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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Palpatine's second lightsaber

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by Vialco, Oct 19, 2013.

  1. SlashMan

    SlashMan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2012
    Never actually saw it up close, but they both look really nice (especially diggin the first picture). The only inconsistency I can see is the blade emitter is gold in one picture and black in the other (when referring to the Senate duel version). Screencaps haven't been very helpful, since most are blurred from motion.

    Though it was a clever way to recycle the prop, as it's one of my personal favorite designs for a lightsaber hilt; both color schemes complement the design well.
     
  2. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Oddly, it implies that the saber has been in there for decades and never taken out:

    The Coruscant nightfall was spreading through the galaxy.
    The darkness in the Force was no hindrance to the shadow in the Chancellor's office; it was the darkness. Wherever darkness dwelled, the shadow could send perception.
    In the night, the shadow felt the boy's anguish, and it was good. The shadow felt the grim determination of four Jedi Masters approaching by air. This, too, was good.
    As a Jedi shuttle settled to the landing deck outside, the shadow sent its mind into the far deeper night within one of the several pieces of sculpture that graced the office: an abstract twist of solid neuranium, so heavy that the office floor had been specially reinforced to bear its weight, so dense that more sensitive species might, from very close range, actually percieve the tiny warping of the fabric of space-time that was its gravitation.
    Neuranium of more than roughly a millimeter thick is impervious to sensors; the standard security scans undergone by all equipment and furniture to enter the Senate Office Building had shown nothing at all. If anyone had thought to use an advanced gravimetric detector, however, they might have discovered that one smallish section of the sculpture massed slightly less than it should have, given that the manifest that had accompanied it, when it was brought from Naboo among the then-ambassador's personal effects, clearly stated that it was a single piece of solid-forged neuranium.
    The manifest was a lie. The sculpture was not entirely solid, and not all of it was neuranium.
    Within a long, slim, rod-shaped cavity around which the sculpture had been forged rested a device that had lain, waiting, in absolute darkness—darkness beyond darkness—for decades.
    Waiting for night to fall on the Republic.

    The shadow felt Jedi Masters stride the vast echoic emptiness of the vaulted halls outside. It could practically hear the cadence of their boot heels on the Alderaanian marble.
    The darkness within the sculpture whispered of the shape and the feel and every intimate resonance of the device it cradled. With a twist of its will, the shadow triggered the device.
    The neuranium got warm.
    A small round spot, smaller than the circle a human child might make of thumb and forefinger, turned the color of old blood.
    Then fresh blood. Then open flame.
    Finally a spear of scarlet energy lanced free, painting the office with the color of stars seen through the smoke of burning planets.
    The spear of energy lengthened, drawing with it out from the darkness the device, then the scarlet blade shrank away and the device slid itself within the softer darkness of a sleeve.
     
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  3. Arawn_Fenn

    Arawn_Fenn Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 2, 2004
    Another TCW retcon...
     
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  4. CT-867-5309

    CT-867-5309 Chosen One star 7

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    Jan 5, 2011
    That was bound to happen. Though it sounds cool, someone should have known never to say never, so to speak.
     
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  5. SithStarSlayer

    SithStarSlayer Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 23, 2003
    I was hoping they'd whip up something about him using one of the Muun's blades that Palpatine modeled his after.
    Or something.
     
  6. Vialco

    Vialco Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2007
    I think that TCW retcons the Sistros statue as a hiding place for Palpatine's lightsaber.

    The simple truth is that Palpatine is shown to possess two lightsabers in ROTS, and he wields them simultaneously in the Lawless, hiding them up his sleeves until they're needed. The lightsabers are hidden in the same place in ROTS, and since he's shown to have one hidden up each sleeve, it stands to reason that Palpatine still had one lightsaber up his sleeve when Mace was reflecting his lightning back on him.

    I posit that Palpatine had a second lightsaber on him during the whole Mace fight and that Anakin's intervention wasn't really needed. Sidious just acted helpless to get Anakin to turn to the Dark side. He could have used his hidden lightsaber to block Mace's fatal strike.
     
  7. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2013
    I tend to agree with you on this Vialco. Palps was not one to leave things to chance or bet based on a probability... He has taken great pains in making all the events to date culminate as he wished... he wouldn't let this last final stroke be jeopardized by not having his backup on him.

    Now that being said, I've never seen the alternating hilts in that scene and consequently never even known there was a completely different second version of the Showdown on Coruscant. It certainly opens a fascinating line of questions around how that scene would've unfolded and affected the events of the rest of the movie...
     
  8. SithStarSlayer

    SithStarSlayer Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Oct 23, 2003
  9. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

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    Oct 22, 2013
    Thanx very much SithStarSlayer... glad to be here after a hiatus forced upon me by my OWN younglings.... :D
     
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  10. Poor Greedo

    Poor Greedo Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 6, 2012
    I honestly never noticed the two different lightsabers. So if he did have it as a backup when Mace was whippin that ass, he sure was waiting for the right time to use it!

    I kind of like the original scene setup. Having Anakin there for the arrest would've been cool. That's not to say I dislike the final product.
     
  11. darth-sinister

    darth-sinister Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 28, 2001
    This presumes that Palpatine keeps both Lightsabers on him at all times. We only know for certain that he did in "Lawless", but as I said, he was going to face Maul and Savage. So he was going in well prepared. The situation here was different because he was counting on Anakin's emotional state being necessary to turn him, as opposed to going out to kill two threats to his ascension.
     
  12. Vialco

    Vialco Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 6, 2007
    I agree, Palpatine's plan was to turn Anakin. I'm suggesting that he kept both weapons on him as a backup plan, just in case Anakjn didn't turn.

    It's very much like Palpatine to have a backup plan, just in case. The second lightsaber was a contingency, for any unforeseen circumstances.
     
  13. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

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    Oct 22, 2013
    In both cases Palps was aware of the imminent confrontations. With Maul and Savage he knew he only had two to face... however with the Showdown on Coruscant, did he have any idea how many Jedi would show up? I guess if he did, and he knew there were four, wouldn't he arm himself just as heavily as he did against the two brothers? If not, would Palps not arm himself to assure he would have "more firepower". I guess if I were in his position I wouldn't want to bet my grand plan on some teenager's raging hormones and his decision on how whether to stay loyal to the Jedi or join the Sith...
     
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  14. darth-sinister

    darth-sinister Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 28, 2001
    Anakin's turn wasn't about hormones, but about his fear of loss and desire to control fate. Palpatine already knew that the boy has lost his mother and extracted a great and terrible revenge on those responsible. That's why after Dooku told him about their confrontation on Geonosis, he began arranging for confrontations between Anakin and Dooku during the course of the war. All in an effort to make Anakin grow to despise and hate Dooku, so that he could be turned to the dark side. That's what the two kidnapping attempts were about. The first one on Naboo didn't exactly work, but it did create a stronger sense of anger towards Dooku. The second time, Anakin was able to finally best Dooku, but because Obi-wan lived, Palpatine needed to try something else. Anakin's emotional state about losing yet another loved one and this time, seemingly to natural causes, gave him the out that he needed.

    Palpatine knew that Mace wouldn't kill him unless provoked, which is why when Anakin arrives, he switches gears and starts provoking Mace. Had that not happened, then he would come up with an alternative plan. Mace's intention was to arrest Palpatine right up until he was blasted. Even with the other Jedi Masters slain, Mace was going to abide by the law and the Code.
     
  15. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

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    Oct 22, 2013
    I think you're helping my case here.... his youth coupled with his past experiences with loss left him ill equipped to deal with the decision at hand... or at least from our POV, make an unwise decision. Part of that youth is tied up in the fact that based on the timeline he's around 21 in ROTS, so I did misspeak when calling him a teenager above... however it doesn't change the fact that depending on Anakin to make a decision in that situation to support Palps is a roll of the dice at best.... which is why it would've been most wise to arm himself to the teeth before the encounter began.
     
  16. darth-sinister

    darth-sinister Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 28, 2001
    It was no more of a risk than trying the same thing with Luke, two decades later. For Anakin, Palpatine played upon his personal feelings towards the Jedi and his desire for greater power. For Luke, it was about his lack of training and thus his weakness from not being ready for the task that was placed before him. Palpatine would have surrendered had Anakin not been and then create a new cloud of mistrust while inside the Temple.
     
  17. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

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    Oct 22, 2013
    Interesting theory - certainly makes sense. Based on all this you're a firm believer that he was only armed with a single lightsaber which he lost during his duel with Windu then? Which would leave him defenseless at the end of the swordplay with only his lightning at his disposal.
     
  18. darth-sinister

    darth-sinister Manager Emeritus star 10 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jun 28, 2001
    Pretty much. When Palpatine decided to reveal himself to Anakin, he did so because he believed it was time to do that. Obi-wan was no confronting Grievous, Yoda was on Kashyyyk, Mace was no longer a fan of his and Anakin's expression of doubt about the Council now, was enough for him to finally press the matter. Palpatine knew that Anakin's return to the Temple, with this new found knowledge would spark the Jedi Council into taking immediate action. Palpatine planned for one Lightsaber because he quite possibly foresaw Anakin coming back there. He just didn't know when.
     
  19. SlashMan

    SlashMan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2012
    I thought TCW showed a nice way to tie in the fact that he did have two lightsabers constructed. Though I wouldn't immediately assume that he had both lightsabers on him for the duel with Mace. I think the time to reveal that would be when he was slaughtering the first three Jedi; it was obvious that he was not wasting any time killing them.
     
  20. Chewbacca89

    Chewbacca89 Jedi Master star 5

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    Oct 25, 2012
    So if he didn't have both on him during the showdown, when/where did he retrieve the second one?
     
  21. Arawn_Fenn

    Arawn_Fenn Chosen One star 7

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    Jul 2, 2004
    When: anytime between the two battles.
     
  22. Master Jedi Macen Arren

    Master Jedi Macen Arren Jedi Master star 2

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    Apr 16, 2013
    Assuming that the first one was indeed hidden in the statue, he probably hid the other there as well. That's pretty much insult to injury if he had them hidden in plain sight all of the time and the Jedi doesn't didn't see them. Has anyone got a picture of them hidden in the statue? Or just a picture of the statue itself?.
     
  23. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

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    Oct 22, 2013
    Palps had plenty of time after Windu was dispatched to retrieve the second one before the battle in the senate chambers...
     
  24. Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan

    Vaapad Master Daeg Tynan Jedi Knight star 3

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    Oct 22, 2013
    I thought the standing theory was that the first one was up his sleeve at all times, and the appearance of the second one led to the question of whether both were on his person during the battle or not. Obviously the first one was revealed during the Showdown on Coruscant scene... the second one is the question here - where was it during that scene, and if Palps was not carrying it at the time, where was it stowed... when was it retrieved....
     
  25. Chewbacca89

    Chewbacca89 Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 25, 2012
    The dark side clouds everything...