Dooku/Legends

"The best of all would be the strongest student, yes? Wisest? Most learned in the ways of the Force? Best of all, Dooku would be! Our greatest student! Our greatest failure."

- Yoda

Dooku was a skilled Jedi Master and the Count of Serenno. Later in life, Dooku fell to the dark side of the Force, disgruntled with the corrupt Republic, and became Darth Tyranus, the apprentice Dark Lord of Darth Sidious, replacing Darth Maul and being replaced in turn by Darth Vader.

Under Sidious's orders, he formed the Separatist movement and was the political leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems until he was slain in a duel by Anakin Skywalker during the Second Battle of Coruscant near the end of the Clone Wars.

Jedi (102 BBY–32 BBY)
"I've seen your heart, and I know how empty it is. I've seen your anger, and I know how deep it is. I've seen your ambition, and I know how ruthless it is. And all of that will ultimately destroy you&hellip; I will never be a Jedi, it's true. But neither will you. You will never be a great Jedi Master."

- Lorian Nod

Childhood


Born on the planet Serenno, Dooku was once an esteemed Jedi who, like all Jedi of his time, trained under Grand Master Yoda as a Padawan until he was handed over to Thame Cerulian at the age of thirteen for instruction. Cerulian molded Dooku into a powerful Jedi, tapping into the vast potential he sensed in his student. Yoda also took a particular interest in him and had some part in his later training.

Dooku had several friends when he was younger, including fellow youngling Lorian Nod and alien senatorial aide Eero Iridian. Both eventually betrayed him, and these experiences made Dooku wary of friendship and attachment. A taunt by Lorian spurred Dooku to first access a Sith holocron.

Knighthood


Dooku became a Jedi Knight in his early twenties, and immediately took Qui-Gon Jinn as his first Padawan, whose own knighthood earned Dooku the rank of Jedi Master. He would later train other Jedi, including Komari Vosa.

During his time as an instructor within the Jedi Temple, his teachings on methods for conquering arrogance were particularly well received. He was fond of telling his students:
 * "The acceptance of others is not a guarantee. Like everyone else, a Jedi is accepted or not based on his behavior. The Jedi who believes that he is more important than others only demonstrates that his opinion is to be ignored."

Controversy
Ironically, Dooku had his mind set on becoming the greatest Jedi ever.



But not all of Dooku's theories were widely accepted. Controversially, Dooku held that one could draw from both sides of the Force equally&mdash;light and dark&mdash;to achieve perfect balance. He believed that as long as he was not tempted to one side or another he could stay the course and harness the kind of power needed to change the galaxy for the better. Unfortunately for Dooku, his own pride, expressed in his goal to be the greatest Jedi ever swayed him closer and closer towards the dark side when attempting to study both sides of the Force.

Dooku's colleagues on the Jedi High Council strongly disagreed with these beliefs, which was probably one of the reasons why neither Dooku nor any of his students were ever invited to join the august body.

A skilled politician
Dooku was a political idealist, and was skilled at resolving disputes throughout the galaxy, such as the Sevarcos Dispute of 52 BBY. He had always held strong opinions on what he saw as the ongoing decline in the Galactic Republic, and so it was not unexpected when he chose to leave the Order of his own accord.

Leaving the Order
"You know, milady, Count Dooku was once a Jedi. He couldn't assassinate anyone; it's not in his character."

- Mace Windu to Padmé Amidala

Dooku departed around the time of the Battle of Naboo, under the belief that the Jedi Order had become a blind pawn to the corrupt Senate, and retook his family title as Count of Serenno. The disastrous Battle of Galidraan and the disappearance of Komari Vosa had already soured him from continued service to the Republic and the death of his first Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, proved to be the final straw.

Dooku had been a Jedi for many years, and his bronzium bust was displayed in the Jedi Archives, along with the rest of the Lost Twenty, the only Jedi Masters ever to voluntarily resign their commission from the Jedi Order.

Dark Lord of the Sith (32 BBY–24 BBY)
"Powerful you have become, Dooku. The dark side I sense in you." "I've become more powerful than any Jedi. Even you."

