Dooku's lightsaber/Legends

"Belongs to Dooku, that lightsaber does."

- Yoda

A curved-hilt lightsaber was constructed by and served Jedi Master-turned-Sith Lord Dooku up until his death during the Battle of Coruscant. The weapon itself was destroyed along with his body when General Grievous' cruiser, the Invisible Hand, broke in half, the rear portion containing the lightsaber burning up in Coruscant's atmosphere.

Specifications


When Dooku first set about creating this weapon, he chose a configuration that had no connection to either the weapon wielded by his first tutor, Yoda, nor to the style in fashion at the time. Studying Jedi Archive records, Dooku based his new weapon design after the curved hilts that were standard during the heyday of Form II lightsaber combat. The curve allowed the hilt to fit better into his hand, allowing for superior finesse and precise blade control.

The emitter featured both an angular blade guard and a thumb trigger that activated the weapons dual-phase setting, shortening the blade for a close quarters surprise attack. The first third of the weapon casing was a solid piece that contained an inclined focusing chamber and a series of thermal radiator grooves along the inside of the curve. The crystal chamber was positioned in the joint between this piece and the handgrip. Beneath the fabric covering of the handgrip was a magnetic adhesion plate concealed beneath the black rubber hand grip, that secured the weapon to Dooku's belt when not in use. The final third of the hilt contained the activator and the three power cells. The first cell, a compound power cell, was contained in the bend in the hilt directly below the handgrip. The second, a Phase A cell, was positioned next to the activator, a red pinky trigger. The last cell, the reserve, was contained in the weapon's pommel.

History
"It seems this contest cannot be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but by our skill with the lightsaber."

- Dooku

Dooku constructed his lightsaber shortly after becoming a Jedi Master, deliberately using a design that had little connection to the standard lightsaber he had wielded as a Knight. The Count might have been inspired by his reading of The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force. In his copy of the guidebook, Dooku annotated "Intriguing" next to a short definiton of the curved-hilt lightsaber.

Notably, this weapon saw use against the True Mandalorians during the Battle of Galidraan. When Dooku left the Jedi Order, he took his lightsaber with him. When he joined the Order of the Sith Lords, Dooku converted the weapon into a Sith lightsaber by replacing the original blue crystal with a scarlet synthetic gem, improving the blades cutting power at the expense of maneuverability. However, despite renouncing the Jedi way, Dooku would continue to greet opponents with the traditional Makashi salute.

At the start of the Clone Wars, Dooku would brandish the lightsaber against Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Dooku brought down Kenobi with light - though damaging - cuts across his right arm and leg, while Skywalker's fury forced Dooku to resort to hacking the young Jedi's arm off. Dooku was subsequently confronted by Jedi Grand Master Yoda, who engaged Dooku in a titanic lightsaber duel. Yoda's might forced Dooku to retreat.

As the political leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Dooku rarely engaged in battle, and his lightsaber remained idle. However, Dooku would on occasion get his hands dirty, and the lightsaber was wielded in several lightsaber duels, three of them rematches with Anakin Skywalker. He would also engage in sparring matches with the cyborg Grievous and various members of his Dark Acolytes. Most notably, Dooku would wield the lightsaber in a rematch with Yoda on Vjun, even managing to score a hit on his former Jedi mentor, though he was again forced to retreat. After crash landing on Vanqor, Dooku was provided with transport by Hondo Ohnaka and his pirate gang, who quietly nicked the lightsaber during the trip before capturing Dooku upon their arrival on Florrum. Ohnaka attempted to ransom Dooku to the Galactic Republic, displaying the lightsaber as proof of capture. Dooku later managed to escape, though how he retrieved the lightsaber remains unknown.

Towards the conclusion of the war, Dooku wielded the lightsaber in a final rematch with Kenobi and Skywalker aboard the Invisible Hand. The basic fighting moves and tactics employed by the Jedi early in the fight lulled Dooku into a false sense of confidence, and left him completely off-guard when they switched to the advanced fighting forms that they had mastered in the interim. Notably, Skywalker's Form V power attacks overwhelmed Dooku's defenses, driving his blade back so far that it scorched its his shoulder. Dooku only narrowly defeated Kenobi thanks to his greater power in the Force, though this only enraged Skywalker, who fell on Dooku in a fury. Dooku was driven back and brutally disarmed by Skywalker, who cut off both of Dooku's hands and seized the lightsaber. Skywalker held both Dooku's and his own lightsaber in a cross at the Sith Lords neck, and after some prodding from Palpatine, decapitated the beaten Count.

Skywalker abandoned the lightsaber with Dooku's corpse, and it was destroyed soon afterwards when the Invisible Hand broke in half, and the rear portion containing Dooku's lightsaber burned up in the atmosphere.

Behind the Scenes
When Dooku was originally being conceived for Star Wars Episode II, early concept art depicted him as a female Sith. However, as the character was developed, and Christopher Lee was cast, the concept art was shelved, with the curved hilt of Dooku's lightsaber being the lone holdover from it.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Jango Fett: Open Seasons
 * Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
 * Star Wars: Republic: Rite of Passage
 * The Eyes of Revolution
 * Star Wars Adventures 4: Jango Fett vs. the Razor Eaters
 * Star Wars Adventures 5: The Shape-Shifter Strikes
 * Star Wars Adventures 6: The Warlords of Balmorra
 * The Approaching Storm
 * Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones / comic / novel / junior novel
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars video game
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Most Precious Weapon
 * Boba Fett: Crossfire
 * Star Wars: Republic 49: Sacrifice
 * Star Wars: Republic 50: The Defense of Kamino
 * Jedi: Mace Windu
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars PhotoComic
 * Star Wars: Battle for the Republic
 * Jedi: Shaak Ti
 * Star Wars: Republic 54: Double Blind
 * Legacy of the Jedi
 * Jedi: Count Dooku
 * Star Wars: Republic 63: Striking from the Shadows
 * Star Wars: Republic 64: Bloodlines
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars film / novel / junior novel
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars Official Movie Storybook
 * The Clone Wars: Wild Space
 * The Battle Begins
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars Volume 1: Shipyards of Doom
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars Volume 2: Crash Course
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars Volume 3: The Wind Raiders of Taloraan
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 1: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 1: The Mystery of Kiros
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 4: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 4: Auction of a Million Souls
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 6: Slaves of the Republic - Chapter 6: Escape from Kadavo
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Ambush junior novel
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Destroy Malevolence
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars Secret Missions 1: Breakout Squad
 * The Clone Wars: The Fall of Falleen
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 7: In Service of the Republic, Part 1
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars: Hero of the Confederacy
 * Star Wars: Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars: General Grievous
 * Jedi Trial
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith / comic / novel / junior novel
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars 7: In Service of the Republic, Part 1
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
 * Star Wars The Clone Wars: Hero of the Confederacy
 * Star Wars: Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars: General Grievous
 * Jedi Trial
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith / comic / novel / junior novel
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Jedi Trial
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * Star Wars: Obsession
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
 * Labyrinth of Evil
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith / comic / novel / junior novel
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith / comic / novel / junior novel
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * The Rise and Fall of Darth Vader

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 film