Darth Sidious

The precise origins of Darth Sidious remained shrouded in mystery, secrets that he guarded until his multiple grave visits. He entered the world born as Sheev Palpatine on the Mid Rim planet of Naboo, eighty-four years prior to the Battle of Yavin. The noble Palpatine family, a dynastic lineage, held a prominent position within the affluent circles of Naboo society. Throughout several points in time, Palpatine appeared to lack any living relatives known to the public, with no records of his parents' deaths, 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. He cultivated relationships with a distinguished array of credible politicians over the centuries, gaining extensive knowledge of governance and the intricacies of power during his youth. From an early age, Palpatine demonstrated a talent for manipulation.

The details surrounding Sidious's apprenticeship under the Sith remain obscure, including when it began, but he became the Sith apprentice of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis and assumed the identity of Darth Sidious. As a Sith Lord, Sidious absorbed all of his Sith Master's knowledge of the dark side of the Force, following the tradition established by Darth Bane. During his apprenticeship with Plagueis, Sidious constructed his personal Sith lightsabers. Simultaneously, he steadily increased his political influence.

In his youth, Palpatine traveled extensively throughout the galaxy, amassing a collection of art, some of which had connections to the dark side. While uninformed experts might dismiss his collection as mere junk, Palpatine knew better. He acquired new methods for expanding his power during his journeys, secrets he kept hidden for years. During his training with Plagueis, Sidious learned that two Sith were required for their perilous schemes. 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 successfully harness the full power of the dark side and rule immortal for ten thousand years.

Darth Sidious and Darth Plagueis collaborated for years, seeking to unlock the secrets of immortality, an obsession and long-held desire of Plagueis. Sidious eventually learned of Plagueis's ability to manipulate midi-chlorians to create life, which his master used to prevent the death of those he cared for. Plagueis believed that the secret to immortality lay in science and conducted "unnatural" experiments with his rare ability to manipulate midi-chlorians as part of their in-depth studies into the biological foundations of life. Though incomplete, these experiments encouraged Sidious. According to Darth Sidious's 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, 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 a predecessor to the Rule of Two. However, Plagueis was unable to form the dyad.

In his public identity as Sheev Palpatine, Sidious showed great interest in Naboo's politics and public life. In 65 BBY, he attended the opening ceremony of the Theed power generator, with observers noting his fascination with the complex's deep-pit design. His political career was further supported by his master, who arranged for him to be elevated to the position of senator for his homeworld in the Galactic Republic Senate as part of the Naboo delegation, elected in 52 BBY. This role also made him the senator for the Chommell sector, representing thirty-six planets. Upon election, Palpatine quickly joined Supreme Chancellor Skor Kalpana's ruling party. He was accompanied by loyal aides from his Naboo days. He observed the rampant infighting and corruption within the Republic and began to forge relationships with future collaborators, such as Wilhuff Tarkin. They first met when Tarkin was a cadet at the Sullust Sector Spacefarers Academy, while Palpatine was apprenticed to Plagueis.

Taking an interest in the younger man, Senator Palpatine decided to help him join the Judicial Department, as Tarkin desired, but advised him to consider a political career as well. Over the following years, their relationship grew increasingly confidential. Palpatine often praised Tarkin's talents and skills, noting their similarities: both came from planets on the galaxy's edge but were destined to significantly impact the history of the galaxy. Tarkin eventually became one of the few who addressed Palpatine by his first name.

Concealing his Sith identity from the public, Sidious began to implement the Sith's long-gestating plan to replace the Republic with a new Sith Empire and destroy the Jedi Order. He deceived the Senate, Republic, and Jedi. As a senator, Palpatine was known to have the support of mysterious friends and allies whom he mentioned but never named; even Tarkin did not know who specifically worked with Palpatine in the shadows. Palpatine's political rivals speculated that he had secret contacts beyond his loyal Naboo followers and senatorial cabal, with rumors suggesting connections to shadowy organizations and figures, including industrialists, financiers, and bankers from the galaxy's major sectors.

Seeking a Sith apprentice, Sidious traveled to Dathomir and met with Mother Talzin of the Dathomirian Nightsisters. Combining his knowledge of the dark side of the Force with Talzin's knowledge of Nightsister magicks, Sidious considered making Talzin his apprentice and right hand. However, he chose her infant son, the Zabrak Nightbrother who would become his true Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. When Sidious visited Talzin, Maul always hid in his room, afraid of the man and worried about Talzin's increasing bond with him. Sidious was drawn to Maul for his inability to control his anger. Eventually, Sidious ordered Talzin to give up Maul to a keeper, threatening to not follow through on his promise to make her his apprentice. She reluctantly agreed, and Maul ran into the forest angrily, overhearing the conversation from behind his door. When he returned the next morning, a Nightbrother took him and threw him in a pit, not allowing him to say goodbye to his own mother.

Over the course of months, Maul was put through relentless domestic abuse, all orchestrated by Sidious as a test. With 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.

Instead of fulfilling his promise to Talzin, Sidious took her son and left Dathomir, leaving the Nightsister seeking revenge. Adhering to the Rule of Two, which demanded only two Sith, and deciding that Plagueis was no longer useful, Sidious betrayed his master by breaking into his apartment and murdering him in his sleep. Sidious fondly recalled the moment he realized he was more powerful than Plagueis and could kill the man who had trained him, later reflecting that "Master" was the first title of power he claimed. Now the Sith Master, Sidious brutally trained Maul to be a weapon of the Sith, valuing Maul's combat abilities as an asset to his Grand Plan.

While training Maul, Sidious took him to Malachor to witness a great battle between the Jedi and Sith. He forced Maul to inhale the ashes of Sith warriors killed when an ancient weapon was activated in the Sith temple. Inhaling these ashes, Maul had visions of Sith being struck down by the Jedi, feeling their deaths. These visions, along with his training, made Maul crave revenge against the Jedi Order, which had defeated the Sith a millennium earlier. Motivated, Darth Maul became 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 Rael Averross, Dooku's former Padawan, after Dooku addressed the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. Following the invasion of Serenno, Dooku left the Jedi Order to become the planetary count, but Sidious recruited him to the Sith by exploiting his anger with the Republic, even though Maul was already his apprentice. Dooku would not become a Sith apprentice yet. To advance Sidious's plans, Dooku betrayed and orchestrated the death of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and took over his commission for a clone army produced on Kamino, covering up the event by erasing all records of Kamino from the Jedi Archives.

Palpatine maintained correspondence with Wilhuff Tarkin, whose service in the Judicial Department kept them from meeting often, and supported bills in the Senate that aided Eriadu and the Seswenna sector, Tarkin's homeworld and its sector. After Valorum's re-election, which Palpatine attributed to special interest groups needing a weak chancellor, rumors circulated that Valorum would be unable to hold onto power, with Palpatine's name emerging as a possible successor. Around that time, Palpatine met with Tarkin, who had grown disillusioned with the Judicial force, in his Coruscant office, urging Tarkin to enter planetary politics as Eriadu's new governor. Warning him of dark events brewing and promising the support of himself and his allies, Palpatine convinced Tarkin, who promised to do whatever was best for Eriadu and the Republic as Palpatine wished.

Needing pawns but preferring hooded holographic communication over direct contact, Sidious contacted powerful beings, convincing them to do his bidding with promises and threats. He manipulated Nute Gunray's rise to Viceroy of the Trade Federation after the Eriadu Conference, where an attempt to end disputes between the Trade Federation and Republic ended in disaster. The Nebula Front attacked the conference, wiping out the Federation directorate, creating a power vacuum for Gunray to fill, while Valorum escaped and briefly boosted his popularity, passing taxation legislation. Convincing the Trade Federation to obey him with promises of wealth, Sidious ordered them to construct a droid army. He also helped Poggle the Lesser rise to 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 secret location, the former LiMerge Power Building situated within the Works industrial sector of Coruscant. The purpose of this meeting was to reprimand Maul for his carelessness in allowing the Jedi to sense his dark presence. Sidious made it clear that Maul's impatience was of no concern to him, and he sternly warned his apprentice that any disruption of his master's carefully laid plans would result in severe repercussions. Subsequently, Sidious dispatched Maul to confront a group of pirates who were causing trouble for their covert mining operations located in the Kellux system. This mission served as a secret test of Maul's allegiance, as Sidious presented him with an opportunity to engage a Jedi Padawan in combat. Unaware of the true nature of his mission, Maul followed the path set before him and ultimately killed the Jedi. Upon Maul's return to Coruscant, Sidious revealed that he was fully aware of all of Maul's actions and inquired whether his apprentice was satisfied with his act of killing a Jedi. Sidious expressed his satisfaction when Maul responded that he was not content.

Shortly thereafter, while operating within the Coruscant underworld, Maul took the life of a Force-sensitive thief in an attempt to alleviate his craving for combat with the Jedi. Sidious criticized the recklessness of this action, but Maul maintained that he had taken sufficient precautions to avoid alerting the Jedi to the Sith's continued existence. Sidious acknowledged Maul's rage but cautioned him to temper it with patience. Maul expressed his frustration at being held back, prompting Sidious to remind him that his training was incomplete. Sidious then transported Maul back to Malachor, revisiting the site where Maul had previously experienced visions of the Sith's destruction at the hands of the Jedi. Sidious instructed Maul to induce another vision by inhaling the ashes of deceased Sith warriors. Through this vision, Maul came to understand the importance of patience, recognizing that rage alone was insufficient to overcome the combined power of the Jedi Order. Pleased with this realization, Sidious emphasized that the combination of patient planning and the power of the dark side would eventually lead to the successful annihilation of the Jedi.

During this period, Palpatine, in his public persona, regularly met with Chancellor Valorum and Jedi Masters Yoda and Adi Gallia to deliberate on diplomatic matters pertinent to the Republic and the Jedi Order. Among the topics discussed were the labor strikes occurring on Garqi and [Chamble]. Regarding the latter, Palpatine suggested that the Jedi conduct a training exercise on the planet. Another matter of discussion was how to handle a shipment of flamboyant boots sent by Hafernia, a newly admitted member world, as a gift for the Jedi Order. Gallia expressed her discomfort with accepting the gift, stating 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 formally accept the boots but not actually use them.

Gallia was briefly called away 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 privately discussed their disagreement with Valorum's choice of a deep shade of blue for the room's decor following his re-election, with Palpatine musing about how it would look in red. Shortly thereafter, Palpatine and Valorum learned of the Jedi Council's intention to visit [Kwenn] (/article/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 leader Zilastra, and the subsequent destruction of the Order's Sanctuary Mount outpost, Sidious initiated a holocommunication with the installation's former Seneschal, an elderly Bimm named Voh. Sidious, operating 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 want in order to conceal the fact that they were missing. However, Sidious discovered that Voh had instead sold off 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 with this, 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 had lost interest in continuing his association with Voh and made this clear. The Sith Lord explained to the confused Bimm that he no longer cared about Kwenn. In fact, he was pleased to see the Jedi closing outposts and moving around the galaxy in a reactive manner, as this would benefit his upcoming plans involving the Republic and the Trade Federation. Sidious expressed his admiration for Zilastra's scheme, stating that she would be of further interest, although he was not surprised that she had ultimately failed in her endeavor 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 asked why Palpatine had so drastically changed his attitude and why he was revealing all of this, Sidious replied that it was for another's ears, signaling the arrival of his apprentice, Darth Maul, who entered the room and proceeded to deal with the former Seneschal.

Under the guise of Palpatine, Sidious strategically maneuvered to usurp power from Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, a figure with minimal political influence who considered Palpatine a close confidant and ally, thereby allowing Sidious to exert considerable control over him. Within the Senate, Sidious secretly orchestrated repeated legislative battles concerning taxation, resulting in alternating victories and defeats for the Trade Federation, while Gunray mistakenly believed that Sidious was consistently working towards the Federation's success. Following a discussion in his office regarding the latest iteration of the bill, Valorum requested that Palpatine remain behind and confided in him his consideration of appointing a Jedi as an independent moderator, a suggestion that Palpatine feigned surprise at before urging him to postpone that option for the time being. Accelerating his plans 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, presenting it as a protest against the Senate's taxation of trade routes to outlying 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 battle droid army, the Trade Federation initiated the Invasion of Naboo under Sidious's orders, who also instructed Gunray to eliminate Chancellor Valorum's Jedi ambassadors. When Gunray questioned the legality of the invasion, Sidious simply asserted that he would make it legal. The Neimoidians complied, but the Jedi survived the assassination attempt and escaped the Federation ship. After terminating his communication with Gunray, Queen Padmé Amidala contacted him regarding the Federation's denial that the Chancellor had sent ambassadors to negotiate, as promised. Sidious, as Palpatine, feigned concern at this alleged revelation but was interrupted mid-sentence by the Trade Federation's communication blackout, signaling the Naboo of their impending 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. In addition, 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 Gunray's informing Sidious of Amidala's refusal 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 he failed to eliminate 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 tasks, although he ensured his presence at Senate voting sessions, despite his lack of interest in the proceedings. With time on his hands, Palpatine began reviewing his art collection, having exhausted the storage capacity in his office. His attention was drawn to a black statue known as the Yonta Prime, which, despite being a favored piece, he deemed unsuitable for his office due to space constraints. He decided to retrieve it from storage, ordering its transfer to his apartment, with the intention of placing it in the Supreme Chancellor's office once his current plan 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. Escorting Amidala to his apartment for a private audience, Palpatine informed the queen that the Senate had long abandoned its concern for the common good, while Valorum was essentially powerless against them. With both the Senate and Valorum rendered ineffective, Palpatine presented her with 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, which would entail a protracted process. Hoping to achieve some resolution within the Senate, Amidala chose to attend the special session of the body the following day.

During the highly anticipated Senate session, Amidala attempted to plead her case for Republic intervention to halt the Trade Federation's occupation of her world. 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 of the situation, a motion that was seconded by the senator from Malastare, Aks Moe. Vice Chair Mas Amedda conferred quietly with Valorum for a few moments, and Palpatine seized the opportunity to predict that the Chancellor, constrained by Senatorial procedure at the behest of bureaucrats likely in the Federation's pay, would fail to assist Naboo. When Valorum reluctantly conceded that the Federation was within its rights to request a commission, an outraged Amidala realized that Palpatine's assessment was accurate; 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. Within moments, hundreds of Senators began demanding an immediate vote, leaving Valorum stunned.

The sudden power vacuum led to Palpatine's nomination as Supreme Chancellor, alongside Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare. However, upon announcing his nomination to Amidala, 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, instructing them to kill Amidala upon her arrival, and dispatched Maul to accompany them with orders 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 review the Neimoidians' progress. Contrary to his expectations, he learned that Amidala had not only managed to evade Gunray's grasp but had also forged an alliance with the Gungans and assembled an army in the planet's swamp, preparing for an assault against the Federation occupation force. Doubting her chances of success, he approved Gunray's plan to meet the Gungans head-on.

However, the Federation army was defeated, Gunray was captured by Amidala's forces, and Maul met his presumed demise at the hands of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, though not before striking down Qui-Gon Jinn. Darth Sidious displayed no remorse towards the Zabrak warrior and prepared to take on a new Sith apprentice to advance his plans. Due to Jinn's death, Count Dooku traveled to their meeting place, the LiMerge Power Building in the Works, to confront Sidious, enraged that his ally's schemes had resulted in the death of his former apprentice.

As Dooku accused Sidious of betraying everything and everyone he had known, Sidious affirmed that Dooku's actions had been in the service of a greater good, and the galaxy required sacrifices in order to be remade. Dooku pondered that Qui-Gon Jinn could have been a powerful ally, in which Sidious acknowledged the truth, conceding that it would have indeed been advantageous for Dooku. Despite everything Dooku has done for him, Sidious admitted that he always questioned his loyalty, much to Dooku's disturbance. Defending his commitment, Dooku pointed out that he had carried out every task entrusted to him. Sidious then revealed that even greater demands lay ahead if they were to achieve their goals.

