Palpatine Is Now My Favorite Villain

When I saw Return of the Jedi, Palpatine was an ok villain, but I certainly didnt think he was as great as Vader. However, TPM and AOTC have immensely improved his characterization. We now see just how cunning and clever he is. We also see how much of a bastard he is. I now say that he is the best villain of the SW saga. Yes, I dare say he is better than even Vader. What do you guys think?

 

I completely agree with you, though I have suspected this very fact for some time. Now I have the prequel films to prove me right! I loved the Emperor in ROTJ, but all we really got was the evil old man who was running the show. He oozed evil, but never were we given much insight into what got him where he was currently at. Now we see just how underhandedly dirty he really played the game. He brought the Republic down, using the corruption to his advantage. He brought the Jedi down, using their arrogance to his advantage. He ruined Anakin's life, using his innocence and strength to his advantage. I really enjoy seeing the Emperor get what's coming to him in ROTJ now more than I ever did before!

 

Yeah, I also think a lot of credit has to go to Ian McDiarmind. He is doing a fantastic job in the prequels. And the more I think about it, he also did a fantastic job in ROTJ. Together, he and GL have created a terrific villain. I also think it is interesting how arrogance and overconfidence was what really brought the downfall of both the emporer AND the Jedi. Although the Jedi's arrogance was much more subtle.

 

Agreed, in the end Palpatine fell victim to pretty much the same thing that the Jedi fell victim to; arrogance and overconfidence! Ian McDiarmid is one of my favorite actors who never disappoints. I wonder what he (and George of course) will have in store for us in Episode 3??

 

Surely we will see even more clearly how cunning and devious Palpatine is. In AOTC he has just begun to weave his web of deception. I'm still waiting to see how he steers Anakin to the dark side . I wonder if he was somehow responsible for Shmi's death?

 

I think that in the OT, we only see Palpatine as a villain. We are unable to see how he sets up traps, how he plots the downfall of others etc. Nor do we see the slightest hint of a human side to him.

However, in the Prequels, we now see where Palpatine was from, how he ascended to power etc. We see that he was once ordinary, that he was able to abuse a great power vested in him, and doing so certainly required a great deal of skill and planning.

It is precisely the elements of skill and cunning that mark a villain, thus the improved image of Palpatine we have now.

P.S. Saga forum back up after April Fool's!

 

It's hard for me to see Vader as villain now. So yeah, Palpatine is my favorite.

 

It also gives huge amounts of new meaning and resonance to the Emperor's words in Return of the Jedi:

"Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design..."

 

Well, I'm a member of the Ian McDiarmid group (FIGS) on the AOTC Forum, so count me in as a fan too!

 

Ian McDiarmid does a wonderful job as Palpatine. I couldn't imagine another actor playing that character.

Yeah, with all the added "history" that the prequels give us, it does make it harder to consider Anakin/Vader the villian. Rather, he's more of a pawn...a powerful one that can Force choke you in an instant, but still a pawn.

 

I,ve always worshiped Darth Vader as the ultimate evil, specialy 'cause of his performance in ESB.
Unfortunately, GL decided to present him as a silly kid in TPM, and changed the way I view Darth Vader. I hate it, I can't watch ESB anymore without the expression "yippie" storming in the back of my head.
I love SW, always have, always will, but I refuse to watch TPM.
Now to stay on topic, Palpatine is a great Villain, but I still think Darth Vader in ESB is not easy to overcome, not even by Force Ligthning.

 

I would say that Palpatine is not only my favorite SW villain, but the best villain I've ever seen in a story

He's so clever, so subtle, so genius, so evil. When I actually think about his plan my first thought is what a bastard playing everyone like he is and causing many deaths just for more power. But then I sit back and have to admire his cunning and planning, his plan was flawless

And the greatest thing about him IMO, is that for the PT nobody even knows he's the villain. They won't find out until it's to late

 

I think Palpatine is silly in ROTJ. I don't find him at all manipulative in that movie. He reminds me of the cartoon villians who tell the good guy to join the evil side, because evil is soooooooo much cooler! Before the PT, I always considered Vader to be the real bad guy, and Palpatine was the ugly old man who is trying too hard to be evil.

However, since the PT, I've changed my veiws. You can really see how he manipulates people. He's just so evil, especially when he's pretending to be good! You just want to rip that fake compassionate look off his face.

I've always thought the best bad guys have to have some sort of 'good' quality - ie: they're good looking, charming, etc. If you have this ugly, 100% evil guy you aren't as interested. Palpatine's dual role, his lies and manipulations make him a great villian. The fact that nobody else realizes who he truly is makes him even more scary.

 

However, I do hope that Palpatine doesnt lie to Anakin by telling him that the Jedi did something that they didnt do. That would make Anakin look like a chump and give it too much of an OTHELLA vibe. I would rather Palpatine just simply manipulate his feelings about something the Jedi really did do. So far I have been pleased with the way Palpatine has manipulated Anakin. But again, I hope it doesnt develope into a SW version of OTHELLA in episode 3.

 

I am gonna be different and say that the Green Goblin is my favorite villian. He could take out Palpatine anytime.

 

Palpatine is the definitive villain. Vader has a vulnerable side. Palpatine does not.

And it does look like EIII may very well turn into Othello with Palpatine playing the part of Iago.