Star Wars offered many other works outside of the films before Disney took over. This also included a continued story that takes place after Episode 6. One of the biggest villains is Darth Krayt, who had his origins in the Clone Wars.
The following article deals with a character and story that is not part of the current Disney Star Wars canon, which means some parts differ from the story of the prequels and sequels.
Which character is it about? Before Disney took over, the Star Wars universe was expanded outside of the films. There were games, books and comics. This is where the character Mara Jade or the evil being Abeloth comes from.
An important character in Star Wars Legends is Darth Krayt or as he was previously called: A’Sharad Hett. Like Anakin Skywalker, Hett was born on Tatooine. He was the son of a legendary Jedi Master and lived with the Tusken Raiders.
At a young age he became the padawan of Ki-Adi-Mundi and later the Dark Woman. He was made a Jedi Master and also fought as a general during the Clone Wars. But his righteous path changed when he met Anakin Skywalker.
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The first step on the way to the dark side
During the Clone Wars, Hett met Anakin Skywalker and learned that the young Jedi had killed the Tusken Raiders in a rage. In a moment of anger, Anakin attacked the Tusken Jedi, but he was able to overpower him. In a personal moment, Hett pulled off the mask and reassured the Jedi.
However, Hett kept the brutal killing of the Tusken raiders to himself because he believed that Anakin could control his emotions himself.
After Palpatine took over the Senate and Order 66, Hett was able to survive as one of the few Jedi. To hide, he traveled back to Tatooine and lived on as the leader of a Tusken tribe. When Hett’s tribe wanted to raid Owen Lars’ farm on Tattoine, he met Obi-Wan-Kenobi.
He lost against him and was exiled to leave Tattoine. During the fight with Obi-Wan, he also learned that Anakin is now Darth Vader. This caused feelings of guilt to grow, which made him susceptible to the dark side.
During exile, Hett worked as a bounty hunter until he found a Sith holocron on a planet. There he was trained in the dark side by the spirit of the ancient Sith master XoXaan, driven by a desire for revenge.
The Rise of Darth Krayt
A lot of time passed during his training. By the time he finished training, the Battle of Endor was already over. He traveled to an unknown planet where the Yuuzuhan Vong, an alien race, captured and tortured him. Hett learned that they wanted to wage war with the new Republic of Luke.
He escaped captivity but failed to warn the New Republic, leading to the Yuuzuhan-Vong War. While in captivity, he came to the conclusion that the galaxy must be brought back together the way he wants.
While the New Republic was at war, Hett, now called Darth Krayt, founded the new Sith Order. In doing so, he changed the most important rule of the Sith.
The Rule of One
For a long time the Sith lived by The Rule of Two. This rule was introduced by Darth Bane, who wanted to end the Sith Order’s own wars. There was a master and a disciple. Darth Krayt changed that and introduced the Rule of One.
In his new order there is a Sith Master at the top. That would be him. Under him there are several power-gifted students or Sith who band together for a specific goal. Darth Krayt wants to ensure blind obedience.
He accomplished what all Sith want
Darth Krayt and his many followers became a major threat to the new Jedi and the Republic. Although he fought with Luke against the being Abeloth, his efforts were always aimed at his goal of taking over. He managed that too. Darth Krayt managed to defeat the Jedi and found a new Galactic Empire.
Due to his Force abilities, he lived significantly longer than other characters and continued to live for over a hundred years after Episode 6. He regularly fought against Skywalker descendants.
Ironically, what happens to all Sith Lords happened to him: one of his loyal students betrayed and killed him. Although he was revived, he was ultimately killed by Cade Skywalker, who lived 125 years after Episode 6.
How to read the story of Darth Krayt? He appears as a supporting character in individual stories, including Clone Wars comics or the Kenobi book by John Jackson Miller. The best way to experience his prime time as a villain is with the Star Wars Legacy comics. Unfortunately, it is relatively difficult or quite expensive to get some volumes (via youtini.com)
Will we ever see Darth Krayt in current canon? That’s pretty unlikely. Although Disney likes to use aspects from Legends works, since the story of Darth Krayt is designed as a continuation of Episode 6, Disney will probably not refer to it.
Disney has already delivered its own sequel with their films. Disney is also very busy with series based on the Star Wars universe. Although not all fans like that: “Even Harry Potter is more Star Wars than this nonsense” – Disney’s latest Star Wars lands a negative record