Unbeknownst to them, Yaddle had secretly followed Dooku and urged him to surrender and assist her in defeating Sidious. Dooku initially hesitated but then, on Sidious's orders, engaged Yaddle in a lightsaber duel as a final test of loyalty. Despite Yaddle's valiant effort, Dooku's unparalleled dueling skills quickly began to overwhelm her. Yaddle called out to Dooku, admitting that the Jedi High Council had been wrong and informing him that as a result, she had resigned from her position on the Council. Her last attempt at persuading Dooku failed, and they dueled once more, as Sidious watched and cackled manically.

As Dooku knocked Yaddle into the frame of the large doorway, he used the Force to flip the lever controlling the door, which came crashing down onto his former friend. Collapsing in sorrow over what he had just done, Dooku was reassured by Sidious, who congratulated his "friend" and apprentice. To their shock, Yaddle suddenly lifted the doorway off in one final display of her immense Force power. Lying defenseless and exhausted at Dooku's feet, Dooku impaled her with his lightsaber. As Sidious' new Sith apprentice, Dooku adopted the secret name of Darth Tyranus.

Ultimately, Palpatine won 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 was highly attuned to the Force, fueling the belief that he was the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy who would bring balance to the Force. After much debate, 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, telling young Skywalker that his career would be watched with "great interest."

Over the subsequent decade, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine cultivated a favorable image as a humble servant of the common good, while the public remained unaware of his true, sinister nature. He concealed one of his lightsabers within a statue of Sistros Nevet, coated in neuranium for protection against scans, while the other was 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, destined to surpass even Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi Council. Skywalker, increasingly frustrated with the strict Jedi lifestyle under Kenobi's guidance, appreciated Palpatine's praise and valued his counsel. In reality, this was all part of Sidious's strategy to gain Skywalker's trust and groom him as his future Sith apprentice.

However, Sidious recognized that his plan to turn Skywalker to the dark side would take years to materialize. With Maul presumed dead, Sidious needed an interim apprentice. He turned to Dooku, making the former Jedi his temporary apprentice under the name Darth Tyranus. Sidious and Tyranus secured control of a behavioral modification biochip that Sifo-Dyas had intended to implant in each clone as a safeguard against rogue Jedi. They retooled the chip for Sidious's purposes. Subsequently, bounty hunter Jango Fett was hired as the genetic template for the clone army on Kamino, and the clones were fitted with the Sith's modified biochip, containing a protocol to ensure their complete obedience to Sidious when the time came.

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 uncover the reason for his presence and prevent the Jedi from discovering the alliances Count Dooku was forging on behalf of the Sith, ostensibly for Serenno. Tyranus succeeded in this mission 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 a choice between death and servitude. Sidious then instructed Galli to return to the excavation site and guard it against intruders, emphasizing that they must not be allowed to taint the site and ordering Galli to kill them. Sidious then introduced himself on a first-name basis as 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 a guest of honor. By that point, work on the Jakku Observatory had been completed. Using a game of Shah-tezh as an illustration, Sidious explained that his future Galactic Empire could not be allowed to outlive its Emperor should he die prematurely. To emphasize 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 matured, the bond between Palpatine and the young Jedi grew substantially. The Chancellor frequently observed the boy's training at the Jedi Temple, praising the young Padawan's advancements in lightsaber combat. Observing the boy's emotional vulnerability, Palpatine requested Master Mace Windu to send Skywalker to him, believing he could aid in the boy's development. Upon Skywalker's arrival with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine asked Skywalker to accompany him on an errand to Coruscant's lower levels. Ignoring Master Kenobi's warning about Skywalker's non-Jedi status and potential dangers, the Chancellor escorted Skywalker to Level 2685. Disguised as ordinary travelers, Palpatine confided in the youth that he often visited the area when his duties allowed, seeking to do some good. Eventually, the pair arrived at Club Kasakar.

There, Palpatine expressed a certain envy towards the lives of young Jedi Padawans, whose paths were predetermined from a young age, contrasting 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 wagering at a game table, Palpatine remarked that Colandrus was corrupt, though without concrete evidence. Inspired by this negative portrayal, Anakin employed Jedi telekinesis to manipulate Colandrus' last die, causing him to lose significant amounts of money. Hearing Palpatine's disguised laughter at his misfortune, Colandrus unleashed his bodyguard on him, but the Chancellor diffused the situation by claiming that "his son" was merely joking and promising their immediate departure. Still skeptical, Colandrus ultimately allowed the cloaked figures to leave unharmed.

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 cautioned the boy against discussing their experience with his masters and inquired whether Anakin was content at the temple. When the Padawan affirmed this, Palpatine sensed the truth through the Force. Finally, Palpatine thanked him for his crucial role in the Battle of Naboo, assuring him that there would always be a place for Anakin near him, and that he could make exceptional use of a young man like Anakin.

Palpatine persisted in his role as Skywalker's confidant, offering guidance to the young Padawan striving to become a true Jedi. Skywalker held Palpatine in high regard, viewing the chancellor as both a mentor and a friend. In private, Palpatine conveyed to Skywalker his unwavering confidence in him, even suggesting that Skywalker's power would eventually surpass the combined strength of the Jedi Order, including Grand Master Yoda.

Under Sidious' direction, Tyranus incited thousands of solar systems to declare their independence from the Galactic Republic, instead aligning with the Confederacy of Independent Systems under his leadership. Two years following the Confederacy's establishment, civil war loomed, and the Jedi's numbers were insufficient to maintain galactic peace. 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 initiate war with the Confederacy.

At some juncture, Darth Sidious and his Sith apprentice, Count Dooku, recognized the potential of Kaleesh warlord Grievous, formerly known as Qymaen jai Sheelal. Grievous had led his Kaleesh warriors in the war against the insectoid Yam'rii species from Huk, a technologically superior neighbor. After the Republic and the Jedi intervened to support the Yam'rii, the Kaleesh were punished, resulting in the starvation deaths of hundreds of thousands. Sidious and Dooku, who envisioned a significant role for Grievous, took note of his accomplishments as he became a valuable asset to the IGBC. Dooku then orchestrated a shuttle crash to recruit Grievous to command 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. This operation drastically altered Grievous's physical form.

Upon arriving on Coruscant to vote on the matter, Palpatine's successor as Senator of Naboo, former Queen Padmé Amidala, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt orchestrated by Zam Wesell on behalf of the vengeful Nute Gunray. Palpatine delayed 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 on her homeworld of Naboo. There, they 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 Tatooine, would draw the young Jedi closer to the dark side of the Force, making him even more susceptible to Sidious's deceitful schemes.

However, when it was revealed 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 Representative Jar Jar Binks grant him emergency powers from the Senate. 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 led to the First Battle of Geonosis, marking the opening 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 some point, Sidious infiltrated the Jedi Temple with a number of agents, including the former Padawan Heezo, ordering them to identify Jedi dissatisfied with the Order and covertly nudge them towards the dark side. Shortly after the mission to Thule, he met with the Jedi High Council. On his way to their chamber, he was escorted by one such Jedi, the Knight Iskat Akaris. Sidious took advantage of the opportunity by getting her to voice her secretly-held opinions of the Order to him while subtly encouraging her darker impulses.

After the Confederacy's Droid Army seized control of the major hyperspace lanes, Sidious instructed Tyranus and his assassin Asajj Ventress to kidnap Jabba's son, Rotta, the leader of the Hutt Clans' Council. Following his abduction to Teth, Sidious contacted both Ventress and Tyranus, assuring them that the Jedi would be at war with both the Hutts and the Confederacy.

Palpatine subsequently received a message from Jabba, requesting assistance in rescuing his son. Despite Master Windu's reservations about allying 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 spread 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 relayed this information to Senator Amidala. Jabba refused to communicate with him, prompting Amidala to speak with Jabba's uncle Ziro at his palace, despite Palpatine's warning. 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 discovered that Senator Amidala had ventured 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 suffering from 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 speak with Palpatine, he inadvertently caused C-3PO's chair to move, knocking the Gungan down and causing the ship to veer off course. Amidala regained control, but Palpatine discreetly urged her to exclude Binks from the negotiations, to which she agreed.

Upon arriving planet-side, Amidala discovered that Farr had joined the Separatists to aid his people and was captured by Nute Gunray's battle droids. However, Binks disrupted the Separatist's plans, prompting Farr to side with the Republic. Thanks to a message sent by C-3PO, the 41st Elite Corps arrived on the planet and captured Gunray. Palpatine contacted them via hologram, stating that Amidala had brought Rodia's needs to his attention. The Chancellor had deployed 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, allowing her to rescue or kill Gunray. While Sidious was apprehensive about employing 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, while also demonstrating her ability to handle a Star Destroyer's contingent of clone troopers, a Jedi Padawan, and a Jedi Master simultaneously.

As the war commenced, 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 then sent Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks to deliver it. Ultimately, Dooku escaped from the pirates.

Sidious paid Cad Bane to steal a Holocron from the Jedi Temple's Holocron Vault, which, when used in conjunction with the kyber memory crystal, would reveal the location of Force-sensitive infants across the galaxy. He had Bane kidnap these children to his facility on Mustafar to commence the creation of an army of Force-sensitive spies. Sidious told the nanny droids of the children's natural talent and how he would harness that power for his own needs. Looking into the future, Sidious saw a vision of Force talented spies trained in the dark side that would appear in every corner of the galaxy doing his bidding. The nanny droid told the Dark Lord that subjects rarely survive the procedure at a young age but Sidious said the risk was necessary and that if the procedure failed he would lose nothing. As the surgery was about to happen, an alert from a nanny droid told the Sith Lord of an incoming shuttle that was approaching and it did not belong to the bounty hunter. This surprised Sidious as he did not foresee this and ordered the droids to evacuate the children and destroy the facility to protect his identity and ended the transmission quickly. The Jedi foiled Bane and rescued the younglings.

During the Battle of Malastare, the Zillo Beast was inadvertently awakened. Palpatine initially desired the creature's death but changed his mind when Doctor Sionver Boll and Skywalker argued that the beast's indestructible hide could be valuable if analyzed. The Zillo Beast was instead 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 ordered 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 considering deregulating the banks to increase funding for the war, Palpatine was informed by Amidala that the Separatist Senate, led by Mina Bonteri, was contemplating peace negotiations. Dooku orchestrated the bombing of the central power distribution grid and then staged another attack on the Confederacy, resulting in Bonteri's death and being blamed on the Republic, thus destroying any prospect of peace.

Desperate, Amidala attempted to rally support for opposing a new bill but found few willing to do so. Upon further investigation, Amidala found that many of the senators who voted in support have actually been blackmailed to do so. She also discovered that supporting the bill would mean bankrupting 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 attempting to oppose the bill with Amidala stepping up in front of the Senate. In her speech, she pointed out that passing the bill would harm the citizens it was supposedly attempting to protect. Her speech marshals loud 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 can have over his power. Palpatine resolved to wait until fate and the Senate once more turn to favor him.

When the military enhancement bill for more clone troopers was introduced, Palpatine claimed to be opposed to it. The bill encountered minor but effective resistance, although one of its greatest critics, Onaconda Farr, seemingly died of a 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 a poison had actually killed the senator. As the inspector left, the Chancellor claimed that murder in the Senate was unthinkable. Later, Palpatine and the others reunited in his office, where Divo nearly arrested the false suspect, the Kaminoan Senator Halle Burtoni. However, Amidala realized Farr's aide, Lolo Purs, was the true culprit, and the Rodian was arrested. Soon afterward, the military enhancement bill was passed; Palpatine claimed to 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 after the mission to Thule, Palpatine expressed his faith in the disgraced Jedi Knight Iskat Akaris to Master Yoda. This support, in tandem with that of Masters Klefan Opus and Uumay Hawlatha, proved enough to forestall Yoda's reservations as he and fellow Councilor Mace Windu decided in favor of putting Akaris back in the field.

During the Battle of Sullust, Sidious felt Asajj Ventress growing stronger in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Through a hologram, Darth Sidious accused Tyranus of wanting to overthrow him as Dark Lord which shocked his apprentice who stated his loyalty belonged only to his Master. Sidious then demanded proof and ordered him to eliminate Ventress which the Count sadly obliged to. After assuming success in the death of his former disciple, Dooku contacted Sidious of his apparent success. Satisfied, Darth Sidious praised his apprentice for once again proving his loyalty. The two were unaware that Ventress survived.

Sidious instructed Tyranus to forge an alliance with the resurgent Zygerrian Slave Empire, explaining that past Sith Empires were built upon slavery and theirs would be no different. They subsequently plotted 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 appeared 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 priority 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. Deciding to personally eliminate the threat, 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 engaged the rival Sith Lords in a fierce confrontation. Sidious demonstrated that he was not only equal to their combined might but also surpassed it. After an extended duel, he strategically separated the brothers. First, he bypassed Savage's defenses with a swift kick, sending him sprawling. Then, he used the Force to push Maul away, briefly rendering him unconscious. Sidious briefly amused himself by toying with Savage before resuming their battle and decisively defeating Opress in single combat. Knowing it was futile to prevent Maul from reaching his fallen brother, as Savage was beyond saving, Sidious mocked Maul once more. He reminded him of the ancient Sith code and the fact that Maul had been replaced. Then, he re-engaged his former apprentice in combat. Despite finding Maul to be significantly more ferocious than Savage, Sidious ultimately prevailed in their final lightsaber lock, forcing Maul to his knees. However, he chose not to kill him, anticipating that his fallen apprentice might prove useful in the future.

The trial of Ahsoka Tano, who was falsely accused of orchestrating a bombing at the Jedi Temple, was overseen by Chancellor Palpatine, acting as the judge. Flanked by a pair of guards adorned in crimson robes, he attentively listened as Senator Amidala and Admiral Tarkin presented their arguments, representing the defense and prosecution, respectively. Upon their conclusion, the Chancellor delivered a cautionary speech to the court, warning them to be wary of Separatist plots designed to undermine the Jedi Order, and consequently, the Galactic Republic, from within. Before he could announce the verdict, Skywalker interrupted with Barriss Offee, who confessed to perpetrating the crime. Palpatine commanded that Offee be taken into custody, and Tano was subsequently acquitted. This distressing experience left Tano deeply disillusioned, leading her to decline the offer to rejoin the Jedi Order.

During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, clone trooper CT-5385, known as "Tup," experienced a sudden malfunction, displaying confusion and ultimately betraying and killing Jedi Master Tiplar before succumbing to insanity and death. This event was triggered by a defective biochip, implanted in the clones to ensure their loyalty to the Supreme Chancellor and to pave the way for the execution of Protocol 66. With his schemes threatened, Sidious, in his guise as Chancellor Palpatine, ordered that Tup's remains 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 discovered the inhibitor chips implanted in all clone troopers and believed they were part of a Separatist conspiracy. The Chancellor revealed his involvement with the chips to Fives and orchestrated an attack by his guards, making Fives appear dangerous to the Republic and discrediting him. Following Fives' death, he informed the Jedi that a parasite native to Ringo Vinda was responsible for Tup and Fives's behavior, and that all clone troopers would be inoculated against it. Sidious further capitalized on these events by transferring the majority of his Sith artifact collection from a concealed warehouse in the Works district to the Medical Facility, fearing the Jedi might discover it.

During a diplomatic mission to Scipio, Senator Padmé Amidala learned from Rush Clovis that the InterGalactic Banking Clan had become insolvent. Palpatine advised her to trust Clovis while simultaneously hiring the bounty hunter Embo to target them, ostensibly on the Clan's behalf. 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 succeed them. Dooku blackmailed Clovis into raising the Republic's interest rates and dispatched a fleet to blockade Scipio. Palpatine responded by sending a fleet commanded by 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 offered to dispatch Bail Organa and Senator Amidala, but she specifically requested the aid of Representative Binks. Palpatine then informed the Jedi Council, who considered it unwise, so Master Windu volunteered to accompany him.

