DARK SIDE FRIDAY - Did you know Palpatine feared Qui-Gon Jinn? Palpatine was immensely powerful and he could see the future which made him very confident about pretty much anyone who stood against him. So why Qui-Gon Jinn?
Emperor Palpatine admitted to fearing Luke Skywalker and even said that if he had him by his side instead of Kylo Ren, he would have won the galaxy.
Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar confronted Chancellor Palpatine upon learning of his secret identity as a Sith Lord.
As powerful as Darth Sidious may have been, it's easy to forget he actually seemed afraid of Master Yoda. As seen in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine initially thought he could deal with the aged Jedi Master - and then, when Yoda proved able to counter the Sith Lord's Force lightning, he fled.
Sidious himself felt that he and his peers had outgrown the use of lightsabers, and only continued carrying them to mock the Jedi. He ultimately viewed his own lightsabers as little more than an affectation, and rarely wielded them in combat.
Some have argued that Sidious lost the fight on purpose in order to sway Anakin to the Dark Side, but he didn't need to make his defeat at the hands of Windu so totally convincing. Yoda couldn't beat Sidious, but Mace Windu could.
Jedi Master Yoda is the most powerful of them all. This should come as no surprise, as he was the head of the Jedi Order in the prequels and was revered for his abilities during the original trilogy. Yoda's power is unmatched and was a real threat to Darth Vader and the Imperials.
If Qui-Gon had survived his fight against Darth Maul, he would have sensed Palpatine's evil, and Anakin wouldn't have become Darth Vader. Thus, while Qui-Gon was less powerful than Yoda, Palpatine feared him more. Your browser can't play this video.
Even after his brutal scorching in the fires of Mustafar, sand remained the only natural phenomenon that Vader feared. To him, sand was a reminder that he'd failed to save his mother or Padme from death.
Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, the final members of the Order of the Sith Lords. Through the Galactic Empire, the Order of the Sith Lords controlled the known galaxy through military force and state-sponsored terror.
In the final days of the Clone Wars, Windu turned to Kolar again, calling on him, Saesee Tiin and Kit Fisto to arrest Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Confronted by the Jedi, Palpatine threw off his guise and revealed himself as Darth Sidious. He ignited his crimson-bladed lightsaber and struck down Kolar.
Dooku voluntarily left the light side behind and became Darth Sidious' dark side disciple, taking the secret name Darth Tyranus and leading the Separatist army. Dooku advanced Sidious's secret plot to take over the galaxy, but forgot that betrayal is the nature of the Sith.
Palpatine did not expect Obi Wan to defeat Anakin, and when Anakin lost, he was so surprised that he said he was terrified of Obi Wan's potential.
It's implied that this isn't feigning and Palpatine is actually fighting to win. In the book its implied that he allows Mace to move him and make certain moves, however this is a not uncommon dueling tactic, waiting for openings and surprising an opponent.
Palpatine himself seemed to have a positive relationship with his mentor Darth Plagueis, and while he tortured Darth Vader to bring out his strength, he also gifted him Mustafar as a show of respect, having first offered his own home planet of Naboo to his apprentice.
After an arduous lightsaber duel, Maul mortally wounds Qui-Gon, stunning him by thrusting his saber hilt to his chin and then running Qui-Gon through. Maul is subsequently defeated by Obi-Wan. Before dying, Qui-Gon makes Obi-Wan promise that he will train Anakin.
Brand reveals that Palpatine isn't entirely composed of hate, but also of fear, and in comforting the dying Brand, Luke Skywalker explains, "More than anything, the Emperor fears obliteration in the dark side." For all his posturing, Palpatine still fears death and the consequences of his use of the dark side.
Yoda feared that defeating Sidious would somehow make Anakin stronger. He knew that the only way to victory was to kill both the apprentice and the master at the same time.
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Brave, fearless, and above all, loyal - Obi-Wan is easily one of the most loyal characters in all of Star Wars, let alone just the prequel films. He's loyal to the Republic, loyal to the Jedi, and a loyal friend to all, especially Anakin.
As the grandson of Anakin Skywalker (on his mother's side), one of the most powerful Force users in the galaxy, Kylo Ren has the appropriate bloodline to destroy Palpatine. It was a redeemed Anakin Skywalker who killed Palpatine the first time, and the same midi-chlorians flow through Ren's veins.
These factors combined seemingly indicate that Star Wars' Darth Plagueis was more powerful than Palpatine, although the latter's ability to manipulate others gave him a significant edge over his Sith Master.
Sidious mastered MUCH more force powers than Vader ever did, like force lightning, force wormhole, spirit transfer, etc. Maybe pre-suit Vader could have given Sidious a challenge, but suit Vader could never have. Also, I think it's fairly obvious that Sidious was the superior duelist to Vader.