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130 years after the Battle of Yavin and the heroics of Luke Skywalker, the Sith Empire ruled the galaxy. Under the harsh but fair rule of Darth Krayt, the universe was placed into subjugation. The Dark Lord reigned by the Rule of One, he commanded the One Sith, and he had three close companions to help solidify his power. His Voice spoke for him, choosing the words the universe would know their ruler by. His Right Hand was groomed for succession; passionate yet calculating, strong in not one area but all areas.
His Left Hand, however, was meant to be a ruthless killer. An assassin. Like Darth Maul to Darth Sideous, the Left Hand would take orders from no one but their Master. Their orders all too often were to kill, slaughter, torture, or maim.
Darth Talon, the Left Hand of Darth Krayt, was the perfect candidate for her job. She was emotionless, utterly devoted to the One Sith rule, and stronger than her peers. She was honored to step into the position of Hand and served dutifully.
Today we’ll take a look at the popular cosplay icon, the tiefling of the Star Wars Universe, none other than Darth Talon herself.
Key Info Up Front
Darth Talon was a Twi’lik Sith who served as the personal assassin to Darth Krayt. She was nothing more than a tool used by her Master to eliminate his targets.
Darth Talon’s Appearance
Alright, let’s just get this out of the way. It’s the scantily dressed elephant in the room and we might as well address it.
Darth Talon is a red-skinned Twi’lik who does not wear much for protection or concealment. She flaunts what she’s got and she’s got a lot to flaunt. She wears a space bra, space panties, knee-high boots, and gloves up to her elbows. Sometimes she has a shawl draped from her waist, but mostly not. She is also covered from head to toe in Sith tattoos, each one placed after a victorious battle, likely placed by Darth Krayt himself.
She is space eye-candy (eye space-candy?) and uses her appearance to catch her enemies off guard.
She’s a popular choice for cosplay because who wouldn’t want to paint themselves red and black and walk around a bunch of nerds flaunting their stuff?
I rest my case.
Darth Talon’s Background
Darth Talon wasn’t raised like a child in a household. She was raised like a warrior bred for nothing but combat. She was not shown love, compassion, or empathy at any point in her life.
Darth Talon was the third generation of her family to serve the Sith Empire. She lived on Korriban and was trained by Darth Ruyn. Darth Ruyn saw that Darth Talon was a perfect candidate for an assassin since she lacked leadership qualities but possessed skills in stealth and execution far beyond her classmates.
After her time at the Sith Academy, Darth Ruyn decided it was time to show off his pupil to Darth Krayt and get the accolades he deserved. Darth Krayt was impressed by Darth Talon’s talents, but he wasn’t sold on her loyalty. So for her final test, Darth Krayt told her to kill Darth Ruyn. Darth Talon turned on her Master and beheaded him at once.
Darth Krayt, finally swayed by her performance, named her his Hand.
Serving the Sith Empire
Darth Krayt and his Sith Empire ruled almost 100 years after Luke Skywalker was active. The universe had seen a lot of change in that time. Technologies came and went, rulers ruled and died, but somehow Darth Krayt lived on. He had proved himself as a genuinely unique Dark Lord, and the more Darth Talon served him, the more devoted she became.
Darth Talon’s first mission was to capture a princess and torture her for information. That princess was the daughter of the former Imperial Emperor, Roan Fel. Roan Fel was the Emperor before Darth Krayt and still led an Imperial Remnant and the order of Imperial Knights. Darth Krayt saw him as a threat still and decided it was time to eliminate him. Darth Talon went off in search of Fel’s daughter. She first caught one of the princess’s bodyguards, an Imperial Knight, and tortured him for information. Once she had what she needed, she fried the Imperial Knight with lightning and then went on the hunt.
Unfortunately for Darth Talon, Princess Fel’s fate would seem intertwined with that of Cade Skywalker, and we all know just how formidable Skywalkers can be.
Darth Talon, while ruthless and able to wound Cade’s friends more than once–killing one when she got the chance–was unable to apprehend the princess. And so went back to her Master expecting execution. But as she was preparing for the chopping block, she mentioned Cade Skywalker’s name and Darth Krayt stayed his wrath. He changed Darth Talon’s mission; now she was to capture the legendary Skywalker offspring.
