Darth Sidious

The precise origins of Darth Sidious remained a closely held secret, one that he guarded beyond his multiple deaths. Born as Sheev Palpatine on the Mid Rim planet Naboo, he arrived eighty-four years prior to the Battle of Yavin. The noble, dynastic Palpatine family occupied a position within the wealthy elite of Naboo society. However, at various times throughout his life, Palpatine appeared to have no living family members, as far as the public knew. No records of obituaries for his parents existed either, marking him as the last of his ancient family bloodline. Palpatine spent his formative years in the refined city of Theed, the capital of his homeworld. There, he cultivated relationships with a distinguished array of esteemed politicians spanning centuries. During his youth, he acquired a profound understanding of governance and the intricacies of power. Consequently, Palpatine demonstrated exceptional skill in manipulation from a young age.

The details surrounding Sidious's apprenticeship under the Sith remained largely unknown, including the exact timing of when it occurred. However, he became the Sith apprentice to Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis, adopting the name Darth Sidious. As a Sith Lord, Sidious absorbed all of his Sith Master's knowledge of the dark side of the Force, adhering to the tradition established by the ancient Darth Bane. During his apprenticeship with Plagueis, Sidious constructed his own Sith lightsabers. Simultaneously, he steadily consolidated political influence.

In his youth, Palpatine traveled extensively throughout the galaxy, amassing a collection of art, some of which was linked to the dark side. While unaware observers might have dismissed his collection as mere junk, Palpatine possessed a deeper understanding. During his travels, he learned new strategies for expanding his power, secrets he would keep for years to come. While training with Plagueis, Sidious learned that two Sith were necessary for their dangerous machinations. Therefore, by working together in accordance with Darth Bane's Rule of Two, with one serving as bait for the dark side of the Force and the other as a vessel, they could succeed in acquiring the ability to harness the full power of the dark side and rule immortal for ten thousand years.

Darth Sidious and Darth Plagueis collaborated for many years, endeavoring to unlock the secrets of immortality, which was Plagueis's primary obsession and long-held desire. Sidious eventually became aware of Plagueis's ability to manipulate the midi-chlorians to create life, an ability his master used to prevent the deaths of those he cared for. Plagueis believed that the key to immortality lay in science. As such, he conducted "unnatural" experiments with his rare ability to manipulate the midi-chlorians as part of the pair's in-depth studies into the biological underpinnings of life itself. Although the experiments were incomplete, they were encouraging to Sidious. According to Darth Sidious' book, The Secrets of the Sith, written later in his life, Plagueis discovered a form of "immortality" through transference, a Force power that allowed the user to transfer their spirit and consciousness to another body, essentially using bodies as vessels. This obsession with extending one's own life later passed onto Sidious during his time as Galactic Emperor. Plagueis also attempted to create a Force dyad with Sidious, a unique Force-bond as strong as life itself and which was predecessor to the Rule of Two. However, Plagueis was unable to form the dyad.

In his public role as Sheev Palpatine, Sidious displayed a keen interest in politics and the public affairs of Naboo. In 65 BBY, he participated in the opening ceremony of the Theed power generator, where observers noted his fascination with the complex's deep-pit design. His entry into politics was further facilitated by his master, who arranged for him to be elevated to the position of senator representing his homeworld in the Galactic Republic Senate as part of the Naboo delegation, being elected in 52 BBY. This role also made him the senator for the entire Chommell sector, meaning he represented a total of thirty-six planets. Upon his election, Palpatine promptly aligned himself with the ruling party of incumbent Supreme Chancellor Skor Kalpana. He was accompanied by a group of loyal aides who had followed him since his days on Naboo. He observed the intense infighting and corruption that plagued the Republic. He began to forge relationships with individuals who would later become his collaborators, such as Wilhuff Tarkin. The two first encountered each other when Tarkin was still a cadet at the Sullust Sector Spacefarers Academy, and while Palpatine was still apprenticed to Plagueis.

Taking a personal interest in the younger man, Senator Palpatine decided to assist him in joining the Judicial Department, fulfilling Tarkin's desire. However, he also advised him to consider a career in politics. Over the following years, their relationship grew increasingly confidential. Palpatine frequently praised Tarkin for his talents and skills, noting their similarities: both hailed from planets on the fringes of the galaxy but were destined to have a significant impact on the history of the galaxy itself. Eventually, Tarkin became one of the few individuals who addressed Palpatine by his first name.

While concealing his Sith identity from the public, Sidious undertook the task of executing the Sith's long-percolating plan to replace the Republic with a new Sith Empire and destroy the Jedi Order. In doing so, he would deceive the Senate, the Republic, and the Jedi. During his tenure as a senator, Palpatine was known to have the support of mysterious friends and allies whom he might mention but never identify. For example, even Tarkin remained unaware of the specific individuals who worked with Palpatine in the shadows, despite Palpatine's frequent references to them. Speculating about the identities of his secret supporters, Palpatine's political rivals knew that he had undisclosed contacts beyond his loyal Naboo followers and the senatorial cabal with which he was often associated. Rumors circulated that shadowy organizations and figures operating outside of public view—including industrialists, financiers, and bankers from the galaxy's most prominent sectors—were connected to the senator from Naboo.

Seeking a Sith apprentice, Sidious journeyed to the planet Dathomir and met with the Dathomirian Nightsister Mother Talzin. By combining his knowledge of the dark side of the Force with Talzin's understanding of Nightsister magicks, Sidious considered making Talzin his apprentice and right hand. However, Sidious ultimately chose her infant son, the Zabrak Nightbrother who would later become his true Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. Whenever Sidious visited Talzin, Maul would hide in his room, fearful of the man and concerned about Talzin's growing connection with him. Sidious was drawn to Maul because of his inability to control his anger. Eventually, Sidious ordered Talzin to relinquish Maul to a keeper, threatening to abandon his promise to make her his apprentice. She reluctantly complied, and Maul angrily fled into the forest, overhearing the conversation from behind his door. Upon his return the following morning, a Nightbrother seized him and cast him into a pit, preventing him from saying farewell to his mother.

Over the course of several months, Maul endured relentless domestic abuse, all orchestrated by Sidious as a test. Through the influence of his keeper's sons beating him and the abuse, Sidious' wish for Maul came true; Maul's perceptions and his love for his mother eventually turned into resentment and hatred for abandoning him. Maul's hatred started manifesting through the Dark Side, and he would practice using the dark side of the Force every chance he got; eventually, the two brothers stopped beating him after seeing that their provocations were no longer affecting him. Sidious eventually orchestrated a selection to gain himself an apprentice. At the Selection Arena, Sidious witnessed Maul after he was initially prevented from participating. In a sudden burst of anger, he used the dark side of the Force to Force choke the two brothers, and then the keeper, all in front of Sidious and Talzin. Beyond pleased at Maul's progress and potential, Sidious declared Maul the winner and his new apprentice, much to Talzin's dismay.

As a result, instead of fulfilling his promise to grant the apprenticeship to Talzin, Sidious abducted her son and departed Dathomir, leaving the Nightsister yearning for vengeance against the Sith Lord. Adhering to the traditions set forth by the Rule of Two, which demanded only two Sith, and deciding that Plagueis had outlived his usefulness, Sidious betrayed his master by breaking into his apartment and murdering him in his sleep. Sidious fondly recalled the moment he realized he had surpassed Plagueis in power and could kill the man who had trained him. He later reflected that "Master" was the first title of power he claimed for himself. Now the Sith Master himself, Sidious brutally trained Maul to be a weapon of the Sith, viewing Maul's prowess and combat abilities as an invaluable asset to his Grand Plan.

At some point while training Maul, Sidious took his apprentice to Malachor to bear witness to a great battle that occurred there between the Jedi and the Sith. He forced Maul to breathe in the ashes of Sith warriors, slain when an ancient weapon was activated in the Sith temple on the planet. While breathing in this ash, Maul had visions of members of the Sith order being struck down by the Jedi. He felt the slash of saber after saber as he felt the death of his Sith brethren. These visions, in tandem with his training, made Maul long for revenge against the Jedi Order, which had defeated the Sith a millennium earlier. Thus motivated, Darth Maul would serve as a powerful weapon in Sidious's plans to destroy the Jedi and restore the Sith to galactic power.

In 42 BBY, Palpatine was introduced to Dooku, a Jedi, by the latter's former Padawan Rael Averross, after the former Jedi Master delivered an address to the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. Following the invasion of Serenno, Dooku left the Jedi Order to claim the title of planetary count, but Sidious eventually recruited Dooku to the Sith by exploiting his anger with the Republic despite also having Maul under his wing. Indeed, Dooku would not yet become a Sith apprentice. To fulfill Sidious's plans, Dooku betrayed and orchestrated the death of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and took over his clientele for the commission of a clone army produced on Kamino; the event was subsequently covered up when Dooku erased all records of Kamino from the Jedi Archives.

All the while, Palpatine maintained a faithful correspondence with Wilhuff Tarkin—whose service in the Judicial Department kept them from meeting face-to-face often—and supported bills in the Senate that would aid Eriadu and the Seswenna sector, Tarkin's homeworld and its sector, respectively. After Valorum's re-election, something Palpatine attributed to senatorial special interest groups who needed a weak chancellor, whispers began to swirl Valorum would be unable to hold onto power, with Palpatine's name emerging as a possible successor to the Chancellery. Around that time, Palpatine also met with Tarkin—who had grown disillusioned with the Judicial force—in his Coruscant office in one of their rare person-to-person meetings, where Palpatine urged Tarkin to enter planetary politics as Eriadu's new governor. Warning him something dark was brewing in their corner of the galaxy and promising Tarkin the support of himself and his shadowy allies, Palpatine convinced Tarkin, who promised to do whatever was best for Eriadu and the Republic in any manner Palpatine wished it to be done.

In need of pawns for his plans but preferring a mysterious, hooded presence through holographic transmissions rather than direct communication, Sidious contacted the galaxy's most powerful beings and convinced them to do his bidding with promises and threats. To that end, Sidious was also able to manipulate Nute Gunray's rise to the position of Viceroy of the Trade Federation. Gunray was able to arise to that position thanks to the Eriadu Conference, where an effort to end the squabbles between the Trade Federation and Republic ended in disaster; the Nebula Front attacked the conference and successfully wiped out the Federation directorate, creating a power vacuum for Gunray to step into, while Valorum escaped and was able to secure a brief boost in popularity, with which he pushed through taxation legislation. Convincing the Trade Federation to obey him by promising wealth, Sidious odered the Federation to construct a droid army, Sidious also helped the Geonosian Poggle the Lesser rise to the position of Archduke of Geonosis and controller of their droid foundries. With Sidious's backing, Poggle produced millions of B1-series battle droids for the Trade Federation military.

In the year 33 BBY, Darth Sidious convened with Darth Maul at his clandestine location, specifically the antiquated LiMerge Power Building situated within the Works industrial sector of Coruscant. During this meeting, Sidious reprimanded Maul for his carelessness in allowing the Jedi to detect his presence. He dismissed Maul's impatience and cautioned him that jeopardizing his master's carefully crafted, long-range strategies would result in dire repercussions. Subsequently, Sidious tasked Maul with confronting a group of pirates who were causing disturbances at their secret mining facilities located within the Kellux system. Unbeknownst to Maul, Sidious was subtly evaluating his allegiance by presenting him with an opportunity to engage a Jedi Padawan in combat. Maul unwittingly followed the course set before him and ultimately killed the Jedi. Upon Maul's return to Coruscant, Sidious revealed his complete awareness of Maul's activities, questioning whether his apprentice felt satisfied after killing a Jedi. Sidious expressed his satisfaction when Maul indicated that he did not.

Shortly thereafter, while operating in the Coruscant underworld, Maul murdered a Force-sensitive thief in an effort to quench his desire for combat with Jedi. Sidious criticized the imprudence of such actions, but Maul asserted that he had taken sufficient precautions to prevent the Jedi from discovering the Sith's continued existence. Sidious acknowledged Maul's rage but cautioned him to temper it with patience. Maul responded with frustration at being restrained. Sidious reminded him that his training was incomplete, leading them to revisit Malachor, the site where Maul had previously experienced visions of the Sith's destruction by the Jedi. Sidious instructed Maul to induce another vision by inhaling the ashes of deceased Sith warriors. Through this vision, Maul grasped the importance of patience, recognizing that rage alone would not enable him and his master to overcome the Jedi Order's collective power. Pleased, Sidious emphasized that combining meticulous planning with the dark side's power would eventually lead to the Jedi's successful annihilation.

Around this time, Palpatine engaged in his regular meetings with Chancellor Valorum and Jedi Masters Yoda and Adi Gallia to deliberate on diplomatic issues pertinent to both the Republic and the Jedi Order. Among the topics discussed were the labor disputes occurring on Garqi and Chamble; Palpatine proposed that the Jedi conduct a training exercise on Chamble. Another matter concerned the acceptance of a shipment of flamboyant boots sent by the newly admitted member world Hafernia as a gift for the Jedi Order. Gallia expressed reservations about accepting the gift, asserting that the Jedi did not endorse commercial products. Palpatine countered that they did endorse the Republic and effective governance. Ultimately, the group decided that the Order would nominally accept the boots.

Gallia was briefly summoned to confer with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Upon her return, Palpatine presented her with a datapad outlining the actions he and Valorum had proposed. Before resuming the main discussion, they discreetly discussed their differing opinions on the deep shade of blue that Valorum had selected post-reelection, with Palpatine musing about the room's appearance in red. Shortly thereafter, Palpatine and Valorum became aware of the Jedi Council's intention to visit Kwenn and contacted Master Mace Windu to discuss the matter.

Following the defense of Kwenn by the Jedi Council against pirate forces led by the Riftwalker commander Zilastra and the subsequent destruction of the Order's Sanctuary Mount outpost, Darth Sidious contacted the former Seneschal of the installation, an elderly Bimm named Voh, via holocommunication. Sidious, under the guise of Senator Palpatine, had previously arranged with Voh to maintain the Senate's interest in Kwenn, ensuring the Jedi's continued presence at the outpost, in exchange for Jedi texts from its library that Sidious deemed valuable. They had also agreed to destroy any materials that Palpatine did not require to conceal the fact that they were missing. However, Sidious discovered that Voh had instead sold the remaining materials, unable to bring himself to destroy historical documents. Furthermore, during the Council's visit to Kwenn, Master Eeth Koth had noticed items missing from the library and located some of the less significant ones in a local shop. When confronted, Voh argued that the evidence of the theft had been destroyed along with the outpost and that he could manipulate his way into a position at another outpost to continue supplying Palpatine with Jedi works.

However, Sidious expressed his disinterest in continuing his association with Voh. The Sith Lord clarified to the perplexed Bimm that he no longer cared about Kwenn. In fact, he was pleased to see the Jedi closing outposts and reacting to events across the galaxy, all of which would benefit his forthcoming plans involving the Republic and the Trade Federation. Sidious acknowledged that Zilastra's scheme had impressed him and that she would be of further interest, although he was not surprised by her ultimate failure against the Jedi. The Sith Lord also pointed out that Voh was too old to be of much further use to either himself or the Jedi. When the bewildered Bimm inquired as to why Palpatine had so drastically altered his stance and why he was divulging all of this information, Sidious responded that it was intended for another's ears, gesturing towards his apprentice Darth Maul, who had entered the room and proceeded to deal with the former Seneschal.

Under the guise of Palpatine, Sidious strategically maneuvered to wrest power from Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, a figure with minimal political influence who considered Palpatine a trusted confidant and ally, thereby enabling Sidious to manipulate him effortlessly. Within the Senate, Sidious subtly ensured that legislative debates concerning taxation were perpetually contentious, resulting in voting sessions that alternated between Federation defeats and victories. Meanwhile, Nute Gunray erroneously believed that Sidious was consistently advocating for Federation interests. Following a discussion in his office regarding the latest iteration of the bill, Valorum requested that Palpatine remain behind and confided in him his intention to appoint a Jedi as an impartial mediator, a proposition that Palpatine feigned surprise at before urging him to postpone such action. Accelerating his agenda upon learning of the Chommell sector summit, which threatened to consolidate the sector's power, Sidious employed holographic communication to persuade Gunray to blockade the planet Naboo, framing it as a protest against the Senate's taxation of trade routes to remote star systems. Ultimately, driven to desperation by the Senate's inaction, Valorum secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights—Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi—as ambassadors to negotiate with the Trade Federation's Neimoidian leaders.

Impressed by the Geonosians' ingenuity in creating the Federation's droid army, the Trade Federation, acting on Sidious' orders, initiated the Invasion of Naboo. Sidious also instructed Gunray to assassinate Chancellor Valorum's Jedi ambassadors. When Gunray questioned the legality of the invasion, Sidious simply asserted that he would legitimize it. The Neimoidians complied, but the Jedi survived the assassination attempt and escaped the Federation ship. After Sidious concluded his communication with Gunray, Queen Padmé Amidala contacted him regarding the Federation's denial that the Chancellor had dispatched ambassadors to negotiate with them as promised. Sidious, as Palpatine, feigned concern at this purported revelation but was abruptly interrupted by the Trade Federation's communication blackout, alerting the Naboo to the invasion.

The Federation's droid army commenced its assault. Within a single day, the army occupied the planet's capital city and its surrounding territories. Furthermore, Amidala and her entourage were captured and presented with a treaty designed to legitimize the invasion. However, the Jedi intervened to rescue them, and they successfully evaded the blockade aboard the queen's starship.

Upon learning from Gunray that Amidala had refused to sign the treaty, the enraged Sith Lord introduced them to Darth Maul, whom he dispatched to locate and recapture Amidala. Due to damage sustained by Amidala's ship during the escape, the queen chose to land on Tatooine, a remote desert planet situated in the Outer Rim Territories, for repairs. Maul successfully determined the queen's location and assured his master that his search on the sparsely populated world would be brief. Sidious instructed him to confront the Jedi first and then capture the queen after their demise. Maul departed for Tatooine but failed to kill the Jedi or retrieve Amidala. Sidious anticipated that she would seek refuge on Coruscant if Maul failed.

While awaiting Amidala's arrival on Coruscant, Sidious found himself with limited obligations, although he ensured his presence at Senate voting sessions, despite his lack of genuine interest. With time to spare, Palpatine perused his extensive art collection, having exhausted the available space in his office to accommodate it. His attention was drawn to a black statue known as the Yonta Prime, a cherished piece that he found difficult to display in his office without appearing careless. He decided to remove it from storage, instructing its relocation to his apartment, with the intention of placing it in the Supreme Chancellor's office once his current scheme reached fruition.

Despite these setbacks, Palpatine successfully met with Amidala on Coruscant, where she intended to present her case to Chancellor Valorum before the Galactic Senate. Inviting Amidala to his apartment for a private audience, Palpatine informed the queen that the Senate had long abandoned its concern for the common good and that Valorum was essentially powerless against them. With both the Senate and Valorum rendered ineffective, Palpatine offered her two options: she could initiate a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum and advocate for the election of a more capable leader, or she could pursue the matter through the courts, a process that would be considerably more protracted. Still hoping to achieve some resolution within the Senate, Amidala chose to attend the special session of the body scheduled for the following day.

During the anticipated Senate session, Amidala endeavored to advocate for Republic intervention to halt the Trade Federation's occupation of her planet. However, the Federation representative Lott Dod vehemently refuted the "accusations" leveled against the Federation, asserting that there was no evidence of an invasion or occupation. He proposed that a commission be dispatched to Naboo to ascertain the truth, a motion seconded by the senator from Malastare, Aks Moe. Vice Chair Mas Amedda conferred briefly with Valorum, and Palpatine seized the opportunity to predict that the Chancellor, constrained by Senatorial procedure at the behest of bureaucrats likely in the Federation's employ, would fail to assist Naboo. When Valorum reluctantly conceded that the Federation was within its rights to request a commission, an incensed Amidala realized the veracity of Palpatine's assessment: Valorum was too weak and ineffective to provide her world with the necessary assistance. Consequently, she heeded Palpatine's advice and publicly called for a Vote of No Confidence in the Chancellor. Immediately, numerous Senators demanded an immediate vote, leaving Valorum stunned.

The ensuing power vacuum led to Palpatine's nomination as Supreme Chancellor, alongside Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare. However, upon informing Amidala of his nomination, the queen declared her intention to return to Naboo and liberate it from the Trade Federation by any means necessary. Palpatine feigned concern and made a halfhearted attempt to dissuade her from leaving Coruscant. She departed regardless, accompanied by Jinn and Kenobi for protection, and wished Palpatine success in the election.

Sidious contacted the Neimoidians on Naboo, ordering them to eliminate Amidala upon her arrival, and dispatched Maul to accompany them with instructions to ensure the Neimoidians killed the queen and that the Jedi fell by his own hand. Even while managing the election on Coruscant, he made time to monitor the Neimoidians' progress. Contrary to his expectations, he learned that Amidala had not only evaded Gunray's grasp but had also forged an alliance with the Gungans and assembled an army in the planet's swamps in preparation for an assault against the Federation occupation force. Doubting her chances of success, he approved Gunray's plan to meet the Gungans in direct combat.

However, the Federation army suffered defeat, Gunray was captured by Amidala's forces, and Maul met his presumed demise at the hands of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, although not before fatally wounding Qui-Gon Jinn. Darth Sidious exhibited no regret over the loss of the Zabrak warrior and prepared to recruit a new Sith apprentice to advance his schemes. Following Jinn's death, Count Dooku traveled to their designated meeting place, the LiMerge Power Building in the Works, to confront Sidious, incensed that his ally's machinations had resulted in the death of his former apprentice.

As Dooku accused Sidious of compelling him to betray everything and everyone he had known, Sidious affirmed that Dooku's actions served a greater purpose and that the galaxy required sacrifices to be remade. Dooku speculated that Qui-Gon Jinn could have been a valuable ally, a truth that Sidious acknowledged, conceding that it would have indeed benefited Dooku. Despite Dooku's extensive contributions, Sidious admitted that he had always questioned his loyalty, much to Dooku's dismay. Defending his commitment, Dooku emphasized that he had executed every task entrusted to him. Sidious then revealed that even greater demands lay ahead if they were to achieve their objectives.

Unbeknownst to them, Yaddle had secretly followed Dooku and urged him to surrender and assist her in defeating Sidious. Dooku initially hesitated but then, acting on Sidious' orders, engaged Yaddle in a lightsaber duel as a final test of loyalty. Despite Yaddle's valiant efforts, Dooku's unparalleled dueling skills quickly overwhelmed her. Yaddle pleaded with Dooku, admitting that the Jedi High Council had erred and informing him that she had consequently resigned from her position on the Council. Her final attempt to persuade Dooku failed, and they dueled once more, as Sidious observed and cackled maniacally.

As Dooku forced Yaddle against the frame of the large doorway, he used the Force to activate the door's lever, causing it to collapse onto his former friend. Overwhelmed with sorrow for his actions, Dooku was reassured by Sidious, who congratulated his "friend" and apprentice. To their astonishment, Yaddle suddenly lifted the doorway in a final display of her immense Force abilities. Lying defenseless and exhausted at Dooku's feet, Dooku impaled her with his lightsaber. As Sidious' new Sith apprentice, Dooku assumed the secret identity of Darth Tyranus.

Ultimately, Palpatine secured the election for Supreme Chancellor and later attended the funeral of Jinn. Palpatine also learned that the Naboo owed their victory to the unexpected intervention of Anakin Skywalker, a young, freed slave from Tatooine who exhibited a profound connection to the Force, fueling the belief that he was the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy destined to restore balance to the Force. After extensive deliberation, the Jedi Council decided that Skywalker would be apprenticed to Kenobi as a Jedi. Palpatine personally congratulated the two Jedi during the celebration on Naboo, assuring young Skywalker that his career would be observed with "great interest."

Over the subsequent decade, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine cultivated a favorable reputation as a benevolent servant of the common good, while the public remained unaware of his true, malevolent nature. He concealed one of his lightsabers within a statue of Sistros Nevet, coated in neuranium to shield it from detection, while the other remained hidden in an undisclosed location. As Anakin Skywalker matured, his relationship with Palpatine deepened. Palpatine frequently praised Skywalker as the most gifted Jedi he had ever encountered, one destined to surpass even Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi Council. Skywalker, increasingly frustrated with the rigid Jedi lifestyle under Kenobi's tutelage, appreciated Palpatine's commendations and readily embraced his counsel. In reality, this was all part of Sidious' elaborate plan to gain Skywalker's confidence and groom him into his future Sith apprentice.

However, Sidious recognized that his plan to convert Skywalker to the dark side would take years to materialize, and with Maul presumed dead, Sidious required an interim apprentice. Consequently, he turned to Dooku to fulfill that role, designating the former Jedi as his temporary apprentice under the name Darth Tyranus. Sidious and Tyranus acquired control of a behavioral modification biochip that Sifo-Dyas had intended to implant in each clone as a safeguard against rogue Jedi, and they repurposed the chip for Sidious's objectives. Subsequently, bounty hunter Jango Fett was recruited as the genetic template for the clone army on Kamino, and the clones were fitted with the Sith's modified biochip, containing a protocol that would ensure their absolute obedience to Sidious when the opportune moment arrived.

In 26 BBY, Sidious dispatched Tyranus to Sullust to negotiate with the SoroSuub Corporation. Tyranus soon reported the presence of a Jedi Knight on the planet. Uncertain of the Jedi's purpose, Sidious instructed his apprentice to ascertain the reason for his presence and prevent the Jedi from uncovering the alliances Count Dooku was forging on behalf of the Sith, ostensibly for Serenno. Tyranus succeeded in this endeavor and also covertly eliminated the Jedi, under the pretense of assisting him in investigating the Kaldana Syndicate.

