Emperor Palpatine

Convince Anakin Skywalker to join the dark side and force him to be his apprentice.
Reform the Republic into an Empire and rule the entire galaxy.
Have his successors destroy all of galactic civilization in the event of his untimely death.
Take revenge on the Skywalkers for his first death (all succeeded).
Sway Luke Skywalker to the dark side and have him replace Darth Vader as his apprentice.
Use the First Order which he has formed in order to establish a new Sith Empire.
Manipulate his granddaughter Rey into killing him so that he could transfer his spirit into her body.
Conquer the entire universe and rule over it as a living deity (all failed).

### Most Entertaining Features

Being an iconic villain with a positive impact on the story's quality.
Having a number of awesomely hammy lines.
Showing a great deal of competence and badassery.
Ian McDiarmid‘s excellent performance.

### Most Detestable Traits

Being incredibly cruel, sadistic, heartless, and generally evil with no morally redeeming qualities.

### Type of ED

Tyrannical Mastermind

**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 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.
	+ He manipulated Ben Solo to fall to the Dark Side and become Kylo Ren.
* He is very charismatic and puts on an effective, charming facade 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.

### What Makes Him Detestable?

* 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 Mace Windu, specifically creating Darth Vader's suit to be vulnerable to his Force lightning (after keeping him awake during the entire procedure), 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.
* 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.
* 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, is seemingly unable to understand love, righteousness, or the joy in lifting others, and often gives his enemies the knowledge needed to defeat him out of his overconfidence. In general, he is a "smug snake" with an inflated ego.
* 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."

## 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."
* He's the only character in the wallpaper so far.

## Notes

1. ↑ "Palpatine's Point of View," in *Homing Beacon* #137. May 26, 2005. Archived.

## External Links

* Emperor Palpatine on the Villains Wiki
* Emperor Palpatine on the Pure Evil Wiki

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