Palpatine is one of the most mysterious characters in the entire Star Wars Saga. Even though the Prequels went back and explained his ascent to Emperor of the galaxy, his past still remains thoroughly shrouded in mystery. His story is also, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating tales of the Saga. I've spent endless amounts of time discussing and thinking about how much of his plot was planned from the beginning, or how long he had been a Sith Lord. That is why I'm making this entry- I'll give you some of the topics I find most interesting about the Dark Lord, and maybe you loyal readers can even help me figure some stuff out. All theories are welcome, even if they're as insane as FAN4YRS' "Ahsoka is Assajj" idea.

What is Palpatine's past?

I'm sure this one has been asked a lot, but as far as I know, not even the EU has any answers. How long has Palpatine been a Sith? Was it always his ambition to take over the galaxy? Was he a good politician from the start, or did he decide to become one for his master plan? Was his master really Darth Plagueis, or was he just lying to Anakin (the EU might of confirmed this, I'm not sure)? This section is built up of nothing more than a bunch of question marks...

Did Palpatine ever feel any kind of friendship with Anakin?

We all know he was just using Anakin for his own plans, but after befriending him for over ten years, did Palpatine at least... kind of like him... a little bit? I mean, I know he was an evil Sith and all, but surely after playing the role of father/friend/mentor for years, he must of felt a little bit of kindness towards Anakin. Or... did all those years just harden him to the fact that Anakin was a gullible (but powerful) servant? Hmm...

How smart is Palpatine really?

Was the entire plot his, or was it passed down throughout Sith generations? It's impossible to tell by his actions... he seems to know everything, and he obviously takes credit for everything. It really makes me wonder how much he thought out ahead of time. Did he expect the Jedi to attack him? Seems that way, but it's amazing that he had that kind of foresight. I don't think he wanted them to reveal his "true face" though, especially after reading the novel, so I guess not everything goes his way.

Was Anakin part of the plan?

When Palpatine met the nine-year-old boy and felt the incredible power of the Force within him, was that the moment he decided to train him? Did it just snap right into the ultimate plan as a nice bonus? Or were the Sith aware of the prophesy as well, and perhaps they were waiting for an individual such as Anakin to come into their plot? It's hard to say. Palpatine is so mysterious partially because he's so good at improvising. Sure, his brand new uber-powerful Sith Lord was mortally wounded, got most of his limbs chopped off, and became a living pile of ashes, but he made the best of it with amazing recovery. He turned him into the Darth Vader we all know and fear, which perhaps had an even more intimidating and powerful affect on the galaxy than the face of Anakin would have.

Those are just a sampling of questions and thoughts that could be applied to Palpatine, and I doubt we'll ever know the full story. But, that's what's so cool about Star Wars... it just never ends! There will always be new stuff to talk about, and most of the time, it can even link back to the old stuff and clear up mysteries that began in 1977! Anyways, feel free to post any thoughts or comments you have... I look forward to reading them!