History Characters / StarWarsEmperorPalpatine

* {{Jerkass}}: A very unlikable person to say at least. Puttin aside the fact he's a brutal tyrant, he's also a massive douchebag to anyone, his followers included sometimes, and he also loves to taunt his enemies about their defeat like he does with Yoda in ''Revenge of the Sith" and Luke in "Return of Jedi''.

* {{Jerkass}}: A very unlikable person to say at least. Puttin aside the fact he's a brutal tyrant, he's also a massive douchebag to anyone, his followers included sometimes, and he also loves to taunt his enemies about their defeat like he does with Yoda in ''Revenge of the Sith" or Luke in "Return of Jedi''.

** In the loosest and cruelest sense considering Palpatine's narcissism, Palpatine is astonished by Imperial Officer Baylo's open rage and defiance towards him, [[KickTheDog as well as the lengths he would go to kill him and Vader]]. To such an extent that instead of conventional torture or killing him on the spot, Palpatine plotted to thoroughly corrupt him into an able servant, [[MercyKill a plot immediately ended by Vader]] to Palpatine's fury.

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: His power in relation to Vader seems to vary, sometimes they seem to be on similar levels and Vader is able to have an even fight with him, in other cases Sidious is able to batter him without the slightest effort.

* {{Gonk}}: Let's just say he's not the most attractive man in the galaxy.

* {{Gonkt}}: Let's just say he's not the most attractive man in the galaxy.

[[TropeCodifier The]] ''[[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron other]]'' EvilOverlord.

* BigGuyLittleGuy: The 5.8′ Emperor looks positively tiny when standing next to his 6.6′ apprentice Darth Vader. But size matters not, as Sidious is the more dangerous of the two.

* PrepareToDie: His speech to Luke after the Jedi refuses to kill his father is almost entirely composed of this. [[{{Irony}} The speech ends up being his last words]].

*** This is further subtly emphasized in a deleted seen from ''Return of the Jedi''. Jerjerrod forbids Vader from entering the Emperor's tower; when Vader starts to force choke Jerjerrod, the latter says that the Emperor explicitly ordered Vader to wait. Jerjerrod apparently finds facing Darth Vader's notorious wrath preferable to disobeying a direct order from Palpatine.

->'''Appearances:''' ''ComicBook/DarthMaul'' | ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsQueensShadow Queen's Shadow]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTalesOfTheJedi Tales of the Jedi]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsObiWanAndAnakin Obi-Wan & Anakin]]'' | ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsQueensHope Queen's Hope]]'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir Son of Dathomir]]'' | ''Literature/DarkDisciple'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsCatalyst Catalyst]]''[[note]]Broadcast cameo[[/note]] | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars Clone Wars]]'' | ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsInquisitorRiseOfTheRedBlade Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade]]'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch The Bad Batch]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/DarthVaderDarkLordOfTheSith Dark Lord of the Sith]]'' | ''Literature/LordsOfTheSith'' | ''Literature/{{Orientation}}'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsTarkin Tarkin]]'' | ''Literature/{{Thrawn}}'' | ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'' | ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'' | ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsTargetVader Target Vader]]'' | ''Literature/ThrawnTreason'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader Darth Vader]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsLando Lando]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsDoctorAphra Doctor Aphra]]'' | ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader2020 Darth Vader (2020)]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsCrimsonReign Crimson Reign]]'' | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsHiddenEmpire Hidden Empire]]'' | ''[[Literature/StarWarsLostStars Lost Stars]]'' | ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' | ''[[Literature/FromACertainPointOfViewReturnOfTheJedi FACPOV: Return of the Jedi]]'' | ''[[VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII2017 Battlefront II]]''[[note]]posthumous recording[[/note]] | ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsShatteredEmpire Shattered Empire]]''[[note]]posthumous recording [[/note]] | ''[[Literature/AftermathEmpiresEnd Empire's End]]''[[note]]posthumous recording [[/note]] | ''Literature/ShadowOfTheSith''[[note]]voice only[[/note]] | ''Film/TheForceAwakens''[[note]]voice only[[/note]] | ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker''

** Related to the fight with Windu, it's uncertain whether getting his Force Lightning reflected back into his face is the true cause of his hideous appearance (which is the explanation he uses in-universe), or if that was his true face all along which he had masked with some kind of Force technique that became undone during the lightning. After all, [[EvilMakesYouUgly physical decay from use of the Dark Side]] is common among Sith, and Palpatine is by far the worst of the ones seen in the entire Skywalker Saga. Force Lightning also hasn't had the same effect on others struck with it, but that could be a difference in the power and duration of the attack. [[spoiler: Plus, when he restores himself fully in Rise of Skywalker, using the Force Dyad, his hideous face remains.]] However, official sources lean towards the lightning having scarred him.

