Sith

For other uses, see Sith (disambiguation).

Sith is a term applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe capable of using the "dark side" of the Force. In the Star Wars films and much of the Expanded Universe they are the main antagonists.

Invention of the Sith

Star Wars creator George Lucas took the name "Sith" from Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars series in which the sith are giant, venomous, hornet-like insects that are difficult to kill. The first use of the word "Sith" is in the Star Wars novelization for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, as a title for Darth Vader, the "Dark Lord of the Sith." The Sith are not formally introduced or mentioned as such on-screen until Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the fourth film to be released.

History

The Star Wars series began with the film Star Wars, which was released in 1977. However, since 1977 books, computer games, comics, and films have been released, all set in the fictional universe of Star Wars, which has expanded the history of the Sith within the stories told in the Star Wars Universe.

Early users of the dark side were called the Dark Jedi, not the Sith. They were exiled to the planet Korriban, where they conquered a powerful but malleable indigenous species known as the sith race. Treated like gods by their conquered people, they proclaimed themselves "Lords of the Sith". As time progressed, the Sith ruled an isolated part of the galaxy they called the Sith Empire; the capital was on the planet Ziost. The Empire fell because of the battle for supremacy between two Sith Lords, Ludo Kressh and Naga Sadow – a period called The Great Hyperspace War.

Eventually, a Sith Lord named Darth Bane was responsible for the destruction of all the Sith with the exception of himself and his apprentice, Darth Zannah, and managed to trick the Jedi Council into believing that the Sith were completely gone. He also created the "Rule of Two", which states "Two there shall be ... a master and an apprentice: one to embody power and the other to crave it."

Centuries later, Darth Sidious's schemes led to the Clone Wars, the destruction of the Jedi Council, and the transformation of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. However, the Sith were not completely victorious; Darth Vader and the Emperor attempted to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side, but they failed and were defeated. In the end, Darth Vader chose the path of the Jedi once again and became one with the Force, appearing with Obi Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda at the end of Return of The Jedi.

Sith characters

Darth Vader

Darth Vader was the first Sith Lord shown on film, appearing in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. As a Jedi Knight, he was known as Anakin Skywalker and fought in the Clone Wars against the Separatists. He turned slowly to the Dark Side with the help of Darth Sidious. After helping Darth Sidious kill Mace Windu, he swore allegiance to the Emperor and became his apprentice. As the Galactic Empire continued to grow, Darth Vader became the Emperor’s enforcer and was put in command of the task to find the Rebel Alliance’s base. After the destruction of the Death Star, Vader was in charge of tracking the Rebel Alliance down and destroying their headquarters. However, the actions of Luke Skywalker, Vader’s son, eventually turned Vader against his master, resulting in both Darth Sidious' and Darth Vader's death.

Darth Sidious

Darth Sidious rose to power from a Senator of Naboo, to Supreme Chancellor, to self-proclaimed Emperor of the Galactic Empire. This was a cleverly orchestrated sequence of events done under his alternate identity, Palpatine, who gained respect in the Old Republic while secretly participating in Sith practices and planning an end to the Jedi Order. Darth Sidious' reign occurred in the time of the Rule of Two. He had three pupils: Darth Maul; Darth Tyranus; and finally Darth Vader, who eventually kills Darth Sidious at the end of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Darth Maul

Darth Maul was the apprentice of Darth Sidious. Wielding a dual-bladed lightsaber in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul kills Obi-Wan Kenobi's master and friend, Qui-Gon Jinn, before falling to Obi-Wan Kenobi in the same lightsaber battle.

Darth Tyranus

Referred to more as Count Dooku in Episodes II and III of the Star Wars movies, Darth Tyranus is an ally of Darth Sidious and has a prominent role in the Clone Wars.

Darth Bane

In a time when Sith Lords were legion, Darth Bane destroyed the Sith order and established the Rule of Two to replace the Brotherhood of Darkness. The Rule of Two stated that there must be two Sith Lords, one to embody the power of the Dark Side, and one to crave that power and eventually overthrow his master and adopt an apprentice of his own.

Sith appearances

Expanded Universe Novels

The first Expanded Universe novel was written by Alan Dean Foster titled the Splinter of the Mind's Eye in 1978. The setting for this novel takes place between Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. It provides further adventures that include Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3P0, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. In the story, Darth Vader tries to get the Kaiburr Crystal to use it for his evil schemes.

Other novels that depicted Sith characters were Darth Maul:Saboteur and Cloak of Deception by James Luceno. In Cloak of Deception, it describes the political background surrounding the Republic in the time period before Phantom Menace. The Sith Lord at the time, Darth Sidious, plans for his blockade of Naboo.

In Darth Maul: Saboteur,the Sith Lord Darth Sidious sends Darth Maul to destroy InterGalactic Ore and Lommite Limited.Darth Maul:Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves also showed insight into the Sith. This story is about how Darth Sidious takes his plan into action, however he soon finds out about a traitor who knows of his plan. He sends his apprentice, Darth Maul, to scope out the traitor that leaks the secret of his plan to take down the Republic.

Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut takes place after the destruction of the Death Star. Darth Vader is in pursuit of Luke Skywalker, who is training with Yoda to become a Jedi Knight. This story depicts the fight scene between Vader and Skywalker almost exactly as it was scripted in the film.

Star Wars comics

Dark Horse Comics purchased the copyrights to several Star Wars stories. With their publication of Star Wars: Dark Empire #1 in 1991, they initiated what has become a large line of Star Wars manga and comics. The Sith appear as major antagonists throughout this story's plot.

In January 2007, Dark Horse Comics released their first of what became 5 waves of comic-pack figures. Some of the Sith action figure characters that these comic packs included were Darth Vader, Clone Commando and a Trade Federation Assassin Droid. Most of the comics that were published had to do with expanding the backstory of the characters and followed the rise of the Lords of Sith.

Star Wars TV shows

Star Wars has had 3 TV shows titled Star Wars: Droids—The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, Star Wars:Ewoks and Star Wars:Clone Wars.

Star Wars: Droids—The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO aired their first episode in 1985. The show focused on the past history of R2-D2 and C-3PO and continuing with their future adventures throughout the galaxy. Star Wars: Ewoks is an animated shows about the Ewoks and was aired in 1986.

Star Wars: Clone Wars first aired on Cartoon Network in 2008. This show was made to take place some time between the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith films. During this time, Anakin Skywalker has not become Darth Vader yet and it shows how he progresses into succumbing to the Sith. There is also another (currently untitled) TV show whose release date will be soon according to the head of Lucas Licensing, Howard Roffman. Each of these TV series has expanded on the background story of major and minor characters that were introduced in the original film’s plot written by George Lucas.

Star Wars video games

Star Wars video games have also been adapted from the plots of the films, novels, and TV shows. The games follow the basic plot of the story, but they can also include alternative endings depending on which character is being played. Most of the games range from one to two players at a time. The earliest video game for Star Wars dates back to 1982 when Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was released for the public in the arcades.

Other video games that focus mainly on the Sith are Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords released in 2004 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed released in 2008. In Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the player can choose if they want to be a Sith, Jedi or another character. The outcome of whether the character follows the dark or light side depends on what character the player chooses and with whom they end up meeting or battling with throughout the game. In Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, the player acts as Darth Vader’s secret apprentice. Along the way, the adventures consist of several battles against the major and minor Jedi fighters throughout the galaxy and helping Vader achieve his master plan.

References

Notes

Further reading

• Star Wars Essential Guide series (Del Rey Books Copyright 1999) ISBN 978-0-345-39299-2

External links

• Sith in the Star Wars Databank
• Sith on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki
• The Sith Explained (Howstuffworks.com)
• Who's Who of the Sith on SithOrder.com
• Sith Article in Expanded Universe Database