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| “ | I want only to bring peace and order to the galaxy. | „ |
| ~ Count Dooku |
Count Dooku, later known as Darth Tyranus, is a major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise. He was once a Jedi who trained under Grand Master Yoda, before becoming a Jedi Master himself, and took Qui-Gon Jinn in as his Padawan.
Eventually, however, he fell to the dark side of the Force and became a powerful Sith Lord as the second apprentice of Darth Sidious, as well as the founder and Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In turn, he would become the master of both General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. He is also the perpetrator of the Clone Wars, orchestrated by Sidious, with Tyranus manhandling and coordinating Sidious' plans on his behalf.
Despite his antagonistic role, he appears in the 2022 Disney+ animated anthology series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi as the main protagonist of the episodes "Justice", "Choices" and "The Sith Lord".
He was famously portrayed by the late Sir Christopher Lee in all his film appearances, while in the Clone Wars animated TV series, he was voiced by Corey Burton.
Personality[]
Dooku is ruthless and utterly amoral, seeing others as mere objects to be used and discarded. Friendship, loyalty and love mean nothing to him, and betrayal is second nature. He is also intelligent and charismatic, and able to manipulate virtually anyone into seeing him as a savior, an ally, or whatever else benefits him the most at a given time.
While serving Darth Sidious, Dooku is a ruthless terrorist and warlord, whose methods included torture, murder, and even genocide. However, before turning to the dark side, he was a respected Jedi Master, having been trained by Yoda and served as the Master of Qui-Gon Jinn. During that time, he was unconventional in his philosophy and methods, often at odds with the Jedi Council. He defended, for example, the controversial theory of the Living Force rather than the unified Force. He taught it and another atypical view at his apprentice. He presented himself as a political idealist, but his only real objective was power.
By this time with his new Sith identity, he was not above double-crossing his own supporters and allies such as Asajj Ventress because she was failing him, but he showed some regret after turning his back on Ventress, infuriating his own master, Darth Sidious.
Arguably, Dooku's greatest weaknesses are his arrogance and vanity; he believes himself to be superior to everyone else by virtue of both his aristocratic lineage and what he believes are his natural gifts, and this sometimes leads him to make mistakes and errors in judgment. He despises the galaxy's "common" inhabitants, whom he dismisses as "ignorant rabble". He also had a certain fondness for Obi-Wan Kenobi, partially because he was taught by Dooku's Padawan. This was shown when he asked Obi-Wan to join him in his quest of power and even telling him the truth that the Republic was governed by Darth Sidious, though the Jedi didn't believe him. But it didn't stop him from trying to have him killed in several ways.
While faced with his demise, Dooku was visibly shocked, as he never realized that he was only a pawn in Sidious' schemes. So the Count realized too late that betrayal was Sidious's way. Despite this, he faces his impending demise without saying anything or revealing Palpatine's true nature.
Although in the past, Dooku wasn't always ruthless, as serving under the Jedi Order he saw the corruption in the Senate and the Jedi have lost their way to the point where they allow people to suffer; he was almost provoked to kill a corrupt politician, but his Padawan Qui-Gon Jinn was a calming influence; though once Qui-Gon advanced to Jedi Master himself, there was nobody left close to him to challenge Dooku's aggressive impulses. Dooku's disillusionment with the Jedi Order and Republic made him susceptible to Darth Sidous' manipulation, although even when first aligning with him, Dooku showed disdain for the violence unleashed. When confronted by Yaddle, Dooku felt internal conflict about killing a former friend, but ultimately he obeyed Sidious' will and murdered her, which cemented his path in the dark side; ironically beginning the eventual corruption of the beliefs that made him betray the Jedi Council in the first place.
Powers and Abilities[]
Dooku was an exceptionally gifted Force user, having immense power in the Force and being an esteemed lightsaber duelist. He was regarded as part of the unofficial Big Three of the Jedi Order, alongside Yoda and Mace Windu.
Powers[]
- The Force: Despite his old age, Dooku was extremely powerful and had an extremely strong connection to the Force. Although he was not quite as powerful as Anakin Skywalker at his peak, Dooku was still one of the most powerful Force-users in the history of the galaxy; arrogantly claiming himself to have been more powerful than any single Jedi of his time. Despite this claim, Dooku's Force potential did not come anywhere close to surpassing Yoda and Sidious at their peak.
- Telekinesis: Dooku was very proficient in telekinesis and utilized it either as offensive or defense.
- Force Push: Dooku utilized Force Push to send his opponents flying through the air, causing them serious injury or temporarily incapacitating them/knocked them unconscious.
- Force Flight: Dooku utilized Force Flight to levitate himself or to slow-down his fall to the ground.
- Force Choke: Dooku utilized Force Choke to either weaken, kill or intimidate his opponents.
- Force Grip: Dooku utilized Force Grip to lift his opponents off the ground, sometimes by the neck, to immobilize or throw them. His abilities also allowed him to influence the movements of people, as he was able to force the pirate Turk Falso to shoot his comrade while simultaneously choking him, while he performed a similar feat when he made Padmé Amidala aim at and shoot Bec Lawise.
- Force Deflection: Dooku utilized Force deflection to redirect incoming attacks, such as Force lightning, with or without his lightsaber, though it was difficult to do so.
- Mind Trick: Dooku utilized Mind Trick to control the minds of other sentient beings. However, it did not work on individuals who have very strong wills.
- Taming Beasts: Dooku utilized Taming Beasts to control the minds of other animals.
- Force Lightning: Dooku utilized Force Lightning to torture or kill his opponents.
