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| This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains. Any act of adding this villain to the Pure Evil category without a proposal or creating a proposal for this villain without the permission of an administrator will result in a ban. | ||
| “ | Master Yoda: That place... is strong with the Dark Side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go. Luke Skywalker: What's in there? Master Yoda: Only what you take with you. |
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| ~ Master Yoda training Luke Skywalker by asking him to confront his personal demons in the Cave of Evil. |
The Dark Spirit, also more commonly known as the Cave of Evil, is a supporting antagonist in the Star Wars franchise, serving as a minor antagonist of the 1980 epic space opera film Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and as a supporting antagonist in several Canon/Legends works.
It is a sentient entity with the form of a Vergence within the Dark Side of the Force. Having established itself as a cave on Dagobah centuries ago before the Galactic Civil War, the Dark Spirit enjoys playing on the emotions and fears of the victims that have entered its cave, compensating its lack of a physical form by tormenting any light-siders who dare to explore it, such as Yoda, Luke Skywalker and Ben Solo.
As Darth Vader, it was portrayed by the late David Prowse. While showing Luke Skywalker's face, it was portrayed by Mark Hamill. As Galen Marek, it was potrayed by Sam Witwer.
Biography[]
Legends[]
700 years before the Battle of Yavin, an unidentified Dark Jedi led a group of other Dark Jedi. However, they were all killed by a Jedi named Minch, while the leader was mortally wounded. The Dark Jedi fled to a cave on the planet Dagobah, which had a strong nexus in the Force. He died, and the Force presence absorbed the Dark Jedi's powers, creating an unusually strong Dark Side of the Force vergence in the cave, creating a sentient phantom, a formless spirit simply known as the Dark Spirit. The Dark Spirit would haunt the cave, becoming known as the Cave of Evil, and would haunt visitors that would come visit a cave. The Dark Spirit was bound to the cave, but could spread a dark aura of fear onto the swamps of the planet. Many Jedi would take their students to the Cave of Evil to test their training.
Sometime during the Clone Wars, while the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic battled against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Yoda settled on Dagobah. There, he encountered visions from the Dark Spirit, showing him the painful future that awaits the Jedi Order.
In 19 BBY, shortly after the Galactic Empire was formed, Yoda decided to live on Dagobah, where he built a hut. At some point, Yoda entered the Cave of Evil. The Dark Spirit took the form of Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and decided to feed on Yoda's fear. Yoda confronted the evil Spirit without his lightsaber, but survived. In 1 BBY, Galen Marek's clone arrived on Dagobah, and Yoda implored him to go to the Cave of Evil. Marek's clone entered the Cave, and found the Spirit, who took the form of numerous duplicates of Marek, entangled and screaming out for help in pain. The Spirit then proceeded to take the form of Juno Eclipse, Marek's love interest, getting attacked, which left him distressed. The Spirit then left Marek alone.
A couple years later, Zak Arranda accidently led a group of cannibal younglings to the Cave. The Dark Spirit, filled with sadism, tortured them with scenes from their traumatic past, showing them visions of when their parents forced them to feed on their flesh. Eventually, in 3 ABY, Luke Skywalker entered the Cave. He was advised by Yoda not to bring his weapons, but Luke ignored the Jedi Master. He entered the Cave, and the Spirit decided to take the form of Luke's worst fear, Darth Vader. Luke beheaded the apparition, and the Spirit decided to scare Luke once more by making Vader's beheaded helmet split open, to reveal Luke's face. The vision then disappeared.
In 9 ABY, Luke Skywalker visited the Cave once more. He encountered visions of Mara Jade during the Battle in the Great Pit of Carkoon between the Rebel Alliance and Jabba the Hutt's Criminal Empire. Skywalker later found a beacon left behind by Jorj Car'das. Later, in 14 ABY, the Spirt and was captured by the Disciples of Ragnos. It returned to the cave once the Scepter of Ragnos was destroyed however. Later, in 22 ABY, Anakin Solo, and a few other allies, entered the Cave. There, Anakin had manifestations of his own doubts, but nonetheless emerged victorious.
The Cave and Spirit's fate remains unknown. Assuming that Dagobah wasn't visited ever again after that (or at the very least its structure itself), the Cave and the Spirit may have been left alone forever. However, since the Spirit feeds off of fear, and assuming no one came back to Dagobah, it is possible the Dark Spirit starved to death and dissolved.
Canon[]
The origins of the Dark Spirit and the Cave of Evil, and how they came to be is unknown. What is known is that a sentient, sapient evil Force vergence haunts the Cave, and Jedi would take their Padawans to Dagobah to test them. Many people throughout the centuries that visited the Cave of Evil went insane and lost their minds, while the Cave fed off of its victims fear. During the Clone Wars, Yoda visited Dagobah and the vergence in the Cave plagued him with visions of the destruction of the Jedi Order to Yoda.
After the Empire was formed, Yoda went into exile on Dagobah, which suprised the vergence. Sometime during the Galactic Civil War, Luke entered the Cave of Evil, taking with him his lightsaber though Yoda implored him not too. There, the evil vergence took the form of Darth Vader, and clashed Luke Skywalker. Luke beheaded it, and the beheaded Vader helmet split open, revealing Luke's own face on it, before dissipating.
Years later, Supreme Leader Snoke took his apprentice, Kylo Ren, to Dagobah while the Resistance was engaging the First Order in a cold war. There, the vergence decided to feed off of Kylo's fear, taking the form of first Luke Skywalker, his uncle. Kylo struck Luke down, but then the vergence decided to take the form of his parents, Han Solo and Leia Organa. Kylo, who was getting distressed struck at the core of the Cave, exploding it and destroying the vergence that haunted the place once and for all. When Snoke told Kylo that he initially planned to use the Cave to take more apprentices there, Kylo said that he won't need any more, which satisfied Snoke.
External Links[]
- Dark Spirit on the Star Wars Wiki
