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In legends or canon.

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In Legends, a majority of sources indicate Sheev recognized himself as the last Banite Sith, but kept Maul, Dooku, and Vader in its tradition and their practical uses as assassin, pawn, enforcer, and bodyguard.

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
In Legends, a majority of sources indicate Sheev recognized himself as the last Banite Sith, but kept Maul, Dooku, and Vader in its tradition and their practical uses as assassin, pawn, enforcer, and bodyguard. So did Plagueis lol. Look at how it turned out for him. That type of arrogance is why there never really is a last Banite sith.

As mentioned, in Legends Palpatine himself made it abundantly clear that he vowed to gain immortality and become the last Sith... That he only chose underlings to do his bidding, but never chose a successor:

https://i.imgur.com/HqU010Y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yswReC7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GMoUPcY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/b95cnm8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/v6vjAJ1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yYEukR3.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bWp5SUQ.jpg

-Book of the Sith


Palpatine's "Rule of One" was even foreseen by Darth Tenebrous prior to his death:
https://i.imgur.com/pDHKYfT.jpg
-The Tenebrous Way

....And a few other sources confirm the same.


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As for canon, there is evidence to suggest that Palpatine may have initially intended Anakin/Vader to succeed him:




However, it seems that Palpatine ultimately abandoned the thought of being usurped by an apprentice, and began striving to attain a sort of 'ultimate' power that would enable him to achieve literal godhood/immortality...




And the fact that Palpatine lusted after TWBW fully cements the aforementioned machinations...

Minister Hydan: " is a pathway between all time and space. He who controls it, controls the universe."
-Rebels S04E13


Moreover, the fact that Palpatine was in cahoots with Cylo(for a time) implies that he may have been seeking alternative means of attaining immortality.

After all, Palpatine himself admitted that he was heavily intrigued by Cylo's unfettered science:
https://i.imgur.com/azUSm3j.jpg
-Darth Vader #20

And Cylo ultimately mastered the art of scientifically transferring his consciousness into avatars when he 'died':
https://i.imgur.com/pBJN583.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mNQMb9R.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2ENaIjn.jpg
-Darth Vader #24

Cylo: "I have transcended the laws of nature and the trap of the Force. I made myself immortal.":
https://i.imgur.com/yrXiuQp.jpg
-Darth Vader #25




tl;dr
He was indeed part of the Banite line. However, aside from only having one apprentice at a time, Palpatine did not strictly adhere to the Rule of Two in either continuity.

Still the most powerful Sith, bar post-Pool Sarasu Taalon.

Palpatine is the whole point of the Banites. They all existed so Palps could happen.

Was he a Banite Sith? Yeah, obviously, as he is a product of Bane's line.

Whether he wanted a successor or not is irrelevant, as the goal of Bane's line was to destroy the Jedi Order, which Sidious succeeded in, thus there was no need for him to continue the line of apprentice taking. His goal of achieving a state of perpetual power and control over the universe is pretty much in line with Sith doctrine.

It's stupid to expect him to have the same endgame with a standard Banite.

Stupid why? in TCW Sidious even boasts about following Banes Rule of 2 just before sonning Maul:

"Remember the first and only reality of the Sith- there can only be TWO...."

which is why I asked the question. Based on what I've read here it seems like Sidious only followed the rule when it was convenient for him. When it stopped being convenient he invented the rule of 1

He adhered to the Rule of Two in Canon and with his apprentices not because he wanted them to succeed him, but because he wanted to prevent Sith in-fighting and have someone to rule alongside him. That's why Maul displays all the traits of a Banite Sith when he returns to TCW, why Sidious considers him a rival, etc, why it's stated Savage breaches the Rule of Two. And it's why he offers Luke a place "by his side."

Yeah, he is a product and member of the Banites. Him occasionally making a reference of their values isn't surprising, especially prior to ROTS. More importantly, Sidious himself is the endgame of the Banites, but Sidious' own endgame transcends the Rule of Two.

In TFU he was peeved about Vader training Starkiller as he thought Vader was trying to get in on his shit. Legends, but still.

It'd be interesting to see what would have happened had Sidious found him originally, though I'm sure he would have had him and Vader fight to the death long ago.

Originally posted by One Big Mob
In TFU he was peeved about Vader training Starkiller as he thought Vader was trying to get in on his shit. . Something similar happened in TCW. Palpatine didn't like the thought of Dooku potentially grooming Asajj as an apprentice to overthrow him, so ordered Dooku to renounce and kill her.