- Force Dash: Dooku utilized Force Dash to move at amazing speeds.
- Force Jump: Dooku utilized Force Jump to jump or leap at great distances.
- Telekinesis: Dooku was very proficient in telekinesis and utilized it either as offensive or defense.
Abilities[]
- Genius-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader: Dooku was highly intelligent; his intellectual abilities were surpassed in the Jedi Order only by Yoda. As a Sith General, Dooku was a highly skilled strategist and tactician as well as a very capable leader.
- Charisma: As Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Dooku was a very charismatic leader, swaying thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, of star systems to his side. He was widely popular among the CIS citizenry and utilized propaganda to keep his true nature out of public view.
- Wealth/Political Power: Being Count of Serenno, Dooku rules over an entire planet and is one of the richest beings in the galaxy. During the Clone Wars he was given emergency powers by the Separatist Parliament, effectively making him a dictator in all but name.
- Master Lightsaber Combatant: Dooku was extremely skilled in lightsaber combat, due to following a philosophy of single-minded focus on mastery, having spent decades determinately focused on the perfecting of his skill and practicing daily. According to multiple individuals, By the time he had left the Jedi Order, Dooku was one of the most skilled duelists in the Order's entire history. Yoda was regarded as his only potential superior and Mace Windu his only equal, with even Windu himself not being confident in his own ability against Dooku. Dooku however allowed himself to fall out practice due to prioritizing his focus on mastering the Dark side over maintaining his blade practice following his joining the Sith, coupled with his advancing age slowing his reflexes. Despite his loss of ability Dooku still remained an immensely skilled swordsman, though his lessened ability allowed him to be defeated by Anakin Skywalker, who had become a master swordsman in his own right. In his prime, he was one of the few known individuals who could equally match Yoda in a fair fight.
- Form II: Dooku was a master of Makashi; he used it nearly exclusively and was believed by many the most proficient practitioner of the style in the history of the Jedi Order. His skill was such that he was capable of overcoming many of the style's traditionally recognized weaknesses, such as blaster deflection and solid blocking, although this wasn't enough to keep him from being defeated when Anakin overpowered him shortly before killing him.
- Dun Möch: Dooku was skilled in Dun Möch, using psychological warfare against his opponents, such as taunting Obi-Wan and Anakin during their fights.
History[]
Tales of the Jedi[]
Dooku was once a Jedi himself, trained by Master Yoda. He rose through the ranks to become one of the finest Jedi of his generation. Dooku's lightsaber skills were inspirational to many younglings, and he was a veteran of many conflicts. During his time with the Jedi Order, he took two Padawans, the first being Rael Averross and Qui-Gon Jinn, forming strong attachments with them. In Legends, Dooku had another apprentice named Komari Vosa.
Known only to Rael and Qui-Gon, Dooku became obsessed with the ancient prophecies of the Jedi mystics. These prophecies lead to Dooku to secretly explore the dark side of the Force, even learning the ability of Force lightning that he used to save Qui-Gon from being killed by Shenda Mol. At one point, Dooku joined the Jedi Council, but then left the Order so he could inherit the title of Count of Serenno.
While Dooku claimed his reason for leaving is that he disagreed with the Order's methods, he was secretly keen to further explore the dark side, quickly gaining power both in authority and knowledge. Dooku became one of the Lost Twenty, twenty Jedi Masters who voluntarily left the Order.
Dooku joined the Sith as Darth Tyranus, working under Darth Sidious, but was not considered a Sith apprentice yet. The two planned to take control of the Clone army project, that Dooku's friend, the Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas secretly ordered the Kaminoans on the planet Kamino to create. Dooku as Darth Tyranus, betrayed his old friend Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, by hiring the Pyke Syndicate to assassinate him, which allowed both him and Sidious to take control of the Clone army project.
Just after the death of Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku traveled to the Works on Coruscant in order to meet with Sidious, where he voiced his anger over Maul killing Qui Gon, and how Sidious has made him betray his own people. What he did not know was that Jedi Master Yaddle had followed him to the Works and discovered that he was working with Sidious. While Yaddle gave him a chance to set aside the dark side and return to the light, Dooku was determined to travel the dark path and he killed Yaddle in combat, leading to him becoming Sidious's second apprentice.
In canon, Dooku had left the Jedi Order 10 years before Qui Gon's death and was working for Sidious prior to Jinn's death, but didn't become an official Sith apprentice until after Jinn's death and Maul's apparent death. In Legends, however, Dooku left the Jedi following the death of Qui Gon and became Sidious's apprentice not long after.
Shortly after becoming Sidious's apprentice, Dooku as Darth Tyranus, chose bounty hunter Jango Fett as the genetic donor for the army and set the Kaminoans to work. He also had the Kaminoans insert control chips into each clone. These chips had been originally been intended by Dyas as a safeguard against rogue Jedi, but Dooku and Sidious retooled the chips to compel the clones to view the Jedi as traitors to the Republic and subsequently execute them upon Sidious' command. To hide his and Sidious' motives, Tyranus posed as a Jedi to the Kaminoans and deceived them into believing Dyas's intention, while also ordering them to keep this a secret.
Dooku would emerge as the political leader of a Separatist movement that persuaded thousands of star systems to split away from the Republic. Count Dooku gave orders to officers and commanders of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and other powerful corporations to secede from the Republic. Dooku was a challenging opponent in lightsaber-wielding and usually had the upper hand due to his unique fighting techniques and many years of experience.
