Top 12 Sith Who Were Considered Good and Not Evil

The usual understanding of the Star Wars lore and the distinction between the two most prominent Force-using factions is that the Jedi Order is good, and the Sith Order is evil. However, things aren’t that black-and-white in reality – or light-and-dark, if you will – many Jedi proved to be bad, and believe it or not, not every Sith was evil. 

Today, we’re making the ultimate list of the 12 Sith that were considered good, or at least not purely evil, ranked by their importance and ‘goodness’ level. Even those Sith who were bad but redeemed themselves found their way on the list, so relax and enjoy!

Honorable mention: Darth Traya

Darth Traya first appeared (and served as the main antagonist) in ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords.’ Throughout most of the game, however, you know her as Kreia, who serves as your mentor with ambiguous moral viewpoints, to say the least.

She was the head of the Sith Triumvirate, consisting of her and two other Sith Lords who were undoubtedly and unequivocally evil – which is why they betrayed Traya in the end. Although she was the ‘final boss’ of the game, Traya’s goal was never annihilation or hate. 

She rejected both Jedi and Sith teachings, and instead of having galaxy dominion as her goal, she actually wanted to destroy the Force altogether to bring an end to the constant war in the galaxy and revive a Jedi Order that is better.

12. Darth Revan

Darth Revan was previously a Jedi, as we learned in the ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ backstory. He fought and beat the Mandalorians and then became a leader of the Sith Empire for a while before his apprentice, Darth Malak, betrayed and seemingly killed Revan.

However, the Sith survived thanks to a Jedi, Bastila Shan. Revan’s mind was wiped clean, making him a Republic soldier, and he is revealed as the main protagonist of ‘KOTOR.’ It was awesome because you, as a player, got to decide how good or bad you’ll make Darth Revan be, depending on the actions you choose in the game. He’s actually one of my favorite characters.

11. Darth Vectivus

First appearing in ‘Star Wars: Legacy of the Force,’ Darth Vectivus was never a Sith who sought power and conquest. Instead, Vectivus focused on interpreting the dogmas of the Sith Order philosophically and scientifically while striving to retain a balance of morality in his life.

Darth Vectivus was ruthless – but as a businessman, not as a murderer – and he abided by a code of ethics, leading to him dying surrounded by those whom he loved and who loved him in peace. Of course, he did some nasty things being a Sith, but he was at least balanced, if not good.

10. Darth Marr

Darth Marr is one of the main antagonists of ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic,’ and when you see him in his full gear and recognizable mask, you instantly know he is a bad guy. However, Darth Marr wasn’t completely evil. I mean, sure, he had political aspirations and ruthlessness in his approach, but Marr had utter respect for the Jedi instead of hatred, as the Sith teach.

Not only that, but he was a strong political activist and an advocate for the rights of every alien species in the galaxy, fighting racism and discrimination within the Sith Order itself. In the end, Darth Marr accepted the Jedi Code as the truth that ought to be followed, making him the only Sith in history to do so.

9. Kel’eth ur

I would’ve loved to see and hear more about Kel’eth ur, as he was quite an interesting yet minor character in ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic.’ Kel’eth ur disregarded the Sith teachings of fear and passion being strengths instead of weaknesses. He believed that fear is a lie that only temporarily gives powers, while passion is a lie that can easily be manipulated.

His philosophy proved to be true more than once, but especially in the case of Anakin Skywalker. He feared losing Padme Amidala, and Darth Sidious used that, along with Anakin’s passion, to manipulate him and turn him to the Dark Side. As for Kel’eth ur, he eventually accepted the Jedi Code, taking peace and prosperity as his core values before being murdered by the Emperor.

8. Galen Marek

Galen Marek, also known as Starkiller, is one of the most polarizing characters in Star Wars, if you ask me – which ultimately means that he is not evil like many other Sith. In ‘Star Wars: The Force Unleashed,’ Marek joined the Sith at a very young age after Darth Vader brutally murdered his father, who was a Jedi.

Vader took him and trained him secretly as his apprentice, using him as a Sith assassin to find and kill the remaining Jedi. Eventually, Vader betrayed Galen, who in turn finally turned to the light side and redeemed himself for his sins by attacking the Death Star alone, which led to the salvation of the Rebellion’s most prominent figures and leaders.

