10 Most Powerful Star Wars Characters

2. Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine

To the public he was simply a politician, Senator Palpatine of Naboo. Behind that, though, he was an extremely powerful Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious, and it's a testament to that power that he was able to cloak his identity so well even while in such close proximity to Jedi. Combining these two aspects, he successfully engineered the Clone Wars, causing a huge amount of chaos and destruction throughout the galaxy. There is nothing he doesn't know about the Dark Side of the Force, and he uses that to lure Anakin over to him, which in turn saves his life after he's all but defeated by Mace Windu. It's what comes next, however, that makes Palpatine so powerful. He trains Anakin to become one of the most dangerous and feared people in the universe, yes, and while he's certainly capable with a lightsaber, fighting Yoda to a standstill, it's as a ruler he's really the most powerful; he all but wiped out the Jedi and ruled the whole galaxy for decades.