In 25 BBY, Sidious and his Adviser Yupe Tashu journeyed to the desolate Inner Rim planet of Jakku, situated at the edge of the Unknown Regions. After landing his yacht Imperialis on the Plaintive Hand plateau, Tashu ordered a detachment of six droids to commence excavation. The yacht soon departed, but a local twelve-year-old boy named Galli secretly boarded the Imperialis. Sidious sensed his presence and offered the boy the choice between death and servitude. Sidious then instructed Galli to return to the excavation site and guard it against any intruders, emphasizing that they should not be allowed to contaminate the site and ordering Galli to kill them. Sidious then introduced himself by his first name, Sheev.

For the next decade, Galli guarded the Plaintive Hand excavation site. In 15 BBY, Sidious returned and invited the boy aboard the Imperialis this time as an honored guest. By that point, construction of the Jakku Observatory had been completed. Using a game of Shah-tezh as an analogy, Sidious explained that his future Galactic Empire could not be permitted to outlive its Emperor should he die prematurely. To demonstrate his seriousness, Sidious Force choked Galli. He tasked Galli with executing his secret Contingency plan and inducted the boy into Imperial service. Galli subsequently joined the Naval Intelligence Agency as a commander and adopted the name Gallius Rax.

As Anakin Skywalker aged, the bond between Palpatine and the young Jedi became significantly stronger. The Chancellor frequently observed the boy's training at the Jedi Temple, praising the progress the young Padawan was making in lightsaber combat. Recognizing the boy's emotional vulnerability, Palpatine requested Master Mace Windu to send Skywalker to him, suggesting he could aid in the boy's development. Upon Skywalker's arrival with his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine asked to take Skywalker on an errand to the lower levels of Coruscant. Ignoring Master Kenobi's warning that Skywalker was not yet a Jedi and potential dangers existed, the Chancellor escorted Skywalker to Level 2685. Disguised as ordinary travelers, Palpatine confided in the youth that he often visited the area when his responsibilities allowed, seeking to do some good. Eventually, they arrived at Club Kasakar.

Once inside, Palpatine expressed a certain envy for the life of young Jedi Padawans, whose paths were predetermined from a young age, contrasting it with his own political life filled with difficult choices and troubling decisions. He also revealed that the Club was frequented by Senators, specifically pointing out Senator Colandrus, a Tarsunt known for his gambling habits. While the Tarsunt senator was placing bets at a game table, Palpatine remarked that Colandrus was corrupt, although there was no concrete evidence. Inspired by this negative portrayal, Anakin used Jedi telekinesis to manipulate Colandrus' last die, causing him to lose substantial amounts of money. Hearing the disguised Palpatine chuckle at his misfortune, Colandrus sent his bodyguard after him, but the Chancellor diffused the situation by claiming that "his son" was merely joking and promising their immediate departure. Despite his skepticism, Colandrus allowed the cloaked figures to leave without further incident.

Upon their return to the Chancellor's office, Palpatine "apologized" to Anakin for involving him in a Senate matter. Anakin suggested that the Jedi could arrest Senator Colandrus, but Palpatine countered that the Jedi were not obligated to obey him, as that would make him a dictator, which he did not desire. He also instructed the boy to keep their experience a secret from his masters and inquired whether Anakin was content at the temple. When the Padawan confirmed his happiness, Palpatine sensed the truth through the Force. In conclusion, Palpatine thanked him for his pivotal role in the Battle of Naboo, assuring him that there would always be a place for Anakin by his side and that he could greatly benefit from a young man like Anakin.

Palpatine persisted in his role as a confidant to Skywalker, offering guidance to the young Padawan as he trained to become a true Jedi. Skywalker was appreciative of Palpatine and regarded the chancellor as both a mentor and a friend. Privately, Palpatine conveyed to Skywalker his confidence in him, even expressing his belief that Skywalker's power would eventually surpass the combined strength of the Jedi Order, including Grand Master Yoda.

Under Sidious' command, Tyranus incited thousands of solar systems to declare their independence from the Galactic Republic, choosing instead to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems with himself at its helm. Two years following the Confederacy's establishment, civil war appeared inevitable, and the Jedi's numbers were insufficient to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. The Senate advocated for a vote to create a Grand Army of the Republic. Concealing his true intentions, Palpatine resisted all Senate efforts to form an army and the push to engage in war with the Confederacy.

At some juncture, Darth Sidious and his Sith apprentice, Count Dooku, recognized the potential in Kaleesh warlord Grievous, previously known as Qymaen jai Sheelal. Grievous had led his Kaleesh warriors in the war against the Yam'rii, a neighboring insectoid species from the planet Huk that possessed superior technology. After the Republic and the Jedi intervened to support the Yam'rii, the Kaleesh faced severe consequences, with hundreds of thousands succumbing to starvation. Sidious and Dooku, who had significant plans for Grievous, took note of his accomplishments as he became one of IGBC's most valuable assets. Subsequently, Dooku orchestrated a shuttle crash to recruit Grievous to lead the droid armies. Extensive surgery, performed by cybernetics experts and Geonosian biotechnicians, with assistance from medical droids, including the FX-9 surgical assistant FX-6, was necessary to save Grievous's life. The operation resulted in Grievous undergoing drastic physical alterations.

After arriving on Coruscant to participate in the vote, Palpatine's successor as Senator of Naboo, former Queen Padmé Amidala, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt carried out by Zam Wesell on behalf of the vengeful Nute Gunray. Palpatine postponed the vote and placed the senator under the protection of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, her former allies from the Battle of Naboo. Following a second attempt on the senator's life, Skywalker was assigned to protect her back on her homeworld of Naboo. There, the two secretly began to fall in love, which, combined with Skywalker's later discovery of his mother Shmi's death at the hands of Tusken Raiders on the planet Tatooine, would draw the young Jedi closer to the dark side of the Force and make him even more susceptible to Sidious's deceptive schemes.

However, upon the revelation that the Separatists were secretly constructing a battle droid army with the support of numerous commercial organizations, including the Trade Federation, Palpatine exploited the situation to have himself granted emergency powers from the Senate by Representative Jar Jar Binks. Palpatine feigned reluctance to accept this authority, promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis subsided. His initial action was to authorize the use of the clone army, which had been discovered by Kenobi on Kamino, to counter the Separatist threat. This decision led to the First Battle of Geonosis, marking the beginning of the Clone Wars. After clone template Jango Fett was killed and his Separatist partners escaped the battle, Tyranus met with Sidious at the Coruscant tower in the Works with good news that the war the Sith had been orchestrating had begun, as well as preliminary blueprints for a Geonosian superweapon that could be of use to their future Sith-led regime. Sidious was pleased with the turn of events, and he later, with the leaders of the Senate, oversaw the new Republic army marching towards war, while Palpatine additionally would be able to deceive both sides from the start of the war. Skywalker and Amidala secretly wed on Naboo. The clandestine ceremony was witnessed only by their two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, and a local holy man who officiated the rite. He unknowingly passed on the secret to Sidious, which the Sith Lord would later use during his quest to lure Skywalker into becoming his next apprentice.

At a certain point, Sidious infiltrated the Jedi Temple with several agents, including the former Padawan Heezo, instructing them to identify Jedi who were dissatisfied with the Order and subtly steer them toward the dark side. Shortly after the mission to Thule, he met with the Jedi High Council. On his way to their chamber, he was accompanied by one such Jedi, the Knight Iskat Akaris. Sidious seized the opportunity to elicit her secretly-held opinions of the Order while subtly encouraging her darker impulses.

After the Confederacy's Droid Army gained control of the major hyperspace lanes, Sidious directed Tyranus and his assassin Asajj Ventress to kidnap Rotta, the son of Jabba, the leader of the Hutt Clans' Council. Once Rotta was taken to Teth, Sidious contacted both Ventress and Tyranus, assuring them that the Jedi would find themselves at war with both the Hutts and the Confederacy.

Subsequently, Palpatine received a message from Jabba, requesting assistance in rescuing his son. Despite Master Windu's reservations about aligning the Republic with the Hutt, Palpatine recognized the necessity of securing the Hutt's space lanes for troop movement. Despite General Grievous's efforts to stretch the Republic forces thin, Windu informed Palpatine that Skywalker and Kenobi were capable of carrying out the rescue. During the rescue operation, Palpatine learned that Jabba suspected the Jedi of orchestrating his son's kidnapping and shared this information with Senator Amidala. Jabba refused to communicate with him directly, prompting Amidala to seek out Jabba's uncle Ziro at his palace, despite Palpatine's warnings. Kenobi, Skywalker, and his new Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, successfully returned Rotta to his father and secured a treaty with the Hutts. Following these events, Sidious discussed this setback with his apprentice, assuring Tyranus that the war was progressing in their favor.

Palpatine became aware that Senator Amidala was traveling through enemy territory into the Outer Rim, prompting him to contact her aboard her H-type Nubian yacht. Amidala explained that an old family friend, Senator Farr of Rodia, had personally requested her presence, as his people were facing starvation. Palpatine feigned understanding, while suggesting that she should have a clone trooper escort. However, Amidala had trust in diplomacy. After Representative Binks attempted to converse with Palpatine, he inadvertently caused C-3PO's chair to move, knocking the Gungan down and causing the ship to veer off course. Amidala managed to regain control, but Palpatine discreetly urged her to exclude Binks from the negotiations, to which she agreed.

However, upon arriving on the planet, Amidala discovered that Farr had joined the Separatists to aid his people, and she was captured by Nute Gunray's battle droids. Nevertheless, Binks played a role in disrupting the Separatist's plans, leading Farr to side with the Republic. Thanks to a message transmitted by C-3PO, the 41st Elite Corps arrived on the planet and apprehended Gunray. Palpatine contacted them via hologram, stating that Amidala had brought Rodia's needs to his attention. The Chancellor had dispatched a convoy of supply ships and declared Gunray's capture a significant Republic victory.

However, the secret Sith Lord recognized the danger posed by Nute Gunray's capture, as the viceroy would not withstand the Jedi's interrogation. Contacting Darth Tyranus, Sidious was informed by his apprentice that Asajj Ventress could infiltrate the Republic warship, enabling her to either rescue or eliminate Gunray. While Sidious was hesitant to employ an agent who had previously failed them, Tyranus argued that she was a skilled assassin. Ultimately, the master permitted his pupil to proceed with the plan. Ventress successfully rescued Nute Gunray, denying the Jedi and the Republic the opportunity to extract secret information from the Separatist leader, whilst also demonstrating her ability to handle a Star Destroyer's contingent of clone troopers, a Jedi Padawan, and a Jedi Master all at once.

As the war progressed, Dooku crash-landed his ship on Vanqor and was captured by the Ohnaka Gang. Kenobi and Skywalker were dispatched to verify their leader Hondo Ohnaka's demand for a reward, and subsequently sent Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks to deliver it. Ultimately, Dooku managed to escape from the pirates.

Sidious compensated Cad Bane for stealing a Holocron from the Jedi Temple's Holocron Vault, which, when used in conjunction with the kyber memory crystal, would reveal the locations of Force-sensitive infants throughout the galaxy. He tasked Bane with kidnapping these children and bringing them to his facility on Mustafar to initiate the creation of an army of Force-sensitive spies. Sidious informed the nanny droids of the children's natural talent and his intention to harness that power for his own purposes. Foreseeing the future, Sidious envisioned an army of Force-talented spies trained in the dark side, positioned in every corner of the galaxy to carry out his commands. The nanny droid cautioned the Dark Lord that subjects rarely survived the procedure at such a young age, but Sidious deemed the risk necessary, stating that if the procedure failed, he would lose nothing. As the surgery was about to commence, an alert from a nanny droid notified the Sith Lord of an approaching shuttle that did not belong to the bounty hunter. Surprised by this unforeseen development, Sidious ordered the droids to evacuate the children and destroy the facility to protect his identity, abruptly ending the transmission. The Jedi thwarted Bane and rescued the younglings.

During the Battle of Malastare, the Zillo Beast was unintentionally awakened. Initially, Palpatine sought to have the creature killed, but he reconsidered when Doctor Sionver Boll and Skywalker pointed out that the beast's indestructible hide could prove valuable if analyzed. Instead, the Zillo Beast was rendered unconscious and transported to Coruscant. It broke free from its restraints and rampaged through the Senate District before being killed with poison gas. Palpatine instructed Boll to clone the animal.

During the Senate hostage crisis, Cad Bane demanded the release of Ziro the Hutt from prison in exchange for the hostages' freedom. Palpatine reluctantly complied after Skywalker was subdued by Bane's gang.

The following year, while the Senate was deliberating on deregulating the banks to increase funding for the war, Palpatine was informed by Amidala that the Separatist Senate, led by Mina Bonteri, was considering peace negotiations. Dooku orchestrated the bombing of the central power distribution grid, and then staged another attack on the Confederacy, which resulted in Bonteri's death and was blamed on the Republic, effectively ending any prospect of peace.

In desperation, Amidala attempted to garner support for opposing a new bill but found few who were willing. Upon further investigation, Amidala discovered that many of the senators who had voted in favor had been blackmailed into doing so. She also learned that supporting the bill would lead to the bankruptcy of certain segments of the Republic, such as their social programs, due to the Banking Clan's high interest rates. Pursued by assassins, Bail Organa, Onacondo Farr, and Amidala continued their efforts to oppose the bill, with Amidala taking a stand before the Senate. In her address, she emphasized that passing the bill would harm the very citizens it was intended to protect. Her speech garnered significant respect and support from the Senate audience. Later, Palpatine expressed his displeasure to Mas Amedda, noting how the success of one individual's passionate voice could overshadow his power. Palpatine resolved to bide his time until fate and the Senate once again favored him.

When the military enhancement bill for more clone troopers was introduced, Palpatine feigned opposition to it. The bill encountered minor but effective resistance, although one of its greatest critics, Onaconda Farr, seemingly died of heart failure before it could be voted on. Palpatine attended the funeral, but, in the Chancellor's office, he and others met with inspector Tanivos Exantor Divo, who revealed that a poison had actually caused the senator's death. As the inspector departed, the Chancellor claimed that murder in the Senate was unthinkable. Later, Palpatine and the others reconvened in his office, where Divo nearly arrested the false suspect, the Kaminoan Senator Halle Burtoni. However, Amidala realized that Farr's aide, Lolo Purs, was the true culprit, and the Rodian was apprehended. Shortly thereafter, the military enhancement bill was passed; Palpatine told a disappointed Amidala that he too was disappointed, but that democracy needed to be respected, and stated that, with more troops, the war could possibly end more quickly.

Two years following the mission to Thule, Palpatine expressed his faith in the disgraced Jedi Knight Iskat Akaris to Master Yoda. This support, coupled with that of Masters Klefan Opus and Uumay Hawlatha, proved sufficient to overcome Yoda's reservations as he and fellow Councilor Mace Windu decided in favor of reinstating Akaris to active duty.

During the Battle of Sullust, Sidious sensed Asajj Ventress growing stronger in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Through a hologram, Darth Sidious accused Tyranus of plotting to overthrow him as Dark Lord, which shocked his apprentice, who affirmed that his loyalty belonged solely to his Master. Sidious then demanded proof and ordered him to eliminate Ventress, which the Count reluctantly agreed to do. After presuming success in the death of his former disciple, Dooku contacted Sidious to report his apparent success. Satisfied, Darth Sidious praised his apprentice for once again proving his loyalty. Unbeknownst to them, Ventress had survived.

Sidious instructed Tyranus to forge an alliance with the resurgent Zygerrian Slave Empire, explaining that past Sith Empires had been built on the backs of slaves and that theirs would be no different. They soon conspired for bounty hunters such as Cad Bane and Rako Hardeen to "kidnap" Palpatine during the Festival of Light on Naboo. Kenobi infiltrated the plot and aided the Jedi in preventing it, lulling them into a false sense of security. Dooku arrived the evening after the festival but was defeated and forced to flee.

The following year, Maul resurfaced in the galaxy after a decade in hiding, with his brother Savage Opress now serving as his apprentice. The Jedi expressed concern, but Palpatine disagreed, convincing Yoda that the Separatists should be their primary concern and that Maul's vendetta was a personal matter for Kenobi to resolve. When Maul seized control of Mandalore, the most powerful planet in the Council of Neutral Systems, Sidious recognized that Maul had become too dangerous and posed a threat to his future conquest of the galaxy. Resolving to eliminate the threat personally, Sidious had his shuttle flown to Sundari, where he confronted Maul and Opress.

Not deceived by Maul's renewed attempts to become his apprentice, Sidious confronted the rival Sith Lords in battle. Sidious demonstrated that he was not only equal to their combined might but actually superior; after a lengthy duel, he separated the brothers by first circumventing Savage's defenses and delivering a forceful kick to send him flying, followed by using the Force to push Maul, briefly rendering him unconscious. Sidious then amused himself by toying with Savage, not even bothering to engage, before resuming the battle and decisively defeating and killing Opress in a one-on-one fight. Unconcerned about preventing Maul from reaching his brother, knowing that Savage was beyond saving after finally succumbing, Sidious mocked Maul once more, reminding him of the ancient Sith rules and how he had been replaced, before re-engaging his former apprentice. Despite finding Maul to be significantly more aggressive than Savage, Sidious ultimately prevailed in their final lightsaber lock, forcing Maul to his knees, but chose to spare his life, anticipating that his fallen apprentice might prove useful in the future.

The trial of Ahsoka Tano, who stood accused of orchestrating a bombing at the Jedi Temple, was overseen by Chancellor Palpatine in his role as judge. Flanked by a pair of guards clad in crimson robes, he listened as Senator Amidala presented the defense and Admiral Tarkin acted as the prosecutor, each delivering their respective arguments. After their presentations concluded, the Chancellor delivered a speech cautioning the court to be wary of Separatist plots designed to weaken the Jedi Order, and consequently, the Galactic Republic, from within. Before he could announce the verdict, however, Skywalker interrupted, bringing forth Barriss Offee, who confessed to committing the crime. Palpatine ordered Offee to be taken into custody, and Tano was acquitted. This experience left Tano deeply disillusioned, leading her to decline an offer to rejoin the Jedi Order.

During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, the clone trooper designated CT-5385, known as "Tup," experienced a sudden malfunction, exhibiting confusion, betraying, and ultimately killing the Jedi Master Tiplar, before eventually succumbing to insanity and dying. This event was triggered by a defective biochip, implanted in the clones to ensure their loyalty to the Supreme Chancellor and which paved the way for their execution of Order 66. With his schemes jeopardized, Sidious, in his guise as Chancellor Palpatine, arranged for Tup's body to be transported to the Grand Republic Medical Facility for an autopsy. Shaak Ti and Nala Se presented the rebellious clone CT-5555, known as "Fives," to Palpatine; Fives had uncovered the inhibitor chips implanted within each clone trooper and believed them to be part of a Separatist conspiracy. The Chancellor revealed to Fives his involvement with the chips and orchestrated an attack by his guards, portraying Fives as a threat to the Republic and discrediting him. Following Fives' death, he informed the Jedi that a parasite native to Ringo Vinda was responsible for the behavior of Tup and Fives, against which all clone troopers would be inoculated. Sidious capitalized further on these events by transferring the majority of his Sith artifact collection from an abandoned warehouse in the Works district to the Medical Facility, fearing that the Jedi might discover it.

During a diplomatic mission to Scipio, Senator Padmé Amidala learned from Rush Clovis that the InterGalactic Banking Clan was facing bankruptcy. Palpatine advised her to trust Clovis while simultaneously hiring the bounty hunter Embo to target them, seemingly on behalf of the Clan. Sidious and Tyranus conspired to install Clovis as the new head of the Banking Clan: the Muun government arrested the Core Five, and Clovis was elected by a Senate majority to replace them. Dooku then blackmailed Clovis into raising the Republic's interest rates and dispatched a fleet to blockade Scipio, prompting Palpatine to respond by sending a fleet under the command of Skywalker. As Scipio fell under the Republic's control and Clovis committed suicide, the Muuns relinquished control of the banks to the Office of the Chancellor.

When Queen Julia of Bardotta sought assistance from the Senate regarding the disappearance of several Dagoyan Masters, Palpatine proposed sending Bail Organa and Senator Amidala, but she specifically requested the aid of Representative Binks. Palpatine informed the Jedi Council of this request, who deemed it unwise, leading Master Windu to volunteer to accompany him.

Upon the Jedi's discovery of Sifo-Dyas's lightsaber at the site of a distress beacon, Yoda visited Palpatine: Sifo-Dyas had apparently perished during a mission to Felucia, but the details surrounding his death were sealed by the Office of the Chancellor. Palpatine advised Yoda to consult former Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, as he was still serving as a Senator at the time. Sidious then contacted Tyranus via hologram to reprimand him for this oversight, instructing him to resolve the situation. Annoyed by Tyranus' negligence, Sidious used the Force to choke his apprentice, warning him of the consequences of failure. Dooku successfully prevented Kenobi and Skywalker from uncovering the identity of Sifo-Dyas's killer, but they nevertheless deduced that the Sith were responsible for the creation of the clone army.

When Yoda ventured into the Valley of the Dark Lords on Moraband during his quest to discover the secret of immortality, Sidious and Tyranus sensed his presence and gathered at the Works on Coruscant. After his apprentice arrived, Sidious led Tyranus to the tower's ceremonial chamber. By exploiting the Force-bond between Tyranus and Yoda, Sidious recited a Balc incantation to conjure a dark illusion to trap the Jedi Master. Using Sifo-Dyas's image, he offered to reveal his identity if Yoda would join him, but Yoda refused. The illusion then depicted them in the Works, pursuing the Sith Lords alongside Anakin Skywalker and the 501st Legion. Sidious engaged Yoda in a duel on the catwalks outside the tower, with Skywalker arriving shortly after. Sidious incapacitated Skywalker with Force lightning while continuing his fight with Yoda. As the illusion unfolded, Yoda refused to sacrifice Skywalker to capture Sidious, demonstrating his willingness to sacrifice himself to save the Chosen One. Sidious's illusion weakened, and the Jedi Master emerged victorious. Defeated, Sidious declared that they would require more time to defeat the Jedi.

When Sidious discovered that the otherwise insignificant planet of Utapau had yielded a massive kyber crystal, the world piqued his interest because he desired the large crystal for his battle station project. With the crystal in the possession of a Sugi arms dealing group, Dooku negotiated a sale, claiming that he wanted the crystal for the Separatist Alliance. Grievous himself arrived to supervise the transaction, ultimately killing the Sugi leader, Endente, and transporting the crystal to his Separatist fleet. However, after arriving on Utapau to investigate the death of Jedi Master Tu-Anh, Kenobi and Skywalker intervened to halt the Separatist operation, pursuing the crystal into space and destroying it aboard Grievous's Dual Hemisphere-Omni Support Vessel. Nevertheless, Yoda suspected that Sidious was planning to construct a superweapon, and Sidious remained interested in Utapau. Consequently, the planet was targeted for occupation, which would facilitate a search for more crystals. Within a few months, the Separatists invaded the world.

In a parallel development, Sidious sought to use Maul as bait to lure out Mother Talzin, the Nightsister witch who posed a threat to his plans. His operations against Talzin commenced when Mandalorian super commandos orchestrated Maul's escape from his imprisonment in the Spire on Stygeon Prime. After General Grievous defeated his forces at Zanbar, Maul sought assistance from Mother Talzin, precisely as Sidious and Dooku had anticipated. Talzin foresaw this and instructed her son to draw the Separatists to Ord Mantell, where he defeated and captured Dooku. Maul contacted Sidious and informed him of their capture: the Sith Lord responded by instructing him to execute them, stating that they were no longer of any use to him. Maul informed Dooku of this, goading him into forming an alliance.

Maul and Dooku traveled to Dathomir, where Talzin intended to drain Dooku's life force to regain her physical form. Sidious and Grievous also arrived on the planet and attacked Maul and the Talzin-possessed Dooku. Talzin regained her physical body and deflected Sidious's lightning, sacrificing herself to allow her son to escape. Seizing the opportunity, Grievous plunged two lightsabers into her body, eliminating Sidious's adversary. Despite Maul's escape, Sidious was content that the Shadow Collective had been destroyed.

Subsequently, the Jedi dispatched Quinlan Vos to collaborate with Ventress in assassinating Count Dooku. This mission was considered Jedi business, and Palpatine was not informed. However, Skywalker questioned the wisdom of this decision, feeling that the Jedi's secrecy from the Chancellor was inappropriate. Eventually, aboard the Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyer Vigilance in orbit of Christophsis, Vos, who had succumbed to the dark side and aimed to become Dooku's apprentice in order to uncover Darth Sidious's identity, and Dooku, held captive by several clone troopers and Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, enlisted Asajj Ventress's assistance in their escape.

However, the trio crash-landed on Christophsis while being pursued by the Republic, with the Count of Serenno sustaining severe injuries. Having sought refuge in a concealed Confederacy fortress, Tyranus contacted Darth Sidious, who had been awaiting his call, via a holographic communications chamber, but not before Vos and Ventress slipped in. Tyranus was thus compelled to introduce Quinlan Vos, presenting the former Jedi as his "new assassin" to Sidious, who customarily concealed his facial features behind his dark cowl, while Ventress remained hidden in the shadows. After expressing disapproval of his apprentice's new recruit, Darth Sidious listened to Tyranus's plea for an evacuation ship as a second battle of Christophsis erupted, with Skywalker leading the relentless Republic assault. Providing only a vague response, Sidious terminated the holo-communication as the Christophsis Separatist tower succumbed to Republic gunship fire. The battle resulted in an inevitable Separatist defeat, and with Ventress's redemption through her apparent sacrifice for her lover, Quinlan Vos, Tyranus's "new assassin" chose to allow Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to return him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for reassessment. Meanwhile, as the Jedi took Vos, a ship dispatched by Darth Sidious arrived to retrieve Tyranus, allowing the Separatist leader to return to safety.

