However, the film itself doesn't imply this at all, so Palpatine still counts as Pure Evil, especially because his own actor stated to summarize why he is doing many of his actions; Ian McDiarmid said that everything he does is out of pure hypocrisy.
See, Palpatine was completely and totally evil, an embodiment of the Dark Side. Some theorize that he was created by the force to counteract the growing power of the Light Side. To quote the Revenge of the Sith novelization, Palpatine was an event horizon.
In the original trilogy, Palpatine is depicted as the evil Emperor of the Galactic Empire and the master of Darth Vader. The character has a larger role in the prequel trilogy, which chronicles his rise from senator to emperor.
While Näkhäsh, Vitiate and Palpatine are the most evil villains within both Canon and Legends of the franchise, that doesn't mean they are the only Star Wars Pure Evils, with several other evil-doers standing out as irredeemably heinous in their own right among the hundreds of villains in the series as well.
This concludes that Maul was not entirely the monster that most saw him as, but truly a tragic character who had lost everything he cared about due to Darth Sidious' actions (much like his successor Darth Vader), but showed that he could not let go of his hate until his final moments.
How Palpatine REVIVED Grievous After His Death - Star Wars Explained
Who is Darth Maul scared of?
Regardless, based on the season 7 of The Clone Wars, and the fact that Darth Maul was aware of Anakin Skywalker's future and his role as the Chosen One, it is very likely that Darth Maul indeed feared Darth Vader to some extent, and preferred to avoid a direct confrontation with him, at least, on his own.
Like his master, Darth Sidious, better known as Sheev Palpatine, Maul's main weakness was his overconfidence. In Luke Skywalker's confrontation with Palpatine during The Return of the Jedi, he tells the Emperor that his overconfidence is his weakness.
As the Dark Lord of the Sith, he plotted to overthrow the Jedi by manipulating the events of the Clone Wars to bring himself to rule the whole galaxy, thus posing as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic throughout these events.
Darth Sidious is the ultimate evil in all of Star Wars, but despite his sinister intentions, he actually did some good deeds as Emperor of the galaxy. Star Wars has no shortage of villains, but from the beginning of the Skywalker Saga to the end, Darth Sidious remains the ultimate evil.
It wasn't until the show's third season that Gideon finally showed how evil he really is by targeting all Mandalorians out of unjustifiable hatred, allowing him to qualify as Pure Evil.
Palpatine did not fear many individuals but I think I know of one. Yoda, Luke, and Vader are the obvious ones (though he was weary of Vader, not necessarily scared of him), but there is one not many people know about: Jocasta Nu.
Summary. Palpatine's true source of power comes from his intense hatred for everyone in the galaxy, which only fuels his strength. Not only that, but the more people hate Palpatine, the stronger he becomes as well, making inspiring hatred a crucial part of increasing his strength.
If Rey struck him down, Palpatine's spirit would pass into her, allowing the Sith to be reborn. Rey resisted him with the help of Ben, who'd returned to the light. But their defiance gave Sidious a new opportunity – he would drain the energy of their Force dyad to restore his own body, then rule alone.
He understood he lost the ethereal battle before their physical fight even began. Thus, Palpatine never viewed Yoda as a major concern, even though the Jedi Master fought him to a de facto draw during the events of Revenge of the Sith.
As the Death Star had been destroyed, and the Battle of Yavin had finally taken place, the years then moved into ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). It's said that Star Wars: Return of the Jedi takes place during 4 ABY, meaning Palpatine was 88 when he met his original end.
No, Darth Sidious did not respect Darth Vader. Not likely he feared him but saw his value as a puppet. IMO he respected Sidious's power… I don't think he respected him as a person due to the fact that Palpatine was a narcissistic liar…
Legend had it that Yoda—a Jedi who became Grand Master—was trained by N'Kata Del Gormo. A Force-sensitive Hysalrian, N'Kata Del Gormo was trained in the ways of the Force and achieved the rank of Master within the Jedi Order.
Palpatine used his powers to hide his true nature from the Jedi, utilizing Force Concealment to completely hide his presence in the Force while clouding the Force for the Jedi. The Clone Wars also kept the Jedi busy and weakened, preventing them from realizing his true identity.
As the ultimate villain of every Star Wars trilogy, Palpatine has hundreds of atrocities to his name. His plots and machinations toppled the Republic, ended the Jedi, and threatened to drown the stars in fire and blood unless the entire galaxy submitted to an eternal Sith Empire.
Yoda knew and probaly told Obi-Wan. Darth Vader knew and possibly Thrawn if the book Outbound Flight is cannon. Also Tarkin might of known since he was friends with Palpatine before he became Emperor. Darth Plagueis.
Windu eventually gets the better of Palpatine before deflecting his Force Lightning back against him, which appears to twist and melt Palpatine's face as his body begins to smoke, turning him into the grotesque embodiment of the Sith that acts as the final antagonist for both Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi ...
Maul's skills, on the other hand, became stagnant as he spent the last few decades of his life keeping himself alive and plotting schemes. Given this, it makes sense Obi-Wan quickly defeated Maul in their final duel in Star Wars Rebels.
As much as fans would probably want to see Luke win this matchup, it is pretty unlikely. Luke is strong with the force, something Maul struggles with. He is so focused on his hatred that his Force sensitivity evades him. But when it comes to lightsaber combat, Maul is the definite winner.
