“ | I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate. You have anger. But you don't use them. | „ |
~ Dooku's last words to Anakin, foreshadowing the latter's transformation into Darth Vader. |
“ | The Sith control everything. You just don't know it! | „ |
~ Dooku to Anakin Skywalker. |
“ | I want only to bring peace and order to the galaxy. | „ |
~ Count Dooku to Yaddle |
Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus, is a major antagonist in the Star Wars franchise. He was once a Jedi Master who served as the Padawan of Yoda and master of Rael Averross and Qui-Gon Jin before becoming a powerful Sith Lord and the second apprentice of Darth Sidious.
He is also the perpetrator of the Clone Wars, orchestrated by Sidious, serving as head of State of the Confederacy of Independent Systems and coordinating Sidious' plans on his behalf. He is the archenemy of Anakin Skywalker and Yoda throughout the Clone Wars and the master of General Grievous, Savage Opress, and Asajj Ventress.
He was portrayed by the late Sir Christopher Lee in all his film appearances, who also played Frankenstein's Monster in The Curse of Frankenstein, Count Dracula in Hammer Studios' Dracula films, Kato in Mio, My Son, Fu Manchu in Hammer's Fu Manchu series, Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man, Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun, King Haggard in The Last Unicorn, Cushing Catheter in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Saruman in Sir Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, and The Jabberwock in Alice in Wonderland. In the Clone Wars animated TV series, he was voiced by Corey Burton, who also voiced Cad Bane in the same series, as well as Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Megatron in Transformers: Animated, Scarecrow in Batman: Gotham Knight, Dr. N. Gin and Dr. Nefarious Tropy in Crash N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fuelled, Captain Hook and Shan Yu in Kingdom Hearts, and Quint in Disney's Timon & Pumbaa series.
Personality[]
Dooku is ruthless and utterly amoral, seeing others as mere objects to be used and discarded. Friendship, loyalty, and love mean nothing to him, and betrayal is second nature. He is also intelligent and charismatic, and able to manipulate virtually anyone into seeing him as a savior, an ally, or whatever else benefits him the most at a given time.
While serving Darth Sidious, Dooku is a ruthless terrorist and warlord, whose methods included torture, murder, and even genocide. However, before turning to the dark side, he was a respected Jedi Master, having been trained by Yoda and served as the Master of Qui-Gon Jinn. During that time, he was unconventional in his philosophy and methods, often at odds with the Jedi Council. He defended, for example, the controversial theory of the Living Force rather than the unified Force. He taught it and another atypical view at his apprentice. He presented himself as a political idealist, but his only real objective was power.
By this time with his new Sith identity, he was not above double-crossing his own supporters and allies such as Asajj Ventress because she was failing him, but he showed some care on Ventress, infuriating his own master, Darth Sidious. As he was when he was a Jedi, Dooku was also a typical Sith, because he genuinely thought that transforming the Republic into a dictatorship governed by himself was for the best interest of the Republic because it would purge it of the corruption and decadence, instead of simply taking power for the sake of it like Sidious.
Arguably Dooku's greatest weaknesses are his arrogance; he believes himself to be superior to everyone else by virtue of both his aristocratic lineage and what he believes are his natural gifts, and this sometimes leads him to make mistakes and errors in judgment. He despises the galaxy's "common" inhabitants, whom he dismisses as "ignorant rabble". He also had a certain fondness for Obi-Wan Kenobi, partially because he was taught by Dooku's Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn. This was shown when he asked Obi-Wan to join him in his quest of power and even telling him the truth that the Republic was governed by Darth Sidious, though the Jedi didn't believe him. But it didn't stop him from trying to have him killed in several ways.
While faced with his demise, Dooku was visibly shocked, as he never realized that he was only a pawn in Sidious' schemes. So, the Count realized too late that betrayal was Sidious' way. Despite this, he faces his impending demise without saying anything or revealing Palpatine's true nature.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- The Force: Despite his old age, Dooku was extremely powerful and had an extremely strong connection to the Force. Although he was not quite as powerful as Anakin Skywalker at his peak, Dooku was still one of the most powerful Force-users in the history of the galaxy; arrogantly claiming himself to have been more powerful than any single Jedi of his time. Dooku's Force sensitivity was equal to Mace Windu's. However while he was able to contend with Yoda, and possibly Darth Sidious at their peak, he could not surpass them.
- Telekinesis: Dooku was very proficient in telekinesis and utilized it either as offensive or defense.
- Force Push: Dooku utilized Force Push to send his opponents flying through the air, causing them serious injury or temporarily incapacitating them/knocked them unconscious.
