Grievous

"I hear a lot of talking, General, but in the final accounting, what does all the talk get you? A futile quest for power? A mutilated body? And your place as Dooku's errand boy!" "I'm no errand boy, and I'm not in this war for Dooku's politics. I am the leader of the most powerful droid army the galaxy has ever seen!"

- Grievous to Obi-Wan Kenobi

Grievous was the Kaleesh cyborg Supreme Commander of the Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems for most of the Clone Wars. Originally a Kaleesh warrior from the planet Kalee, he chose to receive cybernetic implants to increase his combat prowess. He was recruited by Count Dooku to lead the Separatist Droid Army, and trained in the art of lightsaber combat.

Over the course of the Clone Wars, Grievous' shrewd battle planning and ruthlessness caused him to become feared throughout the Galactic Republic. The Kaleesh cyborg successfully combated the Republic's Jedi Generals, maintaining a collection of trophies; the lightsabers of Jedi he had slain. He clashed with Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi on multiple occasions. Under his command, the droid army wreaked havoc across the galaxy, attacking Kamino, where the Grand Army of the Republic's clone troopers were produced, and wiping out the Nightsisters of Dathomir, and even bombing the central power distribution grid on Coruscant, the Republic's capital, to keep the war going during peace talks. Following the reemergence of the fallen Sith Lord Darth Maul, the former apprentice of his master Darth Sidious, Grievous forced his retreat and killed Mother Talzin, the former leader of the Nightsisters.

Near the end of the war, Grievous led the attack on Coruscant aboard his flagship, the Invisible Hand, and successfully captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly his master Darth Sidious. However, he was forced to retreat following the death of Count Dooku at the hands of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and the crippling of his flagship, relocating to the remote Outer Rim world of Utapau. Palpatine leaked his location to the Jedi Council, who deployed Master Kenobi to kill the dreaded cyborg. Obi-Wan arrived in Pau City, a mining settlement in an Utapaun sinkhole, and the Jedi challenged him to a duel, with Kenobi's battalion of clones engaging Grievous' droid forces. Although he attempted to retreat in his personal starfighter, the Soulless One, his Jedi adversary shot the Kaleesh in his organ sack with Grievous' blaster rifle, resulting in the dreaded cyborg's demise.

Early Life
"Sometimes I wonder why you submitted to the changes.''" "''Improvements. I submit to no one. I chose them."

- EV-A4-D and Grievous

A Kaleesh warlord from the planet Kalee, Grievous was allied with InterGalactic Banking Clan Chairman San Hill, Archduke Poggle the Lesser, and Dooku, the count of Serenno. Grievous claimed to have chosen to be rebuilt and have portions of his body replaced with cybernetics. By the time of the Clone Wars, very little of his original body remained.

The Clone Wars
"The droid General Grievous has our forces spread thin."

- Jedi Master Mace Windu, to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

The Malevolence
After he had been chosen and trained in lightsaber combat by Count Dooku to lead the Separatist forces in the Clone Wars, Grievous then took the Malevolence as his flagship. Under the general's command, the Malevolence began executing attacks on Republic fleets that left no survivors. While stationed in the Abregado system with Count Dooku aboard, a Republic task force led by Jedi Master Plo Koon arrived in the system to engage the warship. The ion cannons of the Malevolence disabled the Republic fleet's deflector shields, and this led to the destruction of the fleet. A few individuals managed to survive via escape pods, but Dooku dispatched a pod hunter to destroy the pods. Plo Koon, Commander Wolffe, and two clones were rescued by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano on the Twilight. As a result of the escape of some survivors, Dooku's trust in Grievous was shaken, and the Sith Lord left to discuss plans with his master, Darth Sidious.

Grievous, as instructed by Count Dooku via hologram, took the Malevolence to destroy a Republic medical facility that was treating over 60,000 wounded clones. In order to reach the target, the Malevolence had to navigate around the Kaliida Nebula. Anakin Skywalker led a small strike force of fighters which disabled the ion cannons of the Malevolence. After this, a Republic fleet led by Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived and attacked Grievous' crippled ship.

