Darth Sidious, born as Sheev Palpatine, is the main antagonist of the Star Wars franchise. He was the Emperor of the Galactic Empire. He was the main antagonist of the original film trilogy serving as the overarching antagonist of The Empire Strikes Back and the main antagonist of Return of The Jedi. He was also the main antagonist of the prequel trilogy, serving as the overarching antagonist of its first film The Phantom Menace and its second film Attack of The Clones and the main antagonist of its third film Revenge of The Sith. He once again returns in Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, as the main antagonist, and thus he becomes the true main antagonist of the entire Star Wars sequel trilogy.
He is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.
Appearance[]
Darth Sidious in the original trilogy is an aged, pale-faced figure who wears dark robes. In the prequel trilogy, he looks like a kindly old man. He gains the aforementioned appearance in the original trilogy as a result of his own Force lightning being redirected back at him by Mace Windu in their duel in the Chancellor's office on Coruscant in Revenge of the Sith. However, it's also implied in other sources that Sidious' disfigured appearance was in fact his true appearance caused by decades of usage of the dark side of the Force, and that his affable appearance was the result of a specialized form of alchemy known aptly as Mask.
Personality[]
In the films and the Expanded Universe, Sidious is portrayed as cunning and deceptive in manipulating people and events to achieve his goals. Sidious' principal desire is to have ultimate power. Sidious, in his public role as Palpatine, presents himself in public to others as a modest, polite, and harmless person. However behind this public persona, in reality he is a incredibly ruthless megalomaniac and callous psychopath.
Abilities[]
He possessed several Force abilities, due to his being a Sith Lord. Two of which were demonstrated in the movies: He could summon Force Lightning to kill and/or torture his opponents, and he also utilized telekinesis, either as an offensive attack or simply as a means of displaying his power, the latter being most prevalent when he used the ability to remove Luke Skywalker's binders aboard the Death Star II while barely lifting a finger. He was also strongly implied to be one of, if not the most powerful Sith to have existed, with the Expanded Universe also giving him additional abilities. He also was skilled at using lightsabers.
History[]
The Phantom Menace[]
Glimpsed mostly as a cloaked holographic figure, Darth Sidious conspired with the Neimoidians to carry out his 1,000-year-old plan to wipe out the Jedi for good, by setting up a war against the Republic as the secret leader of the Trade Federation. The invasion of the planet Naboo was the first step to a vaster more ambitious plan Sidious had sent in motion, a plan secretly involving Republic Senator Palpatine. When Sidious eventually leads the Republic, he becomes a leader on both sides, ensuring that neither side gains enough upper hand to win the war. This, in turn, causes countless deaths of fighters in the Galactic War, including Jedi. Using the Trade Federation to cause conflict with the planet Naboo, Sidious ordered a blockade around the planet. Hoping to resolve the conflict swiftly, Supreme Chancellor Valorum sends Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi to the Trade Federation Control Ship in order to negotiate, as requested from the Queen of Naboo.
After their arrival, the Neimoidians discovered the ambassadors were Jedi and contacted Darth Sidious. Appearing through hologram robed and face obscured by a hood, Sidious made contact with the scheming Viceroy Gunray ordering him to assassinate the ambassadors, interrupting their mission. When the Jedi escape, the Dark Lord has the viceroy end all communication down to the planet.
As part of Darth Sidious' plan to become the new Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, he promises Queen Amidala that he will "end the corruption," as her people were suffering while the Trade Federation's control on the Naboo system increased. Delegates and other members of the Senate continued to argue, and even the Chancellor, failed to make any decisive action. During a Senate meeting, Amidala finally agrees with the senator to "call for a vote of no confidence" in Chancellor Valorum's leadership, and elect a new, stronger Chancellor, to stop the tragedy. The crisis on Naboo prompted a strong sympathy vote for Palpatine in the election.
Following Darth Maul's supposed death, Sidious successfully becomes the new Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. His future apprentice Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One, was a child at the time and the decision was made that he would be trained to become a Jedi as Anakin was the one responsible for blowing up the Federation droid control ship that allowed Amidala to retake control of Naboo. At that point, he officially began his schematics for upcoming warfare; even personally assuring to the young Anakin that he would be watching his incoming career with 'great interest'.
Attack of The Clones[]
A decade after his nomination, Sidious was faced with the challenge of a popular Separatist Movement led by the charismatic leader Count Dooku (secretly his Sith apprentice Darth Tyranus). Many in the galaxy feared that the conflict would escalate, starting a larger-scale war (known as the Clone Wars), and Palpatine was adamant that the crisis would be resolved by negotiations, but the Separatists didn't agree. Sidious, however, had planned Dooku's rebellion from the beginning. As Sidious lured Dooku to the dark side encouraging him to rally corporations and systems to breakaway from the Republic and become the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Palpatine, as the Chancellor held meetings with Senators and the Jedi hoping to resolve the conflict peacefully. Both parties were unaware that the evil Sith Lord lurked beneath the politician.
Upon discovery of a secret droid army, it became apparent that the Separatists were on the verge of declaring war against the Republic. The Republic countered this by needing a military, and Palpatine required the authority to activate a newly forged army of clones, that were discovered by Obi-Wan on the planet Kamino, an ocean-planet with a cloning facility holding thousands of trained human clones. Sidious had secretly set in motion the clone army many years ago.
On Geonosis, Count Dooku tells a captured Obi-Wan Kenobi that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lord of the Sith. Kenobi claims the Jedi would be aware of that but Dooku states the dark side of the Force has clouded the Jedi's vision. Dooku says that hundreds of senators were now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious. Kenobi thinks he's lying, but counters that Nute Gunray was once in league with Sidious but then claims the viceroy was betrayed by the Sith Lord, which was actually a lie as Gunray is still working for Sidious. Dooku asked Obi-Wan to join him and together they would destroy the Sith, but Kenobi refused the offer.
Senators loyal to Palpatine motioned that the Chancellor be given emergency powers to deal with the Separatist threat. In the Senate, Representative Binks nominated the motion that allowed Palpatine to use the Kamino clone troopers in open warfare. With spoken regrets, Palpatine accepted the new mantle of power and promised to return his absolute authority back to the Senate after the emergency subsided. As the Senate cheered, the Chancellor announced the formation of the Grand Army of the Republic.