In accordance with his plans to exploit the Clone Wars as a pretext for consolidating and centralizing his political authority in preparation for his reign as Emperor, Palpatine had risen to become the most powerful Supreme Chancellor since the era of the Ruusan Reformations by the war's conclusion. Citing the war effort as justification, Palpatine had the Galactic Constitution amended numerous times throughout the conflict. One constitutional amendment, known as the Reflex Amendment, granted him near-absolute power over military affairs, thereby enabling him to bypass the Senate in such decisions. Near the end of the war, Palpatine enacted a constitutional amendment known as the Sector Governance Decree.

Under the Sector Governance Decree, Palpatine established a new structure of regional governance by appointing specific individuals as governors. In theory, the decree was intended to bolster the war effort by uniting star systems into unified blocs and transforming their production centers into war-focused facilities. In reality, however, regional governors could become leaders of the systems they oversaw, allowing Palpatine to circumvent and eventually dissolve the Senate by creating a new bureaucracy composed of individuals he had appointed. However, the decree proved to be too much for senators, who formed the Delegation of 2,000, which quietly assembled the Petition of 2,000 to protest Palpatine's conduct and growing powers. Led by Amidala, Mothma, and Organa, the Delegation hoped to persuade Palpatine to relinquish his emergency powers and intended to present their petition to Palpatine once it had been signed by two thousand of their fellow legislators.

Determining that the time was right to make Skywalker his next apprentice, Sidious orchestrated a plan for Palpatine to be captured in order for Skywalker to rescue him. This plan involved sacrificing Darth Tyranus, who was to be killed by Skywalker, which would entice Skywalker to embrace the dark side and ultimately lead to the young Jedi replacing Dooku as the Dark Lord's new apprentice. Likely utilizing the Nexus Route, Sidious had acquired the coordinates to Coruscant and provided them to Grievous and his fleet to jump directly from the Outer Rim to Coruscant. Sidious also devised a plan to kidnap the Supreme Chancellor, which was assigned to Grievous. Sidious instructed Grievous to capture Palpatine and for Dooku to hold him hostage. However, Grievous and Dooku were unaware of Sidious's true intentions.

During the Outer Rim Sieges, Grievous commanded a massive invasion of Coruscant, accompanied by Dooku. Dooku, who had previously relocated his command post to Grievous's flagship, the Invisible Hand, remained close to Grievous to ensure that he was carrying out his orders; even though the cyborg general posed no threat to Sidious, he wanted to prevent any setbacks to his plans. While the Republic and Separatist fleets clashed above the planet, Grievous went to the ground in order to capture Palpatine, Shaak Ti and Roron Corobb, along with a clone task force were dispatched to protect him. Corrob and the clones fell to Grievous, while Ti managed to fight further. Grievous gained the upper hand by electrifying the Jedi Master with cables, rendering her unconscious in the process. Grievous seized her lightsaber and fled with the captive Palpatine to the Separatist flagship Invisible Hand.

Kenobi and Skywalker, who were in the midst of preparing to take Mandalore, were summoned to rescue him. After landing in the Invisible Hand's hangar, the two discovered Palpatine bound to a chair on the bridge. They were confronted by Dooku, with whom they engaged in a duel. Dooku easily defeated Kenobi and then focused on Skywalker. They continued the duel until Skywalker severed his hands. Disarmed and on his knees, Dooku was defeated. Palpatine commended Skywalker on his accomplishment. However, he then betrayed Dooku by urging Anakin to kill him, because Dooku had served his purpose. A horrified Dooku looked to Palpatine pleadingly, only to be met with another, more sinister urging. With a swift motion, Count Dooku was beheaded. Anakin was conflicted about his actions but was comforted by Palpatine, who told him that it was a simple act of revenge in return for Dooku cutting off his arm. Beyond drawing Skywalker closer to the dark side, the act also served to eliminate the loose end that Dooku would be if he lived, depriving the Jedi of the opportunity to question him and learn more about Sidious.

Skywalker went to retrieve the unconscious Kenobi, but Palpatine pleaded with the Jedi to abandon his master. His plea was ignored, and the three began their descent to the hangar. Meanwhile, the Invisible Hand was attacked by the Guarlara, sustaining extensive damage and losing its position, briefly falling towards the planet's surface. With the ship on its side, the three began running down an elevator shaft, only to lose their footing as the Invisible Hand regained its position. They managed to escape and reach a hallway, where they were captured in a ray shield. They were brought before Grievous in the control room, where R2-D2, who was also a captive, created a distraction that allowed Kenobi and Skywalker to seize control. With nowhere to escape, Grievous broke open a window and made his way to the escape pods, which he activated as he fled. The ship then became caught in Coruscant's gravity well and began hurtling toward the surface. Skywalker and Kenobi attempted to land it, but only managed to soften the crash. Following the crash, Palpatine and the Jedi were escorted to the Senate Building.

Sidious now directed Grievous to return to Utapau under the pretense of ensuring the safety of the increasingly irrelevant Separatist Council, but in reality, he had other plans for the general, who was unaware that he was being set up once again. Grievous's usefulness to Sidious, as the cyborg had played his role and whose entire campaigns had served to divert the Jedi Order's attention from the Sith conspiracy unfolding around them on Coruscant, had come to an end. By this point, the Sith Lord's schemes had progressed to the point where Grievous had only one role left to play: he had to serve as bait to lure Kenobi away from Coruscant and from Anakin. Sidious was indifferent to whether Grievous or Kenobi lived or died; his plan would bring down the Republic and the Jedi.

Sidious soon began preparing for the war's end. Sidious instructed Grievous to relocate the Separatists to Mustafar. He also instructed him to remain on Utapau until the new apprentice had joined their cause, as he did not want to waste any time before finding a replacement. Skywalker, who had just been hailed as a hero for killing Count Dooku and rescuing the Chancellor, began experiencing visions of his wife dying in childbirth. Sidious decided to exploit this to his advantage. Over the next few rotations, their relationship continued to grow. Ultimately, Palpatine appointed Skywalker to be his representative to the Jedi Council. During what became the last full session of the Republic Senate, the Petition of 2,000 was officially unveiled. However, Palpatine still managed to find an advantage in the current political climate, telling and convincing Skywalker that Amidala might have ulterior motives that she was keeping secret from both of them.

Meanwhile, the Jedi began to distrust and resent the Chancellor's growing power and control. The Council, who were unhappy with Skywalker's appointment by someone not of their order, denied him the rank of "Jedi Master." This turn of events simply furthered Sidious's plans. The Council, however, decided to use this appointment as an opportunity to spy on Palpatine. Skywalker, who felt insulted by this demand, reluctantly agreed and began to devote his time to getting to know the Chancellor better. Some Jedi, such as Mace Windu, were concerned about their relationship, seeing that it could be dangerous to put the two together. Windu ultimately noted that the dark side of the Force surrounded the Chancellor.

At an opera performance, Palpatine and Skywalker discussed the situation, with Palpatine revealing that he knew the Council wanted Skywalker to spy on him. At the same time, Skywalker, who was grappling with the fear of his wife's death, began to distrust the Jedi Council. This allowed Sidious to orchestrate Skywalker's downfall; he claimed that the Jedi and the Sith were alike in nearly every way, setting the stage for the young Jedi to switch sides while playing to his devotion to the Jedi ideology. Next, Palpatine told him the story of his master, "Darth Plagueis the Wise." According to the story, Plagueis possessed such strength in the Force that he could use it to prevent those closest to him from dying. Skywalker asked what happened to him, to which Palpatine replied that he was afraid of losing his power, but had taught his apprentice everything, and then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Skywalker, captivated by the story, wished to know more about this power, asking him if he himself could learn it, with Palpatine stating that, although possible, such things could not be taught by members of the Order. Skywalker, however, was unaware that Palpatine was actually talking about how he killed his mentor Plagueis, in order to lure him to the dark side.

As the situation worsened, Skywalker went to speak with the Chancellor regarding the Battle of Utapau. Anakin expressed his disappointment that he was not chosen for the assignment. Palpatine told Skywalker that the Council did not trust him and that the Jedi Council were plotting to seize control of the Republic. He then revealed that he was trained in the ways of the Force, "even the nature of the dark side," the power that could save his wife Amidala from certain death. This led Skywalker to conclude that Palpatine himself was the Sith Lord the Jedi were hunting down, and he drew his lightsaber. Although Skywalker considered killing Palpatine, the young Jedi 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. Stunned by the revelation, Skywalker responded by reporting Palpatine to the Jedi and went to the Jedi Council with this information.

Mace Windu, having deduced Sidious's deception of the Jedi after Skywalker revealed the Chancellor's secret identity, proceeded to confront the Chancellor, accompanied by Jedi Council Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin. With lightsabers drawn, Windu and his Jedi companions boldly declared Sidious's arrest. Sidious, in response, activated his crimson lightsaber, branding the four Jedi as traitors to the Republic. Emitting a furious, inhuman scream, he swiftly attacked, eliminating Kolar and Tiin in a matter of seconds, and Fisto shortly thereafter, leaving Windu to face the Sith Lord alone. A fierce duel ensued between Sidious and Windu. Although the battle seemed balanced, Windu eventually overpowered Sidious, disarming him, forcing him to the ground, and holding his lightsaber to his throat.

Shortly after, Skywalker arrived, and both combatants attempted to convince him of the other's treachery. Windu's taunts towards the defeated Sidious provoked the Sith Lord to unleash Force lightning, aiming to kill Windu. However, Windu skillfully redirected the lightning back at Sidious, resulting in a grotesquely disfigured appearance due to the dark side energy. Subsequently, Sidious altered his tactics, feigning weakness and helplessness, ceasing his lightning attack and claiming exhaustion. Skywalker insisted that Sidious receive a trial, but Windu argued that Sidious possessed too much influence over the courts and the senate to be left alive. Ultimately, Skywalker, prioritizing his wife's survival over his allegiance to the Jedi Order, betrayed Windu by severing his lightsaber hand, allowing Sidious the opportunity to abandon his pretense and hurl Windu out of the office window with a powerful surge of Force lightning.

Despite his initial shock at his own actions, Skywalker ultimately perceived Windu's actions as the final instance of Jedi hypocrisy that he could not accept. He knelt before the now-scarred Chancellor, agreeing to embrace the dark side on the condition that he would learn how to save Amidala's life, thus betraying the Jedi. Sidious bestowed upon the young man the Sith title of Darth Vader, promising that together they would uncover the secret to preventing death. Sidious informed Vader of his intention to eradicate all Jedi from the galaxy, asserting that the Order posed a threat to both the Senate and the Republic's security. Sidious commanded Vader to attack the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and then execute the Separatist leaders on Mustafar, declaring that the galaxy would then be at peace under Sith rule.

As Vader led the 501st Legion's assault on the Jedi Temple, Sidious commanded the clone troopers to carry out Order 66, designating all Jedi as enemies of the Republic. However, to the select few Jedi he had secretly groomed, he offered their lives in exchange for service to him. Order 66 activated the biochips implanted within the clones, programming them to eliminate the Jedi for treason against the state. Despite their service alongside and deep bonds with the Jedi, the activation of their biochips by Sidious immediately and forcefully brainwashed them into believing that the Jedi were traitors to the Republic who needed to be eliminated, thus initiating the Great Jedi Purge. Consequently, the Jedi were betrayed and killed by their own soldiers, though some, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Caleb Dume, managed to survive. Sidious also employed Order 66 to compel Clone Commander Rex to eliminate the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, along with his former apprentice Maul, who had been captured and brought to Coruscant by the 501st Legion. However, both attempts failed, as Tano freed Maul and subsequently freed Rex from the mind control by removing his biochip.

Following the fall of the Jedi Temple, Sidious arrived and congratulated his new apprentice after confirming that he had followed his orders. Vader had slain numerous Jedi during the siege, including Padawans and younglings, much to Sidious's delight. After assuring Vader that he had performed well, Sidious instructed him to bring peace to their newly established empire, dispatching him to Mustafar to eliminate the Separatist leaders. Their conversation was recorded by the Temple's security holograms. Sidious then contacted the Separatist Council, informing them that Vader would arrive and take care of them, unaware that Sidious had betrayed them and had actually sent Vader to kill them.

Convening the Senate in special session, Sidious, as Palpatine, addressed the Republic and accused the Jedi of attempting to assassinate him and overthrow the government, using his newly scarred face as evidence. Asserting that the Jedi rebellion, as he termed it, had been suppressed by the loyal Clone Army, Palpatine assured the Senate that any remaining Jedi would be found and eliminated. Capitalizing on the fear and death he had spread across the galaxy and presenting himself as the one who had ended the war and the supposed Jedi rebellion, he announced the Republic's transformation into the First Galactic Empire, promising that a destructive conflict would never again occur under its rule. In doing so, he declared himself Emperor of the new regime, encountering little to no resistance from the majority of the senators present.

Upon realizing what had transpired after viewing a recording within the Jedi Temple, Kenobi and Yoda reacted. Yoda went to face the Emperor personally, while a reluctant Obi-Wan secretly boarded Amidala's yacht, heading to Mustafar to kill Vader. Arriving at the working office of the Chancellery Secretariat, Yoda dispatched the two guards at the entrance, surprising Sidious. However, the Sith Lord quickly regained composure, unleashing a barrage of Force lightning at the Jedi Master after a brief exchange. Yoda swiftly recovered and Force pushed Sidious backwards. Yoda then engaged him in a duel when he refused to allow Sidious to escape. Sidious proclaimed that Vader would surpass them both in power, while Yoda countered that Sidious's faith in his nascent apprentice, along with his faith in the dark side, was misguided.

The two then engaged in combat within the Senate hall. Having lost his lightsaber shortly thereafter, Sidious resorted to using his Force powers, launching numerous Senate pods at the Jedi Master, who skillfully evaded them. Yoda eventually managed to redirect one of Sidious's pods back at him, which the Sith Lord dodged. Sidious then unleashed a torrent of Force lightning at Yoda, which the Jedi Master redirected back at him, gaining the upper hand. However, the accumulation of energy resulted in an explosion that caused Sidious to fall back and Yoda to suffer a significant fall to the ground. Fortunately, Sidious managed to cling to a pod and recover. Although neither emerged victorious, Yoda believed he had failed for being unable to stop Sidious, and subsequently fled and chose to go into exile.

As Imperial shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard arrived in the Senate Chamber following the battle, the Emperor, accompanied by Mas Amedda, stood on a Senatorial pod as they searched for the Jedi Master. However, they found no trace of a body. The Emperor had more immediate concerns: he sensed that Vader, far away on Mustafar, was in danger of being destroyed. He ordered the clones to intensify their search for Yoda and to prepare his shuttle for departure.

The Emperor hastened to Mustafar, accompanied by a squad of the best shock troopers under the command of Commander CC-4477 "Thire." Upon arriving on the planet, he discovered that Vader had been dismembered, severely burned, and left for dead by Obi-Wan Kenobi after their duel. He ordered the clones accompanying him to prepare a medical capsule for his apprentice. As they departed to carry out his instructions, the Emperor knelt beside his fallen apprentice, determined to find a way to keep him alive.

The Emperor was acutely aware that, without Vader, the foundations of his newfound power would be severely weakened. He needed an apprentice capable of ensuring that his Empire would withstand the inevitable challenges that would arise. To ensure that Vader would remain a formidable apprentice, the Emperor contacted the most daring scientists he could find, those whose practices would have been frowned upon by the Jedi and the Republic. Among these scientists was Doctor Cylo, an expert in cybernetics.

The Emperor transported Vader to the Grand Medical Facility, high above Coruscant's surface, as a storm raged across the capital. A strenuous night ensued, during which the scientists, their droids, and their technology worked tirelessly to save the critically injured Vader before he succumbed to death. The new Sith apprentice was kept awake throughout the procedure, enduring the pain associated with saving his life. Cylo and the other scientists designed a suit of armor that would protect his weakened body and enable his scorched lungs to breathe. Cybernetic limbs were added to replace the legs and arm that Kenobi had severed.

Following what the Emperor would later describe as a "long night," Skywalker underwent surgical reconstruction as a cyborg and was encased in the armor and mask that would forever conceal his former identity from the galaxy. As the procedure concluded and the Sith apprentice arose, the Emperor approached him. Vader's initial question was whether his wife was safe. The Emperor informed him that he had killed Amidala in his anger. This final loss pushed Vader to the brink of pure rage and anguish, completing his transformation into the apprentice Sidious had spent decades cultivating. Consumed by fury, Vader used his new limbs to break free from the restraints that held him to the operating table and employed the Force to destroy the droids that had just saved his life, before staggering onto his new legs and unleashing a scream of despair to the galaxy as a satisfied Sidious looked on with a devilish smile.

Vader then turned his rage towards the Emperor, using the Force to hurl him against the operating room wall. He angrily rebuked his master for promising that he could save his wife from death. The Emperor conceded that he had failed him in that regard but countered that, with her death, Amidala had given him something far more powerful: pain. This pain would fuel his power for decades and transform him into the dreaded Sith apprentice that Sidious had always desired. It would also enable him to live. After a tense pause, Vader released his master and proclaimed that he would live. Pleased, the Emperor then assaulted Vader with Force lightning, emphasizing his apprentice's lack of a lightsaber. Subsequently, Sidious warned Vader never to use the Force against him in such a manner again, or he would finish what Kenobi had failed to do.

Having demonstrated his apprentice's need for a new lightsaber, Sidious presented Vader with a ceremony in which many of the weapons looted from the Jedi Temple were incinerated. Sidious also explained the red color of Sith lightsabers, achieved through the process of bleeding a kyber crystal taken from a slain Jedi. He then dispatched Vader to acquire one for himself. Vader proceeded to hunt down and kill Jedi Master Kirak Infil'a on Al'doleem, seizing his lightsaber. Following Sidious's instructions, he returned to Mustafar, bleeding his new crystal there in a dark side cave. Sidious was in the midst of a meeting with Wilhuff Tarkin when a battle-damaged Vader returned, bursting into the room and presenting the new weapon to his master.

After establishing his Sith Empire, Sidious took residence in the former Jedi Temple on Coruscant, transforming the most renowned of the Jedi Order's temples into his Imperial Palace. The Jedi had constructed the temple atop an ancient Sith shrine to neutralize and contain the dark power emanating from its depths. Sidious entrusted the reopening and restoration of the ancient temple to droids under the supervision of 11-4D, a protocol droid inherited from Darth Plagueis.

Secure in his power as Emperor of the galaxy, Sidious pursued his obsession with immortality. Entrusting the bureaucratic tasks of the government to his followers, which further allowed Sidious to enjoy ruling the galaxy without concerning himself with the more boring aspects of administration, he largely withdrew from public view to explore the secrets of the dark side and extensively study his Sith arcana in order to unlock the ability to live forever. He prepared the ancient Sith world of Exegol, constructing a base of power within the Sith Citadel located on the surface, intending to claim the ancient throne of the Sith as his permanent seat of power. His loyal cult following, the Sith Eternal, began to experiment with technology and genetic cloning to extend his lifespan. Exegol also housed his most promising experiments within a vergence of the Force.

The planet Byss in the Deep Core held great significance for Palpatine. Ultimately, Palpatine's true ambition was for the Death Star to become the symbol of fear that would maintain order in the galaxy, granting himself and Vader the freedom to pursue the deepest secrets of the dark side. Beyond mere immortality, Sidious sought the power to alter reality itself and bring every living being under his dark control. As such, he sought immortality only as a means to prevent anything, even death itself, from hindering his pursuit of ultimate power.

Over many years, Sidious dispatched explorers to uncharted regions of space to locate the source of the dark side, believing it resided there. These explorers established communication stations and labs on remote moons and asteroids. As part of his planned Contingency, Sidious had Imperial scouts explore the Unknown Regions while also allocating extensive resources to establish laboratories, shipyards, and observatories within that region. This arrangement would continue over decades and would be known only to him and a select few.

The Sith Eternal employed a cloning method known as Strand-Casting, in addition to modified Kaminoan cloning technology, producing countless modified cloned bodies of Sidious's original in an attempt to provide him with a vessel capable of containing and preserving his essence, ultimately enabling him to achieve immortality. In 12 BBY, the only survivor of this process, who grew and aged normally, was created. Designed and assembled from Sidious's clone tissue samples and other donated blood cells, the artificial construct thrived in health and possessed the Palpatine bloodline flowing through his veins. The unnamed strandcast was Sidious's "son." The strandcast, not a direct cloned replicate of Sidious, so nor entirely identical in appearance, would ultimately be a source of disappointment for Sidious. Sidious was disgusted with the son he sired through science; the boy possessed no Force-sensitivity like his father, and Sidious, who relished the powers of the Force, immediately rejected the "useless creature" that was his son. Sidious deemed the boy an example of such "disappointing ordinariness," unable to bare even looking upon him, the inferior child spawned from his flesh undeserving of his legacy.

But the Sith Lord surmised, that because the boy possessed his blood, he might still produce some usefulness at some point. Therefore, Sidious chose to permit his son to continue living, the clone's health providing Sidious the means to continue on his bloodline and possibly yield more promising results for producing a vessel for his spirit through more natural means. For this reason, Sidious granted his cloned progeny protection from the Sith Eternal cultists, them being unable to "recycle" him as a failed experiment, and allowing him to live on Exegol. Sidious neglected his son, ignoring him like the cultists, never naming him, and hardly acknowledging his existence. However, Sidious made his son aware of the Force and its nature as the mystical energy of the galaxy that surrounded all life, especially the its dark side, and the Sith that wielded them.

In his early days as Senator Palpatine, Sidious maintained a close association with Wilhuff Tarkin, whom he encouraged to pursue a career in politics after completing his training with the Judicials. Tarkin went on to become Governor of Eriadu and a prominent military leader of the Republic during the Clone Wars. Sidious had learned of Tarkin's upbringing on Eriadu, where he underwent harsh training in the wild Carrion Plateau of his homeworld. Tarkin had been taught to hunt savage creatures and emerged from his training with the conviction that only the brutal application of the law and the fear of force could maintain order among beings under a central galactic government. Although Tarkin lacked Force-sensitivity, Sidious recognized in him a mindset closely aligned with that of the Sith.

During the early years of the Empire, Sidious, in a rare public address, asserted that the Empire would take whatever measures were necessary to ensure lasting reconciliation now that the Clone Wars had ended. At some point during the Imperial Era, Sidious created an Imperial hunter droid named M-OC. Additionally, the B1 battle droid R0-GR of the Freemakers later claimed to have fought Sidious. The Ehllo family was an influential political dynasty during the Imperial Era, with Palpatine personally knowing Captain Cerasus Ehllo's father. As such, Captain Ehllo was able to make a Raider-class corvette, the King's Ransom, into his flagship.

Within his first year as Emperor of the Galactic Empire, Sidious realized a long-held idea with the formation of the Inquisitorius, an organization composed of dark side adepts tasked with hunting down surviving Jedi. The Inquisitors were primarily captured Jedi who had been tortured until they turned to the dark side. However, a few, such as the Grand Inquisitor and the Fifth Brother, joined the Inquisitorius of their own accord. Another was the former Jedi Knight Iskat Akaris, whom Sidious spoke to in the Inquisitorius Headquarters on Coruscant, shortly after she received her uniform. He tested her willingness to continue her training in the dark side and ensured she understood that she and her fellow Inquisitors were significantly inferior to him. Sidious was impressed by Akaris's intelligence, as she had quickly realized that he was a Sith Lord and had by now identified the agent he had assigned to help nudge her away from the Jedi over the course of the Clone Wars. He then told her to choose her path carefully before turning her over to the Fifth Brother.

Following his confrontation with Kirak Infil'a, Darth Vader briefed Emperor Sidious on the progress of the Inquisitorius program. During this report, he inquired about the high priority placed on locating Jedi Master Jocasta Nu. Sidious clarified that Nu's danger lay in her vast knowledge; she possessed access to a collection of secrets and Force artifacts rivaling any other. Furthermore, she held the Jedi's registry of Force-sensitive children across the galaxy. The Emperor stressed the importance of capturing Nu alive, emphasizing that her knowledge was valuable to them but could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. Consequently, he instructed Vader to deploy the Inquisitors in the search, but to conceal the true extent of Nu's threat from them. In a subsequent meeting, Vader used the Force to choke an officer for delivering a subpar report, until Sidious commanded him to cease. While understanding Vader's frustration with the scarcity of Jedi to eliminate, Sidious cautioned against the unnecessary killing of subordinates. Shortly thereafter, Vader informed Sidious that Nu had perished while attempting to escape custody, a development Sidious deemed unfortunate.

After surviving two assassination attempts, Vader discovered that the conspiracy originated from the highest echelons of the Imperial government. He proceeded to meet Sidious near Nu's hidden vault. Despite Vader's failure to capture Nu alive, Sidious expressed satisfaction with the artifacts recovered from her secret repository. Addressing Vader's suspicion, Sidious examined his apprentice's rebuilt lightsaber, expressing approval of the modification from Kirak Infil'a's original design. He then asserted that he would not need to employ mercenaries to eliminate Vader if he desired his death. Sidious declared that resolving the conspiracy was Vader's responsibility, reminding him that immense power attracts countless enemies.