Ever the faithful servant to her Master, Darth Talon went off in search of Cade Skywalker. Cade, a former Jedi turned bounty hunter, was more than willing to face off against the leather-clad assassin and managed to hold his own. Though he was no longer a Jedi and hadn’t used a lightsaber in years, he had kept up his Force abilities and used them to overpower Darth Talon. If it wasn’t for Darth Krayt’s other Hand, Darth Nihl, Cade would’ve killed Darth Talon during their duel. Instead, he was captured and taken to Darth Krayt as a prisoner.
Darth Talon’s Padawan: Cade Skywalker
Darth Krayt managed to turn Cade Skywalker partly toward the Dark side. It didn’t take much; Cade had already used Dark side energy before and he wasn’t exactly friends with the Jedi. He agreed to join Darth Krayt’s team for the time being.
Darth Krayt revealed to Cade, along with Darth Talon and Darth Nihl, that he was able to keep himself alive by using Dark Force powers to elongate his life. He explained how he was originally a Jedi on the old Jedi Council, fought in the Clone Wars, survived Order 66, dueled Obi-wan Kenobi on Tattooine, and fought beside Luke Skywalker to kill Abeloth. He was at least 130 years old. But even he was reaching his limits.
Darth Krayt knew that Cade was a Jedi Healer, far more proficient in prolonging life than he himself. But he also knew Cade had cut himself off from his full potential in the Force and was addicted to death sticks. So Darth Krayt promised to raise Cade to his full potential if Cade promised to help prolong the Dark Lord’s life. When Cade agreed, Darth Krayt made Darth Talon Cade’s Master and sent them off to train.
But not before they dueled each other again.
Darth Talon thought Cade was unworthy of the Sith and felt in the Force that Cade was lying to the Dark Lord. But during their duel, Cade showed Darth Talon his most unique talent. He could sense every injury someone had ever taken over their lifetime and could choose to either soothe those injuries or explode them. When he touched Darth Talon, he found every injury she’d ever sustained and pushed them to their limits. Her bones broke, her veins popped, and she tumbled to the floor.
That was just the beginning of their relationship.
Darth Krayt’s Left Hand
Darth Talon served Darth Krayt faithfully throughout the highs and lows of the Sith Empire. One of the more trying times for Darth Talon was shortly after Darth Krayt’s death. The Sith Empire was briefly in disarray as the hierarchy of power shuffled itself around. Darth Talon was still useful to the new Sith Emperor, Darth Wyyrlock, as a bodyguard for Darth Krayt’s tomb. But while she stood guard outside, Darth Talon knew her Master couldn’t die so easily. She’d seen him resurrect himself at least once before and knew he could do so again. She searched the catacombs and tombs of Korriban, eventually finding her Master deep within the planet, biding his time and breeding an army of devoted followers. Darth Talon even found Darth Nihl amongst the followers, both of them still faithful Hands even after death.
Darth Talon continued to serve as Darth Krayt’s Hand as he fought to reestablish himself on Coruscant as the one and true Emperor of the Sith. Darth Talon never lost her duels and always dedicated her victories to the Dark side and Darth Krayt. During the years after Darth Krayt regained the Sith throne, Darth Talon and Cade Skywalker fought on a number of occasions. But Cade always escaped, distracted the Sith, or injured her so badly that she could not pursue him.
Darth Talon’s Weaknesses
You’re not going to find a long list here. Darth Talon fought with a single crimson blade on her lightsaber, was proficient in advanced Dark side techniques, and was insanely acrobatic. But she lacked independence, critical reasoning, and foresight. She was like Darth Maul before he lost his legs and spent years honing his hatred into cunning and strategy. Darth Talon is just an assassin, and as such, she doesn’t make the best decisions when in the field. She is so caught up in her mark that she neglects other aspects of her mission. It’s why she fails at capturing Princess Fel, at capturing Cade Skywalker, and at training Cade into a formidable Sith.
The End of Darth Talon’s Saga
With the end of the Skywalker Saga comes the end of Darth Talon’s.
