CT Palpatine's body evolving?

Maul's entire appearance doesn't deviate that strongly from any of the other night brothers, except for the pronounced red rings around his pupils.

Palpatine's appearance is said outright to be the result of scarring, and Force lightning is now said to have the capacity to deform in the - relatively new - databank articles.

Whereas Force lightning is shown to be excruciating and debilitating when used against other characters, it is not depicted as being so on Palpatine. Maul screams in pain; Luke falls and starts convulsing on the floor; Anakin screams and is put out of commission for awhile, Mace screams and is ultimately killed; Yoda collapses to the floor for a brief while.

Palpatine on the other hand does no scream in any kind of pain, claims weakness rather than agony, and is able to talk throughout the whole ordeal.

Perhaps being hit by one's own lightning has a different effect. I don't know.

It would seem odd that Dooku can generate enough power to kill Asajj without physically affecting himself in the slightest, while Palpatine is putting out enough power to deform himself, yet not even cause himself any real pain, let alone kill himself.

Whether the ability to deform is one consciously made by the user, or whether deformation is merely a product of being hit by one's own dark side power is unknown. But when writing the databank they seem to have unambiguously stated that Palpatine's face was scarred and deformed by the reflected Force lightning, not the result of any kind of mask peeling away, not the result of channeling the dark side.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

and the rotten teeth

 

He seemed to be in quite a bit of pain in ROTJ when being carried and ending up shocking himself

 

He doesn't shock himself at all... The lightning is arcing to Vader. He's screaming because Vader caught him off guard.

You can't really see any of the night brothers teeth to any extent. And even so, there's no indication that dental hygiene has anything to do with Dark Side.

Regardless, official site says, again, unambiguously, that it's the lightning.


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

You're wrong.

The lightning does not deform Sidious' face, this line of thought is ridiculous and has been commented on many times. George Lucas intended for Sidious to be corrupted by the dark side and decided it be shown progressively. However, this proved to be impractical so he decided to go with 'mask' idea; in which the mask literally melts away when using force lightning. This explains the discrepancy between his AOTC and ROTS appearance; the latter of which, he looks rejuvenated. Also, if the force lightning deformed his skin, did it also coincidentally deform his eyes as well, making them a typical Sith yellow? Did it make his voice coincidentally sound evil? Why didn't the force lightning destroy his clothing? How did he recover so fast?

As I have mentioned, the deformed face theory has many, many plot holes and was never intended to be. It was propagated by the uninformed.

It doesn't matter if the official site states that. If it conflicts with Lucas' idea and the movies, then it doesn't hold true at all. In addition to this, Star Wars Insider 83, tells us about the disguise Sidious was wearing and supports the 'mask theory'. Backed up with quotes from GL and, Ian Mcdiarmid, himself... provides evidence against the deformed theory, and for the mask theory.

Like the others have mentioned, no other force users have been damaged this way from force lightning. An answer to your query about, Palpatine being the only corrupted Sith, is due to his extensive power and knowledge of the dark side. Others pale in comparison to his scholarly wisdom of the dark side and his raw power- this took a toll on his physical body.

I hope this enlightens you and banishes the untrue theories . Just because one source states something, you must always cross reference it- particularly true with Star Wars canon. In this case, the evidence is overwhelmingly stacked against the deformed theory. I don't mean to be rude regarding this, just eager to banish the misinformed theory.

 

I don't see how I'm wrong when it's official and stated at least four times in the databank, when that content is no doubt approved by, if not written by a member of the story group.

You might think it's stupid. I personally was a fan of the mask theory, but there's no proof of it and the most recent official source to address the topic (the databank) uses the term scarred by the Force lightning. Maul's teeth is the closest proof to another character experiencing Dark Side corruption, when that's sketchy at best.

Until a more recent source comes along stating otherwise, I don't see how it can be argued that an official source is wrong. There were older sources like John Knoll that stated it was strain and exertion that transformed him, but that was in the DVD commentary where it was also stated that Grievous' cough was the result of Mace Windu as depicted in CW, which is clearly not the case. It's an older source.

