Why Palpatine Wanted Royal Guards Despite Not Needing Them (TooPowerful) - Star Wars Explained

[@klaykid117]

It actually does make a lot of sense for him to have guards even if he doesn't need them to directly fight for him they're good as very trusted shuttle pilots, They can check for bombs and places he's going to go, Make sure data security of his transmissions is on point and also they're good for dealing with any of "The little people" who get in his way. After all, Palpatine is incredibly powerful, but he's also a pretty busy guy. He's not going to go out and fight every would-be assassin. He's got employees for that

[@BIGJATPSU]

In layman terms, handle my light work. 😅😅

[@karlkrump6634]

Makes sense, that is essentially what virtually any 'secret service' does when not having to surround a leader when he is making a speech.

[@Black-White-BW1]

Indeed bro. You got a point.

[@seantaylor424]

Why did The Emperor have guards when he didn't need them? Because there's no such thing as, "I don't need a band of fiercely loyal fighters who can defeat blasters and Jedi without touching The Force," no matter who you are.

[@Black-White-BW1]

You got it! 😎

[@Shadow.24772]

+ nobody is omnipotent. many sith lords died to "lucky" assassinations. why not reduce the luck factor by having elite warrior guards at ones side?

[@seantaylor424]

​@@Shadow.24772Absolutely! Sidious wanted UN-LIM-IT-ED power, not "Almost All of the Power but with One or Two Blind-Sides."

[@Terra_Lopez]

Yes, well said! It's always good to have backups for your backups.

[@Unknown.Stranger]

Basically, appear weak when you are strong.

[@josephvisnovsky1462]

All warfare is based on deception.

[@lander77477]

right, like superman needing to disguise himself as clark kent

[@Unknown.Stranger]

@@lander77477 now I haven't actually watched superman movies, but I know who he is, and I think that he needed to disguise himself both to earn a living (sadly superheroes make no money) but also to protect those he cared about. Like Bruce Wayne in Batman. Platine surely didn't give a damn about anyone except himself

[@TikeWates]

Nailed it!!!

[@Unknown.Stranger]

@@TikeWates thanks pal! 😎

[@jeffreyherndon5259]

In a sense the Royal Guards were Secret Service agents, like what exists in real life.

[@Black-White-BW1]

Something like that yes.

[@JackGladstoneHolroyde]

Except that no matter what Fox news might say, Joe Boden can't shoot lightning from his fingers.

[@MrGamman3yt]

Or, no matter what Rach Mad Cow, Joyless R, Adm Shifty, etc, says, Dr.T won't do the same when he gets in either.

[@evanperkins294]

Mostly he would have the guards to continue the mask of an old man, and not a sith. If the public found out he was a sith. The public would think that he is part of the Jedi Order to take control. Which would cause problems for him.

[@abrahammendiola4446]

What I believe to as well if they knew that he wheeled the force you would for sure have multiple systems defecting Like he said in the movie Star wars EP 3 if the Jedi manages to stay alive after Anakin betrayed Mace windu it would be civil war without end if they don't kill the Jedi at the Temple.

[@frankdees507]

Actually, if the galaxy as well as the senate knew he was a Sith, suddenly the eliminating of the jedi and turning of the republic to the empire would’ve been clear for everyone to see. The rebellion would’ve grown much faster than it did.

[@vitorpereira9515]

The Imperial Royal Guard are deadly and Kir Kanos is a great example of how skilled they are. Furthemore i play Star Wars the force unleashed and the Emperor's Shadow Guard are tough enemies to beat. They are stronger than the weak Inquisitors of Disney. "The Emperor's mute servants. Ruthless Force-wielding warriors. Some say they are Jedi Knights, captured and tortured by the Emperor, their minds so broken they can't even talk. But not even Darth Vader knows who they really are." -Proxy

[@Ravenfanatic5]

I remember playing Force Unleashed 1 and 2. Those were the good ole days. Those guards were definitely difficult to deal with

[@QuantaSolace]

The Kir Kanos comic was one of my favorites. I remember checking it out from the library every time it was available.

