Star Wars: 10 Details You Didn’t Notice About Mandalorian Armor

The Star Wars Universe is home to a great deal or organization, species, and warriors. For the Mandalorians there’s something incredibly distinctive about their look and their culture. The people of Mandalore have been recently explored more thanks to their appearances in Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian. 

However, while there’s still so much fans are yet to learn about this group, there’s a lot that can already be explained regarding their armor. Citizens across the galaxy have come to fear the Mandalorian armor and there’s a certain number of details that audiences might not have actually noticed about the design of the suits.

10 Uniformity Amongst Clans

There’s often a real sense of modification and customization for many Mandalorians. Sabine Wren for instance has beautifully decorated her own armor and there are plenty of examples of other Mandalorians deciding to create their own designs.

However, when belonging to a certain clan, there’s sometimes not much of a choice in how the armor is designed. The Death Watch and Darth Maul’s own Mandalorian clan are both examples of this, with the distinctive blue and red armor signifying the groups.

9 Emblems Are Earned Or Granted

A huge part of season 1 of The Mandalorian saw the protagonist searching for his own emblem to proudly wear on his shoulder. In Mandalorian culture the emblem is often earned through a specific feat, but this is not always the case.

For some, the emblem is simply granted to them for their loyalty. The Death Watch for instance had their own logo and there have been a number of other Mandalorian groups that have chosen this method of embellishing their armor.

8 Rules Depend On Group

Some Mandalorians take their culture a lot more seriously than others. Various Bounty Hunters have decided they wish to take off their helmets, thus ruining tradition and other Mandalorians in power like Pre Vizsla have also defied what was expected of them.

There are a few key rules for Mandalorians to follow and the main one is not to take off the helmet. However, it really depends on what version of the code the warrior follows, with plenty of Mandalorians completely breaking this. Boba Fett for instance claimed it much later on.

7 Fett’s Non Traditional Materials

Mandalorian armor is commonly made out of beskar. It’s an incredibly strong material that can actually withstand both lightsaber attacks and shots from a blaster. However, it is a hard to come by material and one that’s especially difficult to mold.

For Jango Fett and a number of other Mandalorians (or those trying to mimic them) they actually used much cheaper and easier to find materials. Durasteel is therefore the rip-off version of beskar, which is commonly used especially amongst frauds.

6 T Shape Tradition

The T shape visor at the front of the mask has made Boba Fett’s helmet one of the most recognizable in the galaxy. This is a design choice that is found on every piece of Mandalorian armor and the reason for this stems back through their history.

The very first Mandalorian warriors had masks that contained that T shape, alongside cloaks which hid their identity. The design makes the visor itself more durable, with the structural design meaning the eyes will be protected a bit more.

5 Clone Armor

The Clones were created from Jango Fett’s DNA, meaning they are partially linked to the Mandalorians. As such, their armor is also inspired by them in many ways and continued to showcase more elements of this over time.

From the antenna on their heads, to the T shaped visors and even some of the weapons and the gadgets, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see the Clones serving alongside the Mandalorians acting as one unit. As the Clones evolved into Stormtroopers and First Order Troopers, the similarities lessened.

4 Vambrace Variation

Almost every Mandalorian is actually fitted with a vambrace on their arm. However, each one is quite unique and modified to suit the needs of the warrior. There’s a number of similarities between all of them, including navigational systems and usually a grappling hook.

However, Sabine’s vambrace would be set up quite differently to that of Boba Fett. Whether it’s the addition of a small shield, or a flamethrower, there’s something about the vambrace which actually defines the character of each Mandalorian.

3 The Darksaber

The Darksaber is a legendary weapon amongst Mandalorian lore and one that was originally stolen from the Jedi. It’s a weapon that contains quite an ancient design, but also one that fits well with any Mandalorian armor considering similarities in the aesthetics.

This demonstrates that Mandalorian armor is also quite ancient in terms of its creation. The Darksaber itself has been wielded by a number of people associated with the Mandalorians, including Pre Vizsla, Sabine Wren and Darth Maul, but has recently been seen in the possession of Moff Gideon breaking that trend.

2 After The Purge

The Purge was a series of events that saw the Empire try to wipe out the Mandalorians as they could have posed a serious threat to their regime. However, many went into hiding underground and started to form smaller clans.

The armor of many Mandalorians just starting out therefore is usually collected together from old pieces. The Mandalorian’s original armor for instance was a combination of colors and low grade equipment and that was after years in the business.

1 Not All Warriors

The armor can come to represent the job that a Mandalorian fulfills. There are exceptions throughout the galaxy as to what the armor looks like. The blacksmith that creates armor for instance has a slightly different helmet and heat-proof equipment.

Some Mandalorian guards may have very few protective materials in their armor, but are equipped with various policing equipment and tech to make it easier to pilot. So while the most familiar look is that of the warrior, that isn’t the only one.

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