Showdown on Coruscant

"I'd feel better if Yoda were here. Or even Kenobi. On Ord Cestus, Obi-Wan and I&mdash;''" "''Yoda is pinned down on Kashyyyk, and Kenobi is out of contact on Utapau. The Dark Lord has revealed himself, and we dare not hesitate. Think not of if, Master Fisto; this duty has fallen to us. We will suffice&hellip;we will suffice. We will have to."

- Kit Fisto and Saesee Tiin, preparing to confront Darth Sidious

The Showdown on Coruscant was a confrontation that took place in the Supreme Chancellor's Suite of the Galactic Senate in 19 BBY. It began after Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker informed Master Mace Windu that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had revealed his identity as a Sith Lord to him. Windu then gathered a team of Jedi Masters consisting of Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin, and attempted to arrest Palpatine in his own Suite. Palpatine was at first polite to the group, but when they insisted on taking him into custody, he dropped his facade, lit his lightsaber, and lunged at them in a violent fury. All but Windu quickly fell to the Dark Lord of the Sith and the two masters of the Force clashed. Windu cornered Darth Sidious, Palpatine's true identity, as Skywalker arrived in the room.

Skywalker pleaded with Windu not to kill the Chancellor. Sidious fired a volley of Force lightning at the Jedi Master, who deflected it back at him. The electric currents flowing through Sidious exposed the almost reptilian features of his true form. After the lightning faded, Windu raised his blade to strike a killing blow and Skywalker panicked, cutting off Windu's sword arm with his lightsaber. The writhing Sidious then blasted Windu with another torrent of lightning and sent him through the window&mdash;to his death&mdash;into the streets of Galactic City. Skywalker was ashamed of his participation in Windu's murder and knew that the Jedi would never allow him to remain with the Order; out of options, Skywalker knelt before Darth Sidious and was dubbed his apprentice, Darth Vader.

Prelude
"He won't give up his power. I've just learned a terrible truth. I think Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord."

- Anakin Skywalker to Mace Windu



In his dreams, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker was plagued with prophetic visions of his wife, Padmé Amidala, dying in pain during the birth of their child. He confided this in his friend Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, seeking advice. Palpatine invited Skywalker to a show at the Galaxies Opera House so they could talk. While they sat in Palpatine's private box, he told Skywalker a Sith legend, "The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise," informing him that Plagueis had learned the ability to save others from death by manipulating midi-chlorians. Plagueis took a Sith apprentice and taught him everything that he, as a Sith Lord, knew. His apprentice, wanting to usurp Plagueis's power, killed the Dark Lord in his sleep. Skywalker was curious of this power and believed he could use it to save Amidala. Later, in the Supreme Chancellor's office, Palpatine finally revealed himself to be Darth Sidious, Plagueis's former apprentice and current Dark Lord of the Sith. Skywalker was torn between his desire to learn Sidious's power and his duty as a Jedi to turn him in.

Skywalker thought of killing Sidious on sight, as it was also his duty as a Jedi to eliminate the Sith, but he could not bring himself to kill his friend. Leaving Palpatine's office, Skywalker quickly went to the Jedi Temple and informed Jedi Master Mace Windu of Palpatine's true identity, though he was greatly conflicted about doing so. Sensing his internal conflict, Windu sent Skywalker to the High Council Chamber and advised him to spend time meditating upon his conflicted emotions. Windu then took a squad of Masters&mdash;Nautolan Kit Fisto, Zabrak Agen Kolar, and the Iktotchi Saesee Tiin&mdash;to arrest Palpatine in his own office.

Sidious expected a showdown, and was well prepared for it; he sensed both the conflict of Skywalker in the Council chamber as well as the approach of the Jedi Masters on board a gunship. Sidious recovered his lightsaber from its resting place within a neuranium sculpture, hiding the hilt in the sleeve of his robe. When the Masters scattered the Chancellor's private guards beyond the office's outer doors, the Sith Lord triggered a concealed recording device&mdash;audio only. The Jedi burst into Sidious's private office, where Master Windu declared the Chancellor under arrest. However, by altering the audio recording, the Sith Lord ensured that he would be portrayed as the victim, with the Jedi appearing unduly aggressive towards the seemingly innocent Chancellor.

The duel
"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you're under arrest, Chancellor.''" "Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?" "The Senate will decide your fate." "I am'' the Senate." "Not yet." "It's treason, then."

- Mace Windu and Palpatine



Accusing the Jedi of treason, Sidious activated his lightsaber and lunged at the group. In a moment of distraction, Agen Kolar was stabbed by Palpatine in the stomach. Saesee Tiin attempted to strike the Dark Lord from behind as Kolar fell, but was cut down as Sidious swung around to face him. With two Jedi dead, Sidious immediately engaged Fisto and Windu in battle. Fisto defended himself for a limited time due to his mastery of a more defensive style of lightsaber combat, but he was ultimately cut down, leaving only Windu to contend with the Dark Lord.

Sidious drove Windu back along the corridor to his public office, where Windu rallied and pulled Sidious into a bladelock. As their battle took them towards the center of the space, Anakin Skywalker's Jedi airspeeder touched down outside. He had meditated on his tumultuous thoughts in the Council Chambers as Windu had advised him to do, and the young Jedi felt as though he could not bear to let Sidious meet his death at the hands of the Jedi; at least, not before teaching Skywalker the secrets of Darth Plagueis to save Amidala from death.

As Skywalker approached the office, Sidious unleashed a rapid series of unsuccessful attacks against Windu, and Sidious was driven back by Windu with a steady, offensive march. Fighting their way across the office, their missed attacks managed to shatter the office window. As they moved out onto the wind-blown ledge, Sidious was forced to channel more energy into a Force-powered grip on the permacrete, and less into the Force-powered speed he was assailing Windu with. The duelists then started a flurry of bladework, but Palpatine's slight decrease in speed provided an opening, allowing Windu to end the bout with a swift kick to the Sith Lord's jaw. Sidious was thrown off balance, staggering back and flailing his arms, he dropped his lightsaber as he fell to the ground, scurrying back against the window frame. Darth Sidious had been defeated, and was now at Master Windu's mercy, who held his blade to the Sith Lord's throat and declared the Dark Sider under arrest.

At that moment, Skywalker appeared, convinced that only the powers of the Sith could save his wife's life from the events of his visions.

Skywalker's intervention
"Anakin. I told you it would come to this. I was right. The Jedi are taking over!!"

- Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker

With the Dark Lord disarmed, Windu again declared that Sidious was under Jedi custody. However, having arrived too late to see the Sith Lord's intent, Skywalker saw only a helpless Chancellor cowering before Mace Windu. Sidious claimed the Jedi were in rebellion, while Windu countered, declaring the ultimate defeat of the Sith.



In response, Sidious hurled Force lightning at the Jedi Master, only for it to be deflected back by Windu's lightsaber. The redirected current flowed through Sidious, injuring him and deforming his face hideously (although it has been debated it has been his true form all along, one shriveled by a lifetime of using the dark side of the Force). The Chancellor begged for mercy and claimed he was too weak to continue fighting. He called out to Skywalker for help while Windu pleaded with him not to trust the Sith Lord. The electrical current continued to ravage the Chancellor's body, and Skywalker's conflict reached its peak as he watched his friend suffer. Eventually, the lightning subsided, leaving an "exhausted" and "frail" Darth Sidious lying on the floor.

After witnessing Sidious's incredible power, Windu decided that he had no choice but to eliminate the Dark Lord once and for all. Skywalker pleaded with him to spare Sidious, stating that he must go before the Courts. Windu refused, believing that Sidious's influence would sway their decision in the Sith Lord's favor. Windu raised his blade to deliver the killing blow, and Skywalker, reacting in a moment of despair, cut off the unsuspecting Windu's sword hand. Sidious instantly blasted Windu with Force lightning and using the Force pushed him out of the window to his death on the streets below.

Skywalker fell to his knees in shock at his participation in Windu's murder. Sidious congratulated him, telling Skywalker that he was "ready," and that he would help Skywalker find the secrets to saving Amidala's life. The Dark Lord cautiously admitted that cheating death was a power only his Master had achieved, thus admitting he did not actually know the secret to stopping death. Inwardly, Skywalker was surprised and enraged by the deception. But with no other option left, he kneeled before the man&mdash;resigned to his fate. While hoping he and his new master could discover the secret of immortality together, Skywalker no longer saw Sidious as a friend worth defending, rather merely a necessary evil worth tolerating until the time was right to take his place, after realizing that his new master had been manipulating him and the Clone Wars&mdash;the galaxy-wide conflict that had been raging for more than three years between the Separatists and the Galactic Republic&mdash;since the beginning.

