Palpatine's Thirst For Revenge Undermined The Death Star In The Most Bizarre Way

Summary Palpatine's thirst for revenge led him to destroy all his enemy's lightsabers, showing the extent of his evil deeds.

The Kyber crystals within lightsabers, if not destroyed by Palpatine, could have quickened the Death Star's construction.

Palpatine's need for revenge may have ultimately delayed the unveiling of the Death Star, leading to his downfall in the original trilogy.

Star Wars' primary villain, Emperor Palpatine, has long sought revenge against his enemies, though this may have proven to undermine the Death Star. Throughout all the Star Wars movie trilogies, Palpatine served as the primary villain of the Jedi Order. While Palpatine's backstory in Star Wars is still shrouded in mystery, his efforts to become the sole power of the galaxy have been adequately explored.

From his manipulation of the Senate in the prequels and his time as Emperor in the original trilogy to Project Necromancer and Palpatine's resurrection in the sequels, the Sith Lord is one of the more iconic antagonists in the entire franchise. This antagonism has often centered around one core desire for Palpatine: revenge. Be it the destruction of the Jedi, the dissolving of the Republic, or his return masked under the First Order, Palpatine has always sought revenge against those who have opposed him. Through this thirst, however, Palpatine may have undermined his greatest weapon, the Death Star.

Related Star Wars: How The Death Star Works & Why Luke Could Destroy It With One Shot The Death Star was the Empire's most dangerous superweapon - but how diid its superlaser work, and why could Luke destroy it with one shot?

Palpatine Destroyed All His Enemies' Lightsabers

Palpatine's need for revenge extended to the lightsabers of Star Wars' Jedi.

Undoubtedly the biggest focus of Palpatine's revenge was on the Jedi Order after the prequel trilogy. Palpatine concocted Order 66, the Inquisitors, and other dangerous methods to remove all traces of the Jedi once the Empire rose in the Republic's place. Despite these overly barbaric methods, Palpatine took his revenge one step further, as revealed in Star Wars: Darth Vader #1 (2017).

This comic book confirmed that Palpatine began destroying the lightsabers of his enemies. From the various weapons collected by the Inquisitorius to any other Jedi weapons he could find, Palpatine stripped them down and decimated them out of a need for revenge. This sums up Palpatine's villainy well, and is in character for the evil Sith Lord, but may have proved to be costly to one of the Empire's biggest weapons.

Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious The senator for Naboo, Palpatine rose to power and influence during the dying days of the Republic. In reality, his public persona was just a mask; he was really Darth Sidious, greatest of the Sith Lords, and he used his political skills and Machiavellian cunning to bring down both the Republic and the Jedi. Palpatine ruled his Galactic Empire for decades, until he was betrayed by his apprentice, Darth Vader. Even this wasn't enough to stop the Emperor, however, as he was resurrected by his followers - only to be defeated once again. Created By George Lucas Cast Ian McDiarmid , Sam Witwer , ian abercrombie First Appearance Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Died Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise Of Skywalker

The Death Star Would Have Progressed Quicker With That Kyber

The Death Star runs on the crystals inside Star Wars lightsabers.

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The main way lightsabers link to the Death Star is via Kyber crystals. Lightsabers are powered by Kyber crystals, powerful rocks that have inherent links to Jedi through the Force. Given the immense power of Kyber, the Empire began utilizing it to build the Death Star and later Starkiller Base under the guise of the First Order. It was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story's Galen Erso who discovered the Death Star's laser could be powered by Kyber, ironically highlighting a flaw in Palpatine's aforementioned revenge.

One of the defining traits of the Sith and Palpatine himself was one of the reasons the unveiling of the villain's greatest weapon was delayed...

If Palpatine had not destroyed the various Jedi lightsabers years earlier, the Kyber within them could have quickened the Death Star's construction. The Kyber could have been used to perfect the superlaser earlier, a fact that Palpatine was blind to thanks to his need for revenge. Therefore, one of the defining traits of the Sith and Palpatine himself was one of the reasons the unveiling of the villain's greatest weapon was delayed, which ultimately led to his downfall in the original Star Wars trilogy.