This is going to be looking at the Sith’ari, according to Legends material. The Sith’ari has never been officially revealed, and that’s probably the point. For those that are not aware of what the Sith’ari is, here is a brief explanation. The Sith have their own chosen one prophecy similar to the Jedi’s. The Sith’ari prophecy is as follows, “The Sith’ari will be free of limits. The Sith’ari will lead the Sith and destroy them. The Sith’ari will raise the Sith from death and make them stronger than before.” I have my own opinion of who the Sith’ari is, but there are several theories of who it can be. I also feel an argument could be made that the Sith’ari is a non fulfillable prophecy. It’s a prophecy chasing a shadow. As almost every single Sith believes they are the Sith’ari, due to their own ego. From Bane to Sidious, everyone believes they are the Sith’ari. I will be going into depth about some of the Sith that believed they are the Sith’ari, and why they believe this.
King Adas
King Adas I don’t believe referred to himself as the Sith’ari, as the prophecy was not written during his time, but many later believed him to be. He was worshipped as a god, ruled Korriban and the Sith (species) for 300 years, repelled the Rakata, and was a master of sith magic. King Adas could fit the Sith’ari title as he was free of limits with his extensive knowledge, and prolonged life. He lead the Sith by ruling over them for 300 years and unified the warring Sith tribes of Korriban under one rule. In a mythic sense, his death destroyed the Sith unity and led to a collapse of the Golden Age he created. And he did not directly raise the Sith from death. However, Adas’s legacy and teachings continued to influence and strengthen the Sith over millennia. His knowledge helped shape future Sith Empires and doctrines. So from a certain point of view, King Adas can fit the role of Sith’ari in some ways.
Darth Plagueis
Darth Plagueis did not have an affinity for prophecy, or spirituality and put all his stock into scientific research. However, he felt if the title fit, he saw no reason not to take it for himself. Plagueis believed the force existed but all aspects could be explained through science. He spent his life trying to extend his own life indefinitely through midichlorian manipulation. Plagueis believed he was free of limits of old Sith doctrine and philosophy, reshaping it into a broader understanding through scientific research of the force and the midichlorians. Believing once he achieved the power to cheat death, he would be free from any sort of constraints of universal law. He saw he was reshaping how the Sith would operate and destroy the dogmatic or spiritual aspects of the old traditions. Through this, he will make them stronger than they ever have been.
Darth Sidious
Darth Sidious believed himself to also be the Sith’ari. Sidious believed that by killing his master, he then destroyed the Sith and became the Sith’ari. That he alone had the power of the Sith all to himself to shape and wield as he wished. He saw himself free of limitations of the Sith’s old order, garnered immense power in the dark side and was the complete embodiment of it. Sidious thought to be the final Sith to exist and all else henceforth would be under his rule. And making them stronger than they have ever been before, through his will alone. As well as fulfilling the grand plan of taking control of the galaxy.
Darth Bane
Darth Bane also saw himself to be the Sith’ari and fulfilling the prophecy. Darth Bane, under Lord Kaan’s Dark brotherhood, saw the failings of the current Sith order. Being the antithesis to Kaan’s egalitarian rule. Lord Kaan believed all Sith were lords under him and were all on equal footing. Where Bane believed the Sith should champion strength above all else and only the strongest should rule. He even took the title of Darth for himself, believing he deserved the right to do so, and saw himself stronger than the other Sith of the time, to which the other Sith of the Dark Brotherhood saw as blasphemy. Through this, Bane saw he was free of the limits of the Dark Brotherhood and their order, as well as the limits of the power of the darkside itself. Bane saw the infighting within the order and saw this as a flaw of the Sith. He said the darkside is a venom not fire, that through pouring that venom amongst several glasses, it loses its potency and will barely affect its victim. But concentrated into a singular vessel, it becomes deadly. During the battle of Ruusan he deceived the Dark Brotherhood into annihilating themselves with the thought bomb. Leaving Bane as the last standing Sith of the time. He then reorganized the order into the rule of Two. Two Sith in the galaxy at a time, one to hold all the power, and one to crave it. And this would make the Sith stronger than ever before, as any knowledge would be passed down directly from master to apprentice.
Darth Krayt
This is a legends character, Darth Krayt is one of the Sith to explicitly declare himself the Sith’ari. Born A’Sharad Hett, a Jedi who survived Order 66, he eventually fell to the dark side and founded the One Sith in 27 ABY, initially focusing on disrupting the Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion. The One Sith emerged publicly under Krayt’s leadership by the year 130 ABY. It was a new order that rejected the Rule of Two. Krayt believed the Rule of Two was a flaw, limiting Sith progress through secrecy and hoarding of knowledge. In building the One Sith, he centralized power under himself and crafted an empire united under his will. He proclaimed himself the Sith’ari, believing he had surpassed the limitations of both the Jedi and the old Sith Orders. He did, in a sense, “destroy” the traditional Sith and replace them with something new. However, critics argue his dominance was fragile, reliant on bioengineered stasis and Vong corruption, and his order ultimately collapsed after his death. Whether Krayt truly fulfilled the prophecy or was another Sith consumed by ego remains up for debate, but he is unique in that he directly named himself the Sith’ari and built his empire on that belief.
Darth Vader?
Some fans have speculated whether Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi’s Chosen One, could also be the Sith’ari. However, this is largely thematic conjecture. While Anakin destroyed the Jedi Order and became Darth Vader under Sidious, he never led the Sith, nor did he rebuild them stronger than before. He was not free of limits. In fact, he was quite literally constrained by a cybernetic body and lived in submission to Sidious for decades. If anything, Anakin helped bring about the end of the Sith by killing Sidious in Return of the Jedi, but never rebuilt it stronger than before. As such, while the comparison between Chosen One and Sith’ari is popular in fan circles, Anakin doesn’t meaningfully fit the criteria outlined in the Sith’ari prophecy.
Final thoughts
From these descriptions above, if the Sith prophecy of the Sith’ari is to be fulfilled, I believe Darth Bane to be the one who met the criteria directly. Others could contest there is someone else more suited. There are others who were thought to be the Sith’ari either by other characters, or fans, such as Malgus, Vitiate or Krayt. However I only included these ones being of most notable. Who do you think the Sith’ari is? Or have they not come to be yet?
If you are interested in reading about Darth Bane and how he created the Rule of Two, destroyed the Dark Brotherhood and his story, you ca check out the trilogy book-set by Drew Karpyshyn here