Grievous was forced to retreat, but Count Dooku came up with a new plan, taking Senator Padmé Amidala hostage. After Senator Amidala's ship was captured, the Republic fleet stopped firing, and a team was sent to board the Malevolence led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Grievous fought Obi-Wan Kenobi briefly and overpowered him, but the two Jedi managed to escape with Padmé and C-3PO. Grievous pursued the Twilight in his starfighter, the Soulless One, but Anakin had sabotaged the navigation system of the Malevolence such that when the ship engaged its hyperdrive, it crashed directly into a nearby moon. After the destruction of the Malevolence, the Republic made efforts to locate him. Clone Intelligence spotted him in the Balmorra system, but he vanished shortly after.

Attempted assault on Kamino
"All the preparations for your invasion are in order.''" "Good. Our fleet is approaching the system. We are almost at the rendezvous point." "Very good, my lord. I will await your arrival." "''The destruction of Kamino will stop their production of clones for good."

- Asajj Ventress informs Grievous that the preparations for his invasion of Kamino are in order

Instructed by his Master to go to the Third moon of Vassek, Count Dooku laid a trap for the general to test his abilities. His guards were deactivated, and the Jedi were set loose inside his secret lair. Grievous easily dispatched Nahdar Vebb and the battalion of clone troopers, and then went on to prove his lightsaber skills against Jedi Master Kit Fisto. After a lengthy duel in which Grievous' Magnaguards arrived to assist him, Fisto managed to board his ship and escape the planet.

Several weeks later, Grievous arranged for an attack on the planet Kamino, determined to stop the clone production at its source. In order to reach the planet undetected, Grievous sent a team of BX-series droid commandos to seize Rishi Station from the clone troopers stationed there. After the commando droids had taken control of the station, Grievous was then contacted by their captain aboard his Munificent-class star frigate, who informed him that the outpost is secure, and that they have managed to disable the alarm and activate the all-clear signal. Grievous ordered him to keep the signal activated, so as not to draw the Republic's attention and lose the element of surprise. After ending the transmission, a battle droid informed the general that their spy on Kamino, Asajj Ventress, is contacting him. Making contact, she assured Grievous that everything is ready for their invasion. Pleased, the General informs her that he has almost reached their rendezvous point. However, after losing contact with the commando droids, Grievous sent a battalion to the station to investigate, in order to ensure that the invasion continued as planned. He was then informed that there are still some clones remaining, and ordered them eliminated. Unfortunately for the Separatist, the station was destroyed and the all-clear signal stopped transmitting. Realizing they were under attack, the Republic fleet moved into the Rishi system and attacked Grievous' fleet, forcing him to retreat and postpone the invasion.

Defeat at Bothawui
"Our spies were right, General. The Jedi has positioned a fleet beyond the planetary rings.''" "Move our ships through the asteroid field to engage them." Through the field, sir?" "''If we attack from above, they will have the advantage. So we will go through the rocks."

- A battle droid commander informs Grievous that their spies information was correct concerning the position of General Skywalker's fleet

Following the Confederate victory at Falleen, Grievous moved his fleet to Bothawui to attack Jedi General Anakin Skywalker's fleet with information from his spies. Realizing that attacking from above would've left them at a disadvantage, Grievous moved the fleet through the asteroid field to engage Skywalker's fleet, with the asteroids protecting their rear. Skywalker then deployed into the Gold Squadron from his flagship, the Resolute, to try and draw out the general. As Grievous' fleet exited the asteroid field, it was able to severely damage one the Republic cruisers, but was quickly outflanked by AT-TEs hidden on the asteroids. As a result, the General issued a retreat, with one of the battle droid commanders pointing out that they had nowhere to run. Grievous then fled from his burning flagship in his starfighter, moments before it exploded. Skywalker attempted to pursue him in his Delta-7B Aethersprite-class interceptor but was soon sent spinning out of control as a result of the damage his fighter had sustained earlier in the fight. Meanwhile, Grievous had managed to power up the Soulless One hyperdrive, allowing him to jump into hyperspace. The rest of Grievous' fleet however, was destroyed.