After the Battle of Geonosis, Tyranus escaped to Coruscant landing in the LiMerge Building on the industrial side of the planet called the Works, meeting with Sidious and informing him that their long-awaited plot was finally in motion. Sidious was pleased with these turn of events, and later with the leaders of the Senate in a viewing stand, oversaw the new Republic army marching towards war in quiet awe while others were disturbed by the recent events. What no one realized was that the galaxy would undergo further upheaval and that a state of crisis would ensure Palpatine's authority for decades.
Clone Wars Movie[]
As the Clone Wars began and raged across the galaxy, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious plotted and masterminded many events and secretly gained more and more influence and power in the Senate. Later in the war, Sidious arranged a plot to recruit Jabba the Hutt to join the Separatists by kidnapping his son Rotta and framing the Jedi as the culprits. Asajj Ventress had brought Jabba's son to the monastery on Teth and reported to Dooku who was pleased. Sidious then entered the hologram transmission and stated the Jedi would be at war with both the Sith and the Hutt clan.
The plan eventually failed with the rescue of Jabba's son by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano exposing Count Dooku and Ziro the Hutt as the real culprits. As the Chancellor, Palpatine expressed his gratitude to the two Jedi for their help. At first, Tyranus dreaded having to contact his Master reporting another setback for the Separatists in their campaign to overthrow the Republic and seize Coruscant. But the Sith Lord seemed oddly unconcerned by the losses assuring his apprentice that the tide of war still turned in their favor according with Sidious' master plan as Jabba allowed the Republic to use the Hutt Cartel hyperspace lanes.
Clone Wars Series[]
During the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious watched as his apprentice, Darth Tyranus engineered new battles and trained new dark siders such as the Dark Assassin Asajj Ventress. First Tyranus tested Ventress' skills in both lightsaber combat and dark side of the Force abilities pleasing the Sith Lord who watched through a mobile hologram unit. Tyranus introduced her to Sidious who applauded her efforts and personally gave her a task; to find Anakin Skywalker and eliminate him. As Ventress flew away, Tyranus remarked confidence in her success, but the Dark Lord replied that her success or failure was irrelevant as she was only an instrument to test Skywalker, which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Jedi.
At another time, Nute Gunray was captured by Senator Amidala and taken into Republic custody to face trial on Coruscant for his war crimes. Palpatine praised the senator, but this angered the Dark Lord. Communicating with Darth Tyranus via hologram, Darth Sidious told him how dangerous this situation was as the weak-minded viceroy would likely slip vital information and ordered him to be retrieved fast. Tyranus told his master that he will send his apprentice Ventress who Sidious saw as useless but allowed him to proceed. Ventress successfully rescued Gunray without him telling the Jedi about his existence.
Darth Sidious' next plan would have a huge impact on the galaxy. Darth Sidious plotted to steal a Jedi holocron that contained a list of the galaxy's Force-sensitive children that he planned to kidnap and turn into his loyal spies. First the Sith Lord hired bounty hunter Cad Bane via hologram to steal a holocron from the Jedi Temple vaults with plans that he provided that allowed Bane to successfully steal the holocron. Next he required Bane to retrieve a kyber memory crystal that would activate the information hidden in the holocron from a Jedi Master named Bolla Ropal in the Mid Rim. Cad Bane captured and tortured Ropal who eventually gave Bane the crystal and had Anakin open the holocron by threatening his Padawan Ahsoka who used the Force to open it.
Escaping from the Jedi, Cad Bane retreated to his hideout and contacted Sidious through holographic transmission and told the Sith Lord of his success. Darth Sidious next assigned Bane to kidnap four children from the list and bring them to Mustafar. Cad Bane only managed to kidnap two children before he was captured by the Jedi. The Jedi later reported to Chancellor Palpatine who discussed with Anakin if they found who was behind the plot. Anakin stated that a far more powerful being other than Bane or Dooku was behind the event and not suspecting Palpatine at all which satisfied the Chancellor who told Skywalker to have patience.
On Mustafar, Darth Sidious observed the children through hologram using an astromech droid named RO-Z67. Sidious told the nanny droids of the children's natural talent and how he would harness that power for his own needs. Looking into the future, Sidious saw a vision of Force talented spies trained in the dark side that would appear in every corner of the galaxy doing his bidding. The nanny droid told the Dark Lord that subjects rarely survive the procedure at a young age but Sidious said the risk was necessary and that if the procedure failed he would lose nothing. As the surgery was about to happen, an alert from a nanny droid told the Sith Lord of an incoming shuttle that was approaching and it did not belong to the bounty hunter. This surprised Sidious as he did not foresee this and ordered the droids to evacuate the children and destroy the facility to protect his identity and ended the transmission quickly. The Jedi rescued the children and thwarted Sidious' plans.
During the Republic occupation of the neutral world of Mandalore, the Death Watch hoped to reclaim the planet from pacifists and join the Separatists cause once the planet was secured. Aboard a Separatist ship, Darth Tyranus contacted his Master that Death Watch was prepared to fight off the Republic forces when they arrive, and the splinter group will be viewed as saviors by the people. Darth Sidious expressed concern about possible interference by the Duchess Satine, but was assured by Tyranus that a Death Watch assassin would take care of her, causing the Sith Lord to smirk.
Later in the war during the Battle of Sulist, Sidious felt Asajj Ventress growing stronger in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Through a hologram, Darth Sidious accused Tyranus of wanting to overthrow him as Dark Lord which shocked his apprentice who stated his loyalty belonged only to his Master. Sidious then demanded proof and ordered him to eliminate Ventress which the Sith Lord sadly obliged to. After assuming success in the death of his former disciple, Tyranus contacted Sidious of his apparent success. Satisfied, Darth Sidious praised his apprentice for once again proving his loyalty. The two were unware that Ventress survived.
In a second attempt to invade Naboo, the Separatists launched an assault to conquer the planet. The Gungan Army fought against the droid army and Captain Tarpals battled General Grievous and subdued him at the cost of his life. From a secret lair hidden inside an ancient Naboo structure, Darth Tyranus received orders from Darth Sidious. The Sith Lord stated that Grievous is an integral part of his plan for the Clone Wars and told his apprentice to lure Anakin into a trap, capture him and arrange a prisoner exchange. Sidious assured Tyranus that Senator Amidala will agree to the terms.
