This article contains spoilers for Doctor Aphra #22.
Star Wars comics have revealed the Jedi weren’t the only enemies of the ancient Sith Empire. The last few years have seen Disney begin to explore the canon origins of the Sith, revealing they were a breakaway faction from the Jedi who embraced the dark side. The Sith hoarded power, and they soon swept across the galaxy like a firestorm of hatred and rage.
The Sith Empire seems to have stretched from the Unknown Regions to the Galactic Core. Ironically, it fell apart because of the nature of the dark side itself; adherents of the dark side are utterly self-driven, with intense competition taking the place of cooperation, meaning the Sith eventually began to fight among themselves. Darth Bane attempted to bring this to an end by establishing the Rule of Two, but he acted too late; the Jedi took advantage of the Sith’s weakness to fight back, and for a millennia the Sith were believed extinct.
Doctor Aphra #22, by Alyssa Wong, Minkyu Jung, and Natacha Bustos, reveals the Jedi weren’t the only ancient enemies of the Sith Empire. Aphra is an archaeologist in the Star Wars galaxy, and she’s recently been investigating relics related to a dark side cult known as the Ascendant. The Ascendant attempted to use technology to simulate the Force, and in Doctor Aphra #22 the corrupt archaeologist learns they seem to have been a deliberate response to the Sith. The Sith, naturally, responded to the potential threat in force – attacking the Ascendant Sanctum on the planet Bar’leth and wiping them out. They then branded the use of technology to replicate the Force as a heresy, no doubt appalled at the idea any ordinary person could use such tech to become a threat to their reign.
The Sith attack upon the Ascendant can be dated both by their sheer number and the masks they are wearing, which were common during the time of the Sith Empire. It’s fascinating to get a fresh glimpse into this dark time, and particularly to see how some scientists lost faith in the Jedi and attempted to find a way to fight back against the power of the dark side. Lucasfilm seem reluctant to explore this time period, presumably so lovers of the classic Knights of the Old Republic games don’t feel as though their favorite characters and concepts are being invalidated; still, hopefully that will change, with future issues of Doctor Aphra adding more depth to the galaxy.
Ironically, this arc has implied Palpatine himself was a Sith heretic, for he ignored the Sith laws about blending science and the Force. His attempts to conquer death involved a synergy of Force powers – specifically the dark side ability known as Essence Transfer – and sophisticated cloning technology. It seems such techniques had been forbidden by the Sith for well over a thousand years in the Star Wars galaxy.
