This article contains spoilers for Darth Vader #11.

Star Wars has just made the Sith Eternal cult, introduced in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, even more confusing. "Always two there are," Master Yoda observed of the Sith in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, "no more... no less. A master and an apprentice." That was how viewers were introduced to the idea of the Rule of Two, a tenet of the Banite Sith that had been designed to prevent the in-fighting that had plagued the Sith for millennia.

And then, in Star Wars: The  Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm introduced audiences to the legions of Sith Eternal cultists who lived on the ancient Sith redoubt of Exegol. The novelization attempted to resolve this apparent continuity problem by retconning the Rule of Two, in pretty smart fashion. It saw Rey read an ancient Jedi text that declared "the Sith were Many but often emerged Ruled by two." In other words, Palpatine and his apprentice Darth Vader were literally Lords of the Sith - that is to say, they ruled over legions of cultists. Presumably the Sith cultists were encouraged to compete for the attention of the Lords of the Sith, and sometimes a Sith Lord would choose an apprentice from among their number if they proved particularly strong in the Force.

Related: Why Rise of Skywalker's Sith Planet Is Exegol, Not Moraband

Darth Vader #11 by writer Greg Pak and artist Raffaele Ienco tells the tale of how Darth Vader discovered Exegol. He pursued his Master into the heart of the Unknown Regions, and discovered the Sith Eternal cultists. According to both Vader and Palpatine, these beings are not Sith - but they could be. "Only two Sith, just as you say," the Emperor taunts Darth Vader. "But any one of these might replace you."

Star Wars Sith Eternal

Rae Carson's novelization of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker made sense, because it suggested the Sith Eternal were essentially a lower class of Sith who served the wishes of the Sith Lords. But Darth Vader #11 differentiates them from the true Sith, suggesting they are something else entirely, even though Palpatine's words imply they are all Force-sensitive. So just what are the Sith Eternal? And if Palpatine truly believes any one of the Sith Eternal has the potential to become a Sith Lord, why did he scour the galaxy for apprentices like Darth Maul and Dooku during the prequel era? All this becomes even more bizarre when you remember the reason for the Rule of Two in the first place: the dark side encourages selfish pride and ambition, meaning wherever you have a community defined by the dark side, in-fighting is the inevitable result. The Sith Eternal should probably have wiped one another out over the course of the millennia.

The frustrating thing is, the current Darth Vader run was clearly intended to clear up some of the continuity messes introduced into the canon by Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Instead, it's confused the issue again, because now we simply have no idea what the Sith Eternal are supposed to be - and conflicting evidence of their relationship with the Sith. The Star Wars sequel trilogy really has caused some major continuity messes.

More: Star Wars: Everything You Need To Read To Fully Understand Rise of Skywalker