Following his loss at Bothawui, Grievous contacted the Trandoshan salvager Gha Nachkt, and requested that he search the debris field for an astromech droid, telling him to rendezvous at a Separatist listening post on Ruusan's moon once the droid was located. The droid in question was R2-D2, the astromech droid of General Skywalker, with Grievous suspecting that he held vital military secrets within his memory banks that could aid the Separatists.

Trapping Skywalker
"Ah! There's our Jedi tracking beacon. Skywalker, now you have fallen into my trap."

- Grievous, after R3-S6 activated the tracking beacon on Skywalker's

Later, Grievous was contacted by the Trandoshan salvager, Gha Nachkt, who informed him that he had the droid in his possession and was en route to their rendezvous point. He also revealed that Skywalker had boarded his ship looking for it, and believing it to be valuable, requested more money than they had previously agreed upon. However, Grievous threatened him, telling Nackt to arrive as fast as he could, or else there would be consequences.

Not soon after, Grievous detected Skywalker's fighter's beacon, which had been activated by R3-S6, Skywalker's replacement astromech droid, in reality a Separatist spy. Having fallen into his trap, Grievous attacked, destroying his Hyperspace transport ring and preventing his escape. Grievous then launched a squadron of vulture droids to kill the Jedi, and ordered his cruisers to move in. However, Skywalker was rescued by the timely arrival of his apprentice Ahsoka Tano and the Twilight, Skywalker's freighter. The General then ordered his ships to prevent their escape, but the Twilight was able to navigate between the two battleships, causing them to collide with each other, destroying the vulture droids. The Jedi's ship then jumped to hyperspace. In his anger, Grievous decapitated an unfortunate battle droid who had pointed out to him that the Jedi had escaped.

Encounter on Skytop Station
"What secrets do you carry, my little friend?''" [R2-D2 responds] "''So defiant. No need for fear. We're all droids here. Ha ha ha. Rip this little rat apart, and find out everything he knows!"

- Gen. Grievous to R2-D2

Soon, Nackt arrived at Skytop Station with R2-D2, and they proceeded to disassemble the astromech droid and sift through his memory banks. There, Grievous watched as Nackt revealed that the information in the astromech had never been erased and contained a wealth of information, but Grievous killed Nackt when he wanted to double the price. He was then informed by R3-S6 that the Jedi had infiltrated the station. Grievous ordered R3 to distract them until he arrived, and tasked his IG-100 MagnaGuards to take care of the astromech while he confronted the Jedi. Grievous then found Skywalker's apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, along with Captain Rex and squad of clone troopers. He fought and overpowered Tano, and killed all the clones except Rex and Denal. Grievous and R3 then went after Tano. Grievous was searching a spare parts room when he was told that Skywalker had gone to rescue his astromech. Grievous then had R3 go to the hangar and ensure that Skywalker would not escape. Grievous then ambushed Ahsoka, grabbed her by the throat, and prepared to kill her with her own lightsaber. However, Rex's bombs went off and Ahsoka was able to sever Grievous's hand and escape. As the station was destroyed, Grievous escaped in the Souless One.

Proving his competence
"You might have been a proud warrior once, but now you are just a pawn in Dooku's game!''" "I wield great power, Jedi fool! " "''That power will only consume you."

- Kit Fisto and Grievous during their duel

Later in the war, Grievous returned to his fortress on the third moon of Vassek to find his MagnaGuard bodyguards deactivated. He learned later that Count Dooku had remotely deactivated his guards, allowing Jedi to infiltrate his fortress in order to test him. The Jedi, with the help of clone troopers, managed to damage Grievous and defeat his pet roggwart Gor, but Grievous was repaired by his droid EV-A4-D. He killed Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb and dueled with Jedi Master Kit Fisto. Later, Grievous told Dooku that he had defeated the Jedi, but that Fisto had escaped. Dooku informed Grievous that there was still room for improvement.