Attack of the Clones[]
Count Dooku was introduced in Attack of the Clones as a former Jedi Master who had left the Jedi due to him having lost faith in the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic the Jedi served. He became the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a confederation of planetary systems rebelling against the Republic. Dooku believes that the Republic is corrupt and gives excessive taxation, that its politicians are more interested in maintaining the bureaucracy and enriching themselves than in properly representing their people, as well as believing that they're more focusing in the Republic-centric Core Worlds and neglecting the others.
Dooku recruits the bounty hunter Jango Fett to assassinate Senator Padmé Amidala on Coruscant, but the attempt is foiled by her Jedi protectors. Dooku captures the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi on Geonosis, and tells him that thousands of senators are under the influence of a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious. Dooku asserts that he is attempting to save the Republic, and tries to convince Obi-Wan to join him. When Padmé and Anakin Skywalker arrive on Geonosis to rescue Obi-Wan, Dooku captures them as well and sentences all three to death.
A Jedi strike team eventually arrives to rescue the trio, and are soon joined by the Republic's new clone army, resulting in a large-scale battle between the Republic and Separatist forces. Dooku tries to flee, but Obi-Wan and Anakin follow him and engage him in a lightsaber duel. Dooku subdues Anakin with Force lightning, wounds Obi-Wan, then cuts off Anakin's arm. Dooku's former master Yoda then arrives and the two duel. Unable to match Yoda's prowess, Dooku distracts him by using the Force to dislodge a large pillar and send it falling toward Anakin and Obi-Wan. While Yoda is saving the two injured Jedi, Dooku escapes the planet. He brings the designs for the Death Star to his master Darth Sidious, informing him that the war has begun and that their plan is working.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars[]
2003 Microseries Season 1[]
Count Dooku arrived on planet Rattatak to witness the gladiator fights at the "Cauldron". Asajj Ventress beats every opponent in the arena and claims to be a Sith. He submits Asajj Ventress to a test with a lightsaber before sending her on her way to find and eliminate Anakin Skywalker.
Film[]
Count Dooku lead the Separatists' battle droid armies, aided by his Dark Jedi apprentice Asajj Ventress and the cyborg General Grevious. At some point during the Clone Wars, Dooku ordered the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's son Rotta on the planet Tatooine carried out by his assassin Asajj Ventress and Ziro the Hutt, Jabba's uncle, in an attempt to frame the Jedi and forge an alliance with the Hutts. The attempt was successful and Dooku arrived on Tatooine to lie to Jabba about the Jedi kidnapping his son.
However, Anakin, now a Jedi Knight with a cybernetic right arm, and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, were able to rescue Rotta and escape Teth while Obi-Wan stayed behind and defeated Ventress. Dooku was later informed that Anakin and Ahsoka were heading for Tatooine with Rotta and ordered his MagnaGuards to shoot their ship down. After they successfully shot down their ship, Dooku left to confront Anakin while his MagnaGuards fought Ahsoka.
When Dooku found Anakin, he ordered the hero to surrender Rotta to him or die, but Anakin revealed Rotta was with Ahsoka, sparking a duel between the two in the desert. During the fight, Dooku revealed to Anakin about Ahsoka's conflict with the MagnaGuards. In response, Anakin knocked Dooku onto the sand and stole his speeder bike to save Ahsoka. After destroying the droids, Anakin and Ahsoka returned Rotta to Jabba and told the truth about Dooku and Jabba allied with the Republic as thanks, foiling Dooku's scheme. However, Dooku had escaped from Tatooine telling his master that the war will be more difficult while Anakin returned Rotta to his father, and Ziro was arrested. But the Sith Lord seemed oddly unconcerned by the losses assuring his apprentice that the tide of war still turned in their favor according with Sidious' master plan as Jabba allowed the Republic to use the Hutt Cartel hyperspace lanes.
Series[]
Towards the beginning of the war, Dooku learned that King Katuunko was considering joining the Republic and was going to speak with his former master Yoda on the neutral moon of, Rugosa. Doooku did not want the king to join the Republic so he sent his apprentice, Ventress, to convince him to join the Separatists.
Ventress was able to make a deal with Katuunko and Yoda, if Yoda and his three troopers defeated her droid battalion, the Toydarians would be allowed to join the Republic, but if her droids captured Yoda, Katuunko would join the Separatists. Dooku approved believing Yoda made a mistake in coming to the planet. However, Yoda beats the droids with help from the clones. Katunnoku decided to join the Republic, and Dooku then ordered Ventress to kill him, which failed when Yoda arrived. Dooku told Yoda that he was fortunate he was not there in person, then left alongside Ventress.
Later, Dooku assisted his right-hand servant, the cyborg General Grevious, on board his warship the Malevolence, which possessed a powerful ion cannon that could destroy entire Republic fleets. As time went by, Grievous destroyed many Republic fleets and many warships, most notably the Triumphant during the battle of Abregado which had impressed Dooku.
Later, Dooku ordered Grievous to attack a Republic medical station in the Kaliida Nebula. Grievous attacked, but during the battle, the ion cannon was badly damaged just as Republic reinforcements arrived to destroy the Malevolence. Dooku informed Grievous via hologram that Senator Amidala was heading for the sector and if Grievous could capture her, the clones would have to retreat, giving enough time for the Malevolence to escape.
Grievous captured the senator, but a Jedi invasion forced Grievous to flee. The Malevolence was destroyed when it crashed into a nearby moon, but Grievous escaped in his starfighter, and Amidala was rescued by Anakin, much to Dooku's frustration. Later, Dooku was informed of Viceroy Nute Gunray's capture on the planet Rodia. In response, Dooku sent Ventress to attack the Tranquility, which was the ship Gunray was incarcerated on and was heading to Coruscant, and rescue Gunray.
When Ventress and a group of battle droids infiltrated the Tranquility and fought the Jedi Luminara Unduli and Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka Tano on board the ship, Dooku sent a signal to Senate commando Faro Argyus, whom he bribed, to liberate Gunray. Ventress was able to evade the Jedi and escaped with Gunray and Argyus.
After their escape, Argyus was killed by Ventress when he tried to discredit her. Later, Dooku contacted Grievous, demanding more dead Jedi and clones. To set up a test for his second-in-command, Dooku used a Republic tracking beacon to trick the Jedi into thinking Gunray was on the third moon of Vassek and lure them into Grievous' fortress. Jedi Kit Fisto and Nadhar Vebb intercepted the signal and headed for Vassek with a small group of clones and made their way into the fortress. When they figured out Gunray wasn't there, Dooku appeared to the search team via hologram and offered them an "alternative prize".
Later, Dooku contacted Grievous again and Grievous informed him that he killed all the clones and Vebb, but Fisto defeated him and escaped to Coruscant, to which Dooku replied that there was "room for improvement". Later, the Republic tracked Dooku down and Anakin and Obi-Wan infiltrated his frigate and cornered him as Republic troops arrived, but Dooku fell through an escape hatch before Anakin could capture him. Anakin went after him through the hatch, but Dooku delayed him with his force lightning. When Dooku reached the hangar, he boarded his solar sailor and escaped, but was pursued by Anakin and Obi-Wan using a stolen Separatist ship.
The Jedi opened fire on the Count and shot Dooku down, forcing him to crash-land on the planet Vanqor. Dooku attached a tracking beacon to his ship and escaped into the caves just as Anakin and Obi-Wan landed on the surface to capture him. Anakin destroyed the beacon and went with Obi-Wan into the caves. Dooku caused a cave-in with the force that trapped the Jedi and stole Anakin's lightsaber. After escaping the caves, Dooku came across a gang of Weequay pirates led by Hondo Ohnaka.
Dooku asked Hondo to take him to a civilized planet. Hondo and his gang took Dooku with them to their headquarters on the planet Florrum. Upon arrival, the pirates captured Dooku and disarmed him. Later, Hondo contacted Chancellor Palpatine and informed him of Dooku's capture and was holding him for ransom. He offered 1,000,000 credits in spice in exchange for Dooku. Palpatine sent Anakin and Obi-Wan to Florrum to confirm Dooku was indeed being held by the pirates. They found Dooku in a holding cell who warned them not to trust the pirates, but they did not listen and were captured by the pirates who were wanting to triple their pay. Meanwhile, Senator Kharrus, Representative Jar Jar Binks, and a group of clones led by Commander Stone arrived in Florrum to pay the pirates. Dooku, Anakin, and Obi-Wan escaped three times but were recaptured and imprisoned. Later, Anakin and Obi-Wan were taken to Hondo for electrical torture. Later, during a power outage caused by Jar Jar crashing a tank into a power field, Dooku killed the pirate guarding his cell and escaped.
After retrieving his lightsaber, Dooku made his way to the hangar and force choked Hondo's second-in-command, Turk Falso, to death, but not before forcing him to kill his partner Barb Mentir with his blaster. Dooku then stole their ship and ultimately escaped Florrum as Anakin and Obi-Wan were rescued by Jar Jar and Stone. On his way back to his frigate, Dooku created a holorecording chronicling these events, however he chose to delete it rather than share with Sidious due to now wanting his master to know how he got kidnapped. Later, Dooku gave General Lok Durd permission to construct the weapon called the Defoliator. Durd demonstrated the Defoliator's capabilities: it could incinerate organic life and leave battle droids unharmed. Dooku was impressed when the first test was successful but knew Durd only created the Defoliator to get a promotion. Dooku then instructed Durd to use the Defoliator on the Lurmen inhabitants of the isolated planet Maridun, so they could see how the Defoliator affected living creatures. Unfortunately, the attempt failed as a small group of clones and Jedi defended the Lurmen, and Anakin destroyed the Defoliator and captured Durd.
Later, the Separatist leader Wat Tambor invaded and successfully took control of the planet Ryloth. Dooku gave Tambor strict orders to prevent the Republic from interfering with their control. However, the Republic arrived and broke through the Separatist blockade and proceeded to deploy clones and Jedi to the surface to liberate Ryloth from Tambor's control. Dooku ordered Tambor to steal every valuable resource from the capital city Lessu and escape Ryloth before the Republic arrives. TA-175, Tambor's tactical droid, kept in contact with Dooku against Tambor's orders. Later, clone troopers led by Jedi general Mace Windu and the Twi'lek freedom fighters led by Cham Syndulla attacked Lessu to capture Tambor.
However, unknown to Tambor, Dooku planned to bomb Lessu whether Tambor had fled or not and TA-175 betrayed Tambor and fled in Tambor's vessel, leaving Tambor behind to be captured by Windu. Meanwhile, Dooku's plan to bomb Lessu ultimately failed as Anakin and Ahsoka shot down the bombers before they could drop the bombs. Later, Dooku allied with a Mandalorian terrorist organization known as Death Watch, led by Pre Vizsla, whose goal was to take over the planet Mandalore and defeat the pacifist government called the New Mandalorians, led by Duchess Satine Kryze. Dooku urged Vizsla to give the Republic a reason to send military presence to Mandalore, which Dooku believed would inspire a revolution. However, despite multiple assassination attempts, Satine proved her case to the senate and caused them to call off the occupation of Mandalore, despite the actions of an assassin sent by Dooku and Vizsla to kill her.