Lucas' intent is unclear and comments from Knoll and McDiarmid are of dubious canonical status. I don't have a Twitter account, but to settle it, I'd say ask Pablo. Though Pablo has a habit of trolling some questions. It's a thing that's been discussed for over a decade with sources ranging from scarring, to exertion, to Sith alchemy mask. Since the Disney acquisition and official site overhaul, the site has stated in no uncertain terms that it's the Force lightning, whereas before it was vague.



Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

You mention the databank but that's just one source that provides evidence for the deformity theory, there is a wealth of better evidence that refutes this idea of Palpatine somehow becoming deformed by his own force lightning: a completely unknown aspect of this Sith ability. However, I will keep my personal feeling at bay and look at the evidence scientifically.

The only evidence for the force lightning deforming Palpatine is an obscure part of the official site. The official site is an important resource for canon, no doubt. The issue is, this is the only source that provides evidence for the deformity theory. There are far more credible source that refute this school of thought.

The evidence for the mask theory is as follows:

• George Lucas' intentions were to show Palpatine's true form bursting out at that moment, this is quite clear based on quotes.
• Star Wars insider 82 confirms the mask theory.
• Star Wars insider 83 confirms the mask theory.
• Ian Mcdiarmid confirms the mask theory.
• As you mentioned, John Knoll confirms it- though slightly dubious as a source.
• Dark Side Sourcebook, confirms the mask theory.
• Derek Thompson: writer of, Sithisis. Had multiple interactions with, George Lucas. And, Ian Mcdiarmid. After consulting both, he ventured further into ROTS based on their information and developed the ritual behind the mask theory. Even though this is EU material, it confirms Lucas' intentions.

You mention George Lucas' intentions are unclear, I disagree. GL intended for mask theory to occur; and GL's vision is the ultimate canon. This, along with all the other canon sources, refute the deformed theory.

 

There's a quote from Insider from 2005 (found it in old posts from these forums) where Pablo cautions against taking the mask theory literally and that the databank even at that time (has been updated several times since then too) state it was scarring.

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/what-caused-palpatines-change-of-appearance.21200036/page-12

It's apparently issue 83 where he cautions against taking the mask theory literally.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

What's going on with Palpatine's face??? My favorite Star Wars question. I like that this isn't conclusively answered in the movies and may always remain up for debate.

Palpatine is such a trickster it's really impossible to know if what we see on screen is real or part of his act. Just look at the fight in his office with Mace Windu. Palpatine quickly and effortlessly kills three Jedi Masters and puts Mace Windu on the defense. When Anakin arrives Palpatine is disarmed and cornered by Mace Windu with the last bit of his strength giving out as his face melts. The instant Anakin cuts off Mace's hand Palpatine unleashes his most powerful barrage of lightning yet. Afterward Palpatine isn't even winded - he actually seems invigorated as he stands up and immediately knights Darth Vader and starts issuing Order 66. There appears to be no pain involved with the change of his face.

At the very least Palpatine was lying about his strength giving out. But everything could have been a ruse to seduce Anakin. We can't know for sure from what we see in the movie anymore than Anakin does.

Personally I think Mace Windu never stood a chance and the Darth Sidious face is Palpatine's real face.

We never see any other characters hit with Sith Lightning become disfigures in the movies or the Clone Wars TV show.

What we do see in the movies is Zam Wessell change her face. Zam establishes that some characters in the Star War universe can naturally, painlessly, and instantly change their looks. I'm not saying Palpatine is a Clawdite. Just that he knows a trick or skill which allowed him to do that at least once.

 

I don't think so, Star Wars Insider 83 does state it's the dark sides corruptive powers that act as the cause for Sidious' appearance. Even if, Hidalgo disagrees, then it is of no concern. GL and Ian Mcdiarmid are the highest authority when it comes to Emperor Palpatine.