Aftermath
"Safety, security, justice and peace!"

- The chant announcing a new Galactic Empire

Though horrified at what he had done, and what he was becoming, Skywalker knew there was no turning back from his dark path, so he pledged himself to Sidious in order to learn the power to cheat death. Sidious named his new apprentice Darth Vader and tasked him with the sterilization of the Jedi Temple. Furthermore, to every clone trooper in the Grand Army of the Republic, Sidious issued Order 66; the clones were ordered to eliminate their Jedi Commanders and Generals, and marked all Jedi as enemies of the Republic. The Great Jedi Purge had begun.

Vader stormed the Temple, leading the 501st Legion, and proceeded to kill nearly every Jedi within its walls. The Temple was set ablaze and reduced to ruins while all of Galactic City watched. Sidious traveled to the Senate Rotunda and presented evidence of the "Jedi Rebellion"; the activation of the Jedi Masters' lightsabers was digitally confirmed by Republic agents in the audio recording, while the activation of Palpatine's lightsaber was neither recorded nor analyzed. After proving to the Senate that they needed to take action, Sidious delivered a speech that declared that the Republic was no more, and in its place was a new Galactic Empire.

Behind the scenes
This lightsaber duel appeared in the film version of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and it remained nameless until Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide identified the duel as the "Showdown on Coruscant" in one of its captions. This duel explains the&mdash;until then&mdash;unknown aspects of the Star Wars Universe. It explains how Darth Vader, an antagonist from the original trilogy, joined the Sith and why Palpatine's face is deformed in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Palpatine's comment, "I am the Senate," is very similar to " ' L'Etat, c'est moi ' ," translating to "I am the state," a saying often credited to King Louis XIV of France. Louis XIV was an autocrat who immersed himself in what he called the "trade of kingship" by using his absolute power over the French government to completely change the culture and visage of his country in the latter part of the 17th to early 18th centuries.

In the novelization of Episode III, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, and Shaak Ti all claimed that the arrest team consisted of "four of the greatest swordsmen the Jedi Order has ever produced"&mdash;a fact less obvious in the movie since Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto all died within a few seconds of the duel's start. Kenobi further proposed that if Palpatine could eliminate the four Jedi Masters all by himself, then even Yoda and Kenobi together would not be enough to defeat the Dark Lord. In the The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas, the creator and ultimate authority regarding the Star Wars universe, responded to the question of whether Mace Windu brought a weak group of Jedi with him for the confrontation with Palpatine by replying that one would have to be either Windu or Yoda to compete with Palpatine, and that if Anakin had suffered none of his injuries, he could have beaten the Emperor. The same book implies that actor Samuel L. Jackson sincerely believed that Windu, his character, had overpowered Palpatine, even during the lightning struggle.

According to the screenplay of Episode III, Dar Wac, the Chancellor's Rodian aide, originally had a cameo appearance before the Jedi entered Palpatine's office. This was either dropped or never filmed. Furthermore, the screenplay stated it was Windu who was being forced onto the ledge after the window was broken, which contradicts the novelization. The screenplay also indicates Windu attempted to defend himself with his remaining hand after he was betrayed by Skywalker.

In the novel, a debate between Palpatine and Windu before the duel reflected that even though the audience knew that Palpatine, as a Sith Lord, was behind everything and was ultimately responsible for the war, the Jedi never had any hard evidence of Palpatine's crime to legitimize their arrest attempt. Even the knowledge of Palpatine's true identity depended solely on the words of an emotionally unstable Anakin Skywalker. Windu also failed to explain why the "philosophical difference" between the Jedi and the Sith would lead to the arrest of Palpatine, which played to the Sith Lord's plan in the secret audio recording, thus undermining the support of the Jedi in the Senate.

Discrepancies
As they were extrapolated by different people, there are several differences between the various portrayals of this duel. The version portrayed in the movie is the sole completely canon sequence.

