Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Darth Vader #22 (2017)

As a Star Wars fan, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the balance of the Force. The Jedi incessantly go on about balance, but are afraid to acknowledge the Dark Side, let alone embrace it. While it is a tempting power, it’s not the evil that the Jedi preach it to be. The Force, especially the Dark Side, is far simpler than good and evil.

Marvel Comics' Darth Vader #22 – written by Charles Soule, with art by Giuseppe Camuncoli – offers what I think is a profound alternative perspective on the Force, as evoked by the Sith Lord Darth Momin.

While trying to construct a living monument of pain and suffering to feed the Dark Side's desire, Momin describes the Dark Side of the Force as hungry. It can be wielded as long as it’s fed – a radical reinterpretation of the Force as characters in the Star Wars Universe, and fans of the franchise, generally view it.

According To Darth Momin, The Dark Side Is "Hungry," An Idea That Totally Changed How I View Star Wars

Darth Vader #22 – Written By Charles Soule; Art By Giuseppe Camuncoli & Daniele Orlandini; Color By David Curiel; Lettering By VC's Joe Caramagna; Cover Art By Giuseppe Camuncoli & Elia Bonetti

According to Darth Momin, the Force isn’t inherently a moral scale. It is exactly what it sounds like, a force. Just as much as we wouldn’t say the rising sun or a natural disaster are moral, neither are the ebbs and flows of the Force’s living energy. While this idea of the Force has been explored in Star Wars media before – both in the Disney canon, and the original Star Wars Expanded Universe – Momin's explanation struck me as particularly compelling, given the way he anthropomorphizes the Force.

The Jedi preach that there must be balance to the Force, that its nature is to remain at a point of equilibrium. Yet I have always questioned why that would be the case. If the Light Side of the Force is the ultimate good in the galaxy, why it even has this Dark opposite is unclear. You would think that the Light Side, in its living semi-sentient ways, should eliminate the Dark Side. Yet in truth, that is not the nature of the Force, because the light and dark sides are not actually separate.

The Force is a singular entity, with the Light and Dark Sides representing equally existing facets of the Force’s being. Where the Light Side of the Force gives way to life, creation, and hope, the Dark Side of the Force consumes. It is death, destruction, and despair. Without the Dark Side to keep the light side in check, the galaxy would overflow with life, left to struggle over its limited resources. The Dark Side isn’t evil, it never was. The Jedi fear that it is because it goes against their doctrine, but that is because they have committed themselves to its opposite.

The Dark Side "Seeks Fuel," And Its Adherents Must Be Careful Not To Siphon Off Its Tributes

Darth Sidious & Vader Were Too Greedy

And now, I bring us back to the Sith. Unlike Darth Sidious or Darth Vader, Darth Momin’s allegiance is purely to the Dark Side of the Force. Sure, he wishes to be recognized for his strength, but he only cares about the approval of the Force and nothing else. While thinking about Momin’s perspective on the dark side, I realized the real reason why Sidious and Vader inevitably fell – they were too hungry. Darth Momin is singularly obsessed with feeding the dark side. More than death, he gathers fear, rage, and suffering to offer to the dark side as tribute.

During the early years of the Galactic Empire, the Sith’s horrific crusade across the galaxy fed the Dark Side with all the suffering and pain that it craved...However, then they gave way to ego.

Momin has realized that to gain true power from the Dark Side, you should always bow your head in service to its own immaculate power. During the early years of the Galactic Empire, the Sith’s horrific crusade across the galaxy fed the Dark Side with all the suffering and pain that it craved. In return, the master and apprentice were imbued with unstoppable power as thanks to their service. However, then they gave way to ego; they stopped feeding the Dark Side with the reverence that it demands and instead prioritized feeding themselves.

As Darth Momin Put It: "If You Do Not Feed It, It Will Feed On You"

Worshipping The Dark Side

Momin also describes the Dark Side as sacred in Star Wars #22. Sith Lords like Darth Momin treat the Force as a deity. Just as much as the Jedi treat the Light Side as a sacred power, the Sith treat the Dark Side with the same reverence. This is what made it really click for me: our perspective on the nature of the Dark Side has always come from the “hero’s” perspective. We’ve seen the Jedi pray to their powers. We’ve heard Obi-Wan and Yoda talk about the Light Side as a holy thing.

Because we less frequently get to hear from Dark Side s, it’s difficult to gain a well-balanced perspective. Most stories we do get from the opposite perspective don’t give the Dark Side the same respect that the “heroes”’ stories give the Light. Darth Momin, however, can take a step away from his ego to better understand the dark side the way the Jedi do the Light Side. Because the Dark Side is sacred, it is divine, it is holy. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s terrifying, but as I said earlier, so are natural disasters.

The Dark Side Is A Force Of Nature, Not Evil – But That Doesn't Make It Good

Star Wars Needs More Stories From The Sith's Perspective

I wish Star Wars would treat the Force like it pretends it does. “The balance of the Force” is one of the most repeated lines in the franchise, alonside “May the Force be with you.” Yet, Star Wars doesn’t treat the Force with honest balance. I would like to see more stories from characters like Momin or from Force wielders who better straddle both sides of the Force. Yes, characters like Ahsoka or Mace Windu better fit that metric, but they still subscribe to personal dogmas that cloud their judgment.

This is why I appreciate that Marvel's Star Wars comics have seized upon the opportunity to introduce such an invigorating alternate viewpoint on how the Force works. Too long, the Star Wars franchise has been too narrow in its approach to the Force – which has, in turn, morphed into a dogmatism among the fandom about what the Light and Dark Sides of the Force can achieve. Yet Star Wars is at its best when the galaxy is vast, and unpredictable, and Darth Momin's concept of the Force is more in line with that.

Star Wars fans are deprived of characters that learn those lessons before they die and, therefore, are deprived of stories that embrace perspectives such as Momin’s.

It’s usually only after a Force wielder dies that they finally understand the true nature of the Force, as characters like Darth Momin do. Anakin Skywalker is one of the only characters to walk through the Force with one foot on either side. Unfortunately, Star Wars fans are deprived of characters that learn those lessons before they die and, therefore, are deprived of stories that embrace perspectives such as Momin’s. While it tries to hide behind endless stories from the light side’s perspective, Star Wars knows the true nature of the dark side.

Star Wars #22 is available now from Marvel Comics.