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- "This is not the work of a Sith Lord or a Jedi…but a reckless, impulsive animal."
- ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, on Savage Opress's massacre on Devaron
Savage Opress was a Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother who became a Sith Lord alongside his younger 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. He executed missions against the Galactic Republic at Devaron's Temple of Eedit and on Affa, slaying his first Jedi, Halsey and Knox, in the former campaign. Opress soon became a Sith apprentice to Dooku, who intended to use his new acolyte to overthrow his own Master, Darth Sidious, and claim control of the galaxy.
While Opress was subjected to brutal Sith training under Dooku's charge, Ventress prepared to pit the monstrous Nightbrother against Dooku. Yet when Ventress's plans for revenge culminated at Toydaria, 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 duel, 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 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 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.
By 20 BBY, Opress and Maul cut a swath through the Outer Rim Territories, battling through all civilians, bounty hunters, and Jedi Knights who stood in their way. The Jedi High Council sent task forces to hunt them down on Pleem's Nexus and Moorjhone, with Kenobi always among the contenders. As part of Maul's plans, Opress became a Sith Lord, but he was forced to become the apprentice—submitting to his brother, the Master—in accordance with the Rule of Two. While attempting to recruit Weequay pirates into their service on Florrum, Opress killed Jedi Master Adi Gallia, though he soon thereafter lost his left arm to Kenobi's blade. 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 formed an alliance to overthrow the pacifist rulers of the planet Mandalore, though after 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 his brother seized control of Mandalore from Vizsla and his allies. Their rule of Mandalore, however, attracted unwanted attention from Maul's former Master, Darth Sidious, who saw the power of the two Sith brothers as a threat to the dominance of his Sith Order. Sidious traveled to Mandalore and confronted the two brothers, fatally impaling Opress, who in his dying breath expressed regret for never having been Maul's equal.
Biography[]
Nightbrother of Dathomir[]
- "A brother? But all of my kin were killed!"
"Not all of them. He lives in the Outer Rim, in exile." - ―Savage Opress learns of his long-lost brother, Darth Maul, from Mother Talzin
Opress became a tribal leader within the Nightbrother village.
A Force-sensitive[13] Dathomirian Zabrak male,[6] Savage Opress was born to Kycina, a Nightsister of the planet Dathomir,[15] prior to the year 54 BBY.[2] Opress eventually became the elder to two brothers, Maul[15] and Feral.[16] During infancy,[17] Opress[11] and Maul underwent rituals[17] to be consecrated as initiates in Dathomir's Nightbrothers,[15] a clan of warriors subservient only to the matriarchal Nightsisters,[18] who kept them for breeding and warfare. For their initiation as Nightbrothers, Kycina submerged them both in an oily bath energized with ichor from her Nightsister magic, ceremoniously giving them the Nightbrother tattoos that they would wear for the rest of their lives.[15] However, Opress never learned of his relationship to Maul or even of his existence until years later[13] due to the actions of his mother, who hoped that Maul would grow up free from servitude to Mother Talzin, the leader of the Nightsisters.[15] Kycina concealed Maul's existence from Talzin and secretly gave him away at Dathomir's Blue Desert City before he was a standard year of age,[17] while Opress and Feral were taken from their mother by Talzin.[15] Opress thus grew up only knowing[13] Feral, whom he vowed to watch over in the Nightbrothers' dangerous way of life.[11]
While Opress and Feral lived on Dathomir,[11] Maul was raised and trained by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, under whose tutelage he became known as the feared Sith Lord Darth Maul. After years of service to Sidious,[19] Maul was presumed dead[20] in 32 BBY[21] after being cut in half by then–Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi during the final battle of the Invasion of Naboo.[22] Initially part of the same clan, Feral and Opress grew up in the Nightbrothers' village in an isolated region of Dathomir,[15] which was headed by Brother Viscus.[23] Nightsisters often came to the village for the Selection, a ritual series of tests in which the witches claimed servants[11] and mates[24] from the Nightbrothers' nine formidable[25] tribal heads,[11] with death awaiting those who failed the challenges. Because the Nightsisters made periodic,[26] unpredictable visits to their village, Opress and his brethren were forced to stay in fierce fighting shape.[23] Opress often sparred with Feral in his free time,[11] and he learned much about cruelty in his early life.[27] All too aware of the threat of the Nightsisters,[26] he did his best to protect his younger brother from the[28] fearsome witches.[26] By the time of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, both Opress and Feral became tribal heads within the Nightbrother village.[11] Opress gained credit as a fierce yet compassionate warrior,[18] though his life was to soon intertwine with the very essence of the dark side of the Force.[11]
Servant of Two Masters[]
The Selection[]
- "As long as I live, you will not harm him! Please, spare him. Take me."
- ―Savage Opress protects Feral by submitting himself to Asajj Ventress
Opress faces off against Ventress in the Crucible, hoping to protect Feral from her.
While the Clone Wars consumed countless lives across the galaxy, Opress resided with the Nightbrothers, their homeworld remaining relatively unaffected by the pan-galactic conflict.[11] Around 21 BBY, the second year of the war,[29] the Nightbrothers became host to Asajj Ventress, a powerful Nightsister in search of a servant from the Zabrak warriors.[11] Formerly a Confederate-allied Dark Acolyte for the Order of the Sith Lords, Ventress had recently been betrayed by her Master, Count Dooku,[30] and sought to acquire an adept servant for a plot to gain revenge on her ex-Master. Ventress arrived at the Nightbrother village square aboard an Ubrikkian speeder just as Opress was sparring there with Feral. When brought forward by Viscus for Ventress's inspection alongside the other tribal heads, Opress warned Feral against drawing attention to himself, hoping that neither of them would be subjected to the Nightsister's tests. Nevertheless, both brothers were among the six clan leaders who were deemed fit as candidates for the Selection, to Opress's dismay. Opress, Feral, and the other four tribal leaders proceeded to the nearby combat arena[11] known as the Crucible[31] for Ventress's trials.[11]
In the first trial, the Test of Fury,[31] Opress, Feral, and their comrades were to face Ventress herself in armed combat. Fighting with a curved dagger, Opress was initially Force-pushed against the combat field's railing by Ventress, who also countered the other warriors' moves with considerable ease. Recovering and rejoining the fight, Opress approached the Nightsister, avoiding several spears that she threw at him. When she targeted Feral, Opress abandoned his dagger and quickly went to his younger brother's aid, though their brief distraction was enough for the unimpressed Nightsister to knock them to the ground. As night fell, Opress, Feral, and the only two other remaining Nightbrothers graduated to the next round, in which the four of them were to confront Ventress without the light of the Crucible's torches[11] as part of the Test of Night.[31] The two other warriors fell to Ventress's deadly chain-sickle in quick succession, but Opress managed to pinpoint Ventress's third strike in time to pull himself and Feral out of harm's way. Quickly bringing his dagger up in the direction of the Nightsister, Opress ordered her to show herself, earning a portion of Ventress's respect. Being the only two surviving contenders in the Selection, Opress and Feral were faced with the third and final challenge: once more fighting Ventress, but now amidst[11] the Crucible's moving pillars of stone brought forth from the ground in what was known as the Test of Elevation.[19]
Opress tried his best to stay close to Feral and evade Ventress amidst the Crucible's added dimension, jumping from pillar to pillar, but Feral soon lost his purchase on one of the platforms and fell to the ground. When Opress found his brother, Feral was at the mercy of Ventress, who was preparing to kill him with a Force-choke. Intervening on his brother's behalf, Opress bodily threw Ventress against an adjacent pillar. Placing himself between the Nightsister and the weakened Feral, Opress fended off her attacks, refusing to let harm come to his brother. He ultimately requested that she spare his brother and instead take him as her servant. After Feral reluctantly obeyed her order to leave them, Ventress continued her fight with Opress in hand-to-hand combat. During his subsequent fight with Ventress, Opress drew upon his rage on several occasions and attempted to use his brute strength to fatally wound her in the head. However, it was Opress who took a beating, and he finally surrendered his life and pledged himself to the Nightsister when triumphed over. In spite of his defeat,[11] Ventress was nevertheless impressed by Opress's combat style[1] and fighting prowess,[6] and she took him as her servant[11] and mate.[13] The next morning, Ventress took Opress away from the village aboard her Ubrikkian speeder. Opress spared Feral, who remained behind with the other Nightbrothers, a glance of farewell before leaving behind his only home.[11]
Monstrously transformed, Opress strangles Feral to prove his loyalty to Ventress.