- Yoda and Dooku

Sith Apprentice
Dooku left the public eye in 32 BBY and was that same year re-christened Darth Tyranus, becoming a fully-fledged Dark Lord of the Sith. Dooku did not resurface until eight years later in 24 BBY.



It is unknown when or how Dooku met Darth Sidious. In the short period after the death of Darth Maul, a Sith Apprentice who was under training for many years, Sidious had no time to mold another potential Sith into a perfect warrior. The Battle of Naboo had sparked the start of his climb through the Republic, limiting his time further. Requiring another apprentice, he chose the maverick Jedi Master. Dooku fell to the dark side of the Force as a result of his own arrogance and pride, the former Jedi Master transformed into Sidious's Sith apprentice, Darth Tyranus. His murder of his friend Sifo-Dyas sealed his transition.

Moving the Pieces
As Darth Tyranus, Dooku's first mission was to recruit a template for the Grand Army of the Republic's clone troopers to be used by Chancellor Palpatine and the Republic. He placed an extremely large bounty of 5,000,000 credits on Bando Gora leader Komari Vosa, a former pupil of his, and pitted the galaxy's most fearsome bounty hunters against each other. In the end, the ex-Mandalorians Montross and Jango Fett faced each other on Kohlma. Fett triumphed over his rival, defeated Vosa and claimed the reward. He agreed to be cloned on the condition he received the first unit "unaltered." Komari Vosa was then killed by Dooku.

Introducing Grievous
During his time gathering support to secede from the Republic, Dooku was contacted by Sidious who expressed interest in the Kaleesh General Qymaen jai Sheelal, later known as General Grievous. Dooku then went to San Hill of the Banking Clan and told him of his interest in Grievous.

It was known that Grievous would never willingly serve Dooku and his allies, but the Count was prepared for this. Together with San Hill and the Geonosian Archduke Poggle the Lesser, Dooku had a bomb installed on Grievous's shuttle. The explosion sent the shuttle crashing down, injuring Grievous.

Adding extra damage to ensure Grievous' allegiance forever, Dooku kept Grievous alive with Force Lightning for the journey, convincing the injured General that the Jedi were responsible. Stopping off at his homeworld of Serenno, Dooku collected the body of his old friend Sifo-Dyas and used it as a transfusion for Grievous's operation.

On Geonosis, the Geonosians encased what was left of Grievous in a metal body and rebuilt him from what was left. Augmenting his brain to make sure Grievous wouldn't betray them, they revealed the finished product to Dooku, who was greatly pleased with it. He now had a warrior able to command the droid armies in war, something he had no interest in.

Formation of the Confederacy
With his plans in motion, the scheming Count Dooku reappeared on Raxus Prime in 24 BBY, heavily criticizing the Republic and the Jedi Order for their decadence, hypocrisy, and corruption. Dooku, a political mastermind, publicly called for entire systems to secede from the Republic and join the Separatist movement, culminating in the creation of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Dispute on Ansion
Dooku's next move was to try and bring the planet Ansion into the Confederacy, along with all the various planets it had alliances with. The Commerce Guild President Shu Mai and Ansion Senator Mousul orchestrated the plan through various agents, aiming to split the nomadic tribes and the urban dwellers.

The plan failed, with the intervention of Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli as well as their padawans Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee. However, Dooku knew that it didn't matter and informed Shu Mai of the fact.

Concurrent with the events on Ansion, Dooku learnt from Shu Mai that some Senators were planning to step up their plans regardless of Ansion's defection or not. Shu Mai informed Dooku that she had given them an object lesson and Dooku was pleased, informing her that their plans were nearing completion.

"The eventual outcome is inevitable, no matter what the irksome Jedi do. Great changes are at hand. Destiny awaits us, my friend. It comes, and soon. Those who are ready will be the ones to profit greatly."

- Count Dooku to Shu Mai

Leader of the Confederacy (22 BBY)
"He is a political idealist, not a murderer."

- Ki-Adi-Mundi to Padmé Amidala

A Sith Lord Revealed
"Joined the dark side, Dooku has. Lies, deceit, creating mistrust are his ways now."

- Yoda on Dooku



The first meeting of the CIS was hosted on the planet Geonosis which resulted in the alliance between Dooku and the major business corporations. At the same time Obi-Wan Kenobi was captured by the Geonosians and accused of espionage.

