Darth Plagueis

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Darth Plagueis
Star Wars character
Plagueis-Cover.jpg
Darth Plagueis (right) with a young Palpatine on the cover of Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
First appearance
Created byGeorge Lucas
In-universe information
Full nameHego Damask II (Legends)
SpeciesMuun
GenderMale
TitleDarth Plagueis
OccupationDark Lord of the Sith
Magister of the InterGalactic Banking Clan (Legends)
AffiliationSith Order
FamilyHego Damask I (grandfather; Legends)
Caar Damask (father; Legends)
MasterDarth Tenebrous (Legends)
ApprenticeDarth Sidious
HomeworldMygeeto (Legends)

Darth Plagueis is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. A Sith Lord with the ability to prevent death and create life, Plagueis is the mentor of Palpatine (Darth Sidious). The character is first mentioned in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, in which Palpatine frames his life as a "legend" to pique Anakin Skywalker's curiosity about the dark side of the Force. Plagueis has a more prominent presence in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

Development[]

The character of Darth Plagueis was conceived by George Lucas as early as the first draft of the screenplay for Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, or possibly earlier. The first draft dates from April 2003.[1]

Appearances[]

Revenge of the Sith[]

Darth Plagueis is first mentioned in the 2005 prequel film Revenge of the Sith, during the opera scene. Chancellor Palpatine, who is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, tells Anakin Skywalker about the tragedy of Darth Plagueis "The Wise". Palpatine explains that Plagueis could use the dark side to prevent death and create life, powers unknown to the Jedi. Palpatine then explains that Plagueis was killed in his sleep by his own apprentice who was none other than Palpatine himself.[2] Later in the film, Palpatine, as Sidious, tempts Anakin to the dark side by promising to use this power to prevent Anakin's pregnant wife Padmé Amidala from dying, as Anakin has foreseen.

The Rise of Skywalker novelization[]

Darth Plagueis is mentioned in Rae Carson's novelization of the 2019 film The Rise of Skywalker. In the book, it is revealed that Palpatine had discovered Plagueis' "secret to immortality", using this knowledge to resurrect himself after his death in Return of the Jedi.[3][4] The novel further explains that Plagueis had attempted to create a powerful connection with Palpatine known as a 'Force dyad', a concept mentioned in the film as occurring naturally between Rey and Ben Solo.[3][5] Plagueis' inability to use his powers to save himself from death is also detailed in the novelization; Plagueis "had not acted fast enough in his own moment of death" to prevent Palpatine from killing him.[3][6]

Legends[]

In April 2014, Lucasfilm rebranded most of the licensed Star Wars novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film Star Wars as Star Wars Legends and declared them non-canon to the franchise.[7][8][9] Star Wars Legends literature elaborates on Plagueis's life, apprenticeship under the Bith Sith Lord Darth Tenebrous, and mentorship of Palpatine, up until his death at the latter's hands.

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis[]

Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
AuthorJames Luceno
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesStar Wars Legends
GenreScience fiction
PublisherDel Rey
Publication date
January 10, 2012
Pages496
ISBN0-345-51128-X
Followed byStar Wars: Maul: Lockdown 

The character is the focus of Star Wars: Darth Plagueis, a Legends novel written by James Luceno and published on January 10, 2012. The novel covers the later life and machinations of Darth Plagueis (born Hego Damassk II), over a roughly fifty-year period pre-dating and culminating concurrently with the climax of The Phantom Menace. The novel details Plagueis' overthrow of his own master Darth Tenebrous; his work as head of a powerful banking consortium on the Muun homeworld; his discovery, recruitment and training of the teenaged Palpatine of Naboo; and the efforts of Plagueis to undermine the Galactic Republic and ensure the dominance of the dark side of the Force. Even though Plagueis's plans to undermine the Galactic Republic were stopped by his death, Palpatine still succeeded in wiping out the Galactic Republic and driving the Jedi Order into ruins for his own plans.

Daryl Thomen of Newsday called Darth Plagueis "the best Star Wars publication to date."[10]

Reception[]

Despite never appearing on screen, Darth Plagueis has remained a popular Star Wars character. The quote in which the character is mentioned in Revenge of the Sith has become an internet meme.[11]

A popular theory regarding the origins and identity of the sequel trilogy's Supreme Leader Snoke was that he was Darth Plagueis, or a clone of him.[12][13][14]

References[]

  1. ^ Rinzler, Jonathan W (2005). The Making of Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith. New York City: Del Rey. ISBN 0-345-43139-1.
  2. ^ "The Legend of Darth Plagueis - Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith". StarWars.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Carson, Rae (2020). Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Expanded Edition. Del Rey. ISBN 978-0593128404.
  4. ^ Cavanaugh, Patrick (March 4, 2020). "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Novelization Details How Palpatine Survived the Death Star II, Thanks to Plagueis". Comicbook.com. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  5. ^ Agar, Chris (March 4, 2020). "Star Wars: Every Reveal About Palpatine In The Rise of Skywalker Novel". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  6. ^ Bacon, Thomas (March 24, 2020). "Star Wars Debunks Rise of Skywalker's Plagueis/Palpatine Fan Theory". Screen Rant. Valnet Inc. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  7. ^ McMilian, Graeme (April 25, 2014). "Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for Star Wars Expanded Universe". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  8. ^ "The Legendary Star Wars Expanded Universe Turns a New Page". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  9. ^ "Disney and Random House announce relaunch of Star Wars Adult Fiction line". StarWars.com. April 25, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  10. ^ Thomen, Daryl (January 19, 2012). "Latest Star Wars novel worth the wait". Newsday. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  11. ^ Hathaway, Jay (January 27, 2017). "Star Wars' Chancellor Palpatine Has Conquered the Meme Landscape". The Daily Dot. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  12. ^ Trumbore, Dave (December 21, 2015). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Theories on Supreme Leader Snoke". Collider. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  13. ^ Tremeer, Eleanor (December 28, 2015). "Supreme Leader Snoke's Role In Star Wars Episode 8 Revealed By John Williams?!". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  14. ^ "Theory: Snoke Could Still Be Darth Plagueis After All, And Return as Star Wars 9's Real Villain". Screen Rant. November 8, 2018.

External links[]

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