The capture of Eeth Koth
"Your plans have come to ruination, Jedi!''" "I hear a lot of talking, General, but in the final accounting, what does all the talk get you? A futile quest for power, a mutilated body? Your place is Dooku's errand boy!''" "I'm no errand boy. And I'm not in this war for Dooku's politics. I am the leader of the most powerful droid army the galaxy has ever seen!''" "An army with no loyalty, no spirit, just programming. What have you to show for all your power? What have you to gain?''" "The future. A future where there are no Jedi!"

- Grievous and Obi-Wan Kenobi

General Grievous captured Jedi Master Eeth Koth, and sent a threatening message to the Jedi Council in which he promised to destroy all Jedi. Unbeknownst to Grievous, Eeth Koth gave a secret message to the Council through the use of hand signals, telling the Council that Grievous and Koth were in the Saleucami system. The Council sent Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Adi Gallia to rescue Master Koth. Kenobi managed to distract Grievous while Skywalker and Gallia snuck aboard Grievous' ship to rescue Koth. However, Grievous had deduced that he was being tricked and set a trap for then, but Skywalker and Gallia were successful in rescuing Koth. When Kenobi gained the upper hand in their duel, Grievous fled the space battle by attempting to land on the planet of Saleucami in a Trade Federation landing ship. The craft malfunctioned, forcing Grievous and the droids within to leave in escape pods. After landing, Grievous and his forces looked for an undamaged escape pod to contact their forces.

Obi-Wan Kenobi followed Grievous to Saleucami with clone troopers in an attempt to capture the cyborg general, but Grievous managed to contact the Separatists by finding a working communications system in an undamaged pod. When Kenobi and the clones caught up with Grievous, they were only able to fight a short time before a ship arrived and took Grievous away from the planet.

Battle of Kamino
"All is ready, General''" "Good. We will attack Tipoca City first." "I have the exact locations of both the clone DNA room and the clone trooper barracks." "Both shall be annihilated under my hand." "Our hands, General. Count Dooku assigned us both this task." "''But of course, assassin. I look forward to meeting you."

- Asajj Ventress report to Grievous that they are ready to attack Kamino

Despite the failure of their first attempt, Grievous and Ventress planned to launch another invasion of Kamino. However, a communication between the two was intercepted by the Galactic Republic, and as a result the 501st Legion was deployed to Kamino in preparation for the impending attack. As the two conferred before the battle, Grievous decided they would attack Tipoca City, home of the Republic's cloning facilities, first. As Grievous engaged the Republic blockade, Ventress, with her Trident-class assault ships and aqua droids, attacked Tipoca City. Grievous then landed with his battle droids and proceeded to speak with Ventress about their objectives; Grievous would assault the clone trooper barrack while Ventress would get a sample of Jango Fett's DNA. Grievous was shortly confronted by Kenobi. The two of them fought until a Trident ship destroyed the pier they were on. Grievous thought Kenobi was killed as he made his escape aboard a flight pod. He then rescued Ventress from Skywalker and the clones. However, Ventress had lost the DNA sample.

Obstructing peace
"There is a problematic situation brewing in the Senate. We must insure that everything my master has set in motion does not unhinge. My representatives in the Republic are relying on you, General. See that your droids complete their mission.''" "''But of course, Count. They will not fail."

- Count Dooku orders Grievous to bomb the power generator on Coruscant

Dooku, at the behest of his master, ordered Grievous to arrange an attack on Coruscant. Grievous thus sent in a team of Demolition droids to blow up the power generators on Coruscant. The droids succeeded in their mission and Coruscant fell without power.

Skirmish on Naboo
"This turn of events is unfortunate. General Grievous is a critical part of my plan for the Clone Wars. He must not remain captive."

- Darth Sidious, to Count Dooku

Later during the Clone Wars, Grievous was momentarily captured by the Gungans of Naboo after Grievous killed General Roos Tarpals. The General did not remain in custody however, as Count Dooku, on order of his master, captured Anakin Skywalker and had his wife Padmé Amidala trade Grievous to Dooku in exchange for Skywalker.

