Darth Sidious' lightsabers

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"Before I was confined to this imperfect form, I possessed a pair of exquisite lightsabers, constructed from the rare metals phrik and aurodium."

―Darth Sidious^[7]

Darth Sidious' lightsabers were the pair of nearly identical personal electrum-finish lightsabers of Darth Sidious, built during his apprenticeship under Darth Plagueis. Although a skilled and deadly combatant, Sidious rarely used his weapons—only doing so when absolutely necessary—as he would have been immediately identified as a Sith Lord. Instead, he preferred to exercise his powers of manipulation and used servants to carry out his hidden agenda.

Specifications[]

DarthSidious-TLC — Sidious was as deadly with one of his lightsabers as he was with both.

Darth Sidious had discerning tastes^[2] for the finer enjoyments of life,^[8] which was reflected in his lightsabers. They were constructed from nearly indestructible phrik with a flat aurodium blade emitter, and all finished with electrum.^[2] Both weapons utilized a corrupted kyber crystal at their cores.^[5]

One of the weapons was normally hidden inside a neuranium sculpture that was displayed on the desk of his office within the Senate Office Building on Coruscant.^[2]

History[]

Creation[]

Darth Sidious or Sheev Palpatine’s lightsabers were constructed by him during his apprenticeship under Darth Plagueis.^[2]

Clone Wars[]

Mandalore[]

In 19 BBY,^[3] Darth Sidious carried his lightsabers when he traveled to Mandalore to confront his rogue first apprentice Darth Maul and his younger brother and apprentice Savage Opress. He wielded both in the ensuing duel, separating the pair and effortlessly dispatching and killing Opress. Maul, using his two two lightsabers, proved a much tougher opponent and held his own for a while longer. Sidious disarmed Maul and subdued him with a combination of telekinesis and Force lightning.^[6]

Second Battle of Dathomir[]

Maul-confronts-Sidious-and-Grievous — Sidious using one of his lightsabers on Dathomir

Sidious later wielded one of his lightsabers during the Second Battle of Dathomir, and used it to fight Maul again and his and Savage’s Mother Talzin in combat who died with the help of General Grievous and Sidious’ current apprentice, Count Dooku.^[9]

Rise to Power[]

Duel in Palpatine's office[]

VERY NASTY — Palpatine brandishes one of his lightsabers against the Jedi

Near the end of the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine fought against Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar using one of his lightsabers. He slew Kolar and Tiin easily, killed Fisto shortly afterward, but had an extended confrontation with Windu. The Jedi Master guided the duel toward the bay window of the Sith Lord's office and out onto the wind-blown ledge outside. Windu disarmed the Sith Lord with a surgically precise kick to the face, throwing Sidious off-balance and causing the Sith Lord to drop his lightsaber as he flailed for purchase which fell out the window into the seemingly bottomless streets of Coruscant before his friend and final apprentice Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker arrived.^[1] Consequently, Sidious was forced to use his remaining lightsaber from there on out even if he was as deadly with one as he was with two.^[10]

Showdown in the Senate Building[]

Clash of Titans — Palpatine duels Yoda using his remaining lightsaber.

After Skywalker’s friend and mentor Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda realized what happened, Yoda went to face Emperor Palpatine personally at the Senate Building, while Kenobi went to face Skywalker. Yoda surprised Palpatine, who told him that his arrogance blinded him and his new apprentice would be more powerful than both of them but Yoda answered Palpatine that his faith in Vader was a mistake along with his faith in the dark side. Yoda then dueled Palpatine, who used his remaining lightsaber to face the Jedi Master. The duel brought them to the Galactic Senate Chamber, the heart of the Senate. Palpatine hurled Senate pods at Yoda, and the effort to avoid them exhausted the Jedi Master. Palpatine then blasted Yoda with Force lightning, but with the last of his strength, the Jedi Master repelled it enough to send both himself and Palpatine over the pod's edge. Palpatine was able to hold on to a senate pod, while Yoda fell to the Senate floor, leaving only his cloak. With Bail Organa's help, Yoda fled the Senate Building and would go into exile.^[1]

Age of the Empire[]

Death threat[]

Shortly after his new apprentice was reconstructed as a cyborg, Sidious informed Vader that his wife had died. In a rage, Vader threw the Emperor against the wall, but Sidious managed to convince Vader to let him go. After Vader did so, Sidious shocked his apprentice with bolts of Force lightning. Sidious then ignited his lightsaber and threatened that if Vader touched him with the Force again, he would finish what Obi-Wan could not.^[11]