** Related to the fight with Windu, it's uncertain whether getting his Force Lightning reflected back into his face is the true cause of his hideous appearance (which is the explanation he uses in-universe), or if that was his true face all along which he had masked with some kind of Force technique that became undone during the lightning. After all, [[EvilMakesYouUgly physical decay from use of the Dark Side]] is common among Sith, and Palpatine is by far the worst of the ones seen in the entire Skywalker Saga. Force Lightning also hasn't had the same effect on others struck with it, but that could be a difference in the power and duration of the attack. However, official sources lean towards the lightning having scarred him.

* CatchPhrase: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnQ_mp9TzZY "Goooood..."]]

* VillainsOutShopping: In addition to ruling his Empire and studying the Force, Sidious is a WickedCultured who enjoys theater (especially Mon Calamari Theater), reading old literature (although a sizeable chunk of it is admittedly composed of old Sith writings), and even enjoys eating Chocolate (Gracious Government Mix being his favorite).
* VillainTakesAnInterest: Alongside Vader for Luke. Palpatine wants Luke to join TheDarkSide and replace Vader at his side.

** As the Emperor, he's not only an incredibly cruel leader, but he also takes a lot of pleasure in it and others' suffering and has a bit of a god complex. And according to Vader, he's ''a lot'' more unforgiving about failure than he is (and this is coming from [[YouHaveFailedMe Vader]]). This is also emphasized with [[SaltTheEarth Operation: Cinder]], which would burn even the worlds most loyal to the Empire to the ground just for outliving him (and this is despite having backup bodies hidden away). While he does not directly order all of the Empire's atrocities (which include mass executions and the devastation of civilizations), he doesn't protest them either when they are committed in his name, [[spoiler: unless it's to manipulate a situation to his favor, as is the case with Rampart in ''The Bad Batch'' episode "[[Recap/StarWarsTheBadBatchS2E8TruthAndConsequences Truth and Consequences"]].]]

* DeadpanSnarker: He definitely has his moments. The "Tragedy of Darth Plagueis" monologue comes to mind, provided that you look at it less as a sugarcoated parable that he tells Anakin to tempt him and more a recollection as to why his master was simply TooDumbToLive. He's also "afraid that the deflector shield will be quite operational when your (Luke) friends arrive."

* ScreamingWarrior: Palpatine often makes unflattering yells of anger during his serious lightsaber duels. Notably, while starting his duel with Windu and his team of mooks, he starts by leaping into the fray shrieking a bestial war cry clearly not human in nature moments til murdering Kolar.

* DeadpanSnarker: He definitely has his moments. The "Tragedy of Darth Plagueis" monologue comes to mind, provided that you look at it less as a sugarcoated parable that he tells Anakin to tempt him and more a recollection as to why his master was simply TooDumbToLive.

** He shows his ''concern'' to a world that suffered something bad in ''Literature/StarWarsCatalyst'' in a broadcast during the Imperial Era of the book.

** As originally conceived, he was ''the'' chessmaster and literally everything in the rise of the Empire was AllAccordingToPlan. This became downplayed oever time and he became more of a master of XanatosSpeedChess on a galactic scale.

* DealWithTheDevil: Never make deals with Palpatine. Every person who has made a deal with him finds themselves completely screwed over in the end. The Separatist leaders were slaughtered and their businesses were absorbed by the newfound Empire. Anakin Skywalker ended up losing everyone he cares about and became the hated Darth Vader. The Republic Senate was rendered a toothless organization before being disbanded by the Emperor to make way for the Death Star. The Knights of Ren become servants to him, ruining Qira's plan of using the Fermata Cage to defeat him and Anakin/Vader by tricking them into thinking there's a Sith Lord inside, only for Ren himself to be killed by Ben Solo by the time of the New Republic when the eventual ex leader of the Knights of Ren kills Tai, the last Jedi Padawan of Luke's Jedi Order. And the First Order got absorbed into Palpatine's Final Order, with Kylo Ren essentially kicked out of the leadership hierarchy as his subordinates pledged UndyingLoyalty to Sidious instead.

