Lg.Is, NY A few Sidious Questions

Hey guys. I was just reading the offical site's databank description of Darth Sidious. It affirms the Plagueis story. I have a few questions you guys might like to discuss a bit.

(1) Plagueis WAS killed by Palpatine after Palpatine learned all of Plagueis's tricks. Did Palpidious really know how to create life as his master did or did he kill Plagueis BEFORE learning this trick? I tend to believe he did in fact know how to create life but chose not to do so, and NOT to teach it beause it would seal his ultimate fate as an apprentice would live forever learning to become more powerful until ultimately killing the master.

(2) The databank also confirms that Sidious was deformed by his own lightning being reflected back at him by Mace Windu. Why is it that no other being suffered such disfigurement after being dealt lethal/near lethal doses of Sith lightning?

(3) MAUL RELATED - Databank confirms that Obi Wan tapped the dark side during his rush on Maul on Naboo after seeing Qui Gon stabbed. In fact, here is the passage:
"Kenobi, enraged, attacked Maul. This barrage was deflected by Maul who used Obi-Wan's touching of the dark side as a conduit for a Force attack; using the Force, Maul pushed Obi-Wan into a deep mining pit. Kenobi held onto an outcropping for dear life. Calming himself by calling upon the light side of the Force, Kenobi was able to surprise Maul, and cleave him in half with his saber."

My question is, if a Jedi uses the dark side in a duel against a Sith, DOES that in fact benefit the Sith, as they can utilize that tapping of the Dark Side to enhance their own strikes/strength? It raises some very interesting questions if that is true!

As Rufus would say ... "Party on dudes!" TTYL.





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In regard to Question #3:

Yes, a Jedi's use of the Dark Side strengthens a Dark Side-using opponent. This was shown in the comic Dark Empire, where Luke failed to defeat the clone Emperor by trying to fight the Dark Side from within, and again in the novel The New Rebellion, where an injured Luke was losing his patience while dueling with fallen student Kueller/Dolph, and Kueller used Luke's anger to become stronger and fight harder. Luke then realized his mistake and almost pulled an Obi-Wan by preparing to let himself be sacrified in the exact same way, but before he could be cut down Leia stepped in and shot Kueller in the head. It's the same philosophy as losing by fighting fire with fire.

As for Question #2, I'd venture to guess that Sidious was deformed by his lightning because he was continuing to lash out and draw on the Dark Side even as it struck him. In comparison, when someone else is attacked with lightning they are not using the Dark Side, they are merely suffering extreme pain and loss of life energy, thus they are not disfigured. The key is that Sidious was actively using the Dark Side while hit.

Any powerful use of the Dark Side or overuse of the Force in general causes unnatural aging and deterioriation. In the new books The Joiner King and The Unseen Queen, Luke performs a very taxing feat when he does a double illusion cloaking whole starships. This act requires him to overdraw on the Force in great quantities, and in keeping with the new "gray" philosophy of the NJO, he also uses his fear and anger for his family's endangerment to help him achieve the illusion. This raises his body temperature to the point that the cytoplasm in his cells boils and all the moisture from his skin evaporates, leaving it dry as parchment--he is literally burning from the inside out. He even starts glowing and sparking with a golden aura, and he comes seconds away from spontaneously combusting. When he finally lets go he looks in the mirror and is horrified to see that he's aged a year in minutes: his skin is sallow and wrinkled, his eyes are baggy and bloodshot, and his face is puffy. He even jokes to his wife Mara that he's starting to look like the Emperor.

I know the least about Question #1, but I'd say Sidious wouldn't have been stupid enough to kill Plagueis without learning such a monumental skill. Knowledge is power, and nothing matters more to Sidious.

 

Thanks for the detail Moriah ...

Also of note, on p. 330 of the Stover book ROTS, when Mace fights Sidious it says "Vaapad is a channel for darkness, and that darkness flowed both ways. He accepted the furious speed of the Sith Lord, drew the shadow's rage and power into his innermost center -

And let it fountain out again.
He reflected the fury upon its source as a lightsaber redirects a blaster bolt."

I'm no student of EU but I have read maybe 10 novels to date. This is the first I've heard of dark side drawing power ... or whatever you want to call it. I just wish it was illustrated/explained on screen.





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Nice quote there. And of course things will always be clearer in book form--the characters onscreen can't exactly drop what they're doing or launch into a long-winded monologue explaining all the meaning behind their actions, and neither can we read their minds.



Or, as we REALLY know, then we'd have no fun watching the fanboys get their panties in a twist speculating over all the possible interpretations. Fleet junkies, anyone?

 

Going back to my only source of info on Force Lightning, the RPG... just using it causes damage to the one weilding it. So, that combined with it being reflected back, easily explains the disfigurement.

For the EU experts... is there something about that in one of the books? Because the RPG manuals have to have gotten it from somewhere. Unless my GM just made it up himself (which is entirely possible).

About Jedi tapping the Dark side... yeah, I've noticed they seem to really kick butt once they give in to anger a little. Obi-Wan does it with Maul, and Luke does it with Vader. My take was that it was a different approach, one that could be safe if properly controlled. And that that was Luke's new way of being a Jedi - sort of walking the line between the two sides almost. He does wear black, after all...