Vader soon identified an Imperial officer as one of the conspirators. He sought the Emperor's permission to make an example of this officer to solidify his position within the Empire's hierarchy. Sidious granted his approval, stipulating that Vader could execute any officer except Tarkin. Later, the Emperor assembled the Imperial Officer Corps, introducing Vader to them and instructing them to treat Vader as they would treat him. Vader then summoned the known conspirator and four randomly selected officers to step forward, before executing them via Force choke in front of the assembled officers.

Around this time, Sidious decided to replace the aging Clone Army with a new military force composed of conscripts loyal to him. Despite his absolute power, he continued to manipulate the Senate to create the illusion that his role as Emperor was not significantly different from his time as Chancellor. Therefore, Sidious relied on individuals like Admiral Rampart, who were either interested in sharing his power or were idealistic followers who could serve as scapegoats while advancing the Sith's agenda. Tarkin believed that the clones were twice as expensive as a proposed new militaristic force and considered them less effective for maintaining order. By 18 BBY, preparations were secretly underway to replace the clones with an army of volunteers and conscripts from across the galaxy. The Kaminoans clung to the belief that their cloning expertise was essential to the Empire. However, their usefulness ended when Admiral Rampart ordered the destruction of Tipoca City after removing all valuables.

Following the successful orbital bombardment of Tipoca City, the Empire's official explanation was that a severe storm had caused the cloning facilities to sink into the ocean, despite the structures being designed to withstand Kamino's harsh climate. New legislation, the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, which formalized the decommissioning of the Clone Army and the transition to an Imperial Military, was now of great interest to the Emperor. However, Rampart's poorly constructed story about the fall of Tipoca City posed a significant risk if the truth were discovered. Although he did not personally attend the Senate sessions, Mas Amedda informed his master that the bill had been rejected twice before preliminary hearings and faced strong criticism from Senators Chuchi, Organa, and Pamlo. The actual vote was also postponed, much to the Emperor's frustration. He instructed the Vice Chair to inform the admiral that further failures would have severe consequences.

The vote took place in the Senate Chamber later that day, where Rampart managed to address Senator Chuchi's concerns regarding fair retirement for the Clones, and the voting was about to commence until the Senator of Pantora intervened. Despite his efforts, Rampart failed to conceal his actions, as the former Senator of Kamino, Halle Burtoni, revealed that he had diverted funds from the Senate Defense Committee to finance his own projects and recruitments. The final blow came when Senator Bail Organa presented a hologram taken from Rampart's own Venator, showing the Senate the true destruction of Tipoca City.

Faced with this critical situation, the Emperor decided to attend a Senate hearing in person, appearing at his Chancellor's podium, which silenced the entire Senate hall as their leader made one of his rare appearances since the Empire's founding. Confronted with overwhelming evidence, the Emperor determined that Rampart's usefulness had ended and instructed Mas Amedda to arrest him. Not allowing this to derail his plans to eliminate the Clones, the Emperor spoke with the same mannerisms he had used as Chancellor, expressing his surprise at Admiral Rampart's acts of transgression against the Kaminoans. He promised that the admiral would be punished for his treachery.

Seizing the opportunity, the Emperor skillfully manipulated the situation to his advantage, reminding the Senators that Rampart had not acted alone and that the clones aboard the Venators had willingly unleashed carnage upon their own home without hesitation. Arguing that galactic security was more critical than ever and recognizing the bill's immediate necessity, the Emperor asserted that the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill represented their future. Despite framing this as a suggestion rather than an order, the Emperor demonstrated his supreme authority as the bill was immediately passed.

Although he presented a compelling narrative, many senators remained skeptical. Nonetheless, Palpatine had taken a crucial step in solidifying his power within the Empire and his control over the galaxy, finally eliminating the clone army and removing another significant remnant of the Republic: only the Senate remained. The era of the Imperial Stormtrooper had begun.

Sidious then decided to showcase the might of the revamped Imperial Military by invading Mon Cala. As Project Stardust was still incomplete, he chose to dispatch a task force under Tarkin's command to occupy the planet. Suspecting that a surviving Jedi was advising King Lee-Char, Sidious sent Vader and the Inquisitorius to locate and eliminate the threat. The ensuing conflict resulted in an Imperial victory after Tarkin ordered an orbital bombardment, forcing Lee-Char to surrender. Simultaneously, the Jedi Ferren Barr confronted Vader, revealing that he had helped orchestrate the genocide after having foreseen the role the Mon Calamari would later play in defeating the Empire, before being slain by the Sith Lord in a lightsaber duel.

That same year, Tarkin contacted Sidious when Vader entered the Scarif vault without authorization to learn more about Project Stardust. Sidious instructed Vader to assist Tarkin in identifying and eliminating saboteurs who were hindering the project's progress, sending him to Geonosis. He also placed Vader under the Governor's command.

Six months after the Senate voted to replace the clone army, the Emperor made an unannounced visit to the secret Mount Tantiss facility on Wayland to assess the progress of Doctors Royce Hemlock and Nala Se on Project Necromancer. Hemlock led him on a tour of the site, culminating in a tightly guarded chamber containing specimens vital to the project. The doctor stated that, with more time and resources, he was confident that they would be able to successfully replicate M-counts. Recognizing the paramount importance of their work, the Emperor assured Hemlock that he would receive whatever he needed for the project.

On the landing pad, while heading to his shuttle, the Emperor emphasized to Hemlock the need to maintain the secrecy of the base, warning that many, even other Imperials, would disapprove of the research being conducted there. Palpatine then complimented the doctor on his brilliance, with Hemlock responding that, with an appointment to scientific minister, he would be able to bring his abilities to bear upon the entire scientific corps. The Emperor warned him to be patient before departing.

During the Empire's rule, Sidious maintained his interest in the Unknown Regions. This culminated when the crew of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Strikefast, under Captain Voss Parck's command, encountered the Chiss known as Thrawn in Wild Space. Many years earlier, Anakin Skywalker told Palpatine of this alien and how they worked together. This alien claimed to have a great deal of knowledge on the Unknown Regions. Thrawn was subsequently brought before the Emperor on Coruscant for questioning. Thrawn informed the Emperor of threats lurking within the Unknown Regions, threats that might one day target the Empire, and offered his military expertise. The Emperor then inferred that Thrawn's intentions were to protect his people from these threats. Thrawn assured the Emperor that his allegiance would be to the Empire. Thrawn then revealed that he had known Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, thus proving who he was to the Emperor.

For their service, the Emperor promised rewards to Captain Parck and his crew. Thrawn, however, requested that his translator Eli Vanto remain with him. The Emperor then asked Thrawn to walk with him outside. In his private garden, the Emperor expressed his interest in the Unknown Regions to the Chiss. Thrawn cautioned that great danger resided there, but assured the Emperor that he would share his knowledge of the Unknown Regions. The Emperor ordered that Eli Vanto be transferred to Thrawn's side and that both would undergo training at the Royal Imperial Academy.

Five years after the Clone Wars concluded, Cham Syndulla, a war hero who had liberated Ryloth from Separatist forces during the conflict, organized and led the Free Ryloth Movement to once again liberate his homeworld, this time from Imperial occupation. Sidious summoned the Senator of Ryloth, Orn Free Taa, to involve him in his plan to eliminate the "terrorists." He instructed the Twi'lek to accompany him and his enforcer, Darth Vader, on an official visit to Ryloth. After Sidious dismissed Taa, Vader questioned why he couldn't simply eliminate the Senator and his entire staff, as the two Sith suspected that one or more traitors were providing aid to the terrorist movement. However, the Emperor wanted to uncover the roots of the treachery, eliminate them, and set an example for the entire galaxy. Eventually, he instructed Vader to inform the Moff of Ryloth, Delian Mors, of Senator Orn Free Taa's arrival, but not of their own presence.

En route to Ryloth aboard the Star Destroyer Perilous, Sidious ordered the ship to stop at the Denon system for a meeting on the training cruiser Defiance with several Imperial Navy chiefs to discuss a reorganization of the Imperial Naval Academy. Sidious instructed Darth Vader to oversee training exercises conducted by Commandant Pell Baylo while the Emperor attended his meeting with the naval chiefs. During one such exercise, Baylo programmed a hyperspace route that would have caused the Defiance to crash into Christophsis' sun. Cadet Rae Sloane and Darth Vader discovered this assassination attempt and rerouted the Defiance. Baylo confronted the Emperor, accusing the Galactic Empire of being a hostile force that had usurped the Galactic Republic. Vader killed Baylo, which upset Sidious, who wanted Baylo to suffer as the Navy becomes something he hated and watch as the Defiance was decommissioned and turned into "cafeteria trays." Instead, the Defiance was renamed Obedience as a final jab at Baylo and a not-so-subtle reminder toward Vader to remember his place, and Sidious and Vader re-boarded the Perilous and continued on their way to Ryloth.

The two Sith and Senator Taa arrived in the Ryloth system aboard the Perilous. Upon exiting hyperspace, they found themselves in the midst of a minefield: Syndulla was waiting for them. The Twi'lek intended to eliminate them to strike at the heart of the Empire. However, Sidious remained unconcerned by the ambush, having apparently foreseen such an event. As the shields were overwhelmed, Sidious remained on the bridge, while Vader launched in his fighter, leading a squadron to engage a swarm of vulture droids. The former Separatist fighters released thousands of explosive buzz droids, further damaging the Star Destroyer. Vader returned to the Perilous where he met the Emperor and Senator Taa after finding that the Emperor's personal shuttle had been destroyed in the attack. Because he suspected there was a traitor in the Senator's staff, Sidious ordered to isolate them in their own quarters and deny them access to any communications equipment.

Meanwhile, a Twi'lek task force, disguised as a repair team, boarded the ship and planted explosive charges in the hyperdrive chamber, intending to trigger a chain reaction. After discovering the sabotage and realizing that the ship was doomed, Vader contacted the Emperor. The Emperor informed Vader that he had prepared a second shuttle, either as a contingency or because he had foreseen the destruction of the first shuttle, and instructed Vader to meet him there. However, Vader delayed his arrival by a few minutes in an attempt to locate and eliminate the saboteurs. The Twi'lek rebels barely managed to escape, and Vader hurried to the Emperor's shuttle, which departed as soon as Vader was aboard. A few minutes later, the Perilous exploded. Once in space, the fugitive task force searched for the Imperial shuttle and caught up with it. Vader Force choked the resistance pilot of the pursuing ship through the shuttle viewport. In a desperate attempt to escape Vader's grasp and kill both him and the Emperor, the Twi'leks rammed the stolen starship into the Imperial shuttle, critically damaging it. Vader attempted to regain control of the shuttle while Sidious remembered they had already been in situations like this. Thanks to the piloting skills of Vader the shuttle crash-landed on Ryloth's surface, in the middle of a forest.

Upon landing, Sidious remarked with mild annoyance that the landing was far below Vader's capabilities and that Vader's inattention had resulted in four corpses in the shuttle's rear compartment. Vader admitted to being distracted by thoughts of his past and dismissed it as insignificant. Sidious remained unconvinced but set aside the matter and proceeded with Vader to the rear compartment. There, three of the shuttle's occupants, Sergeant Erstin Deez, his captain, and another member of the Imperial Guard had survived the crash, though one was badly injured and unconscious. Vader noted with mild surprise that the Emperor appeared to have been wrong; there were only three corpses in the compartment. One of the conscious guards noted that his injured comrade had not strapped himself in during the landing, and as a result had been thrown about the compartment when the ship had crashed. However the Emperor, seemingly having known about the guard, had the semi-conscious guard executed for his stupidity, leaving the fourth corpse.

The survivors exited in the night, and while the two guards who survived were checking the survival kits, Vader asked his master if he was testing him. Sidious answered they were always being tested, and they must pass all tests to gain strength and power. Meanwhile, the guards had activated the generator and the communication array to call for help. At that moment the Sith sensed that two Twi'lek ships were approaching and prepared themselves for a confrontation. The Twi'lek rebel's ships fired upon them, while Vader, immersed in the Force, deflected the laser beams with his lightsaber.

The captain suggested to take cover in the woods, but the Emperor refused and instead, removed his cloak, and ignited his lightsaber. The two Sith spun their red blades, turning every shot back at the ships. When the enemy ships engines were hit and began to explode in flames and smoke, Sidious unleashed a bolt of Force lightning on their hulls and then, with the Force, drove one of the ships to the ground, while Vader did the same with the other. The two freighters exploded, and Vader sent Deez to check for survivors. They realized the rebels had jammed the communication network and that they were hunting for them.

They walked for a long time into the depths of the forest. Sidious went forward in the darkness seeing through the Force while testing Vader's loyalty once again until he decided to stop for a while. While the guards were eating, the two Sith began to meditate. The Emperor sensed his apprentice's murderous feelings towards him. When Vader ended his meditation, Sidious told him what he had sensed, but the former Jedi pledged his loyalty to his Sith Master. At that moment, the guards, whom the Emperor had sent away, had returned, pursued by a horde of lyleks. The Emperor remained calm, sending torrents of Force lightning against the predators, and began to advance back-to-back with Vader, their lightsabers ignited.

While Vader and the guardsmen held back the advancing lyleks with their weapons, Sidious used the Force to topple trees over the advancing lylek horde. Through the Force, Sidious sensed a tunnel a hundred meters away. The four retreated into the tunnel with the lyleks in pursuit. This tunnel turned out to be the home of the lylek horde, and the four Imperials were forced to fight through hundreds of the creatures. The guards used their blasters and grenades while the two Sith Lords used the Force and their lightsabers to fight through the horde.

As they waded deeper into the cave, Sidious realized that the lyleks were herding the intruders towards their queen. At Vader's instigation, the four resolved to kill all their opponents with the Emperor activating his red blade. After a fierce battle with the lyleks, Sidious and Vader found themselves back to back. When Sidious asked his apprentice whether he had ever toyed with the idea of letting his Emperor die to fulfill his own ambitions, Vader admitted he had entertained such thoughts but reassured his master it was only for a moment. Sidious accepted Vader's loyalty and the two joined forces to tackle the lylek queen.

Following a savage battle, Vader managed to kill the queen; scattering the remaining lyleks. However, the royal guard captain was killed, leaving only Sidious, Vader, and Sergeant Deez. Based on their battle with the lyleks, master and apprentice quickly surmised that Cham and his rebels were trying to kill them to bring about the Empire's destruction. Having triumphed over the lylek horde, the three Imperials found an opening at the end of the tunnel which led back to the forest.

While Sidious and his companions were traveling through the forest, they encountered a young Twi'lek girl named Drua. Sidious made a move to kill her, but Vader blocked his master's death blow and convinced Sidious that she could lead them to a settlement where they could contact reinforcements. Drua led them to her village, which was home to escaped Twi'lek slaves. When the village head Narmn asked for their identities, Sidious introduced himself, Vader, and Deez as "Krataa," "Irluuk," and the Sergeant. Sidious and Vader alone knew that their pseudonyms stood for "death" and "fate."

Sidious warned Vader that his act of mercy towards Drua would cost both her and her fellow villagers their lives. Vader then managed to win over the villagers by offering to repair an ancient communications device. Once Vader had fixed the machine, Sidious ordered Deez to contact Moff Mors; whom he knew to be loyal. After re-establishing contact with the two Sith Lords, Mors took steps to eliminate the Imperial traitor Colonel Belkor Dray, who was secretly aiding Cham's rebels. She foiled Belkor's plot to order V-wing fighters to strike Drua's Village and the massed Free Ryloth forces in a nearby quarry. After executing Belkor, Moff Mors sent her forces to rendezvous with Sidious and Vader at the Twi'lek village.

Cham's troops, hesitant to inflict harm on the local populace, discharged their weapons skyward, a signal for the inhabitants to evacuate ahead of the impending conflict. In response, the villagers sought refuge within a nearby mine shaft, a traditional haven during times of peril. Conversely, Sidious, Vader, and Deez remained steadfast at the village's heart. Before Cham's forces could initiate hostilities, Moff Mors's contingent materialized in a pair of troop carriers, effectively encircling the rebel combatants. A significant number of Free Ryloth fighters perished, while Cham narrowly eluded capture by Vader. On Sidious's command, Mors's Imperial forces perpetrated a massacre of the surviving Free Ryloth insurgents. Following a concise exchange with Cham's lieutenant, Isval, Sidious instructed Vader to eliminate her, and subsequently, the Twi'lek villagers sheltering within the mine shaft, to eradicate any potential witnesses. After a brief moment of contemplation, Vader acceded to his master's directive and carried out the slaughter of the villagers.

As of 14 BBY, the clandestine Death Star project was still under construction in orbit above Geonosis, sustained by a network of logistical hubs. The Empire encountered a fresh adversary in Berch Teller, a former operative of Republic Intelligence who stood in opposition to the Imperial regime. He commanded a rebel cell comprised of survivors and eyewitnesses of the Antar Atrocity, a sweeping crackdown on Antar 4 in the aftermath of the Clone Wars, which resulted in the deaths of innocent Gotal and Koorivar loyalists. Teller harbored a particular resentment towards Tarkin, the orchestrator of the Antar Atrocity. He received covert support and equipment from Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Agency and a rival of Tarkin.

In the wake of Teller's attack on Sentinel Base, the Emperor convened a session of his Ruling Council to deliberate on the discovery of a hidden stockpile of communications jammers on the planet Murkhana. The Imperial Security Bureau had ostensibly unearthed the cache and feared that dissidents were plotting to disrupt the Imperial HoloNet, mirroring the Separatist Shadowfeed broadcasts during the Clone Wars. The Emperor dispatched both Moff Tarkin and Lord Vader to investigate the situation. This, however, played directly into Teller's strategy, enabling the insurgents to seize Tarkin's corvette, the Carrion Spike, with the intention of transforming it into an emblem of resistance against the Empire.

Following a briefing on the theft of the Carrion Spike, Vice Admiral Rancit posited that the perpetrators were the same individuals responsible for the earlier assault on Sentinel Base. Consequently, the Emperor instructed Rancit to redirect Imperial forces from the Belderone system to provide assistance to Tarkin and Lord Vader. While Tarkin and Vader pursued the insurgents, the Emperor presided over another meeting of the Ruling Council. During this assembly, Rancit advocated for the deployment of additional Imperial forces to bolster Imperial installations along the Perlemian Trade Route and Hydian Way. The Council was also informed that Teller's insurgents had attacked the TaggeCo mining facilities on Lucazec and were disseminating holovids of their actions across the HoloNet.

Subsequent to a skirmish in the Phindar system involving Imperial forces and the stolen Carrion Spike, Rancit persuaded the Emperor to deploy interdictor vessels against the insurgents. Grand Vizier Amedda then apprised the Emperor that the Murkhana communications jammers had been discovered by an ISB operative tasked with investigating the find by his case officer. Acting upon this intelligence, Sidious interrogated the Koorivar ISB operative Bracchia and his case officer Stellan, who revealed that they had received a tip about the discovery from Naval Intelligence. After reviewing the holovid, the Emperor concluded that the communications cache had been planted by a high-ranking Imperial official who was aiding the insurgents.

In the meantime, Lord Vader uncovered Rancit's treachery and executed him. As Tarkin led Imperial forces against Teller's insurgents in a space battle near the Gulf of Tatooine, Darth Sidious meditated on his ambition for galactic dominance. Following the suppression of Teller's insurgency, Tarkin and Vader dedicated the ensuing three weeks to relentlessly pursuing Teller's collaborators and contacts in a ruthless crackdown. The two briefed the Emperor, who elevated Tarkin to the rank of Grand Moff, entrusting him with the governorship of the Outer Rim Territories and oversight of the Death Star project. The Emperor also restructured the Ruling Council in the aftermath of Rancit's execution, reintegrated Naval Intelligence into Imperial Intelligence, and established the Council of Moffs.

By 14 BBY, Sidious had also initiated Project Auger on the planet Zeffo, the former home of the Zeffonian civilization before their arrogance nearly led to their destruction. The project entailed Imperial mining operations on Zeffo to unearth ancient artifacts. The commanding officer, Krane, concealed a discovered artifact with the intention of personally presenting it to Sidious to curry favor. However, she met her demise when the cave she had chosen as a hiding place collapsed.

Shortly after he killed Eeth Koth, Vader turned on the Thirteenth Sister for acts of betrayal. Puzzled, her partner tried to come to her defense before both of them ran from Inquisitorius Headquarters across Coruscant. The Sith Lord eventually caught up with the pair and ended their lives. However, the damage caused by the chase and the resulting death of Senator Maklooq, a person of importance to one of Sidious's plans, caused the Emperor to order the Inquisitorius to be moved to a new location. Their new base was built on Nur. Happy with the death of Koth, Sidious gave Vader the old royal ship of Queen Amidala as a gift. With few Jedi left to take care of, Sidious was about to send his apprentice on new missions when Vader asked for a world to call his own: Mustafar. Sidious agreed to the request but wanted to know why his apprentice had picked the place of his greatest loss. Vader said that he thought the dark side presence there could give him access to the dead Amidala. Sidious encouraged him, happy that whatever knowledge or power his apprentice gained there would ultimately be his. He gave Vader one last gift, the mask of Darth Momin, before sending him to Mustafar with the architect Colonel Brenne to design a fortress for him.

By 12 BBY, the construction of Fortress Vader was finished, the eight previous attempts all having failed in some way. Vader contacted Sidious, who was surprised to hear from him after so long, but eager to give him more tasks for the Empire. When Sidious asked him if he had learned what he needed, Vader confirmed with a simple "yes" and no further explanation.

In 9 BBY, Darth Vader and the Inquisitorius started a hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had been tricked into coming out of hiding in order to save Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Even though the search had been made up by the Third Sister to kill Vader, her attempts were unsuccessful, and Vader and Kenobi fought in a lightsaber duel on a barren moon as a result. Kenobi defeated Vader, damaging his armor in the process, and he was able to get away from the Imperials chasing him. Not long after, Vader, whose armor had since been fixed, reached out to his master via a hologram at Fortress Vader, his castle on Mustafar. He told Sidious he had sent out probe droids to continue the search for Kenobi, adding that he would not escape him again. Noticing Vader's agitation, Sidious questioned if Vader's thoughts on the matter were clear, continuing that perhaps his feelings for his former master had left him weakened. As Sidious asked if Vader could not overcome his past, Vader declared that Kenobi meant nothing, for he only served Sidious.

With the Jedi mostly gone, Sidious felt safe behind his massive galactic military and control over most of the known galaxy. Despite this, remaining Separatist holdouts and surviving Jedi would weaken his confidence in the longevity of his new Empire. Seeking to secure the center, the Emperor supported large military excursions into the Outer Rim Territories in an effort to bring more systems under his rule. With his ultimate goal of bending reality into something of his own creation, an all-powerful Empire would allow all the galaxy's inhabitants to be held in his dark embrace. Even though the Jedi were almost extinct, Force-sensitive children were still being born across the galaxy. In an effort to combat this threat, Sidious ordered his apprentice, Lord Vader, to contact the Grand Inquisitor to hunt them down and destroy them if they did not serve the Empire.

During Vader's hunt for the Hidden Hand, the Emperor contacted his apprentice through a hologram, expressing his disappointment in his failure to track down the criminal syndicate. He stated that they must be crushed at once, as they stole weapons from the Empire and supplied them to the Rebellion.

Following the raid on the Imperial garrison on Aldhani in 5 BBY, Palpatine spoke with Colonel Yularen, giving the ISB direct control of operations going forward and the authority to arrest anyone who was considered a disrupter to the Empire. The next day, the Emperor convened an emergency session of the Senate in order to propose a legislative package of bills and amendments and to officially invoke the Public Order Resentencing Directive.

During the fifteenth Empire Day, celebrating the anniversary of the Empire's rise to power, the Emperor presided over the Imperial Senate on Coruscant with his Royal Guards, and invited Lothal governor Arihnda Pryce to celebrate with him. After the Inquisitor's death, at the hands of Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan Ezra Bridger, the Emperor dispatched his apprentice to Lothal as an "alternative solution" to the growing rebel problem. The Emperor was contacted by Darth Vader after he had defeated the Rebel fleet in the Lothal system. Vader informed his master that he had discovered that his former Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, still lived. The Emperor was pleased with the news that Tano possibly knew the location of other hidden Jedi, and capturing her would allow the Empire to find them and destroy them before they became threats. Although Vader was more interested in finding his former Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Emperor told his apprentice to have patience and to send an Inquisitor to hunt down Tano and the other Jedi discovered on Lothal.

In 2 BBY, the Emperor promoted the Chiss Imperial Navy officer Thrawn to the position of Grand Admiral for his role in suppressing the rebel insurgency in the Batonn sector. During the promotion, however, Thrawn questioned Sidious on the practicality of the Death Star. The Emperor questioned if the reason for Thrawn's worries were because of the threat the station posed to the Chiss species. However, because Thrawn had fulfilled his end of the bargain by sharing his information on the Unknown Regions, he let the issue go. The Emperor then introduced Thrawn to his personal enforcer, Darth Vader.

Shortly after his promotion, Thrawn was dispatched to deal with the growing rebel threat at the request of Governor Arihnda Pryce and Tarkin. Later, the rogue Senator Mon Mothma incurred the Emperor's wrath when she denounced him as a liar and condemned his complicity in the Ghorman Massacre. As a result, Mon Mothma was designated a traitor and Imperial forces were dispatched to hunt her down. Despite the efforts of Grand Admiral Thrawn to trap Mon Mothma and the Spectres in the Archeon Nebula, Hera Syndulla managed to deliver Mon Mothma safely to Dantooine where she gave a speech urging the galaxy to rise up against the Empire.

