Gandalf the White vs Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine)

Gandalf the White

“No blame to you and no harm done to me.  Indeed my friends, none of you have any weapon that could hurt me.”  -Gandalf the White (to Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli) in The Two Towers

“‘Dangerous!’ cried Gandalf.  ‘And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord…”  -The Two Towers

Species: Maiar of Valinor in semi-mortal form

Affiliation: Istari

Height: “he seemed the least, less tall than the others” in reference to his stature compared with the other Istari (from Unfinished Tales)

Weapons

--- Magical staff: allows him to use his more powerful magical combat abilities

--- Glamdring: Elven-made sword that glows white near orcs, goblins and demons; inscribed with runes that protect the hands of the wielder if struck during battle

--- Narya: Elven-made Ring of Power, also known as the Ring of Fire; has the power to help resist temptation, tyranny, domination and despair

Abilities

--- Magical telekinesis 

--- Illumination/ Blinding Light – both from his staff and from his person

--- Lightning strike – able to cause a bolt of magical lightning to strike a foe

--- Fire/ heat – able to light objects on fire or make them heat up if not flammable

--- Destructive blast – slamming his staff on the ground and creating a powerful blast of magical energy and white fire (this power destroyed his staff when he battled the Balrog)

--- Magically imbued weapon strength (as demonstrated during his battle with the Balrog when he destroys its giant fire wreathed sword)

--- Magically enhanced persuasive speech

--- Surprising physical strength and speed for appearance

Gandalf's Background

One of the Maiar of Valinor, (Tolkein's version of the Greek Olympus or Norse Asgard,) he originally helped shape the world with the Valar after it was created by the Iluvitar.  Five Maia spirits were chosen to be sent to Middle Earth during the Third Age in the guise of old men, yet wielding powers no man possessed.  In this form they were considerably weakened from their former selves; needing to be sustained by food, shelter and warmth; though they did not age and possessed various degrees of magical powers.  They became the Order of the Istari and thus Olorin became Gandalf (or Mithrandir as the elves called him).  They were sent to aid men and elves in their fight against Sauron, one of the servants of Melkor (also called Morgoth,) but were forbidden to dominate the peoples of Middle Earth or to match Sauron's power with their own.  Gandalf was not as powerful as Saruman (previously Curumo) but when Saruman disobeyed the mandate given by the Valar he was cast out of the order of Istari and forever forbidden from returning to Valinor.  Gandalf sacrificed himself doing his duty to aid the free peoples of Middle Earth in the defeat of Sauron when he fought the Balrog.  When his spirit returned to Valinor after more than 2000 years in Middle Earth, he was warmly received by the Valar.  They chose to send him back with more power than before, and he replaced Saruman as the head of the Order of Istari, though at that point Gandalf was the only one that had stayed true to his mission.  

“‘Yes, I am white now,’ said Gandalf.  ‘Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been.’”  -The Two Towers

Tolkien on Faerie and Magic
     Tolkien wrote an essay titled "On Fairy-Stories" basically attempting (though also recognizing it as impossible) to define what a fairy tale is and the necessary elements of the story to be qualified as one.  The realm of faerie is of great importance and within that realm is magic and the use of magic.  Tolkien states, "but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso: if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in the story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away."

     He explains that magic cannot be used too frequently because it diminishes the power, respect and allure of it.  Thus in his stories, he limits the use of magic.  He intentionally does not explain Gandalf's powers and does not define their limits.  Again, quoting his essay he says, "faerie cannot be caught in a net of words; for it is one of its qualities to be indescribable, though not imperceptible. It has many ingredients, but analysis will not necessarily discover the secret of the whole."  Understanding this, we realize that while we see Gandalf's powers in the book, we do not truly see his full arsenal of magical powers.

Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine)

“Flesh does not easily support this great power!”  -Darth Sidious (about himself)

"The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural." -Darth Sidious

Species: Human

Affiliation: Dark Lord of the Sith/ Galactic Emperor

Height: 5’ 8”

Weapons

--- Crimson bladed lightsaber

Abilities

--- Force Lightning (able to control the level of damage done from almost nothing to near-death)

--- Force Telekinesis

--- Force Storm creation: dark side power that creates hyperspace wormholes able to displace objects across vast distances and tear apart the surfaces of entire planets

--- Force Grip/ Choke

--- Master of all seven forms of lightsaber combat; considered one of the greatest Sith Swordmasters ever

--- Ambidextrous lightsaber fighter

--- Force speed: increased speed of the user enables him to see the world and the entities around him in slow motion, allowing him to dodge attacks easily and attack quicker with greater accuracy

--- Force Flight: power of telekinetic levitation taken to an extreme degree

--- Sith Alchemy: could be used to enhance the strength of objects, genetically engineer living beings to make them more dangerous and easy to control, able to alter image of user perceived by others

--- Transfer spirit/ essence from one body to another: allowed him to survive death on two separate occasions

--- Power to channel the collective life essences of billions to sustain himself

--- Force mind control: more powerful than normal mind tricks, it combined a hypnotic lull with his voice to make even the strong minded-bend to his will

--- Powerful Force seer in his ability to see the future

--- Force Stealth: able to mask alignment with the Force or even the user's Force aptitude from others (and possibly even their presence with enough skill)

On Darth Sidious' powers:

"Upon spending decades immersing himself in the many facets of the Force, it was believed that Palpatine had a mastery over all known powers, previously unknown powers, and could create new abilities on a whim."  -Dark Empire Sourcebook by Michael Horne

The novelization of Revenge of the Sith states that Darth Sidious was the most powerful Sith Lord in the history of the Order.

"Darth Sidious was incredibly skilled in lightsaber combat, one of the greatest duelists of all time."  -Wookieepedia