When the Jedi discovered Sifo-Dyas's lightsaber at the site of a distress beacon, Yoda visited Palpatine. Apparently, Sifo-Dyas had perished during a mission to Felucia, but the details were classified by the Office of the Chancellor. Palpatine instructed 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, ordering him to resolve the situation. Annoyed by Tyranus's negligence, Sidious used the Force to choke his apprentice, reminding him of the consequences of failure. Dooku successfully prevented Kenobi and Skywalker from discovering who had killed Sifo-Dyas, but they nonetheless 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 uncover the secrets of immortality, Sidious and Tyranus detected his presence and met at the Works on Coruscant. Sidious greeted his apprentice upon his arrival and led him to the tower's ceremonial chamber. Exploiting the Force-bond between Tyranus and Yoda, Sidious recited a Balc incantation to conjure a dark illusion designed to trap the Jedi Master. Using an image of Sifo-Dyas, he offered to reveal his identity if Yoda would join him, but Yoda refused. The illusion then depicted them pursuing the Sith Lords through the Works with Anakin Skywalker and the 501st Legion. Sidious dueled Yoda on the catwalks outside the tower, with Skywalker arriving shortly thereafter. Sidious incapacitated Skywalker with Force lightning while continuing his fight with Yoda. As the illusion played out, 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 overcome the Jedi.

When Sidious discovered that the otherwise unremarkable planet Utapau had yielded a massive kyber crystal, the world piqued his interest, as he desired the large crystal for his battle station project. With the crystal in the possession of a Sugi arms dealing group, Dooku agreed to a sale, claiming he wanted the crystal for the Separatist Alliance. Grievous himself arrived to oversee the transaction, ultimately killing the Sugi leader, Endente, and transporting the crystal to his Separatist fleet. However, after Kenobi and Skywalker arrived on Utapau to investigate the death of Jedi Master Tu-Anh, they fought to thwart 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, enabling a search for more crystals to commence. Within months, the Separatists invaded the world.

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

Maul and Dooku journeyed to Dathomir, where Talzin intended to drain Dooku's life force to restore 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 enable her son's escape. Seizing the opportunity, Grievous plunged two lightsabers into her body, eliminating Sidious's adversary. Despite Maul's escape, Sidious was satisfied that the Shadow Collective had been dismantled.

Later, 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, believing it was wrong for the Jedi to keep secrets from the Chancellor. Eventually, aboard the Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyer Vigilance in orbit of Christophsis, Vos, who had succumbed to the dark side and sought to become Dooku's apprentice to uncover Darth Sidious's identity, and Dooku, held captive by several clone troopers and Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, enlisted the help of Asajj Ventress in their escape.

The trio, however, crash-landed on Christophsis while being pursued by the Republic, with the Count of Serenno sustaining serious injuries. Seeking refuge in a hidden Confederacy fortress, Tyranus contacted Darth Sidious via hologram, requesting assistance, 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 concealed his 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 request for an evacuation ship as a second battle of Christophsis erupted with Skywalker leading the Republic's relentless assault. Providing only a vague response, Sidious terminated the holo-communication as the Christophsis Separatist tower fell under Republic gunship fire. The battle resulted in a 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 take him back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for reassessment. Meanwhile, as the Jedi took Vos, a ship dispatched by Darth Sidious arrived to retrieve Tyranus, ensuring the Separatist leader's safety.

In accordance with his plan to exploit the Clone Wars as a pretext to consolidate and centralize his political power to pave the way for his reign as Emperor, Palpatine had risen to become the most powerful Supreme Chancellor since the era of the Ruusan Reformations by the conflict's conclusion. Citing the war effort as justification, Palpatine had the Galactic Constitution amended numerous times during the conflict. One constitutional amendment, known as the Reflex Amendment, granted him near-absolute authority over military affairs, allowing him to bypass the Senate in such decisions. Towards 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 installations. In reality, however, regional governors could become leaders of the systems they oversaw, allowing Palpatine to circumvent and eventually disband the Senate by creating a new bureaucracy composed of individuals he had appointed. The decree, however, 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 it was time to make Skywalker his next apprentice, Sidious conceived a plan for Palpatine to be captured so that Skywalker could rescue him. This plan involved sacrificing Darth Tyranus, who was to be killed by Skywalker, which would tempt Skywalker to the dark side and eventually lead to the young Jedi replacing Dooku as the Dark Lord's new apprentice. Possibly through the Nexus Route, Sidious obtained the coordinates to Coruscant and provided them to Grievous and his fleet, enabling them to jump directly from the Outer Rim to Coruscant. Sidious also devised a plan to kidnap the Supreme Chancellor, tasking Grievous with the mission. Sidious ordered Grievous to capture Palpatine and Dooku to hold him hostage. Grievous and Dooku, however, 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 did not want any setbacks to his plans. While the Republic and Separatist fleets clashed above the planet, Grievous went to the ground 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 continue fighting. Grievous gained the upper hand by electrocuting the Jedi Master with cables, rendering her unconscious. Grievous took her lightsaber and fled with the captive Palpatine to the Separatist flagship Invisible Hand.

Kenobi and Skywalker, who were in the midst of preparing for the siege of Mandalore, were summoned to rescue him. After landing in the Invisible Hand's hangar, the two found 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 kneeling, Dooku was defeated. Palpatine commended Skywalker on his accomplishment. However, he then betrayed Dooku by urging Anakin to kill him, as 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 for Dooku cutting off his arm. Beyond luring Skywalker closer to the dark side, the act also served to eliminate the loose end Dooku would be if he lived, denying the Jedi the opportunity to question him and learn more about Sidious.

Skywalker went to retrieve the unconscious Kenobi, but Palpatine pleaded with the Jedi to leave his master. His plea was denied, 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, momentarily 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 to 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 take control. With no escape, Grievous smashed open a window and fled to the escape pods, which he activated as he fled. The ship then became caught in Coruscant's gravity well and began hurtling towards the surface. Skywalker and Kenobi attempted to land it, managing only to ease 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 again. Grievous's usefulness to Sidious had come to an end, as the cyborg had played his role and whose entire campaigns had served to distract the Jedi Order from the Sith conspiracy unfolding around them on Coruscant. By this time, 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 didn't care 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 told him to remain on Utapau until the new apprentice had joined their cause, as he didn't 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 as 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 atmosphere, telling and convincing Skywalker that Amidala might have ulterior motives she was keeping secret from them both.

Meanwhile, the Jedi began to distrust and resent the Chancellor's accumulating power and control. The Council, unhappy with Skywalker's appointment by someone not of their order, denied him the rank of "Jedi Master." This turn of events only furthered Sidious's plans. The Council, however, decided to use this appointment as an opportunity to spy on Palpatine. Skywalker, feeling insulted by that 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 show, 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, dealing 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 said that he was afraid of losing his power, but had taught his apprentice everything, and then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Skywalker, enthralled by the story, wished to know more about this power, asking if he 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 really 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, 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 concluded the Jedi had been misled by Sidious after Skywalker revealed the Chancellor's secret identity, proceeded to confront the Chancellor, accompanied by fellow Jedi Council Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin. Windu, along with the three other Jedi, boldly activated their lightsabers, declaring that he was under arrest. Sidious, in response, ignited his own crimson lightsaber, branding the four Jedi as traitors to the Republic. Emitting an unearthly shriek of rage, he swiftly attacked, eliminating Kolar and Tiin in a matter of seconds, followed by Fisto shortly after, leaving Windu to confront the Dark Lord by himself. A fierce one-on-one duel then ensued between Sidious and Windu. Despite the initial appearance of an even match, Windu ultimately gained the upper hand, disarming Sidious, forcing him to the ground, and holding his lightsaber to his throat.

Soon after, Skywalker arrived, and both parties attempted to convince him that the other was a traitor. Windu's taunting of the defeated Sidious provoked the Sith Lord to unleash Force lightning in an attempt to kill Windu. However, Windu skillfully deflected the lightning back at Sidious, causing the Sith Lord's face to become grotesquely disfigured due to the dark side energy radiating from the lightning. Consequently, Sidious altered his strategy, feigning the guise of a helpless old man, ceasing his lightning attack and claiming to be too weak to continue. Skywalker argued to Windu that Sidious deserved a trial, but Windu countered that Sidious wielded too much influence to be left alive, controlling both the courts and the senate. Ultimately, Skywalker, prioritizing his wife's survival over his loyalty to the Jedi Order, betrayed Windu by severing his lightsaber hand, providing Sidious with the opportunity to abandon his pretense of weakness and hurl Windu out of the office window with a powerful surge of Force lightning.

Skywalker, though initially shocked by his actions, ultimately viewed Windu's transgressions as the ultimate act of Jedi hypocrisy that he could not condone. He knelt before the now-scarred Chancellor, pledging to join the dark side on the condition that he be taught how to save Amidala's life, thus betraying the Jedi. Sidious granted the young man the Sith title of Darth Vader, promising that together they would uncover the secret art of preventing death. Sidious informed Vader of his plan to eradicate all Jedi from the galaxy, asserting that the Order posed a threat to the Senate and the security of the Republic. Sidious commanded Vader to attack the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and then execute the Separatist leaders on Mustafar, proclaiming that the galaxy would then return to a state of peace under the rule of the Sith.

As Vader spearheaded the 501st Legion's assault on the Jedi Temple, Sidious commanded the remaining clone troopers to execute Order 66, designating all Jedi as enemies of the Republic. However, to a select few Jedi he had secretly groomed, he offered their lives in exchange for service to him. Order 66 activated the biochips within the clones, which were programmed to eliminate the Jedi for treason against the state. Despite their service and deep relationships with the Jedi, the activation of their biochips by Sidious immediately and forcibly brainwashed them into believing that the Jedi were traitors to the Republic who needed to be executed, leading to the commencement of the Great Jedi Purge. Consequently, the Jedi were betrayed and gunned down by their soldiers, although some, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Caleb Dume, managed to survive. Sidious also exploited 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 then subsequently freed Rex of the mind control by removing his biochip.

Following the fall of the Jedi Temple, Sidious arrived and congratulated his new apprentice after confirming 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 he had done well, Sidious instructed his apprentice to bring peace to their newly rising empire, dispatching him to Mustafar to eliminate the Separatist leaders. Their conversation was captured by the Temple's security holograms. Sidious then contacted the Separatist Council, informing them that Vader would arrive and take care of them, though none of them realized 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, accusing the Jedi of attempting to assassinate him and overthrow the government, using his recently 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 located and eliminated. Capitalizing on the fear and death he had spread across the galaxy and presenting himself as the individual who had ended the war and the supposed Jedi rebellion it had been building to, he announced the Republic's transformation into the First Galactic Empire, promising that a destructive conflict would never again be unleashed under its rule. In the process, he proclaimed himself Emperor of the new regime, encountering little to no resistance from the majority of the senators present.

After Kenobi and Yoda realized what had transpired upon viewing a recording within the Jedi Temple, Yoda went to face the Emperor personally, while a reluctant Obi-Wan stowed away aboard Amidala's yacht, en route to Mustafar to kill Vader. Upon arriving at the working office of the Chancellery Secretariat, Yoda eliminated the pair of guardsmen by the entryway, taking Sidious by surprise. However, within moments, the Sith Lord had regained his composure, unleashing a barrage of Force lightning at the Jedi Master after a brief exchange of acknowledgement between the two. Yoda quickly recovered and Force pushed Sidious backwards. Yoda then engaged him in a duel when he refused to allow Sidious to escape. Sidious declared that Vader would become more powerful than both of them, while Yoda told Sidious that his faith in his nascent apprentice was a mistake, along with his faith in the dark side.

The two then dueled in the Senate hall. No longer having his lightsaber shortly after, Sidious utilized the use of his Force powers by sending numerous Senate pods at the Jedi Master, which he closely dodged. Yoda eventually managed to redirect one of Sidious's pods at him, which the Sith Lord dodged. Sidious then unleashed a torrent of Force lightning at Yoda, which he was able to redirect back on him, giving the Jedi master the upper hand. However, the build up of energy led to an explosion that caused Sidious to fall back and Yoda to take a huge fall to the ground. Luckily, Sidious managed to hang on to the pod and get back up. While neither conquered the other, Yoda believed he lost for being unable to stop Sidious, and then fled and decided to go into exile.

As Imperial shock troopers of the Coruscant Guard arrived in the Senate Chamber following the battle, the Emperor stood with Mas Amedda on a Senatorial pod as they searched for the Jedi Master. However, they could not find any trace of a body. The Emperor had more pressing concerns however: he had sensed that Vader, far away on Mustafar, was in danger of being destroyed. He ordered the clones to double their search for Yoda, and that his shuttle be prepared to depart.

Accompanied by a squad of the best shock troopers under the command of Commander CC-4477 "Thire," the Emperor swiftly traveled to Mustafar. Upon arriving, he discovered that Vader had been dismembered, horrifically burned, and left for dead by Obi-Wan Kenobi following their duel. He instructed 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 required an apprentice capable of ensuring that his Empire would withstand the inevitable challenges that would arise against it. To guarantee 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 an expert in cybernetics named Doctor Cylo.

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

After what the Emperor would describe as a "long night," Skywalker was surgically reconstructed as a cyborg and 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 first question was to inquire about his wife's safety. The Emperor informed him that he had killed Amidala in his anger. This final loss pushed Vader over the edge into pure rage and anguish, completing his transformation into the apprentice Sidious had spent decades grooming. In his fury, Vader used his new limbs to tear away the restraints that held him to the operating table and the Force to destroy the droids who had just saved his life, before stepping unsteadily onto his new legs and screaming his despair to the galaxy as a satisfied Sidious looked on with a devilish smile.

Vader then turned his rage onto the Emperor, throwing him into the wall of the operating room with the Force. He angrily berated 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 so much stronger: pain. This pain would fuel his power for decades and make him the dreaded Sith apprentice that Sidious had always coveted. It would also allow him to live. After a tense few moments, Vader released his master and proclaimed that he would live. Satisfied, the Emperor then assaulted Vader with Force lightning, pointing out his apprentice's lack of a lightsaber. Afterward, Sidious warned Vader never to use the Force against him in such a way again, or he would finish what Kenobi would not.

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

Following the establishment of 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 palace 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 position as Emperor of the galaxy, Sidious pursued his obsession with immortality. Delegating 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 delve into 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 devoted cult following, the Sith Eternal, began to experiment with technology and genetic cloning science to extend his lifespan. Exegol also housed his most promising experimentations within a vergence of the Force.

The planet Byss in the Deep Core held great significance for Palpatine. Ultimately, Palpatine's true objective 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 distant moons and asteroids. As part of his planned Contingency, Sidious had Imperial scouts explore the Unknown Regions while also utilizing extensive resources to seed laboratories, shipyards, and observatories within that same region. This arrangement would continue over a period of decades and would be known solely by him and the elect.

The Sith Eternal employed a cloning method known as Strand-Casting, in addition to modified Kaminoan cloning technology, producing numerous modified cloned bodies of Sidious' original in an attempt to provide him with a vessel worthy of containing and preserving his essence, so he could ultimately achieve immortality. In 12 BBY, the only survivor of this process, who grew and aged normally, was created. Designed and assembled from Sidious' clone tissue samples and other donated blood cells, the artificial construct thrived in health and had the Palpatine bloodline coursing through his veins. The unnamed strandcast was Sidious' "son." The strandcast, not a direct cloned replicate of Sidious, so nor entirely identical in appearance, was 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 years 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 had undergone harsh training through a brutal initiation 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 within a central galactic government. Although Tarkin lacked Force-sensitivity, Sidious recognized him as someone whose mindset closely aligned with that of the Sith.

