DE Palpatine/Darth Sidious Respect Thread
By ShootingNova 69 Comments
My final Palpatine respect thread, the final part of my series of Darth Sidious respect threads. The other threads were for Palpatine's TPM, RotS and RotJ incarnations. The incarnation in Dark Empire is the final and the most powerful of all his incarnations.
Respect Emperor Palpatine reborn:
Power
The Emperor possessed boundless Force power and was one of the most dangerous humans in galactic history:
Possessed of the boundless power of the Force and adept in the ways of the dark side, Emperor Palpatine was one of the most dangerous and evil Humans in galactic history.
Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook
Palpatine is the most powerful member of the Order of the Sith Lords:
The Sith have waited millennium for the birth of one who is powerful enough to return them from hiding. Darth Sidious is that one—the Sith's revenge on the Jedi order for having nearly eradicated the practitioners of the dark side of the Force.
Source: The Complete Visual Dictionary
The Sith Order, in hiding for a millennium, had awaited the birth of one who was powerful enough to return the Order to prominence. Darth Sidious was the fulfillment of that prophecy, capable of exacting the Sith's revenge on the Jedi for having nearly eradicated the practitioners of the dark side of the Force.
Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Darth Sidious proved to be the grim culmination of a thousand years of Sith philosophy and teachings.
Source: Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
For a thousand years we continued to follow Bane's Rule of Two, existing in the shadows, biding our time, growing in power, feeding our hatred. Darth Sidious proved to be the splendid culmination of a thousand years of Sith philosophy and teachings.
Source: Insider #88: Heritage of the Sith
When the Sith finally emerged from a thousand years of watching and waiting, they numbered—in accordance with the tradition set down by Darth Bane—only two. The most powerful of these was Darth Sidious, an ice-cold, diabolically calculating genius equipped with the strength of the dark side of the Force, as well as an enormous wealth of Sith artifacts, equipment, and knowledge.
Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook
Palpatine is the most powerful Sith Lord in history:
Yoda went after Palpatine in the empty Senate chamber, but could not defeat the most powerful Sith Lord in history.
Source: The New Essential Chronology
Beyond the vision of the Jedi Knights, somewhere within the darkness, the greatest master of evil ever to use Sith power bides his time. As his strength grows, his plans begin to shape the course of the galaxy, and his snares await the unsuspecting.
Source: The Complete Visual Dictionary
When Yoda crosses sabers with the movie's arch-villain, he doesn't launch into a pinwheeling display of acrobatics, as he did against Count Dooku in Episode II. Instead, Yoda faces the dark side's fury, channeled by the most powerful Sith Lord in history. "Rob Coleman wanted Yoda to feel the power of his enemy," says Wheless, "like a force he's never dealt with before."
Source: Insider #86: Yoda's Right Arm
Vader imagined the power that could be his if he crushed Palpatine and established his own rule over the Empire. But first, he would need his own apprentice. By himself, he could not hope to defeat the most powerful Sith Lord the galaxy had ever known.
Source: Vader: The Ultimate Guide
When the most powerful Jedi battled against the most powerful Sith, the two sides of the Force clashed in spectacular style.
Source: Jedi Battles
Emperor Zaarin? The idea isn't as ludicrous as it sounds. Demetrius Zaarin gambled everything on an audacious coup d'état and nearly killed the most powerful Sith Lord the galaxy has ever known.
Source: Insider #66: Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals
With the galaxy now ripe for conquest, the Emperor has become the most powerful Sith Lord of all and a master of the Dark Side of the Force, ordering the extermination of the Jedi Order with the aid of his apprentice, the deadly Darth Vader.
Source: Legends Epic Collection: The Empire Volume 1
The Emperor was completely in concert with the dark side of the Force. He was the most powerful Sith who had ever existed.
Source: Death Star
His power may be unparalleled in the history of the Sith.
Source: Force & Destiny
Sidious is the most powerful practitioner of the dark side of the Force:
Inside the spacious interior of the Galactic Senate chamber, Yoda challenged the Emperor. The two engaged in a spectacular duel—a contest between the most powerful practitioners of the Force’s light and dark sides.
Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Even Ulic Qel-Droma would be envious of Palpatine. He had succeeded where all others had failed in taming the Dark Side.
