Anakin Skywalker became the most feared warrior in the galaxy after donning his black cloak and suit of armor, but one Star Wars character from the franchise’s past took things a step further. Now out-of-continuity, Sith Lord Warb Null actually channeled the Dark Side through his magic armor.
From the moment the first Star Wars movie was released, the story of A Galaxy Far, Far Away was expanded in other media. After the original trilogy completed with the release of Return of the Jedi in 1983, the only place fans could get any new Star Wars stories was though the “Expanded Universe” of novels, comics and the like. It didn’t take long for these stories to stretch into the franchise’s past, and in 1993 Dark Horse Comics began exploring the early days of the Jedi with Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. Taking place thousands of years before the OT, the series told of both the Great Hyperspace War and the Sith War, presenting a much more classical take on the Jedi Knights of the Old Republic.
The Sith Lord Warb Null was introduced in Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - The Freedon Nadd Uprising #1, written by Tom Veitch and with art by Tony Akins and Dennis Rodier. Null began life as a metallurgist named Shas Dovos on Onderon, a planet with a long history of Sith loyalty. Dovos wound up discovering an ancient tome that contained a Sith spirit, which subtly influenced him to forge a fearsome suit of armor. The metal Dovos used was treated with “Sith magic,” allowing him to channel the Dark Side through it. Dubbing himself Warb Null, the Sith lord even greater than Vader led a cult of Dark Siders in an uprising on his homeworld in the service of Freedon Nadd, a long-dead Sith Lord whose spirit continued to rule from beyond the grave. Null was eventually killed by the Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, but his spirit lived on through his armor, which became cursed would turn others to the Dark Side after his death.
Warb Null Channels the Dark Side Through His Magic Armor
It’s interesting to consider Warb Null’s story in conjunction with Anakin Skywalker. Both were seduced by the Dark Side and donned fearsome suits of armor shortly after being turned. In his own way, Warb Null’s story wound up predicting that of Vader’s - a Sith who is trapped within his own armor, which is later used to help brainwash his grandson Kylo Ren to the Dark Side. When taken from that certain point of view, it’s possible that Anakin was just living out the latest version of a repeating Sith destiny.
Of course, after the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, the slate was wiped clean and nearly all Expanded Universe media was shuffled out-of-continuity and rebranded as “Legends.” Even though Warb Null is no longer in official continuity, his story remains an interesting part of Star Wars lore considering what happens later to Anakin Skywalker.