While Kenobi was in captivity Dooku decided to have a talk with the young Jedi. Dooku at first questioned Obi-Wan to why he was on Geonosis, and feigned lack of knowledge when Kenobi confronted him with his knowledge of Jango Fett. Dooku continued to press Obi-Wan to join him, even using the late Qui-Gon Jinn as bait, claiming that Qui-Gon would have joined in Dooku's crusade. Kenobi still refused.

Dooku then cleverly changed his tactics on the young Jedi, by telling the truth when he knew Kenobi would not believe it, telling Kenobi about Darth Sidious's existence and his control of the Senate, Kenobi played right into Dooku's hands by blatantly saying he didn't believe the Count. Dooku simply smiled and made a last appeal for Obi-Wan's allegiance saying that together they could destroy the Sith. Kenobi refused the offer once again. Dooku then mused to himself that he would try to release Obi-Wan, but without his allegiance he said that it would be difficult to secure his release.

Jedi Battle
Later, when Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala arrived to rescue Kenobi, they were also captured and sentenced to death. They were to be executed in a Geonosian fashion, but the executions were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Jedi reinforcements, led by Mace Windu.

""Master Windu. How nice of you to join us." "This party's over." "Brave but foolish my old Jedi friend, your impossibly outnumbered." "I don't think so." "We'll see.""

- Dooku and Mace Windu in the Execution Arena.

Dooku, however, had been anticipating this and revealed that the captured Jedi were simply bait as hundreds of thousands of battle droids awaited Windu's task force.

Though the new Separatist Droid Army of the CIS overwhelmed the Jedi, Yoda soon rescued them, leading the very clone army Dooku had helped create, forcing the Separatists to withdraw their forces.

Planned Retreat


While the clone troopers advanced and decimated the droid forces, the Separatists called for a full retreat, all the while Dooku pretended not to know how the Republic had gathered such a powerful army in such a short time. Poggle the Lesser, Archduke of Geonosis, commanded a full retreat and proceeded to turn over the plans to the Ultimate Weapon, based on plans made by Raith Sienar, to Count Dooku to keep the Jedi from finding them.

Confronting the Jedi
Dooku fled to his secret hangar, closely followed by Obi-Wan and Anakin. Anakin foolishly charged Dooku, although his Master notably warned him not to do so, only to be blasted away casually by the Sith Lord's Force lightning. Obi-Wan was next up, proving to be a bit less naïve and more experienced and powerful than his apprentice.

"As you can see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours. Now back down." "I don't think so.""

- Dooku and Obi-Wan

So the Jedi Knight and Sith Lord began their duel, and it immediately became clear that Dooku had the far greater power and skill. Eventually injuring Obi-Wan, Dooku raised his blade for the killing stroke, but was parried by Anakin's.

"Brave of you boy, but I thought you'd have learnt your lesson." "I'm a slow learner""

- Dooku and Anakin



The injured Obi-Wan Force-pulled his lightsaber into grasp and tossed it to Anakin, Anakin came at Dooku with both blades swinging. The young Jedi applied Jar'Kai tactics with Ataru swordplay and was at first more successful than his master, but his advantage was short-lived, as Dooku destroyed one of Anakin's lightsabers. The duel continued, and Skywalker reverted to his practise of Shien. The battle finally ended when Dooku severed Anakin's right arm from the elbow down. Much to Dooku's surprise, the young and less experienced Padawan had displayed considerable skill with a lightsaber and had even managed to wear down Dooku.

Duel with a former Master
""Master Yoda." "Count Dooku." "You have interfered in our affairs for the last time""

- Dooku and Yoda

However, before he could escape, one last Jedi confronted him, Master Yoda. Dooku attempted to defeat his old master with a combination of Force Lightning and hurling machinery at him.When this failed, Dooku insisted on settling their contest with a lightsaber duel.

"It is obvious that this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but by our skills with a lightsaber."

- Count Dooku to Yoda

Leaping into action, the two engaged in a spectacular duel. Yoda, using his mastery of the Force and Form IV, showed amazing agility as he leapt about the room. Although Dooku held his own for much of the fight, he realized that he could not prolong the duel without possibly suffering a critically nigh defeat, Dooku used the Force to topple a massive power column on the wounded Obi-Wan and Anakin to distract Yoda. As Yoda broke off to save the two, Dooku made his escape in his Geonosian solar sailer.

The War Begins
Having fled the battle, Dooku soon arrived on Coruscant undetected. There, he met with his Master, Darth Sidious, and eagerly informed him that events were moving forward.



"The Force is with us, Master Sidious." "Welcome home, Lord Tyranus. You have done well." "I have good news for you, my Lord. The war has begun." "Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

- Dooku and Sidious

Clone Wars (22 BBY–19 BBY)
"Fought well you have, my old Padawan." "This is just the beginning!"

- Yoda and Dooku

Dark Reaper Project
As the Clone Wars continued, his identity became more and more feared across the galaxy. One of the first campaigns in the war was the re-creation of the Dark Reaper, which the Dark Lord took care monitoring. Boba Fett was later captured and sent to the Count on Raxus Prime. The Count apparently wanted to help train Boba to be his father's successor, but later ordered him to be terminated when he disappeared and learned about the Force Harvester. Fett escaped Dooku's enforces and fled.

Dooku and his associate Cydon Prax found the Force Harvester just as forces led by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker arrived and attacked. Dooku and Prax escaped as the Republic forces overwhelmed Dooku's army, but Dooku defeated Anakin in a duel and he took Anakin with him to Alaris Prime, one of Kashyyyk's moons. He decided to test the weapon on Anakin and the Wookiees there. His plan was foiled by Skywalker and Dooku fled, taking the Force Harvester with him.

Dooku's plan was finally ruined when the Jedi attacked his forces on Thule. He unleashed the Force Harvester on the Republic's forces, but Anakin destroyed it in the battle. With the Force Harvester gone, and Prax slain by Skywalker, Dooku fled the field.

Rallying the Confederacy


Darth Bane's Rule of Two prevented Tyranus from taking his own, bona-fide apprentice. Instead, Dooku acquired a cadre of Dark Acolytes&mdash;Asajj Ventress, Sev'rance Tann, Sora Bulq, Quinlan Vos, Tol Skorr, Kadrian Sey, and many others. He honed their skills but taught them few, if any, of the Sith secrets.

Dooku and his Dark Acolytes cut a swath through the ranks of the Jedi Order and the Republic forces. Dooku took part in many missions to try and bring more planets onto the side of the Separatists. On Null he tried to bring the planet's leaders into the Confederacy's fold, but Kenobi and Skywalker arrived and the planet's leaders stayed with the Republic. Dooku didn't leave empty-handed, he killed his old enemy Lorian Nod before escaping.



Dooku's charisma swayed many to the Confederate cause&mdash;whole planets pledged themselves to the Separatist cause on the former Jedi's words alone. In addition to his force adepts, Dooku recruited warriors like Durge to augment the Confederacy's already potent arsenal.

Sith Knowledge
During the course of the war, he immersed himself fully within the persona of Darth Tyranus, Dark Lord of the Sith. He fully embraced the ancient teachings of the Sith, probing the graveyard world of Korriban for ancient relics he could turn against the Jedi, in addition to long-lost Sith holocrons, such as the one created by the long dead Darth Andeddu. In a daring raid on Coruscant, he even breached the Jedi Temple itself and stole the Sith holocron he had studied as a young man.

The Jedi suspected their former comrade was indeed a true Sith, but could not discern the identity of the elusive second Dark Lord. Some, like Quinlan Vos, suspected Sora Bulq to be the one they sought, but this was a deliberate deception on both Bulq and Dooku's parts.

The Praesitlyn Conflict
Despite taking no direct action in the Praesitlyn Conflict, Dooku and his dark servant Asajj Ventress communicated with General Pors Tonith to advise on the strategy. However, all of this was a plot by Dooku and his Sith Master Darth Sidious to test the power of Anakin Skywalker and attempt to bring him closer to the dark side. Delaying reinforcements until the last moment, resulting in a defeat for the Sepearatist forces after a cunning attack from Anakin himself. However, it was a victory for the Sith lords as it further showed Anakin's power and ability to use the Force, paving the way for his eventual fall to the dark side.