Darth Sidious later had his apprentice kidnap an entire colony of people from the planet Kiros and sell them into slavery that would rebuild his Sith Empire. Aligning with the Zygerrians to resurrect the slave empire, the captured people were brought to the prison planet Kadavo to await processing. En route to Zygerria aboard his solar sailor, Darth Tyranus communicated with his Master. Darth Sidious lectured of how long Sith Empires have been built upon the backs of slaves and told his apprentice that to carry on this tradition millions of slaves will be required. Darth Sidious ordered Tyranus to gain the Zygerrian Queen Miraj Scintel's cooperation or to end her rule if she fails to comply.
During the Banking Clan crisis, the banks had become bankrupt and Palpatine sent Padmé to Scipio to deal with the matters. As the Dark Lord, Sidious hired bounty hunter Embo to originally assassinate the Banking Clan representative Rush Clovis but he managed to escape the planet with the aid of Padmé and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Embo contacted Sidious and was pleased to hear of the success and assured the bounty hunter that he would deal with them himself.
Later the Muun Nix Card contacted Darth Sidious and reported that Clovis had managed to escape with the evidence of the bank records. Sidious stated that Nix would be protected in the scandal. The Sith Lord later contacted Tyranus on Serenno and devised a plan that would place Clovis in command of the Banking Clan as a puppet leader but first Tyranus had to entrap the senator.
After placing Clovis in office and framing him by aligning Scipio with the Separatists and massacring the Republic forces, the Senate called for an emergency session and the Chancellor launched a mercy mission. As Tyranus was leaving the planet, Sidious contacted him with an update and told him that Republic forces were on their way. Tyranus informed his Master that the deception was complete. The Dark Lord stated because of the treachery, control of the banks would be placed in the hands of the Supreme Chancellor as Sidious cackled with delight.
In an unexpected turn of events, the long forgotten Sith Lord Darth Maul was discovered to be alive by the Jedi which reported back to the Chancellor startling Palpatine at this revelation. After the briefing, the Chancellor told the Jedi to ignore the Sith brothers and their focus should be on finding Dooku and bring the Clone Wars to an end then dismissed the Jedi from his office. As the Jedi left, Sidious sat in his chair and smirked as he had plans for the rogue Sith in the future.
Later in the Chancellor's Office, Sidious mediated and sensed the increasing power of the Nightbrothers on the planet Mandalore. Mas Amedda entered and was told to prepare the Chancellor's shuttle which Sidious took to Mandalore in order to confront the brothers, having realized that as Maul was growing more powerful, he had to alter his plans for Maul before Maul and his brother could grow strong enough to be a threat. Upon arriving, a robed and hooded Sidious Force chokes two Shadow Collective members and rode a speeder to the royal palace where he confronted the brothers in the throne room. Sidious enters the throne room easily choking two guards to death and exchanges a few words with his former apprentice and looks at his brother, Savage Opress. Darth Sidious declared Maul a rival and Force pushed Maul and his brother into the wall windows cackling.
After releasing the brothers from his telekinetic grip, Maul and Savage ignited their lightsabers while Sidious summoned two from the sleeves of his robe to duel them. Despite the brothers putting up a well-matched struggle, as the battle moved from the throne room to the balcony where Savage pushed him off while Sidious Forced pulled Maul and Savage to the ground below, the Dark Lord, after another fierce exchange of blows, eventually gained the upper hand and Force pushed Maul to a wall briefly knocking him out while Sidious dueled Savage alone and after toying with Savage to flaunt his superior skills, in mere seconds impaled the Nightbrother in the chest, killing him. As Maul rushed to his dying brother, the Nightsisters magicks left his body and Sidious cackled telling Maul the Rule of Two and leaped to the plaza below continuing their duel. Maul charged at Sidious with both his saber and the darksaber. Though Maul put up a much more ferocious fight than Opress, Sidious eventually disarmed Maul and brutally battered him against the wall and ground. Broken and exhausted Maul begged for mercy and the Dark Lord replied there was no mercy and launched a barrage of Force lightning on his former apprentice. Darth Sidious cackled with glee as he tells the defeated Nightbrother that his plans don't involve killing him, but has other uses for him.
Near the end of the war, Darth Sidious faced some unexpected events. During a battle of the Ringo Vinda system, a clone seemed to have a mental breakdown and shot and killed a Jedi Knight for no apparent reason. The Separatist Admiral Trench saw the event and reported the betrayal to Count Dooku. On Serenno, Lord Tyranus made contact with his Master via hologram to report the clone incident. Sidious worried that it would expose evidence of the Sith Lord's secret programming and ordered Tyranus to seize the clone for immediate examination.
As the Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine learned the clone trooper Tup died and another clone named Fives may have discovered the conspiracy. The Chancellor than suggested the clone be brought to Coruscant for medical attention which the Jedi reluctantly agreed to. Arriving at the medical station, the Jedi Shaak Ti, Kaminoan doctor Nala Se and the Chancellor met with the clone and asked if he could speak with Fives in private. Palpatine then framed Fives for an assassination attempt and issued a manhunt for the clone. Fives eventually was killed and died without spilling a word of the conspiracy. Later in his office, Palpatine told the Jedi that his personal doctors discovered a virus that Tup and Fives had inside of them from Ringo Vinda as the source of their mental breakdowns which the Jedi believed. Darth Sidious later made contact with his apprentice that Protocol 66 has been undiscovered and the Jedi will soon learn of it as Sidious cackled.
Some time later, the Jedi discovered a shipwreck on the planet Oba Diah belonging to the Jedi Master who was killed long ago, Sifo-Dyas. Darth Sidious later learned the Jedi were looking into the investigation of Dyas and worried they would uncover secrets not meant to be discovered. Sidious appeared to his apprentice as a large hologram and demanded to know why the Jedi were sniffing around the loose end that is Sifo-Dyas. The Dark Lord demanded that Tyranus and the Separatists clean up the affairs lest their plans be threatened. Sidious made sure his apprentice understood what it meant if he failed by Force choking him through the hologram then ended the transmission.