Crossing much of Dathomir to reach the fortress of the Nightsisters, Opress was brought to Mother Talzin,[11] who served as the leader and shaman of the coven of witches.[31] After examining Opress and sensing the hate and power coursing through his veins, Talzin put him into an enchanted sleep and had him brought to the altar[11] known as the Font.[15] In an ancient ceremony[25] heavily rooted in the dark side, Talzin and a full coven of her spellcasters bound together,[11] channeling spirit ichor and the rawest hatred to make Opress an avatar of primal anger[31] for Ventress's plot for vengeance. Subjected to the dark magicks[11] of the Fanged God,[31] Opress was granted greater height and size, a full crown of vestigial horns,[11] and fearsome power:[32] he gained even more brutality, an unmatched ferocity,[25] and heightened physical potential and Force abilities.[32] In addition, the Nightsisters placed him under their control so that Ventress could dictate his actions[11] via a spell of loyalty.[1] Talzin, being an expert shaman of Nightsister magic,[31] secretly ensured that he would remain loyal only to her.[1][13]
Now a monstrous warrior[1] whose sole purpose was to kill all those in his path,[18] Opress's first instinctive act when awoken was to choke Ventress with his bare hands. After obeying her command to release her, he was presented with a final test of loyalty. Feral, who had been taken prisoner by the Nightsisters following the Selection, was brought forward, and Opress was ordered to kill his brother. After repeated orders, he derided his brother's pleas for mercy and strangled him one-handedly[11] in a chilling display of the extent of the mind control.[28] Thus assured of her agent's allegiance, Ventress gave Opress a short first lesson in the practice of the dark side—to draw power from hate and never sympathize with the enemy,[11] beginning what was to be an abusive method of teaching for the Nightbrother.[33] For weaponry, Talzin conjured an enchanted pike from raw spirit ichor for Opress,[11] who also employed his newly granted bulk to heft an entire suit of full-body plate armor,[34] including the cuffs and shoulder armor reserved for those who had survived the Crucible.[31]
Apprentice to the Sith[]
- "I foresee we will do great things together. I shall teach you the ways of the dark side. Soon, your powers will rival that of the great Sith Lord Darth Maul. We will be even more powerful than Lord Sidious. We shall rule the galaxy together, my apprentice."
"I am your servant, Master." - ―Dooku and Savage Opress
With no forces left in his path, Opress approaches the Temple of Eedit unopposed.
His life committed to the dark side,[35] Opress was to be gifted to Count Dooku, becoming a Dark Acolyte for Dooku's Confederacy and replacing Ventress as the Sith Lord's personal assassin. When the time was right, Ventress would unleash her warrior against her former Master, seeking his death for his betrayal.[11] Talzin and fellow Nightsisters Karis and Talia escorted Opress aboard a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle to Dooku's homeworld of Serenno, where the Count maintained a palace residence. Upon being introduced to Dooku, Opress bowed to his new Master as a gesture of loyalty,[11] though the Nightsisters' sorcery would ensure that this allegiance would not be permanent.[13] As Dooku required proof of his new agent's abilities before any training could commence, Opress was sent on his first assignment: to seize control of the Temple of Eedit on the jungle planet Devaron. Because the temple served as a military outpost for the Republic and the Jedi Order, the base's capture would enable the Confederacy to conquer that area of the galaxy. Dispatched alone to the Devaron system aboard Dooku's personal Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop complete with an FA-4 pilot droid, Opress proceeded to the Temple of Eedit, where a battle for control of the outpost was already raging between Republic and Confederate forces.[11]
Upon landing on the path leading to the temple, Opress pushed through the B1 and B2 infantry droids of the Separatist Droid Army, focusing only on the temple's defenders: a clone trooper detachment from the Grand Army of the Republic led by[11] Jedi Master Halsey and his Padawan, Knox.[10] Wielding his enchanted pike, Opress cut his way through the clone troopers, his blade lethally cutting through their armor. After all of the troops had been eliminated—including the unit's leader,[11] Clone Commander Trauma[10]—Opress was left only with Halsey and Knox, who had meanwhile destroyed the remaining battle droids. Intent upon challenging the Jedi, Opress disarmed Halsey of his lightsaber and engaged the Jedi Master in combat. Although the diminutive Halsey held out for some time with his formidable agility, Opress battered him to the ground and killed him with a stab through the chest. Knox soon followed his Master into death, being speared on the end of Opress's blade when he attacked the Nightbrother. With all droids, Jedi, and clones slaughtered, Opress reached the Temple of Eedit and reported his success to Dooku via Imagecaster. Dooku was impressed by the work of his new acolyte and had him return to Serenno at once. Upon his return, Dooku took Opress as his Sith apprentice, intending to use him to overthrow his own Sith Master, Darth Sidious, in accordance with the Rule of Two. With Sidious defeated, Dooku and Opress would claim control of the galaxy.[11]
In his new capacity as Dooku's apprentice, Opress embarked on another assignment for his Master as part of a Sith plot involving the Republic's Fondor Shipyards. Entrusted with Dooku's solar sailer, Opress was given instructions for his mission on a datadisc and traveled to the planet Affa. There, he was to confront the Hutt merchant Noggox, an industrialist independent of the Hutt Grand Council who sponsored Republic business, but was content to watch the war between the Republic and the Confederacy from a distance. As two of his Republic-allied freighters had recently been raided by the pirate Dool Pundar en route to the Fondor Shipyards,[36] Noggox enlisted the help of a Jedi Padawan named Nuru Kungurama, who claimed that the pirates were being backed by the Confederacy and had been dispatched by the Jedi High Council to escort Noggox's other freighters to Fondor.[37] Opress was sent to remove Noggox from action before Kungurama could reach Affa. Once he landed at the main hangar of Noggox's fortress, Opress allowed himself to be captured and deprived of his pike by the Hutt's bodyguards. Brought directly to Noggox in chains for questioning, Opress warned the merchant that a Jedi was approaching, though the Hutt mistook his words to mean that the Jedi posed a danger. Opress instead revealed his ties to Dooku, and his awareness of Noggox's request for the Jedi's help, before breaking free of his shackles and reclaiming his halberd.[37]
Opress, at Dooku's mercy, loses his first spar in lightsaber combat with his Sith Master.
