The Ultimate Palpatine Essay

Part 1

The purpose of this thread is to prove the superiority of Darth Sidious to Valkorion, his most bitter enemy on these boards.

This is all my opinion of course, and I’m not trying to force these views down upon anyone, although a response would be appreciated. I did this mainly because I was bored, and several people requested the sources for my claims about Sheev in another thread. I figured that instead of giving you but a taste of Sheev’s magnificent power, I might as well provide it in its full glory by sharing all the sources of his best feats. I will also make a comparison to Valkorion to demonstrate just how inferior he is compared to Sheev’s unwavering might. You could also say I was inspired by Tempest/Gideon’s “Complete Palpatine essay” that he wrote back in the day, which I thought was very well done. You could treat this as a follow-up to that.

Now, I didn’t mention every feat Sheev has, nor every Force power, because most of his displays with minor powers aren’t that significant, and irrelevant to proving his supremacy anyway.

Also, Nova, add everything here to your RTs that you haven’t already.

Overall Force Power

Darth Sidious is offcially stated to be the most powerful Sith Lord and darksider in history. For said accolades, check the Palpatine Supremacy Thread.

Valkorion falls under the jurisdiction of these quotes, even if you don’t believe him to be a Sith (he is, though), as he is still very much a dark side user. Thus, any feat relating to power and not mastery by Valkorion that was done using abilities Sheev also knows, is attributed to Sheev but in greater magnitude. And given that Palpatine knows every Force ability that Valkorion does, he can replicate every single feat of power of Valkorion’s.

Which leads us to...

Overall Force Knowledge

Indeed, I mentioned that Palpatine knows every Force ability that Valkorion knows. That claim is validated by this lovely quote:

To grasp the depths and mercurial intents of the dark side, there is no better authority than the Sith architect who brought about its greatest return. Darth Sidious spent decades ruminating on the nature of the dark side, and as Palpatine, he sought to pen the most comprehensive tome on the nature of darkness and the practices of the Sith.

In these cantos and the hundreds of thousands that follow, it is apparent that the Emperor has plumbed depths of darkness unknown before. What is known is that the Emperor gathered all the greatest lore of the dark side and collected it. This cost him greatly, as the dark side consumes its servants even as its followers consume each other.

-From the Dark Side Compendium

So the Emperor has canonically collected the greatest dark side lore there is, and he collected all of it. Whatever Force power might have manifested in the past, Palpatine knows it or a greater version of it. For those who have comprehension issues, let me explain: If Valkorion knew a dark side ability that Palpatine didn’t, then Palpatine wouldn’t have collected all of the greatest dark side lore, as there would be a piece of it he hadn’t attained in the form of Valkorion’s ability. Thus, in order for him to have collected all of it, Palpatine needs to have knowledge of Valkorion’s hypothetical ability, and all his other unique Force abilities as well.

Another thing you might have picked up from the quote is that Palpatine studied the dark side in greater depth than anyone else in history, and discovered abilities no one else had discovered and thus had no knowledge of, Valkorion included. This already factually establishes the Emperor as a more knowledgeable dark side user than Valkorion, so there really shouldn’t be any more debate about this.

However, Valkorion supporters might want to argue that Valkoion has moved beyond mere Sith teachings and has evolved his understanding to encompass both sides of the Force, and thus, has the potential to surpass Sidious in overall Force knowledge. This argument falls flat very quickly, though, as Valkorion has never demonstrated any light side powers to my knowledge, and even though he has stated to have moved “beyond light and dark”, there no way to quantify how well this translates into overall Force knowledge, and any argument using this as its crux in an attempt prove Valkorion’s superiority to Sheev remains unsubstantiated.

And it’s not like Palpatine himself is an ignoramus on the light side of the Force, himself telling Anakin that “if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the dogmatic, narrow view of the Jedi.”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dATuq8O3920&t=1m10s

“All its aspects” indeed. His word is supported by an objective source, claiming that:

With the resources of the galaxy at his disposal, he gathered the greatest works of knowledge from over a million worlds. He studied the Force in all its guises thoughout the galaxy, whether it was the shamanism of Jarvashqiine or the tales of the Tyia.

-Dark Empire Sourcebook

He also gathered Force-related from over a million worlds, which is an amount of knowledge Valkorion doesn’t come close to rivalling. And it’s not hyperbole either; there were canonically over 70 million star systems in the Galactic Empire, many of which contained more than one planet, I’m sure:

The known galaxy includes nearly a billion inhabited star systems. Nearly 70 million of those star systems were sufficiently populated for representation of some sort of the Galactic Empire, a vast bureaucracy responsible for the affairs of more than 100 quadrillion beings.

-The Essential Atlas

And for more specific light side knowledge, Sidious inherited the Banite archives, which contains tons of the Jedi’s knowledge of the Force:

”Darth Bane's Rule of Two was a keystone of the Sith Order for centuries. The Battle of Ruusan, nearly a millennium ago, would have ended the Sith Order had Darth Bane not reconstituted it as a diarchy operating from the shadows. His writings became part of the Sith Archives passed down from master to apprentice for generations.”

-Darth Sidious, Book of the Sith

”Under the tutelage of Darth Plagueis I inherited the Sith archives – more than a thousand years’ worth of teachings passed in secret from master to apprentice.”

-Darth Sidious, Book of the Sith

For a millennium, the Sith maintained the order in secrecy, passing down their evil heritage. As they gained knowledge of the dark side of the Force, their powers increased with each generation.

-Episode I: The Phantom Menace Scrapbook

He'd never had it. He had lost before he started. He had lost before he was born. The Sith had changed. The Sith had grown, had adapted, had invested a thousand years' intensive study into every aspect of not only the Force but Jedi lore itself, in preparation for exactly this day. The Sith had remade themselves. They had become new.

-Revenge of the Sith novelization

It’s even suggested that Palpatine knew all Jedi Force abilities ever, and created knew ones on 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.

-Dark Empire Sourcebook[/i]

While this quote could easily be argued around due to the word “believed”, which establishes it as not the most concrete of accolades, but the fact that it is even suggested as a possibility in the first place says something, and there’s always authorial intent; they wouldn’t have put this is the book for no reason. The message and implication is clear: that Palpatine is among the most knowledgeable Force users ever regarding Jedi abilities and the light side of the Force, even if him knowing absolutely everything isn’t to be taken literally.

