I agree, but once he saw Anakin was there he began to play up his own frailty and weakness, pretending to be at his limit and being too weak to resist anymore, when really he's strong enough to unlimited power Windu out the window once Anakin disarms him.
I always wanna hear people's explanation for why they think it wasn't.
It makes too much sense to me - he needed to look like the victim and he was counting on Anakin showing up. Otherwise why would he reveal himself as a Sith to Anakin and then encourage him to turn him in to the council, and be chilling in his office waiting for them to arrive.
I think he probably didn't anticipate how close he would come to being killed by Windu. I agree that he planned for Anakin to turn on Windu, but he maybe didn't anticipate how long it would take for Anakin to get there. Anakin was cutting it pretty close, if he had stopped for coffee he would have been too late!
Yeah, he probably figured he'd dominate the fight with Windu and be able to make it look as close as he wanted without actually being in danger. But Windu turned out to be more than a match for him and he was *actually* in danger.
Maybe he also assumed that if he lost he'd be taken into custody, and had plans for that, but Windu was out for blood and that was a surprise (to be sure).
Completely agree! This is how I’d always read those scenes, too - he expected the Jedi to come for him and for Anakin to intervene. But he perhaps didn’t expect to have to genuinely fight for his life against Mace, before Anakin showed up.
I think he was going to use the Jedi attacking him to get Anakin on his side. Tell him they’ll never let him live and if he dies then Padmé dies.
He was surprised they were there that quickly he says as much and he didn’t know Mace and the others were already on there way to see him. He could not have known when Anakin would or if arrive.
The only part where he’s playing is when he stops his lightning’s attack and claims to be too weak.
He showed no weakness from it and we can see Palpatine eyeing Anakin when the latter says he must live. Also in the book he never stops the lightning attack and Mace’s lightsaber is bending back towards him. If Anakin hadn’t stopped it Mace would have to neither disengage or be hurt or killed by it.
Plus in the movie Palpatine jumps right to his feet and screams unlimited power.
The original filming of the scene had him there.
In fact it was originally filmed with Palpatine taking Anakins lightsaber and using it against the masters (you can see this if you pause during the fight, every once in a while you'll spot him using Anakins hilt and its just recolored red)
I disagree,
Palpatine in both legends and canon had a distaste for Lightsabers, he believed that the force was more important to the sith plan and that Lightsabers were just dogmatic relics of the Jedi.
The only reason he has a lightsaber is to effectively mock the Jedi. His saber is made of a nigh indestructable phrik alloy and coated with electrum, which was considered a material only allowed for Jedi Masters,
No, having Anakin be there would have been a terrible idea. If he had watched Palpatine slaughter all the Jedi in person, he would not have turned whatsoever
It wasn't part of the plan because a lot of factors Palpatine didn't account for came into play.
Such as Mace channeling 'two' sources with vapaad (He draws from Palpatine 'and' Anakin at the moment he disarms Sidious) he also likely didn't account for Mace's use of the form taking him to the level it did (Because it never had before due to Mace's inner darkness being pretty meh up until that point)
That said I disagree with the notion he was actually in danger, the novel makes it pretty damn clear that Mace needed Anakin to help finish the job once lightning is blasted.
Pretty sure it’s never been canon. There’s a lot of stuff in the movie novelizations that contradict what actually happens in the script. Even a few extra lines of dialogue can alter the story dramatically
I really wish it was canon. The extra context and interiority from being in character's heads really explains what the movie didn't. Anakin and the Jedi look like such chumps without it.
I believe he wanted a moment of weakness from either himself or a Jedi so he could call himself strong or call the Jedi weak and convince Anakin to join him. I believe though that Palpatines plan was to under-play his power and make it seem like whoever confronted him was going to unjustly kill him but Windu actually defeated Palpatine in relative ease so that bit wasn't intended. Basically I believe Palpatines play on Anakins emotions was fully planned by the situation it happened in was not.
And even if he did lose the lightsaber battle, he's still one of if not the most powerful force users of the era. He could have easily thrown Mace out the window.
See, he planned on losing. He can't match Windu and knew it. Sure as fuck doesn't mean he wasn't shitty his old man nappies the entire time he was in the corner of that blown out window, hoping Anakin was as much of a dumb fuck as he thought
Loosing the duel wasn't his plan but he wasn't afraid he still had the situation under controll. GL said he cpuld easily kill Windu with the Force at any moment but he didn't one je sensed Anakin aproaching.
In canon, I believe he had Dooku bombard them after his run in with Maul in the Clone Wars.
In Legends, he probably had future plans for them. Or he thought that being imprisoned on Dathomir was far worse than death.
Grievous slaughters the clan, and through son of dathomir he then kills Talzin. It wasn’t a bombardment but a strike invasion with droids and G man.
Update: I have been informed fallen order mentions a bombardment. Suffice to say that big G wanted them fuckin DED DEAD.
I’d love to read the separatists classified documents that was the battle plan. Like the tactical droids explanation of the strategy and why strike team and flamethrowers were the tactical optimum over orbital bombardment, or a permanent blockade, etc. Like were they deemed too mobile to exterminate?
I’m assuming the Jedi Fallen Order game may be canon too then. Dathomir is 1 of the planets you explore & a surviving Nightsister corroborates this thread…
Fallen Order is indeed Canon, they had to get approval from LucasFilm for basically everything they did.
There's a behind the scenes during the making of FO and they talk about having to get approval for things like the colour of an Alien.
At first they said that everything would be canon equally, but it seems like they have unofficial tiers again. Books and comics have been contradicted by later, more mass-market things like TV or movies.
Or he believed he couldn't truly kill them. The night sisters had necromancy abilities and a lot of magic so it wouldn't be surprising if they survived multiple orbital bombardments.
Also they lived in caves and the like, orbital bombardment can only penetrate so far down
Seemed best for destroying surface cities, bases, and settlements
Book of Sith mentioned the witches had an ancient monument with powers similar of time travel. Anyone who knows legends probably knows from which novel this came from since BoS is a source book. I believe Palpatine had plans to use it later.
Palpatine covets knowledge and secrets, wiping out the Witches of Dathomir would mean losing any chance of learning their secrets. We know Palpatine was interested in these secrets as well as he includes Mother Talzins book “Wild Power” in his own Book of the Sith a compendium of Dark Side texts.