Source: The Dark Side Sourcebook
It quickly became clear to Luke that this decrepit and seemingly defenseless old man was masterfully adept in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force. Indeed, as Vader had warned, the Emperor had become the Dark Side's most powerful expression.
Source: Dark Empire Endnotes
When the evil Emperor, Supreme Master of the Dark Side of the Force, turned the fullness of his malevolence against Luke, Anakin Skywalker suddenly awoke from the curse that had imprisoned him for so long...
Source: Dark Empire Endnotes
As Luke's father once said, during the time he served the greatest known wielder of the Dark Side of the Force, the Emperor: "The ability to destroy a planet - or even a whole system - is insignificant next to the power of the Force."
Source: Dark Empire Endnotes
The Emperor may have been the most powerful being in history:
And what of the Emperor? He was mighty in the Force, perhaps the mightiest being who has ever lived.
Source: Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi
Palpatine becomes more powerful after his death over Endor:
Resurrected in a youthful clone body, Palpatine does not reveal himself immediately. Studying the dark side of the Force to become more powerful, his education results in three manifestos: The Book of Anger, The Weakness of Inferiors, and The Creation of Monsters.
Source: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
Soon he was ready to strike. Fully healed and in greater control of the Dark Side than ever, he finally acted to end the Mutiny.
Source: Dark Empire Sourcebook
"You've grown very strong in the Force since we last met… But then, so have I!"
Source: Dark Empire
The Emperor's Force skills have advanced significantly since the events of Return of the Jedi:
His Force skills have increased significantly in the six years since he was last seen in Return of the Jedi.
Source: Dark Empire Sourcebook
As Palpatine transfers his essence to another clone body, he becomes more powerful than ever:
Luke knew that without clones to inhabit, Palpatine's spirit would be consigned forever to the void. But Palpatine was able to transfer himself at the last moment. Within a new clone body, the Emperor was more powerful than ever.
Source: Handbook 3: Dark Empire
The Emperor is continually growing in power:
Even now, as Luke appears to fall under the Emperor's ever-expanding power, massive engines of destruction are inflicting death blows to the floating cities of the Calamari, long-standing allies of the Rebel Alliance...
Source: Dark Empire
But the Emperor cannot be overcome so easily. He gives Leia a painful demonstration of his ever-expanding power, crowing in triumph that he has finally captured the last of the Jedi!
Source: Dark Empire
Yes, he grows continually more powerful in the way of the Dark Side.
Source: Dark Empire Endnotes
Palpatine does not grow weaker as a spirit, unlike many other Sith Lords in history:
Skywalker was responsible for some of the greatest setbacks Emperor Palpatine ever suffered. But despite the young Jedi Knights's best efforts, Palpatine's grasp on the dark side - and power over the galaxy - remained unshaken.
Source: Handbook 3: Dark Empire
With her presence, the two Skywalker twins were temporarily able to repulse Palpatine.
Unabated, the Emperor continued his scourge.
Source: Databank: Palpatine (old)
Sidious' return brings the imbalance of the Force, causing the dark side to grow stronger and envelop the galaxy:
"No, I see it, too. The dark side of the Force grows stronger throughout the galaxy."
Source: Dark Empire
"You have filled the galaxy with your darkness... but I have seen what my father could not see..."
Source: Dark Empire II
The Emperor grants two of his dark side adepts, Sha and Nist, increased power, making them extensions of his own power. In doing so, he releases a shockwave that can felt across the galaxy by Luke Skywalker, causing him to suffer mental pain and immediately realize that Palpatine has returned:
Palpatine: You, Tedryn-Sha and Xecr Nist, kneel before me!
Sha: M-my Lord?
Palpatine: Kneel!
Sha and Nist: Yes, my Lord!
Palpatine: I have watched you... You have advanced in submission to my will! I will make you Dark Jedi... extensions of my own power! Xecr Nist, you will replace Sedriss as my military commander.
Nist: Yes, my Lord!
Palpatine: Tedryn-Sha, you will be second in command.
Sha: My Lord!
Palpatine: I now vest you both with the full rank of Dark Jedi. Let this power enter you, and fill you with the knowledge and strength of the dark side of the Force that is mine to give you!
Sha and Nist: (screaming)
Palpatine: (laughing) Can you fathom this mysterious power? In my hands, the dark side can bestow the most malevolent gift!
Nist: I feel the power!
Palpatine: Or it can cause the most delicious pain!
Luke: (screaming)
Kam: Luke, what's wrong?
Luke: I... uh... I don't know... Something... A great disturbance in the Force... A terrible... uh... and all too familiar...
Kam: What do you mean?
Luke: (panting) Sedriss wasn't lying, Emperor Palpatine is alive! Somehow he's alive again!
Source: Dark Empire II Audio Drama
Palpatine is able to empower Sedriss such that he becomes powerful enough to defeat Luke Skywalker in battle:
Sedriss tracked Skywalker to Ossus, a wasted world, once a great center for Jedi learning. Sedriss and Vill Goir met Luke Skywalker and recent Jedi recruit Kam Solusar on the plains of Ossus. Had it been merely a contest between dark side adepts and Jedi, Sedriss might have been victorious.
Source: Handbook 3: Dark Empire
Sidious is so powerful that his bodies do not easily support his power. Many of them physically and mentally wither under his influence:
"Flesh does not easily support this great power."
Source: Dark Empire
The darkness of Sidious' spirit eats Empatojayos Brand alive, killing him in short order:
Palpatine is so powerful that he himself is a dark side nexus that rips apart the fabric of space:
The key to Luke's turning is the moment when he and Leia realize the Emperor is no longer defined by his physical form, but has become a chaotic nexus of dark energies that swell and burst open the fabric of space, tearing apart everything in the vicinity, human and machine.
Source: Dark Empire Endnotes
Eager to meet his captor, Luke learned that the dark side nexus he had sensed was none other than the cloned reincarnation of Emperor Palpatine himself.
Source: The New Essential Chronology
Force Knowledge
Palpatine has seemingly learned all known Force powers, and invented new ones at a whim:
Palpatine has spent decades studying the most arcane and esoteric Jedi disciplines. It is believed that he has mastered nearly all the known powers, previously unknown powers, and devises new ones at his pleasure.
Source: Dark Empire Sourcebook
Willpower
Sidious is able to retain his identity and escape the void through sheer force of will:
Palpatine's body was destroyed. Separated from his clones, Palpatine was forced to survive in the maddening, bodiless existence of the void. Through sheer will he retained his identity, crossing the gulf of space to again take up residence in his clone body.
Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Even in a physically weakened state, Sidious is able to prevent the spirits of the Ancient Sith from taking over him:
Dark Rage/Protection/Speed
Dark Rage is a dark-sided power enabling a Sith to enhance his resolve and physical traits. Force Protection is the passive (and sometimes active) enhancement of a Force sensitive's durability to varying superhuman degrees. Force Speed is the passive (and sometimes active) enhancement of a Force sensitive's speed to varying superhuman degrees.
Sidious is unharmed and unaffected by Leia dropping a cooling unit on him, unflinchingly shrugging off the crushing impact of a ton of machinery:
When Leia tried to kill the Emperor by dropping a cooling unit on him, Palpatine shrugged off the crushing impact of a ton of machinery.
Source: Handbook Volume Three: Dark Empire
Palpatine and Luke fight so fast that Leia can hardly see them, despite the fact that Palpatine was already weakened by Leia/Anakin's Force Harmony:
"Be careful, Luke! The Emperor is so strong... They’re both moving so fast, I can hardly see them."
Source: Dark Empire Audio Drama
Sense/Sight/Precognition/Farsight
Force Sense is a basic power that enables a Force user to feel or sense events, people, and objects. Force Sight is a power that enables one to see through the Force, either in supplementation with or compensation for their physical sight. Precognition allows one to foresee the future, but often on a very limited and short-term scale. Farsight allows a Force user to identify events that occur in other places or other times, or both.
Palpatine senses Luke's indecision:
The Emperor foresees his meeting with Luke on Byss:
Sidious perceives Luke's treachery:
Palpatine senses Luke's presence in his laboratory:
Sidious foresees that the Millennium Falcon's destination is the planet Onderon:
"It is of no consequence. I have foreseen their destination. That is where my new body awaits me. Set your course for the planet Onderon!"
Source: Empire's End Audio Drama
Telepathy/Empathy
Telepathy is the ability to manipulate or communicate thoughts and mental impulses. Empathy is similar but relates to emotions rather than mental thoughts.
Palpatine telepathically communicates with Mara Jade across the galaxy, projecting an astral image of himself:
At the time of his death on Endor, Palpatine communicates with Mara, telling her to kill Luke Skywalker:
For six years after the events of Return of the Jedi, Sidious haunts many of Luke's nights with nightmares, from across the galaxy:
One such nightmare is so powerful that Luke is unable to even sense the scarab droids on his body:
Xecr Nist: We will not make the first attack. I intend to use these.
Tedryn-Sha: Scarab droids?
Nist: Yes. Lovely creations, aren't they? A dozen of them will burrow into Skywalker's flesh, filling him with poison and pain. Then you and one other Dark Jedi will capture Skywalker. I will take the others to steal the children.
Sha: But what if Skywalker detects the scarab droids?
Nist: He will not. The Emperor himself has promised a distraction.
Palpatine's voice: Skywalker...
(scarab droid noices)
Luke: No... No, not the Emperor!
(scarab droid noices)
Palpatine's voice: Skywalker...
(scarab droid noices)
Luke: I destroyed you! You're dead!
(scarab droid noices)
Palpatine's voice: Twice you killed me, twice have I returned... I cannot be destroyed... I am with you in your waking hours...
(scarab droid noices)
Luke: No!
(scarab drois noices)
Palpatine's voice: I am with you in your dreams...
(scarab drois noices)
Luke: No!
(scarab drois noices)
Palpatine's voice: You belong to me!
(scarab drois noices)
Luke: Palpatine, I will fight you!
(scarab drois noices)
Palpatine's voice: Fight me? Skywalker, I have already won! Even now my scarab droids fill you with dark side poison!
(scarab drois noices)
Luke: Scarabs...?
(scarab drois noices)
Palpatine's voice: And you will once again be mine!
(scarab drois noices)
Luke: No! No! No! (screams)
Source: Dark Empire II Audio Drama
Vima Da-Boda is immediately repulsed by the darkness in Sidious's mind when she tries to deceive him by pretending to be Leia:
Sidious touches Luke and Leia's minds from across the galaxy, taunting them with telepathic laughter:
Sidious and Luke touch minds, even though Sidious is on Byss and Luke on Coruscant:
Sidious gains hold over Luke's mind, almost compelling him into joining the dark side:
Luke tries to communicate with Leia via Force vision, only for Palpatine to override him and speak to Leia in his place, causing her to lose consciousness:
Palpatine mentally twists Kam Solusar, forcing him to become a Dark Side Adept in place of a Jedi:
Luke: I sense your old life. Before the dark side ensnared you. When the Force flowed through you.
Kam: No! No! No! (Sound of lightsaber turning off.) My life is forfeit, Jedi. Kill me.
Luke: I do not take life unless I must. Yours I give back to you.
Kam: Why? When I lured you here...I would have made this derelict space station your grave. The tomb of the last Jedi Master.
Luke: Instead, I will make it the place of your rebirth. You were a Dark Jedi once. But only because you fell under the Emperor's spell. Now that spell is broken! (Sound of the Force being used. Kam screams.) Kam Solusar, I give you back your life. I give you your freedom. I give you the power that is already yours—the power of the Jedi. (Sound of the Force fades.)
Kam: I...Skywalker...I'm free.
Luke: The Force is strong in you.
Kam: My old life...I remember it now. I...my father was a Jedi. I was a Jedi.
Luke: You are a Jedi, Kam Solusar.
Kam: I...I owe you my life.
Source: Dark Empire Audio Drama
Sidious dominates Luke Skywalker's mind and breaks his will, causing him to submit to the dark side and forget his own name. Luke is only saved by Leia's intervention:
Palpatine: Curse you, Jedi! No. A curse is not necessary. I have something better for you. Skywalker! I have broken you. Now, prove yourself worthy of serving me. (Sound of lightsaber activating.)
Luke: Yes, my master.
