During the attack on the second Death Star. Killed by Darth Vader
PREQUELS NOTE:There's no doubt here. Palpatine WILL appear in the prequels, all of them. But, there are still some points in the shadows. We all know that Palpatine was an Old Republic senator before he proclaimed himself Emperor. The most notorious rumor about Palpatine, says that he was the Senator of Naboo (the planet where Luke & Leia's mother, Padme, was a princess). The other thing we all know, is that Palpatine, someway, began instructing Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Dark Side. But: "someway"? How? There are a few rumors about this. The most "realistic" says that, being a senator of Naboo, he was very close to Padme, so when she married Anakin (in Episode II), Palpatine knew him and felt his great power. Some time later (Ep. II or III?), he drive Anakin to think that Padme was having an affair with Obi-Wan (that could be real or not...), and made Anakin fight Obi-Wan. We all know what happens later, Obi-Wan wins the duel with Anakin, and the later falls into a molten lava pit. Palpatine saves Anakin, and cures him with the Dark Side. Then both kills almost every Jedi, and Palpatine proclaims himself Emperor.
It's also said, that the Clone Wars (the huge battle between Jedis and Mandalorians that will take place in Episode II) was planned by Palpatine to debilitate the Republic.
When and how did Palpatine learn the ways of the Dark Side? When? who knows... how? It is said that Palpatine knows a Dark Lord Of The Sith, named Darth Maul, and some of his men. Maybe he learns from him. It's also said that Darth Maul helps Palpatine in his rise to the throne of Emperor... Now, let's think for a minute. We all know that there could be only ONE Dark Lord at a time, and that at the beginning of A New Hope, Vader had that title. So, somewhere in time, between Episode I and Episode IV (A New Hope) Darth Maul dies. I have never hear of Darth Maul having any power in the Empire (If he was Palpatine mentor, then he was probably stronger... Why didn't HE take the throne?), so I suppose he dies before Episode III. There are a lot of possibilities, but 2 are the most probable:
1.- He fights in the Cone Wars (or other confrontation with the Jedis) and is killed in the battle, probably by Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon Jinn... or even by Anakin Skywalker, when he still is a Light Jedi.
2.- He is killed by Palpatine and/or Anakin Skywalker (already a Dark Jedi, now known as Darth Vader), when Palpatine rises to power.
For more information about this and another 100 characters of the Star Wars Universe, I recommend you bought "The Essential Guide To Characters", by Andy Mangels. Click HERE to order it.
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