Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Jedi Knights #1!Yodais one of the greatest Jedi in the history ofStar Wars, so the idea that he could be a Sith is one that firmly belongs in fanfiction or aStar Wars‘What If…?’ storyline, not in the main series canon. Or, does it? Honestly, with Yoda’s latest appearance - and after considering all of his other appearances inStar Wars- the idea that he fell to the dark side isn’t too far out of the realm of possibility. More than that,‘Sith Yoda’ is a story that needs to be told.
InStar Wars: Jedi Knights#1 by Marc Guggenheim and Madibek Musabekov, readers are taken to a time shortly beforethe events ofThe Phantom Menace. In this story, the Jedi fans of the prequel trilogy are familiar with, like Yoda, Mace Windu, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, as they attempt to make peace between two warring civilizations. During this mission of conflict resolution, an assassin attempts to murder Qui-Gon Jinn. Thankfully, the Jedi were able to force the leaders of these civilizations to agree to peace, though the mystery of who is trying to kill Qui-Gon is still ongoing.
After their mission is complete, Obi-Wan Kenobi trains with Yoda in the ways of Force meditation and peering into potential futures. That’s where Obi-Wan ‘sees’ that Qui-Gon will be killed by the assassin who tried to murder him in this issue. While that is what Obi-Wan is most concerned about, that’s far from the only thing he saw in his vision. In fact, the most alarming part of the vision had to be about Master Yoda himself, as he was wearing Sith robes and wielding Force-lightning in his hand.
In Obi-Wan’s vision, Yoda had fallen to the dark side, and it was a truly terrifying sight to behold, indeed. However, fans are given assurance that Yoda will not fall to the dark side. How? Well, because of Obi-Wan’s vision about Qui-Gon’s death. We know Qui-Gon doesn’t get killed by some random assassin; he’s murdered by Darth Maul inEpisode I. That means everyone can breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to Yoda, because if Obi-Wan is wrong about Qui-Gon, then he’s certainly wrong about Yoda. But, what if he wasn’t?
Yoda Falling to the Dark Side is a Story Star Wars Can Easily Tell
Yoda’s Life is Long Enough to Warrant a Story Such as This
As it stands inStar Warscanon, Yoda never fell to the dark side, and he was a Jedi for practically the entirety of his 900-year lifespan. However, that could easily be changed, asStar Warshas the perfect window of opportunity in which to tell the story of Yoda’s ‘fall to the dark side’: between the eras of The High Republic and The Skywalker Saga.
We know that Yoda was taken in by the Jedi when he was just a child, where he trained to eventually become the Jedi Master we see in The High Republic. We also know Yoda is still a Master Jedi in the prequel trilogy before going into hiding after the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire, which leads into his training of Luke Skywalker and ultimately his death inReturn of the Jedi. However, there’s a period of about a century between the end of the High Republic era and the Skywalker Saga thatStar Warscould fit a brief fall to the dark side story for Yoda.
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Perhaps Yoda’s commitment to the light side of the Force and to the Jedi Order is shaken by some yet-to-be-told adventure, leading him to experiment with the dark side of the Force. Indeed, Yoda had never seen a Sith in person at this time, so he might not have known the extent of the dangers of the dark side, and wanted to become as powerful as he could be in an effort to better serve the galaxy. Maybe that’s how Yoda could so confidently redirect Count Dooku’s Force-lightning inEpisode II, and how he knew the location of Dagobah (which is very strong in the dark side).
Yoda Wouldn’t Be the First Jedi to Come Back from Becoming a Sith
Luke Skywalker Briefly Fell to the Dark Side in Dark Empire
Of course, all of this is just speculation (if not wishful thinking). But, it’s not as though this line of thinking is totally unfounded, since other Jedi have briefly fallen to the dark side before redeeming themselves completely. No, I’m not talking about Darth Vader, but actuallyLuke Skywalker, as he became a Sith inStar Wars: Dark Empirebefore ultimately turning away from the dark side and back towards the light to then rebuild the Jedi Order from the ground-up. If Luke can do it, then Yoda certainly can!
Honestly, not only would it be badass to see Yoda as a Sith Lord, but it would also be a fascinating expansion of his character. Adding a little evil patch to Yoda’s extremely long life would be genuinely interesting, and him fighting his way back would add some great texture to his character. So, while Obi-Wan’s vision likely isn’t true,Star Warsdid just open the door for a SithYoda, and it’s honestly long overdue.
