Simus Simus was a Sith Lord who lived during the time of the first Sith Empire , and , around 5100 BBY , dueled fellow Sith Lord Marka Ragnos for the title of Dark Lord of the Sith and control of the Sith Empire . Ragnos defeated Simus , who was beheaded in the battle with the other aspiring Dark Lord ; however , the Sith Lord did not give up his life . Rather than letting himself die , he used his forgotten Sith powers to preserve his life . Very little of him was left , though — he lived as a severed head in a crystalline container for the rest of his days . Eventually the bodiless Simus was made a part of the Sith Council , becoming a respected member whose opinion was highly valued by the other councilors . He lived for over a hundred years , and watched as Marka Ragnos grew in power , pitting his adversaries against each other and ensuring that there were no threats to Ragnos ' s throne . Simus was one of few to survive , and in the process trained Naga Sadow in the ways of the Sith . Sadow eventually became extremely powerful , and after the death of Marka Ragnos , he was one of two challengers for the throne . The other , Ludo Kressh , wished to keep the Empire hidden from the Galactic Republic , while Sadow wished to expand the Empire ' s borders . Though the Council was split on the matter , Simus supported his old friend Sadow , and backed his candidacy for the role of Dark Lord of the Sith . Simus was eventually killed by Sadow with a Republic - issue blaster in an attempt to provide the Sith Council with a reason to go to war by framing the Republic for his assassination . Biography . Duel with Marka Ragnos . Simus was born some several centuries before the Great Hyperspace War , five thousand years before the Battle of Yavin . Like every sentient being in the Sith Empire at the time , he had at least some blood of the Sith species . The wise Sith grew in power and prominence , eventually becoming one of the most powerful Sith Lords of his time . After the death of the Dark Lord of the Sith , Simus and another powerful Sith , Marka Ragnos , were the challengers for the throne . A Sith hybrid of immense physical strength , Ragnos became infamous through a series of short , ruthless campaigns against any and all who stood in the way of his efforts to gain power . He and Simus eventually dueled each other for the right to rule the Sith Empire and for the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith . Ragnos ' s rival lost the duel — the hybrid cut him down , and he was left scarred and headless — yet Simus did not give up his life . Using unknown Sith techniques , he kept himself alive , preserving his head in a specialized crystalline container . The bulky container was made of metal , with transparent orange material around the severed head , allowing him to see those that he spoke with , while they could see " his " dismembered head . A massive , heavily armed Sith servant accompanied Simus everywhere he went , and carried his jar when he needed to move somewhere else . Sith Council . Simus was eventually offered a place on the Sith Council , alongside such other members as Dor Gal - ram , Horak - mul , Shar Dakhan , Garu , and Tritos Nal . The bodiless male watched as Ragnos gained complete control of the hundreds of worlds of the Sith Empire . Ragnos had many who might have opposed his reign assassinated , though Simus managed to escape such a fate and served for hundreds of years on the Council , becoming one of the most respected members . He took at least one apprentice , a Human - Sith hybrid known as Naga Sadow . Sadow became extremely powerful , and when Ragnos passed away in 5000 BBY , he was one of two lords bidding for his throne . Similarly to how Ragnos and Simus dueled centuries before , Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh engaged each other in a duel . Sadow ' s master , and several other members of the Council supported him , and his plans to expand the borders of the Empire , while Kressh wanted to keep the Empire stable and prosperous , and to ensure that they kept firm control on the Sith people . The two aspiring Dark Lords had a great duel during Ragnos ' s funeral , and were closely matched when Ragnos ' s spirit appeared , telling them that though this was the Sith ' s golden age , things might soon change , and warning the two Sith to choose their paths wisely . Just after Simus ' s former rival departed once again , a ship known as the " Starbreaker 12 " arrived on Korriban . Two hyperspace explorers named Jori and Gav Daragon had inadvertently landed on the mausoleum planet after typing in random coordinates . Fearing that this was the possible attack from the Republic that Ragnos had warned about , the Sith Council immediately imprisoned them and called a Council meeting . Death . The dozen or so members of the Sith Council , including Simus , Sadow , and Kressh , held a meeting on the ice planet of Ziost , where the Dark Lord of the Sith normally ruled from — however , a new Dark Lord had yet to be decided . One of the councilors quickly claimed that the two Humans were spies , sent by the Republic , and if they were allowed to escape , the Daragons would return with their forces to plunder all that the Sith had worked hard to build . Kressh and his conservative faction were of the opinion that they should kill the two explorers and remove all evidence that they were ever on the planet . Simus , however , boldly told Kressh that he was speaking from fear , and was not thinking about the situation , which could have ended direly . The dismembered