During the early years of the Empire, making a rare public address, Sidious claimed the Empire would do whatever was needed to ensure a 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 and 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 the Grand Inquisitor and the Fifth Brother, joined the Inquisitorius of their own accord. Another was the former Jedi Knight Iskat Akaris, who Sidious spoke to in the Inquisitorius Headquarters on Coruscant, not long after she had received her uniform. He tested her willingness to continue her training in the dark side and made sure she understood that she and her fellow Inquisitors were substantially inferior to him. Sidious was impressed by Akaris' wits, 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.

Sometime following his confrontation with Kirak Infil'a, Darth Vader briefed Emperor Sidious regarding the ongoing training of the Inquisitorius. He also inquired about the high priority placed on locating Master Jocasta Nu among the surviving Jedi. Sidious clarified that Nu's threat stemmed from her vast knowledge and access to a collection of secrets and Force artifacts unmatched by others. Furthermore, Nu possessed the Jedi's registry of Force-sensitive children throughout the galaxy. Sidious stressed the importance of capturing Nu alive, emphasizing that her knowledge was valuable but must not fall into enemy hands. Consequently, he instructed Vader to involve the Inquisitors in the search, while concealing the true extent of Nu's danger from them. In a subsequent encounter, Vader used the Force to choke an officer for presenting a subpar report, until Sidious intervened and ordered him to release the man. 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 during an escape attempt, a development Sidious deemed unfortunate.

After surviving two assassination attempts, Vader traced the conspiracy to the highest echelons of the Imperial government and met with Sidious near Nu's hidden vault. Despite Vader's failure to capture Nu alive, Sidious expressed satisfaction with the artifacts recovered from her secret stash. Addressing Vader's suspicions, Sidious examined his apprentice's modified lightsaber, approving of the change from Kirak Infil'a's original design. He then asserted that he would not need to hire mercenaries to eliminate Vader if he desired his death. Sidious entrusted Vader with resolving the plot himself, warning him that immense power attracts countless enemies to destroy.

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

Concurrently, Sidious deemed it appropriate to replace the aging Clone Army with a newly conscripted military force loyal to him. Despite his absolute power, he maintained the Senate as a facade 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 motivated by a desire to share in his power or were idealistic followers who could serve as scapegoats while advancing the Sith's agenda. Tarkin considered the clones to be twice as expensive as a proposed new military and less effective at 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 held onto the belief that their cloning expertise was their sole value to the Empire. However, their usefulness ended when Admiral Rampart ordered the destruction of Tipoca City after removing all valuable assets.

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 their construction being designed to withstand Kamino's extreme weather. New legislation, the Imperial Defense Recruitment Bill, aimed to formally decommission the Clone Army and transition to an Imperial Military, was of great interest to the Emperor. However, Rampart's fabricated story about Tipoca City's demise posed a significant risk if the truth were revealed. Although he did not personally attend the Senate sessions, Mas Amedda informed his master that the bill had been rejected twice before preliminary hearings, facing strong criticism from Senators Chuchi, Organa, and Pamlo. The actual vote was also postponed, much to the Emperor's displeasure. 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 begin 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 from Rampart's own Venator, revealing to the entire Senate the true destruction of Tipoca City.

Faced with a critical situation, the Emperor decided to personally attend a Senate hearing and ascended to his Chancellor's podium, silencing the entire Senate hall as their leader made a rare appearance since the Empire's inception. Overwhelmed by the evidence, the Emperor determined that Rampart's usefulness had expired and instructed Mas Amedda to arrest him. Refusing to allow this to derail his plans to eliminate the Clones, the Emperor, using the same mannerisms as when he was Chancellor, expressed his surprise at Admiral Rampart's transgressions against the Kaminoans. He assured the Senate that the admiral would be punished for his treachery.

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

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

Sidious then chose to showcase the strength of the revitalized Imperial Military by launching an invasion of Mon Cala. With Project Stardust still far from completion, he dispatched 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 resulting battle concluded with 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 killed by the Sith Lord in a lightsaber duel.

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

Six months after the Senate voted to replace the clone army, the Emperor made an unannounced visit to the clandestine Mount Tantiss facility on Wayland to assess the advancements made by Doctors Royce Hemlock and Nala Se on Project Necromancer. Hemlock led him on a tour of the site, culminating in a heavily guarded chamber housing specimens crucial 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 everything necessary for the project.

On the landing pad, as he prepared to board his shuttle, the Emperor emphasized to Hemlock the need to maintain the base's secrecy, warning that many, even fellow Imperials, would disapprove of the research being conducted there. Palpatine then commended the doctor on his brilliance, with Hemlock suggesting that an appointment to scientific minister would allow him to apply his abilities to the entire scientific corps. The Emperor advised him to be patient before departing.

During the Empire's rule, Sidious remained interested in the Unknown Regions. This interest 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. Years prior, Anakin Skywalker had informed Palpatine about this alien and their collaboration. This alien claimed extensive knowledge of 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, which might one day target the Empire, and offered his military expertise. The Emperor deduced that Thrawn's intentions were to protect his people from these threats. Thrawn assured the Emperor of his allegiance to the Empire. Thrawn then revealed that he had known Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, verifying his identity to the Emperor.

For their service, the Emperor promised Captain Parck and his crew rewards. Thrawn, however, requested that his translator Eli Vanto remain with him. The Emperor then invited 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 dangers 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 they both undergo training at the Royal Imperial Academy.

Five years following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Cham Syndulla, a war hero who had liberated Ryloth from Separatist forces during the conflict, organized and led the Free Ryloth Movement to liberate his homeworld once more, this time from Imperial occupation. Sidious summoned the Senator of Ryloth, Orn Free Taa, to involve him in his plan to eradicate the "terrorists." He instructed the Twi'lek to accompany him and his right-hand man, Darth Vader, on an official visit to Ryloth. After dismissing Taa, Vader questioned why he couldn't simply eliminate the Senator and his entire staff, whom the two Sith suspected of harboring traitors aiding the terrorist movement. However, the Emperor desired to uncover the roots of the treachery, eliminate them, and make 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 presence.

En route to Ryloth aboard the Star Destroyer Perilous, Sidious directed the ship to stop at the Denon system for a meeting on the training cruiser Defiance with several Imperial Navy chiefs to discuss a realignment of the Imperial Naval Academy. Sidious instructed Darth Vader to oversee training exercises conducted by Commandant Pell Baylo while he attended the meeting with the naval chiefs. During one 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 Perilous. Upon exiting hyperspace, they found themselves in a minefield: Syndulla awaited them. The Twi'lek intended to eliminate them to strike at the heart of the Empire. However, Sidious remained unfazed by the ambush, having evidently 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 which further damaged the Star Destroyer. Vader returned to the Perilous and met the Emperor and Senator Taa after discovering that the Emperor's personal shuttle had been destroyed in the attack. Suspecting a traitor among the Senator's staff, Sidious ordered them isolated in their quarters and denied 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. Discovering the sabotage and realizing the ship's imminent destruction, 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 departure to locate and eliminate the saboteurs. The Twi'lek rebels narrowly escaped, and Vader hurried to the Emperor's shuttle, which departed as soon as Vader boarded. Moments later, the fugitive task force located the Imperial shuttle and pursued it. Vader used the Force to choke the resistance pilot of the pursuing ship through the shuttle viewport. In a desperate attempt to break free from Vader's grasp and kill both him and the Emperor, the Twi'leks rammed their stolen starship into the Imperial shuttle, critically damaging it. Vader struggled to regain control of the shuttle while Sidious remembered they had already been in situations like this. Thanks to Vader's piloting skills, the shuttle crash-landed on Ryloth's surface, in the middle of a forest.

Upon landing, Sidious noted with mild annoyance that the landing had been far beneath what he knew Vader to be capable of and that Vader's lapse had left four corpses in the rear compartment of the shuttle. Vader admitted to having been distracted by thoughts of his past and attempted to dismiss it as nothing. Sidious however, was unconvinced, though he shelved the matter and proceeded with Vader into 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, wanting to keep the villagers safe, discharged their weapons into the air as a warning, hoping the villagers would leave before the impending clash. The villagers responded by seeking shelter in a nearby mine shaft, a common refuge during dangerous times. However, Sidious, Vader, and Deez remained in the village center. Before Cham's forces could initiate their assault, Moff Mors's troops arrived in a pair of transport ships, encircling the rebel fighters. With many Free Ryloth soldiers killed, Cham barely escaped Vader's grasp. On Sidious's command, Mors's Imperial troops proceeded to massacre the remaining Free Ryloth fighters. Following a brief conversation with Cham's lieutenant Isval, Sidious instructed Vader to execute her and then, to eliminate any witnesses, to slaughter the Twi'lek villagers hiding in the mine shaft. After a short pause, Vader obeyed his master's orders and carried out the massacre of the villagers.

In 14 BBY, the top-secret Death Star project was still under construction above Geonosis, relying on a network of supply stations. The Empire encountered a new adversary in Berch Teller, a former Republic Intelligence operative who stood against the Empire. He commanded a rebel cell composed of survivors and witnesses of the Antar Atrocity, a brutal crackdown on Antar 4 after the Clone Wars that resulted in the deaths of innocent Gotal and Koorivar loyalists. Teller harbored a particular hatred for Tarkin, the mastermind behind the Antar Atrocity. He received secret support and equipment from Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Agency and a rival of Tarkin.

Following Teller's attack on Sentinel Base, the Emperor convened his Ruling Council to discuss the discovery of a hidden stash of communications jammers on Murkhana. The Imperial Security Bureau claimed to have found the stash and feared that dissidents were planning to disrupt the Imperial HoloNet, reminiscent of the Separatist Shadowfeed broadcasts during the Clone Wars. The Emperor dispatched Moff Tarkin and Lord Vader to investigate the situation. However, this move played into Teller's plans, allowing the insurgents to seize Tarkin's corvette, the Carrion Spike, intending to transform it into a symbol of resistance against the Empire.

After being informed about the Carrion Spike's theft, Vice Admiral Rancit suggested that the ship's thieves were the same group responsible for the earlier attack on Sentinel Base. In response, the Emperor instructed Rancit to redirect Imperial forces in the Belderone system to assist Tarkin and Lord Vader. While Tarkin and Vader pursued the insurgents, the Emperor presided over another Ruling Council meeting. During this meeting, Rancit advocated for the deployment of additional Imperial forces to bolster Imperial facilities along the Perlemian Trade Route and Hydian Way. The Council also learned that Teller's insurgents had attacked the TaggeCo mining operations on Lucazec and were broadcasting holovids of their attacks on the HoloNet.

Following a skirmish in the Phindar system between Imperial forces and the stolen Carrion Spike, Rancit persuaded the Emperor to deploy interdictor vessels against the insurgents. Grand Vizier Amedda then informed the Emperor that the Murkhana communications jammers had been discovered by an ISB asset tasked with investigating the find by his case officer. Acting on this information, Sidious interrogated the Koorivar ISB asset Bracchia and his case officer Stellan, who revealed that they had been tipped about the discovery by 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.

Meanwhile, Lord Vader discovered that Rancit was the Imperial traitor and executed him. While Tarkin led Imperial forces against Teller's insurgents in a space battle near the Gulf of Tatooine, Darth Sidious contemplated his pursuit of galactic dominance. After Teller's insurgency was suppressed, Tarkin and Vader spent the next three weeks ruthlessly tracking down Teller's collaborators and contacts. The two briefed the Emperor, who promoted Tarkin to Grand Moff, granting him authority as governor of the Outer Rim Territories and placing him in command of the Death Star project. The Emperor also reorganized the Ruling Council following 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 whose arrogance had nearly led to their destruction. The project involved Imperial mining operations on Zeffo to locate ancient artifacts. The commanding officer, Krane, secretly kept one artifact she discovered, intending to gain favor with Sidious by personally delivering it to him. However, she perished when the cave she chose to hide it in collapsed.

Shortly after he killed Eeth Koth, Vader attacked the Thirteenth Sister for committing treason. Confused, her partner attempted to defend her, but they both fled Inquisitorius Headquarters across Coruscant. The Sith Lord eventually caught up with the couple and killed them. However, the destruction caused by the chase and the subsequent death of Senator Maklooq, who was crucial to one of Sidious' plans, led the Emperor to order the relocation of the Inquisitorius. Their new base was constructed on Nur. Pleased with Koth's death, Sidious gifted Vader the former royal vessel of Queen Amidala. With few Jedi remaining to contend with, Sidious was about to assign his apprentice to other missions when Vader requested a world of his own: Mustafar. Sidious granted the request but demanded to know why his apprentice had chosen the site of his greatest defeat. Vader explained his belief that the dark side nexus there could grant him access to the deceased Amidala. Sidious encouraged him, confident that any knowledge or power his apprentice gained there would ultimately benefit him. He presented Vader with one final gift, the mask of Darth Momin, before dispatching him to Mustafar with the architect Colonel Brenne to design a fortress for him.

By 12 BBY, the construction of Fortress Vader was complete, after eight previous failed attempts. Vader contacted Sidious, who was surprised to hear from him after so long but eager to send him on more missions for the Empire. When Sidious inquired 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 participated in a hunt for Obi-Wan Kenobi, who had been intentionally lured out of hiding to rescue Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. Although the search had been orchestrated by the Third Sister to assassinate Vader, her attempts failed, leading to a lightsaber duel between Vader and Kenobi on a barren moon. Kenobi defeated Vader, damaging his armor, and successfully evaded the pursuing Imperials. Shortly after, Vader, his armor repaired, contacted his master via hologram at Fortress Vader, his castle on Mustafar. He informed Sidious that he had deployed probe droids to continue the search for Kenobi, vowing that he would not escape him again. Sensing Vader's agitation, Sidious questioned whether Vader's thoughts were clear, suggesting that his feelings for his former master had weakened him. As Sidious asked if Vader could not overcome his past, Vader declared that Kenobi meant nothing to him, as he served only Sidious.

With the Jedi largely defeated, Sidious felt secure behind his vast galactic military and control over most of the known galaxy. However, remaining Separatist holdouts and surviving Jedi chipped away at his confidence in the longevity of his new Empire. To solidify his control, the Emperor supported large-scale military incursions into the Outer Rim Territories to bring more systems under his rule. With his ultimate ambition of reshaping reality to his will, an all-powerful Empire would allow him to hold all the galaxy's inhabitants in his dark embrace. Despite the near extinction of the Jedi, Force-sensitive children continued to be born throughout the galaxy. To counter this threat, Sidious commanded his apprentice, Lord Vader, to contact the Grand Inquisitor to hunt them down and eliminate them if they could not be turned to the Empire's service.

During Vader's pursuit of the Hidden Hand, the Emperor contacted his apprentice via hologram, expressing his disappointment in his failure to locate the criminal syndicate. He emphasized the urgency of their destruction, as they were stealing weapons from the Empire and supplying them to the Rebellion.

Following the raid on the Imperial garrison on Aldhani in 5 BBY, Palpatine spoke with Colonel Yularen, granting the ISB direct control of future operations and the authority to arrest anyone deemed a disruptor to the Empire. The following day, the Emperor convened an emergency session of the Senate to propose a legislative package of bills and amendments and to officially invoke the Public Order Resentencing Directive.

During the fifteenth Empire Day celebration, marking the anniversary of the Empire's rise to power, the Emperor presided over the Imperial Senate on Coruscant with his Royal Guards, inviting Lothal governor Arihnda Pryce to join 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, was still alive. The Emperor was pleased, believing that Tano might know the location of other hidden Jedi, and capturing her would enable the Empire to find and eliminate them before they became threats. Although Vader was more interested in locating his former Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Emperor instructed his apprentice to be patient 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 rank of Grand Admiral for his role in suppressing the rebel insurgency in the Batonn sector. During the promotion ceremony, however, Thrawn questioned Sidious about the practicality of the Death Star. The Emperor inquired whether Thrawn's concerns stemmed from the threat the station posed to the Chiss species. However, because Thrawn had fulfilled his part of the agreement by sharing information about the Unknown Regions, he let the matter drop. The Emperor then introduced Thrawn to his personal enforcer, Darth Vader.

