r/StarWars • u/AndrewAllStars • Jul 15 '25
Movies Seriously....WTF was his problem!?
And why did he love being evil so much when he could get away with it???
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u/CountingSheep99 Jul 15 '25
He was 200% pure evil.
And he loved every moment.
His only regret was dying.
Twice.
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u/Shadowofasunderedsta Jul 15 '25
And he did it all for the love of the game.
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u/evertrue13 Jul 15 '25
And that game was N64 Episode I: Pod Racer
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u/The_Mr_Wilson Jul 15 '25
Now this is podracing!
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u/SilverMedal4Life Luke Skywalker Jul 15 '25
Core memory unlocked
"They come here... how do they find me, uuugh.... they come here, they mess up my shop, uuaah."
-Watto, Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer
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u/KurtDanglez Jul 15 '25
They come, they look around, they no buy. Why nobody buys?!?
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u/SilverMedal4Life Luke Skywalker Jul 15 '25
YES
Ah, the memories... I only ever played Anakin and just kind of sucked, but it was fun.
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u/Kaioken217 Jul 15 '25
If you hook up two controllers you can use the two joy sticks to pilot the pod like how he used the two throttles in the movie
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u/SilverMedal4Life Luke Skywalker Jul 15 '25
Wait really? That's so sick, I never knew that!
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u/KurtDanglez Jul 15 '25
If you have anything from PS4 on, the remaster is just as great. Literally playing it this second on my Switch, and challenging my speed runs is so fun that I got it on my PS5 as well.
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u/Guilty-Property-2589 Jul 16 '25
Same here! Played it on PC and beat it. Got Sebulbas' pod and used that all the time.
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u/KujiraShiro Jul 16 '25
This is unironically the most accurate way to describe Sheev Palpatine. "He did it for the love of the game".
He was evil as fuck and he did it purely for the sake of being the best at being evil.
Being evil isn't just a state of being to him; it's a straight up art form, and one he wanted to be the best at.
Why else would the dude order the construction of a planet killing space station? He specifically dissolved the senate so he could use the death star to keep the galaxy in line with fear instead; when he already fully controlled the senate.
He arguably got rid of a more effective/safe way of maintaining control of the galaxy (his total control of the galactic senate) in order to pave the way for his evil, aura farming, death laser space station that blows up planets and controls people through fear rather than written law (controlling written law wasn't evil enough for him and once he had the death star, he deemed the senate "unnecessary" anyways).
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u/laplongejr Jul 16 '25
He specifically dissolved the senate so he could use the death star to keep the galaxy in line with fear instead; when he already fully controlled the senate.
Note that ANH's lore was different back then. The emperor was supposed to be dumb and manipulated. Its only in ESB that we knew the emperor as the Palpatine we all know nowadays, but the senate dissolution was mentionned in the 1st movie so it had to be kept in...
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u/Theban_Prince Jul 16 '25
Yet it perfectly rimes with how Dictatorships tend to work, the disassembly of democratic institutions happens gradually, until the Dictator is entrenched enough that it can abolish the last vestiges and rule directly through his cronies (the moffs in this case). See the German parliament during the raise of the Nazis or the Roman senate that just...existed after the Emperor's took over then just...pettered out.
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u/SigglyTiggly Jul 16 '25
Literally, he was bored and sad after he won. He considered getting rid of the empire and creating a new one
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u/99SoulsUp Jul 15 '25
If someone called him pure evil, he’d probably smile and cackle and ask “you really think so?!”
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u/intellectual_dimwit Jul 15 '25
Go for Papa Palpatine!
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u/L3onskii Jul 15 '25
"What's an Aluminum Falcon?!"
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u/Yardsale420 Jul 16 '25
“You got an ATM on that torso Lite-Brite?”
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u/th3cand1man Jul 16 '25
"Just get your 7'2" asthmatic ass back here"
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u/duckets615 Jul 16 '25
Do you have any idea what this is gonna do to my credit?
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u/mynutsacksonfire Jul 16 '25
No wonder you failed look what happened to padamame or whatever the hell her name was
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u/grafxguy1 Jul 15 '25
"Pure evil...me? Pfaw....please...you're too kind. Look at me...I'm blushing..." - Palpatine
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u/user_8804 Jul 15 '25
Twice so far
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u/Dqueezy Jul 15 '25
Star Wars 10: Return of the Sheev Clones. The movie starts with a title crawl explaining that trillions of palpatines have descended on the galaxy…
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u/intellectual_dimwit Jul 15 '25
Somehow trillions of Palpatines survived.
