darth sidious (sheev palpatine) was a male human dark lord of the sith who appeared in each trilogy of the "skywalker saga". originally the eldest son of an aristocratic family from the planet naboo, he rose to power within the galactic republic's government system starting from senator of his homeworld, then to supreme chancellor of the republic, and finally to self-proclaimed emperor of the galactic empire. this was done by cultivating a public image as a humble and competent politician while secretly mastering dark sith arts studying under plagueis, and planning the destruction of the jedi order and republic. eventually, by manipulating disaffected political groups and using double agents to sow discord, palpatine fomented a civil war that provided an opportunity for him to seize absolute power. he had three known sith apprentices: darth maul, darth tyranus, and darth vader. he was eventually betrayed and killed by his last, vader, at the end of "return of the jedi". he returned more than 30 years later in "the rise of skywalker", having managed to cheat death through powerful mastery of the dark side of the force. he is finally killed by his granddaughter rey, who deflected his force lightning using the skywalker lightsabers. darth sidious' death marked what appears to be the definitive end of the sith.