Palpatine's Transformation
What do you think was the cause of Palpatine's transformation to the "deformed" man that is the Emperor? My theory is that Palpatine is in fact much older than he looks, and was using the unnatural powers the Dark Side gave him to maintain youthfulness (hence his ability to fight like that). When he used the force lightning on Windu, his ability to keep this appearance disappeared. Does anyone have a different theory?
He has the ability to fight like that because he is a Dark Lord of the Sith...
I agree with you though. Even though Lucas has aparently said the lightning morphed Palpatine's face (I'd very much like to see the source of this) I like the theory that it is in fact his true appearance unmasked.
No one else gets melted when they're struck with lightning... not even Luke and he gets it the most.
Originally posted by DeVi| D0do
He has the ability to fight like that because he is a Dark Lord of the Sith...I agree with you though. Even though Lucas has aparently said the lightning morphed Palpatine's face (I'd very much like to see the source of this) I like the theory that it is in fact his true appearance unmasked.
No one else gets melted when they're struck with lightning... not even Luke and he gets it the most.
I agree totally because luke was struck directly with near fatal doses of lighting in ROTJ but not even a scar. Yet maybe if luke was using his absorb power (yes I know that doesn't appear in the movies but doesn't mean it can't exist)then that could be why Luke didn't suffer any cosmetic effects. This would also explain why the emperor did get scarred by his own lightning (ROTS) because even if he had the absorb power to protect himself then it would be possible that he could not use both the lightning and the absorb at the same time when taking out windu.
He gets red/yellow eyes.
It's his true form coming through. The lightning certainly causes him to either drop his disguise through pain, or the amount of power turns him.
The way it looked to me was that his face was simply changing, as opposed to becoming scarred. Lightning would cause random scarring, and there would be blood and scabs before any sort of scarring took place anyway, and they certainly would not be symmetrical. Melting? Helloooo, humans aren't made of wax.
I mean we saw smoke coming off him, like Luke, but the way his face changed looked like it was morphing, bit by bit. He was aging rapidly it seemed.
To me, it's either he drops his disguise, but more likely I believe the power he is using is just causing him to physically change; the evil ages and changes his face - hence the eyes. You use dark side power, it will affect your appearance. Look at how dead Anakin looks in ROTJ.
He looks old and evil. Since when do people who are badly scarred by electricity suddenly look old and evil?
Oh come on, lightning (Star Wars force lightning I mean) obviously doesn't do anything to skin. It just cooks you maybe like a microwave, from the inside out.
If it was truly realistic lightning, then anyone that gets hit with it would bleed and burn and show wounding wherever the lightning hits them. Look at shock victims, the only wounds come from the point of contact, so in these cases, the victims should looks badly scarred all over. But this is like microwaves or something.
It didn't burn Vader or Luke, or Yoda, or Mace, or Padawan Anakin.
It only had an effect on Palpatine, so it's obvious he changed due to him using it, or because he used too much of it, or he dropped his guard, or whatever.
And so far every Jedi that has been shocked has been coverred in the stuff. Yoda was shot in the face, it went through Vaders mask, it hit Mace's face. It was coursing all over Luke for ages. They didn't deform.
That seen definetly looks like morphing,not damage. They showed CG burn damage on Anakin, it was, as someone said, more sporatic and random. Because that's how burn damage works. Also, it looked more like the T-1000 shifting then it did "damage".
All the people who are saying Lucas says it "made" him change. Has anyone stopped to think he meant made him change into his true form? Lucas doesn't say it was from DAMAGE, he simply says it made Palps change. That can also mean it made him drop his ability to mask his appearance. Thats why he didn't have Sith eyes before that seen, when he should have because he was a full sith full of hate, like Anakin once he went full time (note his eyes during the rebuilding scene) and Maul.
Sidious was using quite a lot of energy in his battle with Windu. Perhaps the expense of all that energy scarred him. I like to think it wasn't his true form nor battle scarring, but the use of that much power that left Sidious looking the way he did. I have to say too that Mace Windu really showed his position as a Jedi handling Sidious the way he did. If not for Anakin, the Sith threat would have been eliminated right then and there.
Here is my thought...
Palpatine's deformed appearance is due to his own Force lightning hitting him back... this lightning requires one to make use of the Dark Side... when it is repelled back to you, the Dark Side energy (required to produce lightning) begins to manifest itself into the physical form of it's user.
The hatred and rage used to shoot lightning bubbled up and displayed itself on the physical body of Palpatine. I don't think he was disguising himself and then his disguise dropped-- if this were the case, then how come when we see him as Sidious in Ep. I and II his face isn't deformed? Surely dropping his disguise would make it easier for people not to recognize who he truly is (rather than just pulling his hood down over his eyes a bit).
It is noteworthy to notice Palpatine's fingernails after he is deformed-- they are long, black, and yellow. This goes also for his teeth. And not to mention his yellow eyes. These are deffinately not effects from lightning burns.
In conclusion, Palpatine's anger and his Dark Side energy was manifested physically due to his own lightning being repelled back to him.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The Truth to The Face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Palpatine was deformed because of the heat from Mace Windu's lightsaber, and the sparks from the dark force lightning hitting Mace Windu's lightsaber melted his face... its in the books... all you damn movie goers need to look into the books and get the truth b4 u just go posting bs that isnt even true!
Originally posted by AzOkIdD
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The Truth to The Face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Palpatine was deformed because of the heat from Mace Windu's lightsaber, and the sparks from the dark force lightning hitting Mace Windu's lightsaber melted his face... its in the books... all you damn movie goers need to look into the books and get the truth b4 u just go posting bs that isnt even true!
In the book, Palpatine looks in a mirror and says it's been a long time since I have seen this face. My true face. How does that imply that the heat and sparks melted his face?
Red Superfly and mephistodesigns have the correct information on Palps/Sids transformation. In the Episode III Visual Dictionary states that Palpatine's face was "revealed" during his battle with Windu. His face looks that way because it is his true face. The Dictionary even states something about "two faces." Palpatine's Master, Darth Plagueis, was an ancient Sith Lord. Palpatine is very old and has used his powers to extend his life.