Vader's vision[]

After Vader tracked down Jedi Master Kirak Infil'a and took his lightsaber, claiming the kyber crystal, Palpatine sent him to a Sith cave which was all that remained of the Sith temple on Mustafar so that he could corrupt it with his pain and anger in order to make it "bleed." Inside the cave, Vader's first attempt resulted in him experiencing an intense, light-side Force vision that urged him to return to the light side. He experienced a vision in which he reassembled the lightsaber and returned to Emperor Palpatine on Coruscant with its blade still green. Realizing Vader had not embraced the dark side, Palpatine attacked his apprentice; but the cyborg killed him in the vision and reconciled with Kenobi.^[12]

Training Darth Vader[]

Sidious Lesson Ligthsaber — Sidious used his remaining lightsaber to teach Vader a lesson.

Later, after Vader bled his third kyber crystal, Palpatine sought to teach him a lesson with a sparring duel on the Works which was the first headquarters of them and the former’s new Inquisitorius. Igniting his remaining lightsaber, Palpatine charged at Vader and quickly overwhelming his apprentice; telling him that lightsabers were not the real tool of the Sith, but that the dark side of the Force was. After attacking Vader with pieces of wreckage that he lifted with the Force, Palpatine made his attack a clear symbol for the true power that anyone who stood against the dark side would face.^[13]

Fighting on Ryloth[]

Emperor Palpatine once again used his lightsaber and fought alongside Vader against a swarm of lyleks on the planet Ryloth. During his fight at Ryloth he used his lightsaber to deflect every single blaster-shot aimed at him.^[14]

Destroying Crimson Dawn[]

HiddenEmpire4-No-survivors — Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, and their forces boarded the Amaxine Station to destroy Crimson Dawn once and for all.

Soon before the Battle at Amaxine Station, Emperor Palpatine used his lightsaber to once again spar with his apprentice while conversing about Qi'ra and her plans to destroy the Sith. Not long after, Palpatine and Vader arrived at the Amaxine Station aboard the latter’s flagship the Executor and took his shuttle down to it. Once landed, Palpatine and Vader ignited their lightsabers to use to finally put an end to Crimson Dawn, with Palpatine decreeing there were to be no survivors left in their wake.^[15]

Fighting their way into the station with their lightsabers, Palpatine and Vader led the latter's guard of death troopers and the former's Royal Guards. To Palpatine, the moment was a rare opportunity to take a direct hand against his enemies; much to his enjoyment. In the end, Crimson Dawn's plans would be crushed with the destruction of the Fermata Cage. Palpatine's rule over the galaxy would instead be brought down by the Rebel Alliance with the Battle of Endor,^[16] where Vader returned to the light side and sacrificed himself to destroy his Master in order to save his son Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and the fate of Palpatine’s remaining lightsaber was unknown. Without Emperor Palpatine,^[17] the Empire struggled along for the following year until the Battle of Jakku^[18] in 5 ABY. Due to his belief about the lightsaber’s role in the power of the Sith, Palpatine never reclaimed his lightsaber when he returned to life on its hidden world Exegol and did not use it when his granddaughter was dispatched by Luke to face him and destroy the Sith once and for all to win the last stage of the War between the Sith and the Jedi Order and the Rebel Alliance.^[19]

Behind the scenes[]

"That Darth Sidious fights with two lightsabers is evident in Episode III -- he has two lightsabers in Revenge of the Sith, though he never has an opportunity to wield them simultaneously since he loses one in his fight with Mace Windu before dueling Yoda."

―The Lawless Trivia Gallery in StarWars.com^[10]

Darth Sidious' lightsabers first appeared in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Episode III Revenge of the Sith, first used under his public persona of Palpatine, Supreme Chancellor of the Senate. As a blooper, Sidious' black lightsaber can sometimes be seen interchanged with the Skywalker lightsaber in the duel scene in Palpatine's office.^[1] It would be revealed that Sidious wields two lightsabers in "The Lawless", an episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series.^[6] These weapons continued to appear in Star Wars canon through other media, including The Clone Wars Legacy and a few comic books. Darth Sidious's lightsabers were first identified in Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition.^[5]