Savage Opress

"This is not the work of a Sith Lord or a Jedi&hellip; but a reckless, impulsive animal."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Savage Opress's massacre on Devaron

Savage Opress was a Dathomirian Nightbrother who became a Sith apprentice under Darth Tyranus and later his brother Darth Maul during the Clone Wars.

Originally a tribal leader on Dathomir, Opress was handpicked by the Nightsister Asajj Ventress to become her 'mate' and servant following her grueling tests of Selection, as part of her bid for revenge on her former Master, the Sith Lord Count Dooku. In accordance with their plot against Dooku, Mother Talzin and her Nightsister witches employed their dark magic to grant Opress fearsome abilities, placing him under their control. After murdering his beloved brother Feral in a display of loyalty to Ventress, Opress entered the Clone Wars as a Dark Acolyte, serving as an enforcer in Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems.

However, Opress would soon see he was being used by Ventress, and betrayed both her and Dooku and fled, being guided on a quest by Mother Talzin to seek out his lost brother. Opress was led to the junkyard world of Lotho Minor, where he found his brother Maul half mad. He brought his brother back to Talzin, who restored both his mind, and his legs. She then left the pair together as Maul became reconnected with the changed world around him. He and Savage then embarked on a quest of death and chaos, seeking vengeance on Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Seeking to take everything he loved from him, Maul conquered Mandalore, and killed his lover, Satine Kryze. Opress stood by his brother as he enacted his revenge, but they would soon be faced by the arrival of Maul's old master, Darth Sidious. Sidious would fight Maul and Savage, but would ultimately kill Savage Opress in battle, leaving Maul to mourn his brothers death.

The Clone Wars
Born on Dathomir to Mother Talzin, Savage Opress was handpicked by the Nightsister Asajj Ventress to become her servant following her grueling tests of Selection, in which many of Opress's fellow Nightbrothers were killed, as part of Ventress' plot for revenge on her former Master, the Sith Lord Count Dooku.

In accordance with their plot against Dooku, Mother Talzin and her Nightsister witches employed their magicks to grant Opress fearsome abilities, placing him under their control. After murdering his beloved brother Feral in a display of loyalty to Ventress, Opress entered the Clone Wars as a Sith apprentice, serving as an enforcer in Dooku's Confederacy of Independent Systems. He executed a mission against the Galactic Republic at Devaron's Temple of Eedit, slaying his first Jedi, Master Halsey and Padawan Knox, in the former campaign. Opress soon became apprenticed to Dooku, who intended to use his new acolyte to overthrow his own Master, Darth Sidious, and claim control of the galaxy.

Brothers reunited
While Opress was subjected to brutal Sith training under Dooku's charge, Ventress prepared to pit the monstrous Nightbrother against Dooku. Opress was sent on a mission to Toydaria, where he killed King Katuunko. However the assingment had been to bring the King back to Dooku alive. Yet when Ventress's plans for revenge culminated there, she and her ex-Master found that neither of them could contain Opress's impulsive nature and rage. In what became a three-way lightsaber battle, Opress overcame Ventress's spell of control and also terminated his service to Dooku, further battling his way through Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi before escaping to Dathomir. After learning from Talzin of his kinship to the former Sith apprentice Darth Maul, Opress rescued his weakened brother from the depths of Lotho Minor and brought him home to Dathomir, where Talzin restored his mind and body. Opress then became involved with Maul's pursuit of vengeance on Kenobi, who had cut him in half over a decade ago in the Theed Royal Palace, on Naboo.

Although Kenobi escaped from them with the aid of Asajj Ventress during a confrontation at Raydonia, Opress and Maul continued their plans for revenge and galactic domination, turning to the criminal underworld to achieve their needs. Opress and Maul cut a swath through the Outer Rim, battling through civilians and Jedi Knights alike who stood in their way. As part of Maul's plans, Opress became a Sith Lord, but he was forced to become the apprentice&mdash;submitting to his brother, the Master&mdash;in accordance with the Sith Rule of Two. While attempting to recruit Weequay pirates into their service on Florrum, Opress killed renowned Jedi Master Adi Gallia, though he soon thereafter lost his left arm to Kenobi's lightsaber.

Opress's death
"Brother, I am an unworthy apprentice. I'm not like you. I never was."

- Savage Opress's last words, spoken to Darth Maul

Kenobi then chased Opress and Maul off Florrum, destroying their ship and leaving them stranded until they were discovered by members of the Death Watch, a group of Mandalorian warriors led by Pre Vizsla. Opress, Maul, the Mandalorians, and various criminal groups in the galaxy, including Black Sun, Pyke Syndicate, and Hutts formed an alliance to overthrow the pacifist rulers of the planet Mandalore, and even though the operation ended successfully, Vizsla and his men arrested Opress and Maul. After breaking free from prison with Mandalore's incarcerated Prime Minister, Almec, Opress and Maul seized control of Mandalore after Maul killed Vizsla in lightsaber combat.

The brothers' rule of Mandalore attracted unwanted attention from Maul's former Master, Darth Sidious, who saw their power as a threat to the dominance of his Sith Order. Sidious traveled to Mandalore and confronted the two. Though Opress was skilled, Sidious ultimately bested the Zabrak warrior in combat, and impaled Opress with his twin lightsabers, before flinging him from the building with the force. Ironically the way Savage died was very similar to the way Maul had killed Qui-Gon Jinn in front of Obi-Wan Kenobi over a decade earlier. In his dying breath, Opress expressed regret for never having been Maul's equal. As he died, a green mist emanated from his body and his armor disappeared. His muscles and physique reverted back to their form from before the Nightsister ritual, and Opress died as the man he had been before becoming Ventress's pawn. An enraged Maul tried to kill his former master, but was quickly defeated and captured.

Legacy
"Next you're going to tell me that you weren't planning to mention Captain Rex, Ahsoka, Ventress, Cad Bane, Savage Opress, Jar Jar, and the Mandalorians?" "Well&hellip; I guess I could always go back and tell their stories later." "Out of order? That's just going to confuse everybody!" "I think they'll figure it out."

- A Whill and another Whill

Opress was remembered long after the Clone Wars, and was mentioned by a member of the Whills as someone to be remembered in galactic history.

Behind the scenes
Savage Opress was voiced by prolific voice actor Clancy Brown in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, first appearing in the episode "Monster". Savage Opress' introduction in the series was instrumental, along with George Lucas' recommendations, to bring back Darth Maul into the series following his apparent death in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

Early plans of the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twin Suns" featured Maul experiencing Force visions of both Opress and Satine Kryze before facing Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. In contrast to Kryze, Opress nearly actually made it to design phase before Dave Filoni thought it better, feeling that in an already lengthy episode, there was no time to explain Savage's origins as they couldn't risk alienating new Star Wars fans who would be confused with Opress' sudden appearance.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens