Sith Age

Why do some Sith show signs of "Sith Age" and others do not.

Anakin will have the dark baggy eyes and grey complexion in as little
as 25 years (assuming Luke is 25 in ROTJ). So Sith age doesn't take long.
Count Dooku shows no Sith age. Darth Maul had non. Palpatine currently
has none, but could be using a Sith disguse to mask his Sith age.

So being a sith doesn't necessitate sith age. Maybe something
happens to the sith that marks them or they must reach a level of dark evil
that they have not achieved in the other prequels Or Maul, Dooku, and
Palaptine all have sith disguises that hide their sith age.

Clouded the dark side is I must reflect on this.

 

Simply being a Sith isn't what does it - it's the extent to which the Dark Side is actually used by the Sith. Palpatine has to keep his usage low, so that the effects aren't immediately noticeable. After EP.III, he won't have to worry about his looks.

I know your thread of the same name was closed in 3SA, but we were discussing this very thing in SPOILERS IF YOU FOLLOW THIS LINK this Spy Report thread. Look back 2-3 pages.

Dagsy edit: Dont link straight to 3SA threads without warning people that there are spoilers. And dont give names of 3SA threads. This forum is non-spoiler, and I dont want to see people even begin to get spoiled in here

 

I don't really know anything about EU, so if I'm contradicting an established Star Wars fact with my opinion, just ignore it or something. Anyway... I'm betting that Vader's appearance was mostly due to the physical trauma he has been through- he took a high dive into a lava pit (supposedly, anyway)and is now unable to survive without a helmet and mechanical suit. Its probably enough of a struggle to keep his broken body going day to day, so is it any surprise he looks a little messed up? As for Palpatine, my guess is not that the darkside caused premature aging but that he was using the darkside somehow to unnaturally extend his lifespan (I'm assuming this is possible), but while it could keep him alive, it couldn't negate the effects of natural age. I mean, think about it, Palpy is not exactly young in Ep 1, and I'm guessing a span of about 40 years between TPM and ROTJ, so really, the Emperor is pretty ancient. Maul is still young, and he still looks young. Dooku shows no effects of darkside aging because although he is no longer young, he is still healthy and strong and doesn't depend on the darkside to kep himself alive past the time his body should have quit working. So he still looks normal. I don't think the darkside causes aging or any ill physical effects, because the darkside is nothing more than using the Force (which isn't divided into dark and light) in eeeevil ways or for personal gain. Whatever, I'm probably wrong, but thats what I think.