The Star Wars franchise presents one of the most iconic science fiction and fantasy universes of all time. The classic light side vs. dark side tale including aliens, spaceships, lightsabers, the force, the Jedi, and the Sith has become a cultural staple. The Star Wars lore doesn’t just include what the movies and television series are about, but so much more.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Most Terrifying Sith Not in the Films

The lore dives deep into ancient Jedi Masters, alliances among planets and their civilizations, and, of course, the malicious Sith Lords. A question among the fandom is which Sith Lord in the Star Wars universe is the most powerful, and chat forums on Reddit have once again saved the day.

Darth Sidious

Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) tempts Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to the dark side

Darth Sidious is, well, one of the most insidious characters of the Star Wars franchise. Sidious is also known as The Emperor of the Galactic Empire. He rose to power in the Senate as a Senator from Naboo and lived a double life as a Sith Lord. Sidious is extremely powerful and held very complex knowledge of techniques to master the dark side’s force energy.

He raised Darth Maul as his apprentice and then trained Darth Vader as well. Sidious’ “unlimited power” included a masterful knowledge of lightsaber fighting as well as the terrifying force lightning.

Darth Vitiate

vitiate

Darth Vitiate (also known as Tenebrae) is from the Old Republic Universe and was one of the Sith Emperors that remained in power for thousands of years. He is an ancient dark side entity, and appeared in numerous forms (but his most famous included Vitiate).

Vitiate was extremely gifted with the dark side from an early age, and even absorbed the life force of an entire planet to gain more power.

Darth Plageuis

darth-plagueis Cropped

Darth Plageuis is one of the most famous Sith Lords in the Star Wars Universe. Plageuis was the mentor and master to Darth Sidious, and he was spoken of to Anakin in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

RELATED: The Dark Side of a Galaxy Far, Far, Away: The 10 Scariest 'Star Wars' Storylines

Plageuis was unique as a Sith Lord because he had the ability to prevent death and create life. However, he could not prevent his own death when Sidious betrayed him and murdered him in his sleep to become a Sith Master.

Darth Nihilus

Darth Nihilus from KOTOR 2

Darth Nihilus is an iconic Sith Lord that many Star Wars fans adore. He is most known for the Sith Lord with one of the best “looks” since he wears a skeletal mask with a dark shroud. He was also extremely power, and could sense planets that were strong in the force as well as different force users.

When he would find a planet strong in the force, he would cleanse it entirely and kill everyone and everything touched by that force—quite brutal.

Darth Revan

Revan wielding his lightsabers.

Darth Revan is also a fan-favorite Sith Lord, and quite a powerful one, too. Revan was not only a fierce duelist but was extremely strong in the force.

Even though he was captured by Darth Vitiate, Revan was still able to exert influence over the Emperor and then destroy the Republic. He was one of the most feared Siths of his time.

Exar Kun

Exar-Kun

Exar Kun is a Sith Lord that is not often mentioned or spoken of in the Star Wars Universe. Exar Kun was a human male Jedi Knight who fell into the clasps of the dark side and then became a Dark Lord.

He had such a strong desire to be all-powerful that he was still able to affect the world as a spiritual force-wielding being after abandoning his own body.

Darth Caedus

Darth Caedus/Jacen Solo in battle.

Another unknown but very powerful Sith Lord is Darth Caedus. Caedus is the grandson of Anakin Skywalker, and is extremely strong in the force.

He received both Jedi and Sith training, giving him a well-rounded technique to approach the power of the force. Allegedly, his lightsaber skills were considered only second best to the one and only Luke Skywalker.

Darth Bane

The Star Wars Legends version of Darth Bane

Darth Bane is a legendary Sith Lord who was active in the ancient eras of the Sith reign. Bane realized that the Sith traditions of the past were outdated and a dead end to increasing one’s power.

Bane was therefore considered the founder of what is the modern Sith. He was also the sole survivor of the destruction of the Brotherhood of Darkness.

Darth Sion

darth sion

Darth Sion is yet another Sith Lord known as the Lord of Pain. He was a Sith Marauder during the Great Sith war, and fought against Exar Kun. He was struck down, but rather than dying called on his anger, hatred, and pain to rise from certain death.

His now immortal body was held together by the Dark side of the force, and he survived for the rest of the war. Allied now with Revan and Malak, he rose to power.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader reaches his hand out
Image via Lucasfilm

By far the most iconic Sith Lord and warrior is Darth Vader (or Anakin Skywalker). He, through his extensive injuries and being trapped in a technologically-advanced suit to survive, stayed strong with the force.

He even hunted down the survivors of Order 66 and brutally slaughtered them with his superior lightsaber skills.

NEXT: 'Star Wars' 10 Scariest Creatures That Continuously Haunt Our Dreams