Palpatine: Bring your sister over to the dark side. You have the power.
Leia: (Sounds of waving lightsabers.) I don't know what he's done to you, Luke, but this time we're really leaving.
Luke: Leia, put the lightsaber away. I don't want to hurt you.
Leia: The last thing I'd do is hurt you, Luke. What's happened to you is not final.
Palpatine: (Palpatine laughs.) He cannot hear you, child. To him, you are a ghost. The faint memory of a former life.
Leia: Luke...listen. (Sound of lightsaber deactivating.) Luke. Oh, what have you done? What's behind his vacant stare?
Palpatine: Why, nothing, my child. Nothing. (Sound of the Force being used. Sound of speech echoing within Luke's mind.)
Luke: Nothing.
Palpatine: You are nothing.
Luke: Where am I?
Palpatine: Alone.
Luke: No. Help me.
Palpatine: There is no one. There is only the dark side.
Luke: I am a Jedi. (Luke screams.)
Palpatine: You are not a Jedi. You are nothing. You have no name.
Luke: My name is Skywalker. (Luke screams.)
Palpatine: You...have...no...name!
Luke: I...
Palpatine: Accept the dark side. You have no name.
Luke: I have no name.
Palpatine: You serve the dark side.
Luke: I serve...
Palpatine: Listen to the voices.
Luke: The voices...
Palpatine: Of the dark side.
Luke: Yes.
Palpatine: The one law is fear. The one fear is power. The one power is hate.
Luke: Hate.
Leia: Luke.
Palpatine: Hate.
Leia: Luke, clear your mind.
Luke: Leia?
Palpatine: The one law is fear. The one fear is power!
Leia: Luke, I'm your sister. I need you.
Luke: My sister.
Palpatine: You are alone.
Leia: Luke, listen to my voice. My child...will be a very great Jedi, because you will train him. You will train all my children in the ways of the Force.
Palpatine: Do not listen!
Luke: The Force... Leia... The Force... I am not alone. I am never alone!
(Sound of Force fades. Sound of voices returning to normal audibility.)
Palpatine: No! This can't be. No one returns from the dark side. You're mine!
Luke: Leia, help me. I've gone too far. I've found knowledge, all the dark things Father knew so well. The ability to control others, to destroy others if he chose, if I chose. Ben warned me; Yoda warned me. But I had to do it, Leia! I had to know what happened to our father! I had to know why he chose the dark side.
Leia: And now you know what happened to our father. It's time to come home, Luke.
Palpatine: Do not listen to her. Listen to the voice of the dark side. Your power is immense.
Luke: No. The powers of control and destruction weren't the only things I found in the dark side, Emperor. I also found great isolation and sadness. I found fear. These are the feelings my father felt. The feelings you feel, in your moments of darkest triumph.
Palpatine: Nonsense! Curse you Skywalkers, both of you! I'll tell you the truth about your father. (Sound of the Force being used. Luke screams. Sound of Force fades.)
Palpatine: The great Darth Vader was a sick man in an iron mask! Yes, that mask inspired terror throughout the galaxy, but the feeble heart within was forever possessed by the impotent side of the Force. You can be far stronger than he was. Dark Jedi, are you going to let your weak sister get the better of you? Get up! I can give you the power to break her. You will kill your sister, if I demand it!
Luke: No! I made a mistake. I thought I had to save the galaxy alone, all by myself. But the way of the Jedi is not a solitary path.
Leia: (Leia gasps.) The Holocron! Luke, the Holocron told me to join with my brother!
Luke: Yes. The Force binds us. Brings us together. Many people are fighting this war together. Our ally is the Force. Through the strength of the Force, your shroud of evil has been lifted from my mind!
Source: Dark Empire Audio Drama
After a brief lightsaber battle, the Emperor subdued Luke and broke his will.
Source: Handbook 3: Dark Empire
Lightning
Force Lightning is the ability to unleash deadly crackles of electrical energy that cause excruciating pain and weaken life.
