12 Stars Wars Mysteries STILL Not Answered After Rise Of Skywalker

5. Who Was Snoke BEFORE The Cloning And How Did He Rise?

The idea of Snoke being Palpatine's invention does make sense in terms of the cyclical nature of Star Wars (because we needed a way to tie Palpatine back to all of the narrative), but there are some big questions here not easily glossed over.

First off, the very fact that he appears to be a clone - as evidenced by the identical other Jars Of Snokes shown in Palpatine's lair - suggests an origin. Does that mean the "real" Snoke was someone? Who was he?

Secondly, if he was merely a creation, how was he able to wield Force powers? If that was possible, why didn't Palpatine simply build an army of Force sensitive clones to fight his wars?

And finally, how on Earth did Snoke manage to rise to the position of First Order Supreme Leader from nowhere? It would have been possible if Palpatine had given up his survival to key generals tasked with helping Snoke rise to power, but without that bridge, Snoke's incredible promotion just looks weird.