After killing Noggox and the entirety of his bodyguard entourage, Opress made his way back to the solar sailer to announce his success to Dooku. Although Opress wished to remain on Affa so that he could confront Kungurama, Dooku ordered him to immediately return to Serenno, to which he reluctantly obeyed. The victims of his massacre were left behind for discovery by Kungurama and his clone trooper unit, Breakout Squad.[37] Having become brutally adept in the use of his enchanted halberd, Opress upgraded his preferred choice of combat weaponry to a double-bladed lightsaber,[32] for which he received training from Dooku. In the throne room of the Count's palace, Opress engaged in his first practice session of lightsaber combat with Dooku,[13] a highly accomplished swordsman who owed his reputation to his previous career as a Jedi Master.[38] Opress was the first to attack, swinging his lightsaber at Dooku with powerful strikes, but his Master easily avoided his attacks. Opress was disarmed of his lightsaber and briefly Force-choked, and Dooku then brought both his and Opress's lightsabers around his apprentice's throat, ending the duel. Despite Opress's lack of skill with a lightsaber, Dooku sought to hone his natural ability in combat by drawing upon the Nightbrother's strong feelings of hate. Opress's next lesson in Sith training took place outside on the palace grounds with his Master.[13]
After witnessing a demonstration of the power of the Force by Dooku, who simultaneously raised a number of heavy stone pillars, Opress was tasked with accomplishing the same feat. Reaching out with the Force, Opress was initially able to lift only a few of the pillars to a meager height and deemed the task impossible. Drawing upon his apprentice's hate, Dooku blasted him with Force lightning until Opress gained a[13] crude proficiency of the Force[25] and was able to lift the blocks a greater distance. Although Opress questioned how one could defend against Force lightning, Dooku withheld the method of resistance to avoid making his Sith apprentice too powerful, promising to reveal such secrets in due time.[13]
Breakaway from Servitude[]
- "I was betrayed by Ventress. The Jedi are after me. I'm not nearly strong enough to defeat them all!"
- ―Savage Opress, to Mother Talzin
Grappling with Skywalker and Kenobi, Opress Force-chokes Katuunko to death.
Having completed the initial stages of his Sith training, Opress was sent on his next assignment as Dooku's apprentice: to capture King Katuunko of Toydaria alive.[13] Katuunko had previously spurned an offer from Dooku to join the Confederacy,[39] and Dooku, holding a grudge,[40] sought to force the Toydarian monarch into siding with the Separatists.[20] Departing from Serenno, Opress traveled to Katuunko's palace on Toydaria aboard Dooku's solar sailer. Upon touching down at the palace's landing platform, Opress swiftly defeated the Toydarian royal guards who came to confront him, slaying two of them with his lightsaber and Force-choking a third guard. He continued into the palace, cutting through the main entrance door and[13] effortlessly[41] killing the six remaining guards between him and Katuunko, who refused to be intimidated by an assassin. Taking a repulsorpod to the level of Katuunko's throne, Opress jumped onto his podium and slashed at the King, who drew his Toydarian ceremonial sword in a valiant but fruitless attempt at self-defense. Opress easily severed Katuunko's sword, and when the King attempted to fly out of range, the Nightbrother slammed him against a wall, knocking him unconscious.[13]
Opress was stopped from escaping with Katuunko by the arrival of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who, at the behest of the Jedi Council, were tracking down the assassin responsible for murdering Halsey and Knox on Devaron. With the inert Katuunko slung over his shoulder, Opress dueled with Kenobi and Skywalker atop the repulsorpods. At the instant that Katuunko regained consciousness and broke free from the distracted Opress's grip, Skywalker and Kenobi jumped onto Opress, tackling him and attempting to pin him down.[13] In his aggression,[1] the Nightbrother Force-choked Katuunko to death and then threw Skywalker and Kenobi onto an adjacent repulsorpod, with only Skywalker maintaining a grip on the platform. Opress crushed Skywalker's handhold beneath his boot and quickly used his lightsaber to disable the repulsorpod, which fell directly onto the two winded Jedi. Skywalker and Kenobi used the Force to prevent the pod from flattening them, but this left them momentarily distracted. Not wasting any time, Opress grabbed Katuunko's body and dragged it onto the solar sailer. Before lifting off from the palace, he reached out with a massive Force-push to send the Jedi's T-6 shuttle off the landing platform. Skywalker and Kenobi arrived too late to prevent Opress from escaping, and with their shuttle gone, they were forced to borrow Katuunko's personal[13] Peregrine-class star yacht,[26] the Thief's Eye,[40] to pursue Opress's solar sailer.[13]
Opress brought Katuunko's corpse to Dooku, who had arrived in orbit of Toydaria aboard a Providence-class carrier/destroyer. Receiving Opress on the bridge of his destroyer, Dooku was not pleased with his performance, for he had killed Katuunko in his haste to escape from the Jedi. Despite Opress's pleas for forgiveness, Dooku subjected his apprentice to a bout of Force lightning for his disobedience, stopped only by an uninvited arrival the bridge: Asajj Ventress, who had deemed it time to execute her revenge. Although Dooku told Opress that he could make amends for his mistake by killing Ventress, the Nightsister used Talzin's magic to turn Opress against his Sith Master. Ventress touched her finger to Opress's forehead,[13] recalling the memory of his allegiance to her[41] and activating the spell that ensured his loyalty to the Nightsisters.[1] A lightsaber duel ensued, with Opress assisting Ventress in challenging Dooku. When Ventress was knocked aside by the Sith Lord, Opress took over, relentlessly battering away at Dooku's defenses.[13] He won a brief advantage over Dooku[1] by disarming him and knocking him against a wall. Yet his victory was short-lived, as Dooku recovered in time to evade his advances and repelled him with Force lightning,[13] for which the Nightbrother had no defense.[1] Regaining his lightsaber, Dooku focused on dueling Ventress while simultaneously countering Opress's attacks with more Force lightning, preventing him from rejoining the fight.[13]
No longer an apprentice to Dooku or Ventress, Opress Force-chokes his former Masters.
Three times Opress attempted to kill Dooku while his former Master was locked in combat with the Nightsister, only to be swiftly thwarted each time by Force lightning. Furthermore, Ventress remained unsympathetic to Opress's lack of success, refusing to let his weakness be her downfall.[13] At that moment, Opress's fury surpassed his loyalty to Ventress,[1] and he broke free of her spell of allegiance.[13] Beaten and wounded,[1] Opress turned on both Ventress and Dooku, grabbing them in a powerful Force choke and then telekinetically throwing them against an adjacent wall. In an ensuing three-way duel, Opress directed overpowering lightsaber strikes at his opponents, knocking them backward a second time. To counter Opress's brute force, Ventress and Dooku teamed up, using telekinesis and Force lightning, respectively, in concert to hurtle the Nightbrother against the entry door. While Opress was catching his breath, Dooku fled from the bridge via an escape hatch, and Ventress pursued him without the aid of her one-time servant. With his hefty suit of armor, Opress was too large to fit through the hatch, and the arrival of Skywalker and Kenobi interrupted him just as he was about to cut into the hatch with his lightsaber. Bellowing a battle cry, Opress turned his focus to the two Jedi, and their proceeding duel took them through the dreadnaught's hallways.[13]
Skywalker forced a bystanding B1 battle droid in the direction of Opress, who simply threw the droid aside and relentlessly continued their duel. At one point, Opress lost one of his head horns, but he continued to push his opponents back through the hallways of the destroyer. When the three combatants reached the destroyer's hangar, all of the assembled battle droid troops turned on Opress on Dooku's orders, forcing him to focus on the droids instead of Skywalker and Kenobi.[13] By this time, the weary Nightbrother had no interest in conquest, only escape.[1] Surrounded and assaulted from all sides by nearly twenty B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, and shielded droidekas, Savage released a massive[13] Force pulse[41] against his droid attackers, eliminating all of them and knocking Skywalker and Kenobi aside. With his adversaries momentarily repelled, Savage took the opportunity to escape from Dooku's dreadnaught, taking his former Master's solar sailer back to Dathomir. Besides refuge from his enemies,[13] he sought a new focus, as his life was no longer controlled by Ventress or Dooku.[1] Having retained his loyalty to Mother Talzin, Savage sought an audience with her upon landing at the Nightsister fortress. He told her of Ventress's betrayal, admitting that he feared he lacked the strength to defeat Ventress, Dooku, and the Jedi. Talzin revealed that there was one individual who could help him become more powerful: his long-lost brother, Darth Maul.[13]
Believing up until that point that the[13] now-dead Feral[11] had been the last of his kin, Savage had been unaware of his second brother's existence. Talzin tasked him with finding Maul, who was in exile somewhere in the Outer Rim Territories, with the help of a Nightsister[13] Talisman of Finding.[31] Savage agreed to seek out his brother and promised to return. Before he departed, Talzin stated that both he and his brother had an important destiny to fulfill in the galaxy.[13] At one point, Savage dueled a Jedi Knight on Dathomir, employing his substantial rage in the battle.[42]
Blood Loyalties[]
The Search for Maul[]
- "What? It can't be… Brother!"