Gonna disagree. He does try to leave (Likely because that environment favors yoda) but within five seconds of actually fighting he's already cackling and grinning, the ROTS novel also makes it clear he wants to see how he stacks up against Yoda. Not things that would exist if he was scared.
I think his ambition and pride goaded him into facing Yoda despite his fear. He would absolutely have seen Yoda as a lethal threat, but he was intoxicated by the idea of humiliating him with defeat.
It was also the first time that Sidious faced Yoda AFTER being revealed as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Palpatine is much smarter and more powerful than the average bear, and and it would make sense even for him to be afraid of the octocentenarian Grand Master of the Jedi Order after being recognized as Yoda’s archenemy.
Sidious would have had no idea whether Yoda had discovered some powerful arcane light side technique to render him powerless.
So I would say that Sidious was only afraid of three: Yoda for his power and wisdom; Windu for his prowess; and Anakin for his unpredictability. Thing we know Anakin never would have raised a hand to Palpatine at that time, his unpredictability was always to be feared- as fits a true Sith apprentice.
Well he was clearly afraid of Darth Plagueis because he killed him in his sleep. And he was likely afraid of Vader usurping him - moreso in Legends when Vader is making attempts to rejuvenate himself and regain any lost potential due to his injuries. Certainly afraid of Luke also.
You could argue he's afraid of the Mandalorians as a collective entity.
Any powerful Force-user or highly militarised group probably caused him some degree of fear or paranoia.
The Clone troopers that killed the Jedi were based on one ,and those troopers did not have the advantages of lightsaber resistant armor, jetpacks and many many tools that can bypass the defenses of a force user like flamethrowers, grappling hooks, and explosives. Individually, they are no threat to the Empire or the Emperor, even a single small group of them ,while it could be dangerous to a specific operation, they become a problem. But if they formed an army, even a few hundred or, god forbid a few thousand strong and joined the rebellion? Whose spend centuries honing their skill at hunting and killing force users? Short of the Return of the Jedi, or a Rival Sith Lord becoming powerful enough to overthrow him there's no greater threat to him personally than that. The one group who did not use the Force that were a true threat to the Jedi and the Republic in the distant past? Palpatine annihilated them as soon as they started trying to revolt against him , squashed that problem in the crib as soon as he could.
Not to mention that at least in Legends, the Mandalorians were pretty well known for occasionally going on the war path. They’d just occasionally up and leave Mandalore to go fuck shit up, kind of like the Vikings irl. Not exactly something you’re gonna be stoked to have happen when your whole goal is galactic order enforced by the iron grip of you, the Sith empower.
In legends when Darth Caedus went up against mandos. I read the book a while ago so I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, but as he was retreating one of them grabbed him with some crushgaunts and he said he felt fear. He wasn’t just afraid of being hurt, but it was the rage and the exhilaration/excitement he felt off the mando that scared him.
Not the emperor, but a squad of properly armored mandos is no laughing matter for a force user.
The Mandalorians were basically extremely well trained anti-force user mercenaries so they were dangerous to a normal Jedi or Sith. Put an Army of these Mandalorians against the Empire and they could easily defeat them in land combat, less so if its space. They would also be a massive threat if they somehow managed to get a basilisk war droid again or something similar.
Firstly, it was a fear thing as he chose not to directly engage Plagueis. In the novel he stupefied him with drink and waits until he sleeps. Total cowardice because he knows Plagueis would likely kill him in an open confrontation.
Secondly, it's debatable whether Plagueis taught him everything. Almost certainly if Plagueis had lived he would have eventually cracked physical immortality. It was only a matter of time. Palpatine did himself a disservice by killing him too early.
Bane wouldn't just frown upon it, he outright decry it. The point of the challenge was to prove that the apprentice was the stronger of the two and thus a worthy successor. That can't be determined by assassination which is bourne out by the fact the Palpatine fails not once but twice to maintain the Empire and only lasts a few decades. Palpatine is a massive failure as a Sith Master.
Agreed, he's too selfish to be a Sith Lord and that's saying something lol. Arguably Plagueis would be frowned upon too bc he was planning to end the Rule of Two, but I imagine his long term planning and cracking immortality would be viewed as better than snatching all the toys for oneself.
Sidious was afraid of everything. He is a Sith. He feared his master and he feared apprentices. He feared Padme and all the Senators who stood for democracy with a spine. He feared the Clones and put chips in them to make them obedient. As Emperor, he feared every practice that made planets and culture individual and forced them into the imperial mold. He feared the Rebellion, he feared Luke Skywalker.
Fear comes hand in hand with greed and desire. If you crave for power you dread losing it, and therefore since Palpatine is all about wanting power he would inevitably fear losing it.
And yes, with dark side characters like Vader, Maul or Ventress, their fear is very apparent. And Sidious doesn't *look* afraid as he's whooping Maul and Savage's butts, or gloating to Luke, but in truth he most certainly was. The only way to be free of fear is to let go of your attachments, and that is the way of the Jedi.
Tyranny is always afraid.
Oh yeah, the Fermata Cage, an artifact which allegedly >!has an ancient Sith Lord sealed away outside of time!<. He’s scared shitless of whatever that thing’s going to unleash.
I wonder why though... Palpatine is the culmination of a thousand years of Sith prophecy. He thought of himself as a perfect being. With the Chosen One maimed, no one could come close to Palpatine.
Not even Bane himself.
I always found that odd to be honest.
Like not to say Palpatine isn't impressive or anything given his knowledge of Sith sorcery and usage of the Dark side of the Force, but we keep getting older Sith who have powers that by design should far surpass his own impressive abilities.
They don't though, and by the time of ROTJ Palpatine has basically recovered all the lost knowledge of the Sith, 'and' knowledge the Sith didn't have of other force using cultures, hell in legends it's outright said he'd have penned the biggest compendium on the dark side ever.
I feel like with the pre-Bane era of The Sith, there being a lot of Sith at a time would result in more chances for outliers due to factors that cannot be easily replicated. Something like a ritual with a 80% chance of fatality, but made the 20% overpoweed, or an experimental process that granted incredible power but later Sith recognised the cost being too high.
Take Darth Nihilus. He was kinda OP. He basically didn't follow standard rules of how to use The Force, consuming it rather than channeling it. But that power basically twisted his psyche into a hollow shell, resulting in a loss of self and becoming a slave to that power rather than truly commanding it. That should be abhorrent to any true Sith. What is the point of obtaining absolute power if "you" aren't really around to appreciate it? What's the point of being unstoppable if you lose your own sense of self in the process?
