Stop! I know what you’re thinking. Yes, there have been many female Sith Lords in the Star Wars canon, but all of that was swept away when Disney ditched the old Extended Universe. Sure, Knights of the Old Republic II‘s Darth Traya was one of the most interesting characters in the franchise, and Darth Zannah, the apprentice of Darth Bane, was no slouch either, able to drive her opponents insane by conjuring their worst fears (Asajj Ventress was never a Sith, by the way). But that’s all out of the continuity now, meaning that as of this moment, Lady Shaa is the only canonical female Sith Lord.
Set to debut in Darth Vader #22, she enters the fray as part of a tale in which Vader encounters the spirit of Sith Lord Momin. As his story’s laid out, he reveals that he was an apprentice to Shaa, described as a Lady of the Sith. Apparently, her Force talents picked up on Momin’s predilection towards evil, primarily using the Force to turn living things into grisly works of art. So, she busted him out of prison and decided to teach this budding young psychopath the ways of the Force. He even got a sweet Sith helmet out of the deal, with Momin ritually scarring his face with his sabers before donning it.
And as for her eventual fate? Well, no prizes for guessing what happens to a Sith Lord who takes on an ambitious apprentice…
Though Shaa looks like she might be a one-issue-and-done kind of character, I’d quite like to see more of her. I’ve always felt that women with a mastery of the Dark Side in Star Wars are generally interesting and driven figures. Maybe we’ll get a chance to see one take centre stage in Rian Johnson’s new trilogy?