- ―Savage Opress discovers that the spider-like creature on Lotho Minor is his brother, Darth Maul
Savage accepts Morley's help on Lotho Minor.
The Talisman of Finding had been imbued with Maul's blood during Talzin's first encounter with him many years ago,[19] and it was to help Savage locate his brother. While scouring the Outer Rim for Maul,[1] Savage stopped at the diner Plop Dribble's at a spaceport on the planet Stobar. When the waitress Sassi attempted to inspect his talisman, Savage reacted violently and grabbed her by the neck, causing many of the other patrons to evacuate from the restaurant in fear. As diner owner Loubo rushed to his employee's aid, Savage threw Sassi at the cook, then escaped from the diner before the spaceport authorities could arrive.[43] A million-credit bounty was placed on his head[44] for fleeing the crime scene.[45] Initially frustrated that he had not yet uncovered any leads to find his brother, Savage happened upon a clue while searching through the spaceport's loading dock:[46] the dust on some crates caused the Talisman of Finding to glow, indicating a connection to Maul's location. Savage discovered that a Turtle Tanker cargo vessel had brought the crates to Stobar.[43]
Just as the Turtle Tanker was about to take off, Savage jumped through the closing entry hatch and confronted the ship's Sakiyan owner, asking him where he had brought the dust-filled crates from. Yielding to Savage's demands, the cargo hauler reluctantly set course for his planet of origin, the junk world of Lotho Minor. Upon arrival, the Sakiyan flew them over the planet-wide junk fields, allowing Savage to confirm via the Talisman of Finding that Maul was on-world, close to their position. When the talisman indicated that they had moved out of range of Maul, Savage commandeered the Turtle Tanker, ejecting the pilot via the airlock and circling around to find his brother. He landed and disembarked, entering the junk fields and using the talisman to track Maul. After the amulet stopped glowing, an Anacondan scavenger named Morley appeared and offered to help the frustrated Savage in his search, continuing to follow him even after his offer was refused. Combing through the endless trash piles, Savage and Morley ran into the fire-breathers,[43] enormous incinerator droids that had been programmed long ago to consume the planet's endless supply of trash.[47] After escaping from the fire-breathers, the two then encountered a tribe of native Junkers,[43] whose extreme territoriality sparked a confrontation.[48]
While Morley took cover, Savage cut through the Junkers with his lightsaber, slaying at least twelve of the scavengers. The Junker tribe subsequently retreated, and the two continued through the scrap heaps. Upon learning from Savage that he was searching for his brother, Morley told him a local legend of a "horned man" who dragged his prey beneath the surface and devoured them. Presently, an acid rainstorm forced them to seek cover in a nearby shelter of debris. There, the Talisman of Finding began to glow once more, and Savage searched fervently through the trash and Junker corpses, though he found nothing to indicate Maul's presence. When the amulet ceased glowing a final time, an infuriated Savage concluded that his brother was dead and that Talzin had betrayed him. At that moment, Morley, who revealed himself to be in league with the "horned man," sprung a trap door beneath Savage's feet, plunging him into a deep pit. Offering the Nightbrother as a meal for his master, Morley looked forward to feeding on the leftovers. After landing in a network of caves deep below the surface, Savage heard movement in the dark tunnels and activated his lightsaber, searching for any sign of his brother. Though he tried to track the movement, the hunter became hunted when a monstrous creature emerged from the shadows and attacked him. Dropping his lightsaber in the ensuing fight, Savage attempting to defeat the being who, he believed, had killed his brother.[43]
Savage finds his brother, Darth Maul, in the tunnel caves of Lotho Minor.
As Savage struggled with the creature in close quarters, the Talisman of Finding resumed its glow, brighter than ever before. Baffled by the possibility that the creature might be his brother, Savage was even more shocked when his suspicions were confirmed by the glow of the talisman: Maul was the creature, his upper body attached to a six-legged cybernetic apparatus that resembled a large spider. Maul suddenly retreated, and after reclaiming his lightsaber, Savage followed his brother to the large cave that the latter had adopted as his home. Deranged and feral,[43] Maul's mind had been broken after he was cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo, and in the following decade he had been forced to create a meager existence for himself beneath Lotho Minor's surface.[19] Savage told his brother of their kinship and tried to focus his attention, to little avail. When Morley arrived in search of his promised leftovers, Savage confronted the alarmed Anacondan, grabbing him by the neck. Disgusted with Morley, who he believed had failed to help Maul, Savage cracked his spine and tossed him onto the fire, then rejoined his brother. Although Maul's memory was broken, he was able to focus on a single impulse: his desire to have vengeance on Kenobi.[43]
Savage took Maul back to Dathomir via the Turtle Tanker so that he could be healed by Mother Talzin. Once they landed near the Nightsister fortress, Savage left his delusional brother aboard while he sought out the Nightsister shaman. The site of the village was littered with Nightsister corpses and debris from Separatist weaponry, which Talzin—once she appeared to him, materializing out of the mist—explained had been left when Dooku ordered the massacre of the entire Nightsisters clan. Though Savage told her that Maul was damaged, left without much memory of his previous life, Talzin believed that she could heal what had been broken. After bringing Savage and Maul into the fortress, Talzin placed the latter on the Font and put him into an enchanted sleep, separating him from his cybernetic apparatus. Maul's mind was restored, and he received a new pair of cybernetic legs, drawn from the remains of his previous set. While Talzin vanished, Maul finally recognized his brother and experimented with his new legs, running outside to the debris fields with Savage following in his wake. There, Savage told his brother of the ongoing Clone Wars and offered him his halved lightsaber, along with the opportunity to have revenge on the man who had compromised his destiny: Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two brothers proceeded aboard the Turtle Tanker to the[44] nearby planet Raydonia, the site of a village of colonists,[49] whom Maul targeted to lure Kenobi into a confrontation.[44]
After Maul murdered the entire village of colonists and broadcast holographic footage of the carnage to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Kenobi arrived on Raydonia alone, seeking to end what he had started by vanquishing Maul. Amidst the burning flames of the settlement's remains, Savage surprised Kenobi from behind, exchanging a series of lightsaber attacks, quickly staggering the Jedi through strikes so physically powerful it disarmed him. Once Maul secured Kenobi's lightsaber, Savage overpowered the Jedi Master and knocked him unconscious, allowing the brothers to bring him aboard the Turtle Tanker. The two subjected Kenobi to a beating in the transport's cargo hold, with Savage briefly withdrawing to launch their freighter into orbit. Although Maul wanted to draw out his torture of Kenobi, the Nightbrothers soon discovered that they had a stowaway aboard: Asajj Ventress, who had become a bounty hunter and—besides seeking the price on Savage[44]—sought to tie up loose ends with him.[49] She taunted Savage and his newly resurrected brother before disappearing back into the shadows. Believing that Savage's former Master knew too much, Maul ordered her killed, and the two brothers left the cargo hold to search the ship for Ventress. When they returned, they found that she had come to Kenobi's aid, supplying him with one of her lightsabers to make a stand against their common foes. A lightsaber duel began, with Maul and Savage pitting their combined strength against Ventress and Kenobi.[44]
Maul and Savage battle Kenobi and Ventress aboard their Turtle Tanker.