- Force Flight: Dooku utilized Force Flight to levitate himself or to slow-down his fall to the ground.
- Force Choke: Dooku utilized Force Choke to either weaken, kill or intimidate his opponents.
- Force Grip: Dooku utilized Force Grip to lifted his opponents off the ground, sometimes by the neck, to immobilize or throw them. His abilities also allowed him to influence the movements of people, as he was able to force the pirate Turk Falso to shoot his comrade while simultaneously choking him, while he performed a similar feat when he made Padmé Amidala aim at and shoot Bec Lawise.
- Force Deflection: Dooku utilized Force deflection to redirect incoming attacks, such as Force lightning, with or without his lightsaber, though it was difficult to do so.
- Mind Trick: Dooku utilized Mind Trick to control the minds of other sentient beings. However, it did not work on individuals who have very strong wills.
- Taming Beasts: Dooku utilized Taming Beasts to control the minds of other animals.
- Force Lightning: Dooku utilized Force Lightning to torture or kill his opponents.
- Force Dash: Dooku utilized Force Dash to move at amazing speeds.
- Force Jump: Dooku utilized Force Jump to jump or leap at great distances.
- Telekinesis: Dooku was very proficient in telekinesis and utilized it either as offensive or defense.
Abilities[]
- Lightsaber Combatant: Dooku was extremely skilled in lightsaber combat, regarded as one of the greatest duelists in galactic history. He was one of the few known individuals who could fight Mace Windu on equal terms, and even hold his own against Yoda, though he could not defeat him.
- Form II: Dooku was a master of Makashi; he used it exclusively and was believed by many the most proficient practitioner of the style of all time. He utterly perfected the form, and in an era where Jedi mainly fought against blasters, Dooku's dueling oriented style provided him with an even greater advantage. He was also able to overcome some of the style's weaknesses, such as blaster deflection. However, this did not leave him completely invulnerable to Makashi's weaknesses, as seen when Anakin overpowers him shortly before murdering him.
- Dun Möch: Dooku was extremely skilled in Dun Möch. During combat he would often throw taunts and insults at his enemies as a means of breaking their spirits.
- Genius-Level Intellect/Master Tactician/Leader: Dooku was highly intelligent; his intellectual abilities were surpassed in the Jedi Order only by Yoda. As a general, Dooku was a highly skilled tactician and a very capable leader.
- Political Maneuvering/Manipulation: Much like his master Darth Sidious, Dooku was an exceptional master manipulator and was skilled in politics, swaying several planetary leaders and businessmen to his cause, and maintaining the support of CIS citizens through his charisma and skillful leadership. Behind the scenes, however, Dooku was merciless, having no problem disposing of people once they outlived their usefulness, even his own allies.
Victims[]
- Komari Vosa
- Sifo-Dyas (Ordered by Dooku)
- Yaddle
- An unnamed Weequay guard
- Barb Mentir (Made Turk shoot him against his will)
- Turk Falso
- Rish Loo
- Miraj Scintel
- Mina Bonteri (Ordered by Dooku)
- Most of the Nightsisters (Ordered by Dooku)
- Sanjay Rash (Ordered by Dooku)
- Bec Lawise (Made Padmé shoot him against her will)
- Four Pyke guards
- Silman
- An unnamed Pyke foot soldier
- Lom Pyke
- Chubor (Ordered by Dooku)
- Tiplee
- Asajj Ventress
- Innumerable Clone Troopers and Jedi (At the hands of Grievous, Ventress and many others, ordered by Dooku)
Relationships[]
Allies[]
- Jedi Order (formerly)
- Galactic Republic (formerly)
- Darth Sidious (formerly)
- Grievous
- Asajj Ventress (formerly)
- Hutts (sometimes)
- Jabba the Hutt (sometimes)
- Confederacy of Independent Systems
- Geonosians
- Kaminoans (formerly)
- Trade Federation
- Techno Union
- Jango Fett
- Boba Fett
- Zam Wesell
Enemies[]
- Jedi Order
- Anakin Skywalker - Archenemy and Killer
- Obi-Wan Kenobi
- Yoda - Former Master and Archenemy
- Galactic Republic
- Clone Troopers
- Krayt's Claw
- Hutts (sometimes)
- Jabba the Hutt (sometimes)
- Darth Sidious - Indirect Killer
- Asajj Ventress
- Darth Maul
- Mother Talzin
- Nightsisters
- Nightbrothers
Quotes[]
“ | I have become more powerful than any Jedi. Even you. | „ |
~ Count Dooku taunts his old master Yoda in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones prior to their lightsaber duel. |
“ | Perhaps he reminds me too much of myself at the same age. Arrogant. Impulsive. Proud. I realize that humility is high among the enforced virtues, the ones no one acquires by choice; but that being said, if fate is looking for an instrument to humble Skywalker, I confess myself willing to volunteer. | „ |
~ Dooku to Yoda in Dark Rendezvous. |
Trivia[]
- Like Darth Maul and General Grievous, Dooku is one of the villains in the Star Wars prequel trilogy who each foreshadow a different aspect of Anakin's future as Darth Vader. In his case, Dooku represents the fallen Jedi who acts as the public face for Sidious' machinations, and who loses his arms/hands during battle and whose victorious opponent is ordered by Sidious to end their life.
