No character is more evil in Star Wars than Sheev Palpatine. Practically all of the evil that occurs in the original trilogy, prequel trilogy, and the stories that take place in between the two series can be traced back to Palpatine and his ruthless schemes to wield unlimited power.

As the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Palpatine was an inherently manipulative and selfish individual. At the end of the day, there is no one he cared about more than himself and everything he does goes back to his quest for ultimate power. Naturally, he made plenty of enemies on this journey, in particular select individuals who he couldn't stand and despised with every fiber of his being.

He couldn't do everything alone, though, and at times even he needed to rely on others. It is with these individuals that Palpatine formed close relationships, or at least as close as an individual like Palpatine can be with another person. The people he grew closest with were those who he entrusted his greatest secrets to, the ones he depended on for essential tasks. It was often in his nature to eventually betray these individuals -- especially those serving as an apprentice -- but that doesn't negate the fact that for a time, he was close to them in his own way.

Let the hate and anger of the dark side flow through you as we explore the 10 Star Wars Characters Emperor Palpatine Is Close To (And 10 He Can't Stand).

Close To: Grand Moff Tarkin

Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars A New Hope

Even when the Galactic Republic still existed, Palpatine was already grooming the leaders of what would one day become his precious Galactic Empire. Palpatine recognized that Wilhuff Tarkin was a brilliant strategist and he was not afraid to be ruthless. Palpatine helped Tarkin swiftly rise through the ranks of the Republic. In return, Tarkin helped Palpatine in many matters, such as preventing an investigation from Supreme Chancellor Valorum -- a move that undermined Valorum's leadership and brought Palpatine another step closer to replacing him as Supreme Chancellor.

This close relationship led to Palpatine promoting Tarkin to the position of Grand Moff, making him one of the most high ranking and powerful figures in the Empire. Much to the chagrin of Orson Krennic, Palpatine's trust also ensured that Tarkin was one of the central figures involved in creating the Death Star and later implementing it against an unprepared galaxy.

Can't Stand: Yoda

Yoda Using the Force in Star Wars Empire Strikes Back

Yoda was a constant thorn in Palpatine's side. The Jedi Order was always the greatest threat to Palpatine's ruthless schemes and Yoda was the most troublesome of all, as he was the wisest and most powerful of all the Jedi. Even after Palpatine's brilliant execution of Order 66, Yoda still found a way to survive and returned to Coruscant to confront Palpatine. While Yoda was unable to defeat Palpatine in combat, Yoda did survive their fight. He escaped and went into exile.

Most things seemed to go Palpatine's way in the coming years, however, as the Galactic Empire took firm control of the galaxy and the Jedi Order became relics of the past. Yet, Palpatine knew Yoda was still out there somewhere, knowledge that frequently unsettled Palpatine since his work to exterminate the Jedi Order remained unfinished.

Close To: Mas Amedda

Star Wars: Mas Amedda

Some fans might just think of Mas Amedda as the blue guy who stood next to Palpatine throughout the prequel trilogy. Mas Amedda was actually far more than this, though, as he became aware that Palpatine was Darth Sidious and became integral in helping Palpatine form the Galactic Empire. He manipulated Jar Jar Binks -- while representing Naboo in Senator Amidala's absence -- into granting Chancellor Palpatine Emergency Powers.

In the earliest days of the Death Star project during the Clone Wars, Amedda helped oversee the project and put Orson Krennic in the pivotal role of making the superweapon a reality. He also stood by Palpatine after the Galactic Empire was officially formed. Palpatine made Mas Amedda his Grand Vizier. Amedda chaired the Imperial Ruling Council and carried out Palpatine's wishes on a bureaucratic level, especially as Palpatine became less and less of a public figure over the years.

Can't Stand: Mother Talzin

Mother Talzin in Star Wars the Clone Wars surrounded by a green haze

As one of the few individuals Palpatine ever feared, Mother Talzin was a rare individual. Since she was the leader of the Nightsisters -- a group of Force-sensitive witches on the planet Dathomir -- Palpatine recognized the danger of her formidable and mysterious powers. He even considered making Talzin his first apprentice, but instead abducted her son Maul to be his apprentice.

From this moment on, Talzin despised Palpatine and planned to enact revenge. Throughout the Clone Wars, Talzin worked tirelessly to destroy Palpatine. Recognizing that she'd grown far too powerful and become a serious threat to his plans, Palpatine concocted a plan in which he'd draw Talzin out and defeat her once and for all. In the Son of Dathomir comics, Palpatine worked with Count Dooku and General Grievous to free Maul from captivity, which brought Talzin out into the open. Palpatine let Maul escape so he could destroy Talzin.

Close To: Darth Plagueis

Darth Plagueis wields his lightsaber in Star Wars Legends.