All in all, the amount of knowledge and the powers Sidious has discovered and developed from it is nigh immeasurable, being described as “almost unlimited”:

Sidious possesses almost unlimited Force powers.

-Beware the Sith

I hope nobody still thinks Valkorion somehow has an edge over Sheev in this field. He’s squat compared to Palpatine’s knowledge and that’s that. But to his credit, I don’t think anyone would be able to measure up to Sidious here, save for possibly the Ones. I think, after all the evidence I’ve presented, it’s fair to say that Sidious is the most knowledgeable Force user of all time, bar the Ones.

For an ultimate essay I expected something longer.

inb4 that's what she said.

Part 2

Overall Force Attunement

Sheev Palpatine had one of the deepest connections to the Force in galactic history, perhaps the most attuned being outside the Skywalker lineage. His connection to the dark side went so deep, that he literally commune with it, and be one with it:

A few meters distant, Sidious came to a halt, gazing at Plagueis for a long moment, as though making up his mind about something. Then, blowing out his breath, he set his own glass down and reached for the cloak he had draped over a chair. Swirling it around himself, he started for the door, only to stop shortly before he reached it. Turning and stretching out with the Force, he glanced around the room, as one might to fix a memory in the mind. Briefly his gaze fell on the droid, its glowing photoreceptors whirring to regard him in evident curiosity.

A look of sinister purpose contorted Sidious's face.

Again, his eyes darted around the room, and the dark side whispered:

Your election assured, the Sun Guards absent, Plagueis unsuspecting and asleep...

And he moved in a blur.

…

A tremor took hold of the planet.

Sprung from death, it unleashed itself in a powerful wave, at once burrowing deep into the world's core and radiating through its saccharine atmosphere to shake the stars themselves. At the quake's epicenter stood Sidious, one elegant hand vised on the burnished sill of an expansive translucency, a vessel filled suddenly to bursting, the Force so strong within him that he feared he might disappear into it, never to return. But the moment didn't constitute an ending so much as a true beginning, long overdue; it was less a transformation than an intensification-a gravitic shift.

A welter of voices, near and far, present and from eons past, drowned his thoughts. Raised in praise, the voices proclaimed his reign and cheered the inauguration of a new order. Yellow eyes lifted to the night sky, he saw the trembling stars flare, and in the depth of his being he felt the power of the dark side anoint him.

…

In his mouth, Sidious tasted the tang of blood; in his chest, he felt the monster rising, emerging from shadowy depths and contorting his aspect into something fearsome just short of revealing itself to the world.

The dark side had made him its property, and now he made the dark side his.

-Darth Plagueis

Another example would be when he pulled the name of Vader straight from the dark side:

Darth Sidious laid a pale hand on Anakin's brow. "Then it is done. You are now one with the Order of the Dark Lords of the Sith. From this day forward, the truth of you, my apprentice, now and forevermore, will be Darth..."

A pause; a questioning in the Force—

An answer, dark as the gap between galaxies—

He heard Sidious say it: his new name.

Vader.

A pair of syllables that meant him.

Vader, he said to himself. Vader.

-Revenge of the Sith novelization

Sidious immersed himself in the dark side so deeply that its power was beginning to kill him. His body was failing, and it could not handle his own power:

"Flesh does not easily support this great power."

-Darth Sidious

Palpatine had become such a creature of the dark side that its powers consumed him. It constantly fed at his core and withered his flesh. The very power that cemented his rule over the galaxy threatened his life, and so he ingeniously turned to technology to cheat death.

-The Dark Empire Saga

This is in sharp contrast to Vitiate, who, despite not having discovered immortality, remained unchanged for centuries, whereas Palpatine, who did discover immortality (I will elaborate on that later), was dying despite this. It proves just how much the latter’s connection to the dark side was deeper than the former’s.

Now that we have established Palpatine’s superiority to Valkorion statistically, it is time to see how well does Sidious use these attrubtes in combat. Let’s compare their individual Force abilities one by one...

Part 3

Telepathy

Let’s establish Valkorion’s best TP feat right off the bat: the domination of Ziost, as seen in the Rise of the Emperor storyline. Here’re the video and the relevant quotes:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oN7GqV7fYSA

As the Sith Emperor gradually dominates the free will of everyone on Ziost, both Lana Beniko, Minister of the newly formed Sith Intelligence, and Theron Shan, a spy for the Galactic Republic, are trying to stop the chaos.

-The Old Republic website

“The dark side is strong on Ziost. Using the outpost’s resources, our former Emperor can massacre the defenceless to fuel him.”

-Rane Kovatch

Situated in the heart of Imperial Space, Ziost has long played a vital role in the intricate history of the Sith. For thousands of years, in fact, the craggy, arid world served as the ancient Sith Empire's capital until infighting splintered its leadership. Today, Ziost remains an important commercial, political and population center of the Empire--this in spite of its shift from a warm climate with dense forests to a bitterly cold tundra. Whether this environmental turnabout is due to geological reasons or eons of dark side influence remains a subject of scholarly consideration.

-Ziost Codex Entry

Sparsely populated and largely unexplored, Dathomir wasn’t Korriban or [color=blue]Ziost,[/color] but it was powerful in the Force, in part because of its fecundity, but mainly due to the presence of groups of female adepts who practiced dark side magicks.

-Darth Plagueis

As is rather clear, from the videos and the quote, Vitiate never dominated Ziost in its entirety, since there where still free-willed people running around, and it is noted to be gradual. And although many would like to claim Vitiate was vastly weakened by being an incorporeal spirit, this would be counter-balanced by Ziost’s dark side nexus. Overall, he was performing at his natural level of power.

Another point I’d like to bring up is Vitiate’s inability to possess people who were unconscious. This is one of the ways the Hero fought his influence, and ultimately reduced the number of possessed beings to one. It is also made apparent from the fact that Vitiate only starts re-dominating them once they come to. This is clear indication that Vitiate was using maximum effort when performing this feat.

So, in total, Vitiate is able to dominate half a planet of people, with maximum effort, while present at said planet. Contrast this with Sidious’ domination Byss, and it becomes clear the wannabe Emperor has no business being considered in the same league as the OG, much less beating him.

Almost mindless under the oppression of the Emperor's dark side influence, the people of Byss find their life energies constantly leeched off during the Emperor's vile machinations.

Throughout the worlds submissive to the Empire, Byss is renowned as a paradise, whose siren call multitudes to willingly apply for emigration to its shores. Once there, wrapped in the power of the dark side, the immigrants become completely submissive, their life energy forever enslaved to the mind that would devour a galaxy.

-Dark Empire endnotes

While most of the inhabitants live their lives in almost a dreamlike state on the seeming utopia, with even their communications to families on other worlds censored to maintain the mystery of the planet, many others have been brought to the world to carry out the Emperor's wishes. Servants of the Imperial war machine toil until exhaustion building starships and droids, while bureaucrats and businessmen ensure that the financial aspects of the Empire continue to cover production costs. There is almost no one on the entire planet whose life doesn't revolve around making the Empire function in some manner.

-Byss and the Deep Core

Dominating an entire planet is even by itself a better feat than dominating part of a planet. What makes an order of magnitude better, though, is the fact that Sidious did this from across the galaxy. Note the highlighted parts; the most straightforward interpretations of “constantly” and “forever” are that Palpatine never stopped dominating them, even when he was off-planet, on the other side of the galaxy.

What puts it two orders of magnitude higher than the Ziost feat is the fact that Sidious’ hold over them was far more subtle, yet just as effective. Not only are they described as living in a “dreamlike state”, implying they don’t know what is going on, they also don’t glow like magic zombies. Contrast this with the reactions of the people freed from Vitiate’s control and you’ll see that they were fully aware of what they were doing.

What puts it three orders of magnitude higher is the fact that the Emperor set them to do far more complex tasks than just mindless slaughter. What is described in the bottom quote requires infinitely more concentration, precision, thought, intelligence, knowledge of electronics, physics, mathematics, financing, economics, etc. than swinging swords or firing gun, and thus, would be much harder to pull off than the Ziost feat.

What puts it four orders of magnitude higher than Vitiate’s feat is the fact that he accomplished it casually. We never see the Emperor being strained in any of the comics or movies or novels. In fact, no one would ever notice or know about him dominating Byss since the Emperor does it so effortlessly.

What puts it five orders of magnitude higher is the fact that he was also using other Force powers simultaneously, mainly Battle Meditation and Drain Life. I will elaborate on BM here, but Drain will get its own section. But without further ado:

For the first time, the Death Star rocked. The collision with the exploding destroyer was only the beginning, leading to various systems breakdowns, which led to reactor meltdowns, which led to personnel panic, abandonment of posts, further malfunctions, and general chaos. Smoke was everywhere, substantial rumblings came from all directions at once, people were running and shouting. Electrical fires, steam explosions, cabin depressurizations, disruption of chain-of-command. Added to this, the continued bombardments by Rebel Cruisers—smelling fear in the enemy—merely heightened the sense of hysteria that was already pervasive. For the Emperor was dead. The central, powerful evil that had been [color=blue]the cohesive force to the Empire was gone; and when the dark side was this diffused, this nondirected—this was simply where it led.

Confusion.

Desperation.

Damp fear.

-Rebellion era campaign guide

The text is quite straight forward: Palpatine was keeping the Empire together with his power. He was utilizing Battle Meditation on every single Imperial soldier and officer in the galaxy, since the Empire’s inception. Over time they grew so reliant on this that when they were cut off from the Emperor’s power, it caused mass hysteria and mental breakdowns all across the galaxy. It is why they lost the Battle of Endor even though the outnumbered the rebels ten to one; It is partly the reason why the Empire went to shit in general very fast.

Sidious influenced tens of trillions with his mental powers. Valkorion requires maximum effort to accomplish a feat that is number-wise, hundreds if not thousands of times inferior to Palpatine’s’. And that’s without factoring Sidious doing it casually from across the galaxy. The disparity between these two is so large I’d wager Sheev would simply mind rape Valkorion and make him his slave.

Now, I did mention Sidious was also using Drain from across the galaxy, so let’s get into that...

Part 4

Drain Life

Sidious siphoned the energies of Byss’ populace, according to the quote above in the TP section, constantly and never stopping. This infinitely more impressive than anything Vitiate has done with Drain, due to:

1. Vitiate was forced to exert maximum effort to affect the population of one planet; Sidious did it casually

2. Vitiate only affected an unknown amount of the population; Sidious affected the entire population

3. Vitiate could only drain the life essence of those who were dying; Sidious could drain the life essence of anyone he wanted

4. Vitiate was using a single Force power in conjunction with Drain; Sidious was using two, one of which he did on a galactic scale

There’s no comparison; Sidious drains him to death easily. As for Vitiate’s Death Field, while it is true Sidious never pulled it off, it's also true he never even attempted it. He's been canonically confirmed to know the ability in Book of the Sith and after just comparing their respective power in basic Drain, it's apparent Sidious is Vitiate's superior in that regard, so why should Death Field - which is an aspect of Drain - be excluded from that? Palpatine can do it, casually I’d say.

Telekinesis

It is quite clear that Palpatine is a telekinetic monster:

Years before, one of a number of Super Star Destroyers commissioned by the Emperor had disappeared. In fact, as a demonstration of Palpatine’s dark side powers, he had buried the Lusankya at the edge of Imperial City.

-Fact File 9

Ragdolling a 19 kilometer starship? Darth Sidious is up to the task. And yes, I mean ragdolling, as in he can do it with very little effort. As has been established already, he never stopped his Byss nor his Battle Meditation feat, meaning he was doing them at the same time as he buried the Lusankya. This would logically mean he would’ve expended very little of his actual Force reserves on burying the ship, as he would’ve had to concentrate on other two monumental tasks simultaneously. It gets even better, though:

The Lusankya was covered in a superframe of girders and electronics, the lowered onto Coruscant disguised as a massive planetary shield generator and its repulsorlift cradle. The fact that a Super Star Destroyer was at the heart of the “generator” was kept secret, allowing the Lusankya to serve as a secret prison facility.

-Starships of the Galaxy (Saga Edition)

So the thing was covered in all kinds of crap, making it look like a planetary shield generator. This would logically increase its size and mass considerably, making the Emperor’s feat all the more impressive. He also, has this:

Fury boiled his blood at the thought of waiting any longer. The rage called for release, and the Emperor knew that with a thought he could destroy his opulent office. He could crack the building's foundation, rain rubble on the heads of those unlucky beings trapped within. He could, with the full power of his anger, unleash a fireball of death.

-Rebel Force: Target

He could crack the foundations of the Imperial Palace, a building 3 km tall and 20 km wide. Although it is only an implied feat, we are given little reason to doubt Palpatine’s word, given the other showing I’ve presented here.

Overall, I’m quite at a loss as to why some people think Valkorion compares, much less wins this. He can’t measure up to Sheev in other powers, so logic dictates he can’t do so here either. Palpatine ragdolls him.

He can also fly so that’s another way in which Palpatine is superior:

Part 5

Force Lightning

Sidious has two Lightning feats that make him the undisputed champion in this area. The first one would be bending Mace Windu’s lightsaber blade solely with the strength of his Force Lightning:

Now Anakin was at Mace's shoulder. Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Korun Master's face.

Palpatine’s eyes glowed with power, casting a yellow glare that burned back the rain from around them. "He is a traitor, Anakin. Destroy him."

"You're the chosen one, Anakin," Mace said, his voice going thin with strain. This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade. "Take him. It's your destiny."

-Revenge of the Sith novelization

The other would be damaging lightsaber-resistant material. Compare how Vader’s lightsaber and Sheev’s Lightning perform against the Lylek queen’s carapace:

Go, the Emperor said.
Vader sprinted forward and leapt high. The moment he reached the apex of his jump, his Master seized him with the Force and flung him the rest of the way so that he landed atop the queen's back.
Immediately she bucked, tentacles flailing, and he drove his lightsaber down into her back. To his surprise, the blade only bit partially and then slipped to the side. She screamed and hissed with agony. He grasped it two-handed again, preparing another blow, but she reared up hard, bucking, and flung him to the floor. He landed near his Master, who grabbed him by the arm and heaved him to his feet with uncanny strength.

[…]

His Master raised both hands and sent a storm of Force lightning into the queen, enmeshing her in sizzling blue lines. She screamed and spasmed in agony, her mandibles parting wide to reveal the rows of her teeth as the lightning tore at her carapace and the organs underneath, [color=blue]burning her inside and out.[/color]

-Lords of the Sith

Sidious’ Force Lightning > lightsaber blade; this much is fact. I haven’t seen any comparable showings from Valkorion (or anyone for that matter), and as I’ve said before, if Sheev is better at other powers, in the absence of comparable showings from Valkorion, logic dictates Sheev is superior here as well.

And that’s not the end of it. Sidious doesn’t need hands to cast Lightning; he can simply do it with his mind, and across very long distances, too:

"Anger concentrated by Will in the vital center of the body creates a portal, through which vast energies are released. The energies of the dark side of the Force. This is the power I command, now that I am one with the dark side. With these energies, I have slain my enemies across the empty reaches of space. I have created lightning, and unleashed devastating fires.”

-Palpatine's hologram recording

"Standing watch with the mind, in my meditation of Anger, I have slain my enemies from great distances through the dark side power that permeates the galaxy. I have created lightning, and unleashed its detructive fire."

-The Book of Anger

Haven’t seen Valkorion kill anyone from across the galaxy with Lightning. Face it: Sheev is better. Just better.

Pyrokinesis/Combustion/Convection

I have not seen Valkorion demonstrate any fire-related powers. I don’t even have to make a comparison; Palpatine wins by default. For his feats in this area, I’ll list them here briefly, to save you the effort of going through several respect threads.

Palpatine can keep himself warm in arctic temperatures:

By the time he left Kim's office the weather had turned sharply colder. Snow flurries were swirling around the palace towers, and the shallows to the Solleu tributaries were sheened with ice. The agent from Coruscant whom Plagueis had provided—Sate Pestage—was waiting in a small plaza behind the Parnelli Art Museum, warming his hands with his breath.

"The Naboo have never heard of climate control?" he commented as Palpatine approached.

Recalling his early conditioning sessions on glacial Mygeeto, Palpatine almost laughed at the man's remarks.

-Darth Plagueis

Palpatine controls fire:

From the head of the table, Pax Teem gawked at him as if he might be a creature escaped from his most horrifying nightmare. And yet he wouldn't be the first to taste Plagueis's blade but the last; once he had been forced to watch the rest of his party butchered, from hooves to eyestalks; the painted ceiling brought down by Sidious's Force pull; the flames of a gentle gas blaze in the room's fireplace incited to a blistering inferno that Sidious tugged behind him as he soared from the table to the floor and closed on his final victim.

In desperate flight from the Sith and the spreading flames, Pax Teem had backed himself to a tall window framed by floor-to-ceiling curtains. Entreaties of whatever sort tried to thrust themselves through his stricken voice box and past his square teeth, but none succeeded.
Deactivating the lightsaber, Sidious beckoned the flames with his fingers, encouraging them to leap from the table to the curtains. A bleating scream finally emerged from Teem's narrow muzzle of a mouth as the blazing fabric collapsed around him, and Sidious watched him roast to death.

-Darth Plagueis

Sidious heats up stones:

"Not fast enough," Sidious said as a stone smashed into Maul's lower back.

Maul crouched and grabbed the nearest rock. He no sooner lifted it from the ground than he felt it burning into his hand. He yelped as he reflexively opened his fingers and let the rock fall. How could the rock have generated such intense heat? He suspected it was his Master's trickery.

-The Wrath of Darth Maul

Sidious creates a flaming circle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9UJruYr5f4&t=1m15s

Sidious can heat up his fists:

Sidious notes how blowing up a room of enemies with Combustion is child’s play:

Sidious can unleash a fireball of death:

He could, with the full power of his anger, unleash a fireball of death.

-Rebel Force: Target

Sidious creates fire across galaxy-wide distances:

"Anger concentrated by Will in the vital center of the body creates a portal, through which vast energies are released. The energies of the dark side of the Force. This is the power I command, now that I am one with the dark side. With these energies, I have slain my enemies across the empty reaches of space. I have created lightning, and unleashed devastating fires.”

-Palpatine's hologram recording

"Standing watch with the mind, in my meditation of Anger, I have slain my enemies from great distances through the dark side power that permeates the galaxy. I have created lightning, and unleashed its detructive fire."

-The Book of Anger

Sidious blows up Leia’s lightsaber with Combustion:

Part 6

Force Storm/Fold Space/Teleportation

All of you probably have seen or heard about Palpatine’s Force Storms at one point or another. However, many people are ignorant about their true capabilities and have asserted that Vitiate marring the surface if Ziost is a better feat. This is not the case, as Vitiate could only damage the surface, whereas the Reborn Emperor could literally tear them off:

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.

-Dark Empire Sourcebook

To put this into perspective, the Earth’s surface layer can vary from 30 to 65 kilometers in depth. That’s tremendously more mass than any application of Telekinesis has ever come close to manipulating, and it is certainly more than what Valkorion has ever come close to replicating in terms of destructive potency. Palpatine’s Storms also have the potential to alter entire dimensions:

As for feats, there’s his Force Storm he summoned on Coruscant:

Compared to the hype the ability has received, Palpatine’s demonstration may seem quite underwhelming. That would be the case if what we saw on-screen was all that transpired. It is revealed in a novel taking place six years after the event that the shore of the Great Western Sea had yet to recover:

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.

-Black Fleet Crisis: Before the Storm

What’s also interesting about Palpatine’s Storm, is that it can alter entire dimensions with its power, a feat beyond Valkorion’s wildest dreams:

The swirling vortex of dimension-altering energy consumed Luke, and deposited him far away on the Deep Core world of Byss.

-Databank (2008): Luke Skywalker

Sidious also used these Storms not only to destroy, but to transport things across galaxy-wide distances. He did this to Luke and R2-D2, and also entire starships that he would add to his fleet:

Also, the reason I listed traditional Teleportation and Fold Space here along with the Storms is because they all have the same effect – they can teleport objects, and I also believe Palpatine to be capable of teleportation without Storms. When he snatched Luke from Coruscant, the latter woke up on a prison ship, in a small, dark cell. The Force Storm couldn’t have possibly fit in there, so the only plausible explanation is that Palpatine used Fold Space to put him there. And if he can teleport others, then he can obviously teleport himself. This is reinforced by a description of Palpatine in the DE endnotes:

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.

-Dark Empire endnotes

So if the Emperor himself bursts open the fabric of space, then it obviously means he can teleport, since the in the act of teleportation you are bending space to get from one place to another without moving yourself. This is another huge advantage Valkorion lacks

But back to the topic of Force Storms, it should also be noted that Palpatine had summoned multiple Storms in several different systems at the same time as he summoned the one on Coruscant:

"The energy storm that took Commander Skywalker, this is not an isolated event. Similar Storms have been detected in several systems."

-Mon Mothma, Dark Empire audio drama

I hope most of you have already realized just how screwed Valkorion is at this point. He can’t possibly hope to stand up to the power Sheev is bringing. But just to drive the point home, the Storm he summoned on Coruscant was actually on the small scale, relative to Palpatine’s true power. The Storm he summoned on Da Soocha was far larger and more powerful.

He summoned up a huge Force storm, far more powerful than the one that had swept Coruscant.

-The Essential Chronology

In fact, this is according to Palpatine himself, his full potency. He poured all of his power into this singular act of the dark side, and the results were devastating. This is what Palpatine is capable of at full power:

Not only did it consume the fleet, but in a matter of seconds, it was threatening to devour the entirety of the moon of Da Soocha:

”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!”

-Mon Mothma, Dark Empire audio drama

Luke himself made the same observation upon seeing the Storm in action:

"The Reborn Emperor used this at Da Soocha. It has the power to kill worlds."

-Luke, The Jedi Path

So Palpatine at full power is a moon buster. At least that’s what he can do in a matter of a dozen seconds. In the long term, Palpatine’s Storm was going 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.

-The Comics Companion

Taken literally, “all of space” would literally mean the entire universe, as well as any other universes if they exist. In other words, Darth Sidious is omniversal.

However, whether the quote should be taken at face value is up to debate, since an omniversal usage of the Force would be massively out of proportion in the Star Wars setting. Even the Ones – godlike Force wielders beyond anyone – possess only a fraction of a fraction of that kind of power. They’re at best noted to be galaxy-level. It would make very little sense for Palpatine to be able to accomplish something so outlandish and – within the scope of the Star Wars universe – ridiculous.

Nonetheless, this hardly detracts from his supreme dark side might. Outright destroying a moon is far beyond Valkorion’s ability. He’ll be annihilated in a fight against Sheev.

Part 7

Force Defence

Valkorion’s best feat is blocking a lightsaber blade with Tutaminis. However, this is Darth Bane-tier shit:

She was less than a meter away, her blade already slashing in for the killing blow, when she felt all the hair on the back of her neck rise. A shimmering purple cocoon of dark side energy enveloped Bane, a fragile shell holding back a storm of pure power.

She tried to pull back but it was too late. As her blade bit into the cocoon the energy was released in a sudden burst that sent both of them flying backward. Bane slammed hard into the wall against his back and crumpled to the ground. Zannah was tossed ten meters farther, landing hard on the stone floor.

-Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

While Bane was thrown back, he still managed to completely negate the effects of the lightsaber. He also managed this without any gestures whatsoever, so in a purely defensive sense, this feat is superior to anything Valkorion has ever demonstrated. So blocking lightsaber blades should be a absolute child’s play for Sidious, per Banite scaling (see the Supremacy Thread). Theoretically, if an opponent was hammering him relentlessly with a blade, he could simply erect a barrier and nonchalantly drink his coffee.

But of course it doesn’t end there. Purely in the realm of feats, Sidious has casually tanked his own Force Lightning, which, as you know – if you were paying any attention while reading the previous section – is more potent than a lightsaber blade.

Force lightning spat from the Emperor’s gray fingers, surrounding Yoda in a blue nimbus. But Yoda had faced Force lightning before. To deflect the first bolts, he had to stop his intended strike at the Emperor. Once his initial surprise was over, he reached out to the living Force. The lightning bent, arcing back toward the Emperor.

“Destroy you, I will,” Yoda said grimly. “Just as Master Kenobi, your apprentice will destroy.”

The Sith Lord only redoubled his attack.

-Revenge of the Sith junior novel

Now, you may claim Sidious wasn’t hit by it, but I ask you: What is this notion based on? I’d say if Sidious is described as ”doomed” (RotS script), the lightning is hitting him. Yoda’s comment about destroying Sidious also supports my case. Nowhere is it stated the lightning missed. Nowhere is it stated that Sidious dodged. Nowhere is it stated the lightning just stopped mid-air. And none of these would even make sense, as Sidious would clearly not look like he was doomed, if the lightning was not hitting him. The only plausible conclusion here is that Sidious was casually tanking his own Force Lightning, which didn’t even put a dent in him.

This also supported by Yoda – Sidious factual equal or near-equal – tanking the Sith Lord’s Force Lightning himself at the start of their duel. He was sent flying, but that was the extent of the effect it had on him. He rose up a moment later completely unscathed, indicating Sidious could do it as well.

Fast forwarding to Dark Empire, Sidious demonstrated the ability to shield others from his Force Storms, which are far more destructive than even his Force Lightning. He did this to Luke and R2-D2 when he transported them to Byss, and also the starships. I have heard the argument that Sidious could have simply controlled his Storm in a way that it would not hit what he was transporting, but this is not how Force Storms work. They destroy absolutely everything they touch, and Luke very clearly went right through the eye.

"The churning energy mass of a Force Storm can consume everything it touches, for at its eye is pure hate.”

-Darth Sidious, Book of the Sith

So if Sidious can shield others and even entire starships, and from across the galaxy, then he can obviously shield himself. Valkorion doesn’t compare in the slightest.

Alter environment

Let’s discuss their power on a planetary scale. A mere hologram of Sidious causes intense weather phenomena on Vjun. Sidious accomplished this from across the galaxy:

Outside, the wind picked up another notch, shrieking and groaning among the eleven chimneys as if to announce the arrival of a hideous guest. Dooku's comm console chimed. He glanced over, expecting the daily report from General Grievous, or perhaps a message from Asajj Ventress. He reached over to open the channel, recognized the digital signature of the incoming transmission, jabbed the channel open, and snapped to his feet. "You called, my Master?"

The hologrammic projector on his desk sprang to life, and the wavering form of Darth Sidious regarded him. As always the picture was oozy and unclear, as if light itself were uneasy in the presence of the Lord of the Sith. Dark robes, purple shadows—a patch of skin, pale and mottled under his hooded cloak like a fungus growing under a rotten log. From under heavy lids the Master's eyes, snake-cold and serpent-wise, regarded him.

"What would you have of me, Master?"

"From you? Everything, of course." Darth Sidious sounded amused. "There was a time when I wasn't sure if you would be able to overcome that...independent streak of yours. After all, you were born to one of the wealthiest families in the galaxy, with gifts and abilities far, far greater than any amount of wealth could bestow. Your understanding is deep; your will, adamant. Is it any wonder you should be proud? Why, how could it be otherwise?"

Dooku said, "I have always served you well and faithfully, my Master."

"You have. But you must admit, your spirit was not made for fidelity. After all, a man who will not bow to the Jedi Council, or even Master Yoda...I wondered if perhaps loyalty was too mean, too confining a thing to ask from so great a being as yourself."

Dooku tried to smile. "The war progresses well. Our plans are on schedule. I have dealt out your deaths, your schemes, your betrayals. I have paid for your war with my time, my riches, my friends, and my honor."

"Holding nothing back?" Sidious asked lightly.

"Nothing. I swear it."

"Excellent," Darth Sidious said. "Yoda came to the Chancellor's office this morning. He is going on a very special mission. Top secret." He laughed, a harsh sound like the bark of a crow. The wind rose again, shrieking around the mansion like a creature in torment. "When he arrives, Dooku...see that you treat him."

Darth Sidious laughed. Dooku wanted to laugh along, but couldn't quite manage it before his Master cut the connection and disappeared.

…

Dooku paced his office. With the end of Sidious' call, the storm had slackened, and the shrieking wind outside now only sobbed quietly under the gables of Château Malreaux.

-Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

Contrasted with Vitiate, he never did anything from across the galaxy, and to influence a planet’s climate, he needed rituals. Couldn’t do it with his own power. He’s a sad joke compared to the true Dark Lord.

Power hungry, the Emperor spent great energy discovering and perfecting esoteric rites of darkness – rituals that wrecked the atmosphere of Dromund Kaas, transforming the ionosphere into a swirling electric storm.

-The Old Republic Holonet

Part 8

Cosmic Accomplishments

I have already covered this topic here, but there is more I’d like to add.

Firstly, Sidious is outright stated to have the ability to weaken someone’s connection to the Force through the dark side:

Though Vader found Rillao had all the makings of a Jedi healer, Hethir possessed Darth Sidious' rare talent to cast a dark side shadow over Force users, dulling their abilities.

-Aliens in the Empire Part II

Secondly, more evidence for Sidious causing the imbalance. When Yoda is ruminating on the shroud of the dark side, it is visually represented as a cloaked figure, which is of course Sidious, implying he is the source of the imbalance:

Third, it is implied Sidious not only hindered the galaxy’s lightsiders, but the darksiders as well, clouding both sides of the Force:

YODA: Masking the future, is this disturbance in the Force.

MACE WINDU: The propecy is coming true, the Dark Side is growing.

YODA: And only those who have turned to the Dark Side can sense the possibilities of the future. Only going through the Dark Side can we see.

...

OBI-WAN: Has Master Yoda gained any insight into whether or not this war will come about?

MACE WINDU: Probing the Dark Side is a dangerous process. He could be in seclusion for days... May the force be with you.

...

INT. JEDI TEMPLE, YODA'S QUARTERS - LATE AFTERNOON: YODA sits with his eyes closed, meditating. Silence.

-Attack of the Clones script

This isn’t a traditional meditation session. Yoda clearly says only darksiders can see the future. Emphasis on “only”. Yoda very clearly knows that it is impossible for him as a lightsider to see the future, so he wouldn’t attempt the normal method, and is instead using some sort of dark side variant of Force sight. This is supported by Mace Windu describing it as “dangerous” (the risk of Yoda falling to the dark side), and Yoda viewing it as his only option and a last resort (normal meditation having failed numerous times).

But of course, as we know, Yoda failed, from which we can conclude that Sidious was not only clouding the light side, but if a darksider’s sight is also muddled, then he is shrouding also the dark side, and thus, the Force as a whole. This is similar to Darth Nihilus, whose mere presence weakened a Force user’s connection to the Force, except Palpatine has cast his shadow over an entire galaxy. This is an unparalleled demonstration of Force suppression.

Another feat in this area would be when the mere hologrammic presence of Palpatine stripped Dooku of his Force Augmentation, and consequently, his power, from across the galaxy:

Physically, the Count's age was rarely a handicap. Deft as he had become with the Force—unimaginably more subtle than the boy who had watched waterskeeters in the Jedi gardens all those years ago—he wore his eighty-three standard years better than most humans half his age. He was still in superb physical shape, senses keen, health undiminished by even the memory of a cold.

