Revan

Revan is the main character featured in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Revan is fully customizable (players can choose the name which will be assigned to the character, can select any available appearance and can select either gender). The player's choice of a male or female Revan will not change the game's endings or Revan's allies (beyond determining which characters the player character can fall in love with).

Early life
As was the Jedi tradition, Revan's Force-sensitivity was discovered at a young age and he was later introduced into the Jedi Order.

When Revan was first being trained as a Jedi Padawan, he was found to be very strong in the Force, as was his close friend Malak, though Revan was undeniably the more powerful of the pair.

Jedi training
"Revan had many masters, Zhar, Dorak and Master Kae before Kae left for the Wars. Towards the end of his training, he sought out many to learn techniques. It is said that he returned to his first master at the end of his training, in order to learn how he might best leave the order."

Initially, Revan's instruction was undertaken by the Jedi Kreia on Coruscant but, ever eager to learn more about the Force, Revan and his friend Malak were soon visiting Jedi Master Zhar Lestin for additional training. Though Zhar noted that Revan had an "insatiable" hunger for knowledge, he dismissed it as exuberance and eagerness, believing the youth would grow to be a future champion of the Jedi Order.

In time, Revan left Kreia's tutelage entirely, going on to study beneath numerous Jedi Masters, including the aforementioned Zhar, as well as Master Dorak and Kae. In addition, rumors perpetuated by Mical some years later suggested that Revan studied the process of Force bonding deeply during his many apprenticeships. Eventually, however, he returned to Kreia, when in her own words; "he realized there was nothing more to be learned from the Jedi - except how one could leave them forever."

It is also possible that Revan sought the forbidden legacy of Sith Alchemy and Sorcery at this time, as Master Vrook Lamar seemed convinced that he had done so. Whatever the validity of these accusations however, by 3,956 BBY the general consensus amongst the Jedi Masters on Dantooine was that though Revan had been a very promising Padawan, he had also been headstrong, proud and far too quick to dismiss the dangerous lure of the dark side.

Mandalorian Wars
Nearly 4,000 years before the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, a warrior race known as the Mandalorians began raiding worlds on the edge of the Galaxy. At first, the Jedi Council allowed Jedi Knights' participation in the war, mainly because of the attack on the planet Cathar, but soon Jedi Master Vrook urged the Jedi to return. Despite Revan and Malak's (now Jedi Knights) belief that the Jedi should help the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Council insisted on staying out of the war, feeling that the true threat had not yet revealed itself. Many younger Jedi were unwilling to wait as the Mandalorians assaulted planet after planet, and so Revan and his friend, Malak, organized a force of rebellious Jedi Knights to assist the Republic in defeating the Mandalorians. Many Jedi felt inspired by the charismatic Revan, and so they joined him.

The Mandalorians expected Master Kavar (an established general, and one of Revan's teachers) to lead the battle instead of him. Revan proved to be not only one of the more powerful Jedi Knights in the order, but also a master tactician and strategist. He was willing to sacrifice entire planets so as to make the most important ones impenetrable. And despite taking massive casualties (sometimes as many as ten Republic soldiers for every Mandalorian), Revan was consistently able to outmaneuver and overwhelm the enemy both in space and on the ground, succeeding in driving the Mandalorian forces away from Republic space.

During the war, Revan learned of Malachor V, a planet that the Mandalorians considered a "cultural taboo". The planet itself was a storehouse of ancient Sith knowledge; steeped in a darkness so great that it almost destroyed Revan. He was able to survive this darkness only through his enormous strength of will. Soon after, Revan discovered the Trayus Academy, where he was supposedly corrupted by the teachings of the Sith. In reality, what he discovered was the truth about a new terrible threat beyond the borders of the Galaxy, a force unknown to the Jedi and the Mandalorians: the hidden Sith Empire of the "True Sith". Malachor V, and other Sith worlds in the Outer Rim Territories were edges of this ancient Empire.