[@ukaszek7469]

I think fom cutscenes that Imperial Shadow Guards from ps2 version are more brutal like Batman from Dark Knight when he hit Joker’s head on table. That’s how they attack Starkiller and he doesn’t expected that. I always thought that these with robes version are in official missions and those with armor are for battle missions.

[@HyugaBlood881]

Weren't the shadow guards the lowest rank of force user in the empire in legends? Below the inquisiters in rank?

[@ukaszek7469]

In SWTFU , there is a information that the Shadow Guards are highly brain washed. They didn’t talk, didn’t feel fear. They are much worse than Inquisitors which they didn’t used force lighting stun.

[@mikeydthatsme8488]

It just looks bad ass having gaurds

[@Dilomight]

Exactly. People undermine the value of decorations. Be it a church to a dictators home, appearance is important

[@aster4jaden]

He's a Sith Lord, he has to have badass bodyguards like Tenebrae did. He also had extremely loyal (barring a few) and skilled Bodyguards that could take care of those too far below him and well as take care of matters such as piloting shuttles, they also kept up his illusion of being a feeble old man.

[@marshalllatta2073]

I love the royal guards they are some of my favorite variants in all of star wars

[@NostalgicGamerRickOShay]

Shame that Disney threw away the awesome Shadow Guards from The Force Unleashed.

[@imperialguard28]

Better safe than sorry.

[@SyfoMan]

that's what a temple guard would say to keep his job

[@PumpdaBrakes-ub8kp]

sorrow would bring pain and you know what that leads to. lol

[@Dilomight]

No one is taking your job away, just admit you guys are useless. Palpatine can’t hear you typing

[@Black-White-BW1]

@@DilomightExcept they aren’t useless.

[@Dilomight]

@@Black-White-BW1 right, and JarJar Binks was also important

[@GWOT_traplord_0331]

HBO, not Disney, should do a Red guard series where every episode is them silently executing mission after mission

[@fsdf4311c]

How this is possible?

[@clovisursa497]

@@fsdf4311c it wouldn't be. He's just pussyhurt that Disney bought the IP after years of Star Wars fans bullying George Lucas

[@venkelos6996]

So, back in the 90s, these were basically my favorite "Imperial units". I would still punch Carnor Jax in the face, if i could, but the idea that, in that scene of RotJ, when the Emperor arrives to the Death Star 2, if things had gone wrong, those six Guards could have likely killed every Stormtrooper in the hanger, while guarding Palpatine, and possibly not losing one of their own, was awesome. Sure, they are terrible people; living weapons that mercilessly kill, and serve the Emperor, but I still thought they were great! When I eventually acquired an Emperor Enthroned Black Series fig, I actively spught out two Royal Guards to pose with it, as well as the same setup for the old Star Wars minis game, back in the early 2000s, and my appreciation for the RGs even bled over into Legacy, when I thought that the Imperial Knights were also awesome. I know that they've been "toned down", over the years, but i still remember when they were amazing!

[@stahlseuche]

Kir Kanos would approve of you punching Jax in the noggin. 👊😵

[@sbatou87]

"My royal meat sh- I mean, royal guards! Yes, my royal guards!" -Palpatine, probably.

[@Mechadondada]

It’s similar to the Final Boss in a martial arts movie. Let his minions fight first while he drinks tea and strokes his beard.

[@darkwulf23]

Half of security is making sure you don’t look like a soft target. If someone thinks it’s too dangerous to try to attack, they won’t try.

[@jai-kk5uu]

Pentagon will like a word about college kids

[@lordofpain3476]

Of course he the Royal Guard close by , a Superior Being such as Emperor Palpatine shouldn't have to get his hands dirty with such mundane tasks as murder ( unless he wants to have a little fun. )

[@KevinChristensen-h8x]

The emperor got hurt when he used force lightning so he didnt want to use it. So he had royal guards.

[@NativeTXn1AIArt]

I wondered why Palpatine had his and Kylo had his guards, even Snoke had his own guards, but Vader isn’t seen with guards.

[@jonathancampbell5231]

Vader has guards on Mustafar, as we see in Rogue One. He's otherwise usually on military missions, so he's typically surrounded by at least one legion of Stormtroopers.

[@Omniseed]

@@jonathancampbell5231 And aren't his Stormtroopers just about the best of them, specifically because they have extremely high morale due to Vader's leadership and an excellent training regimen, likewise due to Vader's priorities as a commander?

[@matt_9112]

​@@Omniseedindeed, they ain't calling the 501st Vader's fist for nothing.

[@Dilomight]

@@Omniseedthey’re the ones that survived his interviews

[@LordTalax]

@@Omniseed Stormtroopers are crap. See the movies and everything else.

[@Michael-yg9xl]

Palpatine had to wait himself for the sun guards to be out of his site before he could kill him

[@littletweeter1327]

First order royal guards: lobotomy patients

[@doctorwyvern9992]

I did used to wonder about these guards for a while. The movies never showed what they were capable of, so it always seemed like they were just flashy looking pawns meant to throw their lives away if they needed to and nothing more.

[@stahlseuche]

I highly recommend checking out the Crimson Empire comics by Dark Horse if you're interested in seeing what a guard is capable of

[@mwg500]

Many Imperial officers (those that are less than a hundred percent loyal) would immediately try to point a Death Star level weapon (if they have it) at wherever they think Palpatine is if they know the truth about him. Same thing for many underworld/criminal elements (especially the Hutts). If they are aware of how dangerous Palpatine actually is, it becomes a "nuke first care about the consequences later" situation. Palpatine doesn't want to deal with that level of hassle if he can avoid it.

[@krispalermo8133]

Yeah, Vader really did have plot armor. Novel of " Shadows of the Empire," it mentions how Vader ran his officers, and how he had to dodge or take cover from nukes.

[@ImThePerson0]

5:56 Seeing that Kebobi clip, it's interesting that Vader had Royal Guards as well

[@sonictemple2925]

It appears to others he is a weak old man when it is the opposite. If his enemies underestimate him they have already lost. I’d love to see more royal guards in action on screen. I think it’s one of the things in Star Wars we haven’t seen enough of.

[@zephyr8072]

Look, if you're an evil wizard you've earned the right to have elite guards.

[@laxstrat]

That'd be nice. Being a Royal Guard and Palpatine says to you, "Fight me"!

[@chrishogg1406]

Way cool. Thanks for sharing

[@varidian694]

Well as the emperor of the known galaxy it makes sense to have a royal guard, can't have the emperor just roaming around alone in his crocks and hoodie

[@Black-White-BW1]

Emperor Palpatine having royal guards makes complete sense and makes him even more hard to kill.

[@joshmaggard6]

Looks drippy having an entourage.

[@barry-tt8ft]

Thank you for revealing an answer about the Royal Guards.

[@universal3025]

Lifelong question, answered. Thanks.

[@jamesfinendale4898]

I was hoping tales of the empire would had a episode about this

[@Idkidkidk716]

Yes these royal guards are insanely talented and skilled they are essentially one man army’s the training that they go through is very with like only the best of the best make it out of training alive I remember seeing a story where only 2 royal guards survive in the training camp and they have to fight each other to the death the winner becomes a royal guard.

[@tengkualiff]

Actual Custodes

[@willlauzon3744]

Because he has to sleep sometime.

[@salsaspartan7]

Top Notch Content right here man. 👌

[@AiDecc]

Very interesting and informative, thank you :)

[@ianjohnson7761]

I actually pretty much knew all of this b4 watching this video, some of that knowledge actually came from at least 1 other different and previous video. This video was entertaining, however. T'umbs up!

[@jahaerystargaryen4527]

I absolutely love Palpatine, like sorry, he is absolute GOD of intelligence and cunning

[@baldrian22]

if i remember correctly even the sith emperor visiet had his own personal guard and he was considerd to basicly be imortal having lived for a thousand years or something like that at the time (check out the book where revan is trying to find out about a dream he keeps having about events from his past and his premenison about there beeing something in the unkown region that is posing a massive risk that he and malek learnt about during or just afther the mandelorien war)

[@joshemperor]

Good vid. Love the royal guards

[@strikerfrost7222]

What was the public explanation for Vader?