When a frustrated Vizsla promised to attack Mandalore, Dooku told him to hold off his attack as he would likely end up ruling Mandalore for one day and that there were other ways to accomplish Death Watch's goal to conquer Mandalore. Later, the Galactic Senate refused to deregulate the banks, and Techno Union officials contacted Dooku, suggesting he bring the war to Coruscant's doorstep. In response, Dooku ordered Grievous to send demolition droids undercover to Coruscant to sabotage the capital. Meanwhile, on planet Raxus, Dooku publicly supported a peace treaty between the Republic and the Separatists. However, Dooku still planned to prolong the war. Grievous's successful sabotage of Coruscant prolonged Dooku's plans. After the attack, Dooku was informed that senator Mina Bonteri had been responsible for the peace treaty and ordered his agents to kill her, and Dooku later contacted the Republic and lied to them about a Republic attack on Raxus to cover up Bonteri's death, but was blown by spies.
Later, Dooku hired two bounty hunters, Robonino and Chata Hyoki, to kill any senators voting against their new bill. The duo managed to injure or kill twenty senators but was arrested after an attempt on Amidala and Bail Organa's lives and the bill was vetoed. Later, in his lair on planet Serreno, he was informed by his Master of Ventress' growing power and Dooku decided to eliminate her. He ordered his droids to destroy their command ship, where Ventress was fighting Anakin and Obi-Wan. Anakin and Obi-Wan escaped while Ventress was seemingly killed. Unknown to Dooku, Ventress survived and escaped to the planet Dathomir where she enlisted aid from the Nightsisters. Later, Ventress and two Nightsisters turned invisible and used Jedi lightsabers to attempt to assassinate Dooku, who fought them. Dooku eventually defeated the Nightsisters and used Force lightning to send them off a cliff, which they survived. Dooku believed the Jedi were responsible for the attack and contacted Mother Talzin who informed him that she would find a replacement for Ventress. Later, Dooku traveled to Dathomir to discuss with Talzin the plans.
She mentioned Darth Maul, who Dooku knew had "died" on Naboo at the hands of Obi-Wan (and killed his old apprentice Qui Gon). Later, the Nightsisters presented a Nightbrother with enhanced dark Force abilities named Savage Opress to Dooku and he took Opress to Serenno to be his new apprentice. On Serreno, Dooku gave Opress his first task: attack a sanctuary on planet Devaron, which he carried out successfully. After informing Dooku of his success, Dooku congratulated him and promised one day they will rule the galaxy together. After training, Dooku sent Opress to Toydaria to capture King Kantuunko. Despite resistance from Anakin and Obi-Wan, Opress successfully captured the king but killed him in an escape attempt. When Opress returned to Dooku with the deceased king, Dooku got very angry and shocked Opress with lightning, causing Opress to beg for forgiveness. Dooku said that forgiveness is not the way of the dark side and continued electrocuting him.
During the punishment, Ventress revealed herself to Dooku and reminded Opress that he is her servant. Despite his best efforts, Opress was no match for Dooku's Force lightning. Ventress angrily ordered Opress to continue, but he refused and attacked Ventress, giving Dooku time to flee. He soon confronted Ventress again, but she failed to defeat him and escaped in an escape pod, but not before blinding Dooku for the time being.
Later, Dooku was informed of Jedi general Even Piell's capture and imprisonment in a Separatist prison called the Citadel on the planet Lola Sayu and figured out he had information on the Nexus Routes which could change the tide of the war. Because of this, Dooku pressured the sadistic warden of the Citadel and Separatist operative, Osi Sobeck, to interrogate Piell and his men about the Nexus Routes. Later, a group of Jedi and clones led by Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan infiltrated the Citadel frozen in carbonite, but their cover was blown when one of the clones accidentally triggered an electro-mine and was killed.
Despite his best efforts, the Jedi evaded Sobeck's traps and successfully rescued Piell and his head naval officer Grand Moff Tarkin and many others. Dooku was furious and contacted Sobeck and ordered him to recapture Piell and his naval officers and capture the rescue squad, but Sobeck assured him that everything was under control and ended the transmission and proceeded to prevent the Jedi from escaping with Piell by destroying a Separatist ship and killed a clone named Echo, ho sacrificed himself to destroy the droids, but the Jedi and the surviving clones and naval officers fled to the caves below to contact the Republic for assistance. At the same time, Dooku attempted to contact Sobeck again, but Sobeck ignored him to cut off the Jedi's escape.
Eventually, Dooku was able to contact Sobeck, who informed the warden of the significance of the Jedi's capture, to which Sobeck swore to accomplish, but Dooku reminded him that Sobeck's promises to capture the Jedi were the only things that were keeping him alive. Although Sobeck sent Anoobas to track the Jedi and successfully killed Piell, Sobck ultimately failed to stop the Jedi from escaping the Citadel with the Nexus Route information and was killed by Ahsoka and the Jedi, clones, and the naval officers escaped. Later, Dooku sent Separatist operative Riff Tamson to assassinate Yos Kolina, the king of planet Mon Cala, to disrupt tensions between the planet's two native species: the Mon Calamari and the Quarren, which Tamson carried out successfully and relations between the two races declined and the Quarren allied with the Separatists, while the Republic backed the Mon Calamari and sent an army of clones and Jedi to quell the tensions, but Tamson attacked the Mon Calamari on Dooku's orders and attempted to kill Prince Lee-Char, son of the deceased Yos Kolina, but the Republic forces drove him back and retreated.
Dooku contacted Tamson and ordered him to unleash the Hydroid Medusas on the Mon Calamari, which he did successfully and captured many Mon Calamari and clones and killed several others. After this, Dooku contacted Tamson and ordered him to kill Lee-Char. However, the Republic destroyed the Separatist signal tower and sent a distress signal to Naboo and the Gungan army came to their aid, but Tamson was able to capture the Jedi and a majority of Gungans, but Lee-Char was able to elude him with Ahsoka.
When Dooku contacted Tamson and Nossor Ri, Ri questioned the outcome of the defeat of the Mon Calamari, but Dooku responded that Tamson had sent his troops to help. However, Lee-Char was able to liberate his people and the clones and Jedi freed themselves and Lee-Char convinced the Quarren are only being used by the Separatists to further their goals. Lee-Char then confronted Tamson himself and threw an explosive knife at Tamson, killing him and foiling the Separatists once again. Later, Dooku traveled to Naboo. While there, he ordered his agent Minister Rish Loo to hypnotize the leader of the Gungans, Boss Lyonie, to rallying the gungans against Naboo but was foiled by Anakin and Lyoni was knocked out while Rish escaped. Later, representative Jar Jar Binks disguised as Lyonie put the attack on Theed, Naboo's capital, on hold, and Rish escaped on a speeder bike pursued by Anakin. Later, Dooku was informed of Grievous's capture and planned a trap for Anakin and contacted Rish to lure Anakin to his location.
When Rish leads Anakin to Dooku, Dooku killed Rish and fought Anakin. During the fight, Dooku activated MagnaGuards to help him. Anakin destroyed the Magnaguards, but Dooku defeated the hero and captured him. He later contacted Amidala and told her if she would release Grievous, he would return Anakin in exchange. Amidala accepted the Count's request and released Grievous and in turn, Dooku released Anakin and the Separatists left Naboo. Later, Dooku met up with the Zygerrian race, who were allied with the Separatists from the beginning and were seeking to rebuild their slave empire after it was destroyed by the Jedi years before the war.
Dooku and the Zygerrians later traveled to planet Kiros and made an agreement with the Togrutan colonists to protect them for the rest of the war, and Dooku promised the colonists a "temporary haven" until the war had ended. The Separatists then proceeded to abduct all of the colonists and board them on Zygerrian slave ships which carried the colonists to slavery on the planet Zygerria where the Zygerrian queen Miraj Scintel was planning a royal slave auction. Dooku left a Zygerrian slaver and Separatist operative Darts D'nar in charge of his droids on Kiros. D'Nar proceeded to plant bombs across the village and linked the final two together so one would go off if the other was tampered with. Later, Republic forces arrived to rescue the colonists to no avail, but they easily defeated most of D'Nar's droids, prompting him to contact Obi-Wan to agree on terms of surrender. While negotiating surrender with Obi-Wan, Dooku ordered D'Nar to kill Obi-Wan and ended the transmission. Obi, Wan narrowly subdued D'Nar while Anakin and Ahsoka disabled the bombs.
D'Nar then proceeded to flee in his ship to Zygerria, but one of the ship's engines was disabled by Anakin, and Anakin and Ahsoka captured D'Nar and forced him to reveal the location of the colonists. Later, Dooku was informed that Anakin, Obi-Wan, and clone commander Rex infiltrated Zygerria disguised as Zygerrian slavers and Ahsoka was disguised as a slave. Anakin kept Scintel occupied while Rx and Obi-Wan attempted to free the colonists, but were captured. Ahsoka was captured as well, but Scintel kept Anakin as her servant while Obi-Wan, Rex, and the colonists were relocated to planet Kadavo. After being informed of this, Dooku traveled to Zygerria to speak with Scintel. Once there, Scintel told Dooku that she kept Anakin alive because she believed him to be a valuable servant and revealed that Obi-Wan would soon realize that he could no longer help the colonists and cause his spirit to sink into servitude and told Dooku about the advantage of having an army of enslaved Jedi at his command.
However, Dooku revealed to the queen that he has no desire to enslave Jedi, but execute them and ordered her to summon Anakin and kill him, but she refused and Prime Minister Atai Molec betrayed her and Dooku force choked her before Anakin intervened using a shock whip, but was no match for Dooku and escaped from the palace with a dying Scintel to regroup with a freed Ahsoka. Later, Dooku contacted Keeper Agruss stationed on Kadavo and ordered the execution of Obi-Wan and ended transmission just as Anakin, Ahsoka, and Republic reinforcements arrived.
During the battle, Dooku's plans to enslave the colonists failed and the colonists were freed by Ahsoka, and Rex killed Arguss and Anakin and Obi-Wan and the rest of the Republic escaped just as the facility exploded. Later, Dooku told Separatist operative and criminal mastermind Moralo Eval to orchestrate a plan to kidnap and kill Chancellor Palpatine on Coruscant. During the plan, Eval hired the bounty hunter Cad Bane to help him carry out his plan. Eventually, Republic forces tracked down and captured Eval and incarcerated him, but Palpatine and the Republic believed that the attempt on his life was still in effect.