Palpatine's Rule of One is the best. NGL

However, Sidious is not a Banite Sith. He is a 'One' Sith.
So, he is not the product of the Banites - because Plagueis - at his own turn - dismissed that set of rules.

Originally posted by Galan007
Something similar happened in TCW. Palpatine didn't like the thought of Dooku potentially grooming Asajj as an apprentice to overthrow him, so ordered Dooku to renounce and kill her.

Forgot about that.

"Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us."

In canon Sidious was fully committed to the Banite doctrine.

So if some scientist discovers the key to immortality, does that make them the sith'ari of our time and universe?

Sidious never wanted a successor; he made it blatantly clear he was the last of the Banite line in his mind. However, IIRC, the vehicle fact files state he wanted Luke as his apprentice during DE to honor Bane's legacy, so he did live by Banite ideals till the very end.

Someone tell me, if the Sith are so selfish and self-obsessed, why do they bother taking up apprentices? Or at the very least why do they bother teaching them more than the bare minimum for them to carry out errands?


Also again, what was Sidious's end goal? The Sith preach that their chains will be broken, but what are those chains for Sidious at this point (assuming he has achieved immortality and wiped out any possibility of the jedi returning)

His end goal was "an eternal dynasty with the Skywalker family as its nobility and Palpatine himself as its omnipotent ruler" according to the Dark Empire Sourcebook.

That's interesting DES says that, since that's what Lucas and Ian have also said.

Coincidence? mmm

Because "a Master without an Apprentice is a Master of nothing".

It's in a Sith's nature to fly as close to the sun as possible. Sidious didn't need Anakin or Luke to rule the Galaxy. In fact it would have been better for Sidious to just kill Anakin and keep Dooku as an apprentice or take Maul back.

Same with Krayt and Cade. Krayt didn't need Cade anymore, he already had the secret to immortality.

The role of the apprentice is to make sure the master doesn't grow sloppy or weak.

Originally posted by Azronger
Sidious never wanted a successor;


So what was his plan for Anakin then?

I think the more that has been added to the story retroactively, the less Sidious wanting a successor or training an apprentice with higher potential makes sense. Perhaps initially when the original trilogy came out it was more plausible since so many concepts like the Rule of Two, Essence Transfer, etc weren't invented yet.

Or it could make perfect sense: maybe Sidious is so delusional, or so genius, that he thought he could engineer a scenario where he transfers his essence into a Skywalker's body like he tried to in Dark Empire and live forever. I'm gonna go with that. He could also be so delusional that he thinks he can keep anyone under his thumb or in partnership with him forever, no matter how powerful or ambitious they become.

Originally posted by Unbowed
Because "a Master without an Apprentice is a Master of nothing".

It's in a Sith's nature to fly as close to the sun as possible. Sidious didn't need Anakin or Luke to rule the Galaxy. In fact it would have been better for Sidious to just kill Anakin and keep Dooku as an apprentice or take Maul back.

Same with Krayt and Cade. Krayt didn't need Cade anymore, he already had the secret to immortality.

The role of the apprentice is to make sure the master doesn't grow sloppy or weak. Good answer. I'm assuming the master would accept their death and hence that they grew sloppy and weak if it were to happen.

Krayt wanted to possess Cade's body. I really wondered if those cheesy lines in PT and OT of 'strike me down' were actually a hoax to make his enemies kill him - so he could take over their bodies - sans: Anakin and Luke.

Originally posted by Darth Thor
So what was his plan for Anakin then?

Become his 'Celestial' weapon.

I'm going to say no.

He always felt more like a true Dark Brotherhood dude to me.

Originally posted by Darth Thor
So what was his plan for Anakin then?

Originally posted by Azronger
His end goal was "an eternal dynasty with the Skywalker family as its nobility and Palpatine himself as its omnipotent ruler" according to the Dark Empire Sourcebook.

Basically, he wanted Anakin under his thumb to initially serve as an enforcer, "the public face of the dark side" as Vader had been described as while he maintained the guise of the benevolent and well-meaning Palpatine of Naboo, but later on when he had assimilated the galaxy into his being, I think he was just there to be an ego boost, the same as the rest of the Skywalkers. Would've been the ultimate middle finger to the Force after all.

Palpatine is, basically, a spoiled psychopathic child trapped in the body of a man.

Palpatine Pan

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
That's interesting DES says that, since that's what Lucas and Ian have also said.

Coincidence? mmm

Their statements, please?