During the conflict, Darth Sidious looked into the Force and saw Master Template:W was on Moraband, the ancient homeworld of the Sith, and summoned his apprentice back to Coruscant. Inside the LiMerge Building on the industrial side of the planet, Tyranus met with his Master who plotted to strike a devastating blow on the Jedi Order. In a ceremonial chamber with statues lining the room, Darth Sidious informed his apprentice of Yoda's location and that they would be exploiting Dooku's Force-bond with Yoda, which the two had established as Master and apprentice, to find out why Yoda had ventured to Moraband and to break his will.
Over a sacrificial altar basin, Sidious produced a knife cutting Tyranus' hand, allowing a single drop of blood to fall into the altar filled with water. Sidious then recited an ancient Sith incantation in Balc as the Sith Lords together then jolted the basin with Force lightning, and once Tyranus focused on his bond with Yoda, Sidious harnessed the power creating a dark illusion for Yoda on Moraband that would lead the Jedi into a trap. Sidious then stated he would appear as someone familiar as he dipped his face into the sacrificial altar.
In the Moraband execution chamber, Sidious appeared to Yoda as Sifo-Dyas in disguise and tempted the Jedi with the knowledge of the Sith Lord's identity. But Yoda refused and suddenly Sifo-Dyas transformed into a cackling Sidious and surrounded him with chains of energy. Forced into a deeper illusion, Yoda awakened to find Anakin Skywalker along with a squad of 501st clones in the hold of a Republic Gunship flying towards the LiMerge Building in an ongoing pursuit of both Dooku and Sidious in the Works.
The gunship landed in the deserted tower hangar where they confronted the Sith Lords. Captain Rex spotted the Sith huddled over the altar basin when Dooku ignited his lightsaber and electrified the approaching clones with lightning. Anakin engaged Dooku while Yoda confronted the hooded Dark Lord who escaped while Anakin killed Dooku by severing his head. Darth Sidious ignited his lightsaber and Yoda his and both engaged in fierce whirling duel. Anakin attempted to enter the duel but was blasted unconscious by Sidious' lightning. He then blasted Yoda who blocked the lightning with the Force causing a disruption of energy sending both Jedi back.
Sidious then taunted Yoda stating if he lets Anakin die it thwarts his plans of eliminating the Jedi Order. The Jedi Master was then presented with a choice: Either learn the identity of the Sith Lord once and for all or save Skywalker, whom Sidious had thrown off a catwalk. Yoda chose the latter and sacrificed himself. Yoda hurled his saber at Sidious and both plummeted to the ground below while Sidious cackled and when Yoda attempted to remove his hood, he found the robes to be empty falling into the depths of Coruscant with the vision of Sidious as the dark illusion fell apart. After the illusion ceased, Darth Sidious emerged from the glowing sacrificial altar snarling as the illusion had failed to break the Jedi Master's spirit and the Dark Lord told Tyranus they would need more time to defeat Yoda and destroy the Jedi Order.
Towards the end of the Clone Wars, Darth Sidious watched through hologram a sparring session between Count Dooku and General Grievous. Dooku lectured Grievous of the importance of mastering his lightsaber skills and to ensure victory not be reckless. Appearing before them on a mechno-chair, Sidious praised Dooku's wise counsel and asked Grievous for the report from the front. The general told the Sith Lord that the Jedi forces were stretched thin across the Outer Rim worlds which Sidious seemed pleased with. Darth Sidious then told both that the time to strike was now and to launch their final operation and asked Grievous if everything was ready for his "special mission" and Grievous affirmed the Dark Lord that everything is in place and the unsuspecting Jedi knew not what awaited.
Striking a devastating attack on the Republic capital, General Grievous entered with the Droid Army and launched a full scale invasion of the planet. Grievous' mission was to capture the Supreme Chancellor who was protected by a squad of clone troopers and Jedi protectors. Through the whole pursuit Palpatine seemed calm and at times sarcastic. After disposing of the clones, Grievous chased the Jedi and Chancellor all through the city-planet until finally disarming the Jedi. Grievous captured Palpatine and seemed annoyed at his charismatic nature. The Chancellor later boarded a ship that took him to the Separatist flagship, the Invisible Hand, and was transported to the tall spire tower of the ship and placed on a throne with shackles on the arm rests, setting the events of the third film.
Sidious contacted the clone troopers on various planets, commanding them to execute Order 66 which meant eliminating their Jedi commanders as they were now seen as traitors to the Republic. Lord Sidious at the same time used Order 66 to order Clone Commander CT-7567 to eliminate the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and by the same time his former apprentice Maul who had been captured and brought to Coruscant by the 501st Legion.
Revenge of the Sith[]
Palpatine is first seen shackled and bound to a throne in the General's quarters of Grievous' flagship, Invisible Hand when Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker arrived to rescue him just before Count Dooku intervenes. In the ensuing lightsaber battle, Kenobi and Skywalker teamed against Dooku while Palpatine watched. The Sith Lord subdued Obi-Wan but was brutally defeated by Anakin, who cut off both his hands and was now corning Dooku with their lightsabers. Palpatine was impressed and ordered Anakin to kill Dooku at his own request, which he momentarily hesitated before complying. Anakin later regretted killing Dooku as it was not the Jedi way, but Palpatine was quick to console him. Although Grievous escaped into space, the Jedi successfully returned Palpatine to Coruscant.
After getting rescued, Palpatine, as Sidious, made contact with General Grievous who was hiding on the Outer Rim world of Utapau and ordered the droid general to relocate the Separatist Council to the planet Mustafar. Grievous obliged and Sidious informed him the conclusion of the war drew near. Grievous questioned Count Dooku's loss meaning it would be the end of the Confederacy but the Sith Lord assured the general that the loss was necessary as he soon would have a new apprentice one far younger and more powerful than Tyranus. Later Palpatine began to form an interactive friendship with Anakin by telling him important information and appointing him as his Representative on the Jedi Council. The Jedi had grown wary of the Chancellor and his decrees that redirected power away from the Senate and Constitution and into his Office. Reluctantly they agreed to the appointment but only in the hopes of turning Anakin into their spy on the Chancellor, causing much turmoil in the young Jedi.
The Chancellor later took in a performance at the Galaxies Opera House with Anakin as his guest. Palpatine spoke about the war's progress and of Anakin's appointment to the Council. Anakin stated his trust in the Jedi had been shaken due to his assignment which Palpatine could tell what it was. Palpatine then began to tell the tale of Darth Plaugeis the Wise where the Sith Lord used the dark side of the Force to stop loved ones from dying. Anakin was plagued with death visions of his wife Padme at the time and took an interest in the legend. Anakin asked the Chancellor if learning the power was possible, Palpatine replied "Not from a Jedi."
Anakin later visited the Chancellor in his office delivering more Jedi news about the war and Palpatine doubted the Jedi's trust in Anakin. Knowing the time was right, Palpatine dropped his guise admitting he possessed knowledge of the dark side revealing his true identity to him. Anakin realized the Chancellor was the sinister Sith Lord the Jedi had been hunting since the start of the war and drew his lightsaber. Palpatine said he was the path to the power that could save his wife from dying. Stunned by the revelation, Anakin responded by reporting him to the Jedi. Anakin was deeply conflicted realizing that he could not lose the Sith Lord as he thought he needed to learn the dark side power to "save" his wife Padmé.
Mace Windu ordered Anakin to remain behind in the Temple while he arranged a group of Jedi Masters to arrest the Chancellor for his crimes. In the inner recesses of the Chancellor's Office, the Jedi confronted the Chancellor announcing his arrest. Sidious scoffed at the news that the Senate would determine his fate, and with a roar of "I AM the Senate!" Igniting a red-bladed lightsaber from the sleeve of his robe, Sidious sprang into action murdering the three Jedi Masters before engaging Windu in an intense lightsaber duel. The two dueled, transforming the office of politics into an arena of combat. Anakin, tormented by the fear of loss , traveled to the Chancellor's office and witnessed a stunning sight. Mace Windu had cornered Sidious with his lightsaber blade extended at his heart.
Sidious unleashed a torrent of Force lightning at the Jedi Master, but Windu was able to deflect it back at the Sith Lord with his lightsaber blade. The evil energies twisted Sidious' face as they flowed through him, disfiguring him in the process. Sidious slumped in the corner seemingly too weak to continue his lightning assault. Fearing the Sith Lord too powerful and too well-connected, Windu decided he couldn't be taken alive. Before Windu could take justice into his own hands, though, Anakin sprung into action severing Windu's weapon hand with his lightsaber. Defenseless, Windu was then bombarded by Sidious' dark side lightning that tortured and blasted the Jedi through the window to his death.
Due to his part in Windu's murder, Anakin Skywalker had taken his first irreversible step to the dark side, causing Sidious to grin in satisfaction. Skywalker knelt before Darth Sidious, and the Sith Lord bestowed upon him the title of "Darth Vader", Lord of the Sith. Concealing his disfigured face, Sidious returned to his simple Sith robes. First, he tasked his new apprentice to raze the Jedi Temple before the treacherous Jedi could strike back at them. Vader marched to the temple with a column of loyal clone troopers, gutting the sacred edifice from within.
Meanwhile, Sidious, knowing the time had come, took care of the Jedi scattered across the galaxy waging the Clone Wars. Using his authority as the Supreme Chancellor, Sidious executed Order 66, a coded command that identified the Jedi Knights as traitors to the Republic. He broadcasted this order to the clone commanders on the various different battlefronts, and the loyal soldiers killed their Jedi generals in cold blood. Only a handful of a handful of Jedi survived, including Master Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The next day, Darth Sidious later spoke to the Separatist Council members via hologram, with Gunray remarking confidently that their plan had gone just as Sidious had promised. Though Gunray and the other leaders did not know what was planned for them, the Dark Lord promised that his new apprentice would soon arrive to take care of them, claiming that he had come to make peace when he actually would eliminate the council who had gathered on Mustafar.
As his apprentice cut down the Separatist leaders, Sidious, as Palpatine, called for a special session of the Galactic Senate to deliver an emergency address. With his disfigured face hidden in the shadows of his hood, Palpatine claimed to have survived a Jedi assassination attempt. He denounced the conspiracy of the Jedi rebellion and assured the Republic that his resolve had not faltered. He delivered the good news that victory in the Clone Wars had at last been achieved. By the end of his rousing speech, supported by the thunderous applause of patriots and politicians, Palpatine declared his new order as the First Galactic Empire with himself as Emperor. Vader then slashed Gunray shortly before reuniting with his wife.
Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda eventually caught up with the betrayal and deceit, realizing that Anakin, now Vader, and his troops had slain everyone in the Jedi Temple and that Palpatine was the Dark Lord of the Sith. Viewing a security hologram, Obi-Wan saw the carnage inside the Temple, with Anakin killing everyone and Sidious travelling there, where he found Vader who knelt before the Sith Lord in obedience. Sidious praised his new apprentice and told Lord Vader to go and bring peace to the Empire. Vader left the planet to see to his second task: dealing with the Separatists. Obi-Wan could not believe it but both were determined to stop the murderous Sith Lords. After the slaughter, Vader reported his mission's completion to Sidious, who told his apprentice to send a shutdown signal to the Confederate navy and army to deactivate the droid armies, effectively ending the Clone Wars.
While Obi Wan Kenobi confronted Vader on Mustafar, Yoda tracked down the Emperor in his office beneath the Senate Chamber, and the two began an intense battle. Sidious first blasted Yoda with Force lightning sending the Jedi Master across the room knocking him unconscious. The Emperor taunted Yoda stating the Jedi were all but lost but Yoda Force pushed and later stopped Sidious from escaping with both users brandishing their lightsabers. As both combatants of light and dark dueled, Sidious claimed that Vader would become more powerful than either of them. Yoda remarked that his faith in Vader and the dark side was misplaced as the fight moved from the holding office into the grand Senate Chamber.
Sidious was nearly overpowered by Yoda in their lightsaber duel and only managed to even the field by finally beginning to use the Force to combat Yoda. The Emperor relished the chance to to destroy the legendary Jedi by using the dark side of the Force to hurl Senate pods at Yoda. However, Sidious failed to kill Yoda with his telekinetic assault and was forced to close range by Yoda once again but is able to rip the Grandmaster's lightsaber from his hand with a blast of Sith lightning forcing Yoda to absorb the attack using the Force.
