During a war between the Jedi Order and the Sith, a human Sith Lord named Bichan was a prominent figure. He concealed his face with a red mask and wielded a unique lightsaber equipped with a whip. He once fought and killed a group of eight Jedi, among them the teacher of a Padawan named Toul. Intrigued by the raw anger displayed by the young apprentice, Bichan spared Toul's life, leaving him with a deep-seated fear. Later, Toul, while gathering supplies for a mission to the planet Dolgarak, spotted Bichan in a city located on a marketplace asteroid.
The Sith followed Toul and the mechanic Ara to Dolgarak, where he used his craft to shoot down their starship. Subsequently, atop a speeder driven by Ara up one of the two statues of prophecy on Dolgarak, Bichan engaged Toul in a fierce lightsaber duel. The battle progressed to a [stone](/article/stone] ring connecting the heads of the statues. There, Bichan disarmed Toul, demanding he surrender to the dark side of the Force and join him, or face death. However, Ara, realizing her role in a prophecy foretelling this duel, created a distraction with explosives, allowing Toul to summon his lightsaber and ultimately behead the Sith Lord.
Around 1032 BBY, a time of conflict between the Sith and their antithetical rivals, the Jedi Order, Bichan, a Sith Lord, actively participated in the war. During this period, on a platform shrouded in red mist, Bichan fought at least nine Jedi. He killed seven of them before turning his attention to Toul, a Padawan who faced him, lightsaber drawn. Bichan moved to strike the young Jedi, but Toul's Jedi teacher blocked the attack, using the Force to repulse Bichan. The Jedi called Bichan a disgrace and launched a fierce attack, with Bichan engaging in combat. Bichan then fatally impaled Toul's teacher with the whip attached to his lightsaber.
Enraged, the Padawan attacked, but Bichan's whip wrapped around Toul's wrists, pinning him. Toul swore to kill him, prompting Bichan to urge him to embrace his anger and the dark side of the Force. Bichan lifted Toul into the air, inviting him to seek him out later. Proclaiming his belief in the Sith's eventual victory, Bichan scarred Toul's face with his lightsaber before dropping him and departing.
Later, Toul was meditating on a warship that housed the Jedi High Council. During this time, he experienced a flashback to his duel with Bichan, an event that instilled in him a lasting fear. Toul was then sent on a mission to Dolgarak with the mechanic Ara to "cut off the dark head"—decapitate the dark side statues of prophecy to influence the war's outcome.
To gather supplies, they traveled to a marketplace asteroid with a [city](/article/unidentified_asteroid_city], where Bichan was also present. While watching people carrying red-smoking incense burners, Toul sensed something and spotted Bichan atop a building. The Jedi stared at the Sith, who in turn noticed Toul and watched him back.
Ara and Toul left for Dolgarak, followed by Bichan in his starship. As their craft approached the statues, Toul felt discomfort and sensed Bichan behind them. The Sith fired his ship's laser cannons, hitting their wing and sending them crashing. Curious about Toul's purpose, Bichan followed, continuing to fire until they crash-landed in a temple courtyard.
Bichan hovered over the wreckage, preparing another attack, but Ara and Toul emerged on a speeder and rammed his ship. Bichan lost control, crashing in a ball of fire. He jumped onto their speeder, which was ascending one of the statues. Toul climbed atop to face Bichan, who taunted him about visualizing their fight, and they began a lightsaber duel.
Bichan claimed the Jedi Order knew he sought Toul but sent him to Dolgarak without backup. The fight continued as Ara drove the speeder off the statue and above the cloud cover. Toul and Bichan leaped to the stone ring connecting the heads, where Bichan removed his mask and cloak for the final confrontation.
As they fought, the energy between the blue, red, and purple lightsabers intensified. They crashed into the crystalline ring interior, fought, and emerged. Sunlight broke through the clouds, mixing the energy of the light side and dark side heads. Bichan declared Toul's visit pointless and attacked, disarming him. He used his whip to hold Toul over the edge.
