Moff Gideon's New Makeover Truly Makes Him The Darth Vader Of The Mandalorian
This post contains spoilers for "The Mandalorian" Chapter 23 – "The Spies."
If one thing is certain, it's that Moff Gideon is doing his best to be a classic "Star Wars" villain. He's cold and calculating like Darth Sidious. He's three moves ahead of everyone like Grand Admiral Thrawn. He's ruthless like General Grievous. And he's cold and brutal like Darth Vader. He's committed genocide like many of them, treating the Mandalorian people in much the same way as the Geonosians or Neimoidians. He certainly learned a lot from his colleagues throughout his career in the Empire and the brutality of that regime. As we've looked to his future, it felt like there was one thing missing in his quiver of Imperial standards, and that was an imposing costume, look, or mask.
Up to this point, Moff Gideon has gotten by perfectly fine with a black cape and an evil attitude. However, that all changed in the most recent episode of "The Mandalorian" season 3, "The Spies."
The new look
As Moff Gideon closed his trap around Bo-Katan Kryze, Din Djarin, and the united Mandalorians in "The Spies," he revealed both the plans he'd been toiling on for quite some time and a brand new look.
With Mandalore feared to be a cursed world, Moff Gideon's operatives were able to work there undetected and steal the wealth of Mandalore from its rich veins of beskar. Using that beskar, it was his intention to create a new version of Death Troopers for himself — Death Troopers that could withstand blaster bolts wearing the impervious armor of Mandalorians.
Not content to let his troops have all the fun, Moff Gideon also created his own beskar armor. On first blush, it looks largely the same. It's almost easy to not realize that his chest plate is much thicker and that the rest of his body is much more armored. (The cape is an effective distraction.) It's only when he puts on his black helmet with flourishes of red and horns that he truly becomes an imposing villain worthy of "Star Wars" and reminiscent of Darth Vader.
A new Vader
Darth Vader wore a mask because it was his life support system, making him strike an imposing figure that struck fear into the hearts of all of his enemies. Vader himself felt like the perfect amalgamation between Darth Sidious' two chief enforcers that immediately preceded him: Count Dooku and General Grievous. Grievous was more machine than organic being, while Dooku was adept with the Force and dealing with people. Vader was the best of both worlds.
As Moff Gideon looks to emulate that style of leadership and control over the Empire that Vader had, it's no wonder that he is doing his best to copy his look as well. In the right lighting conditions, the glossy Mandalorian helmet he dons could easily be confused for Vader's. With this episode, his transformation is complete and he'll go down as one of the more iconic villains in the "Star Wars" franchise and it has a lot to do with his Vader-like appearance.
For Vader, though, his mask and outfit was purely life support. He could hold his own and stop a blaster bolt with his lightsaber. This beskar armor of Moff Gideon's makes him — a non-Force user — a much more formidable foe, able to withstand the sort of attacks that the Mandalorians he's trying so desperately to eradicate will throw at him.
Moff Gideon is now a threat to be reckoned with much more than he has been, at least since the Empire was still in control of the galaxy.
"The Mandalorian" is streaming only on Disney+. The season 3 finale drops next Wednesday.