The Emperor was the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical regime the galaxy had ever witnessed. He was a scheming ruler, planning events far in the future, using the Force to foresee the results. He tried to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side of the Force, even at the expense of sacrificing Darth Vader. Luke refused the power offered to him by the Emperor, so he attacked Luke with deadly Force lightning. Luke almost died in the assault, but his father returned to the light side of the Force and hurtled the Emperor into the Death Star's reactor core.