Only in this situation,stooped before the image of his Master, did he feel his years. Even via hologram, the flickering figure of Darth Sidious, hideous in blue and shadows, seemed to strip his [color=blue]false youth away, leaving his bones brittle, his joints worn thin and knotted with tension.[/color]

-Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

Compared to Valkorion needing extensive conditioning and magic words implanted into Vaylin's brain to supress her power, Sidious comes vastly ahead once more.

But back to the topic of galaxy-wide accomplishments. Another feat on a cosmic scale: a mere fraction of Palpatine’s power caused a galaxy-wide shockwave that could be felt by attuned individuals. In the audio drama, Luke is overcome with agony upon sensing this:

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!

-Dark Empire II audio drama

This is also a feat of Force Empowerment, in which a Force user strengthens another’s connection to the Force. This makes Valkorion’s use of the ability look quite pathetic in comparison:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlmuz2rSOW0&t=9m34s

But I digress, back to the topic of cosmic mastery, Palpatine made himself a dark side beacon. His power could be felt anywhere in the galaxy, and it attracted other dark side users into his service:

During the Rebellion era, dark side devotees become a bit more open, drawn by the power of the Emperor and their acceptance into his court. They are much easier to find anywhere in the Empire, especially in the Imperial Palace, where their power is focused and augmented by that of the Emperor.

-The Dark Side Sourcebook

Again, beyond what Valkorion ever did, as is everything I’ve presented here.

Force Concealment

Even from a very early age, Sheev always expressed great talent with hidding his Force sensitivity. Despite having little training in the Force, he hides his Force signature from Hego Damask, in reality the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis, even though he was actively attempting to probe him:

Again he tried to see deeper into Palpatine, but without success. The psychic walls the youth had raised were impenetrable, which made the young human something rare indeed. Had Palpatine somehow learned to corral the Force within himself, as Plagueis had concealed his own powers as a youth?

...

Plagueis had no need to delve any further into whatever traumas had given rise to Palpatine's cunning, secretive nature. He simply needed to know: Does this young human have the Force?

…

Palpatine's fury buffeted Plagueis. Blossoms growing along the sides of the pathway folded in on themselves, and their pollinators began to buzz in agitation. FourDee reacted, as well, wobbling on its feet, as if in the grip of a powerful electromagnet. Had this human truly been born of flesh-and-blood parents? Plagueis asked himself. When, in fact, he seemed sprung from nature itself. Was the Force so strong in him that it had concealed itself?

-Darth Plagueis

Continuing with his life into the Galactic Senate, and eventually Chancellorship, he hid his identity from the collective of the Jedi Order, and the High Council:

Darth Sidious's dark side powers are so strong that no one suspects that the Supreme Chancellor is also an evil Sith Lord!

-Darth Maul, Sith Apprentice

Vitiate did do something similar, in that one of his Children, the First Son, was actually the Jedi Master Syo Bakarn. He could, similar to Palpatine, conceal his true nature from the Jedi Council, and in addition to this, he concealed the Force sensitivities of Vitiate’s other Children:

The Sith Emperor seeks to shape all things to his will. His Children, individuals infused with part of his being, have been scattered throughout the Republic, knowingly–or unknowingly–manipulating events to the Emperor's advantage over the years. Above them all is the First Son of the Emperor, a master strategist placed within the Jedi Council itself. Cloaked in the identity of Master Syo Bakarn, the First Son has been hiding the Children from the Jedi for decades, playing a long game with the Republic. His actions suggest a man possessing remarkable patience, ruthlessness and power. However, as Sophia Farash claimed, Master Syo has been unaware of the First Son’s existence–suggesting he and the First Son are two separate personas.

-First Son Codex Entry

However, this feat is inferior to Palpatine’s in that Palpatine concealed his identity while he was using the Force to dampen the Jedi’s connection to it. He was shifting the tides of the Force all over the galaxy, and the Jedi never realized he was doing it, despite doing it right in front of them. That’s a far greater feat than hiding a couple of people the Jedi aren’t even actively looking for.

Part 9

Force Illusion/Doppelgänger

Valkorion’s best effort here was creating an illusory world in the mind of the Outlander. Sidious accomplished something similar, but this time against a far more powerful adversary in Yoda. In addition to this, he had to invade Yoda’s mind himself, while Valkorion was already inside the Outlander’s when he lost consciousness.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QBYUNU0rNCs

On a more individual level, Sidious has created a doppelgänger of himself, which was also an illusion in the form of Sifo-Dyas (also seen in the above video). It was so convincing that even Yoda was fooled by it. The doppelgänger possessed abilities such as Pyrokinesis and Telepathy, which he used against Yoda. This is greatly beyond the scope of abilities Vitiate has demonstrated in this field. His three doppelgänger’s were casually stomped by the Hero of Tython, and T7, a simple astromech droid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pwPRbwaT2A&t=0m55s

I’d also like to address the fact that just because Sidious accomplished this in conjunction with a ritual, does not mean it was not of his own power. The ritual allowed Sidious and Dooku to “see things, that we otherwise could not.” and nothing more. There’s no evidence the illusory world or the doppelgänger were linked to the ritual. It only bolstered their Force Sight ability.

Essence Transfer/Incorporeal Existence

This is perhaps Palpatine’s most underrated ability, mostly because of sheer ignorance. I have literally seen people claim that Palpatine “couldn’t lift a pencil” while in a bodiless form, which is outright laughable. Palpatine is one of the few beings in the mythos to not grow any weaker upon losing his physical shell:

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.

-Handbook 3: Dark Empire

With her presence, the two Skywalker twins were temporarily able to repulse Palpatine.
Unabated, the Emperor continued his scourge.

-Databank (2008): Palpatine

This is supported by many sources stating he is longer defined by his physical form, and is more energy than flesh:

The key to Luke's turning is the moment when he and Leia realize the Emperor is no longer defined by his physical form

-Dark Empire endnotes

When Luke had been brought before the Emperor, Palpatine's visage had been familiar to him from images that had reached even remote Tatooine, and his inherent power was immediately evident.

The Supreme Overlord, however, was a void Luke could not fathom. He wasn't a shell of a human in a hooded cloak, more energy than flesh. Nor was his face that of a Sith Master, prematurely wizened by years of calling on dark power.

-The Unifying Force

“After all... I live primarily as energy... formlessness... and power!”

