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Darth
Sidious
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A Sith Lord,
Darth Sidious was the prime practitioner of "The Dark Side of the
Force". In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Sidious sent
out his apprentice Darth Maul to kill Queen Padme Amidala and the Jedi Knights Qui-Gon
Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In Star
Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Sidious again plotted against the
Jedi, this time sending his new apprentice Count Dooku, a.k.a Darth Tyranus to
do his work.
Later,
supposedly in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, it is
generally assumed by fans that Sidious will be revealed to be actually Chancellor
Palpatine, and take on Anakin Skywalker as his new apprentice under the name Darth
Vader. If so, then between Episode III and Episode IV, Darth Sidious will
become the Emperor who is seen in Episodes V and VI.
There are
clear clues to this fact that have been shown earlier, for example in the
closing scenes of The Phantom Menace, Palpatine is shown in profile, matching
Sidious seen in the same position but with his face hidden by the hood of his
cloak. Palpatine and Sidious are also, not coincidentally, both introduced in
The Phantom Menace as holograms and Sidious makes numerous references to his
direct ties to the senate but never actually tells his underlings what they
are. Look closely when Sidious and Maul speak on Coruscant: the railing balcony
matches the one seen from Senator Palpatine's apartment later in the film. Both
Darth Sidious and Palpatine are also played by the same actor, Ian McDiarmid.
Many reference materials made after 2002 blatantly refer to The Emperor as
Darth Sidious (such as the Unleashed toy and Inside The Worlds of The Star Wars
Trilogy), but still no in-story connection has been explicitly made.
In the
original movie trilogy, the name Palpatine is never spoken and he is referred
to only as "The Emperor". The name Palpatine originated in the
novelizations, in which the name is given as that of the former senator who
rose to power.
"Sidious"
with the prefix "in" is "insidious," a word which describes
Darth Sidious very well.
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The Star Wars back-story
Sidious is the
Sith Lord responsible for accomplishing the ultimate goals of that dark and
clandestine order. Namely, the complete destruction of the Jedi Order and the
restoration to galactic power of the Sith. These have been Sidious'
motivations, and these he has sought to implement with every stroke.
It is unknown
when he became Dark Lord of the Sith, but the name of his master is known: Darth
Plagueis. It is known that as early as a decade prior to the events of Episode
I, Sidious had begun training his apprentice Darth Maul. Sidious, not content
to just convert a force user to the Darkside, instead chose to mold and
carefully sculpt his right hand from scratch. Maul was kidnapped as an infant;
trained personally by Sidious in all forms of combat and use of the Force; and
especially, was taught aggression, anger, and hatred. Seemingly much of
Sidious' efforts went into perfecting Maul into the ultimate weapon. But in
reality, Maul was just another pawn in Sidious' grand strategy.
Sidious,
possessed of a superior intellect, had a cunning understanding of the human
mind and great use of the Force in foreseeing the future, so he could
manipulate events as though he were a dejarik grandmaster moving pieces on a
board. Darth Sidious had a broad expertise in areas such as psychology,
bureaucracy, and philosophy.
As Palpatine,
he had gained a reputation for being a good and modest man, and had managed to
get himself elected as Senator from the relatively minor planet of Naboo.
Leading up to the events of Episode I, Palpatine had judiciously used his
intellect to become a well-respected politician in the Senate, and had even
gained the friendship of the current Chancellor, Finis Valorum.
In the
background however, Sidious unfurled his plan. Part of it was to train Maul;
another part of it was to then have Maul assassinate key figures, thus gaining
influence for Sidious, especially in illicit circles.
This
eventually led to a secret alliance with the Trade Federation. The Trade
Federation was a consortium which controlled shipping throughout the Galaxy
that had become powerful enough to have full representation in the Senate as
though they were a member world. The Senate had voted to levy taxes on trade in
order to raise funds for the government (this at the manipulation of
Palpatine). Sidious, appealing to the Trade Federation's greed, persuaded them
to blockade Naboo in protest of the levy. He assured them that the action would
bring them greater control and profits, as the Senate would be impotent to act.
Meanwhile in
his role as Palpatine, he convinced Amidala, queen of the Naboo, to endure the
blockade. Advising her that the Trade Federation could not force the issue, and
that the Senate would not let the dispute continue for long. This leads to the
events opening Episode I.
Jedi mediators
had been dispatched to settle the conflict (at the request of the Chancellor,
and the persuasion of his friend Palpatine). When it seemed as though the Trade
Federation would be forced to settle or else face the Jedi, Sidious ordered
them to kill the Jedi instead and invade Naboo, assuring them that it would be
over before the Senate could respond. Sidious' real goals were to weaken the
power of the Trade Federation (one of the key galactic forces at the time), and
to gain sympathy among the Senate due the invasion.
