Emperor Palpatine has now proven to be the “big bad” of all three Star Wars trilogies—much to the chagrin of fans who were displeased to see his return in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker—but he was far from a perfect villain. In fact, the only trilogy that really sees him ‘win’ in the end is the prequel trilogy, as he concludes Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith as Emperor of his brand-new Galactic Empire.
In both The Rise of Skywalker and Return of the Jedi, however, Palpatine is defeated. Interestingly, in all three trilogies, even the prequels, Palpatine is harmed by one key issue that he clearly never corrected. And, ultimately, this was the very thing that brought about his downfall.
Palpatine Could Never Control His Force Lightning
One of the most well-known Sith Force powers in Star Wars, perhaps beaten only by Force choke, is Force lightning. Palpatine was the first Sith to use this power, and he remained the character who used in the most throughout Star Wars movies and TV shows. That only makes it all the more strange that he actually couldn’t ever control it, and that meant his demise.
In Revenge of the Sith, although he survives it, Palpatine uses his Force lightning on Mace Windu, and this is how he ends up so disfigured. In Return of the Jedi, of course, he becomes injured by his own lightning, which no doubt contributes to Darth Vader’s ability to throw him down the reactor shaft. Finally, in The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine is yet again unable to control his Force lightning, and Rey manages to overpower him and destroy him.
How Did Palpatine Become The Ultimate Villain?
Given that Palpatine struggled with the Force power that he was best known for, it raises questions about how this Sith was able to rise to the level of power that he ultimately did. Granted, his role in The Rise of Skywalker and the sequel trilogy more broadly is its own matter, as it did feel like a last ditch effort to save the movies rather than a plot point that made solid narrative sense.
In the prequel and original trilogies, it’s clear that he actually did accumulate and maintain power, though. Even without an appearance in A New Hope, the original trilogy smoothly introduced Palpatine and made it quite apparent that he was the most powerful being in the galaxy. Then, the prequels revealed that this was more than simply raw power. The true genius of Palpatine was his ability to be, essentially, an evil mastermind.
It was that skillset that made him able to become the biggest villain in Star Wars, at least in terms of the big screen, despite the fact that he routinely demonstrated an inability to control his own Force lightning. Although, in the end, that did become a major factor in his downfall.
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