Bichan demanded Toul join him or die. Ara, watching and preparing to blow up the "dark" head's neck, realized she had seen this in a prophecy years ago at the temple. Realizing her role, she redirected the explosives toward Bichan, who deflected them. When Ara detonated the charges, the distracted Bichan struggled, allowing Toul to telekinetically summon his lightsaber and behead him.
Bichan was a human with light skin, dark eyes, and long dark hair. He had a gray tattoo on his chin, cheeks, and neck. Believing in the Sith's inevitable victory, Bichan was intrigued by Toul's rage. He saw Toul's anger and fear as dark side potential and wanted to be his Sith teacher, deeming his Jedi destiny meaningless and claiming they could conquer the galaxy together. He taunted Toul to embrace his anger and join him.
Bichan believed he and Toul were "connected" and their destinies intertwined. He was curious about Toul's journey to Dolgarak and viewed his efforts to affect the Jedi-Sith war as "pointless." He called the ring connecting the statues the "stage" Toul chose for their confrontation.
Bichan was skilled in the Force, using it for telekinesis, sensing others, and enhancing his combat abilities, such as rapidly closing distances or leaping far. He was proficient with a lightsaber, single-handedly killing at least seven Jedi, though with exertion. He used a lightsaber combat style incorporating two-handed grips and acrobatic leaps. He also used a whip attached to his lightsaber to lethal effect.
In his final duel with Toul, he displayed superior timing in telekinetically disarming him. However, a distraction cost him his life. Bichan was also adept at piloting an armed starship, attacking another vessel while maneuvering in the atmosphere, and surviving his own fiery crash.
Bichan wore a dark gray tunic with black and red accents over layered white and red undertunics. His attire included a black and red sash, dark gray pants, black boots, and black and red vambraces. He also wore a black and dark gray cloak and a dark metallic helmet with a red mask that completely obscured his face and featured a hanging band of textile. Bichan wielded a Sith lightsaber with a red blade extending from a dark hilt with brown and tan accents. The hilt had an extended guard and a long, segmented whip with a sharp tip attached. He also piloted a dark-colored, armed single-person starship.
Bichan was created as the antagonist for "Journey to the Dark Head," the fifth episode of Star Wars: Visions' second volume, a non-canon animated anthology produced by South Korean Studio Mir and released on Disney+ on May 4, 2023. He was first depicted in the April 10, 2023 trailer for Visions' second volume, and his name was revealed in a StarWars.com article the same day. Bichan's Korean name is 비찬, with 비 meaning "rain."
He was voiced by Yun Yong Sik in Korean and Daniel Dae Kim in English, with Kim noting his enjoyment in playing villains. The Star Wars: Visions Filmmaker Focus series accompanying "Journey to the Dark Head" presents an English translation of Bichan's Korean dialogue that differs from the English dub.
Concept art of Bichan was created by Kim Hyun Min and Choi Ji Hyeon, with Choi depicting an unmasked Bichan leaning close to Toul with his whip around his neck, a scene not in the episode. Studio Mir's Art Director Kang You Tae stated that Bichan's apparel was designed to make him appear "inhumane and terrifying," with a "vague and ambiguous" silhouette, blurring the distinction between face and body. Vertical lines were incorporated to create an intimidating impression.
Bichan's helmet adapted the curved shapes of traditional Korean Hahoe masks, and its patterns resembled those on Hahoe masks and depictions of the haetae. Initially, weapons like a tonfa or a "trident lightsaber" were considered. However, the character's lines and characteristics evoked a snake, leading to the "snake-like" whip attachment, which Kang said reflected Bichan's character.
Chung Se Rang, the writer of "Journey to the Dark Head," believed Bichan's interest in Toul stemmed from the latter's increased sensitivity to the Force. The StarWars.com episode guide, released on July 28, 2023, noted that the prophetic image depicted Bichan and silhouettes of Darth Vader, Amidala of Naboo, and her children, Luke and Leia.