7. Darth Gravid

As revealed in the ‘Star Wars Legends backstory’ (and mentioned in ‘Darth Plagueis’), Darth Gravid had strong beliefs and never shied away from accomplishing them in any way he could. However, instead of hating the Jedi, he genuinely cared for them and even incorporated the teachings of both the Light and Dark Side of the Force into his technique.

He believed that taking only one or the other would be ignoring the truth – which is the balance. However, his conflicting beliefs and sense of morality eventually led Darth Gravid down the path of insanity, and eventually, he went on a rampage that saw him shatter tons of Sith holocrons and valuable artifacts, setting back the Sith Order a few centuries in the process.

Meaning that he did more damage to the Sith in one day than any Jedi ever could in their lifetime. In the end, he was right – seeking immortality through the Dark Side as the Sith did proved to be impossible without the Light Side – as many Jedi like Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker became immortal Force Ghosts with their love, not hatred.

6. Visas Marr

In ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords,’ we get to see the ambiguousness of the Sith Order firsthand through Visas Marr. She was taken by Darth Nihilus after he annihilated her home world, and she became a Sith assassin. When sent to kill Meetra Surik, Meetra spared her life, making Visas completely change.

She sought redemption by helping the fight against the Sith Triumvirate, rejecting the Dark Side, and becoming a true force of good. Not every Sith is just evil – some, like Visas and Galen Marek, were taken and forced to become Sith.

5. Darth Plagueis

While we never saw Darth Plagueis on screen, he was mentioned numerous times throughout Star Wars films as the former Master of Darth Sidious, who eventually betrayed him. Plagueis was more focused on mastering the Force (his skill allowed Plagueis to become a master of death itself) and had a deep trust in his apprentice despite the Sith Order teachings telling him not to trust anybody.

In the end, Plagueis was betrayed by his apprentice, who highlighted his lack of ambition as a weakness. In reality, Darth Plagueis simply wasn’t as evil as most of his Sith peers.

4. Darth Tyrannus

Better known as Count Dooku, Darth Tyrannus was tempted by the Dark Side after learning of the Galactic Senate’s corruption. He fell to the Dark Side after the death of his Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, but his goal was always to overthrow and destroy the Sith Order from within.

Along the way, he did atrocious things, but Dooku was never truly evil. Simply, the Dark Side’s temptation led to him trying to get to his goals with the wrong means.

3. Asajj Ventress

Asajj Ventress is still a very ambiguous character to me, and I have no idea if I’d put her down as evil despite all the terrible things she had done as a Sith assassin. Ventress was a Nightsister before being trained as a Jedi by Ky Narec. Then, her master was killed, and Asajj was left lost.

Count Dooku took her and started teaching her the other side of the Force. She became a prolific Sith assassin, which scared Darth Sidious, who ordered Dooku to kill her. Learning of this betrayal, Asajj left the Dark Side once again and fell in love, ultimately sacrificing herself to save her love, Quinlan Vos. She was honored by the Jedi Order for her actions.

2. Kylo Ren

Right from the start, Kylo Ren had redeeming qualities and inner turmoil, which Rey Skywalker felt. He was manipulated by Snoke and Palpatine (essentially the same guy), and yes, he did commit atrocities such as killing his father, Han Solo.

In the end, however, he redeemed himself by sacrificing his own life to save Rey and help her defeat the Emperor once and for all. Kylo Ren – nay, Ben Solo – is one of my favorite characters from the sequel trilogy because of that.

1. Darth Vader

Lastly, you knew this guy had to be on top of our list. Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader, aka the Chosen One, fell to the Dark Side after being heavily manipulated by Darth Sidious, as well as his own attachments and emotions. We know that Vader was feared due to his atrociously ruthless nature, but his arch-nemesis – his son Luke – never gave up on him.

Luke believed that Vader had good inside him until the very end, and eventually, it resurfaced when he saved Luke and ‘killed’ the Emperor. It was proven that Anakin finally found his way back to the Light Side when he appeared as a Force Ghost next to Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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