Mission to Vjun
There were those who thought Dooku could be saved, among them, Grand Master Yoda. However, it was only when Dooku allowed Jedi Jai Maruk to escape and return to Coruscant with a message that Yoda decided to take action. Yoda, along with a group of Jedi, traveled to Dooku's castle on Vjun in an attempt to bring him back. Many fell to Asajj Ventress along the way.

During this time Dooku came into conflict with his master over his loyalty to his former master. Also, Ventress had to be brought back into line by Dooku when she complained that he stopped her from killing Jai Maruk and for trying to persuade him to overthrow Darth Sidious.

The Jedi arrived on Vjun and fell foul of Asajj Ventress, only the timely arrival of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker saved the remaining Jedi from Ventress.

Meanwhile Dooku talked with Yoda, where Dooku tried to persuade his former master to join the dark side. He failed and he duelled Yoda again before fleeing, sending a missile to destroy his fortress. Yoda stopped the missile but Dooku escaped. Dooku never answered Yoda's offer to return.

Battle of Boz Pity
Dooku later headed to Boz Pity to oversee augmentations to the body of the badly wounded Asajj Ventress. However a Republic fleet arrived before the process was completed. Dooku was confronted in the MedCentre by Obi-Wan and Anakin but escaped when Ventress broke free and attacked the two Jedi.

Heading across the battlefield to his shuttle, Dooku was confronted by Mace Windu, who had just taken out General Grievous. Dooku engaged his old friend but used his IG-100 MagnaGuards droids to distract him and make good his escape.

Entering his shuttle with the body of General Grievous, Dooku spotted Ventress running towards them. Dooku ordered her shot and his shuttle left without her. Ventress was then apparently killed by Skywalker.

Trap above Viidaav
Towards the end of the Clone Wars Dooku and his servant, General Grievous planned to destroy a Republic fleet by destroying the planet Viidaav, along with its colonists. Droids planted charges on the planet and prepared for detonation.

However, the Republic forces and the Viidaav colonists fought through droid forces to stop the detonation sequence and the plan was foiled.

The Final Moves
Dooku had spent much of the war supervising the Separatist Council, allowing General Grievous to command the droid armies. After Boz Pity, he made a temporary home on Kaon and from there he headed to The Works to inform Darth Sidious of the capture of Nute Gunray's chair, which led to the Confederacy retreat at Belderone. Dooku and Sidious plotted to lure Obi-Wan and Anakin to Naos III, where they would be attacked by bounty hunters under Dooku's instruction.



Returning to the Invisible Hand, Dooku learned that the plan had failed. In a meeting between him, General Grievous, and Darth Sidious, they arranged to lure Obi-Wan and Anakin to Tythe, using Dooku as bait. Dooku would then kill Obi-Wan and lure Anakin to the dark side. It was during this meeting that Dooku brought up the idea of Sidious leaving Coruscant to avoid Jedi pursuit. Sidious then ordered Grievous to attack Coruscant while Republic forces went after Dooku at Tythe.

The Third Battle of Tythe was one of the last encounters Dooku had with Anakin and Obi-Wan before his death. He taunted the pair until Anakin gave into his anger and screamed in an incredible display of power causing the roof to collapse on all three of them. Dooku escaped, fleeing the planet and heading toward Coruscant after side-tracking at Nelvaan. The decoy worked as Darth Sidious could still remain unveiled. Then, like a dejarik master of old, the Dark Lords put in motion their final moves.

Endgame


"Your swords, please. We don't want to make a mess of things in front of the Chancellor." "You won't get away this time, Dooku."

- Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi

Awaiting the Jedi
"Just as Count Dooku predicted!"

- Grievous

At the Second Battle of Coruscant, General Grievous captured Palpatine, unbeknownest that this was part of an elaborate plan of Sidious's, so that he could be apprehended himself. Dooku and Sidious both foresaw that the only rescuers likely to arrive in time would be Kenobi and Skywalker. Despite Sidious's wish, Dooku tried to convince his Master to trade out Skywalker for Kenobi, citing that a Jedi of Kenobi's integrity would lend support to the New Order. Sidious disagreed and claimed that Kenobi was too indoctrinated by the Jedi way. So the plan stayed as originally conceived: Dooku would kill Kenobi, but be "defeated" by Anakin, meaning that Dooku was expected to defeat Anakin, convert him to the dark side, then afterwards, allow Anakin to arrest him, when he rescues Palpatine.