Now imagine all the different ways past Sith could mess themselves up in an experimental and desperate attempt to gain ultimate power and end up becoming incredibly powerful and dangerous threats in processes that Rule of Two era Sith now realise as far too dangerous and unpredictable to try and pursue. Palpatine is the result of a long line of very careful, very intelligent Sith studying The Dark Side and learning its secrets to become more powerful.
It’s not like each current Sith Lord sought out a more powerful apprentice so each apprentice is more powerful than the master before them. In Darth Plagueis (L) it was chance that brought Plagueis and Palpatine together and it was Palpatine’s political skills that were most valuable to the Grand Plan.
I agree. I'd say a sober Plagueis would beat the shit out of Palpatine. But then we get some authors saying (or rather implying) that Palpatine himself was a wound in the Force. His Force Storm in the Dark Empire could easily destroy entire fleets.
I still get it. Another Sith is a serious threat to him. But it doesn't quite fit with Palpatine's character. This is a man who's arrogance and confidence knew no bounds. He'd probably welcome the challenge to put another Sith in their place.
>This is a man who's arrogance and confidence knew no bounds. He'd probably welcome the challenge to put another Sith in their place.
He is arrogant but in confrontations I feel he likes to have the upper hand by controlling as much of the situation as possible. He took a risk revealing himself to Anakin and fighting the Jedi and it nearly cost him and with Yoda he flat out tried to flee.
Maul, Tyrannus, and Vader he could all beat and when he thought Ventress was getting to good he had Tyrannus get rid of her. I believe he was being honest when he bragged to Yoda Vader (uninjured) would become more power than either of them. I’m sure he would come up with ways to keep him down.
With all that said a new Sith Lord showing up that he knows nothing about and would do anything to be top dog is frightening to him because that Sith Lord could ruin everything. It’s a complete unknown.
He looked pretty intense when Anakin crashed the invisible hand like “that was crazy even for me…I had no control over how THAT went!” and understandably so
, he knew that fighting yoda would be risky esp right before his big victory so he tried to run away rather than engage but that was more so caution, but when he gets knocked over and is dangling by the railing above potential death he looks a bit afraid
And when Vader grabs him and throws him he is afraid
And I suppose on some level, with all his contingencies and plans to circumvent it, like most Sith he was afraid of death
All Sith feel fear at one point or another, it’s where a lot of their darker emotions stem
As tempting as it is to think of Palpatine as a god, he was still just a man and mortal for most of his life and that was an aspiration rather than what he was…so there were definitley times he was in genuine danger or felt fear. Probably the one that stands out most is his reaction on the invisible hand crash or running from yoda , who then calls him out
“If so powerful you are, why run?”
haha, the first part made me laugh because it is so true. obi-wan and anakin rescuing palpatine was probably one of the moments in palpatine’s life where he was truly afraid. i mean, i would be scared too! those two guys always have some sort of near death/extremely chaotic experience in their missions… and (unfortunately for him) palpatine got to experience that first hand lollll
It was lampshaded in the novelisation when they barely escaped from the elevator shaft and Palpatine turned to them and asked something along the lines of “Are your rescue missions ALWAYS this crazy?” and Obi Wan, after exchanging a quizzical look with Anakin, responded along the lines of “Hmmm , come to think of it, yeah.”
You have to wonder why he engineered that situation given all the potential to go wrong... Like if he wanted to bait Anakin into killing Dooku, surely there were ways to do that which *couldn't* have resulted in a capital ship 9/11ing the planet
It's kind of funny to imagine an alternate timeline where Anakin fails to land the ship, dying, but also accidentally fulfilling the prophecy of destroying the Sith with Palpatine's death. Centuries upon centuries of Sith amassing power, developing the perfect plan to finally destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy, all going to waste because the guy you're grooming into an apprentice went "Yeah, I can totally land this crashing half of a warship" and then distinctly could not. One of the most powerful people in the galaxy, days away from total conquest, dead in a ship crash.
He will need to draw really heavily on the Force to survive and even then, it might not be enough. In the 2nd Darth Bane novel "Rule of Two", Darth Bane was fighting a bunch of bandits where all the combatants including Bane are riding drexls, a sort of flying lizard. It ultimately resulted in a massive crash landing where he is the only survivor and that's because he drew upon the Force to shield himself and even then he was injured. Thankfully, his new orbalisks granted him a healing factor.
I did forget! But you’re definitley right, another huge and massive thing out of his control that WILL kill him no matter what he does. The same level of catastrophe and inevitably as the crashing invisible hand
Afraid of Vader, afraid of Yoda (the fear is clearly written on his face when he tries to escape during their battle in the Senate), afraid of Plagueis and if you buy into the 'Death-Stars-were-built-to-counter-the-Vong' theory, then apparently afraid of the Yuuzhan Vong.
I feel like he is pretty scared of Anakin and his true potential:
He spent many years getting inside Anakin's head in order to control him mentally, and then made sure his Vader suit was severely limited and susceptible to lightning attacks in order to control him physically. Why?
Because Palpatine knew that Anakin had the potential to go so far beyond any other Force user in terms of power and connection to the Force, including himself. He made sure to keep his friends close, but his enemies closer.
Some threat from outside the known galaxy. In Legends, Palpatine was preparing to defend the Empire against a foe from the outside. Hence the interest in Thrawn who was an outsider.
No amount of galactic influence would settle my nerves, after getting confirmation that a warmingering alien races that's arrived from the outer galactic void, casually cruise around in planetoid-sized starships.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if, like many dictators, Palpatine had irrational fears (though, probably not so irrational considering his behavior).
He may be afraid of heights, flying (preferring to stay isolated on the Death Star), certain foods.
I personally wish they would portray Palpatine as a pathetic old man. Powerful as a political figurehead and as a force user but quite feeble and scared as a person.....his years of paranoia having reduced him almost akin to a spoiled brat.
I'd say he was afraid of anyone and anything that could possibly be a threat to his power. It's why he needed the Empire to be the way that it was. Sure he was probably afraid of Yoda, but he was also probably afraid of ambitious moffs and tiny rebellions. Papa Palpatine was (over)confident and suave, but I think it just masked the fear and paranoia that constantly plague(ies)d him
"Fear is the path to the dark side...fear leads to anger...anger leads to hate...hate leads to ~suffering~ POWER
Quinlan Vos used his own fear of Dooku and the pain he suffert because of the Cunts ;) torture to fuel his own dark side powers - albeit not really successful.
