambush in preparation for the Separatists' imminent invasion with the Mandalorian Super Commandos leading the Black Sun and Pyke mercenaries. Despite their strategic advantage and the aid of the Nightbrothers, the Droids overwhelm the Collectives' forces. As the droids prepare to execute the captured commandos and mercenaries, their command signal is shut down when Maul and Kast capture Grievous aboard his flagship. With nobody to oppose them, the super commandos and the mercenaries led by Saxon capture Dooku before he can kill Brother Viscus.
Maul imprisons Grievous on the Mandalorian supply outpost Vizsla Keep 09 and offers to form an "alliance" with Dooku. Having discovered the aftermath of the battle on Ord Mantell and realizing that the Mandalorians are still in league with the criminal underworld, the Republic launches a surprise attack on the supply outpost. Maul, Dooku, Saxon, and Kast face off against Jedi Masters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tiplee, Aayla Secura, and Mace Windu. Dooku kills Tiplee while Kast uses her missile launcher to cover the Sith Lords' escape. Unbeknowst to Maul, Dooku had used the surprise invasion to free Grievous from his cell. The cyborg general brutally slaughtered the Super Commandos guarding him and escaped the outpost via an escape pod.
Maul, having been aware that his "alliance" with Dooku was merely a rouse set up by Sidious, has Kast restrain his successor as they travel to Dathomir. He also orders Saxon to keep the Black Sun and Pyke Syndicate in line as both organizations have become increasingly skeptical of Maul's ability to support them. After arriving on Dathomir, Maul conducts a ritual to revive Mother Talzin using Dooku's body and Sidious and Grievous confront him, having arrived using a cloaked ship. At Maul and Talzin-possessed Dooku duel Grievous and Sidious respectively, the Droid army launches simultaneous attacks on the Black Sun and Pykes. After Kast refuses to send aid, both criminal syndicates leave the Shadow Collective. Kast and another Mandalorian then rush to Maul's location, informing him that Dathomir is lost to the Separatists. Mother Talzin sacrifices herself to allow Maul to escape with the Mandalorians, now his sole allies.
Siege of Mandalore and Dissolution[]
Maul, having foreseen the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of the Galactic Empire, orchestrates a war to lure the young Jedi and his master Obi-Wan Kenobi to Mandalore with the intent of killing them both. Sometime later, Bo-Katan Kryze reaches out to the Republic to propose a siege to overthrow Maul. Concurrent with the Battle of Coruscant, the Nite Owls and a battalion of Clone Troopers led by Ahsoka Tano and Commander Rex attack Sundari. Almec orders Saxon to prepare the Mandalorian Super Commandos for an all-out attack and orders Rook to inform the Shadow Collective of the invasion. As the battle rages on, Saxon leads the invading forces into Sundari's undercity per Almec's instructions. Bo-Katan defeats Almec in battle and the latter reveals that while Maul wanted her to bring the Jedi, Kryze had brought the wrong one. Ahsoka's clones are simultaneously ambushed and killed off one-by-one by the Super Commandos. As Ahsoka is surrounded Maul reveals himself and tells her that the galaxy will soon come under the control of Darth Sidious. The commandos are ambushed by Rex and the clones but Maul is able to escape in the chaos.
Maul and his forces battle against numerous clones and capture Jesse who is the oldest among them. Knowing that a captive Almec could be a potential asset to the Republic, Maul orders Saxon to assasinate the prime minister while he uses the force to torture Jesse into revealing Ahsoka's identity. When Saxon returns after successfully assasinating Almec, Maul orders Ziton Moj, Marg Krim, and Dryden Vos to go into hiding in preparation for the coming empire. Maul then thanks Saxon and Kast for rescuing him from Sidious and Dooku, musing that his successor was one step behind just like himself. He tells his Mandalorian Super Commandos that the galaxy will be remade and that they must seize whatever power they can. Appealing to their warrior's code, Maul promises that if they are to die, they will die as warriors in battle. His rousing speech is met by cheering and hollering from the commandos.
Saxon and Kast lead the Mandalorian Super Commandos as they attack the Clone Troopers escorting civilians to safety. As he observes the battle from the throne room, Maul comments on how blissfully ignorant both the Clones and the Mandalorians are of what's to come. The tide of the battle begins to change when the Nite Owls arrive to support the clones and push the Super Commandos back. Saxon contacts Maul for support but the latter refuses and abandons the Mandalorian to his death. Both Maul and Saxon are captured by the Republic shortly thereafter, thus ending the Siege of Mandalore. Maul's capture also results in the dissolution of both the Mandalorian Super Commandos and the Shadow Collective.
Post-Dissolution[]
With the dissolution of the dissident Mandalorian Super Commandos, a Republic-backed Bo-Katan is declared Regent of Mandalore and Ahsoka leaves to escort a captive Maul to Coruscant. On route to Coruscant, Order 66 is activated but both Ahsoka and Maul are able to escape. As Maul predicted, the Galactic Republic became the Galactic Empire and Mandalore is occupied by the newly formed Empire. Though no longer affiliated with the Mandalorians, Maul continues to maintain a hold over the criminal underworld through the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. Having been abandoned by Maul, Gar Saxon allies with the Empire and is appointed the Emperor's Hand by Emperor Palpatine.
Known Members[]
- Darth Maul - Founder / Leader / De-Facto Ruler of Mandalore / Current Leader of the Death Watch / Founder and Leader of the Mandalorian Super Commandos / Shadow Leader of the Crimson Dawn / Master of Savage Opress / Sith Lord (deceased)
- Almec - Current Deputy Leader / Second-in-Command / Current Prime Minister of Mandalore / Second-in-Command of the Mandalorian Super Commandos (deceased)
- Savage Opress - Previous Second-in-Command / Chief Enforcer / Apprentice of Darth Maul / Sith Lord (deceased)
- Gar Saxon - Field Commander of the Mandalorian Super Commandos (deceased)
- Rook Kast - Field Commander of the Mandalorian Super Commandos
Gallery[]