In the course of the battle, Savage crossed blades with both the Jedi Master and the bounty hunter, mainly focusing on the latter combatant. After knocking her lightsaber out of her grip, Savage slammed her against some of the cargo hold's crates, but she quickly retaliated by Force-pushing several crates toward him. She then jumped onto his shoulders and assaulted him with punches to the head; yet he retained the upper hand due to the fact that she was unarmed. Once Kenobi reclaimed his own lightsaber from Maul and returned Ventress's lightsaber to her, Savage engaged her in saberlock after saberlock, attempting to breach her defenses with his brute strength. Eventually, Kenobi and Ventress concluded that they were outmatched and decided to retreat, dodging around Savage's and Maul's blades to reach the Turtle Tanker's detachable cockpit. Not about to let their enemies run free, the brothers began to cut through the airlock with their lightsabers, though they were unable to prevent Kenobi and Ventress from launching in their escape pod. Maul activated the secondary airlock before they were sucked into the vacuum of space, and the two reconvened in the freighter's alternate command module. Despite Savage's concern that the Jedi would be pursuing them, an unfazed Maul began to devise larger plans for his long-awaited revenge.[44]
Hunted in the Outer Rim[]
- "You would involve us in that madness? We'll be crushed between the Republic and Separatists!"
"In a time of galactic war, history has shown us there is an opportunity for smaller factions to accumulate great power and wealth without being noticed."
"I'm not interested in profit. I want revenge."
"Brother, there will be more than enough time to exact our vengeance—once we have the means to properly execute it." - ―Savage Opress and Darth Maul
Orto Norwe[]
Savage would become Maul's informal apprentice at this time, and the two caused havoc in the Outer Rim. The two soon found themselves in Yellowblade's Landing on the ice world Orto Norwe where the duo wished to find recruits for an army they wished to form. Upon entering a local cantina, the bartender directs the two to Nukss, who was in charge of a gang known as The Scourge. After the gang threatens them, Maul issues them a threat in return: submit or die. Savage and Maul eliminated the six gang members with ease, with Nukss easily killed by Maul.[50]
But Savage decided to spare one of the thugs in hopes that it would bring the Jedi to them. Maul scolded this and said that they were not yet ready to face the Jedi and that they should have been hiding instead. He also said that there could be no witnesses, and so the two killed all within the cantina. Savage's act proved foolish as word of their movements in the cantina reached the Coruscant underworld, where Jedi Master Plo Koon learned from his informants that they were there. Koon and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Bruu Jun-Fan and his Padawan Tatsu and Grohto came to the icy world two rotations later to find their vessel with the massacred bodies from the cantina.[50]
Shortly after their massacre, the two went to find the gang's base. There, they discovered a secret prison which housed several wampa creatures, as well as a young female. She promised the two Sith that they would gain a large reward for rescuing her from The Scourge. However, before they could travel to Pleem's Nexus, the location of her brother, Esano, the Jedi strike team that traveled to Orto Norwe had arrived inside the old mining camp. When Kenobi and his team arrived in the base, they found Maul and Savage holding the young woman "hostage". In response to their arrival, Maul freed the wampas from their pen and made their getaway as the Jedi were distracted. The wampas surprised the team, killing at least two clone troopers; however, the Jedi had no trouble with them, especially Master Jun-Fan who managed to take one down, unarmed, but this wasn't the case with Savage and Maul.[50]
As Maul and Savage made their escape to the hangar with Esano's sister, they were delayed by Masters Grohto and Ko Solok, as well as Padawan Tatsu. Solok was knocked out by Maul, and Tatsu continued to engage the two Sith, alone. Shortly after he challenged Savage, the angered Dark Jedi cut off his right hand, disarming him in the process. Savage nearly killed the Pantoran, but Maul stopped him and told Savage to head to the shuttle for their escape. Kenobi continued on to face Maul, but Maul stopped Obi-Wan by using the Force to choke him.[50]
With Plo Koon, Jun-Fan, and the clone soldiers in the upper level dealing with the wampas, only Grohto was able to intervene with Maul. Grohto saved Kenobi's life by breaking Maul's concentration, but the price for saving Obi-Wan's life was paid with his own as he was killed by Maul as the Sith was using Esano's sister as a shield. Due to Jedi beliefs, Grohto could not kill her in order to kill Maul. It was here, when Grohto was killed by Maul by a lightsaber through his chest. Koon and the others made it down to the hangar, but Maul had just made his escape.[50]
It was not known where Savage and his brother were heading, however Koon's keen eyes noticed that Esano's sister had dropped her head band. Due to Jun-Fan's psychometric abilities, the Jedi learned that the two Sith were traveling to Pleem's Nexus. After they mourned the deaths of Grohto as well as at least two clone troopers, they decided that Tatsu should not continue on due to his injury (missing right hand), as well as Kenobi due to his minor injuries as well.[50]
Pleem's Nexus[]
Once Maul and Savage reached Pleem's Nexus, the two landed at Esano's palace, with his sister requesting that he pay the Sith their reward for rescuing her, otherwise, they would kill her. Esano ignores this as with her death, his family fortune would be his. Maul, infuriated with Esano, begins his attack.[50]
Once Esano said that Maul and Savage should kill his sister, the two Sith started striking down Esano, his pet Kerko, and his guards. The two Nightbrothers made short work of them, but Esano's sister still remained alive. Maul told her that the palace was now hers, and in return, she gave them their reward, as she had promised. Moments later, however, the Jedi team pursuing them had made their way the palace.[50]
With their lightsabers and blasters in hand, Plo Koon, Bruu Jun-Fan, Ko Solok, and three clone troopers greeted Maul and Savage. Koon focused on Savage, engaging the brutish Nightbrother in a deadly duel, while Jun-Fan and Solok focused on Maul, with the clones providing cover fire. Jun-Fan asked Maul about his former master, and claimed that if he told them his identity, that he would be brought to justice. As this was not part of Maul's plan, he did not tell them the identity of Darth Sidious.[50]
During the battle, Jun-Fan destroyed the case that had the reward that belonged to Maul and Savage. At one point, Savage used the Force to push two of the clones off the landing platform, and deflect a blaster bolt at the other clone, and then pulled Koon's breath mask off of his face. Koon, injured, could no longer fight and began to gasp for air. At another point, Maul threw his lightsaber at Jun-Fan, but Jun-Fan dodged the weapon, but unknown to him, Ko Solok was right behind him. As he may have dodged the lightsaber, Solok did not, and died in the process. Jun-Fan became enraged because of this action, and started to fight more aggressively. Jun-Fan began to choke Maul with his bare hands, but Maul used his mechanical legs to kick him off.[50]
Just as Maul was about to finish off the Jedi Councilor, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived in their starfighters and injured Savage with the laser cannons. Once they landed, Savage and his brother fled in their stolen starship, as Kenobi and Skywalker tended to the injured Koon and Jun-Fan. Maul, wrought with revenge, continued to travel through the Outer Rim with his injured brother into the unknown.[50]
Paklan[]
After their encounter with the Jedi strike team on Pleem's Nexus, Savage and his brother ventured to the forest world of Paklan. At this time, the two attracted the attention of the Gossam businessman Ja'Boag. Zika had tracked Maul and Savage to a diner. Zika met with Toomey and told him that they were hiding in a diner. They met up with a band of bounty hunters outside the diner, and began to send in the hunters to claim the price on their heads. After meeting with the band of bounty hunters outside the diner, Toomey decided to send in a Falleen hunter so that he may help negotiate the two Sith's surrenders. This was not to be the case, however, as Maul used the Force to throw him out and strangle him, shortly after he walked in. Zika stated this was more than enough proof that Savage and his brother were inside the diner, and took his payment and ran off. Toomey and the other hunters decided to walk in, and they demanded that Maul and Savage drop their weapons and surrender. Maul then commanded Savage to deal with the hunters. Both Maul and Savage dealt with them very easily.[3]