Bane was also incarcerated sometime later. In response, the Jedi council had Obi-Wan disguised as the assassin Rako Hardeen to infiltrate the prison where Eval was being held in hopes of getting information on Eval's plans. After gaining their trust, Obi-Wan, Bane, and Eval escaped from prison and fled to Nal Hutta, where they acquired a ship and new weapons and contacted Dooku, who was frustrated that Eval was late to the meeting on Serreno. Eval told Dooku he would be running late and ended the transmission. Eventually, Eval, Bane, and Obi-Wan escaped Nal Hutta and were briefly pursued by Anakin and Ahsoka, who were unaware of Obi-Wan's undercover mission, but the trio lost them. After landing on Serrano, Dooku greeted the trio and ordered Eval to prepare the box, a training facility Eval invented to test a group of eleven bounty hunters to kidnap and assassinate Palpatine. As the tests went on, Dooku questioned Eval about Hardeen and was growing suspicious, to which he replied that he "killed" Obi-Wan. In the end, Bane, Obi-Wan, and three other bounty hunters survived and Dooku selected Bane as the leader of the bounty hunters.
The next day, Dooku briefed the bounty hunters on their mission and gave them holographic devices to disguise themselves as senate commandos. After the briefing, Dooku, who was still suspicious about Hardeen, suggested he keep a close eye on him, which the bounty hunter agreed to do. Obi-Wan was given orders to snipe the chancellor. Later, Palpatine arrived on Naboo for the ceremony of light. After Obi-Wan gave the signal to Windu to alert him of the bounty hunter's presence, Bane and his men attacked and Obi-Wan began assisting Windu and Anakin by sniping the bounty hunters, but Bane and Eval succeeded in taking Palpatine hostage and fled in a speeder heading for the rendezvous point where Dooku would meet them, though Obi-Wan pursued in a speeder. Upon arrival, Bane and Eval noticed Dooku was absent. Instead, Dooku took advantage of the chaos and slipped a comlink in Obi-Wan's sniper blaster's case to listen in on Obi-Wan and eventually discovered that Rako Hardeen was Obi-Wan in disguise.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan revealed himself to Bane and Eval and rescued Palpatine, leaving the infuriated duo to be arrested by Windu and Anakin. After the failed attempt on Palpatine's life, Dooku awaited Palpatine and Anakin in the palace's dining room accompanied by two magnaguards, which shocked the Jedi and the chancellor. Anakin ordered Palpatine to run, which he did, but a third magnaguard blocked the entrance to the dining room, preventing the chancellor's escape and Dooku fought Anakin. Eventually, Anakin destroyed the magnaguards and drove Dooku into the corridor, where Anakin slowly gained the upper hand, but Dooku used his force lightning to shock Anakin for the time being, but Obi-Wan (still disguised as Rako Hardeen), intervened to help Anakin. Anakin, with Obi-Wan's help, successfully overpowered and defeated Dooku, but Dooku hopped aboard his waiting shuttle and ultimately escaped Naboo.
Remembering their treachery with Savage Opress, Dooku, at the behest of Lord Sidious, dispatched General Grievous to wipe out Mother Talzin, Ventress, and the Nightsisters on Dathomir. However, Dooku was tortured by Talzin through her magick, demanding he call off Grievous and his army. Dooku contacted Grievous, ordering him to find Talzin before she killed him. Dooku was saved when Grievous apparently "killed" Talzin in a secret chamber of the Nightsister village. Following the Nightsister massacre, Dooku spoke with Grievous about Savage Opress. He feared that with Talzin gone, Savage would be a danger to him and his master, as he was becoming more powerful. Dooku also sensed a new threat coming something that felt sinister.
Later, rebels on the Separatist-occupied planet Onderon began to strike back against their tyrannical king, Sanjay Rash. After the rebels, led by Steela and her brother Saw, attacked the capital city Iziz with help from Republic troops led by Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, Rash contacted Dooku, requesting assistance. Dooku agreed not only to send more droids, but to send General Kalani to lead them.
Still having a score to settle with Hondo Ohnaka for holding him captive in the past, Dooku dispatched General Grievous to Florrum with an army of Battle Droids to seize and dismantle all of Ohnaka's possessions. He then had Grievous take Ohnaka away to a prison cell. Ohnaka survived the assault but much of his base was left in ruins.
It was later revealed that his involvement in the origins of the Clone Wars stretched much deeper. With new evidence into the death of Sifo-Dyas, the Jedi who supposedly ordered the creation of the clone army, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker visited the Pyke Syndicate on Oba Diah. They learned that the Pykes were hired by a man named Tyranus to kill the Jedi, but that the crime family had secretly kept his companion, Silman, alive. Obi-Wan and Anakin began to speak to the captive, but he was quickly Force choked by an unseen attacker: Count Dooku had arrived, sent by Darth Sidious to tie up all loose ends to the death of Sifo-Dyas. Lom, leader of the Pykes, called Dooku by his Sith name, revealing to the Jedi the unsettling truth behind the mystery of the clone army. Dooku, or Darth Tyranus, escaped once more in his solar sailer after a brief duel with Anakin, and the Jedi had no choice, but to continue playing the Sith’s game.
Dooku was later informed by Kraken that Lord Sidious demanded his presence on Coruscant. Arriving on Coruscant in the Works, he was greeted by Sidious, who then led him to the tower's ceremonial chamber. Both he and Lord Sidious felt that Yoda was on the Sith homeworld of Moraband for some unknown reason. Dooku then allowed Sidious to use his blood to create an illusion for Yoda due to him being his former master with both using their Sith lightning. In the ritual, Dooku and Sidious were confronted by Yoda, Anakin Skywalker, Captain Rex, and a squad of clone troopers who were tasked with eliminating the Sith. Dooku attacked the clones with Force lightning and dueled with Skywalker and was eventually killed by him. At the end of the ritual, they had failed in breaking Yoda and knew they needed more time to defeat him and the Jedi.