Capturing Adi Gallia
"General, we've come across what appears to be a pirate ship.''" "Use that ship for target practice. Open fire!" "''All forward cannons, open fire!"

- General Grievous orders the destruction of the Marauder

Following his release, Grievous attacked the flagship of Jedi Council member Adi Gallia. Grievous boarded the ship and captured Gallia after a brief, but intense duel with her. Sometime later, the General attacked and destroyed a pirate ship for target practice. However, Grievous's ship was then boarded by Jedi master Plo Koon and his forces, who rescued Gallia and forced Grievous to flee.

Massacre on Dathomir
"Wipe the witches out. All of them."

- Count Dooku ordering Grievous to attack the Nightsisters

After the failed assassination attempt on his life by his former apprentice Asajj Ventress, who had been aided by Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters from Dathomir, Dooku summoned Grievous and ordered him to attack Dathomir and wipe out the Nightsisters.

Grievous took a Separatist Fleet to Dathomir and landed his forces. He had Hyena-class bombers launch an airstrike on the witches before sending in his ground troops. Despite their disadvantage the Nightsisters seemed to hold their ground and Grievous sent in several Defoliator Tanks in order to burn the forest, which drove them back. Unfortunately, Old Daka, an elderly witch raised the Army of the Dead, an army of undead Nightsisters, as reinforcements and led by Ventress herself. The Nightsisters destroyed the Defoliator Tanks and fought their way to the open field where Grievous had landed and was commanding his troops.

Both armies halted opposite another, with Grievous and Ventress confronting each other. Ventress challenged to fight Grievous one on one, proposing that if Grievous won the Nightsisters would surrender to him, and if she won Grievous and his army would leave Dathomir. The two engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel and they initally seemed equally matched, until Ventress severed one of Grievous' four mechanical arms and knocked him to the ground. Knowing that she could win now, Grievous simply ordered his battle droids to kill Ventress. Ventress tried to fight them off, but was shot in her shoulder. Grievous attempted to finish her off, but a large wave of Nightsister zombies attacked him as both armies engaged one another again and Ventress was evacuated by a fellow Nightsister.

After cutting down the attacking zombies, Grievous was contacted by Dooku, who was being magically attacked by Mother Talzin. Dooku ordered Grievous to follow the Nightsister magic to its source and kill Talzin before she could torture him to death. Grievous followed the green magic trail to the Nightsister village and a secret cave where both Talzin and Daka where performing their magic rituals, killing several Nightsisters on the way. Grievous ordered a Commando Droid to blow up the wall of the cave. Upon entering the cave, Grievous quickly targeted Daka and impaled her with one of his lightsabers, killing her. However, Talzin was able to teleport herself away, disappearing in a green mist, but Grievous toppled over her Cauldron, freeing Dooku from her spell. With Daka dead, all the undead Nightsisters died, leaving the other Nightsisters outnumbered and eventually all massacred by Grievous' army. Unknown to Dooku and Grievous, however, both Talzin and Ventress had survived the massacre.

Sometime after the battle, Dooku told Grievous that with the Nightsisters dead, there was none to control the rogue Savage Opress whose powers he felt growing. Dooku also told Grievous he felt something sinister growing. Grievous simply mocked the fact that Dooku considered Opress a threat.

Invasion of Florrum
"Hondo.''" "General Grievous, I presume? What a surprise. Have a seat. What, may I ask, is the honor?" "You can dispense with the pleasantries, pirate. This planet is now under Separatist control!" "Ah ha... and, what do you suppose that means?" "''It means you have a new master, pirate scum."

- General Grievous and Hondo Ohnaka

Grievous later attacked and boarded Obi-Wan Kenobi's command ship. He quite literally tore through the clone trooper ranks, and then dueled Kenobi and overpowered him. However, Kenobi managed to escape and abandoned his ship, but cunningly rigged it to self-destruct, forcing Grieovus to retreat and abandon all the useful information in the ship's memory banks. Grievous then took over pirate Captain Hondo Ohnaka's base in retaliation for Ohnaka's previous capture of Dooku. Grievous was soon informed that Tano, her fellow Jedi younglings, and a group of pirates had freed Ohnaka. He then ordered his tanks to level the prison section. As they were escaping, Grievous and STAPs pursued them and boarded their tank. Grievous then fought Ahsoka and though she proved to a much more formidable opponent then in their previous encounter, Grievous still proved to be more then a match for her. Ohnaka then arrived in Slave I, rescued Ahsoka and opened fire on Grievous, but was forced to retreat when AATs arrived, leaving Grievous to stew in his anger.

At some point afterwards, Grievous and his droids demolished Ohnaka's base and left Forrum.

Crystal conspiracy
On Utapau, Grievous arranged a deal to acquire a massive kyber crystal. The Jedi Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi got wind of this when they came to the planet to investigate the mysterious death of the Jedi Master Tu-Anh. They tracked down the crystal and stole it from those were trafficking in it, only for Grievous to then claim it. They, however, continued their mission and eventually reclaimed the crystal, which they then manipulated into being destroyed.

Destroying Maul's forces
"We are not fighting clones this time. These are Mandalorian warriors...The odds are stacked against us!"

- Grievous estimating their chances of winning the battle

Sometime after the Battle of Dathomir, Grievous was ordered by his master Count Dooku to hunt down Darth Sidious' former apprentice&mdash;the Zabrak Nightbrother Darth Maul. Sidious had tracked Maul to the Death Watch controlled moon of Zanbar after he had escaped from Sidious&mdash; although that was ultimately the Sith Lord's plan. Dooku then ordered him to direct his entire droid fleet at Maul's recently formed crime syndicate&mdash;the Shadow Collective and ordered him to destroy his army and wound his pride, but to not kill him. This was in order for him to draw out Mother Talzin, Maul's mother and one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the galaxy. Grievous thought it foolish to keep Maul alive, but Dooku reminded Grievous that it was not wise to question the plans of Darth Sidious, and that he as Dooku's apprentice would carry out his orders to the fullest degree. Grievous moved his fleet to Zanbar and launched several landing craft to destroy the Mandalorian warriors, starting off the Battle of Zanbar, and the beginning of the end for Maul's Shadow Collective. Grievous knew from personal experience that the chances of his droid army gaining a victory in this battle was unlikely, as the Mandalorians were no mere clones. Grievous spotted Maul on the battlefield and sent out four IG-100 Magnaguards to "soften him up".

Grievous emerged from his ship and engaged at least one Mandalorian in battle, easily killing him with his lightsabers. Maul disposed of the Magnaguards and turned his attention to the cyborg general and engaged Grievous in single combat. Neither Maul nor Grievous was able to gain the upper hand in the duel but Grievous, per his orders, taunted Maul, telling him to look and see that the battle was lost; Grievous' droids had won. But Maul had held several Gauntlet fighters in reserve and ordered them to drop firebombs onto the battlefield. This left both factions' resources almost depleted. Maul, realizing Zanbar was lost fled into a Gauntlet fighter and retreated from Grievous. Grievous then contacted Count Dooku via hologram and informed him he had fulfilled his master's wishes; Maul was on the run. Dooku congratulated Grievous. Maul now believed the Sith were out to destroy him and his Syndicate, Maul would not learn of their true intentions until it was too late. Grievous knew their goal was the witch Talzin, but did not understand what value Maul held for the Witch. Dooku told him all would be revealed as their plans unfolded.

Captured by Darth Maul
"Once our droids take control of the city Maul's forces will be insects under our heels!"

