Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise

The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise was a "Sith Legend" that was shared with Anakin Skywalker by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was secretly Darth Sidious. The tale told that Darth Plagueis, who was in fact Sidious' Sith Master, was so powerful and so “wise” that he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life—which Plagueis could in fact do—and even save others from death, which he proved by killing and bringing back to life his own master's secret apprentice, Darth Venamis.

The tale also told that the only thing Plagueis was afraid of was losing his power, which he ultimately did, as he attempted to end Darth Bane's Rule of Two and make his apprentice, Sidious and himself immortal through his experimentation with the midi-chlorians. Plagueis trusted his apprentice and thought Palpatine wouldn't assassinate him as they shared a "bond", however, the Dark Side of the Force told the—at the time—senator of Naboo to take his place as the ruling Dark Lord of the Sith, which he did as he tortured Plagueis and ultimately killed the Muun.

According to Palpatine, what made it a tragedy was the irony that he could not save himself from his death, despite being able to save others. When Palpatine told this story to Skywalker, Skywalker countered that it was only a tragedy for Plagueis, and for the apprentice it was a happy ending. Palpatine later revealed that he was the unnamed apprentice, and that Plagueis' ability had been real. This was one of the steps towards turning Skywalker to the dark side of the Force.

Text and facts from the “Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.