[@CNick75]

A sole Jedi that stayed loyal and fought off the traitorous Jedi to save the Chancellor

[@AndrewS-fe8ng]

Actually, the reason given in canon decades ago, was because having more and more tiers of elite troops let his troops advance ever further. The recent decade, you'd be correct. Back in the day, nah.

[@christiansmith-of7dt]

Sometimes it doesnt hurt so bad for a few minutes , i wonder what does that

[@isayahbanks1111]

However there are rare occurrences where Sidious did roast individuals with force lightning like that time where he was almost assassinated by poison or that time him and vader had to handle another mission

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

Highly visible guards attract attention away from other, less obtrusive protections.

[@jamesricker3997]

Because Palpatine didn't want to be bothered with little things. Besides, he found them amusing

[@Khalith]

A proper Lord always needs a retinue.

[@EmperorCaligula_EC]

So much power, and yet still slave to fear that people know what he is.

[@clovisursa497]

Trained to literally take on one of the strongest Force users of all time. Didn't even step in to defend Palpy during Return of the Jedi and were defeated by Rey and Kylo in seconds.

[@jeffwolcott7815]

I never wondered, but I'm glad to know now.

[@wintermute7378]

"...For the clout lord Vader"

[@JulienReszka]

He was hiding his power level

[@Gr3nadgr3gory]

Much like with Momonga, the guards are there to handle your "light work."

[@SlashinatorZ]

Its like the Emperor of Mankind having an army of Custodes despite being powerful enough to destroy half the cast of Dragonball Super.

[@zxKAOS1]

I think when the New Republic was established (so 5+ years after DS2 got blown up, if not even later), it was well known that Sidious was an "evil jedi"? Still, it cam far too late!

[@ajmainfahim8569]

I wonder where they were when Vader yeeted him 😂

[@legendaryrobb5903]

Palpatine asked of them to go while he was present with Vader and Luke

[@DemoniteBL]

Theres a video about that as well

[@wpeniche]

And here I thought he just used them to carry his stuff

[@sportsfisher9677]

They protected him as he slept

[@peytonashley9388]

and then yoda dispatches TWO of them with a little force headbutt in ROTS lmao

[@Black-White-BW1]

Yoda is a different kind of power.

[@Black-White-BW1]

There is always a bigger fish.

[@sosaix3545]

Little-known facts; all Royal Guards are actually clones of Chuck Norris.

[@mudge40]

simpler explanation - optics. powerful people have entourages. it is part of the pageant of power.

[@hapan2445]

Its funny to hear how strong the royal guards are and remember the scene where Yoda casually killed 2 of them with the most effortless hand movement 😂

[@JohnGrove310]

If they were so powerful, yoda took two of them out in one breath.

[@ShadowBorneAssassin]

I kind wondered if they were there to protect Vader & Sidious or or just Sidious from everyone including Vader but one thing I got from the sequels was an answer to this because when Kylo Ren killed Snoke his guards attacked Kylo & Rey and the 2 killed all the guards but they had a hard time surviving.

[@Saudademaru]

I was wondering that. I've also been wondering what happened to the royal guards after the episode 6 movie. I know Palpatine dismissed them when Luke was there but where did they go when the second Death Star blew up?

[@Mrqwerty2109]

Up next: Why did Mike Tyson have a bodyguard

[@SpencerOlsen-v7e]

I always looked at the guards as a power move. He had them cause he could.

[@joffreybaratheon4904]

Wait, if there was a stigma attached to force users.. how is Lord Vader feared by the common people if they saw him using the force?

[@luismartinez-hc9kc]

I think it goes back to all kung fu movies. Remember the movie, the executioners. Where he had to battle the two swords men in order to take on the master. I think that’s where stems from.

[@redjirachi1]

Look Palpatine's powerful but even he needs someone the guard the door when he's using the bathroom or making coffee so he doesn't fall asleep.

[@Beneko11-2]

A splash of red contrasted better with all the white and black uniforms

[@KaiserShield]

Biggest jobbers in the franchise. Lmao.

[@deemen7132]

Like some 90s WWF jobbers lol

[@BAF-ch4ts]

Like AWA wrestling in the 80s.