You've now seen the overwhelming amount of information that supports the mask theory. If you're not happy with it, which you have confirmed to be true, why don't you deflect and believe in the mask theory? It would make ROTS a more enjoyable and logical film for you.

 

Apparently Everything you Need to Know about Star Wars also supports a pseudo-scarring theory.

Read the last post of this thread

http://boards.theforce.net/threads/palpatines-scars.50033645/page-3

By JediMasterAang

That the lightning made him look the way he does, but that it's not really a true injury, more of a deformity as his own dark side energy corrupted his appearance as it traveled through him.

The mask theory would suggest that he really looks like that and has just been disguising it via Sith alchemy or some such. The idea put forth here would suggest that no, he never looked like that prior to being hit by Force lightning, but that as his own Dark Side energies hit him, they corrupted his appearance into something sinister looking. Which would explain things like where the evil looking, longer fingernails came from.

That these are evil energies, not real electricity, and they essentially twisted his appearance into something that looked evil, but had never looked that way before.

As to why I don't embrace the mask theory despite preferring it, it's because I'm not likely to see it again with any other character. Even in TOR, which is not canon but still credits the Story Group, the three villains were stripped of any Dark Side corruption except the yellow eyes, when one of the villains' previous appearances prior to the Disney acquisition, when that game was canon, depicted him as having paper white, sickly looking skin. Snoke is the new bad master of the sequel trilogy, and he looks ugly, but it looks like he was burned and has wounds, not supernaturally transformed by the Dark Side. He's very asymmetric. Dark Side deformity is not something they seem to be rolling with for other characters, regardless of the explanation for Palpatine's appearance.

Vader was ugly, but he was scarred. Snoke is ugly, but he looks injured like Vader. Kylo Ren just looks like a normal guy. Dooku looks like a normal guy. Maul looks like any of the night brothers. Palpatine looked just like a normal guy until he got hit by lightning, and while unlike Snoke and Vader his injuries do seem to have a supernatural aspect to them, I don't believe they were leading fans to believe he had looked like that previously.




Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

Again, I will have to disagree. You're looking at small quotes from other members and anecdotal sources to base your evidence off. Sometimes, it's easier to accept the most valid approach, which would be the mask theory.

The idea of the Emperor doctoring his images is completely false, there was one incidence of this and that was in an episode of rebels. Canon comics depict numerous projections of the Emperor, in his true form, propagating Imperial propaganda. This was literally seen all over Coruscant. Also, why would he want to undergo a potentially gruelling ritual for the mask theory? He no longer has to hide away. The galaxy is his now.
Here is evidence:


As I mentioned before, Emperor Palpatine has devolved deeper into Sith knowledge and has more dark side power than any of those. Hence, his disfigured appearance. He was scholarly and probably delved into esoteric knowledge. He hid his dark side powers from the Jedi in the same way he did his appearance.

We can go on debating for eternity, so let me put forth a new question: What do you consider to be the highest form of canon?

 

Everything you Need to Know about Star Wars, Pablo (member of the Story Group) and the Databank are not anecdotal sources. All three are canon. And two out of the three have confirmed the scarring theory after the EU was wiped clean.

Snoke is particular I'd use as evidence against Dark Side corruption as he is old, some suspect ancient, and he hasn't deformed at all. He merely looks like he was heavily burned. His injuries are physical, like Vader's, not supernatural deformities.

Palpatine is in his 80s by the time of ROTJ and only in his 60s by ROTS. That's canon. Sources from McDiarmid or others suggesting he is older are not.

Vader is in his 40s, I think, in ROTJ. He hasn't even begun to undergo any kind of deformation.

There is no canonical post-Disney source to validate the mask theory. All the old material is legends. Knoll, Lucas and McDiarmid quotes can be and have been subject to interpretation since they can be interpreted metaphorically and not literally. Such as Pablo stating that he could make the case that Bruce Wayne is the "mask" of Batman.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

FWIW, Sidious has yellow eyes when he duels Maul in TCW: http://www.starwars.com/tv-shows/clone-wars/the-lawless-concept-art-gallery

 

That's different. Anakin has yellow eyes too and at least 2/4 Inquisitors. Eyes are different from someone's face changing structure merely from using Dark Side energy. You would think there would be at least one other case in canon of.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

I love this debate. darklordoftech, TaradosGon, and Darth Formidious - I think any of your explanations are valid at this point. Until we see an explanation in a movie or the very least a TV show - it's open to interpretation.