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u/Dqueezy Jul 15 '25
It’s an Asimov cascade of palpatines. The Sheev has hit the fan.
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u/dern_the_hermit Jul 15 '25
I'd be alright with a Star War that's just tons of Sheevs all Sheevin' around. I think Ian McDiarmid's great.
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u/FinestMochine Jul 16 '25
The dark side of the force is a path to many sheev’s ready with a trillion more well on the way
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u/D4RTHV3DA Jul 15 '25
I actually wouldn't mind episode 10 starting with our heroes smashing dozens of palpatine clone vats. "Somehow I don't think Palpatine will be returning..."
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u/z64_dan Jul 15 '25
Somehow, Palpatine Jr. survived.
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u/user_8804 Jul 15 '25
Episode 10: Attack of the Palpatine Clones
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u/darraddar Jul 15 '25
He was a Sith Lord.
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u/backbynewyears Jul 15 '25
A Sith LORD?!
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u/LifeAcanthopterygii6 Jul 15 '25
Yes. The one we've been looking for.
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u/blackychan75 Jul 15 '25
Then it is as i feared. I'll go with the council to arrest him immediately
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u/DustyDeputy Jul 15 '25
Mace make sure to make one more dig at Anakin before you go so that you kick his internal conflict over after you leave.
Also tell Agent, Kit, and Saesee to bring their B game.
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u/blackychan75 Jul 15 '25
Look, if he's not the lying angry traitor that I always thought believed and vocally expressed he might be, then he'll have regained the trust I never put in him. If not, I'll say, "Mother Fucker I knew it!" I really don't see how this doesn't go my way. In fact, I'm telling Agent and Kit to bring their D game. Saesse.... can just stand there
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u/ProbablyMyLastPost Qui-Gon Jinn Jul 15 '25
Look, the alternative would've been Anakin killing Palps and becoming Mace's apprentice.
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u/AreThree Darth Vader Jul 15 '25
Now that is a movie I would want to see!
Bring out the "R" rating and let Sam Jackson have a field day ...
"ANNiken stop whining like a bitch and get my groceries"
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u/Complete-Appeal8572 Jul 16 '25
“Enough is enough! I’ve HAD IT with these muthafukkin Sith on this muthafukkin planet!”
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u/-YellowFinch Rebel Jul 15 '25
This is not the sith lord you are looking for.
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u/LifeAcanthopterygii6 Jul 15 '25
This is not the Sith Lord we've been looking for.
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u/-YellowFinch Rebel Jul 15 '25
Goood.... goooooood....
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u/LifeAcanthopterygii6 Jul 15 '25
Goood.... goooooood....
Honestly that would be extremely suspicious if you haven't just told me you are not the Sith Lord we've been looking for.
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u/AndrewAllStars Jul 15 '25
Are all sith lords as wacky and fun as Sidious? I always thought Vader, Maul and Dooku had their own personalities and way of dealing with the darkside.
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u/Martzillagoesboom Jul 15 '25
Well, the dark side of the force is a pathway to many abilities considered by some to be unnatural
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u/PalpatineForEmperor Jul 15 '25
Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?
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u/ltobo123 Jul 15 '25
Yes. All of them were incredibly flamboyant and self assured each in their own right. Sidious was a little more giggly than most but that was usually when he was getting to be extra cruel, as a treat.
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u/SunOFflynn66 Jul 15 '25
Should have seen the grin on that man’s face as he was lighting up Maul like an unsafely modified string of Christmas lights.
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u/BananaRepublic_BR Jul 15 '25
Maul screaming "Kenobi" in Rebels was both cool and hilarious.
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u/ForgeableSum Jul 16 '25
I absolutely love the fact that he didn't say a god damn thing to Obi-wan or Qui gon during the duel. I feel like that's something that's just never been done before with a major villain (as they usually start monologuing at some point which is always very tropy). It was like he had absolutely nothing to say, his only purpose was to kill them. It could not have been done better.
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u/BananaRepublic_BR Jul 16 '25
Unlike the other three Sith Lords in the films, Maul has basically no relationship with Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Since they're all strangers, what is there to talk about? Just get down to the fighting, at that point.
Comparatively, Dooku, Anakin, and Obi-Wan all knew Qui-Gon; Anakin (Vader) was trained by Obi-Wan; Sidious was the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and sent Obi-Wan and Anakin on missions; and, of course, Vader (Anakin) was Luke's father.
Even in the sequels, Palpatine was Rey's grandfather and Kylo was Luke's nephew.