Palpatine uses Lightning to knock Luke down, disarming him:
Whilst weakened through genetic sabotage, Sidious incapacitates Leia with Lightning:
Still weakened, Palpatine fatally wounds Empatojayos Brand with Sith Lightning. Brand can survive on the hottest and coldest worlds in the galaxy and survive in vacuum without eating for a year:
"This "droid suit" is a sophisticated survival system. It can keep me alive on the hottest, or the coldest, planet in the galaxy. I could live for a year in the vacuum of space...without eating."
Source: Dark Empire II Audio Drama
Again, while weakened, Palpatine instantly kills Rayf Ysanna with Force Lightning:
Force Combustion
Force Combustion is a power where a Force user can cause an object to explode by sheer force of will.
The Emperor causes Leia's lightsaber to explode:
Force Storm
Force Storm is an ability where a Force user tears the fabric of space and time, forming a Wormhole which possesses tremendous destructive ability, whilst also being capable of transporting objects and individuals through space and time.
Some sourcebook entries regarding Force Storms:
This is perhaps the single most destructive Force power known. This power allows the Jedi to twist the space-time continuum to create vast storms of force. The power also allows limited control of these storms. Capable of creating annihilating vortices, the storms can swallow whole fleets of spaceships or tear the surfaces off worlds.
Source: Dark Empire Sourcebook
"The Force Storm is truly an awe-inspiring demonstration of pure natural energy. After using the Force to open a hyperspace wormhole, tremendous shockwaves will ripple through the fabric of space. Due to the Force Storm's potential for abuse, the Council has recently classified it as a dark side power."
Source: The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force
Palpatine is able to both create and control Force Storms:
Vast energy storms that connect wildly disparate spots across the galaxy, hyperspace wormholes are unpredictable and devastating. It was to the Rebel Alliance's detriment that Emperor Palpatine was able to not only control these storms, but to create them.
Source: Handbook Volume 3: Dark Empire
While on Byss, Palpatine creates a Force Storm on Coruscant which devastates the world and transports Luke unharmed to Byss. Sources describe this Storm as a "swirling vortex of dimension-altering energy":
The swirling vortex of dimension-altering energy consumed Luke, and deposited him far away on the Deep Core world of Byss.
Source: Databank: Palpatine (old)
6 years on, Coruscant has yet to fully recover from the effects of Palpatine's Force Storm:
The shore of the western sea had been a glittering playground, a gay and glorious world that never slept, before the clone Emperor's Force storm had ravaged Coruscant. It had yet to fully recover.
Source: Black Fleet Crisis: Before the Storm
Palpatine summons multiple Force Storms in different star systems at the same time as the one that devastates Coruscant and takes Luke Skywalker. These Storms teleport Imperial ships across the galaxy:
"The energy storm that took Commander Skywalker, this is not an isolated event. Similar Storms have been detected in several systems."
Source: Dark Empire Audio Drama
Sidious summons a vastly more powerful Force Storm to destroy the moon Da Soocha V. It additionally consumes the New Republic base and a fleet of ships, before Luke, Leia and the unborn Anakin combine their powers in a Force Harmony to cause the Emperor to lose control of his Storm. The Wormhole then destroys the Eclipse, killing Palpatine:
Luke: He's created another energy storm.
Leia: It’s descending on Pinnacle Base, consuming all the ships in its path. (Sound of comlink activating.) Mon Mothma, can you hear me?
Mon Mothma: Princess Leia. There’s an energy storm. It’s suddenly taken over the planet! We have twelve ships lost already. All our hands are being lost. We’re being wiped out!
Han: Leia, Leia! (Sound of comlink deactivating.)
Leia: You’re going to slaughter all those people.
Palpatine: Yes. Did I not warn you? I’ve played along with your Jedi dueling games long enough. Now, you will experience my full potency. I live as energy. I am the dark side!
Source: Dark Empire Audio Drama
"One of the Emperor's Force Storms destroyed the Alliance base on the moon of Da Soocha and the entire fleet above it. Every day I'm reminded how lucky we are that Palpatine is lost to Chaos forever."
Source: Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
He summoned up a huge Force storm, far more powerful than the one that had swept Coruscant. But this time, when Skywalker and his sister turned their combined resistance against him, Palpatine could no longer control what he had unleashed.
Source: The Essential Chronology
Recalling Palpatine's Wormhole over Da Soocha, Luke Skywalker notes that Force Storms have the power to kill worlds:
"The Reborn Emperor used this at Da Soocha. It has the power to kill worlds."