Revenge of the Sith[]
Dooku and the Separatist commander General Grievous have kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine—Sidious's alter ego—as part of a plan orchestrated by Palpatine to lure Anakin to the dark side of the Force. Unknown to Dooku, Sidious desired Anakin to replace him as his Sith apprentice due to how powerful he was, and as such, intended for Anakin to kill Dooku in order to lure him to the dark side. Anakin and Obi-Wan board Grievous's ship and confront Dooku, who knocks Obi-Wan unconscious. Anakin then overpowers Dooku and severs both of his hands. Palpatine then betrays his apprentice by ordering Anakin to kill him, much to the horror of Dooku. Despite Anakin's reluctance as killing an unarmed prisoner is not Jedi way, Palpatine's urging leads to Anakin killing and decapitating the helpless Count.
In a deleted scene, Dooku claims that he arranged for Tusken Raiders to kidnap and kill Anakin's mother, as seen in Attack of the Clones.
Trivia[]
- Like Darth Maul and General Grievous, Dooku is one of the villains in the Star Wars prequel trilogy who each foreshadow a different aspect of Anakin's future as Darth Vader. In his case, Dooku represents the fallen Jedi who desires to bring order to the galaxy as well as plotting to overthrow his master at the same time that later loses his hands during battle and whose victorious opponent is ordered by Sidious to end their life.
- In the Brazilian localization, Dooku's name was changed to "Dookan", likely in order to avoid dirty puns with the character's name, as it sounded like a popular slang term for "anus".
- The scene in Revenge of the Sith where Palpatine orders Anakin to kill Dooku mirrors the scene in Return of The Jedi, the last film in the original trilogy, where he pressures Anakin's own son Luke to kill Anakin (who was now Darth Vader).
- Sidious mentioned Dooku in the LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales episode that retells the story of Return of The Jedi right where Luke is about to destroy Vader. Probably a reference to the previous point.
- Dooku also appeared in countless Lego Star Wars sets from 2002-2013, as well as appearing in the LEGO Star Wars games.
- Christopher Lee's Lord of The Rings co-star Andy Serkis would later play Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy and Kino Loy from Andor.
- Just before Dooku gets killed in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Dooku had mentioned to Anakin that he had great fear inside him along with hate and anger foreshadowing Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader and Anakin murdering Padmé, his wife in anger.
- In the LEGO video game adaptation, Dooku loses just his right hand during the fight (and then falls over rather than kneeling), and his death occurs just seconds later instead of tens of seconds.
- Dooku makes an appearance in Angry Birds Star Wars 2, renamed Count Porku. To attack, he tosses his lightsaber, and it boomerangs back. His ability makes him similar to Mace Windu, but his lightsaber is red instead of purple, while Mace Windu uses a purple lightsaber for his version of the ability. He is also defeated by simply whacking the back of his head, with none of his limbs being taken. However, his absence past this point mirrors his original incarnation's death.
- Despite being the main villain of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dooku did not appear during its seventh and final season despite being mentioned multiple times. Also, his death in Revenge of the Sith occurred before the final two episodes of the show.
- Count Dooku killed his brother and sister to turn himself to the dark side. In the current canon, he completes his turn by killing Yaddle.
- Dooku first appeared in Attack of the Clones, the second film of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Both his masters of the light and dark side of the force were Yoda and Sidious who both first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, the second film of the original Star Wars trilogy.
- Dooku is the only main antagonist of the second film in a Star Wars trilogy who does not redeem himself in the third film of his respective trilogy as both Darth Vader and his grandson Kylo Ren redeemed themselves in Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker respectively. However it is possible he would have redeemed had Anakin spared him. As such, he is the only one of Palpatine’s apprentices who is never redeemed, as even Darth Maul made peace with Obi-Wan Kenobi just before his death in Rebels.
- In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dooku acted much more cruel and evil than in his other appearances. Examples of these include:
- Spitefully murdered his loyal servant Bec Lawise without a second thought when the former brought up that the Separatist Senate would never approve of his invasion on Scipio. He also forced Padme to kill him by forcing her to aim her gun with the Force and pull the trigger.
- Blackmailed Rush Clovis to forgive Separatist debts and raise interest rates on the Republic.
- Ordered General Grievous to attack a Republic medical station, which is a war crime.
- Ordered innocent Mon Calamari prisoners to be sent to forced labor camps, including women and children.
- Ordered the destruction of Ryloth and then planned to blame it on the Republic.
- Giving the peaceful Togrutan race to the Zygerrians so they could enslave them.
- Taking Jabba's offspring and attempting to blame the Jedi for it, even going so far as to attempt to have Ventress kill him so that Jabba will join the CIS.
- Was a sadistic master towards his apprentice Savage Opress, inflicting several torrents of Force lightning onto him (albeit this is normal for Sith training).
- Ordering genocide against the Nightsisters to erase them as a threat and revenge for their attempts on his life.
- Ordering the death of Mina Bonteri for trying to end the war, even though she was one of his own supporters and even admired him.
External Links[]
- Count Dooku on the Star Wars Wiki
- Count Dooku (Legends) on the Star Wars Wiki
- Count Dooku on the The Clone Wars Wiki
- Count Dooku on the Disney Wiki
- Count Dooku on the Villains Wiki
- Count Dooku on the Heroic Benchmark Wiki
- Dooku on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
