Why Mother Talzin Was More Powerful Than Palpatine

Star Wars

Feb 13

Panel from Son of Dathomir comic — Image Source: Reddit

Palpatine wasn’t the dark side’s strongest Force user. Mother Talzin had abilities he could only dream of, and it took everything the Sith had to bring down the leader of the Nightsisters.

Was Mother Talzin Really Stronger In The Force?

Palpatine’s main assets were his abilities to see into the future and manipulate. The Nightsisters were able to do both of these; however, Mother Talzin had many abilities that generations of Sith had desperately tried to achieve, as well as a few abilities that were beyond them. The ichor used by the Nightsisters could conjure physical objects from the spirit realm, including weapons, something never managed by the Sith. Talzin could also make her assassins invisible, an ability we have never seen a Jedi or Sith perform. With a lock of Count Dooku’s hair, Mother Talzin also inflicted injuries on him from a distance, something that Palpatine also couldn’t do.

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After the events of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Talzin was able to repair Darth Maul’s mind and body, whereas Palpatine couldn’t do the same for Anakin after he was injured on Mustafar. Talzin was even able to permanently strengthen Savage Opress and give him better fighting abilities with a single spell. Her Force healing abilities were certainly better than Palpatine’s.

Talzin used a spirit version of herself to communicate across the galaxy, and she survived in this state long after she’d been weakened. With a little help from the Nightsisters and a ritual sucking the life force from Dooku, she was able to come back to life with full powers and no side effects. This is sure proof that Talzin exceeded Palpatine in raw Force ability. Entire plot lines of the later movies and The Bad Batch were about Palpatine’s search to achieve what the Nightsisters had already mastered. One of the older Nightsisters (Old Daka) was able to make a full zombie army, so Talzin’s regeneration ability could have strengthened further as she aged.

After Palpatine ‘died’ in Return of the Jedi, his resurrection needed vast resources. And despite all the planning, research done at Mount Tantiss, the Sith Lord still only managed to create a weaker, sickly version. His best effort involved crossing his fingers that his clone had a force sensitive kid (because he could only make it work with his DNA) and hoping she let him possess her body.

Cunning And Logistics.

Talzin with ichor blade from The Clone Wars — Image Source: Wookieepedia

Much of Palpatine’s power comes from his ability to plot, and use take advantage of resources. But Mother Talzin could do this just as well. In episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, she frequently played the Jedi, The Sith, and the Separatists against each other.

The Nightsister ethos doesn’t involve surrendering to the dark side of the Force, like the Sith do. This meant that Mother Talzin was always in control of herself when making decisions, and never overcome by rage or jealousy or any other emotion. Palpatine often decided to kill people on a whim because he felt jealous or threatened, and it would come back to bite him later. Asajj Ventress and Darth Maul both became his enemy (And both ended up being persuaded to return to Dathomir) as a result. Talzin acted calmer, and despite being just as manipulative, she inspired greater loyalty. At no point did the Nightsisters ever seek to replace her as leader, where as Palpatine was constantly under threat.

Because of Palpatine’s position, he did have access to an unlimited number of clone troopers and droids (the Separatists under Dooku), but he did have restrictions on accessing these until he took over as Emperor.

Talzin had a whole tribe of force-users to work with who were all loyal to her. The downside was that she had smaller numbers, and in the end, overwhelming her wasn’t too difficult.

Didn’t Palpatine Kill Talzin?

Panel from Son of Dathomir — Image Source: Wookieepedia

General Grievous ran her through, during the Second Battle of Dathomir in the comic Son of Dathomir. Mother Talzin had kidnapped Count Dooku, and was planning on killing him. Palpatine didn’t send one of his lackies or dupe a Jedi into rescuing him, as per the Sith Lord’s usual modus operandi. He knew that Talzin was a threat that needed to be squashed, so he arrived with General Grievous and the entire Separatist Fleet.

Talzin didn’t go quietly. Although her son Maul was present, she did most of the fighting, which was quite a feat; she was against Count Dooku, (who was able to beat Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker single handedly), General Grievous (who came close to killing Obi-Wan Kenobi), and Palpatine (who killed Mace Windu and beat Yoda).

If she’d faced Darth Sidious one-on-one, it might have been a different outcome. She held off his force lightning, something we’ve only seen from the likes of Yoda. If you look at the times Palpatine has been pushed to the limit, it’s always by people that can stand up to his lightning and telekinesis abilities. Talzin could throw up shields and move objects with her magic. If Palpatine had faced her alone, he would have had a bad time.

More importantly, in this fight, Mother Talzin possessed Count Dooku and wielded him like a puppet to fight Grievous and Sidious. Palpatine never managed this, not with this level of control and not with someone not related to him. Talzin’s knowledge of lightsaber techniques was lacking, so if she’d had some training, she could have made better use of her time in Dooku’s head. Talzin kept fighting, using the last of her power to force the injured Darth Maul to escape. Facing all three alone was just too much and Grievous struck the last blow.

To conclude, it’s undeniable that Talzin was stronger in the Force than Palpatine. However, he had the motivation to conquer the galaxy, whereas her priorities were Dathomir and family. Her final moments show her putting her son above herself, which Palpatine would never do. The Sith “Rule of Two” encourages them to be selfish and to put themselves first. There were times when this a weakness, but it was also ultimately Talzin’s undoing.

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