Palpatine (Darth Sidious) — Star Wars The Black Series #11
The Black Series Emperor Palpatine — Blue Wave #11, 2015. Return of the Jedi configuration with soft-goods robe, clasp, and cane. The first Black Series Emperor. Collector guide covering all three Palpatine releases and display recommendations.
Overview
Blue Wave #11 brings Emperor Palpatine — Darth Sidious — to the Black Series for the first time. The ROTJ configuration covers his throne room appearance: the hooded black robe, the clawed hands, the cane that gives him his measured pace across the Death Star II floor. Three accessories and 18 joints — modest counts that reflect the specific display requirements of a character who stands still and radiates menace rather than one who fights or carries heavy hardware.
The soft-goods robe is the figure’s defining engineering decision. Unlike Darth Vader’s permanently-attached soft-goods in Blue Wave #02, Palpatine’s robe is a separate piece that drapes over the figure and clasps at the front — removable in principle, though in practice displaying Palpatine without his robe removes most of what makes him visually recognisable. The hood falls naturally over the head when the robe is positioned correctly, creating the specific hunched silhouette that defines his ROTJ appearance. MSRP $19.99. ASIN B00RI3H3OI.
The Character and Scene Context
Sheev Palpatine — Darth Sidious — spent approximately thirty years executing the most audacious political conspiracy in galactic history: engineering the Clone Wars as both the Republic’s Supreme Chancellor and the Separatists’ Sith master, manipulating both sides toward the outcome he’d planned from the beginning. The destruction of the Jedi Order. The transformation of the Republic into the Empire. The elevation of Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice.
By Return of the Jedi he is the Emperor — absolute ruler of the galaxy, confident enough in his position to let Luke Skywalker come to him on the Death Star II rather than pursuing him. His plan for Luke is simple: either Luke destroys Vader and replaces him as Palpatine’s apprentice, or Vader destroys Luke and remains useful. The Emperor doesn’t lose in this calculation. Except he does, because his calculation doesn’t account for the possibility that Vader has a choice he might actually make.
The ROTJ throne room is the configuration this figure captures — the seated Emperor on his command chair, the moment of Force lightning against Luke, and the moment when his certainty that Vader would never turn against him proves wrong. The cane, the robe, the hooded face: this is Palpatine at his most arrogant, in the throne room where he expects to watch Luke die.
Accessories
Three accessories: a soft-goods black robe with hood, a clasp that holds the robe closed at the front, and a cane.
The robe fits over the figure without feeling bulky — Hasbro engineered the drape carefully so it reads as actual fabric rather than a costume piece. The clasp holds it together at the front collar. The hood positions naturally over the head with minor adjustment. The cane fits both hands and is essential for the correct seated or standing throne room pose — the Emperor’s measured pace with the cane is one of his most characteristic visual elements.
The figure’s 18-point articulation is shaped entirely around display rather than action poses: ball-jointed neck, swivel neck, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel biceps, double-swivel hinged elbows, swivel-hinged wrists, ball-jointed waist, barbell-jointed hip, swivel thighs, double-swivel-hinged knees, rocker ankles. The elbow and knee engineering is surprisingly sophisticated for a character who doesn’t need dynamic action poses, but it does enable the slightly hunched Force-lightning-channelling stance that is Palpatine’s most iconic combat configuration.
Sculpt and Portrait
The Ian McDiarmid likeness is pre-Photo Real and reads as an approximation at close range. Palpatine’s specific features — the pronounced orbital ridges of the Sith-corrupted face, the pale skin, the yellowed eyes — are present in sculpted form but the hand-applied paint doesn’t capture them with the specificity that Photo Real printing later achieved. For display at shelf distance, particularly with the hood positioned over the head in the classic hunched throne room pose, the portrait is sufficient.
The 2023 Galaxy Collection 40th Anniversary ROTJ The Emperor and the 2024 Galaxy Collection ROTS Darth Sidious both use Photo Real technology for significantly improved likeness accuracy.
All Black Series Palpatine Releases
Three releases cover the Emperor across two configurations. This Blue Wave #11 is the ROTJ robed Emperor. The Emperor (2023) from the 40th Anniversary ROTJ wave covers the same throne room configuration with Photo Real quality in Kenner cardback packaging. Darth Sidious (2024) from the Galaxy Collection ROTS sub-line covers the prequel Sith Lord configuration with senatorial robes and Sith eyes — a completely different look representing a different era.
Display Recommendations
The Death Star II throne room display pairs Palpatine with Darth Vader (P2-02) and Luke Skywalker Jedi Knight (P2-03) from this wave for a fully consistent Blue Wave production quality throne room display. Alternatively, pair with Photo Real era figures for the modern recommendation — see the Throne Room Duel scene guide.
For Force lightning display poses: the double-swivel-hinged elbow articulation enables extended arms with slightly curved fingers in the lightning-channelling position. The hood positioned well over the head in this pose creates the specific visual that defines the throne room confrontation.
Secondary Market
The Blue Wave Emperor Palpatine is available at modest secondary market prices. The 2023 and 2024 Galaxy Collection updates limit demand from display-quality collectors to Blue Wave completionists. No significant production variants documented.
Verdict
The 40th Anniversary ROTJ The Emperor (2023) is the display recommendation for the ROTJ throne room configuration with Photo Real quality.
Buy the Blue Wave #11 for: completing the Blue Wave numbered sequence; a consistent Blue Wave era throne room display alongside the Darth Vader and Luke from this wave; or budget-conscious collectors where the soft-goods robe engineering holds up reasonably well despite the pre-Photo Real portrait.
The Blue Wave Emperor Palpatine is also noteworthy for completing the Blue Wave’s ROTJ throne room trio alongside Darth Vader #02 and Luke Skywalker Jedi Knight #03 — all three figures from the same production wave, all three ROTJ-configuration, all three available at modest secondary market prices for a consistently-produced throne room display without cross-era quality mixing.
Product codes: ASIN B00RI3H3OI
Part of Star Wars The Black Series | Blue Wave. Related: Emperor Palpatine character page | Return of the Jedi | Throne Room Duel scene | Sith faction.