Although Sidious came quite close to overcoming Yoda with the lightning attack, Yoda was ultimately able to win their struggle by returning the lightning causing a blast so powerful that it pushed the two masters apart. Sidious fortunately was not clearly blasted off the Senate pod as Yoda was and managed to hang on the pod briefly before losing his grip and was flung all the way to the bottom of the Senate Building. Following the battle, Sidious stood with Mas Amedda on a Senatorial pod as they searched for the Jedi Master. However, the clone troops could not find any trace of a body. Deciding not to personally pursue Yoda, Sidious demanded that his shuttle be dispatched immediately and left for the planet, Mustafar, where his apprentice was battling his former master Obi-Wan, as he had sensed that Vader was in danger of being destroyed.
When Darth Sidious arrived, he found Vader's wounded, almost limbless, charred body lying next to a river of lava. The Emperor ordered his soldiers to prepare a medical capsule for his apprentice. As they left to obey his instructions, Sidious crouched beside his fallen apprentice, determined to find a way to keep him alive. Transporting in his Theta-class T-2c shuttle, Vader is taken to the large city-planet of Coruscant so that he could be repaired.
Inside a medical center, Sidious oversaw the operation of Vader reconstructed as a cyborg with medical droids treating his injuries, and he is encased in the black armor and mask that will preserve his ruined body. Upon completion of the surgery, Sidious approached his apprentice asking if he could be heard, and Vader confirmed this. Vader asked his master if Padmé was safe and alright, and Sidious told him that he accidentally killed Padmé in his anger, causing Vader to scream in heartbreaking despair using the Force to destroy the droids and facility. The Emperor appeared gleeful upon having finally broken Anakin Skywalker's spirit and fully converting him into the dark side as Vader.
Unknown to both Sidious and Vader, Padmé died after giving birth to fraternal twins whom she named Luke and Leia, and that Obi-Wan and Yoda separated the twins for safety; Luke was left into the care of the Lars family on Tatooine while Leia was left in the care of the Organa family on Alderaan. With the Galactic Empire now under Sith control and the Jedi Order and Confederacy destroyed, Vader joined the Emperor on the bridge of a gray hulled Venator-class Star Destroyer with Governor Tarkin as the two Dark Lords oversee the construction of the moon-sized battle station; the Death Star above Geonosis.
Rebels[]
Throughout his reign, the Emperor expanded his dictator's reach across the galaxy by bringing more star systems under Imperial control. Informed of a rebel cell on the planet Lothal, Sidious had the Grand Inquisitor deal with the growing resurgent. The rebels managed to destroy a portion of the Imperial Fleet and killed the Grand Inquisitor in the process led by the renegade Jedi Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger. The Emperor sent his apprentice to handle the growing rebel threat. After the Siege of Lothal the Emperor was contacted by Darth Vader after he struck a critical blow on the rebel cell, and informed his Master that the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, lived and was helping the rebels. This pleased Sidious as he saw this an opportunity to locate more surviving Jedi. Vader stated to his Master that he rather search for Obi-Wan but was told to have patience and ordered his apprentice to dispatch another Inquisitor to hunt down the rebels, Tano, and other undiscovered Jedi.
When Kanan and Ezra visited the Lothal Jedi Temple seeking answers, the Inquisitors Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister tracked them and discovered the temple. While the Jedi escaped, Imperial forces arrived and secured the Temple. The Inquisitors informed their master Darth Vader, who came to visit the site in person, of their power growing and Vader assured them it would be their undoing. Following the discovery, the Emperor directed Minister Veris Hydan to lead the excavation of the Temple and deciphering its mysteries.
After learning Kanan Jarrus had perished, the Emperor contacted Minister Hydan at the temple excavation site. Appearing as a large hologram, the Emperor listened as Hydan informed him that they made some miraculous discoveries and uncovered the Painting of the Mortis gods which he believed to be the key to unlocking the gateway. The Emperor told Hydan of a great disturbance in the Force and spoke of how Kanan's death had altered the fate of Lothal though how he did not know. The Minister suggested full access to the temple would give them more clarity of it. The Emperor urged Hydan to hasten his efforts of seizing the power within believing the gateway to be a conduit between the living and the dead. The Emperor then commanded Minister Hydan to proceed before ending his holographic connection.
Unknown to Hydan, Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren managed to unlock the portal by moving the painted hand of the Daughter opening the gateway and Ezra jumped through entering the World Between Worlds. Inside the mystical dimension, Ezra came across a convor that led him to a portal where it showed him, Ahsoka Tano, dueling Darth Vader inside the Malachor Sith Temple years ago. As the Sith Lord was about to finish her off, Ezra reached through the portal and pulled Ahsoka to safety saving her life. After waking up, Ahsoka recognized the convor calling her Morai and thanked Ezra who spoke of Kanan and the Cosmic Force.
The Emperor learning that Ezra Bridger had entered the World Between Worlds, went to the altar located at the Sith Shrine underneath the Imperial Palace, formerly Jedi Temple, and used Sith Alchemy to open a portal to the realm peering inside to see where Ezra and Ahsoka were. Ezra believed he could save his master and went to the portal the Emperor created where he was shown an illusion of Kanan's last moments of him saving the Ghost Crew. Ahsoka convinced Ezra to let go and honor his master's sacrifice because pulling him out of the moment would cause the deaths of the ones he saved. While walking away from the nexus, Darth Sidious appeared inside the portal while unable to to physically enter the realm cackling evilly as he found both Ezra and Ahsoka. Both see Sidious looking at them through the portal where they had seen Kanan's last stand.
The Emperor recited an incantation of dark side magic casting forth blue flames from his altar towards the pair and Ahsoka blocked it with the Force however the process proved too much and injured her as a result of using too much energy to repel the attack. Ezra helped her and the flames dissipated. The Emperor cackled as he unleashed another wave of dark side blue flames as Ezra and Ahsoka ran while the fire pursued them. While running, the flame caught Ezra the energy wrapping around his leg and pulled him while Sidious tried to get through the portal and the Emperor gloated. Ahsoka, however, hacked at the blue flame lasso with one of her lightsabers, causing the Emperor to howl in rage. Ahsoka told Ezra to keep running and he made her promise to find him when she returns and agreed. Ahsoka and Morai escaped back to their portal on Malachor. Ezra ran towards the Lothal Gateway as the Emperor was closing in on him with his fire magic and escaped the realm enraging the Sith Lord.