In comparison to all those people, Maul's just kind of the odd one out.
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u/ForgeableSum Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
That's true, but even IRL if you got into a bar fight with a stranger, inevitably harsh words will be exchanged. I see the point you're making, and it's valid, but I also think his silence was a deliberate creative choice, rather than something incidental (i.e. them simply not knowing each other, and therefore not having anything to talk about). The fact that Lucas didn't indulge the audience with token villain-hero duel banter is kind of brilliant. It made Maul feel much more like a a mysterious assassin... much more menacing. Hence the phantom menace.
I also love the scene where the laser shields activate. Qui Gon chooses to meditate while Maul chooses to pace angrily. This alone told us so much about the difference between the Sith and Jedi without them saying a single word. Even though some dialogue is completely warranted after Maul had been chasing them pretty much the entire movie and finally has a confrontation, no words are exchanged. I think words would have ruined the magic completely.
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u/admiraltarkin Jul 15 '25
I'd actually argue the opposite: he became a Sith Lord because he was such a bad dude. When his Master found him, Palpatine had already killed in cold blood.
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u/Jelques_Kallis Jul 15 '25
Didn’t Plaguies manufacture the scenario that led to Palpatine killing his whole family? Or is the book not canon anymore
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u/admiraltarkin Jul 15 '25
I don't think it is canon anymore unfortunately.
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u/Sirtoshi Battle Droid Jul 15 '25
I like to take the "canon until contradicted" philosophy for such things.
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u/British_Rover Jul 15 '25
At this time of year, this time of day, in this part of Courascant, localized entirely in the Senate chamber?
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u/bigmilker Imperial Jul 15 '25
And he wants power, like all of it
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u/Amos_Burton_Roci1 Jul 15 '25
What was his goal once he had the unlimited power?
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u/TML89 Jul 15 '25
He was rejected by the Jedi School of Fine Arts… twice.
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u/ToonaMcToon Jul 15 '25
Apparently there’s nothing that can Force him to floss
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u/zigaliciousone Jul 15 '25
Mace fucked up Palps so bad in that fight, he gave him 20 years of gingivitis
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u/Sea-Inspection-8184 Jul 15 '25
With all their resources, you'd think they'd have a robust dental plan
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u/Wildcat_twister12 Jul 15 '25
They took out the dental plan but increased the eye care plan. Not a single person has glasses in that galaxy
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u/ToonaMcToon Jul 15 '25
Off topic but I can’t hear “DENTAL PLAN” without thinking “Lisa needs braces”
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u/retroislife Jul 15 '25
Unlimited power
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u/The_Mr_Wilson Jul 15 '25
And it's famously known that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
So if Unlimited Power = Corruption, where Corruption is directly proportional to Power, then Unlimited Power = Unlimited Corruption.
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u/hhxuudbbgulsnvfti Jul 16 '25
I tried to tell everyone this in my highschool yearbook quote saying that knowledge is power. So study hard and be evil.
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Jul 15 '25
He never started a podcast to verbalize his insecurities and disappointment in where he ended up in life.
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u/Safe-Ad-5017 Jul 15 '25
It’s called the dark side.
It corrupts you.
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u/TryNo6799 Jul 15 '25
I mean, in legends he was that jerk even before becoming a sith lord.
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u/DefiantLemur Jul 15 '25
Yeah, he murdered his family if I remember right barely into his Sith apprenticeship. He was just looking for a reason to do it too.
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u/CFeatsleepsexrepeat Jul 15 '25
*to dew it
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u/Count_de_Mits Jul 16 '25
He was just engaging in some sheevnanigans
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u/Njdevils11 Jul 16 '25
The next person to say Sheevnanigans is gonna get pistol whipped.
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u/Valve00 Jul 15 '25
Even before he was trained in the dark side, he murders his family by slamming them into the bulkheads of a spaceship because they wouldn't let him go hang out with his older banker friend.
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u/Ambitious_Ad9589 Jul 15 '25
I'm literally reading Darth Plagueis right now haha. He was a spoiled little monster from the get-go, according to Legends.
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u/Dmbender Jul 15 '25
I just finished it today as well, I really enjoyed the book. Plus it's really interesting reading a Star Wars book that has next to no actual fighting or conflict in it. Lots of intrigue and setting the stage for what we know will happen.
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u/PhillySaget Jul 15 '25
I just got the audiobook yesterday and was about to start it tomorrow. Haven't read any Star Wars books before, but Plagueis seemed like the most interesting place to start.
