Momin, also known as Darth Momin, was a male humanoid Sith Lord, a devotee of the dark side, and a sculptor of some renown. His early artistic endeavors, due to the unsettling nature of his chosen materials, resulted in his imprisonment by those who were deeply disturbed and repulsed by his work. He was liberated by the Sith Lady Darth Shaa, who then took Momin on as her apprentice and instructed him in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Believing himself to be superior to all others and considering the title of "Master" to be antithetical to the dark side, Momin murdered Shaa and embarked on his own exploration of its forbidden knowledge. He would eventually engineer devices such as the Fermata Cage as well as a superweapon capable of leveling an entire city. However, his ultimate ambition was to capture individuals in a temporal stasis during their most terrifying moments. As the Jedi intervened during Momin's attempt to unleash his destructive power, he lost control of the energies he commanded, leading to the annihilation of his physical form, with only his mask remaining, housing his consciousness.
Decades later, Darth Sidious retrieved Momin's mask from a secure vault within the Jedi Archive. After hearing Momin's history from the mask itself, Sidious presented it to his apprentice, Darth Vader, as a gift to aid him in his endeavors on Mustafar, which Vader intended to establish as his personal fortress. Once there, the mask took control of one of the officers present and began designing a fortress. After Vader dispatched the possessed officer and examined the mask, it divulged Momin's past. Subsequently, Vader allowed the mask to possess a native Mustafarian, granting Momin's consciousness a new corporeal form. Vader then discussed the fortress design with Momin and authorized its construction.
With the aid of Imperial resources provided by Vader and a series of host bodies, Momin commenced the construction of a fortress intended to harness the dark side energies concentrated on Mustafar, thereby opening a gateway to the dark side of the Force. While Momin's fortresses were repeatedly destroyed by the planet's hostile environment, the ninth design proved successful. Shortly after its completion, while Vader was preoccupied with an invasion by the Mustafarians, Momin betrayed him and opened the gateway to the dark side, using it to resurrect his physical body. Vader soon returned to the fortress and utilized its power to annihilate the Mustafarian attackers. Momin then confronted him, and after a brief duel, Vader employed the Force to hurl a stone slab at him, crushing Momin against the wall and causing his demise.
Years later, Momin's mask was aboard Darth Sidious' personal yacht, the Imperialis. During the infiltration of the ship, the mask corrupted two of the infiltrators, forcing the others to abandon and destroy the Imperialis. Momin's death at Vader's hand created a Force nexus within the cave, generating visions that could torment those who encountered them. Sometime between 3 and 4 ABY, the Knights of Ren encountered a vision of Momin at Fortress Vader.
Early in his life, Momin experimented with the Force as a means of artistic expression. One day, he disfigured his family's pet rada-cat, Flitta, which his father had persuaded his mother to acquire, and fashioned a sculpture from its flesh, bones, and organs. When Momin's mother went searching for it, thinking Flitta had escaped once more, she stumbled upon Momin's sculpture, horrified by her son's creation. Around that time, Momin developed the belief that if a viewer felt nothing upon seeing his creations, then he had created nothing at all. He adhered to this principle as he continued to sculpt, utilizing animal skulls and other materials that were considered obscene by most. When he exhibited his work, viewers recoiled in horror. Consequently, Momin was arrested, his tools were confiscated, and he was incarcerated.
Despite his imprisonment, Momin's reputation spread throughout the galaxy, and eventually, the Sith Lady Darth Shaa arrived and freed him. She made him her Sith apprentice and instructed him in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Momin received a pair of lightsabers, which he used to sculpt his own mask before disfiguring his face to wear it. Under the Sith tutelage, Momin adopted the Darth title. During his training, Momin gained clarity on aspects of himself that he had previously only vaguely understood. However, he found the role of apprentice disagreeable, believing himself to be unmatched. Shaa disagreed, and he proved his point by killing her during a duel sometime between 1100 BBY and 1000 BBY.
