Star Wars' First Female Sith Was A Sadistic Monster (Who Met A Tragic End)
Over the years, "Star Wars" fans have come to know many Sith Lords in all of their gruesome, hate-filled glory. However, the majority of the most well-known canonical ones, such as Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, and Darth Maul, all reside within a highly specific timeframe in galactic history, from the Clone Wars to the Galactic Civil War. Moving further into the past reveals even more Sith Lords, such as Darth Plagueis, Darth Tenebrous, and Darth Revan, for example, who terrorized the stars long before their far more mainstream counterparts. Among these villains of yesteryear is the galaxy's first female Sith, the sadistic Darth Shaa.
Shaa is first mentioned in "Darth Vader" #22 and is revealed to have been a force to be reckoned with, having existed more than 1,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. She wields two red lightsabers during her reign of terror, where she seeks out a Force Sensitive named Momin. She frees him from imprisonment and takes him on as her apprentice. As she educates Momin in the ways of the Sith and brings him to the title of Darth, he grows resentful of her. He finds being considered her apprentice absolutely degrading, so he does what Sith do so well: killing his master in cold blood.
Outside of her history with Momin, not much else is known about Shaa. Considering what her apprentice did after he killed her, though, it's safe to say her actions left a lasting impact on the "Star Wars" universe all the same.
Shaa's training paved the way for Momin to become a dark side-fueled monster
Much like Darth Shaa, Darth Momin makes his "Star Wars" franchise debut in the pages of the "Darth Vader" comic series. During the time of the Galactic Empire, the titular Sith Lord is given Momin's helmet by Darth Sidious, soon realizing that the artifact is possessed. Momin's spirit communicates with Vader, aids in the construction of his castle on Mustafar, and even uses the dark side of the Force to reform his original body and unsuccessfully attack Vader. While this is all noteworthy, it pales in comparison to Momin's actions immediately post-Shaa's death.
With his master dead and gone, Momin delves deeper into his twisted studies of the Force while blending it with his fascination with art. He soon becomes determined to capture the exact moment people were consumed by pure terror, seeing it as a means of honoring the dark side. This mission leads him to create a superweapon (comprised of some of Shaa's resources) capable of leveling an entire planet, which he planned to inject with the Force to slow time. This way, he could observe the fear and pain on the faces of his victims. Thankfully, the Jedi saw to it that his dastardly plan never fully came to fruition.
Thus, while it stands to reason that Darth Shaa was pretty awful in her day, her Sith apprentice seemed to build on the foundation she provided and then some.