in episode i, "", he is a senator from the planet of naboo. he is also secretly a sith lord, darth sidious. sidious pulls the strings behind the scenes to cause unrest and dispute in the corrupt galactic senate, hence the films' title. his apprentice during this time is darth maul, who is slain in battle by obi-wan kenobi. at the end of episode i, he has risen to the office of supreme chancellor and begins his rise to power.