After escaping the realm, Ezra reunited with the crew and managed to seal the portal by using the painted hand of the Son and locked the Gateway to the World Between Worlds. Sealing the Gateway caused the Lothal Jedi Temple to collapse upon itself and the temple began to sunk into the ground in a blinding flash of light. Minister Hydan lamented at losing the knowledge the Emperor wanted and fell into the chasm to his death. With the Temple lost, the Emperor was denied access to the mystical realm and the ability to control the universe.
Shortly after, the rebels attacked the Empire to liberate Lothal, Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered Ezra to surrender but refused. Thrawn then began a bombardment of the city, but Ezra gave in and surrendered taking himself to his ship the Chimaera. The Grand Admiral then brought Ezra into a special chamber containing a portion of the Lothal Jedi Temple, which the Emperor had ordered to be placed there. Being off-world, the Emperor appeared to Ezra as a projected hologram in his benevolent fake form. The Emperor dismissed Thrawn and spoke to Ezra explaining that he had the remains of the Temple brought aboard the ship for him.
Attempting to unlock the portal to the mystical realm again, Darth Sidious tried to tempt Ezra with an opportunity of reuniting with his deceased parents. The Emperor took Ezra inside the Temple entrance and showed him a portal to an alternate reality where his parents were still alive. Despite his desire to reunite with his family, Ezra saw through the Sith Lord's manipulation realizing that doing so would mean he never joined the Rebellion and used the Force to tear down the structure turning it into rubble.
The Emperor was infuriated by this causing his hologram projection to shift rapidly between his non-corrupted appearance and his true form. As Ezra leapt from the wreckage, Sidious emerged from the temple ruins, his hologram still changing until it landed in his scarred form. The young Jedi told Darth Sidious he had a family and didn't need anything from him. The Emperor called his decision unfortunate and, with his plans ruined, ordered three of his Imperial Royal Guards to execute Ezra before shutting off the holographic transmission. Using modified Force pikes, the guards held Ezra in the air while three stormtroopers entered and began firing at the Jedi suspended in the air. Ezra, however, used the Force to hurl boulders and rocks from the Temple ruins at his attackers, crushing the troopers and guards to death and the Jedi escaped.
The Empire Strikes Back[]
the film he contacts Darth Vader via holographic communication and tells him of a "great disturbance in the Force," and warns him that Luke Skywalker is becoming a threat. But Vader convinces the Emperor that Luke would be an asset if he could be turned to the dark side of the Force.
Return of the Jedi[]
In Return of the Jedi, Darth Sidious (now portrayed by Ian McDiarmid) arrives on the second Death Star to oversee the final stages of the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. When Vader delivers his son, to Darth Sidious, the Emperor—intent on replacing Vader with a younger, more powerful apprentice—tempts the young Jedi to the dark side by appealing to his fear for his friends. This leads to a lightsaber duel in which Luke defeats and nearly kills Vader. Luke ultimately refuses to turn to the dark side, which angers Sidious, who cruelly attacks him with Force lightning. Vader, witnessing the suffering of his son, turns on his master who is the enemy of the Galactic Republic and a traitor, and redeems himself by throwing the evil Emperor into the Death Star's reactor shaft to his death, and fulfilling the prophecy as the Chosen One.
The Rise of Skywalker[]
In the final film of the saga, it is revealed that Darth Sidious managed to revive himself in a clone body by using his great mastery over the dark side of the Force, along with the knowledge on how to cheat death by manipulating the midi-chlorians (as stated by his quote; "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider it to be unnatural"). However, the clone body is left physically impaired because it could not handle the Emperor's spirit, so he took refuge in the ancient Sith world of Exegol, where he had to be moved and sustained by machinery before carrying out the orders of Operation Cinder. It is also revealed that Sidious was responsible for the creation of Snoke as a figurehead, thus making him responsible for the creation of the First Order and Ben's fall to the dark side as Kylo Ren. It also turns out that Sidious himself is the paternal grandfather of Rey, as he fathered a non-identical clone, whom he considered as his "son". However, his son was considered a failure due to his lack of Force sensitivity. Despite this, the Emperor allowed his son to escape from Exegol as he wanted his bloodline to live on through natural means. His son would later marry a woman who gives birth to Rey, eleven years after the Battle of Endor.
Unlike Sidious, his son refused to bear the idea of continuing his father's Sith legacy, so he and his wife hid themselves and their daughter away from sight by living as 'nobodies'. However, the Sith Lord was able to track down his son and daughter-in-law and had them murdered by an assassin named Ochi of Bestoon, who later died of starvation in the planet Pasaana. Nevertheless, Rey's parents managed to hide away Rey by abandoning her on Jakku before they died. Also, during his supposed absence, Sidious was helped by a group of Sith cultists called the Sith Eternal, who was tasked in creating a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, the Final Order, that are much more effective than the Death Stars and Starkiller Base in destroying planets.
One year following Snoke's death, the Emperor broadcasted a message to the entire galaxy of his return. Upon hearing of this, Kylo finds a wayfinder on Mustafar detailing the location to Exegol, so he heads over there, hoping to finish off the Sith Emperor in securing his power of the First Order. However, Sidious reveals that he was the one responsible for the creation of Snoke and the First Order, besides also revealing that he whispered in Ben's mind throughout his life. Therefore, Sidious is the one who manipulated Ben Solo to fall to the dark side and become Kylo Ren. After revealing the might of the Final Order, Sidious offers Kylo a chance to prove himself by tracking down Rey to kill her, ending the Jedi. Kylo accepts the task, though, in secret, he plans to use this as an opportunity in having Rey join him to take down the Emperor.