After Thrawn's defeat at Atollon, Sidious sensed a great disturbance in the Force somewhere on the edge of the galaxy. Therefore, the Emperor summoned Thrawn and Vader to Coruscant for a meeting. During the meeting, the Emperor ordered the two to the planet Batuu to locate a disturbance in the Force that he had sensed, testing Vader on his vulnerability to his past and Thrawn on his loyalty.

After the discovery of a Jedi temple on Lothal, the Emperor directed Minister Veris Hydan to excavate the ruins and uncover its secrets. Sometime thereafter, the Emperor was contacted by Hydan, who informed him that they had reached the roots of the temple and uncovered a mural of the Mortis gods, which was reminiscent of art and iconography found at the former temple on Coruscant. The Emperor told Hydan that he had sensed that the death of Jarrus had altered the fate of Lothal. Vowing to control the conduit between the living and the dead, the Emperor urged his minister to quicken the pace of his work.

Later, the Emperor used Sith alchemy in an attempt to open a portal to the World Between Worlds where Bridger and Tano were. The Emperor taunted them through the portal and unleashed his power against them, which they were able to hold back. He then caught Bridger's leg and pulled him so that he could get through the portal. However, before he could get through the portal to enter the realm, Tano cut the fiery lasso. The Emperor then tried again but failed as Bridger and Tano made it back to their world much to his fury. In the process, the Lothal Jedi Temple was destroyed.

Following the defeat of the treasonous Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit and Thrawn losing the funding for his TIE defender program to the Death Star, Sidious spoke with his Chiss Grand Admiral over his private communications display to determine if his loyalties truly lied with the Empire, as Thrawn had worked with members of the Chiss Ascendancy to combat a Grysk Hegemony force that had infiltrated Imperial space. After confirming with Thrawn that Savit had in fact been a traitor, the Emperor turned the topic of discussion to the Chiss officer's loyalties, though Thrawn insisted that his work with the Ascendancy was not treason. Thrawn admitted that the Grysks were primarily a threat to his own people, but he argued that they had taken an interest in the Empire and could want control of the Death Star, which Sidious instantly denied, telling Thrawn that neither the Grysks nor the Chiss would control his station.

While Thrawn denied seeking the battle station for his people and promised to fight against such a situation, Sidious clearly saw the Chiss's divided loyalties. Pondering Thrawn's true allegiances and the other factors at play, Sidious wondered if an alliance between the Empire and the Ascendancy could be useful if Thrawn was correct. However, in such a case, Sidious wanted control of both governments and pondered if Thrawn could be manipulated or persuaded into betraying his kind. Deciding such a possibility required additional meditation and turning his attention to the more urgent matter of the Lothal rebels, Sidious informed Thrawn that he was sending instructions for a chamber to be built aboard the Chimaera. He ordered Thrawn to put down the rebel insurgency on Lothal and bring Bridger to the chamber, which was a portion of the Lothal Jedi Temple he wanted brought aboard "stone by stone." Leaving Thrawn to carry out his duties, he gave the Grand Admiral one last order: once the battle at Lothal was over, he was to return to Coruscant so they could have a "long long talk."

Fulfilling his orders, Thrawn brought Bridger aboard the Chimaera when, in order to stop the Chiss officer from bombarding Lothal's Capital City, the young Jedi surrendered himself to the Empire. After the officer and the Padawan talked about the fate of the Jedi and Lothal, Thrawn brought Ezra to the room that contained the temple portion, bringing Bridger face-to-face with the Galactic Emperor. Since the Emperor was off-world, he used a hologram projection to present himself in his more benevolent, pre-scarred form. Sidious then ordered Thrawn to leave the room, leaving him alone with Bridger and the temple fragment.

In an attempt to get Ezra to unlock the portal to the World Between Worlds, Sidious tried to tempt Ezra with the opportunity of reuniting with his deceased parents. Ezra, however, recalling his earlier lesson in the World Between Worlds, decided to reject this offer, knowing he had a family and then proceeded to pull down the Temple into rubble. This caused the Emperor's hologram projection to shift from his benevolent persona to his true form. With his plan in tatters, the Emperor ordered three members of the Royal Guard and three stormtroopers to enter the room and execute Ezra. However, after Sidious deactivated his hologram, Bridger was able to use the Force to crush the soldiers with rubble and escaped. Ultimately making his way to the bridge of the Chimaera, Bridger, having previously ordered his ally Mart Mattin to summon a pod of Purrgil with Frequency Zero, successfully liberated his homeworld from the Empire, as the creatures defeated the blockade in orbit and proceeded to take hold of the Chimaera, dragging it, Thrawn, the rest of the crew, and him into hyperspace. Thus, Bridger unknowingly also stopped Sidious' future plans for Thrawn from becoming a reality.

Later that year, having deliberately placed a trap inside the Death Star, scientist Galen Walton Erso dispatched pilot Bodhi Rook to Jedha to meet with Saw Gerrera's Partisans and inform the Rebel Alliance of the existence of the planet-killing superweapon. Fearing that the Imperial Senate would learn of the Death Star's existence, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin decided to test the Death Star's superlaser on Jedha City, killing the traitorous pilot and proving that the station worked. Tarkin relayed his decision to the Emperor, who would await for the Governor's report. Director Orson Callan Krennic, however, expressed disappointment that neither the Emperor nor his favored emissary, Darth Vader, would be present for the occasion. This prompted Tarkin to explain that their absence served as a protection for Krennic should another failure occur during the testing of the weapon. Despite the animosity between the commanders, the Death Star fired on Jedha City, destroying it within moments. Soon after, Krennic asked Tarkin if he would report to the Emperor that his efforts had paid off, only for Tarkin to reveal that he would instead inform the Emperor that he would be taking executive control of the Death Star.

Not long after, Rogue One squad, led by Jyn Erso and Captain Cassian Jeron Andor, as well as a large portion of the Alliance's fleet managed to steal a complete technological readout of the Death Star from an Imperial Research Facility on Scarif. This loss, as the space station neared completion, was a bitter, and potentially fatal, blow to the Emperor's long-term plans. In order to deal with the problem, Sidious sent Vader to retrieve the Death Star plans.

Vader destroyed the rebel flagship and much of the rebel fleet. However, the plans were retrieved by Toshma Jefkin and had escaped aboard the Tantive IV, a CR90 corvette, in the hands of Princess Leia, the Imperial Senator for Alderaan and a suspected Rebel sympathizer. Vader soon trapped the corvette over Tatooine, boarding the ship and taking the Princess as a hostage. Although Vader failed to acquire the plans, he arrested Organa as a traitor and, as such, provided Sidious with the excuse he needed to dissolve the Imperial Senate. One of the last remnants of the Galactic Republic, Sidious had always planned to remove it but he needed to wait for the Death Star to be completed so that order could be maintained through fear instead of representation in the Senate. With the space station nearly completed and a Senator accused of supporting the rebellion, Sidious ordered the dissolution of the Senate. Legislative power was transferred to regional governors and select members of the Imperial military, such as Sidious' ally, Grand Moff Tarkin, allowing the Emperor to gain complete control over the Empire with no checks to his power.

After the lightsaber battle between Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader informed Sidious of Kenobi's demise, a revelation that brought Sidious unexpected joy. Nevertheless, Vader remained disturbed by Kenobi's final words, the vanishing of his body upon death, and the persistent mystery surrounding Yoda's location. Sidious then committed himself to maintaining the Empire's power and crushing the Rebellion.

Despite Sidious's meticulous strategies for achieving absolute control over the Empire, his schemes faced a significant threat when the Rebel Alliance launched an assault on the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. As the Death Star prepared to fire its superlaser, Sidious detected a minor ripple in the Force, a mere flicker from his perspective. At that precise moment, Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker fired his proton torpedoes, successfully destroying the Death Star. This act resulted in the deaths of Tarkin and most of the Empire's high-ranking officers, while also causing Sidious to be concerned about the pilot's connection to the Force even though he wasn't as powerful as Maul or Dooku but just a simple boy.

The only ones to survive were Darth Vader, Sidious's apprentice, who had failed to defend the space station, and General Cassio Tagge, dispatched to investigate Princess Leia Organa's claims regarding an active Rebel base on Dantooine. Following their triumph at Yavin, the Rebels achieved another victory on Cymoon 1, where a Rebel team obliterated the Empire's primary production facility, Weapons Factory Alpha. Several other attacks by Rebel forces, such as the bombing of a supply base on Imdaar and the shipyards at Kuat, plagued the Empire in the weeks following the Death Star's destruction. Moreover, the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction led to an increase in pirate activities targeting Imperial supply convoys, as the galactic government's image of invincibility was shattered. The Empire's influence over crucial planets also began to weaken; one such planet that began to question Imperial rule was the mining world of Shu-Torun. Governed by a mercantile nobility known as the ore-dukes, Shu-Torun supplied essential materials for the Empire's construction projects, including the development of the second Death Star, and the Emperor consistently demanded higher tithes, especially following the Battle of Yavin. Rejecting this unsustainable increase, the Ore-dukes persuaded their aged King to initiate a rebellion against the Empire.

Resolved to avert the collapse of his Empire, Sidious restructured Imperial High Command, appointing General Tagge as Grand General with authority over all military affairs. Tagge had previously argued against relying solely on the Death Star as the Imperial military's primary weapon, asserting that the military was sufficient to protect the Empire and that dependence on a single weapon was a recipe for disaster. Vader, having failed to safeguard both the Death Star and Cymoon 1, was demoted and instructed to serve under Tagge's direction. The Emperor decreed that the military should prioritize the conquest of the Outer Rim until the completion of the second Death Star. Tagge and Vader then began targeting the pirates for destruction as well as cracking down on criminal elements which had gone unchecked in the past, such as the Son-tuul Pride.

The Hutts were the only ones spared the Empire's wrath, having forged an alliance with the Empire. Recognizing the need for raw materials for Imperial military production and knowing that the Hutts could provide them for the right price, Sidious sent Vader to Tatooine to negotiate an agreement with Jabba, offering their support in exchange for the Hutts maintaining their power base in the Outer Rim and the underworld. The destruction of competitors, such as the Son-tuul Pride, also allowed the Hutts to profit from the alliance as their position in the underworld fell to them.

When Shu-Torun openly rebelled against the Empire following Darth Vader's brutal suppression of an assassination attempt against him by the King, Sidious dispatched his apprentice back to the mining world with a substantial military force. His orders were to quell the Ore-dukes' rebellion and uphold the Imperial-backed government led by Queen Trios, whom Vader had installed on the throne following her father's treason.

Sometime after the Battle of Yavin, the Emperor's luxury yacht Imperialis was stolen by the gambler Lando Calrissian and his associates while it was undergoing repairs at Sienar Fleet Systems' Orbital Shipyard CC-24 above the planet Castell. Grand Vizier Amedda informed the Emperor of this loss within a Coruscant throne room. In response, the Emperor dispatched three Star Destroyers under the command of Commodore Idel, Captain Shan, and Captain Conro to retrieve his ship. These Star Destroyers destroyed CC-24 as punishment to Commander Pasqual for failing to safeguard the Emperor's property. After the Star Destroyers failed to recover the ship, the Emperor dispatched the bounty hunter Chanath Cha to recover the vessel. Should she fail to recover it, he instructed her to destroy the Imperialis to avoid letting its secrets fall into the hands of others. Unwilling to harm her former friends Lando and Lobot, Chanath opted to destroy the vessel instead. The wreckage of the Imperialis eventually ended up on Quantxi, the junk moon of Ord Mantell.

Subsequent to Darth Vader's failure to prevent the Death Star's destruction, Sidious was approached by Doctor Cylo, a scientist involved in the Tarkin Initiative. As one of the specialists who had saved Vader's life after his near-fatal injuries on Mustafar, Sidious had retained him and funded his research into upgrading organic beings with cybernetic enhancements. Cylo believed that organisms could only survive by adapting through technology and eliminating weaknesses. He also held the view that the Force would become obsolete in the new world he envisioned. Although Sidious dismissed these ideas by saying that everything was of the Force, he was curious to see what these scientists could do unconstrained by the presence of the Old Republic or the Jedi.

Over the two decades since the Clone Wars ended, Cylo had been working to create several subjects with the most advanced genetic and cybernetic enhancements he could provide, preparing them as potential enforcers for the Empire. Given Vader's disgrace and the Emperor's need for strong elements to prevent further damage to the Empire, Cylo proposed replacing his apprentice with one of his subjects. Vader's role would be reduced to a ceremonial one, while the doctor's subjects would enforce Sidious's will throughout the galaxy. Intrigued by Cylo's proposition, Sidious agreed to provide his subjects with a chance to impress him.

However, unbeknownst to the scientist, the Emperor had come to believe that Cylo had grown too powerful as a result of his involvement with the Tarkin Initiative. He could do nothing about it because of the doctor's connection with several of the Empire's greatest scientific minds, and removing him could cause a splint among them. When Cylo presented him his plan, however, Sidious knew that he could cause him to overplay his hand which would make him a traitor to the Empire. Knowing that Vader would be the perfect foil to Cylo's subjects, the Emperor made sure the two men met. The day he informed Vader of his punishment for his failure at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, he also summoned Cylo for a private meeting. When his apprentice asked who the scientist was, Sidious refused to answer him, leading Vader to conduct his own investigation into the Emperor's secrets.

After Vader's hired bounty hunter Krrsantan successfully apprehended Cylo in his fourth body, he revealed under torture the location of his secret research base. The Sith Lord made his way to the base where he began an assault to find his potential rivals and destroy them. However, Cylo-IV's death at the hands of Vader's torture droid 0-0-0 had not killed the scientist: having recreated himself as an immortal system, whenever one of Cylo's bodies died, another was activated on board his research base. Cylo-V had guessed that Vader had discovered the location of his base and that he would be coming when he was activated. As such, he contacted the Emperor so that he could give him a demonstration of his subjects. Sidious arrived as Vader was about to kill the scientist. Only his intervention saved Cylo-V from suffering his predecessor's fate. With all the elements for his plan to begin, the Emperor demanded Cylo start the presentation.

As they fought with Vader, Cylo presented to him the subjects that he had been working on over the past twenty years: Aiolin Astarte and Morit Astarte, twins born to a family which had supported the Separatists during the Clone Wars, who had been upgraded genetically and cybernetically to possess abilities similar to the Jedi and Sith of old without having to use the Force; Tulon Voidgazer, a genius scientist involved with high-level R&D development before she was upgraded with a cloud of drone-droids, connected directly to her brain, who allowed her to see and fight through them; Commander Karbin, a Mon Calamari veteran of the Clone Wars who had spent eighteen years on life support after his ship crashed, and who had been upgraded into a model resembling the late General Grievous and trained in lightsaber combat. Finally, Cylo had created a system which could possess various hosts, tested on a Trandoshan, and remove any traits the Emperor would not desire, such as pain and emotions. Sufficiently impressed, Sidious demanded a real demonstration of their abilities. Vader and the subjects began to fight to the death against one another, and the Trandoshan was killed by Morit before the Emperor called a stop to the fight. He announced that he would find a use for every one of them, but that only one would win a place as his enforcer. The sole rule he established was that they not kill each other; or make sure if they did that he not find out. As he made to leave, the Emperor called Vader to speak to him privately.

When they were alone, Sidious complimented Vader on his ability to discover Cylo's project. He was also impressed with his apprentice's ability to act beyond his knowledge, and how he had been able to acquire a private army of Separatist-era commando droids to use for his own ends. Vader was displeased with being forced to prove himself against Cylo's subjects, especially as he considered them blasphemous to the ways of the Force. Sidious chastised him for reprimanding him, reminding him that he was the teacher while Vader remained the apprentice: his task was to learn what Sidious knew, and Sidious's was to discover what there was to teach. The Emperor also revealed that he needed Vader to overcome the disappointment he had caused in him when he almost fell on Mustafar, and prove himself worthy of carrying the name Sidious had given him when he had pledged himself to the Sith. With his business concluded, the Emperor left Cylo's base and returned to Coruscant.

At the Emperor's directive, Cylo's subjects were placed at Grand General Tagge's disposal, while the doctor acted as a consultant for the military. The rivalry between them and Vader eventually led to the confrontation with the Rebel Alliance on Vrogas Vas. As a result of Karbin's manipulation, Vader crashed on Vrogas Vas when he confronted three Rebel squadrons. One pilot chose to crash his X-Wing into Vader's TIE fighter to bring him down. On the surface, Vader confronted a large force or Rebel soldiers assembled by Leia Organa to eliminate his threat. The confrontation culminated in a battle between the Sith Lord and Karbin, which resulted in the latter's death. The Rebellion suffered important losses on Vrogas Vas, and Karbin's disappearance led the Emperor to search for him. Vader eventually made his way to Coruscant where he presented his master with Karbin's corpse. Although Sidious was annoyed that his apprentice had violated his rule, he was impressed when Vader challenged him to provide him with another way to prove himself worthy of his trust. The Emperor gave his apprentice command of the military force he was sending to Shu-Torun to preserve Queen Trios's hold on the throne. However, he also sent Cylo and his remaining subjects, apparently on Grand General Tagge's request. Before Vader left the Imperial Palace, Sidious warned him not to disappoint him, as he relied on him more than he let on.

Vader's campaign on Shu-Torun was a success, and the rebellious Ore-dukes were brought down. In the middle of the battle, Cylo attempted to have his rival killed by forming an alliance with Baron Rubix, the leader of the Shu-Torun rebels. Vader evaded the trap and, with the help of a dying Aiolin Astarte who had been betrayed by her brother, secured the proof needed to prove the doctor's treachery from her memory circuit. Once Vader's business was concluded on Shu-Torun, he informed the Emperor of Cylo's betrayal and told him that he had fled with his remaining subjects. Pleased that his plan had worked, Sidious summoned Vader to him on the shipyard where the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor was being built.

At Kuat, the Emperor revealed his fear of Cylo's growing influence to his apprentice, the doctor's role in rebuilding him, and the purpose of the contest for his position as an enforcer. Vader recognized that, should one of his rivals had been the last one standing, the Emperor would be having the same conversation with them. However, he declared that he had succeeded and that he represented the strength of the dark side. Sidious was pleased with his apprentice's success and ordered him to find Cylo and destroy him.

While the Executor was still under construction, Cylo's fleet attacked the dreadnought. During the assault, one of his creations, Tulon Voidgazer sabotaged the vessel. Sidious contacted Tagge, demanding to know what was happening, however the general and his crew were knocked unconscious by toxic gas. The Emperor was then informed by one of his guards that they were trapped.

After Vader killed Cylo's minions and destroyed his current body, he informed the Emperor of his success. Pleased with his apprentice, Sidious told him to finish his mission then return. At that moment, the archaeologist Doctor Aphra entered his private chambers. She then claimed they had a "mutual friend" and that she had things the Emperor needed to know.

After Vader finished off Cylo for good, he returned to his master. It was then that Sidious told Vader that Aphra had informed him of all of his secret endeavors, many of which had been technically treasonous. However, rather than chastise or punish Vader, the Emperor told his apprentice that he was impressed with his ambitions and that he was everything he could have hoped for. He then left Vader to deal with Aphra as he pleased. Due to Tagge's failure, the Emperor demoted him and transferred command of the Executor and its fleet to Vader. Pleased with his apprentice, he left him to "educate" his subordinates of the future.

Sometime later, Sidious sought out Vader to speak with him and found his apprentice in a training room with Sergeant Kreel of Task Force 99. The trooper bowed and expressed his honor at meeting the Emperor, who said he expected as such and urged Vader to join him elsewhere.

Around 1 ABY, Vader successfully obtained a kyber crystal containing the copied consciousness of an ancient Jedi named Rur. While reporting to Sidious on a successful raid against the criminal syndicates, he presented the artifact to a pleased Sidious, who added it to his collection, certain that the crystal and its occupant would be of value to him.

Later that year, Vader led Imperial forces to a decisive victory at the Mako-Ta Space Docks, virtually crippling the Rebel fleet. While Sidious pointed out that the enemy had not been completely destroyed, Vader contended that the Rebellion had been weakened such that it could not pose a major threat to the Empire anymore. He added that the Alliance could be wiped out at their convenience, which satisfied Sidious.

The next year, Pitina Mar-Mas Voor, the head of the Coalition for Progress was exposed by Doctor Aphra as the architect of a scheme to assassinate the Emperor with the ancient Farkiller weapon. While Palpatine was evacuated to safety, Vader confronted Voor and executed her.

Three years after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire achieved a major victory by capturing the Rebel base on the ice planet of Hoth. However, an even greater event was on the horizon. Seated in his Imperial Office, Sidious felt a significant disturbance in the Force, reminiscent of the sensation he experienced just before the Death Star's destruction. Seeking to understand the disturbance, Sidious had a vision of a young man wielding a red lightsaber, seemingly having decapitated the Emperor's Royal Guards within the Imperial Office itself. In the vision, the young man approached a seated Sidious, calling upon the Force to choke Sidious's double. The double attempted to electrocute the young man with Force Lightning but failed. The double then tried to summon his lightsaber, but the young man instead commanded it, turning it on mid-flight and ultimately overpowering the double when the Sith Lord's own saber struck him down.

A familiar voice then called to the young man, who walked to the same spot the real Sidious now occupied. The young man knelt before the hidden figure as the voice remarked that he had done well. Sidious then recognized the voice as that of Anakin Skywalker. Sidious concluded that this must be a dream of Anakin's. Probing deeper into the vision, Sidious witnessed the scene of the unmasked and unburnt Anakin Skywalker walking beneath countless Star Destroyers, alongside a figure resembling himself and the resurrected Senator Padme Amidala. The figure referred to Anakin as Father and to Padme as Mother. Anakin then gestured to the fleet, referring to the young man as Luke, stating that the fleet above them was now the most powerful in the galaxy. Having witnessed this, Sidious was ejected from the vision, but he had seen enough. From these glimpses, he inferred that Vader's actions, ostensibly aimed at destroying the Alliance leadership, were actually driven by a desire to find his son and mold him to his vision.

Sidious then decided to provide Vader with the resources to achieve this while awaiting Vader to commit an error. When that error occurred, Sidious would be prepared to exploit it for his own gain and ensure Vader's downfall. With Darth Vader aboard his command ship, Executor, the Emperor contacted the commanding officer of the vessel, Admiral Piett, instructing him to have Lord Vader contact him immediately. Vader complied and was informed of his son, Luke Skywalker, fully aware that Vader was knowledgeable of this information. The Emperor then expressed his desire to eliminate this threat, but Vader suggested that young Skywalker could become an ally. With calculated approval, the Emperor allowed his enforcer to pursue this potential "asset." The cloaked master then left Vader to find Luke Skywalker after his apprentice pledged to confront the offspring of Anakin Skywalker and either bring him to the Emperor or have his son destroyed.

Darth Vader eventually lured Luke Skywalker to Cloud City on Bespin, where the Sith Lord attempted to capture Skywalker in carbonite and transport the Jedi-aspirant to the Emperor. However, Skywalker evaded capture and was confronted by Vader in a duel on Cloud City. There, with the Jedi-aspirant beaten by a precarious ledge, Vader divulged knowledge of his relationship with Skywalker, his son, and gave an ultimatum for the youth: to join forces—as said to be destiny—with his father, Darth Vader, or die. However, Luke Skywalker rejected his newfound father, and allowed himself to fall into the abyss.

Having failed in recruiting or destroying Skywalker, Vader returned to the Executor, only to be interrupted by its crew, which reported the Millennium Falcon's escape from Cloud City. Upon the Executor's bridge, Vader sensed the presence of his son aboard the Falcon. Calling out for the young Skywalker to join himself in vain, the father of Skywalker watched as the Falcon slipped past Imperial forces with its fully functional hyperdrive.

Angered, Darth Vader boarded an Imperial shuttle from his flagship, accompanied by a forensics droid and a unit of death troopers, seeking retribution against those who had concealed the truth about his offspring's survival. He modified the droid's systems to initiate a self-destruct sequence via its motivator if it divulged any information about their mission, even to Imperials or the Emperor.

Simultaneously, Emperor Palpatine instructed Grand Vizier Mas Amedda to contact Admiral Piett via hologram. After Piett confirmed the Millennium Falcon's escape, the Grand Vizier conveyed the Emperor's immediate demand for Vader to contact him. However, an officer informed Piett of Lord Vader's shuttle departure just as the admiral reached for his comlink to Vader. Carefully phrasing his response, Piett informed Vizier Amedda that Vader was unavailable. Upon hearing of Vader's failure and his unauthorized departure from Imperial command, the Emperor began to laugh during the holo-transmission from Piett, while seated on his throne in his Coruscant palace with Amedda at his side.

Subsequently, Vader arrived at the Imperial Palace to meet his master in the throne room, where Palpatine learned from his apprentice that the Rebel Navy was dispersed but likely to regroup in the future. Determined to capitalize on the present opportunity, Sidious commanded his apprentice to lead the hunt to crush the Rebellion while it was vulnerable and disorganized, reasoning that, with the absence of figures like Thrawn and Tarkin, his apprentice was among the few capable of leading the campaign. He acknowledged that such a campaign would hinder Vader's search for Skywalker, a pursuit they both eagerly anticipated. Consequently, Vader proposed delegating the mission to Tarkin's protégé, Ellian Zahra, a suggestion Palpatine approved.