Shortly after his promotion, Thrawn was dispatched to address 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. Consequently, Mon Mothma was branded a traitor, and Imperial forces were sent to capture her. Despite Grand Admiral Thrawn's efforts to trap Mon Mothma and the Spectres in the Archeon Nebula, Hera Syndulla successfully delivered Mon Mothma to safety on Dantooine, where she delivered a speech urging the galaxy to rise up against the Empire.

After Thrawn's defeat at Atollon, Sidious sensed a significant disturbance in the Force somewhere on the edge of the galaxy. Therefore, the Emperor summoned Thrawn and Vader to Coruscant for a meeting. During this 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.

Following the discovery of a Jedi temple on Lothal, the Emperor instructed Minister Veris Hydan to excavate the ruins and uncover its secrets. Sometime later, the Emperor was contacted by Hydan, who informed him that they had reached the foundations of the temple and discovered a mural of the Mortis gods, reminiscent of art and iconography found at the former temple on Coruscant. The Emperor told Hydan that he had sensed that Jarrus's death had altered the fate of Lothal. Determined to control the conduit between the living and the dead, the Emperor urged his minister to accelerate 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 located. The Emperor taunted them through the portal and unleashed his power against them, which they managed to resist. He then grabbed Bridger's leg and pulled him, attempting to enter the realm through the portal. However, before he could pass through, Tano severed the fiery lasso. The Emperor tried again but failed, as Bridger and Tano returned 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's loss of 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 lay 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 indeed been a traitor, the Emperor shifted the conversation to the Chiss officer's loyalties, although Thrawn insisted that his work with the Ascendancy was not treasonous. Thrawn admitted that the Grysks primarily threatened his own people but argued that they had taken an interest in the Empire and might seek control of the Death Star, which Sidious immediately denied, stating that neither the Grysks nor the Chiss would control his station.

While Thrawn denied seeking the battle station for his people and pledged to fight against such a scenario, Sidious clearly perceived the Chiss's divided loyalties. Contemplating Thrawn's true allegiances and other influencing factors, Sidious considered whether an alliance between the Empire and the Ascendancy could be beneficial if Thrawn's assessment was accurate. However, in that case, Sidious desired control of both governments and pondered whether Thrawn could be manipulated or persuaded to betray his own kind. Deciding that such a possibility required further meditation and turning his attention to the more pressing matter of the Lothal rebels, Sidious informed Thrawn that he was sending instructions for a chamber to be constructed aboard the Chimaera. He ordered Thrawn to suppress the rebel insurgency on Lothal and bring Bridger to the chamber, which was a portion of the Lothal Jedi Temple that he wanted brought aboard "stone by stone." Leaving Thrawn to his duties, he gave the Grand Admiral one final instruction: once the battle at Lothal was over, he was to return to Coruscant for a "long long talk."

Following his orders, Thrawn brought Bridger aboard the Chimaera when, to prevent the Chiss officer from bombarding Lothal's Capital City, the young Jedi surrendered himself to the Empire. After the officer and the Padawan discussed the fate of the Jedi and Lothal, Thrawn led Ezra to the room containing the temple fragment, 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 instructed Thrawn to leave the room, leaving him alone with Bridger and the temple fragment.

In an attempt to induce Ezra to unlock the portal to the World Between Worlds, Sidious tried to tempt Ezra with the opportunity to reunite with his deceased parents. Ezra, however, recalling his earlier lesson in the World Between Worlds, chose to reject the offer, knowing that 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 ruined, 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 escape. Ultimately reaching the bridge of the Chimaera, Bridger, having previously instructed his ally Mart Mattin to summon a pod of Purrgil using Frequency Zero, successfully liberated his homeworld from the Empire, as the creatures defeated the blockade in orbit and proceeded to seize the Chimaera, dragging it, Thrawn, the rest of the crew, and him into hyperspace. Thus, Bridger unknowingly thwarted Sidious' future plans for Thrawn.

Later that year, having deliberately planted a vulnerability within 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 about the existence of the planet-destroying superweapon. Fearing that the Imperial Senate would discover 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 demonstrating the station's functionality. Tarkin communicated his decision to the Emperor, who would await the Governor's report. Director Orson Callan Krennic, however, expressed disappointment that neither the Emperor nor his favored representative, Darth Vader, would be present for the event. This prompted Tarkin to explain that their absence served as a safeguard for Krennic in case of another failure during the weapon's testing. Despite the tension 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 been successful, only for Tarkin to reveal that he would instead inform the Emperor that he was assuming executive control of the Death Star.

Shortly afterward, Rogue One squad, led by Jyn Erso and Captain Cassian Jeron Andor, along with a significant 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 devastating, and potentially fatal, setback to the Emperor's long-term plans. To address the issue, Sidious dispatched 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 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 intercepted the corvette over Tatooine, boarding the ship and taking the Princess hostage. Although Vader failed to secure the plans, he arrested Organa as a traitor, providing Sidious with the justification he needed to dissolve the Imperial Senate. One of the last vestiges of the Galactic Republic, Sidious had always intended to eliminate it but needed to wait for the Death Star to be completed so that order could be maintained through fear rather than representation in the Senate. With the space station nearing completion 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 without any checks on his power.

After Vader's confrontation with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader informed Sidious of Kenobi's demise, a revelation that brought Sidious unexpected delight. Yet, Vader remained disturbed by Kenobi's final words, the vanishing of his body upon death, and the unresolved mystery surrounding Yoda's location. Sidious then made a firm decision to maintain the Empire's strength and crush the Rebellion.

In spite of Sidious's meticulous strategies to gain absolute authority over the Empire, his plans were threatened when the Rebel Alliance initiated an assault on the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. Just as the Death Star was about to unleash its destructive power, Sidious detected a minor ripple in the Force, a mere fleeting moment from his perspective. Precisely at that instant, the Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker launched his proton torpedoes, successfully obliterating the Death Star, resulting in the deaths of Tarkin and the majority of the Empire's high-ranking officers. This event also left Sidious pondering 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 been unable to defend the space station, and General Cassio Tagge, who had been dispatched to investigate Princess Leia Organa's allegations regarding an active Rebel base on Dantooine. The Rebels' triumph at Yavin was succeeded by another victory on Cymoon 1, where a Rebel team annihilated the Empire's primary production facility, Weapons Factory Alpha. A series of additional attacks by Rebel forces, including the bombing of a supply depot on Imdaar and the shipyards at Kuat, plagued the Empire in the weeks following the Death Star's destruction. Furthermore, the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction led to an increase in pirate activity targeting Imperial supply convoys, as the galactic government was no longer perceived as invincible. The Empire's dominance over crucial worlds also began to weaken; one of the worlds that started to question Imperial rule was the mining planet of Shu-Torun. Governed by a mercantile aristocracy known as the ore-dukes, Shu-Torun supplied essential materials that the Empire needed for its construction projects, including the development of the second Death Star, and the Emperor continuously demanded higher tributes, particularly after the Battle of Yavin. Opposing this unsustainable increase, the Ore-dukes persuaded their aged King to revolt against the Empire.

Determined to avert the collapse of his Empire, Sidious restructured Imperial High Command by promoting General Tagge to Grand General, granting him authority over all military affairs. Tagge had argued against relying solely on the Death Star as the Imperial military's primary weapon, asserting that the military itself was sufficient to protect the Empire and that depending 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 command, as the Grand General deemed appropriate. The Emperor issued orders for the military to concentrate its efforts on conquering the Outer Rim until the completion of the second Death Star. Tagge and Vader initiated a campaign to eliminate the pirates and suppress criminal elements that had previously operated unchecked, such as the Son-tuul Pride.

The only ones spared from the Empire's vengeance were the Hutts, who had forged an alliance with the Empire. In need of raw materials for Imperial military production and aware that the Hutts could provide them for the right price, Sidious dispatched Vader to Tatooine to negotiate an agreement with Jabba, offering their support in exchange for the Hutts being allowed to maintain their power base in the Outer Rim and the underworld. The elimination of competitors, such as the Son-tuul Pride, also enabled the Hutts to profit from the alliance, as their position in the underworld was strengthened.

When Shu-Torun launched an open rebellion against the Empire after Darth Vader's brutal suppression of an assassination attempt against him by the King, Sidious sent his apprentice back to the mining world with a substantial military force under his command. His instructions were to quell the Ore-dukes' rebellion and preserve 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 luxurious 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 deployed three Star Destroyers commanded by Commodore Idel, Captain Shan, and Captain Conro to recover his ship. These Star Destroyers destroyed CC-24 to punish the base's Commander Pasqual for failing to safeguard the Emperor's property. After the Star Destroyers failed to retrieve the ship, the Emperor dispatched the bounty hunter Chanath Cha to reclaim the vessel. Should she fail to recover it, he instructed her to destroy the Imperialis to prevent its secrets from falling into the wrong hands. Unwilling to harm her former friends Lando and Lobot, Chanath chose to destroy the vessel instead. The wreckage of the Imperialis eventually ended up on Quantxi, the junk moon of Ord Mantell.

In the wake of Darth Vader's failure to prevent the Death Star's destruction, Sidious was approached by Doctor Cylo, one of the scientists involved in the Tarkin Initiative. As one of the specialists who had saved Vader's life after he sustained his near-fatal injuries on Mustafar, Sidious had retained him and funded his research into upgrading organic beings into cybernetically enhanced subjects. Cylo was convinced that organisms could only survive by adapting through technology and eliminating weaknesses. He also believed that in the future he envisioned, the Force would become obsolete. Although Sidious dismissed these ideas, stating that everything was part of the Force, he was curious to see what these scientists could achieve without the constraints of the Old Republic or the Jedi.

Over the two decades since the end of the Clone Wars, Cylo had been working to create several subjects possessing the most advanced genetic and cybernetic enhancements he could provide, preparing them as potential enforcers for the Empire. Given Vader's obvious 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 give his subjects an opportunity to impress him.

However, unbeknownst to the scientist, the Emperor had come to believe that Cylo had become too powerful as a result of his involvement with the Tarkin Initiative. He was unable to take action due to the doctor's connections with several of the Empire's leading scientific minds, and removing him could cause a rift among them. However, when Cylo presented his plan, Sidious realized that he could manipulate him into overplaying his hand, making him appear as a traitor to the Empire. Knowing that Vader would be the perfect adversary for Cylo's subjects, the Emperor ensured that the two men met. On 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 inquired about the scientist's identity, Sidious refused to answer, prompting Vader to launch his own investigation into the Emperor's secrets.

After Vader's hired bounty hunter Krrsantan successfully captured 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 and eliminate his potential rivals. 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 anticipated that Vader would discover the location of his base and that he would be coming when he was activated. Therefore, he contacted the Emperor to provide him with a demonstration of his subjects. Sidious arrived just 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 in place, the Emperor demanded that Cylo begin the presentation.

As they fought with Vader, Cylo introduced the subjects he had been developing over the past two decades: Aiolin Astarte and Morit Astarte, twins born to a family that had supported the Separatists during the Clone Wars, who had been genetically and cybernetically enhanced to possess abilities similar to the Jedi and Sith of old without using the Force; Tulon Voidgazer, a brilliant scientist involved in high-level R&D development before she was upgraded with a cloud of drone-droids connected directly to her brain, allowing 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 that 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 earn 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.

Once they were alone, Sidious complimented Vader on his ability to uncover Cylo's project. He was also impressed with his apprentice's ability to act independently and how he had managed to acquire a private army of Separatist-era commando droids for his own purposes. Vader expressed his displeasure at being forced to prove himself against Cylo's subjects, especially as he considered them blasphemous to the ways of the Force. Sidious rebuked him for questioning 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 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 direction, Cylo's subjects were placed at Grand General Tagge's disposal, while the doctor served 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 defeated. 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 significant triumph by capturing the Rebel base on the icy planet of Hoth. Yet, a more significant development was unfolding. Seated in his Imperial Office, Sidious sensed a substantial disturbance in the Force, reminiscent of the sensation he had experienced moments before the Death Star's destruction. Sidious sought to peer into the disturbance, which led him to a vision of a young man wielding a crimson lightsaber, seemingly having decapitated the Emperor's Royal Guards within his own Imperial Office. As he observed, the young man approached a seated Sidious within the vision, invoking the Force to choke Sidious's doppelganger. The doppelganger attempted to electrocute the boy with Force Lightning but failed to stop him. Subsequently, the doppelganger tried to summon his lightsaber, but instead, the boy commanded it and activated the saber mid-flight, ultimately overpowering the doppelganger when the Sith Lord's own saber struck him down.

A familiar voice then called to the boy, who proceeded to walk to the same spot the real Sidious now occupied. The boy knelt in front of the hidden figure as the voice noted that the boy had done well. Sidious then realized who the voice belonged to: That of Anakin Skywalker. Sidious concluded that this must be a dream of Anakin's. Probing deeper within the vision, Sidious witnessed the scene of the unmasked and unburnt Anakin Skywalker walking beneath the sight of endless Star Destroyers, walking together with a figure that seemingly resembled him as well as the looming figure of the long deceased Senator Padme Amidala, now alive once more. The figure referred to Anakin as Father and to Padme as Mother. Anakin then motioned to the fleet, referring to the boy as Luke, stating that the fleet that flew above them was now the most powerful in the galaxy. Having witnessed this, Sidious was thrown out of the vision, but he had witnessed enough. From these pieces he deduced that Vader's prior actions made supposedly under the guise of destroying the Alliance leadership were actually motivated by a desire to find his son and shape him to his vision.

Sidious then resolved to give Vader the resources to do just that while waiting for Vader to make a mistake. When he made that mistake, Sidious would be ready to take advantage of it for his own purposes and ensuring Vader's simultaneous downfall. With Darth Vader aboard his command ship, Executor, the Emperor ultimately contacted the commanding officer of the vessel, Admiral Piett, telling him to have Lord Vader contact him immediately. Vader did as he was instructed and was told of his son, Luke Skywalker, fully aware that Vader was knowledgeable of this information. The Emperor then proceeded to state his desire for the elimination of this threat, yet Vader suggested that young Skywalker could become an ally. With calculated words of approval, the Emperor allowed his enforcer to pursue this possible "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 ultimately 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.

Enraged, Darth Vader departed from his flagship aboard an Imperial shuttle, accompanied by a forensics droid and a squad of death troopers, seeking vengeance on those who concealed the truth about his offspring's survival. He modified the droid's programming to initiate a self-destruct sequence if its processor divulged any details about their mission, even to Imperials or the Emperor himself.

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 urgent request for Vader to contact him. However, an officer informed Piett of Lord Vader's shuttle's departure just as the admiral reached for his comlink to contact Vader. Piett carefully phrased his response, informing Vizier Amedda that Vader was unavailable. Upon learning of Vader's failure and his unauthorized departure, the Emperor began to chuckle during the holo-transmission from Piett while he was seated upon his throne in his Coruscant palace, with Amedda standing nearby.

Later, Vader arrived at the Imperial Palace to confer with his master in the throne room. There, Palpatine learned from his apprentice that the Rebel Navy was dispersed but likely to reorganize in the future. Eager to seize the opportunity, Sidious commanded his apprentice to lead the hunt to crush the Rebellion while it was vulnerable and scattered, reasoning that, with Thrawn and Tarkin gone from the Empire, his apprentice was among the few capable of leading the charge. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that such a campaign would hinder Vader's search for Skywalker, a pursuit they both desired to continue. Consequently, Vader suggested entrusting the mission to Tarkin's protégé, Ellian Zahra, a proposal Palpatine approved.

