Quote Originally Posted by Ryushikaze View Post
Also, Didn't Nihilus need a device to help him crush the planets with the force?
I'm pretty certain not. Might you be thinking of the Mass Shadow Generator that the Exile used to destroy Malachor V? If so, Nihilus didn't have it.

Strictly speaking, Nihilus didn't "use the Force" to destroy planets either.

He represented a void in the Force that he could use to his advantage by leaching/sucking the Force from his extended surroundings. I believe a "Force Vampire" is probably a good analogy, though on a massive scale. He destroyed planets by depriving them of the Force, which killed the life of those planets (and I believe leaving them as lifeless rocks in space as opposed to exploding them or ripping them apart--though I could be mistaken). This is also why the Exile was able to defeat him where any other Jedi could not, because the Exile himself was a void and channeled the Force through others as Nihilus did, so when the dark lord tried to channel the Force through the Exile he only weakened himself.