There's undeniable evidence that Palpatine did indeed create Anakin.  He obviously didn't lie about his creation powers, because he later used them to save Anakin after Mustafar; Anakin surely would have died otherwise.  There is no doubt that Palpatine knew of Ani from conception, because the whole Naboo ordeal was orchestrated in order to have Anakin found by the Jedi. Darth Plagueis couldn't have created Anakin himself, becuase Sidious is said to have abducted Darth Maul (who must be at least 20 in ep 1) as an infant, and Anakin was only ten then.  This means that Plagueis was killed, at the least, 20 years before ep 1, rendering it impossible for him to have created Anakin. It seems that Plagueis genuinely trusted Sidious when he told him of the newfound powers--he didn't want them lost forever if he was killed.  Palpatine realized the opportunities these powers would bring him, then murdered Plagueis and influenced Anakin's creation. -HaydnCeek

Well, this brings up a good point I wish to make. And as with all good rules, this one too shall be broken. Immediately.

In addition to the fact that so much of the expanded universe is out-and-out contradictory, and for the fact that I find so much of it too boring to bother with, as far as this blog is concerned I only reason from the canon of the films.

The expanded universe is nice for diversionary entertainment, but as carefully orchestrated as the multiple media that explained the goings of the Clone Wars were, we still end up with glaring contradictions as to the events that lead straight into Episode III.

Though they may be thought of as two interpretations of the same events, I still find the disparity too disconcerting. Enough so that I can't consider Labyrinth of Evil or the cartoons canon, nor indeed even Stover's excellent interpretation of the film itself. Not even if they were outlined by Lucas himself, because we could never know the origin of any singular notion. The films are the only final say. Lots of people want to doubt even them based upon the Greedo controversy.

Now that I've set this ground rule, let me immediately contradict myself. Its obvious in J. W. Rinzler's The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith, that Lucas not only intended for Sidious to claim credit for Anakin's conception (going so far as to claim to be his father - sorta - in early drafts), but asserting Tyrannus engineered the murder of Anakin's mother by the Tuskins. Even if George later edited these ideas out, they were part of the early architecture that framed these movies, and their ghosts still inform the structure of the story. That one may detect them is not even really up for debate. And I hate to remove their presence from the story because having major plot points in the saga happen not only off-screen, but indeed off-plot, is out-and-out genius.

As for your points, HaydnCeek, obviously I agree with your conclusions, if not your reasoning getting to them.

I'll agree with you about Darth Plagueis. In all likelihood, I'd say its likely Palpatine who set it in motion, irregardless of the E.U. timeline. It does beg more questions, like "Why Shmi?" and "Why Tattooine?" Maybe just because she was a slave and manipulatable? I think there could easily be more films, even a prequel-prequel-trilogy explaining this orchestration. We most likely won't get them, but I think the framework was laid that far back into the story. For prequel nuts like myself, it would be a watershed and I wish Lucas would at least write the books. But more than this, the Naboo ordeal obviously wasn't exclusively for the Jedi to contact Anakin, but rather to set in motion the events that give Palpatine his power politically.

To get to the meat of your comments, I'm not sure that the E.U. timeline forgoes the possibility of Plagueis conceiving Anakin. Even if always two there are, Anakin wasn't an apprentice yet, and as we have seen with a situation like Ventress, it doesn't seem uncalled for that a Sith will take on a protege without technically thinking on them as an apprentice. Maul might very well have been to Ventress, as Tyranus was to Sidious. Its just that Sidious was more successful in his bid than Tyranus. Understand this isn't my assertion, just some reasonable doubt for your assertion.

I doubt we can point to Episode I as evidence of Sidious' foreknowledge of Anakin's conception, neither. I like Palpatine and I credit him with a lot, but I think the Force still plays a major part in this. In fact, my instincts tell me that it was the Force's effort to stave off Palpatine's corruption of it, or the facilitation of the prophecy. Palpatine certainly wasn't worried about the Jedi, and at best Anakin was farm-raised Sith. He planted a seed, and waited to reap that which he had sewn. That Anakin got uprooted and moved to hydroponic of the Jedi temple on Coruscant only made matters easier for Palpatine. The reality is probably somewhere amidst all of this, but its certainly open to debate. Which we'll probably all be doing for decades.

I'm not sure if Anakin was saved by Sithly influence, past Sidious showing up and carting Anakin off to the ICU. Anakin was probably quite capable of surviving based upon his own hatred and will to revenge, at least for a while. Sidious just arrived during that window, as I see it.