- In the brazilian localization, Dooku's name was changed to "Dookan", likely in order to avoid dirty puns with the character's name, as it sounded like a popular slang term for "anus".
- The scene in Revenge of the Sith where Palpatine orders Anakin to kill Dooku mirrors the scene in Return of The Jedi, the last film in the original trilogy, where he pressures Anakin's own son Luke to kill Anakin (who was now Darth Vader).
- Sidious mentioned Dooku in the LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales episode that retells the story of Return of The Jedi right where Luke is about to destroy Vader. Probably a reference to the previous point.
- Dooku also appeared in countless Lego Star Wars sets from 2002-2013, as well as appearing in the LEGO Star Wars games.
- Christopher Lee's Lord of The Rings co-star Andy Serkis would later play Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars Sequel trilogy and Kino Loy from Andor.
- Just before Dooku gets killed in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Dooku had mentioned to Anakin that he had great fear inside him along with hate and anger foreshadowing Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader and Anakin murdering Padmé, his wife in anger.
- In the LEGO video game adaptation, Dooku loses just his right hand during the fight (and then falls over rather than kneeling), and his death occurs just seconds later instead of tens of seconds.
- Dooku makes an appearance in Angry Birds Star Wars 2, renamed Count Porku. To attack, he tosses his lightsaber, and it boomerangs back. His ability makes him similar to Mace Windu, but his lightsaber is red instead of purple, while Mace Windu uses a purple lightsaber for his version of the ability. He is also defeated by simply whacking the back of his head, with none of his limbs being taken. However, his absence past this point mirrors his original incarnation's death.
- Despite being the main villain of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dooku did not appear during its seventh and final season despite being mentioned multiple times. Also, his death in Revenge of the Sith occurred before the final two episodes of the show.
- Count Dooku killed his brother and sister to turn himself to the dark side. In the current canon, he completes his turn by killing Yaddle.
- Dooku first appeared in Attack of the Clones, the second film of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Both his masters of the light and dark side of the force were Yoda and Sidious who both first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, the second film of the original Star Wars trilogy.
- Dooku is the only main antagonist of the second film in a Star Wars trilogy who does not redeem himself in the third film of his respective trilogy as both Darth Vader and his grandson Kylo Ren redeemed themselves in Return of the Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker respectively. However it is possible he would have redeemed had Anakin spared him. As such, he is the only one of Palpatine’s apprentices who is never redeemed, as even Darth Maul made peace with Obi-Wan Kenobi just before his death in Rebels.
- Despite being the main antagonist of Attack of the Clones, he doesn't appear until the second half of the film.
- In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Dooku acted much more cruel and evil than in his other appearances. Examples of these include:
- Spitefully murdered his loyal servant Bec Lawise without a second thought when the former brought up that the Separatist Senate would never approve of his invasion on Scipio. He also forced Padme to kill him by forcing her to aim her gun with the Force and pull the trigger.
- Blackmailed Rush Clovis to forgive Separatist debts and raise interest rates on the Republic.
- Ordered General Grievous to attack a Republic medical station, which is a war crime.
- Ordered innocent Mon Calamari prisoners to be sent to forced labor camps, including women and children.
- Ordered the destruction of Ryloth and then planned to blame it on the Republic.
- Giving the peaceful Togrutan race to the Zygerrians so they could enslave them.
- Taking Jabba's offspring and attempting to blame the Jedi for it, even going so far as to attempt to have Ventress kill him so that Jabba will join the CIS.
- Was a sadistic master towards his apprentice Savage Opress, inflicting several torrents of Force lightning onto him (albeit this is normal for Sith training).
- Ordering genocide against the Nightsisters to erase them as a threat and revenge for their attempts on his life.
- Ordering the death of Mina Bonteri for trying to end the war, even though she was one of his own supporters and even admired him.
External Links[]
- Count Dooku on the Heroes Wiki
- Count Dooku on the Star Wars Wiki
- Count Dooku on the Disney Wiki
- Count Dooku on the Wikipedia