Poggle the Lesser/Legends

Poggle the Lesser (? – 19 BBY) was the Archduke of Geonosis during the Clone Wars, and was a member of the Separatist Council. As planetary leader of the Geonosians and member of the Techno Union, Poggle controlled the vast droid factories found on his planet.

Biography
Originally, Poggle was a member of the Geonosian lower caste, hence his surname 'the Lesser'. He sought the position held by then-Archduke Hadiss the Vaulted and organized a revolt against him, which seemed to be of little concern to Hadiss, who easily dealt with the rebels.

That was until the Sith Lord Darth Sidious came to Poggle's aid and secretly funded his revolution. Over time, Poggle's rebels finally seized power and Poggle at last became Archduke of the Stalgasin Hive Colony, the ruling hive of Geonosis, and Hadiss was executed in the Geonosian arena.

Once Poggle the Lesser was in power, Darth Sidious' intentions became clear: he wanted control of the droid factories to supply battle droids to the Trade Federation for an invasion of Naboo. Poggle, grateful for Sidious' help, gladly struck a deal with the Trade Federation. The fact that Poggle and the Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray hated each other but still worked together is a great testament to the influence of the Sith Lord.

Shortly after the Trade Federation was defeated at the Battle of Naboo, Poggle was approached by the rogue Jedi Count Dooku, revealing himself as Darth Tyranus, the new apprentice of Darth Sidious. Dooku formed a partnership with Poggle; the Archduke would ensure that Geonosis was among the founding worlds of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and supply a large supply of the Confederacy's battle droid army. In return, Poggle would be paid large sums of money for his trouble and Geonosis would earn a place on the high order of the new Confederacy. This partnership was lucrative; Poggle even took the liberty to create a new super battle droid for the Confederacy.

Nearly ten years after their initial meeting, Poggle the Lesser hosted first meeting of the Confederacy in the Stalgasin Hive. The Geonosians captured Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Senator Padmé Amidala soon after this meeting and Poggle himself presided over their trials, charging them with espionage and sentencing them to execution at the Geonosian arena. Senator Amidala warned Poggle that to execute three officials of the Republic was an act of war; Poggle scoffed that as a builder of weapons, he was more than prepared for it.

The execution did not go as Poggle planned, but despite the prisoners managing to outwit the arena beasts (and Nute Gunray's constant complaining), Poggle was satisfied by the display, until Mace Windu and several Jedi arrived to rescue them. Poggle's battle droids outnumbered the Jedi and victory seemed sure, until the Republic Army arrived. Poggle and the Separatists retreated to a war room and watched helplessly as the Republic Army, suddenly manned by squadrons of clone troopers, slaughtered their droid army. Poggle ordered his soldiers to retreat and hide, but before he joined them, he turned over plans to the Death Star - a secret project he had been contracted to build by the Separatists which would later become the Galactic Empire's feared superweapon - to Count Dooku and erased all data from his computers.

He was among the Separatist leaders sent to Mustafar by General Grievous by order of Darth Sidious, and, like the other leaders, there he met his fate and lost his head at the hands of the recent Sith Lord Darth Vader.

Personality and appearance
Poggle the Lesser was human-sized and insectoid like all Geonosians, but his frame was slightly larger than his servants and he had a set of fleshy, beard-like tendrils growing around his mouth as well as a prominent head-crest. At full height, Poggle stood almost as tall as Count Dooku. He carried with him a command staff which was rumored to be made from the bones of a murdered political rival - possibly a grim trophy from the execution of Hadiss the Vaulted.

Poggle the Lesser, like Nute Gunray, was aware of the existence of Darth Sidious, but like Jango Fett, he also knew that Count Dooku was Darth Tyranus. What Poggle didn't know, however, was the true identity of Lord Sidious or that the very clones used to attack him were commissioned by Sidious and Tyranus. Though not the most intelligent or diplomatically-versed being, it is notable that the Sith placed a great deal of trust in him, and that he and Count Dooku respected each other mutually (Dooku's Solar Sailer was a gift from Poggle), even if he was, for the most part, unaware of their true intentions. It is especially surprising in light of Dooku's Speciesist attitudes.

Behind the Scenes
In the novelization of the movie, Poggle tried to escape, but lost his head.

However, in the video game adaption, as Anakin Skywalker uses his lightsaber to cut through the door of the Separatist command center, Poggle holds out his hand as he backs up against a holographic display table. When Vader finishes slicing through, he Force-pushes the piece of the door toward the holographic display table, squeezing the Geonosian between the metal and the table. It is noted that a "juice" flies out of his body as Poggle the Lesser is squashed to death, almost as if he was a bug being whacked with a fly swatter.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
 * Reversal of Fortune
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith