Darth Stryfe was a merciless male who belonged to the One Sith Order. This Order was under the leadership of Darth Krayt, a Dark Lord of the Sith. Stryfe eventually climbed to the rank of Sith Lord, and he served Krayt following the removal of Emperor Roan Fel at the conclusion of the Sith–Imperial War. During the subsequent period of strife, he was chosen as Krayt's Fist, the supreme commander of the Empire's military. In 137 ABY, Stryfe supervised a search operation for Jedi within the academy located on the planet of Ossus, and gave the order for its annihilation. In that very year, after Krayt's Hands, Darth Nihl and Darth Talon, allowed the former Jedi Cade Skywalker—whom Krayt was pursuing for his healing skills—to get away from the Sith Temple situated on the galactic capital of Coruscant, Stryfe was designated as Krayt's new Hand, taking Nihl's place.
The Sith discovered that Skywalker, along with his companions, had assaulted an Imperial base on the Deep Core world of Had Abbadon, and that among them was the apparition of the ancient Sith Lord Karness Muur. Following Muur's request for a meeting with Krayt, Stryfe was among those who accompanied Krayt to Had Abbadon. Upon realizing that they had walked into an ambush, the Sith engaged Skywalker and his allies in combat. The Sith suffered defeat, and Stryfe's physical form was retrieved by Krayt's most reliable advisor, Darth Wyyrlok, who then placed the Human Sith Lord inside a bacta container. Without Stryfe's knowledge, Wyyrlok had terminated Krayt after the battle, deciding that the Dark Lord needed to perish for Krayt's vision of the Sith to endure. Transported to the Sith Temple situated on the Sith home planet of Korriban for further recuperation, Stryfe awoke to the realization that he could no longer sense his Lord Krayt in his thoughts, leading him to believe that his master had died. However, Wyyrlok managed to convince Stryfe that Krayt was still alive, and clarified that he would assume command of the Empire while their Lord was in recovery. Falling for the ruse, Stryfe pledged his allegiance to the Chagrian Sith Lord. Together, they departed for Coruscant with the intention of securing the throne and putting into action the next phase of Krayt's strategy for a unified galaxy.
After Darth Wyyrlok gave the command to execute the Final Protocol, a scheme that involved poisoning the oceans of the Mon Calamari home planet Dac and killing all of its inhabitants due to their backing of the commander of the Galactic Alliance Remnant, Admiral Gar Stazi, Stryfe was assigned the responsibility of overseeing the Sith Empire's Outer Rim Third Fleet for this particular mission. During Stazi's undertaking to save the inhabitants of Dac, the Third Fleet engaged the Alliance fleet with the goal of ensuring that the evacuation attempts would fail. However, after a fleet from Roan Fel's Empire-in-exile appeared to provide assistance to Stazi's forces, Stryfe was compelled to retreat. Following the events that transpired on Dac, it came to light that Darth Krayt was, in fact, alive. The Dark Lord of the Sith made his way to Coruscant, assassinated his betrayer Darth Wyyrlok, and reclaimed his position as the leader of the Sith Empire. Darth Stryfe swore his allegiance to Lord Krayt and once again served by his side.
Shortly thereafter, Darth Stryfe was among the Sith who were entrusted with overseeing the attack on the Hidden Temple of the Jedi. The confrontation concluded with the Jedi and their allies escaping the Sith–Imperial fleet, and Stryfe made his way back to the Sith Temple on Coruscant. The combined forces of the Alliance Remnant, the Empire-in-exile, and the Jedi launched an assault on the Sith Empire's capital not long after. Before the fleet's arrival, Skywalker and a combat team attacked the Sith on the ground, encountering Darths Talon and Stryfe at the Sith Temple. Stryfe engaged Jedi Master Wolf Sazen in the ensuing battle, and although he succeeded in killing the Jedi, Stryfe was himself struck down by Sazen's lightsaber in the process.
The male Sith Lord referred to as Darth Stryfe was a member of the One Sith, serving Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Krayt and his Galactic Empire after Krayt ousted Emperor Roan Fel at the close of the Sith–Imperial War. During the period of the following conflict, the Second Imperial Civil War, he was picked to be Krayt's Fist, the leading figure of the Empire's military, a position that was previously occupied by Darth Nihl prior to his promotion to a Hand.
In 137 ABY, Stryfe, aboard an Imperial Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer, personally oversaw and directed the Imperial search for Jedi on the planet Ossus. Word had spread that surviving Jedi were concealed within the Jedi Academy on Ossus, and the Sith were determined to wipe out all Jedi. Stryfe dispatched Joker Squad of the 407th Stormtrooper Division to carry out a search of the surface, and the stormtroopers of the unit lived in fear of failure, dreading punishment from Stryfe. The Jokers thoroughly scanned Ossus, but discovered nothing; the Yuuzhan Vong—present to protect Jedi artifacts—and the Jedi at the Academy had gone into hiding. Just as the Imperials were about to call off the search, Darth Stryfe commanded them to continue, as he could sense a whisper in the Force that hinted at the presence of Jedi.
Given orders by Stryfe to keep looking for the Jedi, Sergeant Ran Harkas, Anson Trask, and Private Orland, along with two additional stormtroopers, pressed on with the search among the remains of the Jedi Academy. Trask and another stormtrooper reported that the Temple was empty after the Jedi Knight Shado Vao used the Force to influence them. However, Lord Stryfe instructed Imperial Navy Captain Meeshal to obliterate the Temple, as he still sensed the presence of the Jedi hiding on the planet. The Imperials then fired upon the Academy, successfully injuring Jedi Master K'Kruhk, who had been concealed within the Temple. Nevertheless, the Jedi managed to survive the attack, and unbeknownst to Stryfe, they eventually escaped to their secret sanctuary, the Hidden Temple, which had been ordered into creation by the Jedi High Council at the start of the Sith-Imperial War.
In that same year, Darth Krayt succeeded in capturing former Jedi Cade Skywalker, a descendant of the renowned Grand Master Luke Skywalker, whom Krayt sought for his healing abilities and hoped to convert to the dark side. After Skywalker fled from his Hands, Darth Nihl and Darth Talon, in the Sith Temple on Coruscant, Stryfe was appointed as Krayt's new Hand, taking Nihl's place.
When Cade Skywalker initiated his plan to eliminate Darth Krayt, he launched an offensive on a Sith outpost on the Deep Core world of Had Abbadon, which was under the command of the Devaronian Sith Lord Darth Reave. Reave managed to escape and delivered the news to Krayt on Coruscant. During the attack, Reave had been bitten by a rakghoul—an ancient and presumed-extinct form of Sithspawn—while battling Skywalker and his companions, and before he could finish his report, he succumbed to the consequences of the bite. Transformed into one of the rakghoul mutants, Reave charged to attack Darth Krayt. However, he never reached Krayt, as Darth Stryfe intercepted the former Sith and proceeded to decapitate the creature. The head of Sith Intelligence and Assassination and Sith researcher, Darth Maladi, verified that the transformation was the result of ancient Sith alchemy.
Soon after, Lord Krayt was contacted via holographic transmission by the spirit of Karness Muur, an ancient Sith Lord who was controlling the Old Republic Jedi Celeste Morne through the power of the Muur Talisman, an ancient Sith artifact. Muur informed Krayt that he was in control of Morne as well as the rakghouls, and proposed a meeting between the two Sith Lords. As an enticement, Muur offered Krayt his knowledge of dark side healing techniques as a method of assisting Krayt with his ailments resulting from Yuuzhan Vong implants. Furthermore, Muur presented a shackled Cade Skywalker as his prisoner, and threatened to kill him if Krayt did not come to Had Abbadon. Krayt ordered his Sith Lords, including Stryfe, to depart for Had Abbadon immediately.
While en route to the planet in Krayt's royal vessel, the Relentless, Stryfe had a minor confrontation with Darth Talon, expressing his surprise that she had been allowed to live after failing Lord Krayt. Talon responded that she lived by Krayt's command, and at his word, she would not hesitate to take her own life or Stryfe's.
