Theory: Just Why Did Palpatine's Form Change After Fighting Mace Windu?
Sheev Palpatine was born on Naboo 52 years before the events of The Phantom Menace with a strong connection to the Force. From a young age, the dark side of the Force had a powerful grasp on the young man. Growing up in politics, Sheev and his father Cosinga had differing points of view regarding Naboo. Darth Plagueis took notice of young Palpatine’s motivations and took him under his wing, secretly teaching him the ways of the Sith. Palpatine saw Plagueis as a father figure despite knowing he was being manipulated by the Sith Lord. Cosinga attempted to separate Sheev from Plagueis. This infuriated Sheev, who then murdered his entire family. Sheev Palpatine then started down the dark path as it was his destiny.
When The Phantom Menace came out, there was some speculation/confusion by some who were not sure if Senator Palpatine and Darth Sidious were the same person. A younger family member of mine was convinced they were two different people, while I thought his face was obscured enough by his hooded robe to hide the fact that maybe his face was “scarred and deformed” when he appeared as Sidious in The Phantom Menace. But, of course, now I know that to be inaccurate. Then, why did Palpatine’s form change after fighting Master Windu in Revenge of the Sith?
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Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is Sidious’s facial deformities happened when his Force lightning deflected off of Windu’s lightsaber back onto himself. Hold that thought. First, let’s think back to some examples of Force lightning on film and television. The first one was in Return of the Jedi. The Emperor pummeled Luke with Force lightning as Vader watched. Next, Dooku tossed Force lightning at Yoda in Attack of the Clones. Sidious also tortured Maul in The Clone Wars with Force lightning. Then, there was Sidious and Windu. Three out of those four examples resulted in no physical damage to the victim. Luke and Maul had minor smoking, and Yoda caught Dooku’s Force lighting in his hand without any harm at all. So why did Palpatine’s own lighting scar his face?
One theory is that when Sidious attacked Luke and Maul, he used lower voltage electricity. Perhaps he only wanted to show his victims he was in charge, sort of how a kidnapper will punish their prey without killing them. Sidious toyed with Maul in The Clone Wars. As powerful as Maul had become, he was no match for his former master. Perhaps, Dooku did not have the strength to do any real damage to Yoda. However, when faced with a formidable foe like Master Windu, Sidious was not holding back and thus unleashed the full power. Even after deflecting off of Windu’s lightsaber, the blast was powerful enough to do significant damage to Sidious’ face, revealing his true nature to the public.
Sidious’ new look played right into his hands. First, he manipulated the Senate and the citizens into believing the Jedi attempted to assassinate him, which of course, is true, but no one stopped to ask why. Another theory is that when Sidious’ Force lightning came back at him, it was somehow enhanced by Windu’s lightsaber, burning his face as a result. This theory is supported when Rey used two lightsabers to block Sidious’ Force lightning in The Rise of Skywalker. With Sidious’ renewed strength at hurling Force lightning coupled with two lightsabers tossing it back at him, there is no question a lightsaber can amplify the voltage of electricity.
It is not just Sidious’ face that was burned, his hands were also pale and scarred, as seen in Return of the Jedi. If someone gets electrocuted or burned, the damage does not travel from the affected area. This leads to another question. Was Palpatine’s body always deformed and he merelyrevealed his true appearance in Revenge of the Sith? He avoided detection from the Jedi for several decades, so this is also a possibility. For someone who murdered his entire family, and then tried to cheat death, nothing is out of the realm of possibility for Darth Sidious.
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Source(s): Wookieepedia