Source: The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force
Another source mentions that this Wormhole threatened to "consume all of space":
Unleashing the full power of his hatred, he conjures a Force Storm that threatens to consume all of space, including the New Republic fleet.
Source: The Comics Companion
Essence Transfer
Essence Transfer is a Force power enabling one to manipulate his essence or those of others, and transfer it into another body.
Sidious can channel Sith spirits:
Chancellor Palpatine spent many years studying ancient Holocrons to learn the secrets of the Sith. The Holocrons enabled him to channel Sith spirits, who taught him how to harness dark-side energy and release lethal bolts of lightning.
Source: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
The Emperor claims he can possess anybody, including Leia's unborn child:
Sidious threatens to possess Luke before possessing one of his clones:
Palpatine's essence wanders across space for months as a disembodied spirit, before traveling back to Byss, following his death at the hands of his own Force Storm over Da Soocha V:
Sidious is able to retain his identity and escape the void through sheer force of will:
Palpatine's body was destroyed. Separated from his clones, Palpatine was forced to survive in the maddening, bodiless existence of the void. Through sheer will he retained his identity, crossing the gulf of space to again take up residence in his clone body.
Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Palpatine is finally killed when Empatajayos Brand holds his spirit and then dies, taking the Emperor with him into the netherworld of the Force, where every single Jedi who existed holds Sidious captive:
Combat Skill
Palpatine kills Arden Lyn, although it is not directly confirmed that this was accomplished through lightsaber combat:
Arden Lyn defected from Imperial service and started training her own students. She even tried to help rogue Admiral Zaarin kidnap Palpatine, but Inquisitor Tremayne thwarted the attempt. Arden Lyn fled, hoping to locate an ancient Kashi Mer talisman that would bring her power enough to defeat the Empire. She was eventually hunted down and killed by Palpatine himself.
Source: The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Palpatine swiftly outduels and disarms Luke:
After a brief lightsaber battle, the Emperor subdued Luke and broke his will.
Source: Handbook 3: Dark Empire
An unarmed Sidious easily dodges a number of Luke Skywalker's strikes, then toys with him in lightsaber combat before disarming him:
Palpatine: Too late, Skywalker! Too late!
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: Yes, you missed one clone.
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: And one is all I need, for now.
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: Look at me, I am young again!
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: I will live forever!
Luke: (swings his lightsaber) Not if I can help it! (grunts)
Palpatine: (laughs) Too slow, Skywalker?
Luke: (swings his lightsaber) (grunts)
Palpatine: You think you could conquer me by coming here?
Luke: (swings his lightsaber) (grunts)
Palpatine: To Byss...
Luke: (swings his lightsaber) (grunts)
Palpatine: ...to the very heart of the dark side!
Luke: (swings his lightsaber) (grunts) You forget, I am a Jedi Master now, and I know something about the dark side! (Force pushes Palpatine)
Palpatine: (grunts) You try to use the Force against me? All you've succeeded in doing, is hurling me within reach of my collection of Jedi weapons. As for your dark side knowledge... (draws his lightsaber) ... does it tell you how many so-called Jedi Masters failed to vanquish me?
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: Does it tell you that I have already beaten you?
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: Good, Jedi... Your kind will soon be extinct...
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: ...and how fitting that one of their precious lightsaber brings an end to the Jedi delusion!
Luke: (grunts)
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Luke: (grunts)
Luke and Palpatine: (clash ligtsabers)
Palpatine: What's the matter, Skywalker?
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: Getting tired?
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Palpatine: Not quite as young as you were when you fought you father?
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Luke: You have filled the galaxy with your darkness... (swings his lightsaber) ...but I have seen what my father could not see.
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Luke: I have seen that ultimately, the dark side will fail!
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Palpatine: Jedi fool! In spite of the stories you tell yourself, I am the stronger!
Luke and Palpatine: (clash lightsabers)
Palpatine: Did I not warn you?
Luke: (swings his lightsaber)
Palpatine: Now, take the consequenses of your failure, like you father before you! (disarms Luke)
Source: Dark Empire Audio Drama
