25 Greatest Characters in Star Wars History

4. Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine

(Write-up by David Harris (Razor), Dork Side of the Force Editor in Chief)

What else can be said about Emperor Palpatine that wasn’t already said on the previous page. Oh I know…how about his: As a kid, this guys straight scared me. Like, his wrinkled and hooded face haunted my nightmares. Palpatine was the pure embodiment of evil, in the Original Trilogy.

Though his character was portrayed in the OT by many people, through body acting and voice overs, the actor who really brought the evil of Palpatine to life, was Ian McDiarmid. For as much flack that the prequels took, there were just a few actors that really shined past the horrible CGI and the abomination that was Jar Jar Binks, and that was Ian McDiarmid.

McDiarmid had finally put a face to the most horrific villain of my childhood, and he did it with a level of professionalism that is not often seen. His final battle with Yoday, in Revenge of the Sith, will forever go down as one the best fights in Star Wars history. The sheer power…UNLIMITED POWER of Darth Sidious’ Force Lightning is the stuff of Star Wars legend.

Next: The Sith that made it cool to be a Sith, again.