Grievous

"Listen to me, Jedi. I do not care about your politics. I do not care about your Republic. I only live to see you die!"

- Grievous, in a message to the Jedi Council

Grievous was the cyborg Supreme Commander of the Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems for most of the Clone Wars. Adept in lightsaber combat, Grievous slew a number of Jedi during the Clone Wars until being killed shortly before the war's end by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau.

The Malevolence
After Grievous had been chosen and trained by Count Dooku to lead the Separatist forces in the Clone Wars, Grievous 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 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, but the two Jedi managed to escape with Padmé and C-3PO. Grievous pursued the Twilight in his starfighter, 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.

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 they defeated Grievous' pet roggwart Gor. Grievous was repaired by his droid Ev-A-4D. Grievous then killed Jedi Knight Nahdar Vebb and dueled with Jedi Master Kit Fisto before Fisto escaped. 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.

Battle at Saleucami
"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 Anakin and Adi Gallia snuck aboard Grievous' ship to rescue Master Koth. Grievous assumed he was being tricked and set a trap for Skywalker, but Anakin and Adi Gallia were successful. 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 escape in pods.

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.

Skirmish on Naboo
Grievous was momentarily captured by the Gungans of Naboo during the Clone Wars after Grievous killed Roos Tarpals. Grievous did not remain in custody however, as he was returned to Count Dooku in exchange for Anakin Skywalker whom the Sith Lord had captured.

Battle of Dathomir
"Wipe the witches out. All of them."

- Count Dooku ordering Grievous to attack the Nighstisters

Grievous was then ordered by Count Dooku to wipe out Asajj Ventress, Mother Talzin, and her fellow Nightsisters on Dathomir. Grievous took a Separatist Fleet to Dathomir and landed his forces. The Separatist forces successfully defeated the Nightsisters, with Grievous himself killing Old Daka while Mother Talzin escaped through the use of her magic. The Separatists were unable to capture or kill Asajj Ventress, who also escaped.

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.

Battle of Coruscant
Grievous captured Chancellor 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. 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.

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.

He immediately split his arms in four and attacked the Jedi Master. Grievous lost two of his hands to Kenobi before Clone Marshal 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 fled on his wheelbike. 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 and superior strength, although Kenobi managed to rip open Grievous' previously damaged chest plates, revealing the synthskin gut-sack containing his remaining organs. Angered, Grievous tossed Kenobi off the platform, but the Jedi managed to catch hold of the edge. Grievous attempted to charge at Kenobi with an electrostaff, but Kenobi used the Force to summon a blaster and, he shot Grievous. The oils preserving Grievous' remaining biological components ignited, incinerating the famed cyborg from the inside and destroying him.



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 and are not considered canonical. In Revenge of the Sith and the second  The Clone Wars animated series, he was voiced by Matthew Wood.