Most Powerful Sith Lords of All Time

Revan is a fictional character in BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game. The character may be either male or female, though Revan is canonically male and follows the game's light-side path. The player's choice of a male or female Revan changes only which characters the player character can fall in love with (as well as slightly altering the way some characters act towards the player). He was voiced by Rino Romano in Knights of the Old Republic and Jeff Bennett in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Revan's story is further explored in Drew Karpyshyn's 2011 novella Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan. The book details the events of Revan's life after the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, in which Revan attempts to recover his lost memories from the period of the Mandalorian Wars and from his and Malak's travels to discover the Sith empire.

Sheev Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious or simply The Emperor) is a fictional character of the Star Wars franchise, mainly portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. In the original trilogy, he is depicted as the aged, pale-faced and cloaked Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the master of Darth Vader. In the prequel trilogy, he is portrayed as a charismatic Senator from Naboo who uses deception and political manipulation to rise to the position of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, and then reorganizes the Republic into the Galactic Empire, with himself as Emperor.

Vitiate, known for the vast majority of his life as simply the Sith Emperor and known to his Eternal Empire as Valkorion, was a Dark Lord of the Sith who reconstituted the Sith Empire after its destruction in the Great Hyperspace War and went on to rule it for over 1300 years. To the people of the Eternal Empire over which he ruled in his later life, he was His Glorious Majesty, Slayer of Izax, Immortal Master and Protector of Zakuul—their Immortal Emperor. Born in 5113 BBY as Tenebrae, the illegitimate Sith son of Lord Dramath of Medriaas and a poor farm woman, the child who eventually became the Emperor killed his own father at the age of ten and was granted the title of Lord Vitiate by the then–Dark Lord Marka Ragnos three years later. Vitiate renamed his world Nathema and ruled it for the next century, content to exclude himself from Sith power struggles and even the Great Hyperspace War when the Galactic Republic destroyed the Empire in 5000 BBY. Summoning the remaining Sith Lords to Nathema with the promise of salvation from the Jedi, Vitiate turned on his fellows and used their strength to perform a ritual that made him immortal, at the expense of every living thing on Nathema.

Darth Vader, also known by his birth name Anakin Skywalker, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Vader appears in the original film trilogy as a pivotal antagonist whose actions drive the plot, while his past as Anakin Skywalker and the story of his corruption are central to the narrative of the prequel trilogy. The character was created by George Lucas and has been portrayed by numerous actors. His appearances span the first six Star Wars films, as well as Rogue One, and his character is heavily referenced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He is also an important character in the Star Wars expanded universe of television series, video games, novels, literature and comic books. Originally a Jedi prophesied to bring balance to the Force, he falls to the dark side of the Force and serves the evil Galactic Empire at the right hand of his Sith master, Emperor Palpatine (also known as Darth Sidious). He is also the father of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa, secret husband of Padmé Amidala and grandfather of Kylo Ren.

Darth Nihilus (pronounced /ˈnaɪ.ə.lɨs/) was a Human male who reigned as a Dark Lord of the Sith during the era of strife following the Jedi Civil War. Before becoming a Sith Lord, he lost everything during the Galactic Republic's war against the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. He survived the activation of the Mass Shadow Generator superweapon during the war's final battle at the planet of Malachor V, which surrounded the planet with a destructive spatial phenomenon known as a mass shadow. Experiencing the shadow that obliterated almost everything on and around the planet made Nihilus crave Force energy. The affliction painfully ravaged his body while rendering him a wound in the Force. He was found by a seeker of these, the Sith Lord Darth Traya, who told him that she could teach him to feed his endless hunger. He accepted her offer of apprenticeship at the Trayus Academy on Malachor V, where he, over time, became one of three concurrent Dark Lords of the Sith.

Darth Bane is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was created by George Lucas, within the Star Wars canon where he is first mentioned in the novelization of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, where Bane is an ancient Sith Lord who lived a thousand years before the films, and is known for being the originator of the "Rule of Two" that the Sith Lords follow, which establishes: "A master and an apprentice can be the only Sith in the galaxy at one time", which still remains as his backstory. Darth Bane's only on-screen appearance happens when he appears as a vision to Jedi master Yoda, in the last episode of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he was voiced by Mark Hamill (who portrays Luke Skywalker in the films).

Starkiller, born Galen Marek and also known as The Apprentice, is the Dark Jedi anti-hero protagonist of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed project. In 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded him as part of the Star Wars Legends non-canonical story-line, and the character has not been re-introduced yet into the Star Wars canon. He is raised by Darth Vader and is made his secret apprentice under the name "Starkiller" due to being potent with using the Force for destructive purposes and described as less of an assassin and more of a "Force wrecking ball". The character's name is taken from Luke Skywalker's original name, "Annikin Starkiller".

Darth Maul, later known simply as Maul, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Trained as Darth Sidious's first apprentice, he serves as a Sith Lord and a master of wielding a double-bladed lightsaber. He first appears in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (portrayed by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz), and later makes appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Samuel Witwer.

Count Dooku is a fictional character from the Star Wars franchise, appearing in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (portrayed by Christopher Lee). He was also voiced by Corey Burton in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Clone Wars. Once a respected Jedi Master, he falls to the dark side of the Force after the death of his former apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn, and becomes Darth Sidious' second apprentice under the name Darth Tyranus. As the founder of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he is instrumental in the Clone Wars. Dooku was trained by Yoda as a Padawan learner.

Exar Kun was a promising Force Sensitive who was put under the mentorship of the Jedi Master, Vodo-Sios Baas, and was trained on Dantooine along with Crado and Sylyar. Kun was driven by incredible ambition to become a great Jedi and frequently dueled with his fellow students to hone his skills. This led to him deciding to study Sith history and knowledge on his own. It was through these studies that Kun learned of Freedon Nadd, a Jedi turned Sith Lord. However, his master caught him with the holocron containing this knowledge and reprimanded him. Baas eventually had Kun face Crado and Sylvar in lightsaber duels and he easily defeated the former. As Kun started fighting the latter, he began taunting her about her heritage, but this earned him a clawed slash across the face.