Put it simply, I love the Sith, so do a lot of people, I think. In the Original Trilogy, Darth Vader was by far the most iconic character, and when Phantom Menace (weak as it was) hit, some 90% of the merchandising revenue was Darth Maul related. Luckily, the Expanded Universe has given us plenty more Sith to cheer over the years, and to be fair most of them are pretty cool. More than simply bad guys with red lightsabers, most of them are cunning, deadly, with weird powers and terrible motives. Soon the Sith-filled MMO The Old Republic will be released, as will novels based on Darth Revan and Darth Plagueis. We are about to be up to our eyeballs in Dark Lordy goodness! With that in mind, I want to know. Who does everyone think is the best Sith of them all?
Here is my personal top 5:
Number 5: Darth Sidious. From the moment he first appeared in Empire Strikes Back, played by a woman with the eyes of a chimpanzee added (seriously, look it up!) he cast a shadow over everything. A silver-tongued master manipulator, Sidious is the true villain of the Star Wars movies.
Number 4: Darth Caedus: If you don’t know who he is, I won’t ruin it. Suffice to say that he has been in dozens of Star Wars novels, told over some fifteen years. As such his fall to the dark side has been played out wonderfully, ever so gradually, and frankly done with more believability than Anakin’s fall. Truly an icon.
Number 3: Darth Traya: One of the rare female Sith Lords, Traya is simply the most intelligent and wise of all characters in Star Wars. She views the galaxy in shades of grey, not light and dark, and has controversial (and fascinating) views on the Force, the Jedi, and the Sith. More than a Dark Lady, she is also a supreme philosopher.
Number 2: Darth Revan: In the words of his teacher, “Revan was power. Looking at him was like looking into the heart of the Force.” Awesome though his legend is, and tempted as I was to make him my number 1, he regrettably turned from the Sith and rejoined the light. A sad end to an otherwise brilliant career.
Number 1: Exar Kun. Back before every Sith was adding ‘Darth’ to their name, Kun was an awesome villain who did next to nothing wrong in his quest for power (I won’t say how he was beaten, but it was not his fault). Envisioned by his writers as someone so dark “he makes Darth Vader look like a nun,” he is pure cool. His achievements are many: the inventor of the double-bladed lightsaber, nuked whole star systems, corrupted dozens of Jedi, murdered his own Master in the Senate Hall with the whole Senate watching helplessly, the list goes on. If you don’t know him, think Palpatine’s cunning and lust for power, combined with Maul’s physical abilities and lightsaber skills. Yes, he was that good.
So, who does everyone else like? Any Darth Talon fans want to air their views, or maybe someone confused that I did not mention Darth Bane? Anyone want to speak up for Darth Tyranus? Let me know!
