Midway through the original Star Wars trilogy, we were introduced to Emperor Palpatine, and learned that there was a more evil, more powerful villain, pulling Darth Vader’s puppet-strings and controlling his emotions. And in the prequel trilogy, we learned how Palpatine manipulated the Galactic Senate to create the Empire.
Thankfully, since Ian McDiarmid was given aging makeup for the original trilogy, he was able to reprise his role as a younger Palpatine in the prequels. No one else could play the character as well as him. Here are Palpatine’s 5 Best Moments From The Original Trilogy (And 5 From The Prequels).
Original trilogy: Arriving on the second Death Star
Although we were introduced to the Emperor in hologram form in The Empire Strikes Back, he didn’t make his first physical appearance until Return of the Jedi. At the beginning of the trilogy closer’s second act, Darth Vader eagerly awaits his master’s arrival on the second Death Star, which is still under construction.
The Emperor’s ship lands and he departs into the docking bay. His face is kept obscured by his hood as he and Vader walk past legions of Stormtroopers, creating a mystique around the character.
Prequels: “Do it!”
It may have become the subject of many memes, but this scene from Revenge of the Sith is still pretty powerful. Anakin and Obi-Wan have infiltrated the Separatists’ mothership to free Chancellor Palpatine, and when they find him, they’re faced with Count Dooku.
Dooku incapacitates Obi-Wan quickly, but when Anakin grabs his master’s lightsaber with the Force, he’s able to overpower the would-be Sith Lord. While Anakin wants to take Dooku in as a prisoner, as is the Jedi way, Palpatine encourages him to chop off his head. And after that little nudge, he does it.
Original trilogy: Tempting Luke Skywalker to fight Darth Vader
In the final battle sequence in Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker initially refuses to fight Darth Vader. He believes that there is still good in his father, and he doesn’t want to go toe-to-toe with him in a combat situation. Instead, he wants to bring him back over to the light side.
But the Emperor can be very persuasive. He preys on people’s emotions to get them to do what he wants. And that’s how he gets Luke to take up his lightsaber and battle Vader.
Prequels: Taking on Yoda in a lightsaber duel
Palpatine isn’t the only character from the original trilogy whose younger self gets in on the action in the prequels. We also see Yoda doing all kinds of backflips and Force tricks in intense lightsaber combat. In Attack of the Clones, he took on Count Dooku, and in Revenge of the Sith, he took on Darth Sidious.
Upon entering Palpatine’s office, Yoda took out his guards in seconds and the two prepared for battle. They ended up in the Galactic Senate Chamber, launching repulsorpods at each other with the Force.
Original trilogy: Attacking Luke Skywalker with Force lightning
In the middle of Luke Skywalker’s intense lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine steps off his throne to join in the fun.
He just raises his hands, points at Luke, and within seconds, the promising young Jedi is incapacitated, because Palpatine possesses the incredible Force power of shooting lightning out of his fingertips.
Prequels: Killing Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar in seconds
As Palpatine’s sinister plan comes together, the Jedi Council realizes he’s the Sith Lord that’s infiltrated the Senate, so Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar head down to his office to arrest him. However, he doesn’t go down easily.
Palpatine ignites his lightsaber, hurls himself across his desk in an awesome corkscrew move, and kills all the Jedi Knights besides Windu in one fell swoop. When his duel with Windu comes to a head and Anakin chooses to take Palpatine’s side, the soon-to-be Emperor cries out, “Unlimited power!,” and sends Windu out the window.
Original trilogy: “The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi.”
In the original cut of The Empire Strikes Back, the Emperor’s hologram featured chimpanzee eyes superimposed onto his face. Ian McDiarmid has since been inserted into the scene in subsequent cuts, after making the role iconic in Return of the Jedi and later in the prequel trilogy.
In his brief cameo in The Empire Strikes Back, he convinces Darth Vader to try to bring Luke Skywalker over to the dark side.
Prequels: Executing Order 66
When Palpatine is given emergency powers to run the Galactic Senate by the evil Jar Jar Binks, one of his first orders of business is to tell the Clone Army, “Execute Order 66.”
Order 66 turns out to be the mass extermination of the Jedi Order – termed “the Great Jedi Purge” in the Star Wars canon – as the Clone Troopers who were sent to protect Jedi Knights on missions promptly turn on them and slaughter them in a frenzy of blaster fire. Only a couple of Jedi Knights, including Obi-Wan and Yoda, managed to survive the ordeal.
Original trilogy: Getting killed by Darth Vader
After Palpatine turned Anakin Skywalker over to the dark side of the Force, gave him the Sith name Darth Vader, and used him to dominate the galaxy and rule it with an iron fist, it was only fitting that Vader got to be the one to kill him.
He saw his master blasting Luke with Force lightning, couldn’t bear to see his son in pain, and just picked up the Emperor and threw him down a reactor core shaft.
Prequels: “Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?”
This conversation can be seen as the final nail in Anakin Skywalker’s coffin. Anakin spent the whole of Revenge of the Sith being plagued by nightmares in which Padmé was in grave danger and he couldn’t save her. When he joins Palpatine at the theater to watch bubble-based opera, Anakin is told the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.
It’s the story of a Sith Lord who was so powerful that he could save people from death. Anakin wants to learn this power, and Palpatine tells him he won’t learn it from the Jedi. This begins Anakin’s short path to the dark side.