"I Am All The Sith": Star Wars Canon Has Turned Palpatine's Boast Into A Joke

Emperor Palpatine’s claim in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker that he’d become “All the Sith” has become a joke thanks to the Star Wars canon. In the final episode of the Skywalker saga, it was revealed that Palpatine had successfully resurrected himself with the full intention of dominating the galaxy again with his “Final Order”. However, he was far from embodying the Dark Lords of the Sith and their true legacy.

Despite his demise in Return of the Jedi at the hands of his newly redeemed apprentice, Palpatine had contingencies and secret technology to ensure he would rise again, hence his return in The Rise of Skywalker. Supported by his Sith Eternal cult and an entire fleet of planet-killing Star Destroyers, Palpaine claimed to his granddaughter Rey that he was “All the Sith“, existing as the culmination of their entire dark side legacy. However, the Star Wars canon has pointed to an alternate truth, one where Palpatine was instead rejected by past Sith for his heresies.

The Ancient Sith Didn’t Actually Like Palpatine At All

It’s Been Teased That The Spirits of the Sith Rejected Sidious…

Palpatine and Darth Bane's Clone Wars spirit from The Star Wars Franchise — Custom image by Yeider Chacon

In previous Legends stories, which had been canon in the pre-Disney Star Wars era, it was revealed that the ancient Sith spirits located on the dark side world of Moraband/Korriban rejected Palpatine. Having sought ancient knowledge and dark secrets of the past, Darth Sidious angered his Sith predecessors. Instead, they offered Palpatine’s apprentice Darth Vader a throne and tomb among their ranks once he pᴀssed on to the other side.

This Legends tension between Palpatine and the ancient Sith is rather interesting, especially when looking at what’s since been confirmed in the official Star Wars canon. In the book Secrets of the Sith, Palpatine pretends he’s never been to Moraband, having heard the voices of the Sith spirits on the dark side world but ultimately electing not to visit. That said, other canonical books have referenced Palpatine possessing relics he obtained from Moraband, such as a large Sith holocron. There seems to be an implication that Palpatine was rejected by the ancient Sith in the canon as well.

Click Here To View/Order Secrets of the Sith

Palpatine Was More Of A Heretic Than True Sith

There’s Plenty of Evidence

The probable fact that Palpatine was rejected by the ancient Sith Lords does track with his entire history. Darth Sidious was far more of a Sith heretic who bent and broke the rules rather than being a traditional Dark Lord. Not only did Palpatine blend dark side alchemy with technology to prolong his life, but he also had very little reverence for the Rule of Two. Case in point, none of the Sith Palpatine trained would likely consider him to be a true Sith Lord either.

Dooku was trained while Maul was still Palpatine’s apprentice. Likewise, Vader was groomed and manipulated into eventually joining Palpatine’s side for years while Dooku was still Sidious’ apprentice as Darth Tyranus. Palpatine also didn’t train a successor following his resurrection, and the contingencies enacted after his death would have ensured that Vader couldn’t have ᴀssumed his Empire or power had his apprentice not also died and been redeemed back to the light by ending Palpatine’s rule.

Although Palpatine wielded the power of the dark side with an army of followers at his command, the idea that he was a pure representation of “All the Sith” and their legacy is pretty laughable. Palpatine wasn’t a true Sith Lord. He used the Sith across the entire Star Wars timeline, submitting to their traditions and code only when it was to his ultimate benefit and helped him achieve greater power in the dark side.