Summary

• Palpatine craved the power of the Star Wars cult, the Final Occultation, as it was channeled from an alternate dimension called the Netherworld, and offered untold power in the form of true 'chaos'.
• If Palpatine weaponized the 'chaos' energy from the Netherworld, he'd have a weapon that would make the Death Star look like a toy.
• The Emperor could have actually been victorious in The Rise of Skywalker with the Final Occultation's power, since his goal in that film was to decimate the galaxy, and the Netherworld's chaos would have done that in spades.

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red #1! The Death Star was Star Wars, as it held the power to destroy entire planets with a single blast, and acted as the physical manifestation of the Empire’s unyielding power in the galaxy. However, as dangerous as the Death Star was (before it was destroyed, of course), it pales in comparison to the weapon Palpatine actually wanted to use to bring the galaxy to its knees.

In Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red #1 by Benjamin Percy and Stefano Raffaele, Darth Sidious sends his apprentice, Darth Maul, to intercept a prisoner-transport ship carrying three inmates with access to interdimensional power that Palpatine initially described as ‘dark magic’. These prisoners were the three leaders of the Star Wars cult, the Final Occultation, and they found a way to pull ‘chaos’ (which is effectively the canon equivalent of the Anti-Force from Legends) from another dimension known as the Netherworld - and Palpatine wanted that power for himself.

Darth Maul realizes Palpatine wanted to get his hands on the Final Occultation’s power as he flies toward the prison vessel, as his mission is to take these prisoners alive upon . Plus, Maul also knows his master is not one to up any chance to make himself stronger by any means necessary - even if that means accessing power beyond the Force as a whole (dark side or otherwise). However, upon seeing this ‘chaos’ up close, Darth Maul makes the decision to kill every member of the Final Occultation in an attempt to eradicate this evil from the galaxy.

Even for a Sith like Darth Maul, the chaos wielded by the Final Occultation was too dark to be allowed to spread through the universe - a sentiment that would not have been shared by Emperor Palpatine.

Palpatine Nearly Destroyed the Star Wars Galaxy with the Final Occultation’s Netherworld ‘Chaos’

Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red takes place before the events of The Phantom Menace, meaning Palpatine was still a long way away from reorganizing the Republic into the Galactic Empire, let alone constructing the Death Star. That means, at this stage in his life, it is all-too possible that Palpatine was still tinkering with a number of potential options for how he would not only conquer the galaxy, but then retain that power. Fans now know that he settled on building the Death Star to achieve that end, but this comic presents him with another option.

If Darth Maul was successful in capturing at least one Final Occultation leader, then that person could have revealed to Palpatine how to access the Netherworld and channel this ‘Anti-Force chaos’ into the Star Wars galaxy. As this issue outwardly states, the chaos accessed by the Final Occultation - if released to its fullest extent - would have utterly decimated the entire universe, and screams would “echo throughout the galaxy”.

Palpatine would have assuredly believed he could control such power and try to weaponize it the same way he weaponized kyber crystals to create the Death Star, but it would have ended only in the galaxy’s horrific destruction.

Star Wars’ Netherworld ‘Chaos’ Could Have Re-Written the Ending of the Sequel Trilogy

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

While it’s possible Palpatine would have used the Final Occultation’s power instead of the Death Star should he have gained access to the Netherworld, it’s also possible that he still would have used the Death Star anyway. Palpatine was nothing if not incredibly intelligent, and upon seeing the universe-ending power of the Final Occultation, he may have simply learned and then cataloged that power for a ‘rainy day’ - like the one he endured in The Rise of Skywalker.

In The Rise of Skywalker, Palpatine wants to eradicate the entire galaxy before rebuilding his Empire from the ashes. He hopes to use Star Destroyers equipped with planet-killing cannons, but he’s ultimately thwarted. However, if Palpatine merely unleashed the full-might of the Netherworld’s chaos taught to him decades earlier by the Final Occultation, then he could have re-written the sequel trilogy’s ending - by winning.

No matter when Emperor Palpatine would have used the Final Occultation’s power had he learned it during the events of Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red, it’s clear the Netherworld’s ‘Anti-Force’ energy is the weapon he really wanted in his arsenal over the Death Star, as the level of horrific chaos that ‘weapon’ would have brought upon the Star Wars galaxy makes the Death Star look like a toy.

Star Wars: Darth Maul - Black, White & Red #1 by Marvel Comics is available now.

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