| “ | Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design! | „ |
| ~ Emperor Palpatine |
Emperor Sheev Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, is the main antagonist of the Star Wars franchise.
His Qualities[]
What Makes Him Entertaining?[]
- He is an incredibly iconic character as the main villain of the highly-successful Star Wars franchise. Alongside Lord Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, he is a major codifier of the "Dark Lord" archetype.
- He is a very hammy villain with several iconic lines ("Let the hate flow through you," "Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design," the "tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise," "I am the senate," "I am all the Sith," etc.), with it often being said by fans that he visibly has fun in playing the villain's role.
- He is a genius master manipulator who, when not outright corrupting people to his side, used his craftiness to carefully ascend to the position of galactic emperor. More specifically:
- He orchestrated the Trade Federation's attack on Naboo before betraying them to become Chancellor.
- By setting up the trade guilds as a threat to stability, he created an excuse for taking emergency power and becoming Emperor.
- Since he controlled both sides of the Clone Wars, no matter which side came out on top, he would be the winner.
- He carefully corrupted Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side, turning him into Darth Vader and having him become his apprentice.
- He deceived the Republic into thinking that the Jedi are evil so he can be granted absolute power.
- He attempted to manipulate Luke Skywalker into joining his side, and though he failed he came very close.
- Created Operation Cinder a contingency plan to take the empire down with him in the event he died
- He manipulated Ben Solo to fall to the Dark Side and become Kylo Ren.
- He is very charismatic and puts on an effective, charming façade when he needs to.
- To top it all off he has a good chunk of Evil is Cool moments, and he always utilizes his dark power and proficiency in the saber arts impressively.
- Despite being elderly, he has no problem with Savage Opress and Maul attacking him simultaneously.
- He only needs five seconds to wipe out three Jedi Masters in his office.
- He throws Senate pods at Yoda whilst using one to levitate himself.
- He almost gets into the World Between Worlds.
- He makes waste of an entire fleet of warships at Exegol.
- He has unforgettable entertainment in blasting Mace Windu with Force lightning while screaming out loud "UNLIMITED POWER!!!"
- He designs the most iconic villainous suit in cinematic history, being the helmet, mask, and body armor of Darth Vader.
- He is capable of using pragmatic villainy when he wants to such as restraining Vader from killing too many Imperials since he doesn't wish to rule a galaxy of the dead.
What Makes Him Detestable?[]
- The main reason he cannot be a Magnificent Baddie is because he is far too sadistic, championing an extremely problematic worldview where evil is a priority rather than the means to an end, and because his inability to comprehend love, righteousness, and the joy in lifting others combined with his unbelievable narcissism and intense delusions of grandeur are severe problems of his that ultimately led to his otherwise avertable downfall.
- He has a multitude of "kick the dog" moments in which he makes others suffer purely for his sadistic enjoyment. Examples in canon include gleefully killing Windu and his team, specifically creating Darth Vader's suit to be vulnerable to his Force lightning (after keeping him awake during the entire procedure) and keep him irritated consistently, sadistically electrocuting Luke Skywalker to near-death for refusing to kill Vader, and mocking Rey while trying to kill her. Overall, he takes great joy in inflicting pain and suffering on people, whether physical or emotional, in and of itself. Even his contingency is ultimately out of a petty belief that an empire that fails to prevent his death doesn't deserve to exist without him.
- His own sadistic tendencies led to his downfall, as he tortured Luke Skywalker while his father Darth Vader watched, which provoked Vader to betray and attack Palpatine. It happened again in the sequel trilogy, as by sending out a message to the galaxy he orchestrated his own comeuppance, and by taunting Rey he also revealed his hand to her and brought about his defeat.
- Why he sincerely expected Vader to just sit there and slowly let him slowly murder his very own son, less than two minutes after he futilely ordered he be executed via lightsaber, is anyone's guess. And on a similar note, why he possibly expected Rey to like him for being the reason she lived on Jakku in quintessential squalor to ignorantly await her beloved parents whom he murdered years ago without her knowledge is completely beyond anybody.
- Even before he was a Sith Lord, he was shown to be a sinister and cruel individual with his history as a repeat offender at Naboo's educational institutions and accidentally killing two pedestrians with his speeder, showing no remorse whatsoever. He also killed his own family and never had any redeeming qualities to begin with.
- He can be incredibly arrogant and overconfident to a degree that strongly contributed to his downfall. He practically never learns from his mistakes, frequently underestimates his enemies, and often gives his enemies the knowledge needed to defeat him out of his overconfidence. With his infamous rant to Darth Maul about how one grand design is destined to shape the universe itself, Palpatine obviously suffers from a god complex.
- He indicates that he has standards and ethical lines his conscience prevents him from crossing, but it's always out of sheer pragmatism, showing just how manipulative he really is.
- He sees everyone as a pawn, even his own master, apprentices, and family.
- Notably he betrayed Darth Tyranus by ordering Anakin to murder him. Tyranus was absolutely loyal to Sidious so this was arguably worse than his abuse towards his other apprentices. Tyranus had more of a choice when choosing to follow Sidious than Vader or Maul, and never tried to betray him, and Sidious rewarded him by having him killed. He did the same with Viceroy Gunray.
- His treatment of Maul and Vader aren't better at all. They both were conditioned by Sidious to believe ruling by fear was the correct way to assume power, having chosen their paths for them, and Sidious abused both of them. This is arguably worse than his treatment of Tyranus, who at least decided to dedicate his full service to Sidious after killing Yaddle. Maul and Vader were almost always subjected to harsh environments and rigorous protocol. Maul's training was dangerous and Vader's suit was purposefully designed to torment him perpetually, and that is barring his ordering Luke to commit patricide.
- Despite Rey being related to him, he only wanted her to join him because she was powerful and could be useful. He then tried to kill her when she didn't join him, which is attempted parricide, proving one final time that he has no standards whatsoever.
- While George Lucas has called him a Well-Intentioned Extremist, the films provide absolutely no indication that there is even a little bit of truth to that. On top of that, Ian McDiarmid stated at one point that sums up most of his actions, saying "Everything he does is pure hypocrisy." Although this is likely because of George considering Palpatine to be that in his own mind, not from how the rest of the characters see him.
Trivia[]
- Emperor Palpatine is the current template for plagiarism.
- Palpatine's actor, Ian McDiarmid, once jokingly commented in a 2005 interview with the official Star Wars newsletter Homing Beacon that "I've been trying to find a redeeming feature to Palpatine, and the only one I've got so far is that he's clearly a patron of the arts because he goes to the opera."[1]
- He's the only character in the wallpaper so far.
Notes[]
External Links[]
- Emperor Palpatine on the Villains Wiki
- Emperor Palpatine on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Emperor Palpatine on the Star Wars Wiki
- Emperor Palpatine on the Disney Wiki
- Emperor Palpatine on the VS Battles Wiki
- Emperor Palpatine on the Shonen Villains Wiki
- Emperor Palpatine on the Ultimate Evil Wiki
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 Entertainingly Detestable
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