He would then, in captivity, turn on the CIS by surrendering to the Republic forces and claiming to have only recently learned of the extent of the atrocities committed by the CIS, and specifically General Grievous, who would be the perfect scapegoat on whom to hang all of the CIS's war crimes. He would later ostensibly emerge as Emperor Palpatine's right-hand man in the new Empire, with a newly-turned Anakin Skywalker leading a new Sith Army of dark side Force-wielders to replace the Jedi Order and bring order to the galaxy. Dooku was confident in his Master and their plans fell slightly back on track.

Final Duel
""I've been looking forward to this." "My powers have doubled since the last time we met Count." "Good. Twice the pride, double the fall.""

- Dooku and Anakin Skywalker



The day would not turn out that way, however. Both Kenobi and Skywalker's lightsaber skills had improved dramatically since their last duel, although they initially did not reveal this, allowing Dooku to underestimate them. As the duel wore on however, Dooku soon realized there had been a miscalculation. Both Jedi changed their saber styles mid-battle and began wear down the Sith Lord's defenses. Eventually, Dooku was able to regain the upper hand when he used the Force to choke and hurl Kenobi across the room, knocking him unconscious.



"I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them."

- Count Dooku to Anakin Skywalker

Anakin carried on the fight, pushing Dooku off balance with a flurry of heavy blade strokes. Against seemingly overwhelming odds, Anakin was able to unleash some of his potential in anger and dominate Dooku. Overpowering Dooku's Makashi with his mastery of Djem So, Anakin trapped Dooku's arms within his and proceeded to slice off both of the count's hands, bringing him to his knees.

Revelation


Expecting his Master to intervene and save his life as Sidious had promised to do in the case of defeat, Dooku instead was shocked to see the Dark Lord relentlessly goading Anakin to deliver the deathblow, thus driving him one more step closer to the dark side.



It was only then that Dooku finally came to realize the second deception: Palpatine never intended for the Count to survive, nor for him to be his apprentice; he was simply the tool used to create the CIS and make Sidious's plan truly possible. Anakin, holding two lightsaber blades crossed before Dooku's throat, beheaded the helpless Count and drove one more dark side wedge into his soul. Dooku's final thought was:

"Treachery is the way of the Sith."

- Dooku

Anakin Skywalker would then proceed to become Darth Vader, Sidious's final apprentice.

Personality and traits
"He was one of the most brilliant Jedi I've ever had the privilege of knowing."

- Jocasta Nu



Dooku was an accomplished philosopher, orator, politician, warrior, and Force-adept, regarded as one of the greatest Jedi ever for his strength of character and his strength in the Force. Yoda considered him both the Temple's greatest student and one of his greatest failures.

With his deep voice and veneer of elegant charisma, this political idealist and wealthy Count of Serenno displayed elegance, class, and intelligence.

There were other aspects to his personality, however, that were far less laudable, particularly later in his life. Dooku was a speciesist, secretly despising the purely alien Separatist Council, an elitist, incredibly arrogant, and he viewed almost every other living being as a tool to be used for his own advancement. He divided the entire galaxy into two personal categories: Threats and Assets. The threat category was for beings or things that interfered with his personal advancement and would have to be eliminated, the asset category being for those who could help, or at least not hinder his advancement.

Though as a Jedi he had suppressed these characteristics, he later gave in fully to them after falling to the dark side. He came to believe that the Jedi Order should embrace the dark side and rule the galaxy alone without the interference of the Senate. As a Sith, he planned to transform the Jedi into a Sith Army, and intended to forcibly recruit Force-users into such an army.



Dooku believed that the sorrow and injustice of the galaxy could only be responded to with anger and hate, and it was most likely this belief that first drove him to the dark side.

By the time of the Clone Wars, Dooku had been a practitioner of the Force for nearly eight decades. Dooku and his student Qui-Gon Jinn would have surely sat on the Jedi High Council if it were not for their maverick views.