Indeed, this was the real danger behind the Mandalorian Wars that the Jedi Council felt. By weakening their future combatants, (the Republic, the Jedi and the Mandalorians) in this war, the "True Sith" hoped to defeat their wounded enemies.

Revan realized that the only way the galaxy could stand against this enemy was under the control of a great military government, not directed by the Jedi but instead by someone who understood the Sith philosophies, someone who understood the true ways a war is fought, not with the crude matter of flesh and machines, "instead the true war is waged in the hearts of all living things, against our own natures, light or dark". With the help of a loyal army, he could abolish the corrupt Republic system, allowing a process of bolstering and militarization across the galaxy. And, as a back-up if he lost; and believing in the Sith principle of "empowerment through conflict", the Republic will still have gained enough strength to win over the hidden threat. Thus, Revan, a hero of the Republic and the most prominent Jedi Knight of his time, renamed himself Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith (later, some such as Kreia would postulate that Revan did not fall to the dark side, but rather sacrificed himself into it in the hope of saving the Galaxy from the "True Sith"). In order to deal with the Sith menace, the Mandalorian Crusade had to be stopped swiftly and decidedly.

The final battle of the war took place over Malachor V. Revan sent his least loyal troops to lure the remnants of the Mandalorian fleet there, where the Mass Shadow Generator (a weapon of mass destruction capable of generating a "gravitic implosion shockwave") had been placed. The General overseeing its use was the Jedi later known as the "Jedi Exile". In battle that followed, many Jedi fell to the Dark Side because of the Sith energies that Malachor V emitted; and many more Jedi, Republic soldiers and Mandalorians died when the Jedi Exile ordered to activate the Mass Shadow Generator, nearly destroying the planet. Few on either side survived. Meanwhile, Revan fought Mandalore the Ultimate (the Mandalorian leader) in single combat. Revan won, not only executing the Mandalore in front of his followers, but also taking his helmet, and so denying the surviving Mandalorians their right to choose a new leader. The warrior spirit of the Mandalorians had been broken, and their Crusade was finally over.

The New Sith Empire
Although the Republic suffered catastrophic losses, Revan still commanded a third of the Republic forces; thus, the War served to create Revan's Army, a military force that considered both Revan and Malak their heroes. Also, every single Jedi that followed Revan into the War (with the exception of the Jedi Exile) had died or turned to the Dark Side at Malachor V, accepting Darth Revan's Sith teachings and forming a new Sith cult; most notably, Revan's close friend, Malak, grudgingly assumed the role of Sith apprentice under the title of Darth Malak.

While the Jedi Council and the Republic hailed Revan as a savior, the new Dark Lord of the Sith prepared his forces for the conquest of the Galaxy. Ironically, it seemed that by trying to save the Republic, he had to invade it to prepare it for the oncoming threat. He was a savior, a conqueror, a hero, and a villain all at once.

Star Forge
After his supposed corruption and the final battle of Malachor V, Revan took his forces beyond the known galaxy, claiming to be searching for the remnants of the Mandalorian fleet. In reality, he was in search of an ancient artifact, a megastructure known as the Star Forge, built by the Rakatan Infinite Empire nearly 30,000 years BBY. During his search for Sith knowledge on Malachor V, Revan learned about a massive space station with the ability to produce an almost limitless number of ships, accomplished by siphoning matter and energy from a nearby star, as well as feeding on the dark side energies imbued within it. With the help of the pieces of information stored inside the ancient Star Maps, Revan and Malak were able to discover the exact location of the long forgotten Star Forge. Revan and Malak, now beholden to the dark side, created a massive fleet to destroy the Old Republic and the Jedi Council, whom Revan thought were too pacifist to be of any use in the New Order of the Sith. He reformed and converted the loyal ex-Republic forces who followed them into a militaristic empire.

Jedi Civil War
One year after the end of the Mandalorian Wars, Darth Revan returned to Republic space at the head of a massive invasion fleet made up of Republic vessels and ships of Rakatan design, war-veterans, soldiers and officers, and thousands of Sith apprentices and Dark Jedi. Calling themselves the Sith, they declared war on the Republic.

The Sith won battle after battle, until a young Jedi named Bastila Shan entered the fray with her Battle Meditation. This rare and powerful Force ability increased the combat effectiveness of the Old Republic's forces and sapped the will of enemy combatants. Even with this power, the Old Republic's forces knew that they could not hold out forever against the Sith.

In a desperate attempt to end the war, the Old Republic set a trap for Darth Revan and Darth Malak, during which Bastila and a team of Jedi boarded Revan's flagship (which was rumored to be the Ravager, later to be commandeered by Darth Nihilus) and managed to corner the Dark Lord on the bridge. Before the Jedi could continue their plan, Darth Malak, likely knowing he could not defeat Revan in personal combat, took this opportunity to kill both Revan and Bastila with one swift stroke. He fired upon the flagship from a nearby battle cruiser but failed to kill either his master or Bastila. Revan, nearly dead, was partly healed by Bastila Shan, creating a Force bond between the two. His destroyed mind was programmed by the Jedi Council to hide the Dark Lord's old identity, while enabling the Jedi to use Revan's subconscious memories to locate the Star Forge and destroy it without posing a threat to the Republic.

Revan was enlisted in the Old Republic army and placed under Bastila's command on the Old Republic warship Endar Spire. Since Revan's demise, Malak, thinking his master dead, had decided to base the New Sith completely on the Dark Side, something that Revan had tried to avoid. Malak then devoted all his forces to the hunt for Bastila. In orbit over the world of Taris, the Endar Spire was attacked by a Sith fleet and destroyed. Bastila managed to escape to the planet's surface, followed soon after by Revan and fellow Republic soldier Carth Onasi. The Sith blockaded Taris, intent on capturing Bastila.

They were unaware that the young female Jedi had already been taken prisoner by a swoop gang called the Black Vulkars, who intended to give her to the winner of an underground swoop racing tournament as a slave. Revan eventually succeeded in rescuing her when he infiltrated and won the tournament. As the group decided on how to escape Taris, Revan mentioned to Bastila about a few visions he has had, and Bastila knew that Revan's Force powers were beginning to reawaken. Because of his winning the race, Revan received a message from Canderous Ordo about an offer to escape the planet. Meeting up with the Mandalorian at the cantina, Ordo said that if they work together, he could provide the means to escape Taris, Davik Kang's flagship, the Ebon Hawk. First, Revan had to break into the Sith military base and steal the launch codes to bypass the quarantine. Revan used the help of a droid named T3-M4 (which he acquired by mentioning Ordo's name at the local droid shop). Using the droid's security hacking skills he successfully acquired the bypass codes. Shortly afterwards, he infiltrated Davik's lair, via Canderous' recommendation to join the Exchange, and acquired the Ebon Hawk.

However, in orbit, Darth Malak, deciding that the search for Bastila was taking too long, gave the order to destroy the entire planet. Positioning themselves in strategic formations, the ships of his fleet unleashed a devastating planetary bombardment that wiped out nearly all life on Taris's surface. Revan confronted Davik and Calo Nord who both had the same idea of escaping and weren't about to let Revan take the Hawk. Revan killed Davik, and just as Nord decided to use a thermal detonator on the group he was caught and trapped underneath falling hangar debris. Revan and his new found crew barely escaped in time aboard the Ebon Hawk. Revan and his companions fled to the Jedi enclave on Dantooine, where Bastila convinced the Jedi academy council to retrain the amnesiac Dark Lord in the ways of the Jedi. For his final task of training, Revan was to go alone to a grove tainted in the Dark Side, and remove the taint. The Council wouldn't explain more than this. After Revan reached the grove, he met a Cathar named Juhani, who was causing the taint, claiming to have fallen to the Dark Side (Juhani believed she slayed her master in a training exercise). Revan bested Juhani in a fierce lightsaber duel and turned her back to the Light Side of the Force (or killed her if the player-character is dark-sided). After Revan completed his formal training, he and Bastila were sent to investigate an ancient stone structure. Inside, the two uncovered an ancient artifact known as a Star Map, a relic of the long-forgotten Infinite Empire of the Rakata. Though the Map was not complete, it pointed the way to the worlds of Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Manaan, and Korriban, on which more Star Maps could be found. Only with the combined information of these five worlds, Revan discovered, could the location of a mysterious Rakatan artifact called the "Star Forge" be found.

Revan, Bastila, and their companions journeyed to these worlds, tracing the steps Darth Revan and Darth Malak had taken years before. On each planet, the powerful dark side aura of the Star Maps had created perilous conditions that made access to the Maps difficult. Additionally, the crew of the Ebon Hawk found themselves hunted by Sith and bounty hunters, and confronted with the problems of the local populace at every turn.

After discovering the fourth Star Map (including the one found in the ruins on Dantooine), Revan and his allies were captured by the Sith flagship Leviathan. They managed to escape from their holding cells, but, as they fled toward the Ebon Hawk, Revan was confronted by Darth Malak, who revealed his former life as the Dark Lord of the Sith. A vicious lightsaber duel ensued, culminating with Bastila's capture by Malak. Revan was forced to deal with Malak's revelation and his loss of Bastila (whom he had fallen in love with, and her with him) as the quest for the Star Forge stepped up, until at last it was found in the home system of the ancient Rakata, on the home world known as Lehon.

After gaining the support of one of two Rakata factions, Revan was forced to confront a fallen Bastila. She now claimed to be the Dark Lord's new apprentice. His original apprentice, a former Jedi named Darth Bandon, had previously been slain by Revan during the search for the Star Maps.

Atop an ancient Rakatan temple, Bastila attempted to entice Revan to reclaim his former title of Dark Lord of the Sith. This was the climax of the quest for the Star Forge, and it ended with Revan, once again, making a choice that would change the fate of the galaxy.

Revan's Redemption
Revan made the choice of a Jedi and refused Bastila's offer, proclaiming both that Darth Revan was dead and his new allegiance to the Light Side. Enraged, Bastila retreated to the Star Forge. Revan and the crew of the Ebon Hawk pursued her as an Old Republic fleet commenced an assault of its own.

Aboard the Star Forge, Revan almost single-handedly blew through Malak's defenses composed of the Star Forge's droids, Sith soldiers, and Dark Jedi, displaying his strong affinity to the Force and his mastery of lightsaber combat. He faced off against Bastila once again. Although she was able to renew her strength with the power of the Star Forge, Revan continued to stay strong no matter how much Bastila renewed her vigor. After winning the fight, he convinced her to turn back to the light side and the two admitted their love for each other. Bastila used her Battle Meditation to aid the Republic, turning the tide of the ensuing battle. Finally, Revan again confronted his former friend and apprentice, Malak, in an epic lightsaber duel, while the Republic fleet, no longer hindered by Bastila's Battle Meditation, continued its bombardment of the Star Forge. Malak continually attempted to suck energy from the Jedi prisoners he held in stasis to renew his strength, but this did not stop Revan, as he released many of these Jedi to allow them to become one with the Force. At last, with no Jedi to help renew his strength, Malak was cut down. Before his friend's death, Revan apologized for starting him down the dark path, but reminded him that he continued down it willingly. Malak realized that he had no one to blame for his fate other than himself. Thus Darth Malak, Dark Lord of the Sith, died, his life ending in darkness and regret, and the Star Forge was destroyed. In light of his actions, Revan became known as "The Prodigal Knight" in the history of the Jedi.

Into the unknown
A year after the defeat of Malak, Revan left the known space, having remembered the remnants of the ancient Sith Empire he had rediscovered as the Dark Lord, also known as the "True Sith". Hoping to put an end to the threat it posed before it could attack, Revan bade farewell to the nine comrades who had accompanied him on his quest, knowing that none whom he loved could safely accompany him in the places he had to walk. It is also believed by some that he sought exile after the Mandalorian and Sith Wars, thinking that because he brought the Sith upon the Republic, and then lost control of that power, that was his own personal failure.

"It would have helped," Darth Traya would later remark about Revan leaving Bastila behind, "had he made her understand. But she was always strong-willed, that one, and did not understand war as Revan did." Then Revan disappeared, leaving the Ebon Hawk with T3-M4 and HK-47 on Malachor V, on the edge of Known Space.

It has been shown in the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords that T3 was programmed by Bastila to return to the Republic if something happened to Revan, and to contact Bastila if possible. T3 returned in the Ebon Hawk and found the Jedi Exile. What happened to Revan in order to activate T3's mission is unknown, although the navigational computer of the Ebon Hawk was locked by the time he found the Exile.

(Alternatively, if the player tells the game that Revan was female, it will be Carth Onasi ordering T3 to get help instead of Bastila.)

Later appearances
In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (4 years after his departure into the unknown), at the ancient tomb of Ludo Kressh in Korriban, the Jedi Exile fights a silent vision of Darth Revan, in which he appears to wield two lightsabers, one red and one purple.

Alternate paths
Following the Sith War and the fall of Exar Kun, the Republic was at its most vulnerable state. Sensing this weakness, the warlike Mandalorians began a series of brutal attacks against worlds throughout the Outer Rim. In desperation, the Republic turned to the Jedi Council for aid. The learned Masters wanted to proceed with customary caution and due care before embarking on a long and destructive military campaign; however, more immediate help came in the form of two young Jedi Knights named Revan and Malak. Ignoring the dictates of the Jedi Council, the charismatic pair recruited many to their cause, rallying the impulsive youth of the Order with cries of victory and glory. With Revan and Malak at the head of their great fleet, the Republic set forth to drive the invaders back. The Mandalorian Wars were long and bloody, and many Jedi perished in the struggle. Yet, at its end, the Republic emerged triumphant, and Revan and Malak were hailed as heroes. But the heroes did not leave the war untouched; something about the Outer Rim worlds twisted and corrupted them. On Korriban, Revan uncovered the lost secrets of the Sith and became the heir to an ancient and evil legacy. Succumbing to the lure of the dark side, the fallen Jedi assumed the title of Darth Revan, Lord of the Sith. Revan's friend Malak grudgingly took the mantle of the Dark Lord's apprentice. The great fleet under their control abandoned the Republic and swore fealty to their new Sith masters. With their army of followers, Revan and Malak returned not as saviors, but as conquerors. For two years battles raged on the perimeters of Republic space. The Sith gained victory after victory, until the Jedi set a trap to capture Revan and Malak. But during the chaos of battle, Malak turned on his master and tried to destroy both Revan and the Jedi, but his plan failed. Revan was captured by the Jedi, while Malak escaped and proclaimed himself the new Dark Lord, swearing revenge on the Jedi and Revan. But the Jedi had other plans. They used the brain-washed Revan to help track down Malak. On the ancient Star Forge station, Master and former-apprentice faced off one last time, ending in Malak's defeat. Having regained his memory and the title of Dark Lord, Revan renewed his crusade against the Jedi. Just as the Sith were nearing victory, having nearly wiping out the Jedi, Revan mysteriously left his Sith followers to hide in the Unknown Regions, never to be seen again. The Jedi Civil War would drag on for years to come, the Sith hunting down the Jedi and the Jedi managing to survive.

Name
The name "Revan" is possibly derived from the term revanchism, which is used to describe a political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses, often by the way of war; a posture that Revan adopted against the Mandalorians. It is also an anagram of 'raven'.

"Revan" may also be interpreted as a hint to the term revenant, as Revan was believed deceased but actually returned, albeit with a temporary loss of identity and memory.

Unlike other Sith Lords, Revan did not adopt a pseudonym when taking on the Darth title. Instead, Revan and Malak both used their real names.

Personality traits
Little is known of Revan's personality before his mind was modified by the Jedi, in part because his later identity is completely up to the player's choices during the game. It is known, however, that Revan was considered one of the most promising Jedi of his time, as he had a strong affinity to the Force and an insatiable appetite to learn. During the Mandalorian Wars, Revan appeared as a charismatic leader and tactical genius, persuading a considerable part of the Jedi Order to join the conflict and defeating the Mandalorian experienced strategists. However, despite his talents, the Jedi Council considered Revan to be willful, ambitious, and headstrong; classic flaws possessed by Jedi destined to fall to the dark side.

It is also mentioned by HK-47 that when he used the term "meatbag" to explain what he thought of Darth Malak, Revan found the insult, and Malak's annoyance, so amusing that he reprogrammed the droid to address all organic forms as meatbags. This would indicate that the Dark Lord of the Sith had a sense of humor.

Gender and controversy
While Revan's gender is specified by the player, the canonical / official Revan is confirmed by Leland Chee, George Lucas and other developers to be male.(http://forums.starwars.com/thread.jspa?threadID=152583&start=420#11839253) Also, the Chronicles of the Old Republic, published prior to the release of The Sith Lords, and The New Essential Chronology both refer to Revan as male. The statement of this has provoked criticism and controversy among Star Wars fans that played both games who cited the canonization as consistent with George Lucas' statement in Will Brooker's book that Star Wars is a "boys' movie."

Revan as a woman
With regard to any known Star Wars historical continuity that can impact the movies, thus G-Level Canon, Revan's history is largely the same if the player chooses a female avatar, but there are several in-game changes ranging from subtle to major. If Revan is female, she has the potential to fall in love with Carth. Juhani may express that she cares for Revan, a plotline that Bioware developers confirmed was meant to be female-only. Carth may attempt to offer his love and support in order to keep Revan from falling to the dark side. If Revan is light sided, she refuses Bastila's temptations on the temple summit and takes the Ebon Hawk to the Star Forge, where she defeats Malak. Later, she leaves Carth behind with instructions to keep the Republic strong. Carth knows beforehand about her leaving and tells T3-M4 to help her if possible.

If Revan is dark sided, she accepts Bastila as her apprentice and retakes the Star Forge after killing Jolee and Juhani (if she was not killed on Dantooine). After Revan defeats Malak, if she had previously fallen in love with Carth, he will show up on the Star Forge and attempt to turn her back to the light. He is unsuccessful in this, and either Revan or Bastila will kill him.

There was an alternate ending for Carth and the dark sided Revan's romance, but it was cut because of time constraints. In it, Revan could choose redemption by staying with Carth, defeating Bastila, and destroying the Star Forge. Fans have released a mod that restores this ending, minus the unfinished cutscene.

Game class
At the start of the game, the player (Revan) can choose between the scoundrel, scout and soldier classes. However, in every avatar of Revan, male and female, it can be seen that he is wearing the clothings of a scout.

Later in the game, when Revan is trained at Dantooine, the player can choose the Jedi path of Guardian, Sentinel or Consular. In Duron Qel-Droma's vision (see Revan's redemption section), Revan is seen holding a blue lightsaber, which would indicate that he was a Guardian. However, given the fact that the dream itself is shaded blue, the accuracy of this source is disputed. This is possibly an attempt by the author to refrain from distinctions, therefore leaving the open-endedness of the game open.

