When Emperor Palpatine finally appeared at the finale of George Lucas’s original Star Wars Trilogy, he was a figure shrouded in mystery. He controlled the entire governing body and with it, every star system in the galaxy. His Empire had usurped the Republic and the Galactic Senate as the ultimate source of authority, and used its vast military to enforce its doctrines and maintain civil order. The Empire’s might was great. The Emperor’s might seemed less certain, for here was a weathered old man with ashen skin, and yellowed eyes who walked with a cane by the time of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.