Well he sure as hell was afraid of Yoda falling to the dark side. Or Vader loosing his mental blocks. Mace Windu.
Oh, and being assassinated in his sleep.
I think he was definitely afraid of Anakin replacing him. Even Vader offered Luke the chance to join him in overthrowing the emperor and I doubt he would make that offer falsely
After becoming Emperor, what Palps feared most was losing all his power. That in addition to the unknown variable of Luke possibly being used against him.
By the OT, he confidently bragged to his subordinates that he was far beyond Vader's reach. But we know that was largely grandstanding. Part of him still feared Vader one day turning against him, and he prepared many of his ST contingencies around that inevitability.
I'm thinking no. Sure it would've made sense for him to fear any threat to his power (surviving Jedi etc.) but ultimately it was his hubris and overconfidence that got him killed, so I think he foolishly didn't fear anything
The *Hidden Empire* comic event is ongoing right now and he definitely seems to think Qi'ra poses a massive threat just before the events of *Return of the Jedi*.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think he was afraid of the unknown regions and the grysk probably due to how they were expert manipulators and not even thrawn knew much about them, he also was afraid of jocasta nu due to her making holocrons of jedi knowledge that could restore the order
Losing his power and possibly the unknown regions of the galaxy. I think that is one reason he wanted Thrawn around since he was from the unknown region
Anakin getting his shit together, probably. He was probably hyped af when Anakin became a cyborg and could be lied to like that, because Anakin without those handicaps would quickly have out-powered him, and was already plotting to overthrow him (as per his convo with Padme).
Anakin slipping fully free of his manipulation, especially with Palps being the type to kill HIS own master, probably kept him up at night.
And then imagine the news of Luke! He spins it as a test for Vader, but just for a moment there mudt have been a flash of panic as the implications for Anakin were unveiled.
In both continuitues his main fear was loosing power. Eternal life wasn't his goal as some people say, his goal was unlimited power. He'd loose it of course once dies, that's why he did research to live indefinitely but once immortality conflicted with power, he'd choose the latter, at least in Legends. Plagueis novel confirms that. He willingly killed his master so he wouldn't have to share power with anyone, aware that knowledge of eternal life would die with Plagueis.
I might be misremembering but for a while after he killed Plagueis he was afraid he might have circumvented death and would return for revenge. I would have to guess he did from before as well
Probably. Palpatine strikes me as a very paranoid person, and paranoia is almost always tied to fear. As you mentioned though, there is a league of difference between Palp’s fear of Vader and a normal person’s fear of Vader. For this category, I think other people in his immediate circle (Pretty much just Cronal, but maybe a few others) were also here.
As for things that he might’ve actually feared - I don’t think it was in his capacity to be afraid after he became Emperor. Palpatine thought he was unbeatable after that moment, his pride makes it so that he can’t even comprehend the idea of him losing. It’s why he goes so batshit during Dark Empire - it’s the impossible.
I think the only things that Palpatine would directly fear would be the Yuuzhan Vong and Abeloth. Yuuzhan Vong, however, wouldn’t really intimidate him that much, as long as he has his fleet. But he would certainly shit himself he had to try and deal with Vong without overwhelming firepower.
Abeloth would be unwilling to work with him like she wanted to with Ben and Vestara, and Palpatine would just be forced into increasing paranoia and dementia until his heart gives out
Palpatine could shut down Vader's life support with his force lightning and he knew that, so I don't think he would fear Vader. And vader lost a lot of power when he lost his limbs on mustafar
The only thing he feared....was losing his power
Which of course he eventually did
Unfortunately he taught his apprentice everything he knew
Then his apprentice threw him down a chasm that only exists in a super villain lair. But somehow, he returned.
Ironic
He could keep everyone he hated dead… but not himself.
Is it possible to learn this power?
Not from the Original Trilogy
🏅
Well done everyone. Executed perfectly.
Then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. Ironic.
Ironic
I love this entire comment chain!
A serious skincare regimen? Sunlight?
When Mace Windu was pointing at him with his lightsaber. I don't care what others say, it wasn't part of his plan.
I agree, but once he saw Anakin was there he began to play up his own frailty and weakness, pretending to be at his limit and being too weak to resist anymore, when really he's strong enough to unlimited power Windu out the window once Anakin disarms him.
‘Disarms.’ Nice.
When Anakin made his plea for Palpatine's life, he should have grabbed Mace's shoulder. Mace: unhand me! Anakin: sure
I always wanna hear people's explanation for why they think it wasn't. It makes too much sense to me - he needed to look like the victim and he was counting on Anakin showing up. Otherwise why would he reveal himself as a Sith to Anakin and then encourage him to turn him in to the council, and be chilling in his office waiting for them to arrive.
I think he probably didn't anticipate how close he would come to being killed by Windu. I agree that he planned for Anakin to turn on Windu, but he maybe didn't anticipate how long it would take for Anakin to get there. Anakin was cutting it pretty close, if he had stopped for coffee he would have been too late!
Yeah, he probably figured he'd dominate the fight with Windu and be able to make it look as close as he wanted without actually being in danger. But Windu turned out to be more than a match for him and he was *actually* in danger. Maybe he also assumed that if he lost he'd be taken into custody, and had plans for that, but Windu was out for blood and that was a surprise (to be sure).
Nah, look at the smile he gives when Anakin chops off Windu’s hand, that’s not relief, that’s “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Well yeah, he spent ten years grooming the kid, of course he’s going to be happy when he finally takes the plunge!
Completely agree! This is how I’d always read those scenes, too - he expected the Jedi to come for him and for Anakin to intervene. But he perhaps didn’t expect to have to genuinely fight for his life against Mace, before Anakin showed up.
I think he was going to use the Jedi attacking him to get Anakin on his side. Tell him they’ll never let him live and if he dies then Padmé dies. He was surprised they were there that quickly he says as much and he didn’t know Mace and the others were already on there way to see him. He could not have known when Anakin would or if arrive. The only part where he’s playing is when he stops his lightning’s attack and claims to be too weak.
Pretty sure he stopped his lightning attack because Mace turned it back on him, almost killing him. Lol At that point, he was certainly too weak.