Upon arriving at Had Abbadon, Darth Stryfe was among the Sith who traveled to the planet's surface with Darth Krayt, along with Darths Talon and Maladi. Meeting with Muur, the ancient Sith Lord proposed an alliance with Krayt, offering to begin the healing process immediately as a gesture of good faith. As Muur began to heal Krayt, the pain caused Krayt to cry out, and Stryfe rushed to his Lord's assistance. However, Stryfe was called off by Krayt, who could sense that the healing was working. It was at this moment that Cade Skywalker capitalized on the commotion and revealed his setup, calling on his companions—who had been hidden until this point—to attack the gathered Sith. Furthermore, Morne also regained control over Muur, and therefore control of herself, as well as the Muur Talisman which controlled the rakghouls. She engaged Darth Krayt and ordered the rakghouls to attack him. Darth Stryfe defended his master from the rakghouls, cutting through hordes of the creatures as they charged, until Krayt was able to repel the creatures with a surge of Force lightning. Stryfe then engaged in a duel with Skywalker, who taunted the Sith Lord while they exchanged blows until Stryfe became enraged. Calling for his companion, Jariah Syn, to create an explosion, Skywalker landed a Force-assisted kick which drove Stryfe back to where Syn had placed the explosives. Darth Stryfe sustained severe injuries in the blast and was unable to continue in the battle.
The battle continued as Krayt dueled with Morne and the spirit of Muur within her. One of Skywalker's allies, Imperial Knight Azlyn Rae, was able to launch an attack on Krayt while he was distracted, and drove her lightsaber through the Sith Lord's back. This gave Morne an opening, which she quickly seized, unleashing a torrent of Force lightning on Krayt before using telekinesis to push him off a cliff. With the battle concluded, Krayt's most trusted advisor, Darth Wyyrlok, arrived on the planet and recovered Darth Stryfe, as well as Darths Talon and Maladi, who had also been wounded in the encounter. Wyyrlok ordered the three Sith to be placed in bacta tanks to heal their injuries while he proceeded to locate the body of Darth Krayt. Unbeknownst to Stryfe, Wyyrlok discovered that Krayt had survived the battle; however, Wyyrlok decided that Krayt had to die in order for his vision of the Sith ruling the galaxy as one to survive. Wyyrlok killed the Dark Lord with a burst of Force lightning and brought his body aboard the same ship in which Stryfe was recovering; Wyyrlok intended to inter Krayt's bones among the ancient Sith on the Sith home world of Korriban.
Taken to the Sith Temple on Korriban, Stryfe was once again placed within a bacta tank in the Temple's Healing Chambers, under the watchful eye of a Koorivar initiate. Stryfe awoke to discover he could no longer feel his Lord Krayt in his mind, and was convinced that his master was dead. Breaking free of his tank, Stryfe demanded to know the location of Krayt from the initiate, who quickly pointed him in the direction of the Stasis Room. Rushing to the Stasis Room, Stryfe found the entry blocked by a young female Chagrian Sith trainee. Stryfe demanded to see Darth Krayt, but the Chagrian refused, stating that Krayt was in suspended animation and could not be awakened. Convinced Krayt was dead, Stryfe attacked the Sith apprentice, certain that she would not be able to stop him. After a brief fight, however, the Chagrian managed to subdue him using the Force.
Having finished preparing Krayt's stasis chamber, Darth Wyyrlok appeared and stopped the fight, revealing the young Chagrian to be his daughter, Saarai. Leading Stryfe down to the chamber, Darth Wyyrlok explained that Krayt had been severely injured at Had Abaddon and needed to be kept in stasis to heal. Wyyrlok told Stryfe that the reason he was unable to feel his master was due to shields Wyyrlok had erected to protect the Dark Lord. Planning to take control of the Empire, Wyyrlok explained that he would again be assuming the duties that all Wyyrlok had held while Krayt was in stasis—as the spokesperson of Lord Krayt and the administrator of the Order—but this time he would also secure the Imperial throne on Coruscant. Aware of the many ambitious beings within the Order, Wyyrlok told Stryfe that he would depend upon the Hand's loyalty and strength to maintain control. Believing Wyyrlok's deception, Stryfe swore he would give his support to the Chagrian Sith Lord. Together, the two left for Coruscant to secure the throne and implement the next stage in Krayt's plan for a unified galaxy.