"What do you consider to be the highest form of canon?"

For now the 7 movies, the Clone Wars, and Rebels are the highest canon. For better or worse - I think the new "canon" of books, comics, etc, will someday be jettisoned the same as the old EU. 12 years from now I just don't see a movie or TV show changing its story line because of a passage in a book written in 2015. As far as behind the scenes information- how many times have we been given explanations by the people making the movies only to have those same people change their minds and handle things differently in a later movie. Until it's on screen it's not canon.

 

Anecdotal was you quoting another board member. Those sources you mentioned are indeed canon but are inferior to the movies and George Lucas' vision. I have mentioned it time and time that George Lucas intended for Sidious to show his true form- your sources had little involvement in the making of ROTS. This is crystal clear in the movies and is further consolidated through quotes from Mcdiarmid et al, on what they were told from GL. Here is a collection of Mcdiarmid quotes:

"George once said a really useful thing when I began playing Palpatine (in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace), and I don't know if he remembers this. He said, "In a sense, your eyes are contact lenses." In other words, the Palpatine character was the most artificial-it was as if they had grafted his face and put in (his) eyes. Because the real Palpatine is the one who bursts forth at a calculated moment in Episode III just after persuading Anakin to kill Mace (Windu). That is when the true person comes out, letting the evil fully manifest itself. The Emperor that you see in the last film looks the way he does because he's very old and very evil-it is what he always looked like. He just had this carapace of looking like a fairly ordinary looking guy, a politician that smiled a bit, and so on."
―Ian McDiarmid[src]
"I don't think George had made up his mind when we started shooting whether to continually show Lord Sidious as he really is after his initial transformation or if Sidious would go back forth with his appearance. When George finally saw Dave's wonderful makeup he decided that constantly changing Palpatine's appearance would be a step backward. So the moment in the film where I make the transformation is the way I appear until the end. It's an interesting sort of study in schizophrenia really-the nice guy you saw was revealed later in the monstrous mask as the self, the Sith self."
―Ian McDiarmid[src]
"You think about Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-Jekyll was the good doctor who went out at night and transformed into a terrible decadent, Hyde, who was buried down inside. In Episode III, it's more like Hyde in the guise of Jekyll throughout the film. And although the face is hideous, he doesn't care-Hideous Sidious, they go together."
―Ian McDiarmid[src]
I believe there was also a quote from GL himself, I will try and find that. These certainly aren't metaphorical and can be taken literally; especially the top two. Pairing this with the other sources, you end up with a certain answer.

​

I agree, in the far future of Star Wars we will see small amounts of material to be retconned but I doubt this impact would be huge, perhaps some conflicting information from a chapter of a book written many years ago. The old EU dealt with many retcons impeccably, so I doubt the impact would be huge.​

​

May I ask what side of the debate you're on?​

 

Darth Formidious

"May I ask what side of the debate you're on?"

Absolutely - happy to answer. Long story short - the benign Palpatine face and persona are not real. The monstrous Sidious face is what he really looks like. I don't know how he did it or for how long continuously.

I think everything that happened in Palpatine's Office was part of Darth Sidious's master plan. There is no way he put himself out on a limb. I don't think there was a second in that fight when Mace Windu actually had the advantage. The Emperor could have killed Mace at any time. And if Anakin hadn't cut off Mace's arm - I'm certain the Emperor would have stopped Mace. This is conjecture but maybe he'd of given Mace the full power of his lightening. Maybe Palpatine would have pulled out his second lightsaber with incredible speed to block the blow. Or maybe he'd of just stopped the purple lightsaber blade with his hand - the way the Father did with Anakin's lightsaber on Mortis. What I'm sure about is the Emperor was never defenseless for a moment during that fight. It was all staged to get Anakin to turn to the darkside. And if Anakin didn't defend Palpatine - then both Anakin and Mace would have been killed. (Incidentally I think Anakin stood a chance of actually being able to win a fight with Palpatine.)