With assistance from Sabé and her Amidalans, Vader eventually uncovered the true fate of his late wife, traveling to Polis Massa and viewing a recording of her final moments, during which she expressed her belief that there was still good within her husband. Following this revelation, Vader returned to his master on Coruscant. Upon his arrival, Sidious reprimanded his apprentice for indulging in his sorrow. He then declared that Vader would have to revert to relying on fear before assailing his apprentice with Force lightning. During the ensuing conflict, Amedda revealed the Emperor's knowledge of Vader's failure to sway his son and his collaboration with the Amidalans. Vader was subsequently attacked by the Emperor's guards before subduing them and Amedda with a Force choke. While impressed by Vader's power, Sidious employed the Force to cripple 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 discovered. He then 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 for the ruins of the Techno Union installation, which contained machinery that he would likely use to reconstruct himself and assassinate Sidious. In response, Sidious unveiled his own scheme: to remind Vader of his pain in order to fuel his resurgence to power. To achieve this, he would dispatch Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith assassin, to hunt down his apprentice for sport, intending to transform Vader's anger back into pain repeatedly.

However, much to Sidious's frustration, Vader overcame his assassin and discovered a Sith wayfinder that led to the hidden Sith world of Exegol in the Unknown Regions, where a significant portion of Sidious's reserve power and resources were stored. 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. Gazing up at his apprentice as he rode atop the Summa-verminoth, Sidious inquired what this experience had taught him, to which Vader responded that he would teach his master the meaning of fear. Vader then rode the Summa-verminoth into battle, prompting Sidious to unleash two crustaceous creatures to attack the monster. 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 back inside 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 vast vats containing bioengineered organisms strong in the dark side of the Force, alongside countless Sith statues, beings known as Tankers, Sith cultists, and a jar containing the severed hand of Vader's son. Despite these creations not being Sith, Sidious asserted that any of them could replace Vader should he fall. After battling his way through his master's monsters, Vader was followed by Ochi 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 stumbled upon his master's greatest secret: a subterranean mountain of kyber crystal, bled red by the Sith cultists who kept it in constant agony. Sidious explained that he did this to power the cannons of his fleet. When the crystal was cut, it emitted a scream of pain and unleashed 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 informed his apprentice that if he continued to walk with him, he would never escape his pain. However, only by walking with him would he be able to share his master's power. When Sidious asked his apprentice if he had made his choice, Vader replied "Yes, my master" before departing from Exegol alongside Sidious, Ochi, Amedda, and Sly Moore.

Amidst the chaos of these events, Sidious and the cultists were unaware that his son, by then known as "The Abomination," who had been wandering the Citadel and observing from afar, had escaped with the help of his symeong slave friend Dathan aboard the ship that 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 renouncing the ways of the Sith.

Upon returning to Coruscant, Sidious brought Vader to the same facility where he had first 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 limits of his role, he would find a more suitable target for his hatred, 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's will, to which Sidious instructed him to determine it 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 mission: assassinating Luke Skywalker. Meanwhile, Sidious asked Moore for her opinion on Vader's restoration. She evaded the question, stating that she accepted her failure to kill Vader. Sidious chuckled, never having anticipated her success.

Vader and Ochi's pursuit of Skywalker eventually led them to the Auction for Han Solo organized by Lady Qi'ra of the newly resurrected crime syndicate Crimson Dawn. Vader retrieved the stolen smuggler from the auction on Jekara in order to bait Luke Skywalker into confronting him. However, this action incurred the wrath 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 response, 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 relented and allowed his son to escape before slaughtering the Hutt Council, ending their attack while Boba Fett retrieved his bounty from the Executor and delivered him to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. As Vader choked Moore on the Executor for betraying him, he was contacted by Sidious, prompting him to release his grip on the Umbaran and kneel 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 by this, Sidious pointed out that Vader should have kept one of them alive for questioning. When Vader asked if they were loyal, Sidious said they were loyal to strength, which Vader had demonstrated to them. However, only one of them was Crimson Dawn, indicating 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, with the exception of the Hutts, began to wage war against one another. Displeased with the escalating Syndicate War, Sidious instructed 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 resolved to deploy his own fleet to quell their exuberance. However, as he ordered Amedda to inform Piett and Veers, his entire Royal Guard suddenly collapsed 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 was amused 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 in combat with Vader, damaging his suit and fleeing the planet. After his recovery, Vader made Sabé 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 stated that Vader had been listening to his heart and asked him what it had revealed. In response, Vader levitated Sabé, disregarding her calling him by his original name. Sidious told her that referring to Vader as Anakin had the opposite effect of what she intended: rather than 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 redirecting their fire towards him, Sidious killed them with Force lightning.

Impressed by her combat prowess, Sidious spoke to Sabé about the darkness he sensed within her heart. When he asked why she sought to kill him, she replied that he represented chaos, while Vader represented order. Sidious retorted that she brought chaos in her quest for order, urging her to embrace it as her strength. Pleased, Sidious cautioned Vader not to let his history with Sabé and her resemblance to his deceased 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.

Some time 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 destruction of Crimson Dawn, Sidious dispatched an Imperial party to retrieve the Spark Eternal from the Amaxine Space Station. However, it had merged with a droid disc and the resulting intelligence proceeded to possess the droids of the accompanying Star Destroyer and use them to kill everyone aboard.

In the months that followed the events on Bespin, Luke Skywalker dedicated himself to refining his abilities in the light side of the Force; nevertheless, Sidious remained convinced that Skywalker could be swayed to the dark side.

In a strategic move aimed at securing a new Sith apprentice and bringing an end to the Galactic Civil War, Sidious intentionally allowed the Rebels to acquire the schematics of the new Death Star being constructed above the forest moon of Endor. With the anticipated annihilation of the majority of the Rebellion in a doomed confrontation against a Death Star that was secretly armed and operational, Sidious planned to initiate the deployment of some of the largest invasion fleets ever witnessed in galactic history to blockade the known rebel strongholds of Mon Cala and Chandrila until the Death Star II could obliterate them, permanently crushing the Rebellion and all those who dared to oppose his rule through sheer terror.

The Emperor journeyed to the second Death Star with the intention of overseeing the ultimate defeat of the Rebellion and the Jedi, using himself as an additional lure to draw out the Alliance. A vast number of Imperial personnel, including two astromech droids, bore witness to their Emperor's momentous arrival in Hangar 272. Shortly before his meeting with Luke Skywalker, the Emperor detected the presence of a mysterious, malevolent force in the farthest reaches of the unexplored regions; he suspected it might be the source of the dark side of the Force, but even the Emperor was uncertain about the nature of what he was sensing. He also sensed the death of Yoda, who appeared to him as a Force spirit, much to Sidious's surprise. Nonetheless, he began to boast about his impending victory until Yoda abruptly vanished.

While aboard the Death Star, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca successfully infiltrated the shield and landed 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. As a result, he traveled to the Death Star, where he informed the Emperor that he had sensed Luke's presence. Surprised that he himself had been unable to sense it, the Emperor commanded Vader to go and await him, stating 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 clandestine meeting aboard his throne room on the second Death Star. Sensing an approaching shatterpoint, Darth Sidious warned Rax that it might soon be time to implement the Contingency. He then ordered Rax to take the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Ravager into the Vulpinus Nebula and conceal it until the events of this shatter point had unfolded. He also informed Rax that there would be others he would need to call to his side.

Once Luke surrendered, Darth Vader escorted 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 informed that the Emperor intended to turn him to the dark side and that everything that had transpired on the Moon was part of his plan. The Emperor also asserted that his father was beyond redemption 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 managed to destroy several of the command ships, but the Rebels both on the surface and in space pressed forward with their attack, as Lando was counting on Han to destroy the Shield Generator.

Luke was subsequently manipulated by the Emperor, who informed him of his friends' impending doom and told him that he would soon become his apprentice. Luke initially 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 initially able to regain his composure, refusing several times to continue fighting his father. Luke attempted to evade Vader as their fight intensified, but Vader was able to sense his son's thoughts and learned that Luke had a sister. Armed 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 severed Vader's mechanical hand, Sidious betrayed Vader by instructing Luke to take Vader's place by his side, much like how he had betrayed Dooku and had him replaced with Vader. However, Luke began to realize 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 discarded 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 barrage of Force lightning upon him, forcing him to the ground. 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 awaken and save Luke. The redeemed Anakin seized the Emperor and hurled him off a ledge down the Death Star's reactor shaft to his imminent death. As he fell, the Emperor unleashed his lightning upward, but could seemingly do nothing but scream as he plummeted towards the second Death Star's reactor, causing a massive explosion upon impact and releasing a light blue wind that enveloped 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 severely 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 that Luke remove the helmet Sidious had forced him to wear all those years so that he could finally see his son's face with his own eyes. Luke attempted to convince Anakin to allow him to save him, but Anakin told Luke that he already had 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.

In the wake of the Emperor's demise, the Empire endeavored to conceal the true outcome of the Battle of Endor. Within the Anoat sector, which was isolated from the rest of the galaxy by an Imperial blockade in the days following the attack, Imperial propaganda asserted that the attack on the second Death Star had failed and that the rebellion no longer posed a threat. Rumors of the Emperor's death were dismissed as treasonous fabrications by Governor Ubrik Adelhard. Although several holovids were circulated to depict the destruction of the second Death Star, both rebels and Imperials throughout the galaxy debated whether the Emperor or Darth Vader had truly perished, as the exact circumstances remained unclear. Many Imperial messages surrounding the Emperor's death contradicted each other; some Imperials, such as 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 the Emperor's demise for months.

The late Emperor issued Operation: Cinder to select Imperial officers, including Admiral Garrick Versio and Captain Lerr Duvat. This operation mandated the devastation of various planets, even Naboo, his own birthplace. Following the Emperor's demise, pandemonium reigned as widespread rebellions erupted across thousands of worlds, which the Empire attempted to quell. These uprisings served as evidence that the public largely opposed the Empire. Months after the Battle of Endor, devotees of the dark side, such as the Acolytes of the Beyond, began venerating Vader and the dark side on planets like Taris throughout the galaxy.

While New Republic soldiers debated the hypothetical recovery of Sidious' body, a Mon Calamari soldier from the 61st Mobile Infantry expressed a desire for the Emperor's survival, so he could be tried for his offenses. In 5 ABY, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane, while exploring the Hall of Imperial Register on Coruscant, discovered that the Emperor's personal Super Star Destroyer, the Eclipse, had mysteriously vanished instead of being destroyed by the New Republic as the Imperial records indicated. She also uncovered an image crystal displaying 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, secretly manipulated Sloane. Following the Attack on Chandrila, Rax led the Empire to Jakku.

Rax asserted that he was testing the Empire's determination before a showdown with the New Republic, but he was secretly planning to execute the Contingency. This involved engineering a conflict 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 reaching the planet's core. Rax intended to introduce various Sith artifacts into this shaft to initiate the planet's self-destruction. Covertly, Rax had arranged for himself and select "worthy" Imperials, including Brendol Hux, his son Armitage Hux, and a group of child soldiers, to escape into the Unknown Regions. Sloane, aided by the rebels Norra Wexley and Brentin Lore Wexley, thwarted Rax's scheme to obliterate Jakku. Despite his death on Jakku, Rax succeeded in carrying out his master's directive to dismantle the "Old Empire."

Palpatine's significant influence, first as Chancellor and subsequently as Emperor, deeply affected the New Republic Senate, fostering a fear of granting similar authority to any executive. Consequently, the Chancellor of the New Republic possessed considerably less power than the same office during the Galactic Republic, even omitting the word "Supreme" from the title. However, the Chancellor's diminished power created a different political challenge compared to Palpatine's era; instead of an overly powerful head of state, the Chancellor lacked the necessary influence to enact meaningful change. Ultimately, the Contingency and Darth Sidious's enduring legacy formed the basis of the regime that evolved into the First Order, the Empire's successor. This new order was led by the enigmatic Snoke, who assumed the title of Supreme Leader. After eliminating most of the remaining Imperial leadership, with exceptions like Armitage Hux, Snoke uncovered various truths about Sidious, including the revelation that Sidious's Contingency was a dual-pronged strategy, designed to 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 his Empire, along with his father's fall, as evidence of the Jedi Order's failure.

Sidious projected his consciousness into a cloned body, crafted using Clone Wars-era technology by the Sith Eternal, a clandestine cult of Sith loyalists devoted to the Sith's traditions and resurrection. Upon awakening in his new form, Sidious experienced pain, realizing the vessel's temporary nature. This occurred at his Sith Citadel on Exegol, intended as his permanent power base. He then claimed the ancient Throne of the Sith. However, Sidious's return was not without cost. He managed to avert complete annihilation, unlike his master Plagueis, but true immortality remained elusive. Furthermore, his new body proved inadequate for containing his immense dark side power, leading to its rapid deterioration.

Sustained by the Sith Eternal's faith, Sidious struggled to survive in his decaying vessel. Soon, his body became immobile, assuming a ghastly appearance with missing limbs and cataract-clouded eyes. An Ommin harness, a mechanical spine previously worn by Ommin, an ancient Sith king, provided mobility, while restorative fluids slowed his body's decay.

Confined to Exegol due to his immobility, Sidious lived in exile for years. Despite his physical limitations, his mind remained sharp, his will unyielding, and he patiently devised a plan to reclaim his position as Emperor and Sith Lord. This sinister plot involved exacting revenge on the Skywalker family, preventing the Jedi Order's restoration, and destroying the New Republic.

On Exegol, Sith cultists gathered to revere the ancient Sith Order and pledge allegiance to Sidious, the last Sith Lord. They honored his efforts to establish a new Sith Empire, working to rebuild the Empire from Exegol as a true Sith dominion. To this end, Sidious's subordinates constructed a massive armada of planet-killing warships, known as the Final Order. From the shadows, Sidious orchestrated his return to power, molding the Empire's remnants into the First Order while manipulating the New Republic. Once deployed from Exegol, the Final Order would reinforce the First Order military, enabling the regime to complete its subjugation of the galaxy. The Sith Eternal dedicated a generation to raising children in secret military camps and constructing war machines in clandestine factories and shipyards.

Sith loyalists held executive positions in corporations like Kuat-Entralla Engineering and Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems, allowing them to channel essential resources to Exegol through subsidiaries. Under Sidious's direction, the children of the Sith Eternal were raised to embrace the Sith religion and demonstrate unwavering loyalty to their Emperor. Their efforts produced legions of Sith troopers, soldiers fanatically loyal to the Sith through flash imprinting techniques derived from Kaminoan clone trooper training. The Sith Eternal's actions resulted in a fleet and army capable of ending freedom in the galaxy if they were to escape into hyperspace.

Sidious used a genetic experiment from the Sith Eternal to extend his influence across the galaxy while he was confined to Exegol. This being, Snoke, was a humanoid genetic strandcast resulting from the Sith Eternal's experimentation to prolong Sidious's life and create a vessel for his dark essence during the Galactic Empire's reign. Although Snoke possessed natural Force sensitivity, Sidious deemed his body unsuitable for housing his essence but found him useful as a puppet for his plans.

Snoke became Sidious's proxy in the First Order, a hermit state formed from the remnants of the Galactic Empire that escaped under the Contingency, ensuring the faction's control. Snoke rose to Supreme Leader, and through him, 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. While the First Order served as the Contingency's military arm, the Sith Eternal secretly acted as its spiritual core, unbeknownst to most.

Many questioned Snoke's motives, such as his lack of interest in the title of Emperor and his delegation of control to subordinates, focusing instead on spiritual matters. Yet, he possessed the knowledge and power to rule, making him the Contingency's heir. Despite the First Order's highest ranks being unaware of Snoke's origins and the Contingency's true purpose, some, like Enric Pryde, suspected Snoke's subservience to a greater power.

Sidious aimed to convert the next generation of the Skywalker lineage to the dark side. He targeted Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, and nephew of Luke Skywalker, for his Force strength. Sidious monitored Solo, using telepathy to communicate with him as dark voices, offering secrets, warnings, comfort, and false promises, exploiting his insecurities and fears.