- Grievous during the battle

After leaving Zanbar, Dooku rendezvoused with Grievous, gathering another fleet after Separatist spies reported that Mandalorian wasrships were amassing on the planet of Ord Mantell, confirming Maul was in league with the Black Sun who controlled the planet. Grievous once again questioned the Dark Lord's obsession with destroying Mother Talzin; Dooku explained to Grievous that Talzin was an older and fouler creature than Grievous understood, and that she would have to be destroyed before she disrupted Darth Sidious' plans. Grievous' super tactical droid Tey-Zuka reported to the cyborg general that a lone transport shuttle had left Dathomir moments ago, with Ord Mantell being a possible destination. Dooku believed Talzin was aboard and ordered the fleet to move to Ord Mantell. Soon they arrived, Grievous ordered the fleet to begin bombarding the city from orbit. With the city now in ruins landing craft began their assault. Grievous believed Maul's forces would soon be on the run and insects under their heels. Grievous became suspicious when he realized he had not seen the Mandalorian warships, Tey-Zuka calculated they had been destroyed before they could lift off. But Grievous knew better&mdash;they were planning a sneak attack. The Gauntlet fighters appeared from behind Ord Mantell's moon, attacking the Separatist fleet. Grievous had been lured into a trap. Tey-Zuka reported a fighter had attached itself to the hull of Grievous' Providence-class dreadnought&mdash;before the droid could finish Maul interrupted; he demanded Grievous to shut down the battle droids that were killing his troops in the battle below&mdash;or die. Maul charged Grievous, tackling him into a transparisteel viewport. Dooku had been captured as well and brought aboard the ship, where Maul contacted Sidious via hologram and threatened to kill both of his pawns unless he met Mother Talzin's demands. Sidious refused, instead stating he had no further use for them. Maul did not kill them, but ordered Grievous to the brig. Grievous told Dooku that it would be unfortunate if the next time they met he would have to add Dooku's lightsaber to his collection.

Dooku, who was still on the bridge of the ship, later used the Force to unlock Grievous' cell, and Grievous escaped and killed the Mandalorians that were guarding him. While searching for an escape off the ship, he killed several more warriors with his six durasteel limbs, crushing their helmets and breaking bones. He soon found an escape pod; thinking of how convenient it was he ejected from the carrier and escaped from Maul.

Confronting Talzin
"It is just as you predicted my Lord...we've traced Count Dooku's signals to Dathomir's surface. What is your command?"

- Grievous to Darth Sidious, just before the battle

Shortly afterward, Grievous regrouped with Darth Sidious aboard the Scimitar; which was originally Maul's personal starship; and they made their way to Dathomir where Dooku's signals were emanating from; just as Sidious predicted. Sidious ordered Grievous to cloak the ship from view and make their way to Dathomir's surface. They landed and the pair approached a chamber said to hold a stone column that was the heart of Mother Talzin's power. The chamber was located very near the Nightbrother village where Maul was born.

Grievous blew an opening in the wall of the chamber, entered and stated he was about to kill Maul. Sidious followed, stating only the Dark Lord's plan shall rule the galaxy. Dooku appeared, though he was now possessed by Talzin, who was at the time was still unable to take physical form. The four engaged­­­ in lightsaber combat; Grievous attacked Maul while Sidious freed his apprentice from Talzin with the use of Force lightning. Talzin returned in the flesh while Sidious told her she was going to die here. Maul took advantage of this distraction and used the Force to shove Grievous through the opening the explosion had created. Sidious attacked Talzin with a Force lightning barrage while Talzin defended Maul and herself with magick. Grievous reentered the chamber calmly striding towards the now beaten Talzin; Grievous then ignited his lightsabers and plunged them through the witch's chest. The retreating Maul looked on in horror as Talzin's body turned to stone. Darth Sidious took a moment to congratulate Dooku and Grievous; Maul's future had been erased while theirs was more certain than it had ever been.

Fighting Billaba
Grievous fought Jedi General Depa Billaba on Haruun Kal. There he decimated her clone troops and almost ended her life. Six months after his victory over Billaba, he and General Kleeve then sent in their top explosives expert, Captain Rackham Sear to carry out a bombing on the Jedi Temple. After Captain Sear's mission failure, Grievous then went to Kardoa with Kleeve and Sear's brother, Colonel Coburn Sear. There, Grievous saw Billaba leading the Republic forces. Grievous then demanded that she must die. However, Kleeve saw his obsession with killing Jedi as distraction and warned against attacking before he left for Kaller. Grievous left as well for Mygeeto. However, he left Colonel Sear to deal with Billaba and her forces.