Lightsabers
"Finesse. Artfulness. Economy."

- Dooku to Grevious on the Invisible Hand

As a Jedi youngling, Dooku wielded common training lightsabers under the tutelage of Master Yoda, but after Thame Cerulian took him as his Padawan, Dooku constructed a curve-hilted lightsaber with a green blade. Having studied Jedi holocrons, he wanted to create a lightsaber that had no connection to the common Form III used against blaster-wielding opponents, but rather one that suited the classical Form II. The end result was a curved hilt which allowed for precise movements as well as perfect flexibility in lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat. The design and its properties were stored in holocrons, but Master Tyvokka's own curve-hilted lightsaber might have also been an inspiration. It also contained a dual-phase setting, allowing him to instantly shorten the blade.

In his last mission as a Jedi, Dooku wielded the same lightsaber with a blue crystal, though during his training of Qui-Gon Jinn he carried a regular lightsaber. As a Dark Lord of the Sith, Dooku swapped out his Jedi crystal with a red synthetic lightsaber crystal, the common color of Sith blades. After being corrupted by the Bando Gora, Dooku's final Jedi apprentice Komari Vosa constructed new lightsabers based on Dooku's design. After Vosa's death, the Count gave these unique weapons to his Dark Acolyte, Asajj Ventress.

His lightsaber was most likely destroyed when the Invisible Hand broke in two over Coruscant.

Fighting style


"He is a fencer. Leverage, position, advantage&mdash;they are as natural to him as breathing."

- Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit to Yoda on Dooku

As a Padawan, Dooku's favorite training was lightsaber combat. His swordsmanship was uncanny even to the most revered Jedi Masters.Dooku was regarded as one of the best lightsaber duelist in the history of the old Jedi order with only a handful of equals. During the time of the Confederacy Crisis, It was said that aside from Yoda, perhaps only Mace Windu would have been his equal on neutral ground, but Windu was outmaneuvered by Dooku in their duel on Boz Pity towards the end of the Clone Wars. Although, as seen from later on, and Unduli never had the chance to face him. He was finally defeated by neither Yoda, Windu or Unduli, but young Anakin Skywalker. Though styles like Form III, IV, and V were more practical in the age of blasters, all of which Dooku developed a working knowledge of, his competitive spirit drove him curiously towards mastery of Form II: Makashi lightsaber combat.

Form II was a concentration on lightsaber to lightsaber combat. Resentful of the needlessly rambunctious acrobatics of Form IV (which better suit a specimen like Yoda, not a Human), Dooku saw Form II as the perfect rebuttal to all forms of lightsaber combat. As such, it was a more elegant, precise and classical style, and appealed to his sense of gallantry and finesse. Indeed, his mastery of Form II made him one of the greatest swordsmen of the Jedi Order. Although highly respected for his abilities, his pride was a cause for alarm amongst his peers, as he possessed an aggressive and competitive nature not normally seen in Jedi. His Form II mastery, paired with his deep connection with the Force, made Dooku a nearly impossible adversary to overcome. Dooku was so well versed in lightsaber combat that he was able to hold his own against three or four opponents by himself despite the fact that Makashi was less efficient when faced with multiple opponents.



His Padawan would show the same rebelliousness that Dooku himself had shown Yoda. It would be Qui-Gon's devotion to Form IV that would, as Dooku saw it, lead to his death at the hands of the Sith Lord Darth Maul.

Dooku's grasp on Form II only grew during his descent into the dark side of the Force. Although reaching eighty standard years of his life, Dooku managed to stay in good physical condition, enabling himself to use acrobatic skills and speed which most Jedi Masters his age could not have accomplished. Using aggression more freely, Dooku would arrogantly assume that he could finally defeat Yoda in combat. His victory over Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker at the Battle of Geonosis was due to the fact that neither Obi-Wan nor Anakin were trained in the lightsaber-to-lightsaber combat of Form II. However, when he fought his former master Yoda he was still unable to overcome Yoda's overwhelming speed. Dooku had to concede to his former master. He escaped the duel and spent the next three years honing his craft.