Sidious used Snoke as a proxy to lure Solo to the dark side, cultivating a friendship while manipulating him with deceit, encouraging negative thoughts about his family, and exploiting his need for a teacher and fascination with his family's legacy. Sidious and Snoke whispered to Solo, especially when he joined Luke Skywalker's new Jedi Order, partially engineering its destruction.

Sidious did not foresee his son's union, now known as Dathan, but the clone met Miramir and had a Force-sensitive daughter, Rey, in 15 ABY. Sidious considered Rey an ideal vessel for his spirit and Sith power, determined to capture her. However, his son and his wife went into hiding to protect Rey, living as junk traders on Jakku.

Sidious sent Ochi, now a Sith Eternal cultist, to retrieve Rey in 21 ABY. Nearing Rey's location, her parents gave her to Unkar Plutt, who was paid with a songsteel hex charm to hide her. Rey's parents fled Jakku on Ochi's ship, the Bestoon Legacy, to draw him away. After they refused to reveal Rey's location, Ochi killed them on the Emperor's orders. Their sacrifice allowed Rey to remain hidden on Jakku for thirteen years, until 34 ABY.

Sidious's followers designed Snoke to groom Solo, molding him into a master of attack and testing his ability to inherit the legacies of Darth Vader and the Sith Order. Snoke believed Solo had the right balance of light and dark due to his heritage. Snoke manipulated Solo for over a decade, influencing him after he learned Darth Vader was his grandfather.

When Luke Skywalker sensed Solo's growing darkness, he briefly considered killing him. Solo awoke, ignited his lightsaber, and trapped Skywalker. A storm, caused by Solo, set Skywalker's Jedi temple ablaze, destroying it and killing the students.

Solo fled the temple and sought to join the Knights of Ren. After being tested, he was reluctantly accepted. Their leader, Ren, doubted Solo's hatred. Ren's suspicions were confirmed on a mission to the Minemoon when Ben hesitated to kill his former friend, Tai. Enraged, Ren engaged Solo in a duel. Sidious sensed Ben's every move, urging him to claim his birthright and strike down Ren. Giving in, Ben killed Ren and dubbed himself "Kylo Ren," becoming the master of the Knights of Ren. To ensure Kylo remained on the dark side, Sidious impersonated Darth Vader's spirit.

Sidious indirectly oversaw Ben Solo's training through Snoke, considering him a test for inheriting the Sith legacy. The Emperor planned to bypass the tradition of a dark apprentice slaying their master, using Snoke's existence for this purpose.

Snoke's training warped Kylo Ren's understanding of his grandfather's history, conditioning him to believe the worst in people and that redemption was impossible, while instructing him to pursue his impulses for power.

In 34 ABY, Rey confronted Snoke and Kylo Ren aboard the Supremacy, hoping to turn Ben Solo back to the light. Snoke overpowered Rey and, gauging her resolve, saw her Jedi spirit. Determined to eradicate the Jedi Order, he ordered her death, tasking Kylo Ren with the deed. Sensing Ren's resolve, Snoke urged him to complete his training and execute Rey. Instead, Ren assassinated Snoke with the Skywalker lightsaber, seizing control of the First Order. By murdering his master, Ren unknowingly completed the Sith Eternal's final test, proving himself worthy of inheriting the Sith legacy.

Despite Snoke's death and failure to bring Rey to Palpatine, the zombified Sith Lord continued to manipulate Kylo Ren and Rey, luring them toward him. His granddaughter's arrival on Exegol was crucial to his plan.

In 35 ABY, a mysterious audio broadcast using Emperor Palpatine's voice, the public identity of Darth Sidious, threatened revenge. Kylo Ren began searching for the broadcast's source, seeing it as a challenge. After acquiring a Sith wayfinder on Mustafar that led him to Exegol, Ren confronted the decrepit Emperor, who admitted to creating Snoke and impersonating Vader.

When Ren threatened the Emperor, Sidious stated that he had already died, referencing the dark side's unnatural abilities. Sidious revealed the Final Order, a Sith armada of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, TIE/dg starfighters, and Sith troopers. This new military aimed to restore Sith rule, which Sidious offered to Ren along with the title of Emperor, if he killed Rey. Sidious revealed that he was Rey's "grandfather."

Ren divulged this information to Rey, convinced that the revelation of her ancestry would corrupt her and lead her to the dark side. Instead of ending her life, Ren desired Rey's assistance in overthrowing her grandfather, envisioning a joint rule over 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 upon the Supreme Leader unless he eliminated her. Forewarned, Kylo journeyed to the Endor system, where he engaged in a duel with Rey amidst the remnants of the second Death Star, submerged in the ocean of Kef Bir's moon. Rey inflicted a mortal wound upon him during this confrontation. However, sensing Leia Organa's demise on Ajan Kloss, Rey employed Force healing to restore Kylo's life, departing and leaving him to grieve for his mother. Reflecting on Rey's act of compassion and his parents' sacrifice, Ben ultimately returned to the light side. Having perceived Organa's death, Sidious condemned the former Princess of Alderaan for disrupting his plans one last time by causing him to lose Kylo Ren's allegiance.

Despite this setback, 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 transferred to Pryde, whose loyalty to Sidious was unwavering, effectively merging the First Order's forces with those of the Sith Eternal's Final Order. Recognizing that his moment to return had arrived, Sidious instructed Pryde to dispatch one of his Star Destroyers, the Derriphan, to Kijimi and annihilate it as a clear message to the Resistance.

Initially contemplating a life of solitude similar to Luke Skywalker's due to her fear of succumbing to the Sith, Rey was dissuaded by the Force spirit of Luke Skywalker himself. He encouraged her to transcend her lineage and define her own legacy, presenting her with a lightsaber that 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, instead claiming that he had brought her to him to succeed him as "Empress Palpatine."

Sidious sought to provoke his granddaughter into striking him down, echoing his manipulation of Luke Skywalker thirty-one years prior. He noted that while Skywalker had his father to save him, he was the only family she possessed. In reality, Sidious intended for Rey to strike him down to initiate a Sith ritual that would transfer his spirit from his decaying clone body into Rey's youthful form, allowing him 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 appeared for Rey when a redeemed Ben Solo, formerly Kylo Ren, arrived on Exegol to aid her in her battle against Sidious. Unbeknownst to Sidious, his granddaughter had been deliberately delaying, sensing Solo's arrival on Exegol, preventing her from yielding to the allure of absolute power and the dark side of the Force. Feigning an intention to strike him down with the Skywalker lightsaber, Rey transferred the weapon to Solo through their Force-bond, enabling him to swiftly eliminate the Knights of Ren while Rey defended herself against the Emperor's Sovereign Protectors using her master Leia Organa's lightsaber.

Astounded 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 through shared grief, rage, and hate, but Sidious had failed to foresee that it also encompassed compassion and empathy.

With the Knights and Sovereign Protectors defeated, Solo joined Rey, assuming a fighting stance against Sidious, who proclaimed that they would perish together for their defiance. He then raised his decaying hand and impaled them with the Force, drawing the helpless warriors toward him. However, an unforeseen consequence occurred: their combined life force began to heal the clone vessel that served as Sidious's new body. His hands regenerated, his bones reformed, and his pale flesh covered them. Sidious immediately recognized the situation: a dyad in the Force, a prophesied phenomenon stronger than life itself, unseen for generations.

Realizing that their power would enable him to fully return to life, Sidious used the Force to drain the life energy of both Force-users, restoring himself to full strength. Overwhelmed with triumphant thoughts, 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 was drawing on a flowing river of light so only he, the one true Emperor, would be restored. With his body and mobility fully restored and his powers amplified beyond measure, the Dark Lord released himself from the Ommin harness and declared himself the immortal Emperor of the Sith before his Sith loyalists, who hailed their master's return. Having no further use for Solo and exclaiming revenge for his first death, the Emperor flung him into a pit as reinforcements brought by Lando Calrissian arrived to aid the Resistance.

Intending to eliminate the Resistance as well and with his powers now greater than ever, the Emperor asserted that nothing could halt the resurgence of the Sith before unleashing a massive surge of Force lightning into the atmosphere of Exegol, temporarily disabling all Resistance ships. His attention then shifted to Rey, now empowered by the spirits of past Jedi. Unfazed by Rey's defiance, the Emperor declared her death would be the final end of rebellion throughout the galaxy, unleashing a barrage 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 called upon the power of the Jedi of the past, igniting both the Skywalker lightsaber and Organa's, deflecting the Force lightning back onto the surprised Emperor, while declaring herself as all of 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 well over a century by his very own power once and for all both in body and soul, vaporizing his entire body and releasing a great Force wave that decimated the entire arena, along with killing all of the Sith Eternal loyalists. With the demise of Darth Sidious and the destruction of his cult, the rebirth of the Sith and establishment of the new Sith Empire was prevented.

Due to the immense power required to permanently vanquish Sidious, Rey perished after defeating the Emperor. However, Solo emerged from the pit where the Emperor had previously cast him and transferred 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 lineage as Sidious's descendant, Rey adopted the name "Rey Skywalker" to honor the family of her mentors.

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 erupting 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 discussed the possibility of Sidious's return, considering that he had returned more powerful than ever after his defeat at Endor. They concluded that while Sidious might potentially return again, some other evil would inevitably emerge, although not for a considerable time.

Before establishing the Galactic Empire, Darth Sidious meticulously maintained a façade, portraying himself as a benevolent elder statesman and a dedicated servant of the public good. In this guise, he often spoke of himself with great humility, maintaining a level of luxury befitting his position. However, Sidious was, in reality, a master manipulator and strategist, orchestrating countless events throughout the galaxy, 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 unexpected events occurred, the Sith Lord demonstrated his skill in improvisation, continuing to advance his long-term plan for power. He sometimes indulged in the fantasy of setting the Senate Building ablaze, reveling in the thought of the ensuing panic as he watched. However, he recognized this fantasy as foolish and inconsequential, knowing it would not further his goals. Observing the Senate's struggles with the Clone Wars and his growing political influence was almost as satisfying to the Sith Lord.

Palpatine enjoyed 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 they were safe from the dark side. He would identify the "weak points" of these places, ensuring the dark side replaced 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 his "allies" were failing him. In public, as Senator of Naboo, he presented himself as perfectly bland, appearing interested in nearby conversations but never revealing his true nature. As Chancellor, he intended to abandon his bland deception, but he would still conceal his inner anger, awaiting the opportune moment to unveil it.

After ascending to the position of Galactic Emperor, he essentially abandoned his public persona and fully embraced his identity as Sidious. Despite this, only a select few, including Vader and some 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 confidante and allowed Rax to address him as "Sheev." Freed from the constraints of his gentle alter ego, Sidious occasionally allowed his true personality, characterized by immense cruelty and sadism, to manifest in ways that were evident even to his most sycophantic servants. This instilled great fear in many of those who worked closely with him, such as Senator Orn Free Taa and some of the Empire's intelligence chiefs. Sidious was also known to loath ostentation and luxury.

One of Sidious's most potent attributes was his deeply manipulative nature, enabling him to deceive both the Jedi and Separatists, enticing various parties with promises of power, reward, or even salvation to advance his agenda. He reveled in the thrill of manipulating others to his will. However, he grew frustrated 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 possibility of reuniting with his deceased parents by altering fate, and even tried to persuade Luke Skywalker to murder his father so they could jointly rule the galaxy. While attempting to influence Bridger, he presented himself in his public persona via hologram, appearing benign and polite. Once Bridger thwarted his plans, his true malignant self emerged, 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 momentarily 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 disposable tools to be used for his grand scheme and was willing to discard them once they no longer served a purpose. He maintained alliances as long as they were beneficial but severed ties when their usefulness ended. He never genuinely cared for any of his allies. He betrayed numerous allies, including Darth Plagueis, Maul, Dooku, the Separatist Council, and Vader. His betrayal of Dooku demonstrated not only his lack of genuine concern for him but also his ability to remain one step ahead. While acknowledging to Vader that he was the ideal apprentice, he later attempted to replace him with Luke. Ultimately, Sidious was solely focused on his own self-interest.

He likened his manipulation to a sharp knife, the effects of which were not immediately apparent to the victim, who would only realize they had succumbed to his influence when it was too late. Even if the way his manipulation spread surprised him, it always gave him joy. Manipulation was ultimately his favorite way to grow his power. Sidious was known for being hypocritical and arrogant; whilst 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 tried to arrest him. Even shortly before his second death years later, Sidious declared himself to be all the Sith while trying to finish off with his Jedi granddaughter.

After dismantling the Republic and discarding his benevolent persona, Sidious essentially withdrew from public life, delegating most of the Empire's day-to-day affairs to the Imperial Ruling Council. His absence did not go unnoticed by the Empire's citizens, and rumors began to circulate that the Jedi assassination attempt had resulted not only in his disfigurement but also in the death of the sanguine politician he had once been. To quell the gossip and speculation, the Ruling Council dispatched skycar processions in Imperial Center to create the illusion that Sidious was still active in public.

From his secure position as Emperor, Sidious dedicated most of his time to study and meditation, often within the ancient Sith shrine located beneath the Imperial Palace. Driven by a desire to rule his Empire for eternity, Sidious initiated 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, which ultimately failed. However, Sidious's true ambition was to discover a means of using the dark side to manipulate reality itself, thereby achieving not only "mere immortality" but also acquiring the ability to reshape the galaxy and its inhabitants to his liking. Whether Sidious made any significant progress toward 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 still sought ways to achieve immortality and the preservation of the Sith, as was seen by his attempt to perform a ritual on his granddaughter Rey in order to transfer his spirit into her body, which would allow Sidious to continue the Sith's legacy.

Although Sidious's reign witnessed a surge in alien prejudice throughout the Empire, with humans dominating the galaxy while other species were enslaved, Sidious was willing to collaborate with aliens. During his rise to power, he relied on several of them, including the Separatist Council, which he controlled during the Clone Wars, and his political advisor, the Chagrian Mass Amedda. Additionally, Sidious was trained by a Muun, Darth Plagueis, and his first apprentice was a Zabrak, Darth Maul. He also used General Grevious as the official commander of the Separatists once Dooku perished.

To those who had experienced his nonexistent mercy, Sidious was known for his exceptional sadism, often deriving visible pleasure from torturing others. He was also remarkably 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 well known for summarily executing officers who failed him, considered Sidious to be even less clement 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 fact that he could destroy the serene beauty of the planet at anytime. In spite of 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, believing that the Empire had failed to protect its Emperor, despite its vast military resources, and was therefore unworthy of a future without him. In his view, the military had been negligent and should 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 resurrection, Sidious's mind was sharper than ever before, despite his physical frailty. Upon realizing that the Jakku scavenger Rey was his granddaughter, Sidious manipulated Kylo Ren into bringing the young woman to him to steal her body as a new host. While he tried 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, trying to kill both her and a redeemed Ben Solo. It was those very same traits of arrogance and selfishness that eventually led to Sidious' final downfall, as he underestimated Rey's true potential when she uses 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 harm his own progeny.

Sidious, a male of the human species, possessed a height in the range of 1.73 to 1.78 meters and a weight of 75 kilograms. In his earlier years, prior to his physical transformation, he was a slender individual characterized by flowing hair, a prominent nasal structure, azure eyes, and a lean facial structure. By the time of the Invasion of Naboo, his once-red hair was showing signs of graying, and a decade afterward, it had completely transitioned to silver. As he delved deeper into his scheme to seize control of the galaxy, the burden of maintaining a dual identity began to manifest on his face. Following his confrontation with Windu, Sidious's face underwent severe disfigurement and withering, resulting in deathly pale, deeply wrinkled skin, and sagging flesh around his bulging forehead and intense yellow eyes. This alteration served as a constant reminder of his own vulnerability and mortality, as well as the cost he incurred for power, according to Luke Skywalker, and it further intensified his animosity towards the Jedi. His vocal timbre also changed, becoming more profound and acquiring a sinister quality that many found unsettling. However, Tarkin held the opinion that Sidious's voice merely sounded strained in comparison to his pre-war demeanor.