With assistance from Sabé and her Amidalans, Vader ultimately discovered the actual fate of his late wife. He traveled to Polis Massa and viewed a recording of her final moments, where she expressed her belief that there was still good in her husband. Following this revelation, Vader returned to Coruscant to face his master. Upon his arrival, Sidious reprimanded his apprentice for indulging in grief. He declared that Vader would have to begin anew with fear before assaulting him with Force lightning. During the ensuing confrontation, Amedda revealed the Emperor's knowledge of Vader's failure to turn his son and his alliance with the Amidalans. Vader was then attacked by the Emperor's guards, whom he subdued along with Amedda using a Force choke. While impressed by Vader's strength, Sidious employed the Force to crush Vader's limbs, instructing him to forget everything except his master. With only his right arm intact, Vader was informed by Sidious that he must rediscover himself or perish.

Accompanied by two death troopers, Sidious transported Vader back to Mustafar, abandoning him on the very shore where he had been found. He informed his apprentice that he must rebuild himself without the aid of the Force before departing. Back on his shuttle, Amedda informed Sidious that Vader was heading towards the ruins of the Techno Union installation, which contained machinery likely to be used for self-reconstruction and an attempt on Sidious' life. In response, Sidious unveiled his own scheme: to remind Vader of his pain, thereby fueling his resurgence to power. To this end, he would dispatch Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith huntsman, to hunt down his apprentice for sport, intending to transform Vader's anger back into pain repeatedly.

However, to Sidious' dismay, Vader overcame his assassin and discovered a Sith wayfinder that led to the hidden Sith world of Exegol in the Unknown Regions, where Sidious maintained a reserve of power and resources. After defeating an Imperial fleet and a Summa-verminoth guarding the planet, Vader arrived on Exegol with Ochi in tow. Emerging from his Sith Citadel, the Emperor was greeted by Ochi, who warned him of Vader's arrival. Observing his apprentice riding the Summa-verminoth, Sidious inquired what this experience had taught him, to which Vader replied that he would teach his master the meaning of fear. Vader then charged into battle on the Summa-verminoth, prompting Sidious to unleash two crustaceous creatures to attack the beast. Although the creatures were defeated, Sidious then used the Force to crush the Summa-verminoth himself, forcing Vader to return to ground level as Sidious retreated into the Citadel. As Vader and Ochi pursued him inside, Sidious taunted his apprentice through the Force, describing the horrors that awaited him.

Within the Citadel were large vats containing bioengineered organisms strong in the dark side of the Force, along with countless Sith statues, beings known as Tankers, Sith cultists, and a jar containing the severed hand of Vader's son. Despite the fact that these creations were not Sith, Sidious claimed that any of them could replace Vader should he fall. After battling through his master's monsters, Vader, followed by Ochi, descended to one of the Citadel's lower levels. There, they discovered an entire fleet of star destroyers, each equipped with a planet-destroying cannon. Just beyond this fleet was a massive dome filled with red light and piercing screams. Despite Ochi's attempts to dissuade him, Vader entered the dome and discovered his master's greatest secret: a subterranean mountain of kyber crystal, bled red by the Sith cultists who kept it in constant pain. Sidious explained that he did this to power the cannons of his fleet. When the crystal was cut, it screamed in pain and emitted a wave of power, knocking off Ochi's helmet and burning his unprotected eyes. Vader also suffered as Sidious mocked him for attempting to claim his power. Sidious then told his apprentice that if he continued to walk with him, he would never escape his pain, but only by walking with him would he be able to share his master's power. When Sidious asked his apprentice if he had chosen, Vader replied "Yes, my master" before departing from Exegol along with Sidious, Ochi, Amedda and Sly Moore.

Amidst the chaos of these events, Sidious and the cultists remained unaware that his son, then known as "The Abomination," had been wandering the Citadel and watching from afar. He escaped with the help of his symeong slave friend Dathan aboard the ship Vader had arrived with Ochi aboard, fleeing Exegol to live a life free from the dark side of the Force and to reject his cruel Sith father, ultimately shunning the ways of the Sith.

Upon returning to Coruscant, Sidious brought Vader to the same facility where he had initially been restored. As Vader underwent repairs once more, Amedda cautioned Sidious about his intentions to kill him. Sidious responded that with Vader now aware of the limitations of his role, he would find a more appropriate target for his hate, assuring both Amedda and Moore that he was beyond Vader's reach and they were beneath his notice. Once Vader was repaired, he inquired about Sidious' will, to which Sidious told him to decide that for himself. Vader then summoned Ochi, who had just received a cybernetic visor to restore his sight. After obtaining the Emperor's approval, Ochi departed with Vader in a Lambda-class shuttle to embark on their next assignment: the assassination of Luke Skywalker. Meanwhile, Sidious questioned Moore about her feelings regarding Vader's restoration. She avoided the question, stating that she accepted her failure to kill Vader. Sidious laughed, never having expected her to succeed.

Vader and Ochi's pursuit of Skywalker eventually led them to the Auction for Han Solo held by Lady Qi'ra of the newly revived crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. Vader retrieved the stolen smuggler from the auction on Jekara in order to lure Luke Skywalker to him. However, this action provoked the ire of the Grand Hutt Council, who attacked the Executor to reclaim Jabba's prize from the Empire. While Vader engaged his son in a dogfight above the planet, Admiral Piett contacted Vader for assistance against the Hutt attack, to which Vader replied that the attack was not his concern. In turn, Piett contacted the Emperor himself to inform him of the situation. Sidious then instructed the Admiral to inform Vader that eliminating the Hutt Council was his new priority. Vader conceded and allowed his son to escape before slaughtering the Hutt Council, ending their attack while Boba Fett retrieved his bounty from the Executor and brought him to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. As Vader choked Moore on the Executor for betraying him, he was contacted by Sidious, at which point he released his grip on the Umbaran and knelt before the Emperor. After reaffirming his loyalty to his master, Vader was instructed by Sidious to hunt down and eliminate Crimson Dawn's agents within the Empire.

Some time later, Vader and his followers returned to Coruscant and struck down all of the Royal Guards and aides in the Emperor's throne room. Unfazed, Sidious pointed out that Vader should have kept one of them alive for questioning. When Vader asked him if they were loyal, Sidious said they were loyal to strength, which Vader showed them. However, only one of them was Crimson Dawn, meaning that Vader's list was flawed. When Sidious questioned if his apprentice already knew that, Vader hesitated before assuring his master that he would bring him order. Fueled by attacks from Crimson Dawn, the most powerful syndicates in the criminal underworld, except for the Hutts, began to fight amongst themselves. Displeased with the growing Syndicate War, Sidious ordered Amedda to contact his apprentice and inform him that his intervention was required. As he returned to his throne room, the Emperor was informed by Amedda that the syndicates were allegedly vying for his favor. Sidious then decided to use his own fleet to quell their exuberance. But as he ordered Amedda to inform Piett and Veers, his entire Royal Guard suddenly fell over dead before him.

During his mission to eradicate Crimson Dawn, Vader joined Sabé on Gabredor III in order to rescue his childhood friends Kitster and Wald from Governor Tauntaza, who was aligned with the criminal syndicate. Upon learning of this, Sidious found it amusing that, having failed to save his mother and wife, Vader would attempt to do the same for others from his early life. Wearing a battlesuit, Tauntaza engaged Vader in combat, damaging his suit and fleeing the planet. After his recovery, Vader appointed Sabé as his advisor, and she determined that Tauntaza's actions had been at the command of the Emperor.

Consequently, Vader returned to Coruscant with Sabé, barging into the Emperor's throne room uninvited. Sidious remarked that Vader had been listening to his heart and inquired what it had told him. In response, Vader levitated Sabé, ignoring her calling him by his original name. Sidious told her that referring to Vader as Anakin did the opposite of what she intended: instead of breaking through to him, she reminded him of his weakness. Despite her failure to turn his apprentice against him, Sidious was intrigued by her boldness, sending his Royal Guards to attack her. After she outfought them, even sending their fire towards him, Sidious killed them with Force lightning.

Impressed by her combat skills, Sidious spoke to Sabé about the darkness he sensed in her heart. When he asked why she wanted to kill him, she replied that he represented chaos, while Vader represented order. Sidious retorted that she brought chaos in her quest for order, telling her to be proud of it, saying that it was her strength. Pleased, Sidious told Vader not to let his history with Sabé and her resemblance to his dead wife trouble him, particularly since she could not hope to defeat him. Instead, Vader was to continue molding her as a servant of the Empire.

Sometime later, Sidious summoned Vader back to his palace to discuss what he believed was a threat not to the Empire, but to the Sith themselves. He cited the Hutt attack on the Executor, the Syndicate War, Commander Zahra's failure to eradicate the Rebel Alliance, the assassination of ten of his Royal Guards, and the theft of the Screaming Key from Fortress Vader by the Knights of Ren as evidence of a concerted conspiracy against them. When Vader asked who was behind the plot, the Emperor called in ISB Director Barsha to lay out what intelligence he had uncovered about the Syndicate War and name their enemy to Vader. After explaining that the syndicates were fighting for the Emperor's favor after hearing a rumor that the Hutts were losing their arrangement with the Empire. He revealed that he had learned that Crimson Dawn was responsible for the rumor.

Later, as the two Sith walked down a hallway, Sidious stated to Vader his belief that Crimson Dawn was also behind the other incidents. Sidious asked Vader to confirm that he had met and dueled the syndicate's leader, Lady Qi'ra. Vader acquiesced, remembering that it had taken place at the auction for Han Solo, which Sidious reminded him was another of his failures. As they discussed her combat skills, which Vader said went beyond Teräs Käsi and involved techniques that reminded him of Sidious, they both came to the conclusion that Qi'ra had been trained by Maul, with Sidious concerned that she may have learned more about the Sith than simply fighting forms.

Following the downfall of Crimson Dawn, Sidious dispatched an Imperial contingent to retrieve the Spark Eternal from the Amaxine Space Station. However, it had fused with a droid disc, and the resulting intelligence proceeded to seize control of the droids aboard the accompanying Star Destroyer, using them to eliminate everyone on board.

In the months following the events on Bespin, Luke Skywalker continued to refine his abilities in the light side of the Force; nevertheless, Sidious remained convinced that Skywalker was susceptible to turning to the dark side.

In an effort to secure a new Sith apprentice and bring an end to the Galactic Civil War, Sidious intentionally allowed the Rebels to acquire the plans for the new Death Star under construction above the forest moon of Endor. Following the anticipated annihilation of a significant portion of the Rebellion in a doomed confrontation against a secretly armed and operational Death Star, Sidious intended to initiate the deployment of some of the largest invasion fleets in galactic history to blockade the known rebel strongholds of Mon Cala and Chandrila until the Death Star II could destroy them, thus permanently suppressing the Rebellion and all who opposed his rule through sheer terror.

The Emperor traveled to the second Death Star with the intention of overseeing the ultimate defeat of the Rebellion and the Jedi, using himself as bait to lure the Alliance out. A vast number of Imperial personnel, including two astromech droids, witnessed the Emperor's momentous arrival in Hangar 272. Shortly before his meeting with Luke Skywalker, the Emperor sensed the presence of a mysterious, malevolent force in the distant reaches of the unexplored regions; he suspected it to be the possible source of the dark side of the Force, but even the Emperor wasn't sure who or what he was sensing. He also sensed the death of Yoda, who appeared to him as a Force spirit, much to Sidious's surprise. All the same, he began to gloat about his coming victory until Yoda suddenly vanished.

While aboard the Death Star, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca managed to bypass the shield and land on the Sanctuary Moon. Vader, who had been instructed to dispatch the fleet to the moon and remain on a command ship, sensed his son's arrival. Consequently, he traveled to the Death Star, where he informed the Emperor that he sensed Luke's presence. Surprised that he himself was unable to sense it, the Emperor commanded Vader to go and wait for him, saying that he had foreseen Luke seeking Vader out and surrendering to him personally out of compassion for his father.

Shortly after Skywalker and the rebel strike team landed on Endor, the Emperor summoned his secret protégé, Admiral Gallius Rax, for a secret meeting aboard his throne room on the second Death Star. Sensing a shatterpoint approaching, Darth Sidious warned Rax that it may soon be time to implement the Contingency. He then ordered Rax to take the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Ravager into the Vulpinus Nebula and hide until the events of this shatter point had resolved. He also told Rax that there would be others he had to call to his side.

Once Luke surrendered, Darth Vader brought his son to the space station and his master's throne room. The Emperor greeted Luke, dismissed the guardsmen and removed his chains. Luke was told that the Emperor planned to turn Luke to the dark side and that all that has happened on the Moon was all his plan. The Emperor also managed to explain that his father was irredeemable and could never be turned from the dark side. Sidious also had a surprise in store for the Rebels. When the Alliance Fleet arrived, the Death Star's superlaser was operational, contrary to what the Rebels had been led to believe. The Death Star was able to destroy several of the command ships, but the Rebels both on the surface and in space managed to press forward with their attack, as Lando was counting on Han to destroy the Shield Generator.

Luke was then manipulated by the Emperor, who told him of his friends' impending doom and Luke was told that he would soon become his apprentice. Luke at first resisted, but as the Emperor continued to taunt him, Luke grew angrier and then grabbed his lightsaber to strike the old man down. Darth Vader intercepted Luke's strike and the two began to engage in a duel much to the Emperor's delight.

Luke was first able to calm himself, refusing several times to continue fighting his father. Luke attempted to hide from Vader as their fight became more intense but Vader was able to sense his son's thoughts and learned that Luke had a sister. With this knowledge, Vader told Luke that if he did not turn to the dark side, perhaps Leia would. The threat of losing his sister enraged Luke and drove him to angrily attack Vader.

After Luke cut off Vader's mechanical hand, Sidious betrayed Vader by instructing Luke to take Vader's place by his side, much like how he betrayed Dooku and had him replaced with Vader. However, Luke began to see what had happened and that he was dangerously close to becoming like his father was now; a slave to the dark side of the Force. Luke threw away his lightsaber and turned to face the Emperor. He told the Emperor that he would never turn to the dark side and that he was a Jedi, like his father before him.

Enraged by Skywalker's defiance, the Emperor unleashed a torrent of Force lightning upon him, forcing him onto the floor. The Emperor then proceeded to torment Luke, remarking that his rudimentary skills were no match for the power of the dark side. Meanwhile, Darth Vader watched his son struggle and plead for him to intervene, with Sidious threatening to kill the defenseless, young Skywalker; unbeknownst to Sidious, this was troubling Vader. Ultimately his concern and compassion for his son, caused the former Anakin Skywalker to wake up and save Luke. The redeemed Anakin grabbed the Emperor, and threw him off a ledge down the Death Star's reactor shaft to his imminent death. Firing his lightning upward as he fell, the Emperor apparently could do nothing but scream as he went the long way down towards the second Death Star's reactor, causing a great explosion upon hitting it and releasing a light blue wind which encompassed the throne room before falling back down the shaft.

The Reborn Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker had killed Sidious and destroyed the Sith. With his armor badly damaged by the Emperor's lightning, Anakin's decision to save his son's life would cost him his own. Before passing away into the Force, a dying Anakin requested Luke to remove the helmet Sidious forced him to wear all those years so he could finally see his son's face with his own eyes. Luke tried to convince Anakin to let him be saved by him, but Anakin told Luke that he already did and that he was right about there still being good in him, despite all that he had done, before dying peacefully. By destroying Sidious and the Sith, Anakin brought balance to the Force, ultimately fulfilling the ancient prophecy of the Chosen One as Qui-Gon Jinn had believed he would thirty-five years earlier. With this his nightmarish era of tyranny died with him. Or so the galaxy believed, as Sidious was not so easily destroyed.

While he died in every natural sense of the word, even death wasn't the end for Sidious. When betrayed by Anakin Skywalker aboard the second Death Star, Sidious had little time to realize that his apprentice had turned on him much like he once did with Darth Plagueis, but unlike his former master, he had prepared himself for Skywalker's betrayal. Calling on all the power of the dark side of the Force, and utilizing the secret to immortality he pilfered from Plagueis, the Emperor transferred his consciousness and spirit far, far away as his empty body kept falling towards the battle station's reactor to his death.

Following the Emperor's demise, the Empire attempted to suppress the true outcome of the Battle of Endor. In the Anoat sector, which was cut off from the rest of the galaxy by an Imperial blockade in the days following the attack, Imperial propaganda claimed that the attack on the second Death Star had failed and the rebellion was no longer a threat. Rumors of the Emperor's death were dismissed as treasonous fabrications by Governor Ubrik Adelhard. Although several holovids were circulated to show that the second Death Star had been destroyed, both rebels and Imperials around the galaxy discussed whether the Emperor or Darth Vader had really died or not, as no one was sure what exactly happened. Many Imperial messages surrounding the Emperor's death contradicted each other; some Imperials like Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck suggested that the Emperor had escaped the second Death Star through miraculous means, others wildly claimed that the Emperor was still leading the Empire from beyond the grave and some simply refused to acknowledge for months the Emperor's demise.

The late Emperor issued Operation: Cinder to select Imperial officers, including Admiral Garrick Versio and Captain Lerr Duvat, tasking them with devastating multiple worlds, even Naboo, his own birthplace. The Emperor's passing ushered in days of turmoil, with widespread rebellions erupting on countless planets, confirming the rebels' claims about the Empire's unpopularity. Some months following the Battle of Endor, adherents to the dark side, namely the Acolytes of the Beyond, began venerating Vader and the dark side on various planets, such as Taris, throughout the galaxy.

While a group of New Republic soldiers speculated about the consequences of recovering Sidious's remains, a Mon Calamari soldier from the 61st Mobile Infantry voiced his desire for the Emperor's survival, envisioning a trial for his numerous offenses. During a search of the Hall of Imperial Register on Coruscant in 5 ABY, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane discovered that the Emperor's personal Super Star Destroyer, the Eclipse, had vanished mysteriously, contradicting Imperial reports of its destruction by the New Republic. She also uncovered an image crystal containing a still image of Sidious alongside Imperial Guards, stormtroopers, and officials like Wullf Yularen, Dodd Rancit, Terrinald Screed, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, and Gallius Rax. Rax, who had ascended to the rank of Fleet Admiral, was secretly manipulating Sloane. After the Attack on Chandrila, Rax led the Empire to Jakku.

Despite Rax's assertion that he was evaluating the Empire's resilience before a showdown with the New Republic, his true intention was to execute the Contingency. This plan involved staging a battle between the Imperial and New Republic fleets and then annihilating both sides by triggering Jakku's core to explode. The Jakku Observatory housed a deep shaft leading to the planet's core. Rax intended to fill this shaft with various Sith artifacts to initiate the planet's self-destruction. Secretly, Rax had arranged for himself and a select group of "worthy" Imperials, including Brendol Hux, his son Armitage Hux, and a unit of child soldiers, to escape into the Unknown Regions. Sloane, aided by rebels Norra Wexley and Brentin Lore Wexley, thwarted Rax's scheme to obliterate Jakku. Although Rax died on Jakku, he succeeded in fulfilling his master's directive to dismantle the "Old Empire."

Palpatine's considerable authority, first as Chancellor and subsequently as Emperor, profoundly affected the New Republic Senate, which feared granting similar power to any future executive. Consequently, the Chancellor of the New Republic possessed significantly less power compared to the office under the Galactic Republic, with the title even losing the prefix "Supreme." However, the Chancellor's diminished influence created a different set of political challenges, resulting in a head of state with insufficient authority to enact meaningful change, rather than one with excessive power. Ultimately, the Contingency and the broader legacy of Darth Sidious served as the foundation for the regime that evolved into the First Order, the Empire's successor, under the enigmatic leadership of Snoke, who assumed the position of Supreme Leader of the Order. After eliminating most of the remaining Imperial leadership, with a few exceptions like Armitage Hux, Snoke sought to uncover various truths about Sidious, including the fact that Sidious's Contingency was always a dual-pronged strategy, one that would ensure the Empire's resurgence among the survivors of the Old Empire.

In 34 ABY, three decades after the Battle of Endor, Sidious's voice manifested during a Force vision experienced by Rey, a Force-sensitive scavenger from Jakku, at Takodana Castle. Later, while instructing Rey on Ahch-To, Luke Skywalker cited the rise of Darth Sidious and the Empire he established, along with his father's fall, as a failure on the part of the Jedi Order.

Sidious projected his consciousness and spirit into a cloned body, created using technology from the Clone Wars era by the Sith Eternal. This secret cult of Sith loyalists, dedicated to the Sith's religious traditions, aimed to revive their order. Sidious breathed his first in this new form, experiencing a painful realization that the vessel was temporary. This occurred at Sidious's Sith Citadel on Exegol, planned as his permanent power base during his reign as Emperor, where he claimed the ancient Throne of the Sith. However, Sidious's return was not without cost. He managed to avoid complete annihilation, unlike his master Plagueis, but true immortality remained elusive despite the cloning technology and the concentration of dark side energy on Exegol. Furthermore, his new body was inadequate to contain his immense power in the dark side of the Force, leading to its rapid deterioration.

Sustained by the faith of the Sith Eternal cultists on Exegol, Sidious struggled to survive in his decaying, weak, and temporary body. Soon, he became unable to move independently, adopting a ghastly, undead appearance with missing limbs and eyes clouded by cataracts. An Ommin harness, a mechanical spine once worn by Ommin, an ancient Sith king, was used to mobilize Sidious, and vials of restorative fluid slowed the decay of his body.

Confined to Exegol due to his immobility, Sidious lived in exile for years. While his body was failing, his mind and will remained sharp, and his spirit was unyielding. Over the decades, the fallen Emperor patiently plotted his return to power as Emperor and a Sith Lord, devising a sinister plan to exact ultimate revenge on the Skywalker family, prevent the restoration of the Jedi Order, and destroy the New Republic.

On Exegol, other Sith cultists had congregated to revere the ancient Sith Order and pledge allegiance to Sidious, the last Sith Lord. These followers celebrated his efforts to establish a new Sith Empire and worked to rebuild the Empire from Exegol as a true Sith dominion. To this end, Sidious's subordinates constructed a vast armada of planet-killing warships, known as the Final Order. From the shadows, Sidious orchestrated his return to power, molding the remnants of the Empire into the First Order while manipulating the New Republic. Once deployed from Exegol, the Final Order would reinforce the forces of the First Order military, enabling the regime to complete its subjugation of the galaxy. The Sith Eternal toiled for a generation, secretly raising children in military camps and constructing war machines in hidden factories and shipyards.

Sith loyalists held executive positions in corporations like Kuat-Entralla Engineering and Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems, allowing them to channel crucial assets through subsidiaries to Exegol for their dominating schemes. Under Sidious's direction, the children of the Sith Eternal were raised to embrace the Sith religion and instilled with unwavering loyalty to their Emperor. Their efforts resulted in legions of Sith troopers, soldiers trained to be fanatically loyal to the Sith through flash imprinting technologies based on Kaminoan techniques used in clone trooper training. The Sith Eternal's efforts led to the creation of a fleet and army that threatened to extinguish freedom in the galaxy if they ever escaped into hyperspace.

Sidious used one of the Sith Eternal's and his genetic experiments to extend his influence across the galaxy by proxy, given his confinement on Exegol. This entity was Snoke, a humanoid genetic strandcast that, like the Emperor's cloned body, originated from the Sith Eternal's experimentation aimed at prolonging Sidious's life and creating a vessel worthy of his dark essence during the Galactic Empire's reign. Although Snoke possessed natural Force sensitivity, Sidious deemed his body unsuitable for housing his dark essence but found him useful as a puppet for his plans to regain power.

Snoke became Sidious's proxy in control of the First Order, a secluded state formed from the remnants of the Galactic Empire that escaped under the Contingency, ensuring the faction's control by Sidious. Snoke rose to become Supreme Leader, and through his manipulation, Sidious gathered the forces that would form the First Order's military. Under Snoke's guidance, the militia evolved into a technologically superior war machine compared to that of the Galactic Empire. Furthermore, while the First Order served as the military arm of the Contingency, the Sith Eternal secretly acted as its hidden spiritual core, unbeknownst to most.

Many were puzzled by Snoke's motives, such as his decision not to claim the title of Emperor held by Palpatine and his delegation of control and development of the First Order to his subordinates, focusing instead on spiritual matters. Nevertheless, he possessed the knowledge and power to rule, making him the undisputed heir to the Contingency. However, even though the highest echelons of the First Order remained unaware of Snoke's true origins and their ultimate purpose in the Contingency, some, like Enric Pryde, suspected Snoke's subservience to a greater power.

In addition to regaining his position as Galactic Emperor, Sidious sought to convert the next generation of the Skywalker lineage to the dark side of the Force. He targeted Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and grandson of Anakin Skywalker through his mother, Princess Leia Organa, and nephew of Luke Skywalker, for his exceptional strength in the Force inherited from his family's bloodline. Sidious monitored Solo throughout his life through the Force, using telepathy to communicate with him as a chorus of dark voices. These voices whispered secrets, warned of danger, and offered comfort and guidance, but also deceived him with false promises that he could not survive without their help, preying on his insecurities and fears.

Moreover, Sidious used Snoke as his proxy to lure Solo to the dark side, in addition to using him as a placeholder for the First Order. Snoke cultivated a friendship with the young Jedi, manipulating him with deceit, encouraging his negative thoughts about his family and his impulsive tendencies, while exploiting his desperate need for a teacher and fascination with his family's legacy. When Palpatine and Snoke constantly whispered to Solo, the Phantom Emperor also utilized this when Solo joined the new Jedi Order as a Padawan under his maternal uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, during his attempt to restore the religious faction of peacekeepers, and partially engineer the failures that would lead to its eventual destruction.

