Sidious "ansikte såg uppenbarligen på det sättet innan de slogs av blixten i kanon, och definitivt gjorde det i Legends.
Canon
I den 2017 Darth Maul serien, som äger rum före Episode I, har Maul en konversation med Darth Sidious, som tycks redan se ut som kejsaren efter duellen:
Senareiserientalardeigen,ochdenhärgångenSidiousharsynligtgulaögon:
SådetfinnskanonbevispåattSidiousredansågutså,ochserietverkarinnebäraattdettaärSidious"sant" ansikte som han bara visar till Darth Maul. Såvitt jag vet är detta allt vi verkligen måste gå vidare inom nuvarande kanon (bortsett från ROTS novelization), eftersom i The Phantom Menace det vi ser på hans Sidious Face ser relativt normalt ut.
Semi-canon
I novellen Revenge of the Sith undersöker Palpatine sitt ansikte efter att Mace Windu har slängts ut genom fönstret (sidan 361, betonar min):
Palpatine examined the damage to his face in a broad expanse of wall mirror. Anakin couldn't tell if his expression might be revulsion, or if this were merely the new shape of his features. Palpatine lifted one tentative hand to the misshapen horror that he now saw in the mirror, then simply shrugged.
"And so the mask becomes the man," he sighed with a hint of philosophical melancholy. "I shall miss the face of Palpatine, I think; but for our purpose, the face of Sidious will serve. Yes, it will serve."
Detta tycks starkt innebära att detta nya ansikte, "Sidious", är verkligen hans sanna ansikte.
Legends
I Clone Wars verkar hans ansikte som Sidious ha krökta tänder och fler linjer , där hans ansikte som kansler Palpatine inte:
DentvetydigaEU-kanonkompisetSithisishandlarocksåomPalpatinesomutförnågonslagsritual,undervilkenhanserutsomkejsaren/Sidious:
[...]
Slutligen,omguidernaStarWarsRollspelärettacceptabeltEU källa :
Palpatine, who has delved extensively into Sith lore, was using an almost-forgotten technique to hide his true self.
Denna förklaring hänvisar till två Star Wars Insider svar och kommer upp med en Sith Alchemy-förmåga som maskerar användarens sanna utseende (betonar min).
[The] real Palpatine is the one who bursts forth at a calculated moment . . . That is when the true person comes out, letting the evil fully manifest itself. The Emperor . . . looks like he does because he's very old and very evil -- it is what he always looked like. [Star Wars Insider 82 (page 58)]
[It’s] the intensity of reflected lightning and the channeling of such raw dark side power that are the catalysts for Palpatine’s transformation. Perhaps the face that boils up to the surface is shaped by his dark side corruption, but the lightning is definitely the cause. [Star Wars Insider 83 (page 32)]
[...]
Just as Sith alchemical techniques can be used to make a subject appear more horrific, they can be used to conceal its true appearance. [...] However, the mask can be dispelled by dark side energy: If the subject takes damage from a dark side Force skill, the subject must make a Fortitude save (DC 5 + damage dealt) or the mask is removed and the subject’s true face reappears.