Warning! This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #34 Emperor Palpatine is one of, if not the most powerful Force user in Star Wars history. Sure, he’s been beaten in the past, but in terms of knowledge in the Force, willingness to give himself fully to the Dark Side, and sheer strength/powerful abilities, there’s almost no one who can match him. But now, there’s perhaps one more person than fans originally thought who can take him down, as Star Wars hints that one minor original trilogy villain could beat Palpatine.
Sheev Palpatine aka Darth Sidious aka the Emperor was the apprentice of Sith Lord Darth Plagueis who murdered his master after Plagueis taught Sheev everything he knew. Palpatine used that dark knowledge to insert himself into politics, quickly becoming the elected Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Sidious then orchestrated the events of the Clone Wars in order to force the galaxy into a state of fear, pushing everyone more inclined to vote for the granting of emergency powers to the Chancellor, effectively making him a ‘temporary’ dictator. Meanwhile, Palpatine slowly created his new apprentice, Darth Vader, following the many years he spent grooming Anakin Skywalker. When the time came for Order 66, Palpatine was ready to put his plan into action, pushing over the proverbial dominos to eliminate the Jedi and take over the galaxy in one fell swoop. But, even with all his brilliance and the Dark Side power it took to make his plan happen, even Palpatine isn’t immune to simply getting his throat torn out by a bounty hunter, and one in particular just proved they’re the one for the job: Bossk.
Bossk Could Kill the Emperor (Because of His Secret Immunity)
In Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #34 by Ethan Sacks and Paolo Villanelli, Bossk and his crew of bounty hunters are attacked by a gang of Imperial-backed mercenaries who are there to wipe the memory of Bossk’s cyborg ally, Valance. During the attack, Bossk was shocked with a level of voltage that can “knock out a Brezak”. A Brezak is a giant lizard roughly ten meters long and nine meters tall, and are tough enough to have been ridden into battle during the Clone Wars. So, the fact that Bossk can take that level of voltage without even feeling it means he can withstand an absolutely incredible amount of electricity–making him all but immune to Palptaine’s Force Lightning attack.
This immunity is insanely impressive, especially since it’s one that surpasses the might of even Darth Vader. Vader is incredibly susceptible to electrical attacks due to his cybernetic circuitry, so much so that he’s even been downed by Palpatine’s guards and their shock sticks. Bossk, on the other hand, would barely feel those attacks, which is interesting given his villainous role in The Empire Strikes Back. Bossk was one of the bounty hunters called before Vader to find Luke Skywalker, and in Empire, Darth Vader wanted to team up with Luke to take down the Emperor. Could Bossk have been a part of that plan if Luke did decide to join Vader? Impossible to know. But what is almost certain is that Bossk could have been a great asset.
Palpatine’s favorite attack is Force Lightning–mostly because he just enjoys that one the most–which means that it would be the attack he’d most likely used if Bossk decided to (or was hired to) kill him. If Palpatine shot Bossk with his lightning as the bounty hunter was charging full-speed at him, this Star Wars issue indicates that it’s more than likely Bossk would be able to get close enough to Palpatine to deliver the killing slash before the lightning started to weaken the bounty hunter. In other words, Star Wars just hinted that Bossk, a minor original trilogy villain, could actually beat Emperor Palpatine.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #34 by Marvel Comics is available now.