Once Maul and Savage had killed all of the bounty hunters, only Toomey remained. Savage and Maul questioned him, violently, and discovered that Ja'Boag, who was the CEO of Rim Commercial Mining had placed a price on their heads for unknown reasons. They also learned that Ja'Boag was also in charge of mining operations on Moorjhone, and that he would be there. Maul and Savage continued on to Moorjhone.[3]
Battle of Moorjhone[]
Maul and Savage landed on Moorjhone and found themselves separated from the mining facility by a sizable security force brought by Ja'Boag for his visit. Upon being approached by a soldier, Maul influenced the man into carrying a live thermal detonator into the rest of the forces, wiping out a majority of the perimeter defenses. The two killed some of the survivors with their lightsabers before moving into the facility itself, where they were met by Ja'Boag and a sizable wing guard. Despite the wishes of his captain, Ja'Boag opted to confront the two directly. After mocking them for being foolish to dive headlong into enemy territory, Ja'Boag was flung into a nearby smelting pit, but was saved at the last second by Jedi Master Salmara, who recently arrived with a Jedi task force.[3] Salmara offered the Nightbrothers a nonviolent surrender, to which Savage refused.[51]
Savage and Maul used a combined Force push to wipe out much of the security force before being attacked by Jedi Master Judd, who wielded a long-handle lightsaber. During the scuffle, Salmara flung a container of the substance carbonite at Savage; ignorant to its contents, and despite Maul's warnings, Savage swiped at the container with his lightsaber, which released its cargo on him, effectively freezing him in the substance. Enraged at his brother's defeat, and Judd's subsequent mocking of his metallic legs, Maul broke Judd's arm with one of his feet. Salmara's Padawan Dray used this time to creep up on Maul and stab him through the pelvis with his lightsaber. This proved ineffective due to the robotic nature of Maul's lower half, and Maul countered by severing both of the child's hands with one swipe of his lightsaber. Maul then proceeded to flee, bringing down the escape tunnel entrance using the Force and fleeing to the outlying desert.[51]
J'baog later had Savage's frozen form placed into his control room as a decoration, despite the Jedi's protests. Meanwhile, Maul manipulated the Moorjhoni people into attacking the mining facility as a means of distraction to rescue his captured brother.[52]
After Maul penetrated the depths of the facility during the slaughter of the Moorjhoni people, he arrived in J'baog's control room, where he was confronted by Salmara and Dray, who were attempting to apprehend the Rim Mining Company president. Maul used the Force to unfreeze Savage from his carbonite prison, who managed to take Salmara off guard and stab her in the back in one swift move. Moments later, Maul bested an angered Dray before finishing Salmara off. He also started the lockdown process on the facility, with the intent of preventing any survivors of the massacre from finding refuge from the approaching inferno.[53]
Upon being taken away from the planet, Ja'Boag was forced by his Nightbrother captives into nullifying the bounty on their heads and transferring a large amount of credits into their account. After finding no further use in their hostage, Savage ejected Ja'Boag from the ship's airlock, killing him.[53]
Apprentice to Maul[]
Recruits on Florrum[]
- "To continue, we need one singular vision…my vision."
"Brother, let us share our strength. There is no need for dominance between us."
"Always two there are, my brother—a Master, and an apprentice. And you are the apprentice." - ―Darth Maul and Savage Opress
Some time after the skirmish above Raydonia, Maul and Savage went on a brutal rampage of murder and pillaging across the galaxy, unyielding to Jedi intervention. In the midst of this violent campaign, Savage and Maul raided the Cybloc Transfer Station in search of valuables, destroying any police droids that got in their way. Savage uncovered a credit coffer containing a small fortune, but Maul was more concerned with their inevitable confrontation with Kenobi and the Jedi Order. To him, credits were meaningless without a plan. Maul then revealed to Savage his vision of a future in which they were not brothers, but a master and an apprentice - a future in which Savage would be the apprentice. Savage objected to this vision and suggested that they stand as equals instead. Maul, however, was uncompromising. Angered, Savage ignited his saber staff to challenge Maul but was quickly subdued. After this, Maul declared Savage his Sith apprentice, to which Savage complied.
Maul teaches his brother a lesson aboard the Cybloc Transfer Station.
The brothers made their way to the Florrum system, where they came across a pirate frigate under the command of Jiro. The Weequay pirates proceeded to board Savage and Maul's ship and were caught off guard by the brothers. Jiro and his underlings were helpless against Savage and Maul's force powers and quickly found themselves at the duo's mercy. Maul, however, offered to not only spare Jiro and his men, but also compensate them with the brother's cargo of stolen credits and spices. In exchange, Jiro and his subordinates would pledge themselves to Maul's leadership. Jiro enthusiastically agreed to the Sith Lord's proposal and helped the brothers get in contact with his former boss, pirate gang leader Hondo Ohnaka, via hologram. Maul demanded Ohnaka's cooperation and clearly demonstrated the price of resistance by executing one of the less complacent pirates. Hondo was not intimidated, however, and openly defied the Sith Lord before cutting off the transmission. The Sith brothers, intent on killing Hondo and claiming his pirate base as their own, proceeded towards Florrum's surface with their new pirate allies.
After landing on Florrum, the renegade pirates confronted the Ohnaka Gang, while Maul and Savage remained in the background. Just as the battle erupted, Savage spotted Kenobi and fellow Jedi Council member Adi Gallia arriving on the surface aboard their ship, having been earlier summoned by Hondo. Savage and Maul quickly confronted the two Jedi and clashed lightsabers, with Maul focusing on Kenobi and Savage taking on Adi Gallia. Even a Jedi Council member couldn't counter Savage's brute strength, however, so Gallia adjusted her attack and tried to outmaneuver the Nightbrother's monstrous form. With this new tactic, Gallia was able to land a well-placed kick to Savage's leg. What would have been an otherwise catastrophically debilitating blow to anyone else left Savage unfazed, catching Gallia by surprise. It was at that moment that Savage proceeded to overpower the Jedi Master and impale her with his cranial horns. Kenobi, preoccupied with fending off Maul, was unable to do more than watch as Savage plunged his crimson blade into Gallia. With his comrade now dead, Kenobi quickly retreated with Hondo and his gang into the pirate's base. Savage, Maul, Jiro and the other pirate defectors pursued Hondo and Kenobi into the base.
Maul duels Kenobi, while Savage takes up the fight with Adi Gallia on Florrum.
Inside Hondo's base, the Sith brothers chased after Kenobi whilst Jiro and his men went in the opposite direction in pursuit of Hondo and those who had remained loyal to him. However, the pirate traitors found themselves in the midst of a trap as they came face to face with a mounted laser canon. They quickly surrendered themselves to Hondo, who showed mercy and persuaded them to rejoin his gang. Meanwhile, Savage and Maul engaged in a duel with Kenobi. The Jedi Master gave a formidable resistance, landing several kicks to Savage's already weakened leg, but Kenobi could not overcome the combined strength of Savage and Maul. Just as it seemed that the Sith brothers would emerge victorious, Kenobi gave one last powerful kick to Savage's wounded leg. Savage cried out in pain and temporarily relented his attack, giving Kenobi the opportune moment to sever Savage's arm. Enraged, Maul Force pushed Kenobi down the hallway and brought the shaky ceiling down behind him. Maul helped Savage to his feet and the two made their way outside of the base. Once outside, the brothers encountered Jiro and the other pirates only to discover that they had forgone their allegiance to Maul. Hondo emerged from the group and ordered his men to open fire on the Sith Lords. Savage and Maul retreated as they were hailed with laser fire. One of the bolts struck Maul's cybernetic leg, forcing Savage to help carry him to safety. To make matters worse, Kenobi now joined in the pursuit and closely tailed the weakened brothers. In a mighty display of force power, Maul disheveled the cliff which Kenobi's ship had landed on. A landslide of rock and metal came crashing down between the brothers and their pursuers, allowing Savage and Maul to safely board their ship. As the vessel began to lift off the surface, one of the pirates was able to destroy a rear engine with a rocket launcher. As their ship began to descend back towards the planet's surface, Savage lost hope. Maul, however, remained stalwart and ordered that they head for the ship's escape pod. The brothers narrowly escaped as their ship crashed into the surface in a fiery explosion.[14]
The Shadow Collective[]
- "Are we prisoners?"
