A STAR WARS PAGE
Count
Dooku (Darth Tyranus)
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It
was a great blow to the Jedi order when Count Dooku voluntarily renounced his
commission. A strong-minded man, Dooku's ideas were often out of step with
those of the Jedi Council, despite the fact that his former mentor, Yoda, held
a lofty position in that governing body. His challenging views were often
echoed by his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, another Jedi who would on occasion
defy the Council.
Dooku was a
political idealist. He felt that the Jedi weakened themselves by serving an
institution as corrupt as the Republic. After his departure, he disappeared for
years, re-emerging as a political firebrand fanning the flames of rebellion in
the galaxy. In an alarmingly short time, Dooku rallied thousands of systems to
his cause, building a growing Separatist movement that threatened to split the
Republic.
Opportunists
working in Dooku's name would start flashpoints of violence, and it was all the
Jedi could do to maintain order in these turbulent times. For all the strife,
the Jedi Council refused to believe that Dooku was personally responsible for
the worst of the conflicts, believing that his Jedi training elevated him above
such acts.
But the Jedi
didn't realize Dooku's secret. Behind a veneer of elegant charisma and
well-tabled political arguments, Dooku had been corrupted by the power of the
dark side. After his departure from the Jedi order, Dooku was seduced to the
dark side by Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. By Sith tradition, Dooku
adopted the name Darth Tyranus and added deceit and treachery to his already
formidable array of weapons.
In both
guises, Dooku began recruiting agents for what would eventually amount to the
death of the Old Republic. As Tyranus, he contacted the notorious bounty hunter
Jango Fett to become the template for a hidden clone army on Kamino. As Dooku,
he appealed to the greed of the galaxy's most powerful commerce barons to
consolidate their forces to challenge the Republic.
Deep within
the mighty spires of Geonosis, Dooku chaired a meeting of the minds to formally
create the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Separatist Senators alongside
representatives from the Commerce Guild, the Trade Federation, the Corporate
Alliance, the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Techno Union pooled their
resources together to form the largest military force in the galaxy. The
Separatists were ready for war.
The Jedi
Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered the treasonous meeting and warned the
Republic, but not without being captured. Dooku met with Kenobi in the
Geonosian dungeons, and revealed to Obi-Wan the truth about the Republic --
that it was, in fact, becoming increasingly under the control of Darth Sidious.
Distrusting of Dooku's words, Obi-Wan refused to believe and refused to join
Dooku in rooting out the corruption.
Kenobi was
soon joined by Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, who had come to Geonosis in
an ill-fated attempt to rescue him. Dooku placed the three captive heroes in an
execution arena, but their deaths were staved off by the timely arrival of Jedi
reinforcements.
The droid
armies of the Separatists engaged the Jedi, and later the newly crafted Clone
Army of the Republic. Dooku attempted to escape but was intercepted by Anakin
Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two Jedi challenged Dooku to a lightsaber
duel, but Dooku's masterful skills in old-style lightsaber combat made short
work of the younger combatants. As they lay wounded, another Jedi entered into
Dooku's secret hangar.
The Jedi
Master Yoda confronted Dooku. The two engaged in a titanic struggle of Force
powers, neither besting the other. It came down to a contest of lightsabers. In
a blurring tangle of speed and light, the two masters of the Force dueled.
Unable to find an advantage, Dooku distracted Yoda by endangering Kenobi and
Skywalker with a toppling crane. As Yoda used the Force to save his fellow
Jedi, Dooku fled.
Dooku escaped,
with the Jedi aware of his succumbing to the dark side, but yet still unaware
of his Sith allegiance. Aboard his exotic interstellar sail ship, Dooku
traveled to a decrepit warehouse district on Coruscant. There, he met with his
master, Darth Sidious, and delivered the good news.
The Clone Wars
had begun.
From
www.starwars.com
The Phantom Menace
| Attack of the Clones
| Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: A New Hope
| The Empire Strikes Back
| Return of the Jedi
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