As Sidious had
intended, the Jedi rescued Amidala and brought her to the Senate. There, she testified
of what the Federation had done and pleaded for help. Amidala's reputation and
testimony was enough to convince the Senate to take action. Since Chancellor
Valorum was unwilling to do anything at that time, however, so Amidala asked
for a vote of no confidence. The majority of the rest of the Senate agreed, and
Valorum was forced to step down from his position.
The sympathy
for Naboo concerning the ordeal was enough to earn the already well-respected
Palpatine a nomination to succeed Valorum as Chancellor. His secret alliances
further assured that he would be elected. Subsequently, Amidala left returned
to Naboo with the Jedi, where the Trade Federation was ultimately defeated
militarily, and consequently suffered a significant financial loss.
Sidious's
secondary plan was not as obvious as the first (the Sith Lord had a penchant
for the most complicated plans, so his grand scheme had many layers), hence it
was even more brilliant and devious. Sidious knew he would need a force user of
extraordinary power if he was ever to defeat the Jedi Order. The Sith Lord took
the necessary steps to ensure that such a force-user was at his command.
The true
extent of Sidious's influence on Anakin's life is unknown, but it is probable
that Sidious was aware of Anakin from conception. Tatooine happened to be out
of range of the Jedi order, and thus Anakin would be unrecruited and unknown to
the Jedi. Tatooine also happened to be a harsh place, a place where Anakin
would grow up an alien, a slave, and without a father. A perfect place for the
seeds of the dark side to grow inside him.
Anakin was
destined to become the greatest force-user in the Galaxy, and clearly who
Sidious would choose as his apprentice. It is equally clear that Sidious would
not be able to personally train Anakin. Sidious had many demands and plans yet
to implement, especially now that he was Chancellor. So Sidious arranged other
means for his future apprentice to be trained, namely the Jedi Order.
The entire Jedi
Council refused to let the boy be trained. They did not know why exactly, but
they did know a dark cloud surrounded the boy. Yoda said it clearest when he
explained the path to the Dark Side, which begins with fear, and how he saw
much fear in Anakin.
Sidious
unleashed Maul, and had him track down the Jedi who were protecting Amidala. In
the climactic battle of Episode I, Maul proved his prowess and defeated Jedi
Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan however, seemed to have a better connection to the
force, and was able to survive despite his foe's superior skill. This cost
Sidious decades of work, but in the end he considered it worthwhile. Qui-Gon's
dying wish was that the boy be trained; a wish which even the Jedi Council was
unwilling to deny their fallen hero. And so ill-prepared Obi-Wan became
Anakin's teacher despite the council's concerns. And so Sidious achieved his
intermediate objectives. Gifted with an uncanny amount of patience, it would be
an entire decade before the next step in his sinister plan would come to
fruition.
In Attack
of the Clones, Sidious is seen again at the end of the movie, after Count
Dooku escapes from the Battle of Geonosis and arrives via solar sail to Coruscant.
Dooku lands in The Works, where Sidious is hiding out at the moment, and meets
with him where they discuss their plans for the future, to be seen in Revenge
of the Sith. But Dooku secretly reveals information about Darth Sidious to
the Jedi who decided to keep a closer eye on the Galactic Senate.
In Revenge
of the Sith, the true extent of Sidious's plan is revealed. His reasons for
playing both sides of the Clone Wars against each other - with himself as
Palpatine controlling the Republic legitimately and his apprentice Tyranus as
the head of the CIS - are revealed to be an elaborate scheme designed for the
primary purpose of eliminating the Jedi. Also part of this plan is the
establishment of a New Order- the Galactic Empire- led by Palpatine and his
apprentice.
The Chancellor
uses his friendship and trust with Anakin Skywalker to corrupt him to the dark
side. He convinces Anakin that the Jedi and the Senate can not be trusted, but
the primary motivating factor for Anakin is Palpatine's suggestions that he
could save Padme, Anakin's beloved - since Anakin foresees her death in her
imminent childbirth. Anakin - now really more properly known as Darth Vader -
duels with his former master, Kenobi, over the lava flows of the planet
Mustafar, culminating in Anakin's fall into the molten lava. Palpatine rescues
Vader from the lava after much of his body is incinerated and saves him by
having him placed in a life-sustaining armored suit- the suit that Vader is
seen wearing throughout the classic trilogy.
From
Wikipedia
The Phantom Menace
| Attack of the Clones
| Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: A New Hope
| The Empire Strikes Back
| Return of the Jedi
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