Now without a master, Darth Momin sought to deepen his understanding of the dark side, visiting numerous sites of power. He never took an apprentice, finding the notion of calling oneself a "Master" repugnant. Instead, he became captivated by the idea of creating a work of art that would satisfy the dark side of the Force itself. To that end, he continued his journey, seeking knowledge from places strong in the dark side, as well as Sith holocrons. One of Momin's creations was the Fermata Cage. He also sought guidance from the Force regarding what he should create, and it instructed him to choose a city.
Guided by the Force, Momin embarked on his latest project. Utilizing resources inherited from Shaa and the assistance of acolytes eager to aid him, he designed his own weapon: an engine with the power to obliterate an entire city. To make it worthy of the Force, Momin planned to infuse his engine with the Force at the moment of ignition, using it to slow down time and forever capture the expressions of horror and pain on the faces of the city's inhabitants. Momin selected a city to attempt this on, bringing his weapon before it to enact his plan. However, the Jedi discovered him and boarded the weapon as he activated it. The presence of the light side of the Force disrupted his concentration, causing him to lose control of the engine. This led to his apparent destruction sometime between 1100 BBY and 1000 BBY, as he disintegrated into nothing, leaving only his mask containing his spirit.
Momin was deemed a heretic by the Sith, and his teachings were suppressed, with his unique applications of the Force never replicated. His name was omitted from both Jedi holocrons and Sith holocrons, and many years after his death, his works were believed to be lost. Momin's mask, still housing his spirit, was eventually stored in a secret vault within the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. In 19 BBY, the Sith Lord Darth Vader fought the former Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu within the Temple; Vader learned of the vault's existence when Nu fled into it. After killing the Jedi, Vader informed his master, Darth Sidious, of the vault, and the Sith Lord added the helmet to his collection of Sith artifacts.
Upon examining the mask, Momin's spirit revealed his past to the Emperor. Sidious later gifted the helmet to Vader, believing it would guide his apprentice during his studies on Mustafar. Vader brought with him Sidious' Chief Architect, Colonel Alva Brenne, and her aide, Lieutenant Roggo, to design a sanctum for his use. Brenne examined the helmet during their journey to Mustafar, questioning its origin. While she consulted with Vader on Mustafar, the mask possessed Roggo, and Momin used the officer's body to design a [[Fortress Vaderfortress. Brenne discovered this, and Momin shot her. Vader, alerted by the commotion, discovered Momin's completed design and killed the host body.
Vader took the mask to the Sith cave on Mustafar and reached into it with the Force. Momin's spirit responded by showing his past to Vader. As he concluded his story, he attempted to possess Vader with the mask, but the Sith Lord resisted. Upon leaving the cave, however, Vader encountered a group of Mustafarians. He killed two of them but used the mask to possess another one, granting Momin a body once more. The two returned to the cave, and Momin claimed the fortress he designed could harness the energies of the locus within the Sith cave and open the door to the dark side. Momin then told Vader he would find his late love, Padmé Amidala, there. Vader did not believe this and Force choked him. Momin, however, assured Vader he was not lying and yearned to build the fortress he had designed. Vader allowed this, but warned him he would suffer if he betrayed him.
Construction of Momin's design for Vader's fortress began. With the aid of Imperial resources sent to Mustafar, the structure was soon completed. However, when Vader attempted to open the door to the dark side, it failed, and the fortress was wrecked. The pair tried again with more designs, guided by Momin, but they too failed. As a side effect, Vader's efforts to open the door affected the rest of Mustafar, causing lava storms to wreak havoc on the Mustafarians. Lava fleas also began regularly attacking the construction site. Following the failure of Momin's fifth design, he concluded that he was using too many focusing spires on the fortress, making the energy of the dark side locus uncontrollable. Vader, however, killed his Mustafarian host as punishment for his failures, having his mask possess a stormtrooper in its place.
Once Momin controlled his new host, he told Vader his next fortress design would be successful and ordered the construction workers to clean up the wreckage of his most recent design. After he said that, they were interrupted by a lava flea attack. When Momin asked a magma trooper why the attack was occurring, the trooper claimed it was one of many that were happening daily, speculating that the construction site may be a breeding ground for the insectoid creatures. The trooper joined the fight, and Momin expressed his fascination at how the lava fleas were conspiring to destroy the site and his vision.
Momin designed a sixth fortress, which, despite his assurance of its success, also failed and was wrecked like the others. Vader killed his stormtrooper host and had his helmet possess an Imperial officer. Momin had confidence in the seventh design, but it too failed, and Vader replaced the host with a lava flea. When Momin's eighth design failed, Vader killed the lava flea and had the mask possess a construction worker. By 12 BBY, Momin had great confidence in his ninth design, which Vader assured would be the last. Vader too felt a great amount of power in the focusing chamber built into the Sith cave and began to channel the Force from inside it. As the door to the dark side called on Vader to open it, Momin told him he may want to wait for the right moment to do so. Vader Force pushed him aside and concluded that that it was the moment.
As Vader began opening the door to the dark side, Captain Junus, the commander of the fortress' garrison, then contacted him about another attack, one the Imperial forces could not thwart on their own. Vader was forced to leave the cave to see this for himself. Momin then double-crossed Vader and began channeling the Force through the fortress himself. As Vader witnessed the attackers outside, he realized what Momin was doing and was struck by a lightning bolt. Momin then opened the door to the dark side, where his original body was waiting. After donning the mask and killing his previous host, Momin's physical and spiritual forms were reunited.
Vader fought the attacking army of Mustafarians, but their chieftains were able manipulate the lava to wipe out his army. Vader survived, albeit barely, and returned to the chamber where Momin was waiting. Momin stayed out of sight as the cyborg controlled the fortress with the Force to obliterate the invading army.
Momin then stepped out, sensing that Vader was exhausted from the brutal ordeal of the battle outside. He accused his pawn of attempting to control the dark side, whereas he should have been seeking to serve it. He attacked Vader and claimed that he was weak, lamenting the apparent regression of Sith power in the millennia since his death. He also claimed that Vader would not be able to open the door to the dark side, as the dark side would have rejected him.
As the two Sith Lords dueled, the exhausted Vader was dealt several devastating wounds, and eventually Momin sliced off his sword arm. As Momin gloated over his apparent victory, Vader, unperturbed, asked Momin if he had lied about what opening the portal to the dark side could accomplish. Momin stated that he had not lied, but that Vader was too weak and impure to open such a portal. Satisfied with Momin's confirmation, Vader used the Force to slam a massive stone slab into Momin. Momin attempted to hold off the attack, exclaiming that, because the dark side loved him, it would never allow him to be killed. Vader simply stated that, if that were the case, then he would indeed live. Ultimately, Vader's power overwhelmed his incredulous foe and smashed the Sith Lord flat against the cave wall, fatally crushing Momin's body once again.
Immediately after killing Momin, Vader entered through the portal the Sith Lord had built. Once there, he saw parts of his past life when he went by the name Anakin Skywalker and some of his future. However, Vader was ultimately unable to resurrect Amidala as she refused to come with the Sith Lord in his inability to let go, stating that she no longer knew him as she jumped away from his reach and died. Having failed, Vader left the portal and destroyed Momin's final work due to the failure to resurrect his wife. Nevertheless, the experience led to Vader fully committing himself to the dark side of the Force.
Though Momin's body was killed in his confrontation with Vader, a some portion of his spirit remained within his helmet, which Vader returned to Sidious.