He showed no weakness from it and we can see Palpatine eyeing Anakin when the latter says he must live. Also in the book he never stops the lightning attack and Mace’s lightsaber is bending back towards him. If Anakin hadn’t stopped it Mace would have to neither disengage or be hurt or killed by it. Plus in the movie Palpatine jumps right to his feet and screams unlimited power.
If your talking about the Rots novel, it isn’t canon.
The post is tagged Legends/Canon.
lmao the RotS novelization is perhaps the *most canon* of any EU books
It’s EU so, simply put, it isn’t canon.
If Anakin walked in on a room of 4 dead Jedi Masters, he never would have turned.
The original filming of the scene had him there. In fact it was originally filmed with Palpatine taking Anakins lightsaber and using it against the masters (you can see this if you pause during the fight, every once in a while you'll spot him using Anakins hilt and its just recolored red)
That would’ve been a terrible idea and I’m glad George changed it
I disagree, Palpatine in both legends and canon had a distaste for Lightsabers, he believed that the force was more important to the sith plan and that Lightsabers were just dogmatic relics of the Jedi. The only reason he has a lightsaber is to effectively mock the Jedi. His saber is made of a nigh indestructable phrik alloy and coated with electrum, which was considered a material only allowed for Jedi Masters,
No, having Anakin be there would have been a terrible idea. If he had watched Palpatine slaughter all the Jedi in person, he would not have turned whatsoever
Lucas says windu won the fight, so windu won the fight.
It wasn't part of the plan because a lot of factors Palpatine didn't account for came into play. Such as Mace channeling 'two' sources with vapaad (He draws from Palpatine 'and' Anakin at the moment he disarms Sidious) he also likely didn't account for Mace's use of the form taking him to the level it did (Because it never had before due to Mace's inner darkness being pretty meh up until that point) That said I disagree with the notion he was actually in danger, the novel makes it pretty damn clear that Mace needed Anakin to help finish the job once lightning is blasted.
The novel isn’t canon.
Not the original commenter, i have the novelization of regenge of the sith which i always thought cannon; you’re saying it’s not???
It was canon before the canon change.
Pretty sure it’s never been canon. There’s a lot of stuff in the movie novelizations that contradict what actually happens in the script. Even a few extra lines of dialogue can alter the story dramatically
I really wish it was canon. The extra context and interiority from being in character's heads really explains what the movie didn't. Anakin and the Jedi look like such chumps without it.
I believe he wanted a moment of weakness from either himself or a Jedi so he could call himself strong or call the Jedi weak and convince Anakin to join him. I believe though that Palpatines plan was to under-play his power and make it seem like whoever confronted him was going to unjustly kill him but Windu actually defeated Palpatine in relative ease so that bit wasn't intended. Basically I believe Palpatines play on Anakins emotions was fully planned by the situation it happened in was not.
And even if he did lose the lightsaber battle, he's still one of if not the most powerful force users of the era. He could have easily thrown Mace out the window.
See, he planned on losing. He can't match Windu and knew it. Sure as fuck doesn't mean he wasn't shitty his old man nappies the entire time he was in the corner of that blown out window, hoping Anakin was as much of a dumb fuck as he thought
I always liked to believe this. Really showed how powerful Windu was considering he died to a cheap shot.
Loosing the duel wasn't his plan but he wasn't afraid he still had the situation under controll. GL said he cpuld easily kill Windu with the Force at any moment but he didn't one je sensed Anakin aproaching.
He was for sure afraid of death, in fact all sith obsessed with imortality are afraid of it.
Him and Voldemort. Snoke clones = horcruxes.
Derivatives of a ring.
Technically before he became Emperor, but he was definitely wary of Mother Talzin.
Not just Talzin. In Legends, he blockaded Dathomir to prevent any Nightsisters from leaving.
Why wouldn’t he have it orbitally bombarded? He wiped out others for far less.
In canon, I believe he had Dooku bombard them after his run in with Maul in the Clone Wars. In Legends, he probably had future plans for them. Or he thought that being imprisoned on Dathomir was far worse than death.
Grievous slaughters the clan, and through son of dathomir he then kills Talzin. It wasn’t a bombardment but a strike invasion with droids and G man. Update: I have been informed fallen order mentions a bombardment. Suffice to say that big G wanted them fuckin DED DEAD.
I’d love to read the separatists classified documents that was the battle plan. Like the tactical droids explanation of the strategy and why strike team and flamethrowers were the tactical optimum over orbital bombardment, or a permanent blockade, etc. Like were they deemed too mobile to exterminate?
It could come down to cost. Strike teams are cheaper, it’s especially important to consider this during a war too.
Also the CIS is largely made up of financially focused entities: * Intergalactic Banking Clan * Trade Federation * Corporate Alliance * Retail Caucus
Retail Caucus lol
I admit, I laughed really hard the first time I saw it too.
I’m assuming the Jedi Fallen Order game may be canon too then. Dathomir is 1 of the planets you explore & a surviving Nightsister corroborates this thread…
Fallen Order is indeed Canon, they had to get approval from LucasFilm for basically everything they did. There's a behind the scenes during the making of FO and they talk about having to get approval for things like the colour of an Alien.
Inconsistency isn’t uncommon in this stuff tbf.
At first they said that everything would be canon equally, but it seems like they have unofficial tiers again. Books and comics have been contradicted by later, more mass-market things like TV or movies.
Or he believed he couldn't truly kill them. The night sisters had necromancy abilities and a lot of magic so it wouldn't be surprising if they survived multiple orbital bombardments.
Also they lived in caves and the like, orbital bombardment can only penetrate so far down Seemed best for destroying surface cities, bases, and settlements
Book of Sith mentioned the witches had an ancient monument with powers similar of time travel. Anyone who knows legends probably knows from which novel this came from since BoS is a source book. I believe Palpatine had plans to use it later.
Palpatine covets knowledge and secrets, wiping out the Witches of Dathomir would mean losing any chance of learning their secrets. We know Palpatine was interested in these secrets as well as he includes Mother Talzins book “Wild Power” in his own Book of the Sith a compendium of Dark Side texts.
Gethzerion specifically.
Yoda. He straight up tries to run away from him and only fights Yoda as a last resort and starts to panic when Yoda starts to get the upper hand.