After all the bad blood between them, it’s impossible to think Cade will go find his own corner of the galaxy to be happy in. It’s foolish to think Darth Krayt and Darth Talon would ever stop hunting him. They knew they were destined to meet on the battlefield. Cade, after speaking to the ghosts of past Skywalkers, kicking his death stick addiction, and training harder than ever, becomes a deadly
Force-user. He’s not really a Jedi in that he doesn’t hold to a single Jedi code, uses all his powers to attack, and wants nothing more than to bring lots of death. But at least he’s not using the Dark side of the Force.
While Darth Talon and Darth Nihl were weeding out the weaklings on the battlefield, Darth Krayt and Cade Skywalker were having their final battle. Cade struck down Darth Krayt and used his Force powers to ensure the Dark Lord was completely deceased. With the Emperor dead and his armies routed, Darth Talon and Darth Nihl escaped with their lives.
After Darth Krayt’s death, Darth Nihl was named the new Sith Emperor. His first decree was that the entire Sith Empire go into hiding. They had just been defeated by Princess Fel, Cade Skywalker, the fledgling Jedi Order, and the Imperial Knights. Darth Nihl decreed that every Sith’s mission was to infiltrate planetary governments across the galaxy and await instructions. Their plan was to insert themselves everywhere across the galaxy, then activate when people least expected it.
Darth Talon was one of those Sith who survived the final battle and lived long enough to be forced into hiding. The last we see of her is when she and Darth Nihl are departing Korriban, swearing their eternal vengeance on the Galactic Alliance and the Jedi Order.
FAQs
Question: What’s an Imperial Knight?
Answer: Darth Talon’s story takes place at a weird point in Star Wars history. After all, who would think the Empire could ever be good guys? Well, they sort of are in this story. The Imperial Knights are an order of Force-users who work for the Galactic Empire and reject the teachings of the Dark Side. But they aren’t Jedi. Classic Jedi were closer to hermits than warriors. They were peacekeepers and their code dictated that they only ever use their powers for self-defense, never for offense. Imperial Knights are like warrior Jedi. They have their own code of ethics and conduct, but it’s closer to chivalry than monastic philosophies.
Question: Is it true Darth Talon was destined for bigger things before Disney?
Answer: Get this, George Lucas himself wanted Darth Talon and Darth Maul to be the main antagonists of the next trilogy of movies he was planning. Darth Maul was going to have survived his battle on Naboo, but now he’d picked up an apprentice himself, Darth Talon. She was going to be the next Darth Vader, the next villain that commanded fear and respect.
Then Disney entered the chat and once again, we’re left with a story too hot for Disney to touch.
Question: Who created Darth Talon?
Answer: Darth Talon was dreamed up by the imaginative minds of John Ostrander and Jan Duursema. They had envisioned a badass native warrior in a sci-fi setting like Star Wars, and Darth Talon was the result. Her bare skin was meant to evoke primitive warrior themes, not sexual themes.
Question: Where can I read about Darth Talon?
Answer: The comic series is called Star Wars: Legacy. It’s a 50-issue series that features some cooler, edgy Star Wars the SWEU was pumping out in the early 2000s. The galaxy is at war, Cade Skywalker cusses all the time and has an addiction problem, and the Imperial Emperor is a good guy; it makes for some compelling storytelling.
Conclusion
Darth Talon, while iconic, memorable, and eye-catching, was little more than a glorified assassin during her lifetime. She was bred to be as useful to the Sith Empire as possible, and she fulfilled that with her every breath. She dedicated her life to Darth Krayt, lived and breathed the Rule of One, and would’ve gladly cut her own heart out if it had helped the cause.
But she doesn’t hold a candle to some of the other Sith Star Wars has promoted. Over the course of her life, Darth Talon almost never completed a mission successfully, constantly let down her Master, spent much of her life nursing wounds, and lacked the requirements for competent leadership. She was ruthless and loyal, but didn’t even have the well of black hatred that most Sith possess. Even throughout the story of Legacy, she is often one of the weakest Sith in any room she occupies.
But she is easy on the eyes. And that, probably more than anything else, is why she’s so popular in the Star Wars Universe today.
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