Revan's legacy
Whereas the first game implied that Revan's actions in the Mandalorian Wars caused Revan to fall to the dark side of the Force, The Sith Lords features characters who know Revan before and after his fall. These characters speculate that Revan, during the Wars, discovered something outside the realm of the Old Republic: the original Sith Empire, believed to have collapsed in internecine fighting millennia ago. In learning this, the characters say, Revan felt compelled to protect the galaxy from this threat. Under this revelation and others, Revan's actions become quite different from the rash, destructive goals of Darth Malak and other, later Sith. These include:


 * Ignoring, militarily, any planet with a strong industrial infrastructure: one that would be required to defend the galaxy against the unknown threat. Revan's plan was to leave the Old Republic's infrastructure intact, giving him a functional military and economy to work with once he had conquered the galaxy, rather than starting from scratch.
 * Use of assassin droids, such as HK-47, to assassinate those who would have destabilized local governments, planets, or entire sectors.
 * Focus on conversion, rather than murder, of Jedi. In joining the dark side, or at the very least, abandoning the constrictive Jedi teachings, these Dark Jedi would be stronger against the ancient Sith Empire. In the games it is mentioned that "Revan had a plan for every single Jedi Knight."

Even Revan's "fall" to the dark side of the Force takes on new significance with this information. Kreia, or Darth Traya, even goes so far as to stubbornly believe that Revan did not fall to the dark side: when Revan was faced with the power of the dark side on Malachor V, he came to realize that a Dark Lord of the Sith was the only one who could defeat the old Sith Empire. Embracing the dark side, Revan founded a new Sith Empire.

In an ironic turn of events, Revan succeeded and failed at his task. Unexpectedly betrayed by Darth Malak, Revan's plans were quickly quashed by his brash and violent apprentice, who sought to destroy the Old Republic entirely. It was only the Force that kept Revan alive, being reborn with little existing memory of his earlier self. Using his slowly-returning memories, Revan began to accomplish his original undertakings. It is unknown if Revan succeeded or failed at his task or once again he could have both succeeded and failed. It is generally assumed that the fate of Revan and the Jedi Exile will be a key aspect to any new Knights of the Old Republic sequels. Some argue that Revan succeeded - the Sith would not conquer the galaxy for almost another four thousand years. Others take the perspective that Revan failed, stating that regardless of "old Sith" or "new Sith", the Sith do indeed triumph against the Republic - it merely takes them four thousand years.

Revan is probably the most powerful Jedi/Sith ever in his era, and even perhaps the starting point of events after the Old Republic (although at a pace perhaps 3000 years later). Kreia is convinced of his strength and power of such extent that she states him as the "Heart of the Force". Although she is the only person stating the magnitude of Revan's strength, her insight of both light and dark side remains impartial, and is noted that her visions are amazingly accurate where she predicted events 4000 years later after her death. Also, Canderous Ordo, one of the greatest mandalorian warriors, who later became the Mandalore himself, even claimed that "We lost to the greatest single warrior the galaxy had ever known".

As for his powers, he was perhaps the closest stated in the current canon (Legacy of the Force) as the perfect practitioner of both Jedi/Sith powers, who wasn't truly influenced by the light or dark powers. If the hypothesis of his character to be a lesser evil so he can save the Republic from a bigger threat is true, he would be somewhere in between Jacen Solo and Anakin Skywalker steps of becoming the idealistic Sith user who was not influenced by greed or the one-sided judgment from the light side.

Besides having exceptional powers as a Force-user, as well as a master planner, he also proves to be a capable droid builder (similar to Anakin Skywalker), but programming it to be the ultimate assassin and droid translator instead of just a protocol droid.

In the book Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Darth Bane finds a Sith holocron that was recorded by Darth Revan during his reign as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Through the teachings of wisdom and Sith philosophy imparted to him by Revan, Bane would reform the Sith Order into the Rule of Two (a master and an apprentice), a cult that would eventually culminate with Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, the rise of the Galactic Empire, and the near annihilation of the Jedi Order.