"No. Allies. They have much to offer including their planet, they are strong and unlike pirates, they possess honor."
"Another weakness."
"They know nothing of our intentions. Those revelations will come too late." - ―Savage Opress and Darth Maul discuss their tentative alliance with the Death Watch
Recruiting an Army[]
After their narrow escape from Florrum, Savage and Maul lost consciousness as their oxygen-deprived escape pod drifted into the deep reaches of space. Eventually the brothers were discovered by the Mandalorian Death Watch and its leader, Pre Vizsla, who was intrigued by the duo after he discovered Maul's lightsaber on the floor of the pod as well as their appearances. Vizsla and his soldiers brought the still-incapacitated brothers to the Death Watch camp on Zanbar so they could be treated for their wounds.[4][12]
While Maul awoke and was fully repaired, Savage eventually emerged from his coma and when he noticed that he was not alone in the room, he proceeded to destroy the medical droids which had replaced his lost limb with a cybernetic arm. As Savage grew agitated, the already-revived Maul appeared to calm him down and informed him of their newfound allies that saved them from deep space after their mishap. Savage asked if they were being held prisoner but Maul insisted that they would be more useful to their plans than the pirates ever would have been because they had honor. While Savage rejected this as a weakness, Maul stated that his plans would be better served by them and, once they had conquered Mandalore, they would use its resources to further their own plans, with the Death Watch under their command. Vizsla and his lieutenant, Bo-Katan, then arrived and announced that the alliance had been accepted by the rest of the Death Watch.[4][12]
The leaders of the Shadow Collective—Savage, Maul, and Vizsla—arrive on Mustafar.
The new alliance went to Mustafar to cull the Black Sun into joining the Death Watch's cause, as Maul believed that they had resources that were critical to their plan. The Black Sun council leader, Xomit Grunseit, initially refused to join them as they were not criminals and ordered Maul, Vizsla and Savage dead. Vizsla held a gun to a guard's head and Savage took a hapless guard and broke his neck, throwing him on the table. Maul issued a final warning and motioned to Savage when Grunseit refused again. Savage threw his lightsaber through the council, decapitating them all at once and leaving the command of the Black Sun faction to the Captain of the Guard, Ziton Moj, who joined them.[4][12]
When they returned to Zanbar to continue their planning, they noticed incoming vessels arriving at the campsite. They were quickly joined by the Pyke Syndicate, led by Lom Pyke, who willingly allied with their new underworld army. The trio then left for Nal Hutta, where they tried to recruit the Hutts into the fold. When Maul expressed they had no money or anything else of value to offer, the Hutts refused and ordered their bounty hunters to kill them. One, Sugi, threw a knife at Maul and Savage caught it with the Force. A fight broke out as the three escaped. They were surround once outside but quickly reinforced by Death Watch soldiers who battered the Hutt's men. Savage led the way as he, Maul and Vizsla reentered the palace.[4][12]
They were ambushed by Sugi and Embo. Embo fought with Savage and proved an agile and strong fighter, and tougher than most as he used his large hat as both a weapon and shield against Savage's ferocious attacks. Eventually, Savage brutally broke through the Kyuzo's defenses and beat him down. The bounty hunters were saved by their comrades, where Maul let them go. The Death Watch only managed to capture one elderly Hutt, Oruba, who told them to go to Jabba's Palace after being threatened. Maul had Savage kill him for such basic information.[4][12]
The growing underworld army then attacked Jabba's Palace in a ferocious show of force and quickly got to Jabba with few lives taken. The Hutts submitted when it was clear that they had lost.[4][12]
Chaos on Mandalore[]
When the Shadow Collective was complete, they began planning the Takeover of Mandalore. According to Darth Maul's plan, criminals such as the Pyke Syndicate and Black Sun attacked and terrorize the people of Sundari, demonstrating Duchess Satine Kryze to be weak. Pre Vizsla and Death Watch then arrived as heroes and staged the capture and imprisonment the criminals, deposing and imprisoning Kryze at the same time.[4][54]
Savage pretends to be a prisoner of the Death Watch with Lom Pyke and Ziton Moj.
Savage played a part in the hoax as the leader of a team who robbed the vaults of the Mandalore Banking Center. He set off explosives to kill any remaining police he hadn't already cut down before. As he and his pawns fled they were stopped by Pre Vizsla, and the two made a show of dueling with their lightsabers and Pre besting Savage, who smirked at the success of the ruse. Savage, along with other leaders of the gangsters, were brought before the people of Sundari as prisoners.[4][54]
Unfortunately, once his grip on Mandalore was secure, Vizsla betrayed the Nightbrothers, imprisoning them in the Sundari prison. However, Savage and Maul easily escaped from their cell and bested the prison guards unharmed. They then walked through the prison looking for political outcasts to use as a puppet ruler. They found Satine Kryze and Almec, and Almec informed Maul that if he challenged Vizsla in single combat, Vizsla would not refuse out of honor, and the victor would rule the Death Watch.[4][54]
Savage's brother challenged the Death Watch leader to a fierce duel that ended when Maul beheaded Vizsla. Much of the Death Watch gave their allegiance to Maul, though some under Bo-Katan resisted.[4][54]
Death[]
- "Brother, I am an unworthy apprentice. I'm not like you. I never was..."
- ―Savage Opress's final words
Savage impaled by both of Sidious' lightsabers
Maul continued to seek revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi, by baiting him to come to Mandalore. Kenobi was captured by Maul, Savage and the Mandalorian super commandos, Duchess Kryze was executed in front of him, and Kenobi was sent to be imprisoned, though he was rescued by Bo-Katan. Maul's scheming was soon interrupted, however, by the arrival of Maul's former master, Darth Sidious.[4][5]
Initially Maul tried to gain the favor with his former master, but Sidious proved less receptive and, in a mighty display of power, Force pushed the two brothers against the throne room wall. The brothers quickly recovered and attacked Sidious in unison, instigating a fierce duel. Altough the combined efforts of Maul and Savage proved to pose a challenge for the elder Sith Lord, Sidious ultimately proved to be the stronger of the three. He stunned Maul with a Force Push, forcing Savage to fight him alone. The Sith merely dodged each of the Zabraak's attacks with his lightsabers deactivated. Once they entered a blade-lock, Opress' strength pressed Sidious to end the bout and toy with his inferior opponent. Savage fought valiantly, but was ultimately no match for the Dark Lord of the Sith. Sidious stunned him with a swift blow to the face and then and proceeded to fatally impale Savage through his chest with both of his lightsabers in a ferocious reverse lunge. Ironically the way Savage died was very similar to the way his brother had killed Qui-Gon Jinn in front of Obi-Wan Kenobi over a decade earlier. The Dark Lord shoved the towering Zabrak onto the lower pavement below with the Force. Momentarily forgetting Sidious, Maul ran to his brother's side and held Savage's metal hand, mourning him as he passed away. As he died the Nightsister magic started to leave Savage's body and with his dying breath, he expressed his regret that he could never be Maul's equal. The enraged and devastated Maul did his best to kill Sidious to avenge his fallen brother, but was eventually defeated.[4][5]
Personality and traits[]
- "That's the difference between us. I see an opportunity and I exploit it. You destroy every opportunity put in front of you. There's more to the Sith than destruction."