Dooku ultimately lost to Anakin Skywalker in a duel during the Second Battle of Coruscant. Old age and arrogance had caught up with the Sith Lord. Skywalker had abandoned the passive aggression of defensive combat that had been taught by his elders, and mastered the more offensive Form V of lightsaber combat. Drawing on the forsaken powers of the dark side, Anakin almost literaly beat the Sith Lord to the ground and eventually decapitated him at Chancellor Palpatine's urging.

Dooku and Skywalker


"Like Anakin, you do not?"

- Yoda to Dooku

Of all the Jedi, Count Dooku had a particular dislike of Anakin Skywalker, and the reasons for this were multiple. First, Anakin reminded Dooku too much of himself at the same age: arrogant, impulsive, and proud. On Vjun, Dooku stated to Yoda his belief that the only way young Skywalker would learn about humility would be if someone took him down a few pegs. And Dooku very much wanted to be that someone.

Dooku also disapproved of Anakin's fighting skills. As stated earlier, Dooku viewed both Ataru and Jar'Kai as inferior lightsaber forms. During their duel on Geonosis, Anakin attempted to use a combination of the two forms, something the Count would have most likely found distasteful.

Furthermore, he felt that Anakin, after his arm was severed, ought to have learned to fight one-handed as he felt a gentleman should. Instead, Anakin received a cybernetic replacement. And since Dooku regarded Human cyborgs as "the depths of bad taste," he had yet another reason to look down on the boy.

It should therefore come as no surprise that Dooku found it most annoying that Skywalker was receiving so much attention from his former peers and mentors. Even Darth Sidious had taken an interest in the boy, and while that probably made Dooku secretly jealous, he never got wise to his master's treachery until it was too late.

Dooku may have also found the Council's belief that Anakin was the Chosen One to be absurd. Indeed, Dooku was of the opinion that the true identity of the Chosen One was a seasoned philosopher of sharp insight, someone with solid character and the intellectual clarity to see the path to galactic enlightenment; someone who possessed the titanic willpower to walk such a path; and, most importantly, had the charisma and leadership to carry others along with him.



Dooku fit that personality exactly&mdash;at least in his own mind.

Behind the scenes

 * Dooku was portrayed by Christopher Lee in the films, and was voiced by Corey Burton in Star Wars: Clone Wars and all video game appearances with the exception of Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter, where he was voiced by Jeff Bennett. Kyle Rowling portrayed Dooku during most of the character's lightsaber sequences, due to Lee's inability to enact these physical scenes due to his age. Rowling's head was digitally replaced with Lee's during post-production.


 * The color of Dooku's hair as a young man is not portrayed consistently, being shown as blond, brown, and black in various sources. An unverified fan theory assumes that Dooku was prone to artificially tint his hair.




 * "Dooku" could be based on the Japanese word "doku", meaning poison. In Galician and Portuguese languages, "do cu" (pronounced exactly as in "Dooku") literally means "from the ass". For this reason, Dooku's name was changed to "Dookan" in Brazil. "Doku" is also a slang word in Finnish, meaning drunkard.


 * Tyrannus&mdash;or more properly,Tyrannos&mdash;is an ancient Greek word, originally used to describe someone who ruled a city-state after overthrowing the preexisting government. It was a legitimate form of government and the word's meaning was not unfavorable in itself, but over time, as democracy developed, it gained negative connotations and came to mean 'oppressor' or 'tyrant'.




 * Originally, Dooku was set to wield two lightsabers in combat against Yoda in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, making him a possible Jar'Kai duelist. However, the idea was later dropped, and Dooku was stated to dislike usage of multiple blades in Labyrinth of Evil, though the comic version of Episode II kept the idea intact. In a likely reference to this cut sequence, Dooku's first action figure included a secondary lightsaber, albeit with a green blade.




 * Aside from his name, Dooku has many similarities to Dracula (another famous role assumed by Christopher Lee). Both are villainous, erudite and sophisticated counts who wear a cape and dress in black. Additionally, Lee's Dracula played opposite Peter Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing. Cushing portrayed Wilhuff Tarkin, a character that had some influence on the concept of Dooku.


 * The full name of Count Dooku is unknown, but some fans have been known to use "Yan Dooku". However, this is fanon, not reflecting Dooku's canonical name.