In The Acolyte, fans are still mystified with the identity of Qimir. He has been revealed as the Sith Lord who taught Mae about the Dark Side. But this master wants a new apprentice, citing Mae as weak and disloyal.
He set his sights on her twin, Osha, after rescuing her on Khofar. Episode 6, “Teach/Corrupt,” finds Qimir trying to convert Osha, albeit with a less-aggressive approach. Coincidentally, his style and overall plan pays homage to a terrifying Sith who existed before, Momin. In addition, it teases trouble on the horizon for Osha: physically and mentally.
Who Is Star Wars’ Momin?
Momin made his Star Wars debut in Marvel Comics. Created by Charles Soule in 2015, he lived from 1100-1000 BBY. He was a heretic who became a Sith before Darth Bane’s Rule of Two. He was jailed as a child due to his experiments with the Dark Side. He loved art and used people and animals alike in his serial killing spree. The Sith Master, Lady Shaa, freed him after realizing his talent. He evolved as a sculptor who ate up knowledge of the Sith’s past, from art to science. He eventually made relics with twin rapier-style lightsabers, which he felt was more fun than slaughtering innocents.
However, having a master was an anathema to him. He killed his teacher and continued his unorthodox experiments. He was obsessed with finding new ways to tap into the Force, which both the Sith and Jedi deemed blasphemy. He tinkered with Force lightning, gathered disciples, and eventually, created weapons like the Fermata Cage. He wanted to trap enemies, freezing them in space and time during moments of severe torture. Luckily, the Jedi stopped him. But in the ensuing Force explosion, his spirit got trapped in his helmet.
Palpatine would later attain the helmet from the Jedi vault and give it to Darth Vader. Momin’s spirit possessed soldiers on Mustafar. Whoever was pushed to wear it had Momin’s mind. It allowed him to work with Vader to create his iconic fortress. Momin was working a long con, however. He offered Vader a chance to revive his wife, Padme, by opening a portal to the afterlife. This was why Vader’s castle was shaped into a tuning fork. It was meant to harness the Dark Side, so Momin could reconstitute his form. Vader sensed the betrayal and defeated the tyrant.
Vader returned the helmet to Palpatine, wary that more people would wear it, become corrupted and try to resurrect Momin in flesh and blood. When Vader’s castle was destroyed, 2022’s Crimson Reign event saw the Knights of Ren encountering Momin’s ghost there. This tied into 2015’s Lando series. The helmet was destroyed aboard the Imperialis (Palpatine’s personal yacht) after a Lando heist. But the ghost still remains tethered to Mustafar due to the Force locus that Momin created with his design. In a sense, Musfatar remains a hub from which Momin’s spirit can be accessed, as the Knights learned.
Osha Wearing Qimir’s Mask Teases Trouble
The idea of helmets has been important in Disney’s new Star Wars stories. Kylo Ren fashioned his helmet after being obsessed with his grandfather, Darth Vader, and how that black helmet acted as a symbol of control and order. The Mandalorian explored Din Djarin and his tribe’s helmets as symbols of loyalty and code. The Acolyte is leaning into Qimir’s helmet the same way. He tells Osha that it insulates its user once they wield it. They become isolated and submerged in the Force. This is why he is so strong in the Dark Side.
Qimir senses that power in Osha as well. Mae had slivers of it. But her sister is exponentially more powerful. Qimir offers her a chance to don the helmet. Osha is reluctant and turns down the chance, as she doesn’t want it. Qimir laughs it off, making it known that it is a gift. The helmet is made from cortosis, a precious metal that is finely attuned to the Force, so if Osha wants to unlock her true potential, this is the shell to do it. The episode ends with an anxiety-ridden Osha secretly slipping it on. She’s panicked and breathing heavily, but as she wears it, she calms down.
Her breathing becomes slow and maniacal, nodding to Vader. It speaks to how opposite the Jedi and Sith are. The Jedi believes in naturally letting the Force flow through a person. But the Sith doesn’t mind using tools that speed the process up. It might be a short-cut, but as seen when Qimir murdered many Jedi on Khofar, it delivers results by creating a super-soldier. The problem is, Osha has no idea what the mask does once the gateway is open.
Osha could lose herself. Similarly, Qimir’s voice changes and his overall disposition is altered. He becomes merciless and vicious, compared to the kind, soft-spoken soul he is when he’s not wielding it. It’s a very intriguing duality. This dichotomy teases the person does become warped and a completely new individual, once they put the relic on. Given Qimir was a former Jedi, and Osha was a former Padawan, it spells trouble for the teenager.
Does Qimir’s Mask House a Sith Lord?
he concept behind Qimir’s helmet ties back to the Momin issue. Fans are speculating that the helmet could house a Sith consciousness, and that the villain might just need a host. It would speak to how Momin operated, and how Palpatine plotted in the future. After all, Palpatine’s clones were vessels to be reborn in. Sith dark arts and ancient practices were used to transfer and reincarnate his spirit in these bodies. Qimir did keep watch on Mother Aniseya’s witch coven, hence why he seemed to know the truth about their slaughter, and why he found and raised Mae.
There is no telling what other magic or relics he learned from his mission. This may well tie into the latent power of the helmet and the secrets within. Its design is different, so it might not house Momin. But there are other Sith Lords who could have cracked the code or left contingency plans behind. Shaa could be one of them. She is certain to have learned something from her time with Momin. There is also Darth Tenebrous, and Darth Noctyss. The latter loved mixing science and Sith magic, especially after working with and sacrificing her apprentice, Darth Sanguis, on Exegol.
The helmet is all about two personas and how far a Sith will go, whether it’s to be better, or live longer
Darth Noctyss became disfigured like her student and died, but her main mission was attaining immortality. It was very much a Dr. Frankenstein and Ygor story from the 2020 novel, Dark Novels. It was part of “A Life Immortal” by George Mann and Grant Griffin. These myths spoke to how far Sith Lords went to prolong life, way before Palpatine and Darth Plagueis. As a result, this helmet could be Disney’s way of melding more of the Expanded Universe, Disney-licensed novels and the comics from Marvel that are indeed canon.
The helmet is all about two personas and how far a Sith will go, whether it’s to be better, or live longer. This direction makes the helmets something more than just visual intimidation, and connects to the nuance of the comics. Qimir’s helmet can elevate the concept. His helmet can take on a personality and character of its own by doing what the Sith do best: tempting younger talent with a devil’s deal to get their true wishes.
What could win Osha over remains to be seen, but as her doubt about the Jedi grows, and Qimir is aware the helmet is winning her over. The question is, will it unlock her real identity, or enslave her to a higher power? Osha has been about freedom and agency, but this helmet — as enticing as it is — may be a problem, not a solution.