Count Dooku arranged a sabotage of Grievous' shuttle, which resulted in destroying most of his body and nearly killing him. When Dooku and his Sith Master, Darth Sidious, were drawn to Grievous' bloody reputation as a Kaleesh warlord on his homeworld, Kalee. With Grievous no doubt having wanted to become a cyborg and undergone at least gradual upgrades by that point, historical work was unsure if the crash really happened or if Grievous's transformation was entirely by his own choice.
Prelude[]
During the Republic Era, Count Dooku and his Sith Master, Darth Sidious saw potential in the Kaleesh warlord Grievous, who led his people, the Kaleesh in a merciless war against their planetary neighbors, the Yam'rii of Huk.[2] Dooku needed to recruit someone to lead the Droid Army.[3] After the Jedi and the Republic had sided with his enemies[4] and left hundreds of thousands of his people to starve to death,[1] Grievous began working as an enforcer for the InterGalactic Banking Clan.[5]
Over time, Grievous introduced profound modifications to his cybernetic body[1] to increase his combat skills,[6] with strength and speed to rival even Jedi Master[7] making him an even more threatening and fearsome warrior.[8]
History[]
At some point, Count Dooku[2] and San Hill conspired to assassinate Grievous.[9] Dooku arranged a sabotage to Grievous' shuttle and he was nearly killed as a result.[2] Nearly all that[10] remained of[11] Grievous's body[10] after his work at replacing his body with cybernetics[11] was destroyed in the crash.[10]
Aftermath[]
Reconstruction[]
General Grievous joined the Separatist Movement and led its military on a march to conquer and break Republic worlds.
After the horrific shuttle crash almost ended his life,[2] the Kaleesh warrior accepted the offer by Count Dooku to undergo a life-saving surgery,[7] as the Sith were interested in experimenting with technologically advanced beings.[12] Under Dooku's direction, Separatist cybernetic experts and Geonosian biotechs,[2] with assistance from medical droids,[13] including the FX-9 surgical assistant FX-6,[12] nearly reconstructed Grievous[2] to save his life.[13] Initially Dooku falsely told Grievous into believing that a Jedi was responsible for the sabotage, instilling in the General a deep and violent hatred for the Jedi.[2] In addition, Dooku instructed him in the Jedi art of lightsaber combat, with one military expert instructing another.[14]
In time, the ancient Kaleesh warrior[15] joined the Separatist Movement[16] and allied himself with other members of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.[15] He was bestowed upon the title of Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, which he gladly accepted,[17] becoming a key Separatist leader[18] and the absolute leader of the galaxy's largest Separatist Droid Army.[19]
Historical perspective[]
Historical work doubted the accuracy of the shuttle crash story. While it was speculated at one time that Grievous was turned into a cyborg against his will, with rumors spreading that Dooku ordered the crash and was, in turn, ordered by Sidious to save Grievous's life with a reconstructive surgery carried out by medical droids,[13] Grievous had wanted to become a cyborg already.[20] By the time of the crash,[2] if it happened at all,[13] Grievous had accepted mechanical upgrades over a period of time.[16] Indeed, a major source to Grievous's history—the statues he maintained in[13] his personal fortress on the moon Vassek 3[11]—indicated as such, depicting a slow descent into a mechanical form. In the end, one account concluded there was no evidence Grievous was the victim of someone's secret designs when it came to how he got his cybernetic body.[13]
Behind the scenes[]
In Star Wars canon, the shuttle crash was first mentioned in the hardcover reference book Star Wars: A Galaxy at War published by Dorling Kindersley.[21] In Stars Wars Legends, the shuttle crash first appeared in "The Eyes of Revolution," a comic story written and illustrated by Warren Fu, published in the Dark Horse Comics anthology Star Wars: Visionaries, released on April 2, 2005.[22]
A San Hill card from Star Wars: Card Trader stated that San Hill, Poggle the Lesser, and Dooku worked together as part of a conspiracy to transform Grievous into their cyborg servant.[23] Pablo Hidalgo stated that this was an outdated reference to Grievous's Legends backstory,[24] but subsequent canon sources have brought in similar details.
Non-canon appearances[]
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
- Star Wars: A Galaxy at War (First mentioned)
- Ultimate Star Wars
Star Wars Helmet Collection: General Grievous Helmets: General Grievous- 2016 Topps Star Wars Masterwork Card: General Grievous (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Annual 2019 (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Day-at-a-Time Calendar 2019
- Star Wars: Alien Archive
- "The Grievous Growl" — Star Wars Insider 188 (reprinted in Special Edition 2022 and Aliens, Creatures, and Droids)
- Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing 47 Starfighter Aces: General Grievous — Cyborg Raider
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- 2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork Card: General Grievous
- Star Wars Day-at-a-Time Calendar 2023
- Star Wars 100 Objects
- Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy (Indirect mention only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
"The Separatists" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09
Star Wars Helmet Collection: General Grievous Helmets: General Grievous
- ↑ The Star Wars Book
- ↑ Rise of the Separatists
- ↑ "Battle Droids and Other Droids of War" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: Build Your Own X-Wing 47 Starfighter Aces: General Grievous — Cyborg Raider
- ↑ Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- ↑ 2019 Topps Star Wars Masterwork Card: General Grievous
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Star Wars: Alien Archive
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Lair of Grievous"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Star Wars: The Dark Side
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Star Wars 100 Objects
- ↑ "Galactic Tales: Saber Truth" — Star Wars Insider 210
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Darth Maul and Other Followers of the Dark Side" — Star Wars Encyclopedia
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Star Wars Made Easy
- ↑ Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- ↑ 2020 Topps Star Wars Holocron Series Card: General Grievous
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle!
- ↑ Star Wars: A Galaxy at War
- ↑ "The Eyes of Revolution" — Star Wars: Visionaries
- ↑ Star Wars: Card Trader Set: Base Series 1, Card: San Hill - Banking Clan Chairman
- ↑ Pablo Hidalgo (@pablohidalgo) on Twitter (post): "Tweet lost, but did state that San Hill - Banking Clan Chairman - Base Series 1 contains an outdated reference to Legends via San Hill, Poggle, and Dooku working together to destroy and rebuild Grievous." (backup link not available)
