Star Wars Canon Is Better For Never Telling One Massive Palpatine Story

Summary Emperor Palpatine's origin story was explored in Legends, but it has never been fully revealed in canon.

Palpatine is a force of pure evil, and explaining his backstory would only serve to humanize him and detract from his villainous role.

Keeping Palpatine's early life mysterious helps distinguish him from other, more empathetic Star Wars villains.

Emperor Palpatine is one of the most iconic and enduring villains in Star Wars, but there's one massive story about him that hasn't made it to canon - and shouldn't. Emperor Palpatine has served as a through line that connects every part of the Skywalker saga, from the prequel trilogy all the way to the sequel trilogy. He was one of the most powerful Sith Lords ever, and he also became one of the most influential characters in Star Wars. Even though he's extremely popular, there's a major part of his story that has never been told in canon.

Despite how often Palpatine is seen in the Star Wars movies and shows, much of his story has been shrouded in mystery. Major parts of his life, such as Project Necromancer, his plan to secure eternal life, have only recently begun to be explored. As more of Palpatine's story is revealed, there's one major part that has yet to be explained, and Star Wars is much better for not delving into it. That aspect of Palpatine's story was explored in detail in Legends, but it luckily hasn't made the jump into canon.

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Star Wars Canon Has Never Revealed Palpatine's Backstory

It was explored in detail in Legends, but that story didn't make it to canon

All that is known about Palpatine's backstory in canon is that he was born into a politically influential family on Naboo, and that he was apprenticed to the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis. In Legends, more of Palpatine's time with Plagueis was explored in James Luceno's novel, "Star Wars: Darth Plagueis," but that story was never canonized. To this day, Palpatine's early life has never been fully explored in Star Wars canon, despite how important he is to the franchise. Despite how much room there is for an origin story, leaving Palpatine's backstory untold is probably for the best.

Buy James Luceno's Star Wars: Darth Plagueis on Amazon

Palpatine Is Better Without An Origin

Exploring his backstory only serves to humanize the embodiment of evil

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Exploring Palpatine's backstory humanizes him and undermines his role in the franchise as the perfect, easy to hate villain.

While Darth Plagueis did give exciting context to Palpatine's rise to power and his command over the dark side, Palpatine's origin story also detracted from one of the most important aspects of his character. Throughout Star Wars, Palpatine has served one main purpose: to be evil incarnate that just so happens to be in a human body. He's more a force of evil that emerged out of thin air than he is a person. Exploring his backstory humanizes him and undermines his role in the franchise as the perfect, easy to hate villain.

Leaving Palpatine's origin story in Legends also keeps him distinct from other villains in the franchise. Almost every villain ever seen in Star Wars, from Maul to Kylo Ren, has a tragic backstory that gives them a heartbreaking reason for doing their evil deeds. That often works for other villains, but Palpatine doesn't need to be understood and empathized with, he just needs to be a figure for the heroes to fight against. Star Wars as a whole, and Emperor Palpatine himself, are both better for not explaining where he came from.