-Darth Sidious

In terms of feats, you may remember a quote I posted in the Telepathy section about Palpatine never stopping the Byss feat. For convenience, I’ll re-post it here:

Almost mindless under the oppression of the Emperor's dark side influence, the people of Byss find their life energies constantly leeched off during the Emperor's vile machinations.

Throughout the worlds submissive to the Empire, Byss is renowned as a paradise, whose siren call multitudes to willingly apply for emigration to its shores. Once there, wrapped in the power of the dark side, the immigrants become completely submissive, their life energy forever enslaved to the mind that would devour a galaxy.

-Dark Empire endnotes

There’s no reason to assume this doesn’t apply to his spirit form as well. It’s stated nowhere, and the word “constantly” means constantly. No ifs or buts. Palpatine’s spirit is better than Valkorion’s spirit, and better than Valkorion in the flesh, too.

Sith Sorcery

Vitiate’s greatest attempt at Sorcery was a ritual which, if pulled off, would have killed every living being in the galaxy, and transferred their power into Vitiate. While this is a greater feat than anything Palpatine has, it should also be noted that the ritual required hundreds of years of preparation, and billions of simultaneous deaths for it to actually activate.

"The Emperor has manipulated events for centuries towards one goal: performing an even greater ritual that will destroy this galaxy. But the ritual requires a great sacrifice to begin: billions of simultaneous deaths."

-Lord Scourge

It also happens to be Valkorion’s only feat on a galactic scale. Compared to Sidious, this is not very impressive.

Sidious creates a ritual, which causes ripples in the Force as well as envelops Coruscant in a lightning storm, and is felt by every Jedi in the galaxy. Palpatine conducted not only one, but multiple similar rituals during the Clone Wars:

Also, this comparison between their respective weather rituals needs to be made:

He is said to have conducted many dark side rituals and experiments that affected the planet itself, leaving Dromund Kaas storm-wracked to this day.

-The Old Republic Codex Entry 33: Galactic History: Dromund Kaas

So to summarize, Vitiate required multiple rituals to create planetary thunder storms, whereas Palpatine needs only one. Vitiate also managed to conduct a single galaxy-spanning rituals over the course of several centuries, with billions as fuel, whereas Sidious conducted multiple galaxy-spanning rituals in a matter of three years, which took very little prep and resources, and no deaths to trigger it.

There’s still the Nathema ritual to cover, though, so I’ll do it right now. Here’re the details of the ritual:

Eight thousand Sith Lords gathered on Medriaas and agreed to partake in a ritual that would bind the Sith together as an ultimate dark side weapon.
The ritual lasted ten days. Lord Vitiate orchestrated the sorcery and the planet Medriaas was consumed by the largest dark side nexus the galaxy would ever see.

-The Old Republic

As you can see, it not only took ten days to perform, but Vitiate could not do so alone, and required over 8000 helpers. Not comparable to Palpatine.

This would be better suited to ComicVine. 🙂

Part 10

Sith Alchemy

It should also be noted that Palpatine was far more knowledgeable than his Dark Side Adepts when it came to Sith Alchemy:

In the years prior to the Battle of Yavin, Byss was known as the Emperor's Private retreat. Here he began quietly training Dark Side Adepts, initiating men of great intelligence who had committed their lives to his service. None were permitted to ascend to his level of knowledge and proficiency, but the Adpets nonetheless became powerful Dark Side magicians in their own right.

-Dark Empire endnotes

The Adepts were extremely knowledgeable and masterful in the art of Sith Alchemy themselves, being greater than the ancient Dark Lord Sorzus Syn:

The Alchemy developed by Syn is being perfected on Byss, where my Dark Side Adepts join their potent skills to warp life on a broad scale.

-Darth Sidious, The Manipulation of Life

They have also succeeded in creating sentient and self-aware intelligent entities, which is as unprecedented feat, even for Valkorion:

Legend says that Adepts of the Dark Side have even succeeded in spawning living monstrosities - beasts and intelligent entities, some unspeakably ugly, some full of malevolent charm and symmetry, all utterly permeated by the power of the Dark Side.

-Dark Empire endnotes

And even then, the Adepts were not on Palpatine’s level in the art of Alchemy. In fact, the statement regarding the Adepts perfecting Sorzus Syn’s Alchemy was made in 19-18 BBY, only shortly after RotS. Twenty years later, he noted how he had advanced greatly beyond what he understood back then:

These are the things he wrote about originally:

And here are some of Syn’s accomplishments:

I was the one who grew the Leviathans, who splintered the Jedi barricades at Balmorra.

-Sorzus Syn, Book of the Sith

Depictions of Leviathans:

Syn also created the Muur talisman, a highly complex and powerful dark side relic:

The Muur Talisman create rakghouls and grants the wielder immortality:

A Force-sensitive character wearing the Muur Talisman can infect any target within 12 squares and in his line of sight with the rakghoul disease as a swift action, no attack required. Furthermore, all rakghouls have a helpful attitude toward the wearer of the Muur Talisman. In addition, the Muur Talisman stops all aging in the host.

-Jedi Academy Training Manual

The Muur Talisman in action:

Also, a note on immortality: it is something Valkorion never achieved. Many sources state that the ritual of Nathema only extended his life but did not make him immortal, and that he is still looking for a solution to it:

So prime Palpatine is a far greater alchemist than his RotS self, who was already a greater alchemist than his Dark Side Adepts, who were greater alchemists than Sorzus Syn, who found the solution to immortality through Alchemy, which Valkorion never did. The Adepts also created intelligent life, whereas Valkorion only had success with mindless beasts.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who was the greater master of the arcane and esoteric secrets of the Sith between Valkorion and Palpatine.

Conclusion

Well, it’s done now. Hope you enjoyed and have gained a new understanding and appreciation of Sheev.

Decent, but a lot of the arguments are stretching beyond belief.

The introduction post was great though.

😖leep:

How long did it take for you to write this

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Decent, but a lot of the arguments are stretching beyond belief.

The introduction post was great though.

I am aware that some arguments aren't that solid; I noted this myself when making this. However, in my mind, the overall message of this essay is more important than nitpicking it to death, which is why I didn't spend that much time elaborating on each individual point.

And thanks.

Originally posted by |King Joker|
How long did it take for you to write this

Didn't measure the time, but I'd say roughly thirty hours over the span of two weeks.

Was it worth it? All those hours you'll never get back. Was it really worth it?

Originally posted by FreshestSlice
Was it worth it? All those hours you'll never get back. Was it really worth it?