Palpatine may have taken the life of his master in the famous Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, but he was quite close with his teacher before that monstrous betrayal. They were close enough that Plagueis taught Palpatine everything he knew, the two of them forming plans to replace the Republic with a Sith Empire, all the while trying to uncover the secrets of immortality.

Even though Palpatine was responsible for the demise of Plagueis, in his own way, Palpatine revered his master. He respected and ired Plagueis for his ambition and the invaluable knowledge and power he'd ed down. For a Sith and individual as selfish as Palpatine, his training and feelings toward Plagueis may actually be the closest he ever was with anyone, twisted as it may be.

Can't Stand: Mon Mothma

Star Wars Rebels - Senator Mon Mothma with her hand on her heart

Palpatine had plenty of reason to despise Mon Mothma since she was the leader of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, more commonly known as the Rebellion. What particularly alarmed Palpatine was how Mon Mothma left the Senate and publicly denounced him to the entire galaxy. For close to two decades, Palpatine and his Empire had ruled the galaxy with an iron fist, the Senate acting as little more than a facade of democracy in a ruthless dictatorship.

Mon Mothma had the audacity to challenge that status quo when she abandoned that Senate and publicly decried Palpatine for what he really was, which was a bold move that led to the official formation of the Rebellion. She proved that Palpatine wasn't untouchable and action could be taken to take a stand against him in the fight to restore justice to the galaxy.

Close To: Grand iral Thrawn

Thrawn as he was seen on the cover of his Star Wars novel.

Emperor Palpatine's original interest in Thrawn related to the Unknown Regions. Palpatine grew increasingly obsessed with the Unknown Regions and felt that Thrawn was crucial to exploring that part of space and combating the threats that lurked there. Over time, Thrawn became far more than that to Palpatine, though. Thrawn's tactical brilliance allowed him to rise through the Imperial ranks at a remarkable pace. Palpatine was particularly impressed by how Thrawn squashed revolts against the Empire, which led to the Emperor granting Thrawn the rank of Grand iral.

As he grew to trust Thrawn further, Palpatine gave him increasingly important assignments, such as working with Darth Vader in the novel Thrawn: Alliances, destroying the Rebellion's secret base on the planet Atollon, and capturing Ezra Bridger in one last attempt for Palpatine to gain access to the coveted world between worlds.

Can't Stand: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan and Anakin Farewell

Palpatine couldn't stand Obi-Wan Kenobi since he was a positive force in the life of Anakin Skywalker, an individual Palpatine was working so hard to turn to the dark side and make his new apprentice. Even after Anakin turned to the dark side, became Darth Vader, and the Jedi Order was nearly wiped out by Order 66, Obi-Wan continued to ruin Palpatine's plans. Obi-Wan managed to not only survive Order 66, but also confront Anakin in a duel where he severed most of Anakin's limbs and served the newly anointed Darth Vader a humiliating defeat.

Obi-Wan continued to haunt Palpatine for nearly two decades as his survival not only meant that the Jedi Order lived on, but also that someone who could defeat Darth Vader still lived.

Close To: Darth Maul

Darth Sidious sends Darth Maul on a mission to Tatooine in The Phantom Menace.

While Palpatine and Maul eventually became enemies, at one point, they were quite close. Palpatine took Maul as a child. For many years, he trained Maul and molded him into becoming his Sith apprentice. In a sense, Palpatine raised Maul and entrusted a great deal of knowledge to him.

Maul was aware of intimate details in his master's plans, even things that were years away from happening like the Clone Wars. As part of his plan to become Supreme Chancellor, Palpatine unleashed Maul in The Phantom Menace, revealing to the Jedi that the Sith were not extinct. Palpatine and the Jedi believed that Maul perished at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo. Maul miraculously survived and reclaimed power years later, even building a criminal empire during the Clone Wars. Palpatine had moved beyond Maul, though, and his former apprentice was now just an enemy, one that Palpatine even used as a pawn to destroy Maul's mother.

Can't Stand: Ahsoka Tano

Ahsoka Tano in Rebels

During the Clone Wars, Palpatine was already taking many steps to push Anakin Skywalker towards the dark side. As an apprentice of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano unintentionally impeded Palpatine at times since her character and relationship with Anakin pushed him to become a better person. Yoda knew he was helping both Anakin and Ahsoka when he paired them together, but unfortunately, even she wasn't enough to prevent Anakin's ultimate fall to the dark side.

Even years later, when Anakin had been Darth Vader for quite some time and Palpatine had a firm hold over the galaxy, Ahsoka proved to be a major impediment to his plans yet again. As shown in season 4 of Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka played an active role in preventing Palpatine from controlling the world between worlds, a mystical plane connected to all time and space. Palpatine likely would've become truly invincible if he'd come to control the world between worlds.