* DisownedParent: His strandcast son Dathan would eventually reject him as a father just as Sidious had rejected him as a son, leaving the revenant Sith Lord to rot on Exegol.

** In ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', after being regenerated to full strength, Sidious tell Ben Solo that the last Skywalker will fall just like he did. [[ExactWords And the Emperor uses the Force to just throw him into a pit behind him]]. This is clearly a payback to what Anakin/Vader did to him on the second Death Star. With Anakin/Vader dead, Sidious just takes revenge on his grandson instead.

*** During the First Order-Resistance War, after Leia disrupts his plans surrounding Kylo Ren by redeeming Ben, Palpatine orders General Pryde to send one of the Star Destroyers to a planet the Resistance knows, believing that the Tarkin Doctrine (encourage compliance through ruling with fear) still holds true despite seeing for himself that the Death Star's destruction of Alderaan only galvanized the people against the Empire instead. True to form, the ''Derriphan'' obliterating Kijimi leads to the formation of the Citizens' Fleet, as ships from all across the galaxy join the Battle of Exegol to prevent Darth Sidious from returning to power for good.

** As the Emperor, he doesn't particularly bother to hide the fact that he's a bastard, but on occasion is genuinely polite to his subjects, provided that they don't fail him, and occasionally gives off a mockingly concerned tone of voice. In ''The Bad Batch'', he makes an effort to sound like a benevolent ruler, condemning atrocities and assuring his Senate that justice will be served... for the war crime he signed off on, [[spoiler: the destruction of Kamino.]]

* LetNoCrisisGoToWaste: In the Prequel Trilogy, Senator/Chancellor Palpatine uses fear of the Separatist movement (which he secretly influenced) to gain authority. He also suspects this of the Loyalists and Padmé after laying out the Petition of 2,000 to him and they take their leave.

** In ''The Rise of Skywalker'', it's heavily implied that his decision to announce his return and destroy Kijimi before fully deploying his fleet, [[HistoryRepeats much like Tarkin's decision to destroy Alderaan]], is one of several factors that ultimately galvanizes ordinary people to rise up against the First and Final Orders instead of encouraging compliance with a regime that is more than happy to blow up hundreds of planets on a moment's notice.
** An example not relating to his overconfidence: Near the end of ''Series/ObiWanKenobi'', Palpatine subtly threatens a vengeful Darth Vader into giving up the hunt for Obi-Wan. [[PragmaticVillainy While this decision seemed like the smart thing to do]], given how Vader's attachment to Obi-Wan clouded his judgement ([[JerkassHasAPoint something Palpatine points out]]), in the long run, he unwittingly let Obi-Wan raise Luke Skywalker into becoming a Jedi Knight, and toppling the Empire over time.

** Defied for the Zillo Beast, which he wanted cloned after the Jedi (reluctantly) killed the last one, since he never has it experimented on in Courscant once again, just Mount Tantiss on Weyland, no doubt having learned his lesson.

** "Do not fear their feeble attack, my faithful. ''[[SuddenlySHOUTING NOTHING WILL STOP THE RETURN OF THE SITH!]]''" Note that "their feeble attack", in this context, is '''the largest fleet assembled in history'''.[[note]]Poe Dameron mentions that the Final Order is the largest fleet that's ever been assembled. The Citizen's Fleet dwarfs it in sheer numbers, if not the total size of all the ships.[[/note]]

** Also his inability to understand good. While he knows how to use other people's flaws and strengths, deep down, he does not ever comprehend good, being himself pure evil.
** It is subtle, but Sidious is unable to learn from his mistakes. His intelligence, power and success, plus his psychopathic traits, make him blind to avoid committing the same mistakes again, and actually understanding some things he really should know better. In ''The Phantom Menace'', he underestimated Padmé, the Jedi, and the natives of Naboo. As a result, he lost Naboo and his first apprentice. While his long term plans were undamaged, he had still suffered some shortcomings, and enough lessons to learn from it. But he keeps underestimating his opponents (Yoda catches him off guard and almost killed him, Obi-Wan escapes his trap; Mon Mothma and Bail Organa), which ends up with a rebellion engulfing the Galaxy. When having to deal with the rebellion, his arrogance gets the better of him, and he loses everything. But not only that, but his inability to truly understand love is what destroys him. He ignores very strong signals from Vader and from Luke; not only that Vader is way too obsessed with catching his son, but that Luke shows he is not like Anakin. The fact he could not sense Luke on the ship, and Vader could, should have worried him more. And when he is frying Luke, Vader is with him, showing he truly does not know who Vader is deep down. This, combined with his idea Vader is completely under his thumb, dooms him once and for all.