"Maybe there shouldn't be." - ―Darth Maul and Savage Opress
During his time living with the Nightbrothers, Savage Opress was a reserved but brave warrior who protected his brother, Feral, at all costs. However, after being transformed, he became an aggressive, ferocious, brutal, destructive, and cruel practitioner of the dark side of the Force, who did not hesitate to kill his own brother and other innocents for the cause.[11] Savage was very strong-willed, being able to defeat the mental manipulation of the Nightsisters and turn against both Asajj Ventress and Dooku. Nonetheless, he still showed great loyalty to those whom he felt deserved it, such as his brothers and Mother Talzin.[13] He also respected honor and strength above all else, like the rest of his fellow Nightbrothers as shown when he murdered Feral after saying he was weak for begging for his life.
While his brother, Maul, was a deliberate and planning person, who always considered the possible consequences of his actions, Savage was hot-headed and only sought to carry out the orders of Dooku, and later Maul. He would destroy everyone and everything in his path, not considering the consequences, like he did with King Katuunko.[13] This led Obi-Wan-Kenobi to dub him a reckless destructive animal. However, after uniting with Maul, he became more level-headed but was still not able to control his passion, which caused him strife with his brother. Although Savage did not always agree with Maul, and once challenged him to a duel, the two brothers genuinely cared about each other, as seen by Maul's remorse upon Savage's death and when Savage believed that he had let his brother and master down and been an unworthy apprentice.[5]
Powers and abilities[]
- "You have no technique. Sloppy! But with the proper training, you could be a powerful warrior. You have a natural ability, but we must hone it. Are you up for the challenge of putting your hate to better use?"
"Yes, Master." - ―Count Dooku and Savage Opress
Opress was able to briefly hold his own against Darth Sidious
Even before his transformation, Savage Opress was a formidable opponent, being familiar and proficient with the use of the weapons in the Nightbrother village. He was also a gifted hand-to-hand combatant, being able to fight nearly on par with Asajj Ventress. He was strong enough to smash stone with his bare hands.[11]
After his transformation, Savage became even more lethal. He used his pike in combination with hand to hand combat knowledge to become a dangerous opponent, and even more, due to the transformation of Mother Talzin, which gave him inhuman strength, agility, and endurance.[11] Most blows barely bothered him and he was agile enough to keep up with even Darth Sidious, albeit only temporarily.[5] He was capable of choking people to death with only one hand, as shown when he murdered Feral.[11] Savage retained his skill for unarmed combat after his transformation. When deprived of his lightsaber, he could defend himself against Embo and fight him with his bare fists, which were able to put large dents into the Kyuzo's large metal hat/shield; he even slammed his knee into Embo's chest and throwing him into a wall, leaving the bounty hunter limping away when he escape.[12]
Opress proved to be a powerful, albeit slightly clumsy, lightsaber duelist. His combat style had little to no technique, only using extreme raw power to hammer away at the enemy. After further training, Savage proved adept enough to take on two lightsaber duelists at once, as seen when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi confronted him down on Toydaria and Darth Tyranus' ship. He was also able to effectively fight side-by-side with Ventress, a highly accomplished dual-blade duelist. Due to his juggernaut-like strength, he managed to disarm Tyranus, the most renowned Form II practitioner of his time.[13]
Over time, Savage's skill would grow, though still based on brute strength and physical force. It was, nonetheless, an improvement.[43] Once he had joined Maul, he defeated Jedi Council member Kenobi, disarming him with an upper cut of only one activated blade, although it was partly due to Kenobi being off-guard at the time.[44] Savage was an incredibly fast learner, able to overwhelm another Councilor, Plo Koon to the point of rendering him helpless before Skywalker and Kenobi intervened on their starfighters.[50] He even became lethal enough to slay a third Councilor, Adi Gallia, in a duel after less than a year of training.[14] When fighting against Darth Sidious, he used one blade as a poleaxe in the same manner he had killed Halsey and, when that failed, activated the other blade to block an attack by Sidious. This would suggest some form of creativity on his part.[5]
However, Savage was still not nearly as skilled as his far more disciplined and experienced brother, as Maul was able to swiftly take him down faster than Tyranus could in their spars.[14] Nor could he have a hope against the near-unstoppable Sidious. Savage fought encouragingly hard alongside Maul and was even able to throw Sidious off the balcony, proving to be a difficult challenge for the Dark Lord. But when separated from his brother, his immense strength and overwhelming brutality proved to be no match for Sidious's flawlessly cunning swordsmanship and furious speed. Sidious toyed with Savage for less than a minute before killing him.[5]
Savage was powerful in the Force, thanks to his transformation by the Nightsisters. He displayed deadly proficiency with Force Choke, which he used to kill King Katuunko; he could even use Force Grip on two targets at once. While surrounded by battle droids, he was able to use the Force Shockwave power instinctively.[13] He was also known to use a powerful Force slam.[9] Additionally, Savage was skilled in the use of the Saber Throw, decapitating the leadership of the Black Sun with a single stroke.[12] Although less skilled than Maul with a lightsaber, he was stronger than his brother in the Force.[8] Unfortunately, Savage's powers had neither the time nor the chance to fully develop. Not only was he unable to resist or counter Tyranus' Force lightning,[13] but his defenses were useless against Sidious' telekinetic power. Thus he never lived long enough to reach his full potential.[5]
Equipment[]
- "For you, an enchanted blade blessed with our most potent magicks."
- ―Mother Talzin presents Savage Opress with his first weapon, an enchanted pike
Savage wielded a specially created pike, with which he could defeat opponents like clone troopers easily.[11] Later he constructed his lightsaber. He used it in many battles, like at Cybloc Station, on Florrum,[14] and while dueling Sidious, in which fight he lost his life.[5]
He also wore a specially designed combat armor, which gave him protection against blasters,[13] acid rain on Lotho Minor, Junkers,[43] and other threats. It was created by Mother Talzin, just like his pike.[11]
Behind the scenes[]
- "Savage is a lot like Frankenstein's creation. He's a monster, but you get brief glimpses of a real heart beneath the surface. He's a complicated character—I don't think he would have turned to the dark side without the manipulation of the witches. They use him."
- ―Katie Lucas
Savage Opress in LEGO minifigure form, as in LEGO set 7957 Sith Nightspeeder
Savage Opress is voiced by voice actor Clancy Brown, who has also portrayed Mr. Krabs in SpongeBob SquarePants and Lex Luthor in Superman: The Animated Series.
In Restraint, the Nightsister Kycina was revealed to be the mother of Savage, Maul, and Feral, all three of whom had been established as being brothers. However, the brothers' order in terms of age has yet to be confirmed. Although Restraint suggested all three are around the same age, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Magazine 5 indicated that Feral is Savage's younger brother. Additionally, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic UK 6.35 revealed that Savage was also older than Maul.[8] Furthermore, Darth Plagueis revealed that Maul was half of a clan pair, though the other half was not revealed. Until word from an official source is provided to indicate specific family relations, this article incorporates information from all sources where possible.
Savage Opress is a playable character in LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. He is unlocked via a secret code, MELL07.
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles book (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace
- Battle of the Sith Lords (Canceled)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
External links[]
Savage Opress Poster Giveaway at Clone Wars Screenings on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)- Clancy Brown Talks Savage Opress on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Draw Savage Opress on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Celebrate LEGO Star Wars III Being Site of the Month with Savage Opress! on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars New Line Look for 2012 on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)