[@Eric6761]

Stormtroopers

[@Black-White-BW1]

Uh no? Don’t use words you don’t know the meaning of.

[@Happychappy444]

More or less than Kathleen Kennedy?

[@GamingBot90]

Yoda who just force pushes them at the wall

[@brodyoesterlein6812]

This is a hunch but I feel like palpatine also had the guards simply due to the fact that if someone were to attack him and not be able to defeat the guards (even though it’s no small task) they wouldn’t be worth his time or be below him as sith often look down upon the weaker beings

[@DannyBowman-t5c]

Why couldn't none of the Jedi feel the darkness in him

[@NostalgicGamerRickOShay]

I REALLY wish the Shadow Guard and the Blue guards and the Red Guards got to be in the movies and shows. (The Shadow Guards from The Force Unleashed).

[@McNab1986]

Kinda feel like Rey and Kylo ruined the reputation of the royal guard completely then, made them look like stormtroopers with sticks and red armour

[@mikeynth7919]

Because it makes you look cool.

[@TikeWates]

Darth sideous is my favorite villain of all time

[@hycamtro1aegirsson128]

Were there also royal guards with force power? Or were they called imperial guards? Or is it a completely different thing?

[@marcusbrutusv]

The Jedi weren't FRAMED for attempted assassination. They DID attempt to assassinate Palpatine. The morality and ethics of that decision are a different matter.

[@kevincalgta]

Stupendous wave do you think that the imperial shadow guards or the imperial sovereign protectors were more powerful than the regular imperial royal guard units?

[@LooneyPoliticsTunes]

He wanted to come across as a frail old man who beat the Jedi. So he can hide his power using his guards 💂 and not step in when completely unavoidable

[@ThundahComes]

Had Plagueis had red royal guards, Palpatine wouldn't have been able to kill him as easily!

[@AnthonyWatson1508]

I forget the reason but what was Palpatine's reason for somehow surviving a "Jedi attack" if he makes himself look like a non force user.

[@spadesofpaintstudios1719]

So it’s not like he couldn’t defend himself but would rather not as to keep his control

[@Demonoicgamer666]

You’d be a fool to consider a Sith Lord trustworthy. I think it’s too big of a pill to swallow I mean we saw how Anakin reacted after believing palpatine wasn’t merely an old man.

[@Gor85]

This makes perfect sense. They were Palpatine's bodyguards. Protection. Only handful of people knew he was Sith Lord. Like comment said better safe than sorry. May the Force be with you too😊

[@jasonrutledge5704]

It is wise to have back up even if it's not necessary

[@Black-White-BW1]

Exactly man.

[@FlukasMcDoogle]

There was only one Bothans that died... Manny Bothans!!! May he rest in peace. :)

[@josefkurtz2223]

The jedi were "framed" for attempting to assassinate him? Uhhh. They did try to.

[@drkinferno72]

Keep up appearances and his amusement

[@Black-White-BW1]

And to protect him of course. They come handy in combat and assassination attempts.

[@kosjeyr]

I'm never satisfied which is why I keep on coming back for more 😆

[@ricardobimblesticks1489]

I'm a Chef, I can scrub pots and whats more I can do it faster and with better results than the average KP. Can anyone figure out why I have KPs to scrub pots for me?

[@darth_batman8190]

I have always wondered why Palatine had the Royal Guards. I do think that this is a valid reason. Vader was suppose to kill him at some point. And that Lords of the Sith book is so good!

[@Black-White-BW1]

Because they protected him and all kind of obedience that comes along with it.

[@brittanyjimenez6989]

I bet you those freedom fighters were feeling so high and mighty when they got close to him thinking it was their chance to finish the empire by cutting off the head of the snake lol but then instantly that turned to fear and regret 😅😅😅 The FOOLS!!

[@iNsOmNiAcAnDrEw]

Before you tell us, my interpretation is they reminded him of the hand maidens that Padme had and he wanted something like that for himself.

[@Black-White-BW1]

🤪

[@PaulGualtieri-m6v]

As a status symbol. That should be obvious.