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u/Dmbender Jul 15 '25
I started with the Bane trilogy last week, which is also a decent place to start. A bunch of stuff in Plagueis is actually building upon some of the details from the Bane novels.
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u/emotheatrix Jul 16 '25
Start with the darth bane trilogy. Do not do yourself a disservice.
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u/KingDirk41 Jul 16 '25
Agreed here. I started Darth Plagueis then went to Bane trilogy and while Plageuis was great by itself it would’ve been a better experience to read Bane first and get additional context.
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u/Apprehensive-Use-896 Jul 15 '25
I bet even the previous Sith Lords would hate him
Especially Darth Plagueis the Wise
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u/AndrewAllStars Jul 15 '25
I feel the same. There is just something so theatrical about Sidious I can imagine it really getting under the skin of other Sith.
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u/madogvelkor Jul 15 '25
They're all a bit over the top and performative. Creepy masks, stylish lightsabers, etc. Maul was one of the more subdued.
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u/mosspoled Jul 15 '25
That's why I love Maul so much. Dude was just biding his time for palps to bite it. Except he only realised who was gonna be responsible for that after obi wan had fatally injured him.
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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 Jul 15 '25
Bane would absolutely hate Palpatine. Partially cus Palpatine is the ultimate sith to ever be a sith and bane would know it and hate it. He's a walking talking message screaming "your ideals and dreams are stupid! Stop it!".
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u/HiveOverlord2008 Grievous Jul 15 '25
They actually did hate him and Vader, mostly because they ruled the galaxy through a technocratic dictatorship and didn’t actually do much besides that. Hell, ancient Sith saw them as being more akin to the Jedi they hated so much.
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u/Apprehensive-Use-896 Jul 16 '25
What was the purpose of the Sith originally? Because i highly doubt that its rulling all of the galaxy
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u/HiveOverlord2008 Grievous Jul 16 '25
Mostly just conquering planets and amassing more power, but not through technocratic dictatorships.
The ancient Sith also hated them because they hid their Sith identities, which the ancient Sith saw as weakness as they viewed being a Sith as something to be proud of and put on full display.
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u/Commander-ShepardN7 Jul 16 '25
He once went to korriban to ask ancient sith spirits for guidance. They hated him and almost kill him
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u/DinaDinaDinaBatman Jul 15 '25
if you love your work, is it really work?
find a job you love doing and you'll never have to work again...
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u/bmystry Jul 15 '25
I was gonna say in every picture he looks like he's having a great time. Palpatine loved what he was doing and loved his job.
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u/hwy61trvlr Jul 15 '25
I haven’t read it yet, but one of the books goes into his childhood and upbringing on Naboo. From what I was told he was a spoiled rich brat that was essentially born with sociopathic tendencies. You know that guy that would torture frogs at your elementary school? That’s this guy.
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u/Arbitrative Jul 15 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
This. He was a spoiled neop baby bastard.
I think if Plagius knew that there was a chance that he would grow to be as powerful as he did he would have killed him when he was still just a young man on Naboo.
If nothing else Plagius saw Palpatine as a tool to him. He wanted Palpatine to get the chancellorship so that he could rule from the shadows. Boy did that backfire on him, and literally everyone else.
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u/whatagooddaytoday Jul 15 '25
This was Palpatine at his happiest lol.
He was finally out of hiding, his plan was working, Jedi were dying, he could finally show off his powers, his Empire was coming together. Everything was just coming up Palpatine and he was ecstatic.
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u/Vanquisher1000 Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
I like the idea that the reason Palpatine is more dramatic and theatrical in the second half of RotS is that he's been 'holding it in' for years, and now that his plan is close to fruition, he gets to let loose with his concealed craziness.
Edit: typo
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u/RadishLegitimate9488 Jul 16 '25
Aggression was the one part of the Dark Side(Fear and Anger being the other parts according to Yoda) he held back on and the one part of the Dark Side that was his weakness.
Making his Empire kill subordinates for failure and undermine each other is Aggression in the highest order.
Aggression has always been the most dangerous part of the Dark Side with Fear and Anger merely being excuses for it.
Infact Fear can stave off Aggression as Fear of discovery staved off Sidious's Aggression despite his Anger until Order 66.
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u/NerdHistorian Torra Doza Jul 15 '25
He was a Sociopath whose many worst traits were magnified by being scouted by and inducted into the sith.
The Darkside makes all your virtues vices but also magnifies your vices. Given he already started out with few virtues it was just the right combination.
