Emperor Palpatine put the fear in fans of the Star Wars franchise for decades, ever since he appeared as a giant hooded hologram giving orders to who we thought was the scariest villain in the universe (no offence, Lord Vader). And yet, there's something about Ian McDiarmid's cackling, lightning bolt-firing monster that just works. Somehow, Emperor Palpatine still does the job, and a recent discussion on Reddit has led fans to break down why.
The starting argument from a fan was that "The best thing about Palpatine is that he’s a testament that a villain doesn’t need a tragic backstory to be fantastic." Another argued that, "Palpatine is your textbook 'Disney villain.' You don't understand him or sympathize with him. He's not even a fully fleshed-out character, not really. He's just evil. And, it is damn entertaining."
It's this straight off the line despicable nature that makes him a classic bad guy, who has been causing trouble for the Skywalkers and the galaxy for what feels like forever. Whether it's a vicious battle of words to turn son against father in Return of the Jedi, or merely being mentioned in Andor, Palpatine has cast a dark shadow across the universe, and we love to hate him for it.
One fan added, "I love Palpatine because he has no tragic backstory. No traumatic event in his life, nothing. He is evil for the sake of being evil, and he revels in it. Him cackling in joy makes me love the character even more."
Is it possible that he'll ever be topped on the small or big screen? Who can say? But with every other upcoming Star Wars TV show and movie heading our way in the future, there might be some space to make it happen.
