Palpatine

Warning: Plot details follow.

Palpatine, properly His Imperial Majesty, Palpatine I of The Galactic Empire, (84 BBY - 4 ABY, spirit destroyed 10 ABY) is a fictional character of the Star Wars universe. He is a scheming politician who eventually emerges as the series' main villain.

At the beginning of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Palpatine represents the planet Naboo in the Senate of the Galactic Republic and by the end of the movie has manipulated events to make the Senate elect him Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, deposing the previous office holder.

Another character who appears in the film, the Sith lord Darth Sidious bears a suspicious resemblance to Palpatine, and seems to have the same evil ambitions, but whether they are in fact one and the same person will not be revealed until Star Wars: Episode III - currently in production.

In Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, which is set ten years after Episode I, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine further manipulated events to make the Senate grant him dictatorial emergency powers by engineering a Galactic conflict.

He later proclaims himself Galactic Emperor and establishes the Galactic Empire. These events have not been seen in any Star Wars film, but it is conjectured that they will be depicted in Star Wars Episode III.

In the final three films of the Star Wars series, Palpatine is known simply as "The Emperor". In the fourth film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope he eliminates the last threat to his absolute power by dissolving the now-Imperial Senate.

Through his servant Darth Vader, he tries to make Luke Skywalker join the Sith (those who follow the Dark Side of the Force), but in the end (in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) his plot fails, and he is killed by Vader, who turns from the Dark Side to once again become Anakin Skywalker at the last moment.

Like many personalities in the Star Wars universe, Palpatine's character was clearly inspired by certain historical figures. Parallels to Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler can all be found in the Galactic Emperor's words and actions (in many ways he is an amalgamation of the two Caesars -- Julius Caesar and Caesar Augustus -- and Lucius Cornelius Sulla). In writing the original drafts of the Star Wars films, during the mid-1970s, George Lucas has said he was influenced by then-US President Richard Nixon.

In many ways, Palpatine is an archetypical villain, who, like Iago in Shakespeare's Othello, does not appear to have any understandable motivation. He relies on deception and manipulation to control and corrupt individuals throughout the films, and as a result is a classically diabolical character. As Emperor, he appears to be a frail, weak old man, but is actually quite supernaturally powerful. Palpatine may be viewed as the quintessential wolf in sheep's clothing.

Palpatine's full name (assuming he has any names other than "Palpatine" alone) has never been revealed. The usage "Emperor Palpatine" suggests that Palpatine is in fact his only name though the use of titles such as "Senator Palpatine" suggests it may be his last name. Nevertheless, the original version of his character in Lucas's early scripts was named "Cos Dashit" and many Star Wars fan fiction writers have quite incorrectly adopted the name "Cos Palpatine" in their stories and web pages -- so much so that it has become fanon. Of course, Palpatine might be a name of state, as the name Amidala is, so it may mean that neither Palpatine's first or last names is known.

Both the young Palpatine and the elderly Emperor Palpatine are played by actor Ian McDiarmid, making him one of the few characters who is played by one only actor throughout the entire six-film series. The holographic image of the Emperor that briefly appeared in The Empire Strikes Back was played by an unnamed actor (rumored to be a woman) and was voiced by Clive Revill.

Some people have noted a visual resemblance between Senator Palpatine and United States Senator Joseph Lieberman.