Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (spoilers obviously)

Heck, he wasn't even really considered a "real" Sith apprentice by Palpatine. He was very much a placeholder for Anakin. And the ultimate purpose Palpatine had in mind for him was for him to be Anakin's first murder victim.

Sure, Sidious always considered him a sub-par Sith, but it cannot be denied that he had some level of extended mastery of the Dark Side, given how he was capable of Force Lightning (somethin that Darth Maul f.e. never mastered). Not even remotely as powerful as his master (seeing how easily Obi-Wan deflected them with his Lightsaber f.e.), but still.

Dooku can kick ass when he wants too

In the new canon it's explained that Dooku gained the ability to use Force Lightning due to being the victim of a Dark Side ritual.

So they basically said he never achieved any thing big as a darksider...ouch

As Clone Wars showed, he also somewhat struggled with Sith mentality to a degree - it took Sidious forcing him to discard Asaj Ventress to even consider usurping him.

You know, the whole thing Sith are supposed to do.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Oct 22nd 2020 at 6:45:36 PM

Dooku kicking the asses of Ventress and her sistren despite being poisoned, blinded and outnumbered certainly was one of his coolest moments.

Because Dooku pretty much specialised in lightsaber fighting. He's a duelist.

Edited by DrunkenNordmann on Oct 22nd 2020 at 6:51:34 PM

And it is noteworthy that Dooku managed to beat Obi-wan, something that not even the powerful Anakin could achieve.

Which is one of the reasons why I like Star Wars. It's not just 'X is more powerful than Y, so he has to be more powerful than Z', everyone has their own style, which is ineffective against one person, but the perfect counter against the next.

Edited by Forenperser on Oct 22nd 2020 at 6:57:15 PM

Dooku's another one who got a lot out of TCW tweaking his fighting style. His fencing-style moves are so cool.

It's explained in other materials that Obi-Wan and Anakin were so evenly matched because they spent years training together. They knew how each other fought as well as they knew their own fighting styles.

Edited by M84 on Oct 23rd 2020 at 12:59:05 AM

Also, Dooku's style is very defensive, same as Obi-Wan's. Obi-Wan excels primarily in fighting aggressive fighters.

Edited by KnownUnknown on Oct 22nd 2020 at 10:02:18 AM

By contrast, Dooku's preferred style wasn't able to keep up with Anakin's more aggressive style. Especially since Dooku was an older man with less endurance.

In fact Obi-wan was a better fighter, Anakin only matched for having more raw power.

In the novelization and in a comics adaptation of ROTS, Palpatine's even giving Anakin tips and encouragement while he fought Dooku.

Palpatine: "Kick him in the nads!"

Dooku: "What?"

Palpatine: "What?"

In the novelization, that's the moment Dooku realizes he's in deep shit.

Ventress: Ain't karma a bitch?

Edited by windleopard on Oct 22nd 2020 at 11:16:04 AM

Anakin only beat him due to his rage and raw power, because in skill, Dooku was superior.

Dooku was always interesting because he carried himself with a regal authority. He could be just as ruthless as any Sith lord, but he lacked the more animalistic qualities of Maul, Vader and Palpatine.

It is noteworthy that although Dooku doesn't seem to have any desire to betray Palpatine, I'm sure he was aware that he had no chance of beating him, even with help.

Man this is a cool moment.

That scene highlights how even in the Clone Wars cartoon where Grievous was OP, he's still no match for a master Force user. As Dooku says in that vid, Grievous has to get every psychological advantage possible if he wants to defeat the best of the Jedi.

Yeah, this is brought up in the Labyrinth of Evil novel, too, where Dooku says that Grievous can't just rely on fancy lightsaber techniques because he also has to break the will of his opponents, otherwise he won't be able to defeat the likes of Kenobi, Windu, and Yoda.