A Star Wars tie-in has revealed five new details about Palpatine's backstory. A thousand years before the prequel trilogy, Darth Bane reformed the Sith around the Rule of Two. Where before there had been thousands of Sith, now there would just be two, a master and an apprentice: one to crave power and the other to wield it. The Sith would allow the Jedi Order to believe they had been rendered extinct, and they would operate from the shadows, ensuring as little was known about them as possible.
There's a sense in which Darth Sidious, the last Dark Lord of the Sith, stands as emblematic of their secrecy. Although he became Chancellor of the Republic and, ultimately, Emperor of the Galactic Empire, his true history is cloaked in secrecy. A Machiavellian manipulator, he carefully controlled information about himself, mixing truth with lies in order to get his own way. The Expanded Universe originally told Palpatine's origin story in James Luceno's novel Darth Plagueis, but Disney declared these books non-canon when they acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. Since then, however, new tie-ins that are considered 100 percent canon - equal in significance to the lore of the films and TV shows themselves - have begun to reveal some details about Emperor Palpatine's plans and purposes.
Lucasfilm's Secrets of the Sith is purportedly a collection of Palpatine's own notes on the dark side of the Force. The main focus is on Sith lore, but on several occasions Palpatine reveals hints of his own backstory, details that hadn't previously been known. It even includes the Star Wars first image of Darth Plagueis, Palpatine's master, who he killed in order to ascend to the position of Sith Lord. Here are all the new revelations contained in the book.
Palpatine Was A Sith Apprentice When He Became A Senator
As seen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Palpatine's political career brought him to the senate as representative for the planet Naboo. Although it's not really much of a surprise, Secrets of the Sith confirms that Palpatine's apprenticeship to Darth Plagueis began long before his political career. "As a dark apprentice, I sensed that the Galactic Republic was in disarray," Palpatine reflects in the book. "Its delegates held no interest in the common good. They would be easy targets for my influence. Serving as a senator, I manipulated their greed in my favor. With each new act of legislation, I rose through their ranks. Total control of the galaxy's governing body drew ever closer." From the get-go, Palpatine's Machiavellian interest in power was apparent, as confirmed by Secrets of the Sith.
Darth Plagueis Attempted To Create A Force Dyad With Palpatine
The Sith have always been fascinated by what they call the "Doctrine of the Dyad," a phenomenon that binds two beings together in the Force to create a power that is stronger than life itself. Darth Plagueis was particularly interested in this as a means of attaining to immortality, leading him to try to create such a Dyad. "My master, Darth Plagueis, attempted to forge such a bond with me," Palpatine records. "Though he was wise in the ways of the Force, he proved unworthy of the task." It is characteristic of the Emperor's hubris that he never questioned whether the problem lay with the whole approach. The Sith had never been able to create a Dyad, because it requires both light and dark sides of the Force.
Palpatine Killed Darth Plagueis Before The Phantom Menace
Secrets of the Sith reveals that Palpatine killed his master Darth Plagueis some time before the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. "Ascension in the Senate would be enough," the Emperor recalled. "My Master, Darth Plagueis, had served his purpose. I struck him down, claiming his place as the one true master of the Sith. Under my rule, our Order would return to its rightful glory." Although Palpatine does not admit to it, it is likely he was motivated in part by Darth Plagueis' growing knowledge of the Force. Palpatine wasn't lying when he said Plagueis had learned how to bring others back from death, and he would have feared his master was close to discovering how to conquer death for himself as well. Darth Sidious killed his master before it was too late.
Palpatine Learned Immortality By Building On Darth Plagueis' Techniques
Palpatine shared Darth Plagueis' obsession with immortality, and he continued to experiment with his master's techniques, building upon them until he did indeed learn how to survive death. He mastered an art called Essence Transfer, that allows a dying Sith to bind their spirit to an object, a specific geographical location, or even to possess the body of a person. The last of these options is only possible if the person nearby conducts a killing strike in anger, thus vulnerable to the dark side. It is why Palpatine would ultimately prove unable to possess Darth Vader when his apprentice betrayed him, because Vader's act was one of redemptive love.
Palpatine Never Learned All The Secrets Of The Sith
Curiously, Secrets of the Sith also reveals Palpatine never learned every aspect of Sith lore - nor, in fact, did he even attempt to. The Emperor collected countless Sith artifacts and Holocrons, possessing many even before he became Chancellor and adding a substantial number to his collection when he had his agents raise the Jedi's secret Bogan Collection after Order 66. What is more, he visited countless worlds steeped in the dark side of the Force, meditating there and learning from the spirits of Sith Lords who had preceded him. It seems he never went to Moraband, birthplace of the Sith Order. Apparently he could sense the dark side calling him there, but he never took the time to go to Moraband, preferring instead to direct his studies in other directions.
This particular revelation is a smart one on Lucasfilm's part, because it gives them a lot of wriggle room to reveal further aspects of the Sith without causing any contradictions. Secrets of the Sith can indeed serve as a complete record of Palpatine's knowledge of the dark side, with any further twists added to Star Wars lore simply being secrets of the Sith he never took the time to learn.