Palpatine’s successful coup in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith proved, at least partially, that he was the Star Wars franchise’s greatest villain even without his legendary dark side Force powers. Publicly, Palpatine led the Galactic Republic as its Supreme Chancellor while he secretly was the true power behind the Separatists in his Sith idenтιтy of Darth Sidious.

By the events of Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine had essentially controlled the galaxy already, and all he needed before enacting the masterstroke of his plot was to convince Anakin Skywalker to join the Sith. Notably, Palpatine would rarely engage in direct combat in not only the main Star Wars saga films but also the various non-movie properties in the original Star Wars Legends and modern canon continuities.

Despite being arguably the galaxy’s most powerful Sith and one of the finest lightsaber combatants in galactic history, Palpatine preferred to make others fight for him or simply make combat irrelevant through his leadership and manipulations. Strangely, it is Palpatine’s avoidance of combat that contributes to him being one of the most dangerous Sith Lords (and antagonists overall) in the Star Wars franchise.

Palpatine’s Dark Side Powers Helped Him…But His Political Skill Helped Him More

Palpatine was part of Darth Bane’s dynasty of Sith Lords, who abided by Bane’s infamous Rule of Two. This doctrine not only mitigated the inevitable backstabbing among Sith Lords, but it also resulted in each new generation of Sith generally being more powerful than the last. Under the torturous tutelage of his mentor, Darth Plagueis, Palpatine became the most powerful Sith Lord in Bane’s dynasty, with dark side powers and lightsaber combat skills that were unsurpᴀssed by even his own apprentices.

Yet Palpatine felt that Sith Lords outgrew lightsaber use and only practiced lightsaber combat to humiliate Jedi Knights. Even with his preference for using the dark side to dispatch his enemies, Palpatine rarely used his powers overtly in his schemes to take over the galaxy.

Pᴀssively, Palpatine shielded his mind and intentions from the Jedi, allowing him to be in the same room as exceptional Force users like Yoda and Mace Windu without either sensing his dark side powers. Palpatine surely used the dark side to foresee events and ᴀssist him in his political manipulations as well, but it was ultimately his skills as a politician and manipulator that he relied on most in his schemes.

The Jedi Would’ve Fallen Even If Palpatine Wasn’t A Sith

This is not to say that Palpatine’s Sith training and dark side powers were useless in his coup. Palpatine’s ability to mask his intentions, predict the actions of others, and corrupt otherwise well-meaning people like Count Dooku and Anakin Skywalker were invaluable to his master plan.

The same goes for his skills in combat, which allowed him to best almost anyone who attempted to kill or apprehend him. If Palpatine was merely an ordinary human with the same goals but no Force-sensitivity, he might have succeeded in putrefying the Republic into the Empire and destroying the Jedi – albeit with far more difficulty.

Ironically, This Makes Palpatine Everything Darth Bane Dreamed Of

Fascinatingly, it is Palpatine’s skills in manipulation, scheming, and administration – and his preference for using these skills before wielding the dark side or his lightsaber – that makes him perhaps the ideal Sith in Darth Bane’s dynasty. Darth Bane was the last Sith of a bygone era, which had Dark Lords conquering and oppressing worlds openly, wearing heavy battle armor and preferring a direct approach to dominating the galaxy.

Despite their power, the Sith Order’s infighting and, in Bane’s opinion, declining standards for Sith Lordship led Bane to establish the Rule of Two following the Sith Order’s near-destruction on Ruusan. Darth Bane’s Rule of Two saw the Sith replace their armor with cloaks. Sith would no longer rely on brute force but rather manipulation, with the new generation of Sith gradually taking over the galaxy from the shadows.

While the Sith would continue to master dark side powers and lightsaber combat, these abilities were typically reserved for ᴀssᴀssinations and the occasional confrontation with Jedi Knights. Palpatine embodied this vision of the Sith more than any other Dark Lord, and his grand plan’s success in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith would have surely pleased the late Darth Bane.