The Emperor's Forgotten Body Doubles
Image Source: IndieWire
Padme Amidala famously used decoys to impersonate her. But while Sabé, who pretended to be Queen of Naboo during the invasion by the Trade Federation, lived on and even found out the true identity of Darth Vader, poor Cordé died in the explosion set up by bounty hunter Zam Wessel on a landing platform on Coruscant.
But the two handmaidens weren’t the only ones who acted as doppelgangers for important political figures. Especially, the former Expanded Universe featured several stories that included decoys and stand-ins either to deceive foes or to protect a character.
Even Leia Organa used a droid replica, aptly named Leia Organa II, in two books of the young reader novel series Adventures of a Jedi Prince.
But aside from Sabé and Cordé, the current Star Wars canon only features one other appearance of a double, and strangely enough, it is Emperor Palpatine:
The 2015 Star Wars Annual comic, written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Angel Unzueta, tells the story of the rebel spy Eneb Ray, who is stationed on Coruscant. Using the alias Tharius Demo, he is a member of the Imperial bureaucracy, unaware of how many other spies for the Alliance are on the planet. When he receives a mission from Princess Leia to extract anti-imperial senators from the prison complex Arrth-Eno, he is hesitant at first, but ultimately takes the job.
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Image Source: Marvel Comics
When he infiltrates the building, he not only finds out that one of the wardens is also a rebel spy, but also that Emperor Palpatine is set to visit Arrth-Eno to witness the execution of the senators.
When the Emperor arrives, Ray actually manages to shoot him, only to learn a few moments later that the man he killed was just a decoy, when the real Palpatine arrives. Ray tries to get another shot, but stands no chance against the Force Lightning of the Sith. He barely survives only to witness the Empire blowing up the whole prison, framing it as a cruel terrorist attack by the Rebel Alliance as part of Imperial propaganda.
Technically, this wasn’t the first appearance of a Palpatine double. The 2010 hardcover book Galaxy of Intrigue, published as a supplement to the Star Wars Roleplaying Game Saga Edition Core Rulebook, includes a mini adventure called “Opportunity Knocks” where a Palpatine doppelganger is sent to the planet Duro seemingly to negotiate a contract for new ships for the Empire. In reality, the mission is just a trap for the Rebel Alliance.
Image Source: Marvel Comics
Even when counting “Opportunity Knocks”, which is no longer canon, this still raises the question of why there are only two stories that feature a double of Palpatine. As one of the most hated figures in the galaxy, one would assume that it would be very convenient to have a group of stand-ins who were sent out whenever there might be the risk of an attack on the Emperor.
From an in-universe point of view, Palpatine ceased to be a public figure after the declaration of the Empire. Even the preface of the novelization of Star Wars includes a passage stating that he hid away from the populace of the galaxy after the fall of the Republic. Only very few members of his innermost circle were actually able to speak with him in person, and he had personally selected every one of these people and ensured that they were trustworthy either because of loyalty or fear.
Image Source: Wookieepedia
So, Palpatine gave his enemies very few opportunities to make an attack on his life, thus hardly requiring a stand-in who could take a blaster bolt for him.
Secondly, and more obviously, Palpatine was a Sith Lord. As such, he was very well capable of not only sensing any danger for his life in advance, but also to deal with anyone who was brave (or rather foolish) enough to try to attack the Emperor. Even when Luke Skywalker, whom he regarded as the biggest threat to the Empire, was brought onto the second Death Star, it was Palpatine himself who was present in the throne room to witness not only the defeat of the rebel fleet, but either Skywalker’s death by the sword of Darth Vader or Luke killing Vader and becoming his new apprentice. Had Luke actually tried to kill Palpatine after defeating Vader, the Emperor wouldn’t have hesitated to kill young Skywalker, without being worried that Luke might be able to kill him.
Image Source: Cinemablend
Which brings us to the third reason: Palpatine was a master tactician, always at least one step ahead of his enemies. The destruction of Arrth-Eno was planned all along, no matter if Ray managed to kill Palapatine’s double or not. He was well aware that the rebels would not let the chance pass to rescue the senators and make an attack on his life. As Leia’s intel about the prison was rather detailed, it is very plausible that Palpatine let the data purposely get out and also spread the info about his visit to the prison to set a trap for the rebels.
From an out-of-universe point of view, a story of a successful attack on Palpatine can only work so many times, and obviously, there can’t be an “OMG, they killed Palpatine” moment. While Darth Vader was beaten in the Kenobi series and also in the Marvel comics, Palpatine has always been set up as a know-it-all, can-it-all character, who is more or less undefeatable. And the rebels falling for a Palpatine double trap again and again would get boring rather sooner than later. And the main intention of the story from the Annual comic was not to imply that the rebels actually killed the Emperor, but to show that Palpatine was once more prepared for anything the rebels could throw at him and that, whatever the outcome, he would use it as a propaganda means against the Rebel Alliance. And in this sense, the story works very well.
Image Source: Marvel Comics
One way another story of a Palpatine doppelganger could work is if the rebels actually used a double of Palpatine for their own purpose, either to confuse the Imperial bureaucracy or military, or for the “Emperor” to tell the truth about the intentions of the Empire via holonet.
But, as Palpatine said after Ray killed his double: “A good decoy is hard to find.
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Source: Gillen, Unzueta: Star Wars Annual 1
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