Why Does Force Lightning Deform Palpatine but Not Everyone Else?

We’ve seen Force lightning used many times in Star Wars, especially by powerful Sith like Count Dooku and Palpatine. 

But there’s one big difference—while Dooku’s face remains unaffected, Palpatine’s lightning deforms his face, leaving him visibly scarred. 

So why does the dark side’s lightning affect Palpatine so severely, but not Dooku? 

Here’s exactly why.

1. The Deeper Influence of the Dark Side on Palpatine

We all remember that iconic moment in Revenge of the Sith when Palpatine’s face becomes deformed during his duel with Mace Windu. 

If we compare this to Return of the Jedi, when Palpatine uses Force lightning on Luke, there’s a clear difference: Luke suffers but shows no lasting physical damage. So, why is this?

Lucasfilm Story Group’s Matt Martin suggests that Palpatine may have used a lower-intensity Force lightning on Luke, likely to prolong his pain rather than immediately kill him. 

Essentially, Palpatine seems to be toying with Luke, keeping the voltage lower as a form of torture.

On the other hand, Mace Windu’s encounter with Palpatine is a whole different story. In that moment, Palpatine probably saw Mace as a true threat—one who had the skill and strength to defeat him. So, he unleashed his “unlimited power” in full force. 

If you look at the scene, Mace is clearly straining to block it, unlike Yoda’s relatively easy deflection of Dooku’s lightning in Attack of the Clones. 

This unrestricted blast, however, is deflected right back onto Palpatine himself. 

As you can see, it’s this intense, self-inflicted power that leaves his face and body scarred and deformed.

2. Palpatine Reveals His True Sith Form After Gaining Anakin’s Loyalty

Ian McDiarmid, who brought Palpatine to life, explains that Palpatine’s disfigured appearance in Revenge of the Sith isn’t just the result of a physical injury but a reveal of his true, dark nature. 

According to McDiarmid, this transformation happens at a specific, “calculated” moment—right after Anakin chooses to side with him by helping kill Mace Windu. Palpatine no longer needs to hide behind the persona of a trustworthy politician; instead, he fully embraces his Sith identity.

McDiarmid describes Palpatine’s original, benign appearance as a “carapace” that concealed the evil beneath, like a mask. 

This hidden side of him, twisted and corrupted, had always been there, just hidden from view. 

In that critical moment with Anakin, Palpatine lets this mask fall, fully embodying his true self in a way that makes him look “very old and very evil”—an appearance not unlike that of a “Hyde” concealed within the guise of a more respectable “Jekyll.”

As McDiarmid says in Star Wars Insider #82: 

“Because the real Palpatine is the one who bursts forth at a calculated moment in Episode III just after persuading Anakin to kill Mace Windu. 

That is when the true person comes out, letting the evil fully manifest itself. The Emperor that you see in the last film looks like he does because he’s very old and very evil- it is what he always looked like. He just had this carapace of looking like a fairly ordinary guy, a politician that smiled a bit, and so on. 

I don’t think George had made up his mind when we started shooting whether to continually show Lord Sidious as he really is after his initial transformation or if Sidious would go back and forth with his appearance…the nice guy that you saw was revealed later in the monstrous mask as the self, the Sith self.” Later he says that, “in Episode 3, it’s more like Hyde in the guise of Jekyll”

3. Palpatine’s Hidden Face May Reveal Years of Dark Side Decay

So, if we go by Ian McDiarmid’s insights, it seems Palpatine’s face was likely disfigured long before Revenge of the Sith. 

Think about it—right at the pivotal moment when Anakin’s loyalty shifts, Palpatine finally reveals his true face, dropping the guise of a friendly politician.

The Clone Wars hints at this hidden deformity too. In certain scenes, like when he confronts Maul and Savage Opress, his face looks much closer to his appearance in Return of the Jedi.

Compared to his more controlled look in The Bad Batch, when he introduces the Stormtrooper program, it feels like something darker and more insidious was hiding beneath the surface all along. 

Perhaps the Force lightning incident didn’t actually create his deformity—it just unmasked the decay that had been lurking there the whole time.