Darth Sidious

"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." - Darth Sidious

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire, often simply referred to as the Emperor, is one of the main players in the history of the Sith Lords. He has also held the titles of Naboo Senator and then Supreme Chancellor.

Lastly Palpatine was also known as Darth Sidious, a powerful Sith Lord, whose main goal was to take control over the whole galaxy, conquering everyone and everything in his way. He was the one behind the scenes, pulling the strings to cause the Clone Wars, becoming Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and finally using his power and influence to change the Republic into the dictatorship known as the Galactic Empire.

Darth Sidious was born on planet Naboo 82 years before the Battle of Yavin. Lord Plagueis trained him and from the earliest age Palpatine wanted only one thing - power. At first he was climbing the ladder to the highest points in the government of Naboo, eventually becoming Senator and later the Supreme Chancellor. Supported by Jorus C'boath and Sate Pastage he gave 10 years to fighting the corruption within the Republic.

Thanks to a special vote in the Senate he received permission to start reproduction of clones and that fact was the main cause of the Clone Wars. Shortly after the war Palpatine proclaimed himself Emperor. Together with his new apprentice: Darth Vader (earlier known as Anakin Skywalker) he ruled the Galaxy for many years.

3.5 years after the battle of Yavin, the Emperor found a new goal. He wanted Luke Skywalker - Darth Vader's son - to join him or die. The quest was not that simple and it took a lot of time and effort from Vader. He failed to convince Luke to abandon the Light Side. It was then that Darth Sidious ordered Mara Jade to find and kill Luke. She failed as well. In the end Darth Sidious met with Luke Skywalker onboard the Death Star.

The Emperor died, but not because of his lack of power or any other weakness. He was betrayed by his apprentice, Darth Vader, who tossed him into the Death star shaft.

Life after death

This was not the end of the Dark Lord. He had prepared for his eventual death, whether by apprentice, enemy, or age, the Emperor had implemented a cloning program for his force sensitive body. He was reborn possibly through Imperial Cloning technology stolen from the Kaminoans in the Clone Wars on Exegol and amassed a new fleet, the Final Order. His plans to conquer the galaxy for the Sith Empire were thwarted by a group of rebels led by Rey, Sidious’s own daughter. This attack led to his final death.

Darth Maul

"My darkness, my hatred is unending. Your toy soldiers won't help you win this battle" - Darth Maul

Darth Maul was the first known apprentice of Darth Sidious. A Zabrak originally from Iridonia, Maul had no memories of his homeworld or family. Darth Sidious kidnapped him as a child.

Maul seemed to have a bloodlust, a rage and anger that were his only emotions. Fear and mercy were things that he had to get rid of at an early age, because his Master cruelly punished any sign of that in him. His muscular body was tattooed with Sith symbols and at the time of his first steps into adulthood he became a real tool of the Dark Side. He never had intention of killing his Master, until his final trial.

As his final test Maul was left on the surface of a planet in the Outer Rim. Assassin droids were sent after him. The Zabrak's trial depended on his ability to survive. He had to manage with the druids and be still in one piece when his Master would come back. The trial took one month. Eventually Darth Sidious returned and challenged his apprentice to a duel, in which Maul was defeated. Sidious announced to Maul that he had failed and that he had a new apprentice that was secretly being trained as a replacement for him. Rage and hatred overwhelmed Maul and in one final act he nearly defeated his master. When Maul's emotions were finally spent he prepared himself for death yet his master laughed instead. By setting free his true anger and hatred and desiring the death of his own master, Maul had in fact passed the final test. Sidious proclaimed him Darth Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith, and took him to a new home on Coruscant. Unlike Sidious's other apprentices, Tyranus and Vader, Maul never had ambition or intentions to strike down his master. He was aware however, that Sith tradition required the death of his own master before he could acquire an apprentice of his own.

Maul's Art of Combat

"Come to me. We'll finish this. Your hate was not nearly enough." - Darth Maul

Darth Maul was trained by Darth Sidious himself to be master of Form VII of lightsaber combat. It was based on the drawing of emotion and the Dark Side. In opposition to what the Jedi tradition was teaching, Maul combined his swordsmanship skills with incredibly acrobatic hand-to-hand combat. This made him an almost unstoppable and very dangerous foe. In addition Maul was mastering the art of Jar'Kai, the style of wielding a lightsaber in each hand. It was very useful to him while fighting with multiple enemies. With time and training Darth Maul extended a second blade from his lightsaber to form a saberstaff. He had constructed his weapon on his own, using ancient plans stored within one of the Sith Holocrons. His saber was based on the lightsaber design that was used by Exar Kun.

Maul was skilled in combining Force talents with mechanical knowledge. His master gave Maul the funds and schematics that he needed and provided him with a secret facility situated on Coruscant. There Maul constructed his signature speeder bike called Bloodfin and his Dark Eye probe droids. Maul had a powerful transporter - a Sith Infiltrator named Scimitar - which boasted a cloaking shield generator. This vehicle was developed by Raith Sienar, the man whose company would later develop the TIE fighter for the Galactic Empire.

Darth Tyranus

“The Sith control everything, you just don't know it.” - Darth Tyranus

Darth Tyranus, also known as Count Dooku, was a formidable Sith Lord and former Jedi. He was trained in the Jedi arts by Yoda, and even had a padawan himself, Qui-Gon Jinn. After Qui-Gon was trained, Dooku was slowly influenced by Sidious to cover up the creation of the clone army by killing Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and then later deleting the planet Kamino from the Jedi records. After his former apprentice was killed by Darth Maul, Dooku protested to Sidious. After years of manipulation, Dooku had been primed to be the next Sith apprentice, so when Jedi Master Yaddle revealed herself, Dooku was forced to fight Jedi Master Yaddle, eventually striking her down and becoming the next Sith apprentice to Darth Sidious.

Shortly after, the Clone Wars began while Dooku was overseeing the execution of two captured Jedi Knights, Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, on Geonosis. When the newly minted clone army arrived to rescue them, the droids being manufactured on the planet defended. During this battle Count Dooku dueled both Obi Wan and Skywalker, defeating them swiftly only to be attacked by Yoda. Dooku was able to escape and became the face of the Separatists and leader of the droid army fighting against the clones that he had helped ensure were made. During this time he would duel Obi Wan and Anakin a number of times. Each time Dooku got slightly older and Anakin got ever stronger. As the Clone Wars dragged on for the third year, Dooku came face to face with the Jedi duo after capturing Chancellor Palpatine. Dooku knocked Obi Wan aside and dueled Anakin fiercely. Ultimately Anakin disarmed the Sith Lord, cutting off both of his hands. Encouraged by Palpatine (more strategizing from Sidious, who wanted a stronger apprentice), Anakin put an end to Dooku’s story with his own lightsaber.

Both as a Jedi and later as a Sith, Count Dooku was regarded as one of the best lightsaber duelists of the current age. As a practitioner of Makashi, the second lightsaber combat form, he specialized in dueling other lightsaber wielders. In addition to his skill with the blade, he had a uniquely curved hilt that changed the angle of the blade to gain a slight advantage over opponents. In addition to his skill with the blade, Dooku was a very strong force user with precise telekinetic control as well as force choke and lightning that he used to torture and kill his enemies.

Darth Vader

“You don’t know the power of the dark side!” - Darth Vader

Darth Vader was knighted as a Sith at the end of the Clone Wars, leading the execution of Order 66 at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. After the attack, Vader went to Mustafar to eliminate Separatist leaders; now that the war had served its purpose, the Sith had no use for the traders. While he was on Mustafar, his pregnant wife Padme Amidala, and former Jedi Master, Obi Wan Kenobi, arrived. Vader fought the Jedi, but ultimately lost with grievous injuries that almost killed him. Forced into a suit with life support for the rest of his life, the black suit and distinctive breathing quickly instilled fear in the galaxy. However it came at the cost of mobility and some of the Sith Lord’s former strength. Vader was a very powerful sith, but slightly less so after his dismemberment by the jedi.

While serving as apprentice to Sidious, Vader was put in charge of the effort to eliminate the Jedi. To accomplish this goal, he captured and trained many force sensitives to be Inquisitors- lightsaber wielding Jedi Hunters. An effective force, they were trained and disciplined by Vader to be sent out after credible leads of a surviving Jedi. One of his inquisitors, the Third Sister, tracked down his former master, Obi Wan. Vader pursued the Jedi himself, displaying his power by stopping a shuttle from launching and ripping it apart with the force. His hunt for Obi Wan eventually led to a duel in which Vader was forced to retreat due to his life support system being damaged.

After almost 20 years since his knighthood, Darth Vader helped oversee the construction of the newest weapon of the Empire, ordered by the Emperor, The Death Star. Vader was on the completed Death Star when the station reeled in a ship with the tractor beam. The Dark Lord felt a presence he hadn’t in a long time: his former master. After tracking the Jedi, Vader was finally able to exact his revenge on his former master, striking him down. The ship escaped with a boy who called out to Obi Wan.

Vader had felt something in the force about the boy and came to realize the truth: his pregnant wife had given birth before she passed. Vader foresaw a future where he and his son were together in his castle. This vision came to him a few times; the last time, he foresaw Sidious discovering him and his son and killing both of them. This solidified he must follow his master, regardless of his feelings. The next time he encountered his son, Luke, at a floating city on Bespin, the Sith Lord tried to recruit him to overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy as father and son. Luke refused and escaped, leaving Vader to return to the Emperor. The Sith Master advised Vader that it was unnecessary to pursue the young Jedi, he would come to them.

Soon enough, Vader captured Luke and brought him before the Emperor to be turned to the Dark Side. After Luke refused to strike down the Emperor, Vader and his son fought. They exchanged blows and words, and eventually Luke beat Vader by cutting off his mechanical hand which held his lightsaber; both tumbled over the edge of a pit. When the son refused to join them, the Emperor began to torture and kill Luke with a powerful Force Lightning attack. This was the moment Vader fell- to save his son, the Sith Apprentice killed the Emperor, throwing him over the edge of the pit, betraying the Empire in his final act.