** In a broader context, his apathy and cruelty while running the Empire. He's shown to be a ''very'' proficient leader during the Clone Wars, capable of expertly manipulating public opinion and managing two sides of the conflict. He's much more hands-off with the Empire, only stepping in to control/provoke power struggles between his subordinates and request the odd super project or atrocity. As a result the Empire has a major systemic issue with incompetence and an increasingly dissatisfied populace. If he stepped in to make sure things went smoothly, there would be much less of a rebellion to fight and he might be able to convince Luke to actually join him.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/CliveRevill (''The Empire Strikes Back''[[note]]before the {{George Lucas Altered Version}}s[[/note]]), Creator/IanAbercrombie (''The Clone Wars''[[note]]the pilot movie to season five and season six episode 5, 6, and 7[[/note]]), Creator/TimCurry (''The Clone Wars''[[note]]seasons five to six, except episode 5, 6, and 7; following Ian Abercrombie's death[[/note]]), Creator/SamWitwer (''Rebels''[[note]]season two[[/note]], ''Battlefront'' reboot series), Ian [=McDiarmid=] (''Rebels''[[note]]season four, digital release of season two[[/note]], ''The Clone Wars''[[note]]Season 7, archival recording[[/note]], ''The Bad Batch''[[note]]Season 1, archival recording and Season 2[[/note]] ''Tales Of The Jedi'')
-> '''Voiced by (European French)''': Jean Claudio (''The Empire Strikes Back'', first dub), Creator/HenriVirlogeux (''Return of the Jedi''), Creator/GeorgesClaisse (Prequel Trilogy, ''The Empire Strikes Back'' redub and all other appearances until 2021), Edgar Givry (appearances from ''The Bad Batch'' season 2 onwards)
-> '''Voiced by (Latin American Spanish)''': Arturo Saenz (''Empire Strikes Back'', original dub), Jaime John Gill (''Return Of The Jedi'', original dub), Ricardo Lezama (Original Trilogy redub), Jesús Colin (Prequel Trilogy), Creator/JavierRivero (''The Clone Wars'' Seasons 1-6, as Chancellor Palpatine), Creator/CarlosSegundo (''The Clone Wars'' Seasons 1-6, as Darth Sidious), Creator/JesseConde (Current voice)
-> '''Voiced by (Brazilian Portuguese)''': Ionei Silva (Original Trilogy, first dub), Creator/OrlandoDrummond (''Return Of The Jedi'', second dub), Pádua Moreira (''Empire Strikes Back'', second dub; Episodes II and III, ''The Clone Wars''), Darcy Pedrosa (''Phantom Menace'');Reinaldo Pimenta (Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy, 2015 dub; ''Rebels''; ''Rise Of Skywalker''; current voice)

* ElectricTorture: He ''loves'' using Force Lightning to torture people. Just ask Maul, Mace, and Luke.

* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: On the receiving end of this from Anakin in ''Revenge of the Sith''. Mace Windu attempts to kill Palpatine, knowing that he controls the entire Senate, but Anakin stops him because he's convinced that he needs Palpatine alive in order to save Padmé from dying in childbirth through his knowledge of the Dark Side of the Force. As a result, Windu is killed, and Palpatine/Sidious christens Anakin as Darth Vader, his new apprentice. Anakin later makes it clear that he's planning on killing Palpatine and usurping his position as Emperor in The Galactic Empire after learning how to prevent Padmé's death from him, but Obi-Wan's brutal defeat of him in Mustafar severely weakening him and Padmé's subsequent DeathByChildbirth forces him to put his plans of killing Palpatine to a halt until he gets a new opportunity.

** His non-Sith name, Palpatine. According to WordOfGod, "Palpatine" was derived from "palpitare", Latin for "to throb" (in fear, in this case).[[note]]It’s also the root of the English word “palpitate”[[/note]] It also sounds like Palatine, the hill on which Rome was founded and the seat of imperial power. It's even reminiscent of "palpable" (concrete/tangible): "Palpatine" is his public persona in contrast to his secret Sith identity.