Everything the Emperor did was a trick - used to make him look weaker or like his motives are different than what they truly are. As viewers of the movie we can't trust anything we see him do. In Return of the Jedi the Emperor used a cane when he arrived on the Death Star. But with Luke in the throne room - the Emperor walks just fine without a cane. He's no less powerful in Jedi than in the prequels. Palpatine employees a lot of theatrical trickery that he seems able to maintain indefinitely.

What happened with the Emperor's face was also trickery and part of the plan to seduce Anakin to the darkside. Mace didn't cause his face to melt and the lightening bouncing back on Palpatine didn't directly cause it either. Sith Lightning doesn't do that to anyone else in any other movies or on The Clone Wars. It's possible that the Darth Sidious face is what Palpatine actually really looked like during the prequels - but he was somehow using the force or another skill to look different. (Like Zam Wessell) It's also possible that finally unleashing his full darkside power caused it to happen. (Like really severe Sith eyes) Whatever it was - it was a ruse and a disguise on some level that he let down during the fight with Mace. (I think in the movies Sidious always has the non-monstrous face in holograms or when we see him in person up to that point - so he keeps the disguise up all the time.)

Beyond the pure evil of the dark side causing this - it's possible that Senator Palpatine is much much older than he appeared to be. Perhaps in the past he even had other face and identities. I assume Palpatine looks older in Episode 2 than Episode 3 because of a production choice with make-up and not a character choice - but technically we actually see him get younger between movies.

Most of the time we see Palpatine in the movies is from another character's point of view. Because of that I don't think we can trust what we are seeing as Palpatine's true intentions or actions. The closest we ever come to seeing or hearing the truth is the rack focus on Palpatine at the end of Qui-Gon's funeral. (That's an editorial tip of the hat that gives us some insight) and in Sidious's fight with Yoda. I think the only two Jedi that could stand up to Palpatine are Anakin and Yoda.

So when Yoda show's up Palpatine is actually in danger and wants to escape. I think the duel with Yoda is an actual fight. Sidious has a few moments when he thinks he might lose. While they duel - notice it never really comes down to lightsabers - the fight is decided by huge attacks with the force. And look at the power he can summon in that fight compared to the one with Mace. It's pretty obvious that Palpatine was holding back earlier. I also think Sidious tells the truth to Yoda during the fight. He can't resist gloating and talking to Yoda about his plans and how he beat the Jedi. That's why he doesn't just keep frying Yoda with lightning as soon as he shows up. Palpatine finally allows himself a moment to celebrate and be himself. That's when we get this great bit of dialogue.


Darth Sidious: I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend. At last, the Jedi are no more.
Yoda: Not if anything to say about it I have!
[Yoda force flings Darth Sidious across the room and across his desk]
Yoda: At an end your rule is, and not short enough was it.
[in a panic, Darth Sidious leaps towards the door. But Yoda leaps up and blocks his way]
Yoda: [ignites his lightsaber] If so powerful you are... why leave?
Darth Sidious: [ignites his lightsaber] You will not stop me! Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us!
Yoda: Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force.


We really can't believe anything Darth Sidious says or trust what he does. But does he really believe Darth Vader will be more powerful? Was part of the fatherly pride and advice Palpatine showed for Anakin Skywalker on some level actually real, or is this more of his trickery? Does it just mean if Yoda defeats Darth Sidious on this day - Darth Vader will still defeat Yoda. I.E. - The Sith still win.