In 2 BBY, during the Third Decennial Imperial Jubilee, an event to celebrate Emperor Palpatine's ascension to the office of Supreme Chancellor that would have pieces of art from worlds across the galaxy for display, including some pieces from the Emperor's personal collection, among which was Momin's mask, the Stormtrooper Commander Bill found the ancient Sith Lord's mask, and having been intrigued by it, put it on. The Commander was immediately possessed by the spirit of Momin, who was happy to realize that he was at an art exhibition. Momin did not think the Commander's armor was a suitable garment for an artist. Refusing to be seen by the public like this, he took a fabric with the Galactic Empire emblem on it and used it to improve his appearance. While looking at the works of art, he found one he recognized. The piece of art in front of you was created by Momin himself. While reading the information about the piece, Momin learned that the artist who made the piece was unknown. Enraged by this, Momin revealed his identity to everyone present, saying that none of them deserved him or his piece of art. After destroying the sculpture, Momin used the Force to kill many by throwing sharp pieces of the piece, demanding that they say his name. Receiving an order from Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to deal with Momin, Commander Ellian Zahra did as ordered. The stormtroopers opened fire on Momin, but the Sith Lord used the Force to deflect the blasters fire, saying that none of them had vision and that they were clods. When Momin saw Zahra run towards him, he attacked her with sharp pieces of the sculpture, but she managed to avoid being hit and stabbed him with her blade. Being face to face with Zahra, Momin asked if she wasn't a work of art. Zahra didn't respond and just removed the blade from Momin before pushing him away. The fall caused the mask to fall, leaving it next to the dead Stormtrooper Commander on the ground.
A short time after the Battle of Yavin, Momin's mask was stored on Sidious' personal yacht, the Imperialis. It was located in a vault of Sith artifacts, under the protection of two Royal Guards. The guards came to be corrupted by the mask's influence until Lando Calrissian and his team—consisting of Lobot, Korin Pers, Aleksin, and Pavol—stole the Emperor's ship and killed them. Pers believed the Sith artifacts were created by Momin. While they examined at the artifacts, Momin's mask corrupted Aleksin, and he turned on the rest of the infiltrators. Pavol was soon corrupted as well, and the others were forced to abandon and destroy the Imperialis.
Sometime after Momin was killed by Vader in Fortress Vader, the death of Momin's body created a Dark Side Force nexus that surrounded the cave, thus creating visions that could haunt visitors. Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY, Ren and the Knights of Ren were assigned by Crimson Dawn leader Qi'ra to steal the Screaming Key from Fortress Vader, upon arriving at the cave located below the castle, the Force nexus created a vision in which Momin's severed head was lying on the ground, and the eyes of the mask started to glow; terrified, Knight of Ren Bazzra shot at the illusion, causing the vision to disintegrate to ash. Ren told Bazzra not to be concerned about the things that were dead, but about the things that were alive.
In the years following the fall of the Galactic Empire, Vader's son, the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, traveled the galaxy to rediscover the history of the Jedi Order that had been suppressed by the Empire. Shortly after the Raid on Nightside, Luke Skywalker explained to Lando Calrissian the possibility of the Sith Darth Noctyss influencing a female individual via the lightsaber that the Sith had once owned. This led to Calrissian recounting his own encounter with the helmet of Momin during his attempted theft of the Imperialis. During his self-imposed exile on Ahch-To, Skywalker wrote a book he titled The Secrets of the Jedi, which chronicled the information he had learned during his travels. In the book, Skywalker described Momin's involvement in the construction of Fortress Vader, taking note of how the unique shape of the structure was based on designs by the ancient Sith Lord.
From a young age, Momin came to believe in the simple principle that only two emotions were truly pure: pain and fear. As the emotions that were felt by any being from the moment they were born, he believed that experiencing these emotions was the only way to reconnect with the animal that exists within everyone. Momin's principle was to create work that would elicit these emotions in others. He believed that if an individual did not feel anything when encountering a creation, then its creator had made nothing. He did not realize his true potential until Lady Shaa began training him. Following her death, Momin became very independent and sought out the lore of the dark side for himself. He came to realize that normal people did not understand his creations, having locked him away when he was younger, and only the Force was his audience. In order to be worthy of it, he cultivated an idea that involved freezing a city of innocents in their expressions of horror and pain.