Kylo was able to track down Rey, and he explained to her about her true lineage and what happened to her parents; he was even surprised to see that Rey had actually inherited Sidious' power and could use Force lightning when she accidentally destroyed a First Order transport ship with it. However, her continued survival caused the Emperor to suspect treachery from Ren and as such contacted him through the Force threatening to turn the Sith fleet against the Supreme Leader unless he killed Rey. Despite this revelation, Rey refused to join Kylo in overthrowing the Emperor and engaged in a fight against Kylo in the remnants of the second Death Star in Endor. However, Rey backed away in horror after injuring Kylo when he sensed Leia's death. Realizing Kylo had let his guard down upon sensing his mother's demise, a remorseful Rey heals Kylo before escaping to Ahch-To, feeling that she's becoming ruthless as her grandfather.
Completely ashamed of the fact that she's the descendant of a cruel Sith Emperor who has destroyed many star systems and murdered trillions of lifeforms, Rey resolves to remain on Ahch-To in self-exile. However, Luke's spirit convinced her to defy her lineage by tracking down and facing her grandfather in order to face her destiny. Around the same time, Kylo (on the advice of the memory of his deceased father Han) severs his ties with the First Order and the dark side of the Force, retaining his former identity as Ben Solo, runs to save Rey and help her defeat the Emperor and his forces for good. Ben Solo's return to the light causes Sidious to usurp the First Order from him, as Allegiant General Pryde pledges himself to the Sith Lord after killing General Hux. The Emperor gains the full control of the First Order and orders the destruction of the planet Kijimi through a Sith Star Destroyer (commandeered by Pryde) as a show of force.
Using Ben's wayfinder and Luke's T-65B X-wing, Rey managed to find the location of the Emperor's base of Exegol before sending out the information to the Resistance. Upon confronting the Emperor at his throne with all the Sith Eternal cultists waiting for her arrival, Sidious revealed to Rey that he actually intends to be killed by Rey so that his spirit will be transferred into her, and that she will become the new Empress of the new Sith Empire, and secure full power over the galaxy. To ensure of this, Sidious revealed that he tricked Rey into bringing the entire Resistance to a trap on Exegol so that the Sith Eternal forces could wipe them all out.
At first, Rey was tempted to strike down Sidious in desperation to save her friends, but upon sensing that Ben has renounced his ties from the dark side and came by to help her, Rey realizes that there is hope and hands over the Skywalker's lightsaber to Ben, using their Force dyad to take down the Knights of Ren and the Sovereign Protectors. Even better, the Resistance managed to bring a powerful armada (led by Lando himself) from other systems to take down the Sith fleet. Not surprised by all of this in the slightest, Sidious attacks Ben and Rey to kill them. However, he sensed the power of their Force dyad and restrained both of them, draining their Force energy, weakening them, and restoring his imperfect clone body in the process.
Casting Ben into a bottomless pit out of spite against the Skywalker family for causing his previous death, the Sith Lord used his powers to unleash a series of Force lightning into Exegol's atmosphere, putting the entire Resistance armada in chaotic peril, including the ships of Poe Dameron and Nien Nunb. Though Sidious cackles evilly in triumph as he is about to accomplish his ultimate goal for power and revenge, several of the past Jedi (Luke, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Yoda, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Kanan Jarrus, Adi Gallia, Aayla Secura, and Luminara Unduli) gave their strength to Rey, allowing her to make one final stand and distract the Emperor long enough to focus his wrath on her.
Sensing Rey's newfound strength given by the past Jedi, Sidious decides to finish off his granddaughter as an example to secure his power over the galaxy. To that end, he unleashed his full power of Force lightning on Rey, though she was able to fend this off with her lightsaber. With all of his rage, Sidious angrily declared that Rey is no match for him as he represents all of the Sith. Rey then declares that she represents all of the Jedi before using her powers to grab the other lightsaber, using both lightsabers to deflect the Force lightning back on her evil grandfather. Realizing this too late as his powers have turned against him thanks to Rey's newfound strength, Sidious screams in complete agony as the Force lightning vaporizes his flesh before his body explodes, finally killing the Sith Emperor once again but this time permanently. Darth Sidious' demise also resulted in a massive explosion that killed all of the Sith Eternal cultists, bringing the threat of the Phantom Menace and the Sith to an end once and for all as well as avenging Rey's parents and all those who perished during the war, including all the Jedi from the past.
With Darth Sidious and his cultists finally dead, the Resistance was able to take down the remaining Sith forces, thus putting an end to the Final Order. The Emperor's death was followed by Rey succumbing to her injuries inflicted during the battle. However, Ben sacrificed himself by transferring his own life Force into her body, reviving her but vanishing into the Force as a consequence. Thus, Sidious was apparently successful in destroying the Skywalker family bloodline as he desired. Nevertheless, as the entire galaxy celebrates over their victory against the Emperor and the Sith Eternal, Rey contently repudiates the Palpatine name by renaming herself "Rey Skywalker" in honor of the sacrifices of Ben and his family, thus leaving her grandfather's goals for conquest and power in vain.
Other Appearances[]
Expanded Universe[]
In the expanded universe materials, however, his dark spirit survives by possessing clones, until he is ultimately killed due to genetic tampering and Emphajaros Brand intercepting his spirit when about to possess the infant Anakin Solo.
Star Wars Weekends[]
He was a meetable character during the Star Wars Weekends event in Disney's Hollywood Studios at The Walt Disney World Resort.
Gallery[]
The Phantom Menace[]
Attack of the Clones[]
Revenge of the Sith[]
The Rise of Skywalker[]
Trivia[]
- Since the initial theatrical run of Return of the Jedi, Darth Sidious has become a symbol of evil and sinister deception in popular culture. People have compared his corrupt leadership to Barack Obama and his appearance to that of Benedict Arnold.
- The film historian Robin Wood has compared Sidious's appearance to that of the Evil Queen's witch form in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Coincidentally, both of their disfigured appearances had some relation to lightning that they summoned (the Queen added lightning to a potion as part of an ingredient to fashion a disguise for herself, and Sidious's body ended up disfigured as a direct result of Mace Windu redirecting his Force Lightning back at Sidious when he attempted to blast him with it.
- Contrary to popular belief, Darth Sidious was not referred to by name until The Phantom Menace. His name originated from supplementary materials such as the visual dictionary for the original trilogy, the script, and the novelizations.
- Sidious's defeat and later death at the hands of Vader was referenced in Toy Story 3, where Big Baby picked up Lotso after one abuse too many and threw him in the dumpster.