Sidious did not foresee his son's union, now known as Dathan, but the clone met a woman named Miramir and became intimately involved, eventually fathering a Force-sensitive daughter, Rey, in 15 ABY. Rey was considered by the Emperor as an ideal vessel to contain his spirit and the full power of the Sith, and he was determined to capture his granddaughter at any cost. However, his son and his wife went into hiding to protect their daughter from the Sith Lord, living as junk traders on the desert planet of Jakku.

Sidious dispatched Ochi, now a cultist of the Sith Eternal, to track down and retrieve Rey from her parents and bring her to Exegol in 21 ABY. Ochi was close to discovering the location of Rey and her parents when, wanting to protect their daughter, Rey's parents gave her to Jakku junk boss Unkar Plutt, who was paid with a songsteel hex charm to keep her hidden. As Rey watched on, her parents fled Jakku on the Bestoon Legacy, Ochi's starship, to lead the assassin away. After refusing to reveal the location of their daughter, on the Emperor's order, Ochi stabbed Dathan and his wife to death aboard his ship. Despite their deaths, their sacrifice allowed Rey to elude capture, and she would remain hidden on Jakku for the next thirteen years, until 34 ABY.

Sidious's followers designed Snoke to groom Solo, shaping him into a master of attack and cunning, while also testing his capacity to inherit not only the legacy of his grandfather, Darth Vader, but of the entire Sith Order. Snoke believed that Ben Solo had the right balance of the light and dark sides of the Force in him due to his heritage as Anakin Skywalker's grandson. Snoke manipulated Solo for more than a decade, his influence proving crucial as the fledgling Jedi learned that Darth Vader was his grandfather, a truth hidden from him by his family.

When Luke Skywalker sensed Solo's growing darkness, the Jedi Master approached his student as he slept and, in a brief moment of instinct, activated his lightsaber with the intention of killing his nephew. Skywalker immediately hesitated and regretted his actions, but it was too late. Solo awoke confused and scared, seeing no other recourse than to ignite his own saber and intercept Skywalker's. Though his master attempted to assuage the situation, Solo immediately used the Force to topple his room and trap his uncle beneath the rubble. Shortly thereafter, a violent storm caused by Solo suddenly set Skywalker's Jedi temple ablaze, destroying it and killing all the students inside.

Solo fled the temple after he burned and destroyed it. At the insistence of Snoke, Solo sought to join the Knights of Ren. After being tested by the Knights, he was reluctantly accepted into the mysterious group. Although their leader Ren saw potential in Solo's raw power, he doubted the boy's hatred and ability to kill. Ren's suspicions were confirmed on a mission to the Minemoon after Ben hesitated to kill his former friend and fellow student of Luke Skywalker, Tai. Enraged and disappointed in Solo, Ren engaged him in a duel. Across the galaxy, Sidious sensed Ben's every move and emotion. Prompting the fallen Jedi through the Force, the Dark Lord of the Sith called for Ben to claim his birthright and strike down the leader of the Knights of Ren. Giving in to Sidious' manipulation, in a fit of rage Ben overpowered and stabbed Ren. Taking up the mantle of master of the Knights of Ren, Solo dubbed himself "Kylo Ren." To ensure Kylo remained on the dark side, Sidious would communicate with Ren from afar, impersonating the spirit of his grandfather and idol, Darth Vader.

Sidious was able to indirectly supervise young Ben Solo's training through Snoke, believing that the humanoid taught their mutual apprentice well. The Emperor also planned to circumvent the tradition of a dark apprentice slaying their dark master to ascend to ultimate power through the dark side adept, even though he considered himself to be Ren's true master the whole time. Snoke's entire existence was built for this very purpose.

Snoke's training of Kylo Ren proved effective, distorting his understanding of his grandfather's history, conditioning him to believe the worst in people and that they would reject him and redemption would be impossible after his actions, while instructing him to pursue his impulses as a shortcut for power in the dark side when he chased his desires.

In 34 ABY, Rey confronted the Supreme Leader and his dark apprentice aboard the Supremacy, believing she could turn the former Ben Solo back to the light. Snoke overpowered Rey, and having gauged her resolve, he saw that she had the spirit of a true Jedi. Determined to see every trace of the Jedi Order eradicated, he ordered her death, but left the deed to Kylo Ren. Sensing his apprentice's newfound resolve, Snoke urged Ren to complete his training and fulfill his destiny by executing Rey. Instead, Ren outmaneuvered his master by assassinating him with the Skywalker lightsaber. With Snoke dead, Ren asserted his claim to the title of Supreme Leader, seizing political and military control of the First Order. By murdering his master in the name of obtaining greater power, Ren had unknowingly completed the Sith Eternal's final test and proved himself as an individual worthy of inheriting the legacy of the Sith.

Despite Snoke's unexpected death, and failure to bring Rey to Palpatine, the zombified Sith Lord continued to pull the strings from afar, manipulating both Kylo Ren and Rey, in order to lure them toward him. His granddaughter coming to Exegol was a key and vital part of his plan.

In 35 ABY, a mysterious audio broadcast using the voice of Emperor Palpatine, the public identity of Darth Sidious, who was still thought to be dead by the galaxy at large, was released to the galaxy, threatening revenge. Upon this, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren began a search for the broadcast's source, deeming it a challenge to his rule. After acquiring a Sith wayfinder on Mustafar that led him to Exegol, Ren entered the Sith Citadel on the planet's surface and confronted the decrepit Emperor, who admitted that he had created Snoke and impersonated Vader.

When the Supreme Leader threatened the decaying Emperor with death, the Dark Lord merely stated that he had already died before, and that the dark side of the Force was pathway to many abilities some considered to be unnatural, mirroring his conversation with Anakin at the opera ages ago. Sidious then revealed his creation of the Final Order, a Sith armada comprised of numerous Xyston-class Star Destroyers, TIE/dg starfighters, and an army of loyal Sith troopers. The purpose of this new military was to restore Sith rule across the galaxy in the form of a new Sith Empire, which Sidious offered to Ren along with the title of Emperor, but only if he killed the Jedi apprentice Rey. To Ren's surprise, Sidious revealed that he was Rey's "grandfather."

Ren unveiled this secret to Rey, certain that knowing her true lineage would sway her towards the dark side. Instead of ending her life, Ren's desire was for Rey to assist him in overthrowing her grandfather, with the intention of them jointly governing the galaxy as Emperor and Empress. Sidious, observing Rey's continued existence, grew suspicious of Ren's loyalty and threatened to unleash the Sith fleet against the Supreme Leader unless Rey was eliminated. Forewarned, Kylo journeyed to the Endor system where he engaged in a duel with Rey amidst the remnants of the second Death Star, situated in the ocean of Kef Bir's moon, until Rey delivered a fatal blow. However, upon sensing Leia Organa's demise at Ajan Kloss, Rey utilized Force healing to restore Kylo's life and departed, leaving him to grieve for his mother. Reflecting on Rey's act of compassion and the sacrifice of his parents, Ben ultimately returned to the light side. Having sensed Organa's passing, Sidious cursed the former Princess of Alderaan for interfering with his plans by causing Kylo Ren's defection.

Nevertheless, the Emperor remained confident in his impending victory, declaring that Anakin Skywalker's daughter had perished in vain. Sidious then established communication via hologram with Allegiant General Enric Pryde, a veteran of the Galactic Civil War who had previously served him. With the Supreme Leader's absence, command of the First Order defaulted to Pryde, whose loyalty to Sidious was unwavering, thereby uniting the forces of the First Order with those of the Sith Eternal's Final Order. Recognizing that the moment for his resurgence had arrived, Sidious instructed Pryde to dispatch one of his Star Destroyers, the Derriphan, to Kijimi and obliterate it as a clear warning to the Resistance.

Initially contemplating a life of exile akin to Luke Skywalker, fearing her own potential for becoming a Sith, Rey was dissuaded by the Force spirit of Luke Skywalker himself. He urged her not to allow her lineage to dictate her legacy and actions, bestowing upon her a lightsaber that had once belonged to Leia. Having reconciled with her past, Rey journeyed alone to Exegol to confront Sidious, transmitting the route to the Resistance. Upon discovering her grandfather surrounded by the Sith Eternal in his throne room, Rey was greeted by Sidious, who denied any desire for her death, stating that he had brought her to him to succeed him as "Empress Palpatine."

Sidious attempted to provoke his granddaughter into striking him down, echoing his manipulation of Luke Skywalker thirty-one years prior, noting that while Skywalker had his father to rescue him, he was her only family. In reality, Sidious intended for Rey to strike him down to initiate a Sith ritual that would transfer his spirit from the decaying clone body into Rey's youthful one, hoping to possess her body. To amplify her anger and hatred, Sidious informed Rey that by transmitting the route to Exegol to her allies, she had led the Resistance into a trap that would result in their annihilation by the Sith Eternal forces.

However, a glimmer of hope emerged for Rey when a redeemed Ben Solo, no longer Kylo Ren, arrived on Exegol to aid her in her battle against Sidious. Unbeknownst to Sidious, his granddaughter had been stalling, sensing Solo's arrival on Exegol, preventing her from succumbing to the allure of absolute power and the dark side of the Force. Feigning an intent to strike him down with the Skywalker lightsaber, Rey transferred the lightsaber to Solo through their Force-bond, enabling Solo to swiftly eliminate the Knights of Ren while Rey defended herself against the Emperor's Sovereign Protectors using her master Leia Organa's lightsaber.

Astonished that his granddaughter had not killed him as he had anticipated, Sidious realized with horror the error in allowing Rey and Solo to unite: their Force-bond had been forged in the crucible of mutual searching, shared grief, rage, and hate, but Sidious had failed to foresee that it also encompassed compassion and empathy.

With all the Knights and Sovereign Protectors defeated, Solo joined Rey and assumed a fighting stance against Sidious, who proclaimed their impending demise for their insolence. He then raised his decaying hand and impaled them with the Force, drawing the two helpless warriors towards him. However, as an unforeseen consequence, their combined life force began to heal the clone vessel serving as Sidious's new body. His hands reknit themselves, his bones regrew, and his pale flesh covered them. Sidious immediately recognized the situation: a dyad in the Force, a prophesied phenomenon more potent than life itself, unseen for generations.

Realizing that their power would enable his complete restoration, Sidious utilized the Force to drain the life energy from both Force-users, restoring himself to full strength. As triumphant thoughts filled his mind, Sidious harnessed the power of both the dark side and all the Sith who preceded him, continuing to draw more life energy from the dyad as if he were drawing from an endless river of light, ensuring that only he, the true Emperor, would be restored. With his body and mobility fully restored and his powers amplified beyond measure, the Dark Lord freed himself from the Ommin harness and declared himself the immortal Emperor of the Sith before his Sith loyalists, who praised their master's return. Having no further use for Solo and exclaiming revenge for his first death, the Emperor cast him into a pit as reinforcements led by Lando Calrissian arrived to support the Resistance.

Intending to eliminate the Resistance as well, and with his powers now at their zenith, the Emperor asserted that nothing could halt the resurgence of the Sith. He then unleashed a massive barrage of Force lightning into the atmosphere of Exegol, temporarily disabling every Resistance ship. His attention then shifted back to Rey, now empowered by the spirits of past Jedi. Unfazed by Rey's defiance, the Emperor declared her death to be the ultimate end of rebellion throughout the galaxy, unleashing a torrent of Force lightning upon his granddaughter, which she blocked with Leia Organa's lightsaber. Approaching his granddaughter, Sidious intensified his Force lightning to kill Rey, insisting that she was no match for his power while proclaiming himself to be all the Sith. However, Rey invoked the power of the Jedi of the past, igniting both the Skywalker lightsaber and Organa's, and deflected the Force lightning back onto the surprised Emperor, declaring herself to be all the Jedi embodied. Horrified, Sidious continued to unleash his Force lightning, but Rey continued to deflect the energy, returning it to her grandfather, severely damaging him. Consequently, Darth Sidious—the former Senator of Naboo, the last Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, Emperor of the galaxy, the Phantom Menace, and final Dark Lord of the Sith—was destroyed after more than a century by his own power, both in body and soul, vaporizing his entire body and releasing a massive Force wave that decimated the entire arena, along with all of the Sith Eternal loyalists. With the demise of Darth Sidious and the destruction of his cult, the rebirth of the Sith and the establishment of a new Sith Empire were prevented.

Due to the immense power required to permanently destroy Sidious, Rey perished after defeating the Emperor. However, Solo emerged from the pit where the Emperor had cast him and bestowed his remaining life energy to revive Rey, sharing a kiss with her before vanishing into the Force as the last of the Skywalker bloodline. Despite her Sith heritage as Sidious' descendant, Rey renamed herself "Rey Skywalker" to honor the family of her masters.

Following the Battle of Exegol, the galaxy celebrated Sidious's death and the destruction of the Sith Eternal, with uprisings against the weakened First Order occurring on numerous planets. Bespin, Jakku, Corellia, Lothal, Thyferra, Endor, Coruscant, and even Sidious's native Naboo were among the systems reported to be openly rebelling against his forces.

During the victory celebration at the Ajan Kloss Resistance base, Finn and Poe Dameron debated the possibility of Sidious's return, given his resurgence more powerful than ever after his defeat at Endor. They concluded that while Sidious might potentially return again, some other evil would inevitably arise, as evil always does, though not for a significant period.

Before the establishment of the Galactic Empire, Darth Sidious meticulously crafted a facade, presenting himself as a benevolent gentleman and a dedicated servant of the public good. In this guise, he often spoke of himself with great humility and maintained a level of luxury befitting his station. However, Sidious was, in reality, a master manipulator and strategist, orchestrating countless galactic events, from the Invasion of Naboo to the Clone Wars, while deceiving the Jedi, Senate, Republic, and even the Separatists, all to enhance his own power. Even when unforeseen events occurred, the Sith Lord demonstrated his adeptness at improvisation, continuing to execute his long-term strategy for power. He sometimes indulged in a simple fantasy of setting the Senate Building ablaze, relishing the thought of the ensuing panic as everyone inside fled while he watched. Yet, he recognized this fantasy as foolish and trivial, knowing it would not advance his plans. Equally satisfying to the Sith Lord was observing the Senate grapple with the Clone Wars and his burgeoning political powers.

Palpatine possessed a taste for the finer things in life. During the Republic Era, Sidious saw no need to conceal himself in the lower levels of Coruscant, which he personally disliked. Instead, he preferred to remain among those who believed themselves safe from the dark side. He would identify the "weak points" of these places, ensuring that the dark side supplanted the light wherever it was fading. He only resorted to the lower levels when absolute secrecy was necessary, such as during discreet discussions. Furthermore, he preferred to communicate with his pawns via hologram, knowing that his physical presence could be overwhelming to individuals like Nute Gunray. He reserved that advantage for instances when one of his "allies" was failing him. In public, as Senator of Naboo, he presented himself in a state of perfect blandness, appearing interested in nearby conversations but never revealing his true self. As Chancellor, he intended to abandon his bland deception, yet he would still conceal his inner anger, awaiting the opportune moment to reveal it.

After ascending to Galactic Emperor, he essentially abandoned his public persona and fully embraced his identity as Sidious. Despite this, very few individuals other than Vader and select Royal Guard members knew that the Emperor was a Sith, as he took great care to conceal his abilities. Even Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, perhaps Sidious's most trusted servant besides Vader, only suspected that Sidious was a Sith. Sidious also considered Gallius Rax a confidant and permitted Rax to address him as "Sheev." Freed from the constraints of portraying his gentle alter-ego, Sidious allowed his true personality, characterized by great cruelty and sadism, to occasionally manifest in ways that were evident even to his most sycophantic servants. This instilled great fear in many who worked closely with him, such as Senator Orn Free Taa and some of the Empire's intelligence chiefs. Sidious was also known to despise ostentation and luxury.

Among Sidious's most potent attributes was his deeply manipulative nature, allowing him to deceive both the Jedi and Separatists, enticing numerous parties with promises of power, reward, or even salvation to advance his agenda. He reveled in the sensation of manipulating others to his will. However, he was irritated when his pawns, such as Nute Gunray, failed to grasp the full scope of his plans. Nevertheless, he successfully coerced Anakin Skywalker into becoming Darth Vader by promising to save his beloved Padmé Amidala, attempted to entice Bridger with the prospect of reuniting with his deceased parents by altering fate, and also sought to persuade Luke Skywalker to murder his father so that they could jointly rule the galaxy. While attempting to guide Bridger, he presented himself in his public persona via hologram, appearing benign and courteous. Once Bridger thwarted his plans, his true malevolent nature was revealed, as he had underestimated the boy's hatred for the Empire and devotion to the Rebellion and his newfound rebel family. Similarly, when Sidious attempted to motivate Luke to kill his father upon briefly embracing the dark side of the Force, the young Skywalker resisted due to his compassion for his father and his Jedi teachings.

Sidious viewed his allies as mere pawns to be used in his grand scheme, and he was more than willing to dispose of them if they no longer served a purpose. He retained his allies as long as they were useful, but discarded them once their purpose was fulfilled. He never genuinely cared for any of his allies. He betrayed countless allies, including Darth Plagueis, Maul, Dooku, the Separatist Council, and Vader. His betrayal of Dooku not only demonstrated his lack of genuine care for him but also revealed his constant strategic advantage. While acknowledging to Vader that he was the ideal apprentice, that did not deter him from later attempting to replace him with Luke. Ultimately, Sidious was solely concerned with his own self-interest.

He likened his manipulation to a sharp blade that, when plunged into another, took time for the victim to notice, only realizing they had contracted what he considered the infection of his manipulation when it was too late. Even if the manner in which his manipulation spread surprised him, it always brought him joy. Manipulation was, in the end, his preferred method of expanding his power. Sidious was notorious for being both hypocritical and arrogant; while he told Yoda that his arrogance had blinded him when the Jedi Master confronted him, he had previously declared himself to be the Senate when Windu attempted to arrest him. Even shortly before his second death years later, Sidious proclaimed himself to be all the Sith while attempting to finish off his Jedi granddaughter.

After overthrowing the Republic and discarding his benevolent persona, Sidious essentially vanished from public life, entrusting the majority of the Empire's daily affairs to the Imperial Ruling Council. His absence did not go unnoticed by the Empire's citizenry, and rumors began to circulate that the Jedi assassination attempt had not only resulted in his disfigurement but also in the demise of the sanguine politician he had once been. To quell the gossip and rumor-mongering, the Ruling Council dispatched skycar processions in Imperial Center in an attempt to create the illusion that Sidious still moved about in public.

From his secure position as Emperor, Sidious dedicated most of his time to study and meditation, often in the ancient Sith shrine located beneath the Imperial Palace. Desiring to rule his Empire for eternity, Sidious launched numerous inquiries into the subject of immortality. One of the most infamous of these was Project Blackwing, an attempt to unlock the secrets of immortality through Sith alchemy, but the project ultimately failed. However, Sidious's true objective was to discover a means of using the dark side to manipulate reality itself, and with that power, not only achieve what he termed "mere immortality" but also acquire the ability to reshape the galaxy and its inhabitants to his liking. Whether or not Sidious made any significant progress in achieving this goal remains unknown, as he would have required Vader's assistance to perform the rituals he envisioned. During the Imperial Era, Darth Sidious sought to gain access to the World Between Worlds in order to control time as well as the universe. Following his first death, Sidious continued to seek ways to achieve immortality and the preservation of the Sith, as evidenced by his attempt to perform a ritual on his granddaughter Rey to transfer his spirit into her body, allowing Sidious to perpetuate the Sith's legacy.

Although Sidious's reign witnessed an increase in alien prejudice throughout the Empire, with humans dominating the galaxy while other species were enslaved, Sidious was more than willing to collaborate with aliens. During his rise to power alone, he relied on a number of them, such as the Separatist Council, whom he controlled during the Clone Wars, and his political right-hand man, the Chagrian Mass Amedda. In addition, Sidious was trained by a Muun, Darth Plagueis, and his first apprentice was a Zabrak, Darth Maul. He also employed General Grievous as the official commander of the Separatists after Dooku's death.

To those unfortunate enough to be at his nonexistent mercy, Sidious was known for being exceptionally sadistic, often deriving visible pleasure from torturing others. He was also quite bloodthirsty, frequently reveling in combat to the point of laughing while fighting or killing. He was also noted for his lack of forgiveness, as even Darth Vader, who was notorious for summarily executing officers who failed him, considered Sidious to be even less merciful than himself. According to Sosha Soruna, the reason Sidious left his homeworld of Naboo relatively untouched during his reign was because he enjoyed tormenting the populace with the knowledge that he could destroy the serene beauty of the planet at any time. Despite his exceptional mastery of the dark arts, he was no less susceptible to fear, one of the primary emotions of the dark side, than any other Sith: after being attacked by a powerful Force push from Yoda, he displayed visible panic, attempted to flee rather than fight, and only confronted his opponent when he appeared to have no other choice. Despite this, his passion to inflict pain on others and his hate were a priority to him over his own well-being: while he could have used his own powers to save himself from Darth Vader during the Battle of Endor, Sidious' hate was so strong that his only thought was to harm Vader as his apprentice carried him to his first death.

Unlike Darth Vader, his more conservative apprentice, Sidious believed that progress was in no way contrary to the ways of the Sith. When Vader was presented to the cyborgs created by Doctor Cylo, he denounced them as abominations and heresy to the ways of the Force. However, Sidious claimed that he was merely an apprentice and was meant to learn what he knew and that Sidious was meant to discover what there was to teach. He also dismissed Vader's hatred of technological superiority by replying that everything was of the Force.

Sidious viewed the fall of the Galactic Empire as an inevitable consequence of his demise; he believed that the Empire had failed to protect its Emperor, despite the vast military at its disposal, and was therefore undeserving of a future without him. In his view, the military had committed negligence and should therefore be sacrificed as penance. Using a game of Shah-tezh as an illustration, Sidious believed that the sole purpose for the Empire's existence was to protect his own life and well-being. He believed that the Empire was a failure if it failed to ensure the survival of its Emperor. Even before the formation of the Empire, Sidious had prepared for this fate by formulating a contingency plan. The Contingency involved luring the Empire to the barren Inner Rim planet Jakku and detonating the planet's core. The explosion would destroy both the planet and the orbiting Imperial and enemy fleets, an outcome which Sidious regarded as retribution for the Empire's failures. The key to the Contingency was the Jakku Observatory, which concealed a borehole that penetrated the planet's core, and Counselor to the Empire Gallius Rax. Decades after his death, however, Supreme Leader Snoke discovered that the Contingency planned for the Empire's rebirth, secretly constructing shipyards and laboratories in the Unknown Regions in pursuit of this goal.

Following his demise on Endor and subsequent resurrection, despite his physical frailty, Sidious's mind was sharper than ever before. Upon realizing that the Jakku scavenger Rey was his granddaughter, Sidious manipulated Kylo Ren into bringing the young woman to him in order to steal her body as a new host. While he attempted to sway Rey to his side by claiming that he cared for her, Rey saw through his ruse; by sensing his thoughts, she realized that his motives were fixated purely on his own preservation, indicating that there was no good in it and what was left was pure evil. When it became clear that Rey would not submit to his ritual, Sidious unleashed his fury, attempting to kill both her and a redeemed Ben Solo. It was those very same traits of arrogance and selfishness that eventually led to Sidious's final downfall, as he underestimated Rey's true potential when she used the combined strength of all the Jedi from the past (including Vader's) to finally destroy the Sith Emperor for good. Even after experiencing death, Sidious's beliefs and way of being remained largely unchanged; his sole overriding ambitions were the attainment of unlimited power, a grand empire under his legacy, and the perpetuation of a Sith Order embodied through him. He would go to any lengths to realize these goals, including harming his own progeny.

Sidious, a male of the human species, possessed a height between 1.73 and 1.78 meters, and his mass was 75 kilograms. Before his physical transformation, he was a slender individual characterized by flowing hair, a prominent olfactory organ, azure irises, and a lean facial structure. By the time of the Naboo Invasion, his formerly red hair was beginning to show signs of age, turning gray, and a decade later, it had completely transitioned to a silver hue. As his machinations to seize control of the galaxy intensified, the burden of his dual existence became increasingly evident on his face. Following his confrontation with Windu, Sidious's appearance underwent a dramatic and severe disfigurement, resulting in a pallid, wrinkled complexion, with sagging flesh around his pronounced forehead and intense yellow eyes. Luke Skywalker viewed this change as a stark reminder of Sidious's own vulnerability and mortality, as well as the cost he incurred for his pursuit of power, which further intensified his animosity towards the Jedi Order. His vocal timbre also changed to a degree, becoming more profound and acquiring a sinister quality that many perceived as unsettling. However, Tarkin held the opinion that Sidious's voice merely sounded strained when compared to his pre-war vocal characteristics.

For the majority of his time as Emperor, he chose to remain hidden from the public eye, instead creating holographic representations or idealized portraits that depicted him as he appeared during the final years of the Galactic Republic, in his prime. Nevertheless, as the Empire's authority became more firmly established, the general populace of the galaxy largely ceased using the name "Palpatine," and he became simply known as "the Emperor." Upon his discovery on Exegol, Sidious, residing within a cloned body, presented a revolting and decaying appearance. His face bore a resemblance to his pre-disfigurement state, but his skin exhibited a greater degree of pallor than before the transfer, his eyes were devoid of color, his lips were blackened, and his fingers had begun to decompose, revealing the bone beneath. After extracting the life force from Rey and Ben Solo to replenish his own, his physical form more closely resembled his appearance prior to his initial demise.

