Between 11 movies, spinoffs, cartoons, books and video games, there’s a lot of lore in the Star Wars universe. It’s no stretch to say it can be hard to keep up with everything, or even remember it, especially for a more casual fan.
That said, nobody will forget Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi who turned to the Dark Side and became Darth Vader. A pivotal moment in this heel turn is his antagonistic relationship with Count Dooku, the leader of the separatist movement against the Galactic Republic. Let’s take a look at how it all went down.
Who was Count Dooku?
Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus, was a pivotal character leading up to the demise of the Galactic Republic and the subsequent birth and rise of the Sith-controlled Galactic Empire. Dooku was born as a noble in the House Serenno on the planet Serenno, and his royal upbringing shaped his view of the world. Dooku was identified as force-sensitive from a young age, so he was brought to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to be trained by Jedi Master Yoda himself.
Under Yoda’s tutelage Dooku became one of the best swordsmen in the galaxy, both in technique and with the use of the Force. He rose through the ranks of the Jedi order and eventually became a master himself. He took on a number of padawans, the most notable being Qui-Gon Jinn. Eventually, he grew tired of the politics, ineffectually, and corruption of the Galactic Republic. He also grew to feel the same about the Jedi Order. He left the Jedi Order, denounced his allegiance to it and was pulled to the Dark Side by Darth Sidious, who hid in plain sight as Chancellor Palpatine.
Once he fully switched sides, he became an apprentice to Sidious and took on the moniker of Darth Tyranus. His next job was to nurture the Separatist movement’s plans to leave the Galactic Republic. The new government was to be called the Confederacy of Independent Systems. He was pretty successful in this endeavor and pulled several systems and planets into his cause, sowing chaos throughout the galaxy.
In public, he was the face of the Separatists and battled regularly with the Jedi and the Republic, but behind the scenes there was a different story. He was loyal to his master Darth Sidious and was instrumental in the secret plan to eradicate the Jedi Order and take over the galaxy. That ended when he faced Anakin in a final battle.
What was Anakin’s relationship with Count Dooku?
Anakin Skywalker is without a doubt one of the most important figures in the Star Wars universe, and if he never joined the Dark Side, countless millions of lives would have been spared. He was born on the desert planet of Tatooine to Shmi Skywalker, a slave. Anakin’s natural Force sensitivity caught the eye of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who was of course Dooku’s padawan at one point. Obi-Wan Kenobi then trained Anakin, who gave his master much trouble as he was impulsive and overly emotional.
One of the biggest themes of Anakin’s life was his attachment to loved ones and his fear of losing them. After his mother died in his arms on Tatooine, he feared his wife Padmé Amidala might end up in a similar fate. This led him to eschew his Jedi teachings and give in to his darker nature. Count Dooku was pivotal in this transformation, and the two shared a complicated dynamic because of Dooku’s relationship with Qui-Gon Jinn and Anakin’s continued slide into the dark side.
What happened during the battle between Count Dooku and Anakin Skywalker?
When we talk about the pivotal duels in the Star Wars universe, Anakin versus Dooku is right up there with the greats. In fact, the two faced each other twice in the prequels: once in Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones and again in Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith. When they fought for the first time, Anakin was still a padawan and not quite at his full potential.
Dooku then chopped off Anakin’s hand but didn’t kill him. As to why he spared him, that’s up for debate. One of the theories is that Dooku knew either Anakin’s potential or what he would eventually become. He could’ve even been told by Darth Sidious to spare the young Jedi in training.
Regardless, the ultimate battle between the two happened during Revenge of the Sith. Dooku “captured” Palpatine and took him to the Separatist flagship the Invisible Hand, and it was up to Anakin and Obi-Wan to rescue him. Once again, Obi-Wan is conveniently put out of commission by Dooku, setting the stage for a grand battle.
Anakin, with a blue lightsaber, clashes with Dooku’s red one. Every strike shows Dooku that this isn’t the same Anakin he faced on Geonosis, and he taunts Anakin in the hopes of throwing him off his game. Anakin, however, is too focused and continues to press forward with his attacks.
As the battle raged on, Anakin continued to get angrier and angrier, giving in to his rage. Dooku can’t keep up with the relentlessness of Anakin’s attacks and begins to falter, and he’s almost overpowered. A desperate Dooku then tried a Sith lightning attack, but Anakin flicked it away like a fly. He then disarmed Dooku and raised his own saber to deliver a decisive blow, but a shadow drenched him and he heard Palpatine’s voice say: “Finish him.”
In this moment, Anakin fought internally. On one side was all of his Jedi training and all the people he loved. On the other, the promises of power and domination from the Sith. Guess which side won. Anakin ended Dooku, and his scream echoed through the wreckage. That decisive moment was step one to Anakin becoming Darth Vader, and it sets the stage for Episode IV – A New Hope.