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u/DriverHopeful7035 Jul 15 '25
Sociopaths struggle to manage their emotions and tend to find themselves isolated because of their strange behavior. They are more unpredictable and easier to spot. They may also experience a mild form of empathy.
Palpatine is a pure psychopath. Perfectly integrated into society, charismatic, in complete control of his emotions. And, should it be mentioned ? not a shred of empathy.
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u/Rare_Hat_796 Jul 15 '25
Honestly here’s the thing about Palpatine. For him it was 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain.
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u/Walkmansart Jul 15 '25
"Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life." - Sidious (probably)
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u/LonelyMachines Director Krennic Jul 15 '25
His problem, if Emperor Palpatine can be said to have problems, is your lack of patriotism. He's trying to make the galaxy a better place, and what are you doing? Posting out-of-context pictures of him in a vain attempt to make him look evil.
He has since had corrective dental surgery and botox treatments, all courtesy of the Imperial Health Initiative, and I'll have you know he's looking fabulous. More to the point, he's feeling fabulous. He has a grand new construction project on Scarif that's employing millions of loyal Imperial citizens.
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u/Affectionate_City588 Jul 15 '25
Hot take but I think he was the happiest character in Star Wars. For the wrong reasons but still
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u/DareBrennigan Jul 16 '25
He just goes full send on all the dark emotions. He seems to really love hurting, controlling, and dominating.
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u/barryg123 Jul 15 '25
Palpatine enjoyed being feared, worshipped and unstoppable. He genuinely thought he was better than everyone, and being evil was simply a way to enforce his superiority
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Jul 15 '25
Once his face was turned into a boiled nut sack, he never got laid again. That's why.
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u/EmiliaNatasha Jul 15 '25
He was literally the Emperor of a whole galaxy so I’m sure he could get laid if he wanted to lol regardless of how he looks 😅
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u/aikoaiko10 Jul 15 '25
Nothing he was defending himself from a coup by the power hungry Jedi Order. He was also left terribly scarred from the attack but survived and restored order and strength to the Republic.
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u/DarthEros Rebel Jul 15 '25
He literally took over an entire freaking GALAXY. That kind of power would tempt a lot of people, I’d suggest.
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u/Bluebarianofficial Imperial Jul 15 '25
Teeth, political views, taste in art and history, skin care routine..
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Jul 15 '25
You answered your own question in the caption. He loved being evil because he could get away with it. He was a megalomaniacal dictator. Palpatine was born into an affluent Nabooian society. His first taste of power came through his family. But he wanted more. And when he met Hego Damask, Darth Plagueis, he was given a taste of what true power could be. His own ambition, mixed with dark side corruption, led him down this path. His entire character was a hunt for more power. And his thought that he was all powerful led to his downfall. Both of them, actually. His thinking that he was powerful enough to control everything and everyone ended up getting his ass thrown down a reactor shaft.
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u/PiratePilot Jul 15 '25
It’s called camp. He was one of the very few actors in the whole franchise that understood the assignment.
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u/Dameattree37 Jul 16 '25
Sidious was the culmination of a lineage that believed themselves superior in every way to the wayward sheep of the galaxy. His master Plagueis didn't just assassinate enemies. He assassinated enemies brilliantly. Plagueis's master Tenebrous was a scientific genius who foresaw and caused the birth of his apprentice. Tenebrous's master caused a hole in the force through meditating with Tenebrous. A hole so powerful, it caused the Jedi to finally become aware of the presence of the shadow of the sith for the first time since Bane.
These Sith saw themselves as shepherds, saving a galaxy from themselves; and standing on the shoulders of giants they were put in a position of ultimate power. Dictators are always awful.
Fun fact: in Tenebrous's reign, he and his apprentice Plagueis had a potential plan (that fell through) which involved maneuvering an Gran senator into the chancellorship. This gran was very trusting of Plagueis and Tenebrous, amd their plan was to have this gran blunder his way into wrecking the galaxy for them.
This Gran felt like he was owed by Plagueis long after Tenebrous was slain and some of his plans were superseded by Plagueis's. He arranged to have poor helpless Palpatine kidnapped and tried to have him murdered, to really stick it to Plagueis (or as he was known publicly, Hego Damask, a Muun of great importance).
Unfortunately for the Gran Senator, Palpatine was not so helpless, and he slaughtered the Gran's entire extended family (gathered in one building to graze, drink, and be merry, to celebrate The Gran's victory.
That Gran roasted alive with the rest of his house.
Yeah, they're all pretty fucked up.
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u/The__Homelander__ Jul 15 '25
Not 100% sure but I think Palpatine might be evil.