Star Wars is known for its epic villains and the greatest of them all is Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine is the main villain of all nine movies, manipulating events behind the scenes to allow the Sith the ultimate victory. While he was always thwarted eventually, his actions did more to spread darkness throughout the galaxy than just about anyone. However, as bad as he was, he wasn't the worst villain in the history of the galaxy.
While not every villain was a scene stealer, there are some villains in both Legends and current canon who are actually worse than Palpatine, committing terrible acts and generally being evil.
10 Darth Vader Was The Man Committing The Atrocities For Palpatine
It's weird to say that the henchman is worse than the boss but in the case of Vader and Palpatine, the proof is in the pudding. Sure, Palpatine was giving the orders but for the most part, Vader was the one spilling all the blood. Vader was the one doing the dirty work on the ground, whether it be killing Rebels by the score with his lightsaber, his fighter, or his fleet.
Palpatine may have given the orders but Vader was the one doing the killing, personally depriving families of their loved ones and doing it with relish.
9 The Yuuzhan Vong Were An Entire Race Of Xenophobic Religious Zealots
In Legends, there were few races more terrifying than the Yuuzhan Vong. Originating in another galaxy which they scoured clean of life in genocidal wars, they set their sights on a new home and were ready to slaughter everyone in their way. The war against them was one of the darkest and most bloody in galactic history and the story of it was more compelling than anything in the Sequels.
Palpatine just wanted power and would do anything to get it but he wasn't as wantonly cruel and violent as the Yuuzhan Vong, who believed that pain was the only reality. Many people still had good lives under Palpatine but in Vong-occupied territories, all that could be hoped for was slavery.
8 Darth Nihilus Was All About Sating His Hunger
Darth Nihilus was injured in the destruction of the Mass Shadow Generator, a powerful Sith weapon. He was able to cheat death by draining the Force energy from everything around him, which created a yawning hunger inside of him. He would become the Lord of Hunger, living only to drain the Force energies of everything in his way.
Nihilus personally consumed the energies of an entire planet, committing genocide all on his own, something Palpatine never did. Nihilus's entire life was about filling the void inside him and he would have drained everything if given the chance.
7 Darth Caedus's Reign Was Short But Brutal
Much like Palpatine, Darth Caedus was able to take control of the galaxy but he didn't lead nearly as long. However, his reign was still full of brutality and in a lot of ways, he was worse than Palpatine. As the son of Han and Leia, he was a very powerful and skilled Force user, with a mastery of the force that exceeded Palpatine's.
He also did all of his own dirty work— personally commanding his fleets, giving the orders, and fighting against the Jedi. He was even able to kill Luke Skywalker's wife and almost turned his son to the dark side. His very status as a Sith personally affected the heroes more than anything Palpatine did and the fact he did his own killing makes him worse than Palpatine.
6 Jabba The Hutt Was All About Greed
While Palpatine did a lot of terrible things, he was able to bring a modicum of order to the galaxy. In a twisted way, one could argue the ends justified the means. One couldn't say the same about Jabba the Hutt. Jabba was all about greed and self aggrandizement and his criminal empire was built on numerous bodies, whether it be the ones put there by his henchmen or killed incidentally in his schemes.
Jabba's criminal empire was built on death for no greater reason than making the already rich and powerful Hutt even more rich and powerful. Jabba consumed and consumed and gave nothing back. The Empire, as bad as it could be, did some good in the galaxy at least, even if only by accident.
5 IG-88 Was An Inhuman Engine Of Destruction
The IG series of assassin droids were some of the most formidable droids ever designed and few were as famous as IG-88. As one of the top bounty hunters of the Imperial era, IG-88 was known and feared throughout the galaxy and preferred to kill his marks rather than bring them in alive.
IG-88 has no morals, good or evil— he merely existed entirely for death and destruction. He and his fellow IG series droids are made to be engines of destruction- implacable, unfeeling automatons spreading death and IG-88 did it for profit and nothing else.
4 Emperor Vitiate Ruled The Sith Empire For Centuries
Vitiate may have never defeated the Republic and took over the entire galaxy but his time as leader of the Sith Empire was longer than Palpatine's. Vitiate learned to draw the life energies of other away at an early age, using it to fuel himself and stay alive long after what should have been his natural death. During his reign, he plunged the galaxy into war, using his armies to damage the Republic.
Vitiate may never have ruled the amount of worlds that Palpatine did but the argument can be made that his reign was much more destructive, as the Sith Wars he presided over lasted decades, costing countless lives.
3 Darth Bane Enacted The Rule Of Two, Wiping Out Jedi & Weak Sith
Darth Bane never ruled the galaxy but he was one of the most powerful and influential Sith of them all. From him came the Rule Of Two and the foundations of the plan that Palpatine would bring to fruition. To get to that point, though, Bane personally caused the deaths of armies of both Jedi and Sith, recasting the Sith Order in his own image.
Bane worked behind the scenes, fomenting chaos and causing destruction knowing that it was just so that someone in the far future could triumph. Nothing he did would ever matter in his lifetime but that never stopped him from committing evil acts.
2 Grand Moff Tarkin Was All About Using Fear As A Weapon
Grand Moff Tarkin was one of the Emperor's main supporters, helping him keep order in the Empire. Tarkin was instrumental in establishing Imperial Navy doctrine, using the power of the fleet to pacify the Outer Rim Territories with brutal efficiency. Tarkin was the embodiment of Palpatine's desire to rule by fear and was put in charge of the Death Star project.
In many ways, Tarkin was more ruthless than Palpatine. The destruction of Alderaan proves this— he wasn't ordered to do it, he just did it to prove a point to Leia and the galaxy. A man like that is evil personified.
1 Grand Admiral Thrawn Was Skilled & Charismatic
The Chiss known as Grand Admiral Thrawn was a different kind of Imperial officer. Some would doubt that he was worse than Palpatine, as he never committed atrocities or punished the men under in him in sadistic ways. However, in a lot of ways, he was more dangerous than Palpatine could ever be.
Thrawn was a supremely skilled tactician and his crews didn't follow him because of fear— they did it because they looked up to him and trusted him. A being like Thrawn could lead others into any situation, give them any order, and they would follow it because they loved him. In that way, he's a much worse villain than Palpatine. His charisma and skill made troops want to follow him, not for reward but because he was a great leader.