Whenever any Star Wars fan or even casual Star Wars viewer think of the funniest characters, clearly Sheev Palpatine is who immediately comes to mind. Star Wars was basically the catalyst for modern-day fan bases. The canonical franchise and fan-created works are so great, someone could probably spend their entire lives only consuming Star Wars media.
So, like most fictions that have any kind of supportive fandom, Star Wars has a basically unlimited supply of memes in honor for every movie and character in the franchise. That includes the incomparable nightmare that is Palpatine. There are thousands of Darth Sidious memes out there, but here are ten of the funniest.
It's The Small Victories
Well, Palpatine planned out his machinations for decades and always managed to hide his evil in plain sight, so this is pretty much the same thing, right? Everyone has had those moments waiting at a stoplight that never seems to switch.
Have you lost the ability to sense time? Is the light broken? Have you suddenly developed red-green colorblindness and just don't know that the light is already green? The mysteries of traffic patterns are almost as inscrutable and difficult to understand as Palpatine himself, but at least every person in the world can share in the small glory that is a traffic light change.
We've All Had This Boss
Palpatine is honestly like every boss at a minimum wage job. You could be dying of the black plague, have a broken limb, or even be like Anakin here, a quadruple amputee with 18th-degree burns, and undoubtedly your boss would immediately be calling to ask if you will still be able to work.
The worst part is Anakin pretty much does it! Yeah, he might be the force made flesh, but dude, just take the day off and stop making the rest of us look bad. If you need a magic suit to literally hold your remaining body together, then there's no need to rally the minute you wake up.
Yeah, Fair Point
Chancellor Palpatine managed to keep a whole lot of secrets from the universe. He spent most of his life playing the good guy and gaining as much power as he could through legal avenues, all while pushing his evil agenda behind the scenes without anyone being the wiser. Given that he managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes, including the Jedi, about something this major, it's not a huge surprise that he also managed to conceal his formidable fighting skills.
Master Windu and Anakin both should have figured this may have been the case, but they wanted to bring things to a close quickly. To be fair, they did just that, only not with the outcome they were hoping for.
Well, George Lucas DID Draw Inspiration From History
Chancellor turned Emperor Palpatine is definitely the most extreme example of a politician lying to obtain power who then turns out to be a raging monster, but that is pretty much one of the most standard plays of the political playbook.
If we're being real, over the years, many politicians were not all that different from Palpatine, only without the superpowers (at least as far as we know). Palpatine is just so evil that it seeps through his skin and he even looks like the devil in the flesh.
D.A.R.E. To Keep Kids Off Drugs
Probably like half of the adults and children living in the United States today had to go through the D.A.R.E. program when they were in school, but honestly, the entire program could probably last about an hour and be just as effective if children were shown the before and after pictures of drug users.
Apparently, dark use of the force has the same effects as crystal meth. Looks most certainly aren't everything, but with all of Palpatine's force mojo, you'd think he might use some to make himself look a little less like a literal demon.
A Moment Of Triumph
Oh, the joys of childhood. When your parents are the arbiters of every single thing that you do, pulling one over on them is legitimately the thrill of a lifetime. There are few things that are more satisfying than getting a surprise break from school, especially when you're not actually sick and can just sit around all day eating and watching Maury.
To be successful, you must sell the fact that you are on death's door. The battle is won the minute the parents walk out of the house, which must feel similar to how Palpatine felt when he was about to flip the script on Mace Windu.
To Be The Best You've Gotta Beat The Best
The moment the student became the master. Although the Jedi and the Sith both use the force to their own ends, their modus operandi couldn't be more different. The Jedi teach anyone with force abilities willing to learn and work with them, whereas the Sith always consists of only two, a master and an apprentice.
At some point, the apprentice must always become the master. One would hope, or at least the current master would hope, that the apprentice only takes over once the master has died. Unsurprisingly, Darth Sidious had other plans for his teacher Darth Plagueis.
What Is Dead May Never Die
It's actually very strange when you think about it because Emperor Palpatine isn't just one of the main villains of the entire Star Wars saga, he pretty much single-handedly orchestrated everything that the audience has ever seen in all three trilogies.
If they weren't a result of his direct actions, then they were at least an indirect outcome of those actions. Given what we know about force ghosts and Darth Plagueis, it's not hard to believe that Palpatine could make an appearance in The Rise Of Skywalker, or that he could even still be alive.
It's Sad Because It's True
Whenever anyone is solicited for a charitable donation at the cash register it can be a somewhat awkward interaction, especially if the answer is no. Hopefully, cashiers can sympathize with the fact that sometimes people are just broke and can't afford to donate even a dollar.
Of course, Chancellor Palpatine is a low down dirty liar who would never be charitable towards anyone unless he felt he could benefit from it; nevertheless, many should be able to relate to him in this meme. Remember, it's always okay to take a rain check and donate to charity when you actually have the funds to do so!
It May Be Wrong, But It Feels Right
There are gamers of every age, gender, and background, and there is as much variety in actual games as those who play them. However, there is one thing that can unite them all, and that is the experience of an all-night gaming bender.
That look of judgment, concern, and confusion on the face of every parent who realizes that their child has spent an entire night gaming is something that any player will surely be familiar with.