Throughout the battle, the lightsaber hilt Palpatine uses alternates between his own and Skywalker's due to the fact that he was originally going to use Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber against the Jedi. Skywalker was scripted to be present throughout the duel at first, but the battle was re-choreographed at the last minute and Skywalker was instead scripted to arrive at the exact moment Palpatine lost his weapon. Skywalker's lightsaber hilt remains visible in some shots of the finished film though, making this one of many lightsaber bloopers found throughout the Revenge of the Sith movie.

In the novelization of Episode III, there were a few differences from the film's interpretation. Windu contacted Grand Master Yoda before and after receiving the truth from Skywalker: both the members of the arrest team and their action were approved by the Grand Master. During the engagement, Windu sent Saesee Tiin and Agen Kolar to the Chancellor's desk to block the way to the door. Firstly, Sidious tricked Tiin by asking him to read his mind to establish if the Chancellor was truly a Sith Lord, then used the distraction as a chance to behead the unsuspecting Iktotchi. Kolar barely had time to absorb the scene before Palpatine pierced the lightsaber blade through his head, causing Kolar to drop his lightsaber and collapse. After that, the remaining two Jedi fought Sidious. Kit Fisto was beheaded from a sudden strike of Sidious's blade. Fisto's death was not described first-hand&mdash;instead Skywalker found Fisto's head on the Chancellor's table with the Nautolan's typical smile on it. The movie scene was originally scripted that way as well, but George Lucas decided it was too violent, and thus changed it. In the novelization, there was a thunderstorm outside during the duel. Also, Anakin Skywalker arrived much earlier, and was able to watch almost half of the epic lightsaber duel between Windu and Palpatine, instead of just after when the Jedi Master knocked down Sidious, as shown in the movie. Skywalker's arrival is also different; instead of landing his speeder on the landing deck, he brings it to hover outside the window of Palpatine's private office, smashes the window with his lightsaber and jumps through. During the deadly fight, Skywalker could sense the Force darken within the Chancellor's Office. Windu was not limiting himself, as the Jedi usually did, he was channeling all his power and rage into his Vaapad combat style, a form of lightsaber combat requiring the user to relish the fight and use their will to win, in order to enhance their abilities. Also, in the novel, Sidious "demonstrates" his lightsaber before they begin battle, while this does not occur in the movie.



The comic version of Episode III kept the idea of Palpatine slamming Windu into a wall with a powerful Force push, which was stated in the screenplay, but absent from the movie. The novel altered the scene to Palpatine attempting to push Windu out of the office after the Jedi Master had broken the window. In the comic version, Skywalker arrived right at the moment the office window was broken. Instead of Palpatine's jaw, Windu kicked the right palm of the Sith Lord and knocked away the Sith's lightsaber himself, and Skywalker ignited his blade right after Palpatine applied Force lightning. After Skywalker attacked Windu, it showed Palpatine throwing Windu out of the office window with another Force push, instead of hurling him out with Force lightning. Also, in the movie, Windu had a violet blade, Fisto green, and Kolar blue, but in the novelization and comic, Kolar had a green blade. Tiin wielded a green lightsaber in the movie, but a blue lightsaber in the comic.

In both the novelization and the comic, the entire duel took place in the Chancellor's public office only, instead of beginning in the Chancellor's private office as seen in the movie. The novel showed that Palpatine could activate the recording device hidden within his office book, on his desk. In the comic version, his private chamber contained a holoprojector instead of a desk.

In the video game adaptation of Revenge of the Sith, instead of severing Windu's arm, Skywalker calls Windu a traitor to the Republic and engages him in a duel through the office and outside platform. As they duel, Windu attempts to disuade Skywalker from his course but the enraged Jedi will hear nothing of it and stabs the Jedi Master, knocking him out of the window and to his death.

The junior novelization omitted the entire fighting sequence between Palpatine and the Jedi. Instead, it portrayed that period of time solely from Anakin Skywalker's point of view; Skywalker left the High Council Chamber to retrieve his speeder, and then entered the Chancellor's office, seeing Mace Windu holding an unarmed Palpatine at blade point.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith game
 * Star Wars: Galactic Crisis
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars: Purge
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * The Last of the Jedi: A Tangled Web
 * Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
 * Revelation

Notes and references
Mission zur Verhaftung des Kanzlers Duel dans le Bureau de Palpatine