My last question is if the rebel alliance was defeated over Endor and Luke Skywalker replaced Darth Vader as the new Sith Lord - what was next for Palpatine? I like the comic page you posted - but I get the feeling as Emperor Palpatine didn't make many public appearances. I like his portrayal in the original Star Wars novel as a secluded figurehead whose Empire was run by bureaucrats and officers. At least that's what the universe at large was lulled into believing. My guess is that was another ruse as he directly ran things in direct and unknown ways.

 

So many of your ideas and opinions on, Palpatine align with mine. I agree with all what you've said.

Though, I wouldn't quite say the Emperor is in outright danger. Rather, there is a risk for him since Yoda is one of the greatest Jedi ever seen; it would be ridiculous to think there wasn't. I'm glad he tried to escape, it emphasised the juxtaposition between Jedi and Sith: the Jedi like an honourable duel whereas the Sith prefer trickery and deceit. So the combination of the two, I quite liked.

Totally agree with the Mace Windu analysis. Palpatine had many opportunities to finish him off. I wonder when the Mace fan boys will back down...

Interesting questions, who knows, maybe one day we may get a canon answer from some of the other forms of media. Coming to Luke; if had slain Darth Vader, I believe the Emperor had use for a more powerful apprentice to delve deeper into the dark side of the force. Palpatine's ultimate ambition was to manifest reality in his image, to forge the galaxy how he seen fit, and for omnipotence. Luke would have accelerated this ambition to reality.

 

Darth Formidious - I think we're in agreement that Palpatine wasn't in outright danger from Yoda. Palpatine probably even felt that he would win the fight. It's just Palpatine and the Sith avoided any sort of risk when they could. When he realized Yoda wasn't going to let him go, he got his hands dirty and seemed to really enjoy it. At the end Yoda realized he couldn't win a battle of strength and aggression with Sidious. So left.

I think if Obi-Wan and Yoda both went to fight the Emperor it actually would have made the fight harder for Yoda. (It'd be like giving the Emperor a hostage.) Look at how badly Obi-Wan did in his second duel with Dooku. Also in the Clone Wars in Yoda's vision fight with Palpatine - Anakin being there immediately becomes a liability.

Obi-Wan is like the best Jedi. Not the greatest, most powerful, wisest, or even the smartest. He's just an all around solid Jedi that never gives up. He has an uncanny knack for getting into hopeless situations and somehow just barely getting out, usually because his opponents get over confident. Darth Maul almost kills him. General Grievous too. Obi-Wan can beat Anakin because there is a lot more going on there than just Jedi vs. Sith. The Emperor would have killed Obi-Wan as fast as he dispatched Kit Fisto. Or kept him alive long enough during the fight to make things harder for Yoda.

I suspect Darth Sidious doesn't tell Darth Vader that Yoda escaped. Vader probably thinks Sidious killed Yoda - or Sidious may tell him all they found was his robe. (Which would give extra meaning to Vader stepping on Obi-Wan's robe after cutting him down on the Death Star.) I wondered if Sidious is always secretly watching over his shoulder for a little green assassin

The big take away for Yoda in the Sidious fight is to start his own sort of secret rule of two for the Jedi. Both Yoda and Obi-Wan go underground waiting for the right time. But where the Sith kill their masters - the Jedi give their lives to help the apprentice. First Obi-Wan and then Yoda.

Now I'm starting to get really off topic - but it's still about the truth of Palpatine - and if not his evolving body - then the evolution of his plans. Which are all going to the same place.

Did Palpatine know about Luke and Leia? And was he waiting for one of them to grow strong enough to replace Vader? Palpatine has all of these plans and it seems like he knows pretty much everything that is going to happen in the prequels. How did he miss so much in Return of the Jedi? This is total speculation on my part - I wonder if Yoda and Obi-Wan after becoming one with the force were able to somehow cloud Palpatine's ability to see the future, at least when it came to Luke and the battles on and above Endor? Similar to what the Sith had done to the Jedi at the end of the Republic. We know that Obi-Was is posthumously able to help Luke destroy the Death Star. So while Luke did go and face Vader and the Emperor alone - unknown to even the Emperor himself - could some of his power of foresight have been diminished? A blind spot for only the most vitally important things? Did the Jedi in a short 25 years do to the Sith what it took 1,000 years for the Sith to do to the Jedi?