Wyyrlok and Stryfe arrived on Coruscant, joined by Talon, Nihl, and Maladi, where they were greeted by scores of Imperial stormtroopers and commanding officers. The arrival of the Sith was watched by Moffs Nyna Calixte and Morlish Veed, who had been informed that the mission to Had Abbadon had been a failure, and that Krayt was being held in healing stasis. The two Moffs, however, suspected something else was going on, and planned to find out what the Sith were hiding.
After Darth Wyyrlok announced that it was Darth Krayt's will that the Mon Calamari species and their planet be exterminated for their support of the commander of the remnants of the Galactic Alliance, Admiral Gar Stazi, Stryfe was overseeing the Sith Empire's Outer Rim Third Fleet. Wyyrlok ordered the execution of the Final Protocol, a plan that saw the oceans of the Mon Calamari homeworld Dac poisoned and all of the inhabitants killed within one week. Knowing Admiral Stazi would return to rescue the inhabitants of Dac, the Outer Rim Third Fleet, under the command of Admiral Krion Grail and Moff Geist, was tasked with attacking the Alliance forces and ensuring the failure of the rescue efforts.
Ten hours into the Alliance rescue mission, the Third Fleet entered the system and engaged Stazi's forces. Moff Geist believed their main focus should be the capture or destruction of Stazi and his flagship, the Alliance; however, Stryfe, who followed Krayt's will to the letter, reminded the Moff that their main focus was the extinction of the Mon Calamari species. Although the Sith fleet outnumbered the Alliance forces, Stazi used ion bombs loaded aboard drone ships to take out much of the Third Fleet. The flagship of the Third Fleet, the Relentless, barely escaped destruction, and Stryfe ordered Grail to target the first wave of evacuee vessels as they attempted to leave the system.
While the Alliance protected the refugee ships from the Sith attack, another fleet entered the system and attacked Stryfe's forces. The fleet was from former Emperor Roan Fel's Empire-in-exile, come to aid in the evacuation of Dac. Knowing that the Relentless could not continue the attack without being destroyed, Geist convinced Stryfe to withdraw their remaining forces. Now able to continue the evacuation uninhibited by the Sith fleet, the Alliance and Imperial forces were able to evacuate twenty percent of the planet's population. Stryfe reported the failure to Lord Wyyrlok who was on Coruscant. Wyyrlok reassured Stryfe that the mission still succeeded in sending the galaxy a message of what it meant to oppose the Sith despite the small portion of Mon Calamari who survived.
Following the clash at Dac, the presence of Darth Krayt resonated throughout the Sith ranks in the galaxy. He revealed that he was indeed alive, contrary to Wyyrlok's assertions of him being in stasis. Krayt, accompanied by Darths Talon and Nihl, made his way to Coruscant with the intention of confronting Lord Wyyrlok. Stryfe was present with Wyyrlok when Krayt made his entrance, although Stryfe had intentions to align himself with whichever Sith Lord emerged victorious from the impending confrontation. Upon Krayt's arrival in the Sith Temple's throne room, Stryfe observed the battle between Wyyrlok and his former master, a conflict that involved both lightsaber combat and the utilization of Force lightning. Despite appearing to be defeated, Krayt unexpectedly struck Wyyrlok, fatally impaling the Voice of the Sith with both of his lightsabers. Stryfe then knelt before Lord Krayt, reaffirming his loyalty, and resumed his position alongside Krayt as the Sith Lord reclaimed his leadership over the Sith Empire.
Having extracted the location from an Imperial Knight who had been captured, Lord Krayt initiated an assault on the Hidden Temple of the Jedi Order. The combined Sith Imperial fleets were deployed for the attack, with Stryfe among the Sith assigned to oversee the battle's progress. The initial orbital bombardment proved largely ineffective against the Jedi Temple, leading Stryfe to order the deployment of ground troops from the fleet.
The Jedi sent out a call for reinforcements to the Empire-in-exile and the Alliance Remnant, and their united fleets launched an offensive against the Sith forces. However, the subsequent deployment of Lord Krayt's Sith troopers gave the Sith a strategic advantage in the ongoing battle. The Jedi, however, had formulated a plan and successfully created a breach in the Sith Imperial fleet, allowing the Jedi and their allies to make their escape. Following the conclusion of the battle, Stryfe made his return to the Sith Temple situated on Coruscant.
Capitalizing on the battle that had transpired at the Hidden Temple of the Jedi, the allied forces consisting of the Alliance Remnant, Empire-in-exile, and the Jedi Order swiftly launched an attack on the Sith Empire's capital. Prior to the fleet's arrival, Skywalker and a specialized strike team initiated a ground assault against the Sith, battling their way towards the Sith Temple. Upon their entry through the Temple's concealed passageways, the group encountered Darths Talon and Stryfe, who were leading a contingent of Sith in an attack against Skywalker and his allies.
As Talon engaged Skywalker in combat, Stryfe found himself facing Skywalker's former mentor, Wolf Sazen. Stryfe and Sazen engaged in a simultaneous attack, resulting in the demise of both individuals. Skywalker persisted in his assault and successfully eliminated Lord Krayt, prompting Darth Nihl to order the remaining Sith forces to retreat into hiding.
Darth Stryfe possessed hair that was black in color and eyes that were reddish-orange, and in accordance with the traditions of the Order, his face and other exposed areas of his body were adorned with red and black Sith tattoos.
Recognized as one of the most merciless members of the One Sith, Stryfe channeled his energies into the application of brute force. He was a notoriously efficient and ruthless military commander, known for his severe treatment of the Empire's soldiers, who held him in fear as a result. Darth Krayt held Stryfe in high regard for his competence, which led to his promotion to the position of Hand, as Krayt considered Stryfe to be more dependable than Darth Nihl. He displayed a protective attitude towards his Lord Krayt, swiftly intervening to defend Krayt when the rakghoul-infected Darth Reave launched an attack against his Master, as well as during the onslaught of rakghouls during the Battle on Had Abbadon.
Stryfe also demonstrated a commitment to adhering to Krayt's directives with unwavering precision, as evidenced during the evacuation of Dac, where he instructed his forces to prioritize the extermination of the Mon Calamari species over the more strategically sound objective of eliminating Admiral Stazi. During his confrontation with Cade Skywalker, he became enraged by Skywalker's taunts, which caused him to lose focus. When he was denied access to the stasis chamber housing Darth Krayt's body, Stryfe exhibited arrogance by assuming that Saarai, being merely an apprentice and not a Darth, lacked the power to impede him.
Upon Krayt's return to Coruscant to confront Lord Wyyrlok, who had betrayed him, Stryfe made the decision to align himself with the victor of the duel, adhering to the Sith philosophy of allowing might to determine leadership.
In combat situations, Darth Stryfe was known for his aggressive and forceful style of lightsaber combat. While he possessed the skill to effortlessly cut through hordes of rakghouls, Stryfe was ultimately unable to overcome Cade Skywalker in a lightsaber duel. In addition to his lightsaber skills, he possessed considerable strength in the dark side of the Force. He had the ability to use the Force to telekinetically manipulate his opponents, and like many members of the One Sith, Stryfe was adept at utilizing Force lightning, which he employed against the rakghouls on Had Abbadon. He also possessed the ability to sense the presence of other beings from great distances, detecting the Jedi who were concealed on Ossus from aboard a Star Destroyer situated far above the planet. However, despite his strength in the Force, Stryfe was ultimately overpowered by the Sith apprentice Saarai.
Darth Stryfe wielded a lightsaber that emitted a single red blade. In contrast to the coral-like hilts commonly used by the One Sith, Stryfe's lightsaber featured a smooth and metallic hilt.
Darth Stryfe was initially referenced in the introductory supplement to the Star Wars: Legacy comic series. The issue was authored by John Ostrander, with illustrations by Dan Parsons, and was published by Dark Horse Comics on June 7, 2006. The character subsequently appeared in the series' sixteenth issue, which was written by Ostrander and Jan Duursema, illustrated by Duursema, and released by Dark Horse on September 12, 2007.