Originally posted by Deronn_soloHe gains the ability to heal his own body after managing to revive Venamis for the first time. After a few months all of his scars disappeared, his skin appeared more youthful and he began breathing easier. His damaged tissue from the attack mended itself; his entire body was rejuvenating itself to the point, in time, he would cease to age at all. Also, Plagueis contacts every living and otherwise Forceful being or entity in existence simultaneously, through the Force, and informs them of his existence, which frankly shits on Vader's power feats, and that's if discovering internal and external immortality, the ability to create life, and forcing the Force - a universal energy field - into creating a Chosen One through meditating against it, hadn't already. (Yes, Sidious helped, but he was pre-prime and even accounting for him, Vader's outclassed).
Quote for him not needing the transpirator mask, please.
That's after a few months of internalizing Midichlorian manipulation. Fast forward 8 years later.. 8 years to continue healing. He discovers that he has increased the number of midichlorians in his body. So take everything I've said already and apply it to a guy with even more midichlorians to channel his power through.
Then cut to Sidious' assassination of Plagueis. He points out, rightfully so, that Plagueis even after being blasted by a full-power Force storm from Sidious would be able to heal the damage done to his lungs, heart and brain.
But having gained the power to keep another alive hadn't been enough for him. And so after Sidious had returned to Coruscant, he had devoted himself to internalizing that ability, by manipulating the midichlorians that animated him. For several months he made no progress, but ultimately he began to perceive a measured change. The scars that had grown over his wounds had abruptly begun to soften and fade, and he had begun to breathe more freely than he had in twenty years. He began to sense that not only were his damaged tissues healing, but his entire body was rejuvinating itself. Beneath the transpirator, areas of his skin were smooth and youthful, and he knew that eventually he would cease to age altogether.Drunk on newfound power, then, he had attempted an even more unthinkable act: to bring into being a creation of his own. Not merely the impregnation of some hapless, mindless creature, but the birth of a Forceful being. The ability to dominate death had been a step in the right direction, but it wasn't equivalent to pure creation. And so he had stretched out-indeed, as if invisible, transubstantiated-to inform every being of his existence, and impact all of them: Muunoid or insectoid, secure or dispossessed, free or enslaved. A warrior waving a banner in triumph on a battlefield. A ghost infiltrating a dream.
But ultimately to no end.
The Force grew silent, as if in flight from him, and many of the animals in his laboratory succumbed to horrifying diseases.
Regardless, eight long years later, Plagueis remained convinced that he was on the verge of absolute success. The evidence was in his own increased midichlorian count; and in the power he sensed in Sidious when he had finally returned to Sojourn.
[...]
Sidious peered at Plagueis through the Force. "Oh, yes, by all means gather your midichlorians, Plagueis." He held his thumb and forefinger close together. "Try to keep yourself alive while I choke the life out of you."Plagueis gulped for air and lifted an arm toward him.
"There's the rub, you see," Sidious said in a philosophical tone. "All the ones you experimented on, killed, and brought back to life... They were little more than toys. Now, though, you get to experience it from their side, and look what you discover: in a body that is being denied air, in which even the Force is failing, your own midichlorians can't accomplish what you're asking of them."
Hatred stained Sidious's eyes.
"I could save you, of course. Return you from the brink, as you did Venamis. I could retask your body to repair the damage already done to your lungs, your hearts, your aged brain. But I'll do no such thing. The idea here is not to drag you back at the last moment, but to bring you to death's door and shove you through to the other side."
I think it's pretty clear, personally, that Plagueis is not only better than Vader, but doesn't really need a fugging transpirator mask. He likely kept it on for the sake of keeping up appearances since - without being an immortal - you don't just suffer absurd amounts of organ damage and then take off your life support less than a decade later.