I also wonder, did the construction of terrible weapons like the Death Star somehow directly provoke the Force to act. In other words - as much as Luke is the right rebel at the right time to blow up the Death Star - is it possible that the Force helped pull Luke into that moment to save the universe. And did the Emperor think a second Death Star could not only draw in the rebels for a final defeat but also expect it to lure in Luke again?

And getting really crazy - is it possible we'll learn in Episode 8 that Snoke realized this and the ultimate purpose of Starkiller base wasn't to destroy the New Republic - but to find Rey? (I.E. - the next great champion of the Force.) (I know this is total speculation at this point, with little facts to back it up. Not sure I believe it.)

Here's my last question - something I've only thought about since reading this thread - If Darth Sidious can change his appearance both physical and how he appears in the force to fool everyone - even the Jedi - that he is an affable but bemused senator - could Darth Sidious have impersonated other people in that same time? Could he have made himself look like Sifo-Dyas to order the Clone Army? (I'm not sure I believe it. But is there anything that makes this impossible?)


And lastly: Darth Formidious


"May I ask what side of the debate you're on?"

 

Sidious only engages when the odds are stacked in his favour. He doesn't like leaving things to chance because he's a control freak. But if he really has to fight....it's on like Donkey Kong. Sidious is all about scheming, surprising people and making sure he wins and lives to see another day.

 

Very interesting ideas. I agree with all of them, as a matter of fact. I do like the duel you've constructed between Palpatine, Yoda and Obi Wan. If someone like Dooku could work this to his advantage, the master manipulator, who is Palpatine, would easily make this work in his favour.

Can I just ask, are these questions directed at me? I would be more than happy to answer but I can't tell if they're rhetorical.

For the last question though, I would say no. Darth Sidious did indeed change his appearance through the force but I don't think he desired who he looked like. However, I think he simply wielded a mask of his own rejuvenated features; removing any corruption he had accumulated through his many years practicing the dark side. There was no evidence of the tainted path; both in his appearance and through the force.

 

Spoiler

Snoke

 

Darth Formidious -

Please do answer any of the questions. I'm curious to hear other ideas. This is all speculation on my part.

 

@Jedi_Sith_Smuggler_Droid- I will be more than delighted to share my opinions!

Did Palpatine know about Luke and Leia?
Palatine definitely knew about Luke as indicated in ESB, but I think he has known for a long while and planned to work this in his advantage and tell Vader when the time was right; when Vader was securely walking the tainted path. The Emperor knew about Padme's pregnancy, I believe he knew since then but it was of little concern. His interest grew when Luke was on the path of the Jedi. I don't think the Emperor knew about Leia; Obi Wan states: "To protect you both from the Emperor, you were hidden from your father when you were born. The Emperor knew as well as I that if Anakin had any offspring, they would a threat to him, that is the reason why your sister remains safely anonymous."


How did he miss so much in Return of the Jedi?
I don't think this had much to do with Obi Wan and Yoda's interference. Obi Wan (who is turning out to be a good source ) tells Luke he can't interfere with his duel against Vader in ESB. The Emperor is superior entity: he was untouchable by both Jedi masters. I believe it was his own overconfidence that led unto his death- the dark side is quicker but also a path to self destruction, as well.


Did the Jedi in a short 25 years do to the Sith what it took 1,000 years for the Sith to do to the Jedi?
Interesting... but I would say no. The Sith completely destroyed the Jedi order, even now, there is only one Jedi remaining. The Jedi are on the fringe of extinction, the Jedi order is almost as old as time itself and has always coexisted with the republic. The Sith engineered its entire destruction, a feat never before achieved. Palpatine has broken the galaxy. The Sith didn't wait a 1000 years for the destruction of the Jedi, they waited that time for the rise of one august body- Palpatine. He was the one to bring the Sith out of the shadows and into the light.