As the Sith's Dark Lord, Darth Sidious had an exceptionally strong bond with the Force, enabling him to wield a diverse array of Force abilities that surpassed even the most accomplished Jedi Masters. This made him renowned as one of the most formidable Force users in the history of the galaxy. Sidious asserted that his power in the dark side stemmed from hatred, which he purportedly transformed into power instead of allowing it to cause suffering. However, his mastery of the dark side was fueled by more than just personal animosity; Sidious could harness the fear and hatred of others to augment his own strength, particularly when directed at himself. As he informed Vader during one of his apprentice's acts of defiance, he thrived on the hatred emanating from Vader. If Vader or anyone else amplified their hatred for the Emperor, those sentiments would serve to bolster Sidious's power in the dark side: essentially, Vader's efforts to grow stronger by intensifying his hatred for Sidious inadvertently empowered his master.

Sidious's advisor, Yupe Tashu, also suggested that the Emperor perceived the source of his dark side powers as originating from "the universe beyond the edges of our maps." In pursuit of what Tashu termed "the source of the dark side," Sidious dispatched individuals into uncharted space, where they established communication outposts and laboratories over many years.

Among the skills Sidious employed was Force lightning, which he used both as a lethal offensive maneuver and as a method of torture. On multiple occasions on Ryloth, he unleashed Force lightning blasts that were potent enough to not only instantly kill the lyleks he targeted but also severely char and scorch their carapaces, which were resilient enough to withstand heavy blaster fire. In another instance, he utilized the ability to inflict sufficient damage to the engines of a Twi'lek freighter, making it easy to bring it down from the sky using telekinesis. Sidious could manipulate Force lightning in various ways, including striking numerous enemies simultaneously, with the bolts arcing from one victim to another in a chain-like manner, and infusing the ground around a victim's feet with energy, effectively electrocuting them. The sheer power of his Force lightning was demonstrated to be far superior to that of Dooku's; while Yoda effortlessly absorbed and redirected Dooku's lightning, he could only partially deflect Sidious's. Another more obscure ability he possessed was the capacity to generate a Dark Aura, a localized storm of malevolent Force energy that impeded movement and tormented anyone caught within its radius. However, the full potential of Sidious's Force lightning was realized before his final demise on Exegol; upon being restored to his former self, Sidious unleashed a massive wave of Force lightning into the sky, which rapidly expanded to disable all 14,000 ships of the Resistance and The Galaxy Fleet.

He also possessed exceptional telekinetic abilities; during his duel with Yoda, in which they were evenly matched, Sidious levitated several Senate pods concurrently, including the one he was standing on, with remarkable skill and precision. Similarly, he demonstrated sufficient telekinetic prowess to remove Luke Skywalker's restraints with minimal effort during their face-to-face encounter on the second Death Star. Sidious could unleash a Force push strong enough to easily send Maul and Opress flying and he was able to keep them pinned with little effort. He later effortlessly slammed Maul into the ground and walls, badly wounding him. Sidious was also highly skilled with Force choke. Upon his arrival on Mandalore, he effortlessly telekinetically strangled two Mandalorians simultaneously and employed this power on two others while standing across the room from them. He could even affect a target from hundreds of light-years away, using only a holo-transmission to show him his target, allowing him to telekinetically choke and pick up Count Dooku and open the handcuffs of Bridger while projecting himself to their respective locations through the use of a hologram. Shortly after his new apprentice was reconstructed as a cyborg, Sidious managed to protect himself against Vader’s force choke but Vader threw the Emperor against the wall, but Sidious managed to convince Vader to let him go. After Vader did, Sidious shocked his apprentice with bolts of Force lightning. Sidious then ignited his lightsaber and threatened that if Vader touched him with the Force again, he would finish what Obi-Wan could not.

Among Darth Sidious's most potent abilities was the capacity to foresee future events, enabling him to strategize for virtually any eventuality. He believed that, with sufficient time and dedication, he could eventually achieve infallible accuracy in predicting the future through the dark side.

The Dark Lord also demonstrated expertise in Sith sorcery, casting a Dark illusion on Yoda using a ritual involving Balc speech incantations and accessing the World Between Worlds through an unknown ritual. He could also generate blue fiery energy using Sith magic, which he employed to attack Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano, utilizing it both as a weapon and a means to bind and draw someone closer, as he did with Bridger; the energy wrapped around his leg became akin to a tangible rope. He also possessed knowledge of the ancient Sith language, ur-Kittât. The Dark Lord was also adept in the use of Force Persuade to such an extent that he was able to take complete control of a subject's mind and force them to obey his commands.

Likewise, Sidious was also capable of using Dark Absorption. He was also capable of telepathically communicating with Darth Vader over a distance of hundreds of light-years. It appeared, however, as though this ability may have been limited to sending and receiving relatively simple messages such as Vader requesting that a starfighter be shipped to him, as the two Sith Lords communicated through holoprojections while discussing more complex matters. Sidious also had a remarkably keen ability to sense the thoughts and feelings of others, including those of incredibly powerful Force adepts such as Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. On a related note, he was also capable of hiding his own thoughts and feelings from even such individuals as Yoda, and managed to conceal his true dark nature from the entire Jedi Council for decades before deliberately revealing himself. Sidious also used Force Dash and could move as fast as a "lightning strike". He had the ability to drain the life force of other Force-sensitives such as Ben Solo and Rey, a dyad that he overpowered in the Force despite the physically weakened state of his cloned body. After restoring his strength with the dyad's energy, Sidious demonstrated his proficiency in telekinesis by lifting Solo and throwing him into a chasm.

Darth Sidious was a highly skilled swordsman, having been well trained in the art of lightsaber combat by his master Darth Plagueis. Although he favored his power in the dark side as his principle form of attack instead of his lightsabers, Sidious attested that only a few individuals were able to survive against his skill with the blade. He had an extremely aggressive, rage-fueled dueling style and augmented his swordplay by using Force-enhanced speed, which allowed him to kill three experienced Jedi Masters at once within seconds. He utilized a violently ferocious yet extremely fluid fighting style during his fight with Maul and Savage Opress, holding off the Sith brothers on equal grounds and ultimately separating them by stunning Maul for a brief time with the Force before toying with and killing Opress. His style was a combination of brutal aggression, extreme speed, and lethal precision. Kit Fisto, a Jedi Master who specialized in combat, was unprepared for the ferocity of Sidious' attack and consequently cut down by the Sith's lightsaber.

Sidious was capable of engaging multiple adversaries simultaneously, as exemplified by his encounters with the brothers Maul and Opress, as well as several members of the Jedi High Council. Proficient in the Jar'Kai style, he wielded two lightsabers during an intense duel in which he killed Opress and disarmed Maul. While skilled in dual-wielding lightsabers, Sidious was also adept with a single blade which he used against four Jedi Masters, and later Grand Master Yoda. Upon revealing his true identity to the Jedi, Sidious dispatched three Jedi Masters with haste, killing Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin with a single blow each, before striking down Kit Fisto only moments later. Unlike the Jedi who fell to Sidious' blade, Mace Windu was able to fight the Dark Lord of the Sith on equal grounds for an extended period of time before ultimately disarming Sidious of his weapon with a kick to the Sith Lord's face. The duel between Sidious and Yoda, both of whom were masters of the Force, was an intense battle in which the Dark Lord ultimately prevailed, albeit with the use of his Force powers rather than a lightsaber.

During a sparring match, Sidious was able to quickly overpower his apprentice Darth Vader and knock Vader's lightsaber out of his hand without much effort. He was also skilled in blaster deflection, as he was able to easily deflect every single blaster shot aimed at him when he fought on Ryloth. Soon before the Battle at Amaxine Station, Sidious used his lightsaber to once again spar with his apprentice while conversing about Qi'ra and her plans to destroy the Sith. In their sparing duel Vader manage to last longer than last time.

During the Naboo Crisis, Sidious donned an ornate blue cloak. As Supreme Chancellor, he wore golden robes with a velvet overcloak in the days surrounding the Battle of Geonosis and a dark crimson gigot-sleeved robe in the final days of the Clone Wars. As he rose to power he wore cloaks more fitting with Sith traditions, although without lessening his taste in lavish and comfortable fabrics. Upon declaring himself Emperor, Sidious wore a red robe patterned with emblems reminiscent of the serpents of the planet Moraband. As Galactic Emperor, he later wore a black zeyd cloth robe with a hood to conceal his disfigured countenance. He wielded two identical lightsabers.

From the inception of the writing process for the 1977 inaugural Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, director George Lucas envisioned the character that would eventually evolve into the Emperor as we know him today. One of the earliest documents pertaining to the project is a paper dating back to early 1973, which compiled a list of potential names for use in the story. At the very top of this list appeared the name "Emperor Ford Xerxes XII," as Xerxes was a historical Persian king who was assassinated by his own son, and would be then changed to "Alexander Xerxes XII," then "Emperor of Decarte." None of these mentioned names would be used ultimately.

Palpatine was initially conceived as a weak-willed dullard named Cos Dashit with delusions of grandeur who was elevated first to President of the Republic and then Emperor, controlled by the Imperial bureaucracy, conformed by ministers like Wilhuff Tarkin. However, he was neither a Force user nor a great political strategist. Although this version of Emperor Palpatine appeared in the original film's novelization, it was superseded by every other appearance since which revealed Palpatine as the mastermind of the events of the Star Wars saga. Although The Empire Strikes Back made clear his Force connection, his Sith affiliation (as opposed to just being a dark side user) was first showcased in Legends in Empire's End 2, where he is treated like as a Sith Lord by dark side Sith ghosts and uses Sith magic, and then clarified he was a Sith The Phantom Menace.

In the original trilogy, specifically 1983's Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, the character was never identified neither by his real name "Palpatine" or his Sith alter ego "Darth Sidious" on-screen, as he was referred just as "The Emperor" by most characters or "Master" by Darth Vader. The Emperor's name was supplied in supplementary materials, including the script for Episode VI. It wasn't until the 1999 film, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, that both his real name and Sith alter ego were first mentioned on-screen.

Throughout the original Star Wars saga films, the character was referred to as either Palpatine or Darth Sidious. The character was not given a full name in any canonical or Star Wars Legends source until 2014, when the character's first name—Sheev—was revealed in the canon novel Tarkin by author James Luceno. However, according to Luceno in an interview with StarWars.com, the name was reportedly created by George Lucas for the Star Wars: Underworld TV show that he planned to make before budget constraints, his semi-retirement, and Lucasfilm's buyout by The Walt Disney Company prevented him to do so. Leland Chee has stated that Darth Sidious' name may have derived from the word "insidious."

George Lucas drew parallels between Darth Sidious's narrative and real-world figures such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Ferdinand Marcos, and Alberto Fujimori. Each of these individuals employed similar tactics to the Emperor in transforming their respective democracies into personal dictatorships. The parallels with Adolf Hitler are particularly striking, evident in Palpatine's position as Chancellor and his utilization of emergency powers to solidify his control over the waning Republic, as well as his passion for art. Palpatine's consolidation of power is also similar to Roman Emperor Augustus, the heir to Casear.

Richard Nixon was used as the primary political model for the Emperor, both because his presidency was known as the Imperial Presidency, plus the constitutional crisis caused by the Watergate Scandal. Lucas, in fact, created the first Star Wars film as an anti-Vietnam War message, implying that the Empire was what America could have been, had it won the war ten years before 1973. Lucas opined, however, that Vice President Dick Cheney was actually closer to Darth Sidious.

In addition, film critic Roger Ebert and film historian Robin Wood noted that Darth Sidious' appearance resembled Death from the 1957 epic historical film, The Seventh Seal and Queen Grimhilde's witch form in the Disney's 1937 animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. George Lucas himself said that where realistically, and originally, Darth Sidious appeared in a dark color, the Dark Lord of the Sith was brightened-up in post-production to the extent where he became a white-faced figure that resembles Death, a fittingly spooky look desired by Lucas himself.

Darth Sidious, specifically the Emperor at that time, was referenced in A New Hope. The Emperor made his debut appearance in the 1980 sequel Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, portrayed by the seasoned actress Marjorie Eaton. In Return of the Jedi, the Emperor was played by Ian McDiarmid. McDiarmid then reprised the role for the three films of the prequel trilogy, as well as in The Rise of Skywalker in the sequel trilogy. In promotional interviews for the prequel film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, McDiarmid characterized Palpatine as more malevolent than the Abrahamic figure Satan because "at least Satan fell." While the Abrahamic Devil is a figure who fell from grace and thus has a motivation in wanting revenge, McDiarmid—while unsure of the full story behind Palpatine due to the secrecy surrounding the Sith Order—defined Palpatine as an "independent agent" whose only motivation was to exercise power. Whereas Satan could be written as both evil and sympathetic, as he noted writer John Milton accomplished by depicting the Devil as a tormented soul in the epic poem Paradise Lost, McDiarmid believed Palpatine never "fell" and instead thought of the future Galactic Emperor as someone who was "evil from birth."

He further defined Palpatine as "an evil soul" and someone who did not have scruples, not that Palpatine knew what scruples were in the first place. In his view, the only thing that could satisfy Palpatine was the "pure exercise of power," and he stated the character's only true emotion was "pure anger." McDiarmid pointed to Palpatine's demise in Return of the Jedi as proof, noting how his character showcased nothing but rage when he fails to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. With that failure, he cited, Palpatine believed the young Jedi had to die and tried to do so with a level of "unadulterated fury." In 2023, McDiarmid, while acknowledging his past remarks, theorized Palpatine had a "complicated" childhood and that he had indeed been twisted to evil, pondering if "various things" had "twisted him into the way that he wanted." He defined Palpatine as someone "who had to win," remarking that "the word loser" would likely be "the worst thing he could ever hear," which he compared to "a certain contemporary politician."

For The Empire Strikes Back, the Emperor was portrayed by Eaton as a holographic image with test shots done by actress Elaine Baker. The mask worn by Eaton was sculpted by Phil Tippett and applied by Rick Baker, Elaine's husband. Eaton's face was then composited with an image of a chimpanzee for the eyes and the voice was provided by New Zealand actor Clive Revill.

In the 2004 DVD release of The Empire Strikes Back, Eaton was digitally replaced by McDiarmid, and the scene was re-shot to include new dialogue provided by McDiarmid and James Earl Jones. This re-shoot was shot during the production of the 2005 film, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which McDiarmid had a starring role in.

In a draft of the script for Return of the Jedi, it was envisioned that when Palpatine unleashed his Force lightning upon Luke Skywalker, the Force spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda would materialize to shield their disciple by redirecting the lightning.

For Return of the Jedi, the venerable actor Alan Webb, then 75 years of age, was initially selected to embody the role of the Emperor. However, as the commencement of filming approached, Webb succumbed to illness attributed to the unusually frigid conditions that England was experiencing. He communicated his regrets to director Richard Marquand in a letter, expressing his belief that the role was beyond his capabilities, and subsequently passed away on June 22, 1982. Subsequently, Ben Kingsley, another English actor, auditioned for the part but was perceived as too stereotypically "English" to portray the Emperor. With production timelines tightening, Ian McDiarmid was brought in as a last-minute replacement.

McDiarmid later reprised his role in the prequel trilogy, portraying a younger Chancellor Palpatine in The Phantom Menace and a middle-aged Palpatine in both Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. He initially expressed surprise at Lucas's invitation to return to the role, anticipating that Darth Sidious would be portrayed by a younger actor. Nevertheless, he accepted the offer and once again took on the part. George Lucas advised McDiarmid to envision his young Palpatine's face as a mask concealing a monstrous visage, influencing his portrayal of the character as a seemingly affable and courteous individual. The unresolved nature of Palpatine and Yoda's duel in Revenge of the Sith within the Star Wars narrative inspired author Tessa Gratton to pen the short story "Masters."

During Celebration Chicago in 2019, it was officially announced that McDiarmid would be returning as Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. This film served as the concluding chapter of both the sequel trilogy and the overarching Star Wars Skywalker saga, and was slated for release on December 20, 2019. Upon this revelation, J.J. Abrams, the director of The Rise of Skywalker, conveyed his satisfaction that McDiarmid's involvement in the film had remained confidential. Kathleen Kennedy, the producer, later verified that the decision to bring back Palpatine originated from discussions held during the development of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, although Colin Trevorrow, the initial director, indicated that the Emperor's return was not part of his original script for the film.

McDiarmid shared with Warwick Davis during the panel that he had engaged in numerous conversations with George Lucas over the years, during which Lucas had consistently maintained that the Emperor was definitively deceased by the conclusion of Return of the Jedi. McDiarmid expressed his astonishment upon learning during production that Sidious had created Snoke and, in essence, was accountable for every "evil action" throughout the Skywalker Saga. While the film does not explicitly elucidate Palpatine's survival, Maryann Brandon, the editor, disclosed that earlier versions of the film contained an explanation.

In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and the subsequent TV show, the voice of Darth Sidious was provided by the accomplished actor Ian Abercrombie. In the Creative Conservation commentary included on the film's Blu-ray release, as well as the audio commentary on the DVD, Dave Filoni, the director, remarked on his fascination with the interaction between Palpatine and Jabba the Hutt, considering it a character dynamic he had never anticipated witnessing. Following Abercrombie's death on January 26, 2012, Tim Curry assumed the role, making his debut in the final moments of "The Lawless" and continuing for the remaining episodes of the series. He received credit for his work starting with the fifth season finale, "The Wrong Jedi."

In Star Wars Rebels, Sam Witwer, a veteran of the Star Wars franchise, voiced Sidious in "The Siege of Lothal," the premiere episode of the show's second season. However, for the fourth and final season of the series, McDiarmid returned to provide the Emperor's voice, and subsequently re-recorded Witwer's dialogue from the second season premiere. McDiarmid once again reprised the role for Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.

Stuart Beattie penned the screenplay for the first in a series of three Obi-Wan Kenobi feature films. From the inception of Beattie's narrative, Emperor Palpatine was to instruct Vader to disregard Kenobi and concentrate on the immediate challenges. One scene depicted Palpatine dispatching Vader to quell a rebel uprising while Vader struggled to suppress his thoughts of Kenobi. Later, Vader informed Palpatine that Kenobi and Yoda posed the greatest threats, prompting Palpatine to express his displeasure and remind Vader of his position. McDiarmid revived the role for the sixth episode of the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi. David Decio served as McDiarmid's double and stand-in. McDiarmid's scenes were filmed against a blue screen. Deborah Chow, the director, desired Palpatine to convey to Vader that his fixation on Kenobi constituted a weakness. She directed McDiarmid to perform his scene with a sense of urgency, while also incorporating moments of casualness into certain lines. McDiarmid encountered difficulty in remembering to use the word "execute" during the filming process.

Palpatine's endeavors to consolidate power and undermine democracy were initially explored in greater depth in Revenge of the Sith, particularly through the "Rebel Alliance subplot." Initially, Palpatine and Skywalker were to have a scene in the Chancellor's office where Palpatine reveals the Senate would, that afternoon, ask him to take direct control over the Jedi Council's affairs, defending the choice by saying it was another adjustment to the constitution in the name of security. While Skywalker agreed in taking power over the Council from the unfocused Senate in the name of winning the war, he warns his old friend of the Council's growing upset at constitutional changes. Claiming he had no choice but to take on the additional power, Palpatine quickly changes the conversation to his history with Skywalker before making him question the Council, claiming they see his growing power in the Force as a threat.

The Rebel Alliance subplot commenced with Organa and Mothma establishing the Delegation of 2,000 to oppose the Chancellor's growing authority. In Organa's apartment, it is noted that Palpatine has regularly passed amendments to the constitution, taken personal control over the Jedi Council, and, as of that morning, appointed governors to oversee Republic star systems, effectively subverting the Senate's authority. Although surprised that one of her oldest advisors would act in such a non-democratic manner, Amidala becomes part of the Delegation. After a meeting in Amidala's apartment, where the gathered legislators decide their new alliance would be focused on the Senate instead of going to the Jedi right away, Palpatine and Skywalker were confronted by a gathering of the Delegation in the Chancellor's office, where Amidala speaks on behalf of the gathered against Palpatine's conduct.

Cutting off Fang Zar's attempt at a comment and bidding the group farewell, Palpatine continues to tempt Skywalker to the dark side by claiming the group, even Amidala, has ulterior motives and can not be trusted. Although Skywalker attempts to defend his secret wife, Palpatine pries at the conflicted Jedi's emotional armor by claiming he simply does not want to admit it is possible. The Delegation of the 2,000 and Palpatine's Sector Governance Decree have since been confirmed to be canon. Palpatine's manipulation of Skywalker from the Delegation meeting in Chancellor's office deleted scene was mentioned within "The Long Game," an article about Palpatine's rise to power written by Michael Kogge for Star Wars Insider 188, as a canonical quote.

Another deleted scene sees Windu, Kenobi, and Yoda discuss Palpatine's effort to take control of the Jedi Council and whether they must move against him. In the original story treatment for Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious was intended to reveal that he created Anakin Skywalker through the midi-chlorians, thus making him, in some way, Anakin's father, although George Lucas ultimately cut this out of the film. Although Darth Sidious and/or Darth Plagueis's attempts to meddle with medichlorians is noted in the film, the idea that Sidious created Skywalker was dropped from the final cut.

A notable point of contention regarding Darth Sidious pertains to his true physical appearance. In Revenge of the Sith, during his confrontation with Mace Windu, Sidious, after being disarmed, employs Force lightning against the Jedi Master. However, Windu redirects the lightning back at Sidious, resulting in the disfigurement and scarring of his face. Subsequently, when Anakin severs Windu's hand to aid Sidious, Sidious electrocutes Windu, causing him to fall to his death, although the Force lightning does not mar Windu's appearance during the brief exposure.

Conversely, in Return of the Jedi, where Force lightning was initially introduced, Sidious employs it against Luke Skywalker without causing any disfigurement or scarring. Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group proposed that Palpatine utilized a higher voltage of lightning when attacking Windu, or that there were other factors at play, such as the Sith Lord overexerting himself, leading to the altered appearance. In 2005, author Gary M. Sarli suggested that Palpatine had been employing a Sith alchemy technique known as masking to conceal his true visage, with the Force lightning dispelling the mask. Sarli further speculated that Sidious intentionally chose not to preserve his mask to further persuade Skywalker to intervene and to falsely claim he was scarred to the Senate.

Sidious's height has been inconsistently reported as either 1.73 meters or 1.78 meters. This article adopts the more recent databank entry on StarWars.com as the accurate height.

During a question-and-answer session for The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions, Dave Filoni indicated that Sidious simultaneously had Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus as apprentices. However, Sidious's biography gallery in the Databank asserts that he recruited Dooku into the Sith during his tenure as Supreme Chancellor, following the Invasion of Naboo. Maul was presumed to have perished during that event. Nevertheless, "The Lost One" establishes that Dooku must have joined the Sith in some capacity prior to The Phantom Menace; Finis Valorum loses his position as Supreme Chancellor within that movie, yet Dooku had Sifo-Dyas killed for the Sith Plan during Valorum's chancellery. The Tales of the Jedi episode "The Sith Lord" would address the issue directly by showing Dooku had joined Sidious by the time of The Phantom Menace, but he had yet to fully fall to the dark side and become Sidious's pupil until the episode's events.

In the non-canonical LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, Darth Sidious was voiced by Trevor Devall. During the first season, Sidious and Darth Vader became aware of the history surrounding a formidable lightsaber known as the Kyber Saber, constructed from numerous kyber crystals. However, the Jedi Master who forged the sword deemed it excessively dangerous and destroyed the weapon, scattering the crystals throughout the galaxy. Driven by a desire to obliterate the galaxy in a single blast, Darth Sidious sought to gather all of the crystals. He and Vader dispatched the Sith agent Naare to retrieve the Kyber Saber crystals. However, Naare's mission was complicated by her encounter with the Force-sensitive Rowan Freemaker and his family. In an attempt to gain the crystals, Naare pretended to be a Jedi and offered to train him in the ways of the Force. Despite Sidious' efforts, the Sith Lord failed to take the Kyber Saber from Rowan, who managed to destroy the weapon.

In the second season, Darth Sidious creates an Imperial hunter droid called M-OC, whom he tasks with hunting down Rowan. This arouses the jealousy of Darth Vader, who undermines M-OC's efforts on several occasions. Despite failing to capture the Freemakers on several occasions, M-OC manages to deflect blame by pointing out that Lord Vader obstructed his efforts to obtain an XX-23 S-thread tracker. After Rowan builds a powerful starship called the Arrowhead, Sidious forces Vader and M-OC to work together. M-OC lures Rowan into a trap on Qalydon but Vader outsmarts the droid and brings him to the Emperor.

In Imperial captivity, Rowan reveals that he destroyed the Kyber Saber. Though the Emperor wants to kill Rowan, Vader convinces the Emperor that Rowan can help them find more kyber crystals to power up the second Death Star. After Vader forces Rowan to reveal the location through a mind probe, the Emperor deems that Rowan has outlived his usefulness and orders his execution. However, Rowan is rescued by his siblings. Meanwhile, M-OC rebuilds himself and steals the Arrowhead from the Freemakers, currying the Emperor's favor. The Emperor orders M-OC to hunt down the Freemakers.

Following a skirmish on Shantipole, Rowan convinces M-OC that his programming is flawed. M-OC instead deduces there is a flaw in the second Death Star and rushes to the Endor system. However, M-OC's warnings fall on deaf ears since the Emperor is preoccupied with Luke Skywalker. Later, M-OC is distracted when he watched the Emperor falling to his death, allowing Rowan to defeat him once and for all.