Throughout the majority of his reign, the Emperor chose to remain concealed from the public eye, instead employing holograms or idealized portraits that portrayed him as he appeared during the final years of the Galactic Republic, in his prime. Nevertheless, as the Empire's authority solidified, the citizens of the galaxy largely ceased using the name "Palpatine," and the man became universally known as "the Emperor." Upon his discovery on Exegol, Sidious, residing within a clone body, exhibited a repulsive and decaying state. His facial features bore resemblance to his appearance before his original body's disfigurement, but his skin was noticeably paler 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 siphoning the life energy from Rey and Ben Solo to rejuvenate himself, his appearance more closely mirrored his state prior to his initial demise.

As the Sith's Dark Lord, Darth Sidious was extraordinarily connected to the Force, granting him access to a wide array of Force abilities that surpassed even the most accomplished Jedi Masters. He was therefore considered among the most powerful Force-users in the history of the galaxy. Sidious asserted that his dark side power originated from hatred, which he claimed to transform into power instead of suffering. However, his dark side power was fueled by more than just personal hatred; Sidious could harness the fear and hatred of others as a source of strength, especially hate directed at himself. During one of Vader's rebellions, he informed Vader that he thrived on the hatred burning off of Vader. If Vader or anyone else increased their hatred for the Emperor, those feelings would strengthen Sidious in the dark side; in effect, Vader's attempts to grow stronger by hating Sidious only empowered his master.

Sidious's advisor, Yupe Tashu, also stated that the Emperor felt the source of his dark side powers originated from "the universe beyond the edges of our maps." In search of what Tashu termed "the source of the dark side," Sidious dispatched individuals into uncharted space, where they established communication stations and laboratories over many years.

Among Sidious's repertoire of abilities was Force lightning, which he utilized both as a lethal offensive technique and as a means of torture. On numerous instances on Ryloth, he unleashed bolts of Force lightning with sufficient intensity to not only instantly kill the lyleks he targeted but also to severely char and scorch their carapaces, which were resilient enough to withstand heavy blaster fire. On another occasion, he employed the ability to inflict damage to a Twi'lek freighter's engines to such an extent that he could effortlessly pull it from the sky using telekinesis. Sidious could manipulate Force lightning in various ways, including simultaneously striking multiple opponents, with the bolts leaping from one victim to another in a chain-like fashion, and imbuing the ground surrounding a victim's feet with energy, effectively electrocuting them. The sheer power of his Force lightning surpassed that of Dooku's; while Yoda could effortlessly absorb and redirect Dooku's lightning, he could only partially deflect Sidious's. Another, less well-known ability he possessed was the capacity to generate a Dark Aura, a miniature storm of malevolent Force energy that slowed the movement of and tortured all that it caught within its radius. The maximum potential of Sidious's Force lightning, however, was achieved before his final death on Exegol; when restored back to his former self, Sidious unleashed an immense wave of Force lightning towards the sky which rapidly expanded enough to disable all the 14,000 ships of the Resistance and The Galaxy Fleet.

He also demonstrated exceptional skill in telekinesis; during his duel with Yoda, in which the two were evenly matched, Sidious levitated multiple Senate pods simultaneously, including the one he was standing on, with remarkable dexterity and precision. Similarly, his telekinetic abilities were so advanced that he could remove Luke Skywalker's handcuffs with minimal effort during their face-to-face encounter on the second Death Star. Sidious was capable of unleashing 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 used telekinesis to strangle two Mandalorians to death simultaneously, and he employed this power on two others while standing on the opposite side of the room. 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 power of precognition, which enabled him to anticipate and prepare for nearly any eventuality. He believed that, with sufficient time and practice, he could eventually achieve infallible accuracy in perceiving the future through the dark side.

The Dark Lord was also proficient in Sith magic, as he was able to cast a Dark illusion on Yoda using a ritual that applied Balc speech incantations and managed to access the World between Worlds using an unknown ritual. He was also capable of using Sith magic to generate a blue fiery energy, which he used to attack Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano, that he could use both as a weapon and a tool in order to bind and draw someone closer, as it did with Bridger; the energy wrapping around his leg became akin to a tangible rope. He was also knowledgeable in the ancient Sith tongue, 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.

Sidious was also proficient in Dark Absorption. He also had the capacity for telepathic communication with Darth Vader across vast interstellar distances. However, this ability appeared to be limited to transmitting and receiving relatively simple messages, such as Vader requesting the shipment of a starfighter, as more complex discussions between the two Sith Lords occurred via holoprojections. Sidious possessed an extraordinary ability to discern the thoughts and emotions of others, including those of powerful Force users like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Furthermore, he could conceal his own thoughts and feelings from even such individuals as Yoda, successfully masking 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 received extensive training in the art of lightsaber combat from 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 could engage multiple opponents simultaneously, as demonstrated in 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 wore an elaborate 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. When 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 hide his disfigured face. He used two identical lightsabers.

From the initial stages of writing the 1977 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 related to the project, dating back to early 1973, contained a list of potential names for use in the story. At the top of this list was "Emperor Ford Xerxes XII," a reference to the historical Persian king Xerxes, who was assassinated by his own son. This was later changed to "Alexander Xerxes XII" and then "Emperor of Decarte." Ultimately, none of these names were used.

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 the story of Darth Sidious and historical figures such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, Ferdinand Marcos, and Alberto Fujimori. Each of these individuals employed tactics similar to the Emperor's in transforming their respective democracies into personal dictatorships. The similarities to Adolf Hitler are particularly evident in Palpatine's role as Chancellor and his use of emergency powers to solidify his control over the declining Republic, as well as his passion for art. Palpatine's consolidation of power also mirrors that of Roman Emperor Augustus, Caesar's heir.

Richard Nixon served as the primary political inspiration for the Emperor, owing to his presidency being known as the Imperial Presidency and 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.

Furthermore, film critic Roger Ebert and film historian Robin Wood observed that Darth Sidious's 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 mentioned in A New Hope. The Emperor first appeared in the 1980 sequel Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, played by the experienced 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. Speaking about Palpatine in promotion for the prequel film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, McDiarmid stated Palpatine was more evil than the Abrahamic figure Satan because "at least Satan fell." Whereas 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."

In The Empire Strikes Back, Eaton portrayed the Emperor as a holographic projection, with test shots conducted 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 the draft script for Return of the Jedi, when Palpatine fired his Force lightning at Luke Skywalker, the Force spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda would have appeared to protect their disciple by redirecting the lightning.

For Return of the Jedi, the role of Emperor Palpatine was initially intended for the seasoned actor Alan Webb, who was 75 years of age at that time. However, just as filming was about to get underway, Webb became unwell due to the unusually cold weather England was experiencing. He communicated to director Richard Marquand via a letter, expressing his regret and feeling that the role was too demanding for him; he passed away shortly thereafter on June 22, 1982. Subsequently, the part was read by Ben Kingsley, another English actor, but he was not chosen as he was considered "too English" to embody the Emperor. Production was behind schedule, so Ian McDiarmid was brought in as a last-minute replacement.

McDiarmid later reprised the role for all three movies in the prequel trilogy, portraying Chancellor Palpatine at a younger age in The Phantom Menace, and as a middle-aged Palpatine in both Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. He was initially taken aback when Lucas invited him back to the role, as he had assumed a younger actor would be cast as Darth Sidious, but he accepted the offer and returned to the role once again. George Lucas gave McDiarmid the direction to play the young Palpatine as if his face was a mask concealing the monster within, which led him to portray the character as a seemingly affable man who was always kind to others. The duel between Palpatine and Yoda in Revenge of the Sith lacks a clear resolution within the Star Wars saga, which inspired Tessa Gratton to pen the short story "Masters."

During Celebration Chicago in 2019, it was officially announced that McDiarmid would be returning to his role as Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the concluding film of the sequel trilogy and the overarching Star Wars Skywalker saga, with a scheduled release date of December 20, 2019. Following the announcement, J.J. Abrams, the director of The Rise of Skywalker, conveyed his happiness that McDiarmid's appearance in the film had not been leaked. Kathleen Kennedy, the producer, then verified that Palpatine's return originated from discussions held during the development of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, although Colin Trevorrow, the original director, indicated that the Emperor's comeback was not an idea present in his original script for the movie.

McDiarmid hinted at Emperor Palpatine's return when he told Warwick Davis during the panel that he had spoken with George Lucas over the years, who confirmed that the Emperor was certainly dead by the end of Return of the Jedi. McDiarmid stated that he was caught off guard to discover during production that Sidious had created Snoke and, in effect, was responsible for every "evil action" that had transpired in the Skywalker Saga. While the film does not elaborate on how Palpatine survived, Maryann Brandon, the editor, has mentioned that earlier versions of the film contained an explanation.

For the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and the subsequent TV show, Darth Sidious was voiced by the accomplished actor Ian Abercrombie. In the Creative Conservation commentary included on the film's Blu-ray, as well as the audio commentary on the film's DVD, Dave Filoni, the Director, expressed his fascination with the interaction between Palpatine and Jabba the Hutt. He considered it a character dynamic that he never anticipated seeing. Abercrombie's death on January 26, 2012 led to Tim Curry taking over the role in the final moments of "The Lawless" and for the remaining episodes of the series, for which he received credit, beginning with the fifth season finale "The Wrong Jedi."

In Star Wars Rebels, Sam Witwer, a Star Wars veteran, voiced Sidious in "The Siege of Lothal," which served as the premiere episode for the show's second season. For the show's fourth and final season, McDiarmid returned to provide the Emperor's voice, and he also re-recorded Witwer's dialogue from the second season premiere. McDiarmid once again took on the role for Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.

Stuart Beattie was the writer of the script for the first of three Obi-Wan Kenobi movies. From the beginning of Beattie's narrative, Emperor Palpatine would instruct Vader to disregard Kenobi and instead concentrate on the present issues. In one scene, Palpatine dispatched Vader to put down a rebel uprising, and Vader was attempting to forget Kenobi. Vader later informed Palpatine that Kenobi and Yoda were the two greatest threats, which prompted Palpatine to become angry and remind Vader of his position. McDiarmid reprised 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 scene was filmed in front of a blue screen. Deborah Chow, the director, desired Palpatine to convey to Vader that his obsession with Kenobi was a weakness. She instructed McDiarmid to perform his scene with a balance between being on edge and delivering some lines more casually. McDiarmid had difficulty remembering to use the word "execute" during the filming process.

Palpatine's efforts to consolidate power and undermine democracy were initially explored in greater detail 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 that the Senate would, that afternoon, request that he assume direct control over the Jedi Council's affairs, justifying the decision by stating it was another adjustment to the constitution in the interest of security. While Skywalker concurred with taking power over the Council away from the unfocused Senate to win the war, he cautioned his old friend about the Council's growing unease with constitutional changes. Palpatine claimed he had no choice but to take on the additional power, then quickly shifted the conversation to his history with Skywalker before making him question the Council, asserting they viewed his increasing 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 increased power. In Organa's apartment, it is noted that Palpatine had regularly passed amendments to the constitution, assumed personal control over the Jedi Council, and, as of that morning, appointed governors to oversee Republic star systems, effectively undermining the Senate's authority. Although surprised that one of her oldest advisors would act in such a non-democratic manner, Amidala joined the Delegation. Following a meeting in Amidala's apartment, where the assembled legislators decided their new alliance would focus on the Senate instead of immediately approaching the Jedi, Palpatine and Skywalker were confronted by a gathering of the Delegation in the Chancellor's office, where Amidala spoke on behalf of the gathered against Palpatine's conduct.

Cutting off Fang Zar's attempt to speak and bidding the group farewell, Palpatine continued to tempt Skywalker to the dark side by claiming that the group, even Amidala, had ulterior motives and could not be trusted. Although Skywalker attempted to defend his secret wife, Palpatine probed at the conflicted Jedi's emotional defenses by asserting that he simply did not want to admit that it was possible. The Delegation of the 2,000 and Palpatine's Sector Governance Decree have since been confirmed as canon. Palpatine's manipulation of Skywalker from the Delegation meeting in the 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 depicts Windu, Kenobi, and Yoda discussing Palpatine's efforts to seize control of the Jedi Council and whether they must take action 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 a way, Anakin's father, although George Lucas ultimately removed this from the film. While Darth Sidious and/or Darth Plagueis's attempts to manipulate midi-chlorians are noted in the film, the idea that Sidious created Skywalker was omitted from the final cut.

A notable debate surrounding Darth Sidious concerns his actual appearance. In Revenge of the Sith, during his duel with Mace Windu, after being disarmed, Sidious employs Force lightning against the Jedi Master, but Windu redirects it back at him, resulting in his face becoming disfigured and scarred. Subsequently, when Anakin severs Windu's hand to aid Sidious, he electrocutes Windu, causing him to fall out of the window to his death, although the Force lightning does not disfigure Windu during the brief period it is used.

However, prior to the appearance of Force lightning in Revenge of the Sith, when it initially appeared in Return of the Jedi, Sidious used it against Luke Skywalker, and it did not disfigure or scar Skywalker. Matt Martin from the Lucasfilm Story Group suggested that Palpatine employed a higher voltage for his lightning when attacking Windu, or that there were other factors at play with Palpatine, such as the Sith Lord overexerting himself and causing that appearance. Author Gary M. Sarli proposed in 2005 that Palpatine had been utilizing a Sith alchemy technique known as masking to conceal his true appearance, with the Force lightning removing the mask. Sarli further theorized that Sidious chose not to preserve his mask to further convince Skywalker that he needed to intervene and to claim that he was scarred to the Senate.

Sidious's height has been reported as either 1.73 meters or 1.78 meters. This article assumes that the newer databank entry height on StarWars.com is the correct height.

During a question and answer session for The Clone Wars: The Lost Missions, Dave Filoni stated that Sidious had both Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus as apprentices concurrently. However, Sidious's biography gallery in the Databank claimed that he recruited Dooku into the Sith during his time as Supreme Chancellor after the Invasion of Naboo. Maul was presumed to have been killed during that event. Nevertheless, "The Lost One" establishes that Dooku, in some capacity, must have joined the Sith 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-canon LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures, Darth Sidious was voiced by Trevor Devall. During the first season, Sidious and Darth Vader learned of a powerful lightsaber called the Kyber Saber, which was constructed from numerous kyber crystals. However, the Jedi Master who crafted the sword deemed it too dangerous and destroyed the lightsaber before scattering all of the crystals throughout the galaxy. Seeking to obliterate the galaxy in a single blast, Darth Sidious sought to collect 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 acquire the crystals, Naare pretended to be a Jedi and offered to train him in the ways of the Force. Despite Sidious's efforts, the Sith Lord was unable to seize the Kyber Saber from Rowan, who managed to destroy the weapon.

In the second season, Darth Sidious creates an Imperial hunter droid known as M-OC, tasking him with hunting down Rowan. This incites jealousy in Darth Vader, who sabotages M-OC's efforts on multiple 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 constructs a powerful starship called the Arrowhead, Sidious forces Vader and M-OC to collaborate. M-OC lures Rowan into a trap on Qalydon, but Vader outsmarts the droid and brings him to the Emperor.

While in Imperial captivity, Rowan reveals that he destroyed the Kyber Saber. Although 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 decides 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, ingratiating himself with the Emperor. 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 that there is a flaw in the second Death Star and rushes to the Endor system. However, M-OC's warnings are ignored since the Emperor is preoccupied with Luke Skywalker. Later, M-OC is distracted when he watches the Emperor fall to his death, allowing Rowan to defeat him once and for all.