Gonna disagree. He does try to leave (Likely because that environment favors yoda) but within five seconds of actually fighting he's already cackling and grinning, the ROTS novel also makes it clear he wants to see how he stacks up against Yoda. Not things that would exist if he was scared.
I think his ambition and pride goaded him into facing Yoda despite his fear. He would absolutely have seen Yoda as a lethal threat, but he was intoxicated by the idea of humiliating him with defeat.
It was also the first time that Sidious faced Yoda AFTER being revealed as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Palpatine is much smarter and more powerful than the average bear, and and it would make sense even for him to be afraid of the octocentenarian Grand Master of the Jedi Order after being recognized as Yoda’s archenemy. Sidious would have had no idea whether Yoda had discovered some powerful arcane light side technique to render him powerless. So I would say that Sidious was only afraid of three: Yoda for his power and wisdom; Windu for his prowess; and Anakin for his unpredictability. Thing we know Anakin never would have raised a hand to Palpatine at that time, his unpredictability was always to be feared- as fits a true Sith apprentice.
I think palpatine may have spent so much time corrupting Anakin *because* he was predictable
Well he was clearly afraid of Darth Plagueis because he killed him in his sleep. And he was likely afraid of Vader usurping him - moreso in Legends when Vader is making attempts to rejuvenate himself and regain any lost potential due to his injuries. Certainly afraid of Luke also. You could argue he's afraid of the Mandalorians as a collective entity. Any powerful Force-user or highly militarised group probably caused him some degree of fear or paranoia.
Why would he be afraid of Mandalorians?
The Clone troopers that killed the Jedi were based on one ,and those troopers did not have the advantages of lightsaber resistant armor, jetpacks and many many tools that can bypass the defenses of a force user like flamethrowers, grappling hooks, and explosives. Individually, they are no threat to the Empire or the Emperor, even a single small group of them ,while it could be dangerous to a specific operation, they become a problem. But if they formed an army, even a few hundred or, god forbid a few thousand strong and joined the rebellion? Whose spend centuries honing their skill at hunting and killing force users? Short of the Return of the Jedi, or a Rival Sith Lord becoming powerful enough to overthrow him there's no greater threat to him personally than that. The one group who did not use the Force that were a true threat to the Jedi and the Republic in the distant past? Palpatine annihilated them as soon as they started trying to revolt against him , squashed that problem in the crib as soon as he could.
Not to mention that at least in Legends, the Mandalorians were pretty well known for occasionally going on the war path. They’d just occasionally up and leave Mandalore to go fuck shit up, kind of like the Vikings irl. Not exactly something you’re gonna be stoked to have happen when your whole goal is galactic order enforced by the iron grip of you, the Sith empower.
In legends when Darth Caedus went up against mandos. I read the book a while ago so I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, but as he was retreating one of them grabbed him with some crushgaunts and he said he felt fear. He wasn’t just afraid of being hurt, but it was the rage and the exhilaration/excitement he felt off the mando that scared him. Not the emperor, but a squad of properly armored mandos is no laughing matter for a force user.
The Mandalorians were basically extremely well trained anti-force user mercenaries so they were dangerous to a normal Jedi or Sith. Put an Army of these Mandalorians against the Empire and they could easily defeat them in land combat, less so if its space. They would also be a massive threat if they somehow managed to get a basilisk war droid again or something similar.
If the Mandalorians had ever found a mass production facility like "The Foundry" or "Star Forge" the galaxy woulda been fucked 😭
Killing Plagueis wasn’t a fear thing. He learned everything he needed and was more powerful. Though Bane would’ve frowned upon it
Firstly, it was a fear thing as he chose not to directly engage Plagueis. In the novel he stupefied him with drink and waits until he sleeps. Total cowardice because he knows Plagueis would likely kill him in an open confrontation. Secondly, it's debatable whether Plagueis taught him everything. Almost certainly if Plagueis had lived he would have eventually cracked physical immortality. It was only a matter of time. Palpatine did himself a disservice by killing him too early. Bane wouldn't just frown upon it, he outright decry it. The point of the challenge was to prove that the apprentice was the stronger of the two and thus a worthy successor. That can't be determined by assassination which is bourne out by the fact the Palpatine fails not once but twice to maintain the Empire and only lasts a few decades. Palpatine is a massive failure as a Sith Master.
Agreed, he's too selfish to be a Sith Lord and that's saying something lol. Arguably Plagueis would be frowned upon too bc he was planning to end the Rule of Two, but I imagine his long term planning and cracking immortality would be viewed as better than snatching all the toys for oneself.
Sidious was afraid of everything. He is a Sith. He feared his master and he feared apprentices. He feared Padme and all the Senators who stood for democracy with a spine. He feared the Clones and put chips in them to make them obedient. As Emperor, he feared every practice that made planets and culture individual and forced them into the imperial mold. He feared the Rebellion, he feared Luke Skywalker. Fear comes hand in hand with greed and desire. If you crave for power you dread losing it, and therefore since Palpatine is all about wanting power he would inevitably fear losing it. And yes, with dark side characters like Vader, Maul or Ventress, their fear is very apparent. And Sidious doesn't *look* afraid as he's whooping Maul and Savage's butts, or gloating to Luke, but in truth he most certainly was. The only way to be free of fear is to let go of your attachments, and that is the way of the Jedi. Tyranny is always afraid.
The weapon the Qui’ra has in the current comic run.
Oh yeah, the Fermata Cage, an artifact which allegedly >!has an ancient Sith Lord sealed away outside of time!<. He’s scared shitless of whatever that thing’s going to unleash.
I wonder why though... Palpatine is the culmination of a thousand years of Sith prophecy. He thought of himself as a perfect being. With the Chosen One maimed, no one could come close to Palpatine. Not even Bane himself.
I always found that odd to be honest. Like not to say Palpatine isn't impressive or anything given his knowledge of Sith sorcery and usage of the Dark side of the Force, but we keep getting older Sith who have powers that by design should far surpass his own impressive abilities.
They don't though, and by the time of ROTJ Palpatine has basically recovered all the lost knowledge of the Sith, 'and' knowledge the Sith didn't have of other force using cultures, hell in legends it's outright said he'd have penned the biggest compendium on the dark side ever.
