A recent Star Wars comic has provided a fascinating insight into the psyche of Emperor Palpatine shortly before his first death. As the galaxy’s most powerful and ruthlessly manipulative Sith Lord, Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious) draws his power from the dark side of the Force, feeding his might with hatred and suffering. This malice is seemingly not limited to others, however, as Palpatine reveals that he secretly harbors self-destructive sentiments, recontextualizing his actions in the Skywalker Saga.
Issue 4 of Star Wars: Hidden Empire, by Charles Soule and Steven Cummings, includes a notable moment in which Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader discuss the Fermata Cage, which allegedly contains an ancient Sith Lord powerful enough to threaten them both. Palpatine notes that he feels a strong desire to confront this enemy and be destroyed by its power, but dismisses this urge as “foolish.” While Darth Vader’s self-loathing is made clear throughout Star Wars canon and Legends, this is the first time such sentiment has been expressed by Palpatine, strongly implying that, for all his narcissism and megalomania, part of him remains aware of his monstrous actions.
Emperor Palpatine Craves Destruction
It is easy to understand the psychology of Emperor Palpatine’s Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, as his tragic fall to the dark side began as a desperate gambit to save his wife. Anakin Skywalker, like so many victims of the dark side and the Sith, made a Faustian bargain that ultimately destroyed everything he held dear, including Padmé, and left him with nothing but his newfound power and a ruthless master to serve. Palpatine, on the other hand, has an origin shrouded in mystery in the current canon, but his past and motivations were explored in the now-bygone Legends continuity.
Palpatine's Death Wish Changes Everything About Him
Palpatine’s background is revealed in the Legends-era Darth Plagueis novel, by James Luceno, which shows that since early childhood, Palpatine harbored homicidal and narcissistic tendencies, and all it took was a bit of goading by Darth Plagueis to make the future Sith Lord murder his entire family (including his father, who he particularly hated.) What's interesting about this is that it suggests Palpatine - who has corrupted so many others - was effectively born with the instinct to hurt and abuse other people for his own gain. This doesn't gel with the idea that at the height of his power in Hidden Empire #4, some part of Palpatine craves destruction or feels the suffering of his victims, making the recent revelation a surprising break from how Star Wars' ultimate villain is generally perceived.
Hidden Empire sheds new and fascinating light on Palpatine as a character because its revelation shows that the Emperor - a man who used all his power and influence to avoid death - in some way craved destruction. This strongly suggests that deep down, even Palpatine isn't wholly consumed by the dark side, and some part of him either understands the horror he has wrought, or realizes that the dark side will never actually offer him happiness or satisfaction. In both canon and Legends, Emperor Palpatine cheats death, but his contingencies now seem bound up in his death urge - after all, who better to plan for immortality than someone who is aware of every opportunity for destruction? Emperor Palpatine is not a one-dimensional villain, and this recent Star Wars story only further explores his intricate characterization.