Darth Sidious

(other disciples)

* Inquisitorius

**Darth Sidious**, also known as **Sheev Palpatine**, is a minor antagonist of *Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi*, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid.

A Sith Lord and the Galactic Emperor, Darth Sidious is the sovereign figure in the Galactic Empire's hierarchy. Distant and reclusive, he relinquishes much power to his right-hand, Darth Vader, whose troubled ties to the past put his suitability as successor, or mere lieutenant, into question.

## History

###### Flashbacks

Before the "Dark Times", Sheev Palpatine was the much-respected Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate; few knew him to be Darth Sidious, a Dark Lord of the Sith.

With the aid of his first two disciples - Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus - Darth Sidious engineered the conflict known as the "Clone Wars" by maneuvering the Confederacy of Independent Systems against the Galactic Republic. In his public persona of Palpatine, he used the secessionist crisis to daunt the Senate into allowing him to officially form the clone army to combat the droid forces. Sidious had already arranged for inhibitor chips inside the clone troopers' heads, ensuring their obedience to his orders.

Early on, Sidious recognized Anakin Skywalker's potential as a worthy successor, or lieutenant at the least, and watched "[his] career with great interest". In the guise of the humble Chancellor, he cultivated a friendship with the Jedi Knight and became somewhat of a father-figure to the latter. Preying on the young man's quest for more power and his possessive feelings for Padmé Amidala - Anakin's secret wife - Darth Sidious drew Skywalker towards the Dark Side of the Force, re-christening him Darth Vader.

With Vader at his side, Sidious was ready for the final moves on the chess board : in the closing hours of the war, the hidden Sith Lord issued Order 66, causing the clone troopers to turn on their Jedi commanders, while his new prize pupil personally led an attack upon the Jedi Temple. Appearing before the Galactic Senate, the scarred Supreme Chancellor announced the rise of a new Galactic Empire. Following Vader's fateful duel with his old mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Mustafar, Sidious rushed to rescue his injured apprentice via granting him a menacing suit of armor that would sustain him.

###### In-between

As Galactic Emperor of the nascent New Order, he would found the Imperial Inquisition, or Inquisitorius, an agency of Force-attuned operatives tasked with continuing the Great Jedi Purge. Sidious hence leave much operational control to Vader, charging him with governing both the Imperial forces and the Inquisitorius as Emperor's Fist.

###### Part VI

Following the end of the hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi in 9 BBY, Darth Sidious contacted Darth Vader via hologram at the latter's Fortress Vader on Mustafar. Unmoved by his apprentice's determination to continue his pursuit of the Jedi Master, the Emperor simply remarked on his unnecessary agitation. To make his point clear, Sidious argued that Vader's inability to overcome his past with Obi-Wan Kenobi had left him weakened. He further implied that a weakened Vader could hardly be considered useful, regardless if as next-in-line or mere tool. Falling in line, Vader dismissed Kenobi as "nothing" and proclaimed his face-value commitment to Sidious, pleasing the latter just as their communication concluded.

## Behind the scenes

Darth Sidious first appeared, albeit in hologram form, in the 1980 film *Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back*, directed by Irvin Kreshner, where he was voiced by Clive Revill and portrayed by Marjorie Eaton, and would later make his physical debut in the 1983 *Star Wars: Episode V Return of the Jedi*, directed by Richard Marquand, where he was portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. McDiarmid would go on to play Sidious, as well as his Palpatine alter ego, again in George Lucas' *Star Wars* prequel trilogy and reprised the role for a cameo in *Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi*.