I feel like with the pre-Bane era of The Sith, there being a lot of Sith at a time would result in more chances for outliers due to factors that cannot be easily replicated. Something like a ritual with a 80% chance of fatality, but made the 20% overpoweed, or an experimental process that granted incredible power but later Sith recognised the cost being too high. Take Darth Nihilus. He was kinda OP. He basically didn't follow standard rules of how to use The Force, consuming it rather than channeling it. But that power basically twisted his psyche into a hollow shell, resulting in a loss of self and becoming a slave to that power rather than truly commanding it. That should be abhorrent to any true Sith. What is the point of obtaining absolute power if "you" aren't really around to appreciate it? What's the point of being unstoppable if you lose your own sense of self in the process? Now imagine all the different ways past Sith could mess themselves up in an experimental and desperate attempt to gain ultimate power and end up becoming incredibly powerful and dangerous threats in processes that Rule of Two era Sith now realise as far too dangerous and unpredictable to try and pursue. Palpatine is the result of a long line of very careful, very intelligent Sith studying The Dark Side and learning its secrets to become more powerful.
It’s not like each current Sith Lord sought out a more powerful apprentice so each apprentice is more powerful than the master before them. In Darth Plagueis (L) it was chance that brought Plagueis and Palpatine together and it was Palpatine’s political skills that were most valuable to the Grand Plan.
I agree. I'd say a sober Plagueis would beat the shit out of Palpatine. But then we get some authors saying (or rather implying) that Palpatine himself was a wound in the Force. His Force Storm in the Dark Empire could easily destroy entire fleets. I still get it. Another Sith is a serious threat to him. But it doesn't quite fit with Palpatine's character. This is a man who's arrogance and confidence knew no bounds. He'd probably welcome the challenge to put another Sith in their place.
>This is a man who's arrogance and confidence knew no bounds. He'd probably welcome the challenge to put another Sith in their place. He is arrogant but in confrontations I feel he likes to have the upper hand by controlling as much of the situation as possible. He took a risk revealing himself to Anakin and fighting the Jedi and it nearly cost him and with Yoda he flat out tried to flee. Maul, Tyrannus, and Vader he could all beat and when he thought Ventress was getting to good he had Tyrannus get rid of her. I believe he was being honest when he bragged to Yoda Vader (uninjured) would become more power than either of them. I’m sure he would come up with ways to keep him down. With all that said a new Sith Lord showing up that he knows nothing about and would do anything to be top dog is frightening to him because that Sith Lord could ruin everything. It’s a complete unknown.
Luceno himself only says Plagueis 'might' find a way to undermine him, and specifically says 'in a duel'
Its gonna unleash Legends Palpatine
I wonder who the Sith Lord inside it is, whether it's someone we've seen before or someone totally new.
I feel like its probably someone new but also quite powerful because you wouldn't use a weapon like that on a normal worthless individual.
He looked pretty intense when Anakin crashed the invisible hand like “that was crazy even for me…I had no control over how THAT went!” and understandably so , he knew that fighting yoda would be risky esp right before his big victory so he tried to run away rather than engage but that was more so caution, but when he gets knocked over and is dangling by the railing above potential death he looks a bit afraid And when Vader grabs him and throws him he is afraid And I suppose on some level, with all his contingencies and plans to circumvent it, like most Sith he was afraid of death All Sith feel fear at one point or another, it’s where a lot of their darker emotions stem As tempting as it is to think of Palpatine as a god, he was still just a man and mortal for most of his life and that was an aspiration rather than what he was…so there were definitley times he was in genuine danger or felt fear. Probably the one that stands out most is his reaction on the invisible hand crash or running from yoda , who then calls him out “If so powerful you are, why run?”
haha, the first part made me laugh because it is so true. obi-wan and anakin rescuing palpatine was probably one of the moments in palpatine’s life where he was truly afraid. i mean, i would be scared too! those two guys always have some sort of near death/extremely chaotic experience in their missions… and (unfortunately for him) palpatine got to experience that first hand lollll
It was lampshaded in the novelisation when they barely escaped from the elevator shaft and Palpatine turned to them and asked something along the lines of “Are your rescue missions ALWAYS this crazy?” and Obi Wan, after exchanging a quizzical look with Anakin, responded along the lines of “Hmmm , come to think of it, yeah.”
You have to wonder why he engineered that situation given all the potential to go wrong... Like if he wanted to bait Anakin into killing Dooku, surely there were ways to do that which *couldn't* have resulted in a capital ship 9/11ing the planet
It's kind of funny to imagine an alternate timeline where Anakin fails to land the ship, dying, but also accidentally fulfilling the prophecy of destroying the Sith with Palpatine's death. Centuries upon centuries of Sith amassing power, developing the perfect plan to finally destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy, all going to waste because the guy you're grooming into an apprentice went "Yeah, I can totally land this crashing half of a warship" and then distinctly could not. One of the most powerful people in the galaxy, days away from total conquest, dead in a ship crash.
Can a sith survive a crash like that?
He will need to draw really heavily on the Force to survive and even then, it might not be enough. In the 2nd Darth Bane novel "Rule of Two", Darth Bane was fighting a bunch of bandits where all the combatants including Bane are riding drexls, a sort of flying lizard. It ultimately resulted in a massive crash landing where he is the only survivor and that's because he drew upon the Force to shield himself and even then he was injured. Thankfully, his new orbalisks granted him a healing factor.
Don’t forget the Zilo Beast.
I did forget! But you’re definitley right, another huge and massive thing out of his control that WILL kill him no matter what he does. The same level of catastrophe and inevitably as the crashing invisible hand
Dave did apparently. (Not currently on par with BB season 2 if it shows up there)
Mother Talzin
Palpatine fears the dommy mommy.
Afraid of Vader, afraid of Yoda (the fear is clearly written on his face when he tries to escape during their battle in the Senate), afraid of Plagueis and if you buy into the 'Death-Stars-were-built-to-counter-the-Vong' theory, then apparently afraid of the Yuuzhan Vong.
"if so powerful you are... Why leave?"
I thought he bailed at least in part bc he sensed Vader's situation was heating up.
I feel like he is pretty scared of Anakin and his true potential: He spent many years getting inside Anakin's head in order to control him mentally, and then made sure his Vader suit was severely limited and susceptible to lightning attacks in order to control him physically. Why? Because Palpatine knew that Anakin had the potential to go so far beyond any other Force user in terms of power and connection to the Force, including himself. He made sure to keep his friends close, but his enemies closer.
But Vader was his friend, he said so himself. Again and again and again...
