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Ok Spanky, I'll buy that for a dollar.

What's weird is that his change appears to be somewhat like a metamorphosis (I'm reminded of Lon Chaney Jr. turning into a Werewolf).

The novel seems to imply he was literally deformed by the Lightning, a freak occurance.

The VD seems to be between the Force illusion and some kind of deformation.

The question is.. what actually caused Palpy's face, skin, hands, and voice to change?

Was it the "strain" of ramping up the power of his lightning to try to make it so Mace could no longer block it (though it seems silly to just keep increasing the power instead of aiming)?

Or simply the fact that the lightning was striking him? The point was raised that all these other Jedi were "defending themselves" from the Lightning attacks and he was unprotected since he was using both hands to attack, but I don't know about that... Anakin didn't seem to be defending himself against the lightning attack from Dooku, and Luke, doesn't do it in ROTJ (I'm not counting the novel, where he blocks it for a second or two, then falls on the ground completely pwn3d by it for the next few minutes). Mace Windu doesn't seem to be defending against it when he's hit after his saber hand is sliced off. Is Vader defending against it when its hitting his suit?

For all we know the "face change" had nothing whatsoever to do with the lightning at all. He could simply have decided to "turn off" the disguise (physical, force, whatever), like Randy Flagg in "The Stand." Of course the non-filmic canon materials offer different explanations, hence our confusion...

My question is, would Force Lightning cause Palpatine's fingernails to grow?

Sidious's actual "Palpatine" disguise could have been "burned" away by the Sith lightning. One could see thin wisps of white smoke coming from his face in that scene. However, it can be assumed that Sidious could have lowered his Palpatine mask out of his free will. He merely allowed the lightning to do so in order to convince Anakin that he was on the verge of death.

In regards to other changes in Sidious' appearance, I don't think it was caused per se by the lightning. He merely allowed his voice to change naturally and I guess for his skin to turn pale and wrinkly and his fingernails longer. IMO, the lightning was merely used to persuade Anakin that Palpatine was suffering and needed his immediate help.

I wasn't sure, but did he have rotten teeth in ROTS as well?

I know he did in ROTJ. That would be another part of his "costume"...

Fine. Through your careful analysis of shit you're making up, and scenes where lightning was used under very different circumstances, you've managed to overturn LFL canon policy, and Sidious IS AN INVINCABLE GOD!!1! OMFG FUCK TEH NOVEL!! Way to go. Asshats.

LordShaithis wrote:Fine. Through your careful analysis of shit you're making up, and scenes where lightning was used under very different circumstances, you've managed to overturn LFL canon policy, and Sidious IS AN INVINCABLE GOD!!1! OMFG FUCK TEH NOVEL!! Way to go. Asshats.

I'm fully willing to accept the most obvious interpritation of the events, but really, can his suddenly grown fingernails be explained? Or any of the other non-facial deformations? Does Sith Lightning have some kind of nega-manicure effect?

LordShaithis wrote:Fine. Through your careful analysis of shit you're making up, and scenes where lightning was used under very different circumstances, you've managed to overturn LFL canon policy, and Sidious IS AN INVINCABLE GOD!!1! OMFG FUCK TEH NOVEL!! Way to go. Asshats.

Just because Sidious has a disguise doesn't mean he's invincible. The ROTS Visual Dictionary does in fact state that Sidious has "two faces". The caption that refers to deformity can be reconciled with this assertion. The Palpatine mask could have simply been deformed, revealing Sidious' true face.

The novel doesn't refer directly to deformity. Stover merely states that the lightning SEEMED to meld the flesh and bones. This could refer to the changing effect that his face underwent to reveal his true face. There is nothing conclusive to suggest outright disfigurement.

As stated before, the two seemingly contradictory statements in the VD can be reconciled through the above explanation. This also coincides with previous statements made by BOTH George Lucas and Ian McDiarmid.

LordShaithis wrote:Through your careful analysis of shit you're making up, and scenes where lightning was used under very different circumstances,

What different circumstances? That it was being directed back at him? That's hardly an actual difference.

And it's not to make him out to be invincible, considering he WAS HOLDING BACK AND THREW THE FIGHT.

Order 66 wrote:

LordShaithis wrote:Fine. Through your careful analysis of shit you're making up, and scenes where lightning was used under very different circumstances, you've managed to overturn LFL canon policy, and Sidious IS AN INVINCABLE GOD!!1! OMFG FUCK TEH NOVEL!! Way to go. Asshats.

Just because Sidious has a disguise doesn't mean he's invincible. The ROTS Visual Dictionary does in fact state that Sidious has "two faces". The caption that refers to deformity can be reconciled with this assertion. The Palpatine mask could have simply been deformed, revealing Sidious' true face.

The novel doesn't refer directly to deformity. Stover merely states that the lightning SEEMED to meld the flesh and bones. This could refer to the changing effect that his face underwent to reveal his true face. There is nothing conclusive to suggest outright disfigurement.

As stated before, the two seemingly contradictory statements in the VD can be reconciled through the above explanation. This also coincides with previous statements made by BOTH George Lucas and Ian McDiarmid.

True, but you're bending down and almost accpeting the disfigurement notion, and merging stuff together just to appease others is bad.