Momin was different from most other Sith in that, rather than pursuing power through destruction, he preferred to create and learn through intellectual and artistic pursuits. Momin insisted on receveing recognition for his works. When a Stormtrooper Commander donned his mask and became possessed by the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord, Momin was enraged when he found one of his artworks in an exhibition and learn that the artist responsible was unknown. This made him reveal his identity and claim that no one present deserved him or his artwork. After destroying the piece, he used sharp pieces of it to murder many while demanding that they say his name. He eventually believed that if he served and glorified the dark side, it would give him eternal life. His views of the Force were viewed as so extreme that neither Jedi nor Sith holocrons mentioned him.
Momin, like all Sith, was deceitful and power hungry. He considered himself second to no one but the Force and killed his master, Shaa, during a duel. When Momin first conversed with Vader, he showed himself to be eager to build a design he created. To Vader's disillusionment, Momin's true goal was to resurrect himself by opening the door to the dark side. When the door was able to be opened, Momin took his chance and reunited his helmet with his original body. However, Vader later returned and killed Momin in a duel.
Momin was a male individual with gray skin and hazel eyes. He had long, blond hair which spiked out more as he got older. He disfigured his face during his training with Shaa, hiding this with his mask.
Momin, a sculptor by trade, crafted his artwork in such a disturbing manner that it caused widespread revulsion. Consequently, his actions led to his imprisonment. Momin pioneered unique applications of the Force that have never been duplicated. His artistic prowess surpassed Alva Brenne's attempts to fulfill Darth Vader's requirements for his fortress located on Mustafar. Momin's combat skills were honed under the tutelage of Shaa. She instructed him in the dark side's practices and the discipline of lightsaber dueling. Ultimately, he murdered his mentor and, after achieving resurrection, engaged in a duel with Darth Vader.
Following Shaa's demise, Momin embarked on a journey of self-discovery, uncovering extensive knowledge about the dark side's history. Momin devised a scheme to channel his version of Force lightning into his engine at the moment of ignition, intending to manipulate time and eternally freeze the expressions of terror and agony on the city's inhabitants. After Momin's physical death, his essence became confined within his mask, granting him the ability to possess others. He nearly succeeded in compelling Darth Vader to don his mask while imposing a vision upon the Sith Lord.
During his time as a Sith Lord, Momin brandished a pair of crimson Sith lightsabers resembling rapiers. He employed these lightsabers to sculpt his own helmet, which he wore habitually throughout his life and beyond.
Charles Soule, a writer, conceived Momin for the fourth issue of the 2015 Star Wars: Lando comic-book series, marking his initial mention. Subsequently, Soule envisioned a more elaborate narrative for Momin, which he ultimately presented in the 2017 Star Wars: Darth Vader series. Momin later made appearances through flashbacks in Darth Vader (2017) 22, authored by Soule and illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli, in 2018. After hearing various renditions of Momin's name, Soule eventually clarified on Twitter that it was pronounced "MOH-min" (phonetically represented as /ˈmoʊˌmɪn/). He was first officially designated as "Darth" in the index of the 2019 reference book Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition.
The reappearance of Momin's mask beneath Vader's castle in the fourth issue of the Star Wars: Crimson Reign miniseries prompted some fans to question the continued presence of Momin's spirit in that location, given that the Lando series had established its relocation to the Imperialis. While Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group suspected it was an error and recalled the script calling for a skeleton to appear, Soule, the comic's writer, affirmed that it was intentional, explaining that it was merely a specter appearing before the Knights of Ren, as implied by Ren in the issue. Maintaining the enigma, he declined to elaborate on how the mysterious projection could seemingly react to blaster fire, simply responding with "Yes" to confirm its ghostly nature.