A Passage of Palpatine’s Manipulation in the Comics (Canon)

We tend to think of Palpatine’s manipulation of Anakin in Revenge of the Sith as the big moment — the final move that dragged him to the dark side. But did you know Palpatine was already working on Anakin years earlier, back when he was still just a young Padawan?

In the Obi-Wan & Anakin comic series, which takes place only a few years after The Phantom Menace, we see exactly that. Palpatine is still “Chancellor,” Anakin is still a boy struggling to figure out where he belongs — and in a quiet moment between them, Palpatine begins planting seeds. Seeds of doubt, pride, and temptation. It isn’t loud or dramatic, but subtle and calculated. And that’s what makes it so chilling: it shows just how long Palpatine had been grooming Anakin, setting the stage for the fall of the Jedi.

When Palpatine First Recognized Anakin’s Potential

Before we get to the actual moment where Palpatine tries to sink his claws into young Anakin, the story sets up why the Chancellor was so interested in him in the first place.

In the first issue of Obi-Wan & Anakin, we see a lightsaber training session inside the Jedi Temple. Watching from the side are Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, and none other than Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin steps into the ring against a combat droid. But this isn’t just any droid—it’s been programmed with a holographic disguise to look exactly like Darth Maul, complete with a double-bladed lightsaber.

The fight begins, and Anakin doesn’t just hold his own—he dominates. He dodges the droid’s attacks, then leaps clean over its head and slices it in half mid-air. Palpatine, clearly impressed, mutters a single word: “Impressive.”

But the real test comes a moment later. Outside the ring, a few Padawans are watching. Two of them mock Anakin, sneering “just a slave.” Instead of ignoring them, Anakin lashes out. He uses the Force to levitate two lightsabers, ignites them, and points the humming blades right at the boys. It’s only when Obi-Wan steps in and tells him to stop that the situation cools down.

Most Jedi would’ve seen that moment as a troubling sign of instability. Palpatine, of course, saw the opposite. He saw potential. Afterward, he leans toward Mace Windu and says, “It seems young Skywalker’s training is far from complete.” He then goes a step further, demanding that Anakin be sent to his office so he can “help him control his emotions.”

At first, Windu pushes back. Anakin is Obi-Wan’s responsibility, and the Council alone should guide his training. But Palpatine pulls rank in the most political way possible: “Why, young Skywalker is a Jedi, is he not? The Jedi are under the Senate’s jurisdiction. And as I am the Chancellor of the Senate…”

Cornered, Mace can only nod: “Of course, Chancellor.”

And just like that, Palpatine got his opening.

Palpatine Trying to Push Anakin to the Darkside

In the next scene, we see just how early Palpatine began weaving his influence. During a training session at the Jedi Temple, young Anakin struggles to calm a beast called a Mott, while Obi-Wan reminds him that patience is the only path to control. But before Anakin can try again, Obi-Wan interrupts to tell him he has an appointment with the Supreme Chancellor.

When the two arrive at Palpatine’s office, the Chancellor warmly greets Anakin, thanking him for taking time away from his Jedi training. Obi-Wan, ever cautious, asks if there’s a mission for them both, but Palpatine makes it clear he only wants Anakin to accompany him on a personal errand. Obi-Wan tries to step in, offering to go in Anakin’s place, but Palpatine reassures him that Anakin will be in safe hands and back before Kenobi would even realize he was gone. Reluctantly, Obi-Wan agrees.

Palpatine then cloaks himself in disguise and takes Anakin down into the depths of Coruscant’s underworld. He instructs Anakin to pull his hood up to avoid recognition. Anakin, wary, asks why they are visiting such a dangerous place. Palpatine plays on his curiosity, claiming it is his duty to come down here. Unlike Chancellor Valorum, who ignored the underworld, Palpatine insists that it is the darkness that most requires light. He even remarks that he envies Anakin’s life as a Jedi — free from political distractions.

Eventually, Palpatine brings Anakin into a cantina called Club Kasakar. There, he explains that anything can be procured — even sentient lives. He apologizes for mentioning slavery, but Anakin replies that he doesn’t think about it anymore. When Anakin asks why the Senate doesn’t do anything about slave trafficking, Palpatine points out the bitter truth: the cantina is full of senators themselves.

Palpatine singles out one in particular, Senator Colandrus of the Suntilla system, describing him as a man corrupted by greed and bribes, enslaved by his own impulses. As Colandrus gambles with chance cubes, Palpatine muses aloud that he wishes the cubes would turn against him. And, as if on cue, Colandrus loses money in the roll. Palpatine bursts out laughing, drawing attention to himself.

Colandrus and his thug approach, suspicious, but Palpatine quickly weaves a cover story, pretending that his “son” had told him a joke. He calmly counsels Anakin not to fight back, diffusing the situation without ever revealing who they really are. The two men let them go, and Palpatine and Anakin step back into the shadows of the underworld.

As they leave, Palpatine turns to Anakin and asks him a question that cuts right to the core of his manipulation: could Anakin’s Jedi abilities be used to move something as simple as a chance cube? It’s a quiet but deliberate moment — Palpatine prodding at Anakin’s connection to the Force, tempting him to think about power in ways that stray from Jedi teachings.

Why Palpatine Brought Anakin to the Underworld

On the surface, Palpatine framed his little “errand” as nothing more than civic duty. He claimed he went down into the shadows of Coruscant to see the galaxy’s darkness up close, to remind himself that it was here, not in the polished halls of the Senate, where the Republic was failing its people. But beneath the disguise and polite words, his real purpose was far more sinister.

At this point in the story, we also learn something crucial: Anakin was already questioning his place in the Jedi. Still young and restless, he even considered leaving the Order altogether, convinced that neither the Jedi nor the Republic truly lived up to their ideals. Palpatine saw this uncertainty for what it was — an opening. If Anakin really did walk away from the Jedi, Palpatine wanted to be the one waiting for him, ready to guide and shape him from the very start.

So he pulled the strings. He brought Anakin into a world the Jedi would never expose him to. The Jedi Temple taught restraint, detachment, and obedience; Palpatine instead offered temptation, corruption, and curiosity. By leading the boy through the underworld — past bound prisoners, slavers, and corrupt senators tossing credits at chance cubes — Palpatine wasn’t just giving Anakin a tour. He was planting seeds.

He showed Anakin that the Senate itself was rotten, that those in power not only tolerated corruption but thrived in it. He poked at Anakin’s past as a slave, stirring wounds the Jedi told him to bury. And finally, by asking if Anakin could use his powers on something as small as a chance cube, Palpatine dangled the idea that the Force wasn’t just about peace or defense — it could be about control, even bending fate itself.

In short, Palpatine brought Anakin to the underworld to loosen the grip of the Jedi Code. Away from Obi-Wan’s watchful eyes, he could feed Anakin just enough poison to make him question his masters and feel the pull of the darker path waiting ahead.