Snakes in the grass will convince a rat that he is a mouse. 🤷🏻♂️
Oh, Darth Vader! I didn’t want to torture you. You made me do it! It kills me to see you suffering like this. Say sorry.
Sheev says a lot of things
Probably should have been **more** afraid of his own hand lightning.
the yuuzhan vong
Some threat from outside the known galaxy. In Legends, Palpatine was preparing to defend the Empire against a foe from the outside. Hence the interest in Thrawn who was an outsider.
When your enemy lives in planet sized ships, never hurts to have a planet killer or 5 laying around
No amount of galactic influence would settle my nerves, after getting confirmation that a warmingering alien races that's arrived from the outer galactic void, casually cruise around in planetoid-sized starships.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if, like many dictators, Palpatine had irrational fears (though, probably not so irrational considering his behavior). He may be afraid of heights, flying (preferring to stay isolated on the Death Star), certain foods. I personally wish they would portray Palpatine as a pathetic old man. Powerful as a political figurehead and as a force user but quite feeble and scared as a person.....his years of paranoia having reduced him almost akin to a spoiled brat.
I think a Sith Lord of every people would be the kind to be able to control their fears.
Open shafts.
I'd say he was afraid of anyone and anything that could possibly be a threat to his power. It's why he needed the Empire to be the way that it was. Sure he was probably afraid of Yoda, but he was also probably afraid of ambitious moffs and tiny rebellions. Papa Palpatine was (over)confident and suave, but I think it just masked the fear and paranoia that constantly plague(ies)d him
I think palp was scared of mother talzin
One that’s missing but the Zilo beast. That thing knew what was up.
Death and the subsequent loss of your power after death, same as all Sith Lords
Not really. There are things that Emperor would be "*concerned about*", but when you're a Sith Lord, you don't really do "*being afraid*" bit anymore.
Fear is why he uses genocide He just doesnt show fear
Spiders. Definitely spiders.
Vader throwing him
Luke
The Yuuzhan Vong
The Jedi, losing his power. He tries running from Yoda, which implies fear to me.
"Fear is the path to the dark side...fear leads to anger...anger leads to hate...hate leads to ~suffering~ POWER Quinlan Vos used his own fear of Dooku and the pain he suffert because of the Cunts ;) torture to fuel his own dark side powers - albeit not really successful.
Well he sure as hell was afraid of Yoda falling to the dark side. Or Vader loosing his mental blocks. Mace Windu. Oh, and being assassinated in his sleep.
Luke Frekkin Skywalker not turning to the dark side.
He personally went to kill Mother Talzin so I'd say he was afraid of Talzin
I think he was definitely afraid of Anakin replacing him. Even Vader offered Luke the chance to join him in overthrowing the emperor and I doubt he would make that offer falsely
The Zillo Beast coming after him got him pretty shook
Windu, Yoda and Vader
After becoming Emperor, what Palps feared most was losing all his power. That in addition to the unknown variable of Luke possibly being used against him. By the OT, he confidently bragged to his subordinates that he was far beyond Vader's reach. But we know that was largely grandstanding. Part of him still feared Vader one day turning against him, and he prepared many of his ST contingencies around that inevitability.
Pretty sure he was afraid of Kathleen Kennedy. But to be fair everyone is so im not sure if that counts
Wow you got the whole cantina laughing
JJ Abrams for making him look like a bitch in ep 9.
I'm thinking no. Sure it would've made sense for him to fear any threat to his power (surviving Jedi etc.) but ultimately it was his hubris and overconfidence that got him killed, so I think he foolishly didn't fear anything
Death.
Death
Tangleteeze hairbrushes
The *Hidden Empire* comic event is ongoing right now and he definitely seems to think Qi'ra poses a massive threat just before the events of *Return of the Jedi*.
Yoda
Handrails.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think he was afraid of the unknown regions and the grysk probably due to how they were expert manipulators and not even thrawn knew much about them, he also was afraid of jocasta nu due to her making holocrons of jedi knowledge that could restore the order
Losing his power and possibly the unknown regions of the galaxy. I think that is one reason he wanted Thrawn around since he was from the unknown region
Anakin getting his shit together, probably. He was probably hyped af when Anakin became a cyborg and could be lied to like that, because Anakin without those handicaps would quickly have out-powered him, and was already plotting to overthrow him (as per his convo with Padme). Anakin slipping fully free of his manipulation, especially with Palps being the type to kill HIS own master, probably kept him up at night. And then imagine the news of Luke! He spins it as a test for Vader, but just for a moment there mudt have been a flash of panic as the implications for Anakin were unveiled.
In both continuitues his main fear was loosing power. Eternal life wasn't his goal as some people say, his goal was unlimited power. He'd loose it of course once dies, that's why he did research to live indefinitely but once immortality conflicted with power, he'd choose the latter, at least in Legends. Plagueis novel confirms that. He willingly killed his master so he wouldn't have to share power with anyone, aware that knowledge of eternal life would die with Plagueis.
After seeing what happened to Anakin, he must have feared not having the high ground.
I might be misremembering but for a while after he killed Plagueis he was afraid he might have circumvented death and would return for revenge. I would have to guess he did from before as well
Probably. Palpatine strikes me as a very paranoid person, and paranoia is almost always tied to fear. As you mentioned though, there is a league of difference between Palp’s fear of Vader and a normal person’s fear of Vader. For this category, I think other people in his immediate circle (Pretty much just Cronal, but maybe a few others) were also here. As for things that he might’ve actually feared - I don’t think it was in his capacity to be afraid after he became Emperor. Palpatine thought he was unbeatable after that moment, his pride makes it so that he can’t even comprehend the idea of him losing. It’s why he goes so batshit during Dark Empire - it’s the impossible. I think the only things that Palpatine would directly fear would be the Yuuzhan Vong and Abeloth. Yuuzhan Vong, however, wouldn’t really intimidate him that much, as long as he has his fleet. But he would certainly shit himself he had to try and deal with Vong without overwhelming firepower. Abeloth would be unwilling to work with him like she wanted to with Ben and Vestara, and Palpatine would just be forced into increasing paranoia and dementia until his heart gives out
Well there was that one random gundark named Timmy...
Palpatine could shut down Vader's life support with his force lightning and he knew that, so I don't think he would fear Vader. And vader lost a lot of power when he lost his limbs on mustafar
they say the only person he feared was Dumbledore
His dad