Third Battle of Mygeeto
Grievous then waited for Billaba and her forces to come to Mygeeto. There, he and Colonel Sear confronted Billaba and her apprentice, Caleb Dume.

Battle of Coruscant
"Your lightsabers will make a fine addition to my collection."

- General Grievous

Grievous captured Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine and took him aboard his flagship the Invisible Hand. Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi boarded the Invisible Hand to rescue the Chancellor. They defeated Count Dooku and were escaping with the Chancellor when General Grievous captured them, meeting with Skywalker for the first time. The Jedi broke free of their bonds, and after cornering Grievous, he shattered the front window of the cruiser with an electrostaff. Kenobi, Skywalker, and the Chancellor managed to stay in the ship, but Grievous was sucked into space. Protected from exposure to vacuum, the general survived and used a grappling hook installed in his arm to latch onto the hull of the ship.

After ejecting the rest, Grievous fled in one of his flagship's escape pods, and later headed for the secured planet of Utapau in the Outer Rim Territories, where the Separatist Council was hiding. With Count Dooku's death, Grievous succeeded him as Head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Under the direct order of Dooku's Master, Darth Sidious, Grievous relocated the Council to the planet Mustafar.

Death
"Back away! I will deal with this Jedi slime myself!"

- General Grievous

After the Republic received word that Grievous was hiding on Utapau, General Kenobi was sent to defeat him. Though Nute Gunray and the other Council members doubted Grievous' ability to lead, they followed his orders, leaving just moments before Kenobi's arrival.

After Kenobi handily defeated Grievous' bodyguards, the general engaged Kenobi himself. He immediately split his arms in four and attacked the Jedi Master. Grievous lost two of his hands to Kenobi's superior dueling skill before Clone Commander Cody and the 212th Attack Battalion arrived, ambushing the droid army. Fighting broke out all over Pau City between droid and clone forces. Grievous continued to threaten Kenobi, but Kenobi ended the initial duel with a tremendous Force push that disarmed the general.

Grievous fled on his wheel bike. Pursued by Obi-Wan on a varactyl named Boga, after a prolonged chase and running duel, the two crashed onto Grievous' private landing platform, where his personal customized starfighter was docked. As they fought hand-to-hand, Grievous made use of his mechanical body's superior strength. However, Kenobi managed to rip open Grievous' previously damaged chest plates, revealing Grievous' synthskin gut-sack containing his remaining organs. Angered, Grievous tossed Kenobi off the platform, but the Jedi manipulated his position via Force and caught hold of the edge. Grievous charged Kenobi with an electrostaff, but Kenobi used the Force to summon Grievous' blaster, shooting Grievous in his previously exposed gut-sack. The oils preserving Grievous' remaining biological components ignited, incinerating the famed cyborg from the inside and finally destroying him.

Legacy
"I was a great admirer of the late General Grievous. An interesting design, but very much a first step. Commander Karbin is the next."

- Cylo, on the design of Karbin's cybernetic body

Years after Grievous' death, an Imperial researcher named Cylo began working on the creation of cybernetically-enhanced individuals; these individuals were designed to be possible replacements for Darth Vader as the Emperor's apprentice. One such individual, Karbin, had a cybernetic body installed by Doctor Cylo, whom claimed to have been inspired by the body of Grievous.

Some time after the Battle of Endor, Temmin Wexley implied that he had downloaded some of Grievous' old programming into Mister Bones, his robotic bodyguard.

Behind the scenes
"With General Grievous, I wanted somebody who was reminiscent of what Anakin is going to become, which is a half man, half robot. In this case, Grievous is sort of 20% alien and 80% robot."

- George Lucas on the creation of Grievous

Grievous was developed for the 2005 movie Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith as a powerful new villain on the side of the Confederacy. He was introduced in "Chapter 20" of the animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, which aired over a year before the film's release, but his appearances in that series have been relegated to the Legends continuity. In Revenge of the Sith and the second  The Clone Wars animated series, he was voiced by Matthew Wood.