councilor told them that this was an opportunity — one they should consider before destroying it forever . Sadow was quick to side with his old master , and told Kressh that he was not adapting his thinking to the changing world they lived in — that he was still living in the past , in the times of Marka Ragnos , and that he was afraid of change . Yet Kressh persisted , saying that if Simus was wrong , they would lose everything , while if Kressh was wrong , they would lose but the lives of two worthless Humans . Sadow responded angrily , and told the members of the Council , including his ancient master , that if they killed the two explorers they would lose the chance to capture thousands of new worlds , steal the riches from as many species , and gain control of the whole galaxy . Looking at Simus , Naga Sadow told the others that it was their destiny . However , many members of the Council did not share Sadow and Simus ' s optimism , and eventually they decided that Jori and Gav Daragon posed too great a threat to their Empire . They decided to execute the Humans as soon as possible and talk about what they would do to the ship at the next meeting . Simus was tasked with telling the two youths of their fate , and , accompanied by his loyal bodyguard , he traveled to their cell on cold Ziost . The guard lifted his container up to the bars of the tiny cell , and the bodiless man told them what would happen and why . Gav protested , telling him they had not even given evidence , but Simus replied that their information was irrelevant to the Council . However , Sadow was determined to see out his plan , and , behind the other Councilors ' backs , he had a tracer placed in the Daragons ' ship . He even kept his plan secret from his friend Simus , for if it was to work , no one could get in the way . Later , Simus and his slave discovered a disruption in the cell block where Jori and Gav were being imprisoned on Ziost . The beheaded Sith found his apprentice , surrounded by corpses , standing alone in the corridor . Simus was concerned for Sadow ' s well being , believing , like the other Councilors would in time , that it had been a Republic raid . Sadow turned towards his master , and told him he was sorry . He then fired at Simus and the slave with a Republic - issue blaster taken from the " Starbreaker 12 " , killing the old Sith and his loyal servant . Legacy . Simus ' s charred head was eventually found by the Council , who mourned his death , angry that someone would kill such a helpless opponent . They declared the " Republic agents " monsters for having slain the old Council member , whom they all had great respect for , even those who did not support his ideas . Sadow then burst in , pretending to be oblivious to the goings on . The ancient Sith ' s eulogy was a speech delivered by Naga Sadow over Simus ' s wisdom and nobility . Ironically , Simus ' s death sparked the same opportunities he had supported . Sadow eventually defeated Kressh , and allowed Jori to escape back to the Republic with the tracker in place . He waged a devastating war on the Republic , known as the Great Hyperspace War ; however , he was eventually defeated and fled back to the Empire , where he once again faced Ludo Kressh , who had survived the previous battle . Sadow managed to truly kill Kressh the second time around , and fled to the moon of Yavin 4 , where he warped his loyal Massassi to keep himself alive . Ultimately , Sadow ' s plans brought about the fall of the Sith Empire , and for one thousand years the Sith would cease to exist , until Marka Ragnos ' s spirit once again materialized . Personality and traits . Simus was a man with great perseverance — even after he was decapitated by Marka Ragnos , he did not succumb to death . He used his powers to allow himself to live on , albeit in an inconvenient way . Simus was also reasonably trusting and loyal compared to most Sith Lords — his unwavering trust in his apprentice , Naga Sadow , eventually led to his downfall . The ancient head trusted Sadow ' s decisions and his desire to expand the Sith Empire , where many of the other Council members were skeptical . He also had great faith in his Sith slave , who could easily have killed the vulnerable old man . Simus was also , like his apprentice , incredibly ambitious and wanted the Sith Empire to rule the galaxy , whereas many of the other councilors of the period were happy with the hundred or so worlds they controlled . He was also thought to be incredibly wise by the other Council members , especially Sadow . Powers and abilities . Simus was one of the most powerful Sith of the era in his prime ; however , after he was defeated by Ragnos , he became next to helpless . His dueling skills were almost surely excellent once , for to escape death at the hands of Marka Ragnos , an undoubtedly powerful adversary , he must have been skilled . The ancient Sith ' s powers were passed down to Naga Sadow , and Sadow ' s superior power was a testament to Simus ' s . The old Sith knew many obscure powers unknown to most at the time — one of these enabled him to evade death even after being beheaded by Ragnos . Behind the scenes . Simus was created by " Star Wars " author Kevin J . Anderson for the of the " " sub - series , part of the " " comic series . He was penciled by Dario Carrasco , Jr . and colored by Perry McNamee for the comic . Based on a preliminary sketch of Simus appearing in " " , Simus was originally not going to have the container around his head , though by the time Issue 3 was released , the container was included .