General Grievous
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| Star Wars character | |
| Qymaen jai Sheelal (birth name) General Grievous (assumed name) |
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| Position | Supreme Commander of the Confederacy's Droid armies, Replacement Head of State |
| Homeworld | Kalee |
| Species | Kaleesh (cyborg) |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 7'1" (2.16m) |
| Affiliation | Confederacy of Independent Systems |
| Portrayed by | John Di Maggio, Richard McGonagle (voice in Star Wars: Clone Wars) Matthew Wood (voice in Revenge of the Sith) |
General Grievous is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe. He first appeared in the Expanded Universe, although he soon appeared in a film as well. Although he was voiced by John DiMaggio in Chapter 20 of Cartoon Network's animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, Richard McGonagle took over the voicing of Grievous for the rest of the micro series, and Matthew Wood voiced Grievous in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Dark Horse Comics began publishing a four-part comic book about General Grievous in March 2005.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Character
General Grievous is one of the most highly skilled warriors in the history of the galaxy. He is a master of many fighting styles and, though lacking in ability to manipulate the Force, he is considered a highly dangerous foe to the Jedi. In both the Clone Wars series and Revenge of the Sith, he is portrayed as a ruthlessly effective hunter of the Jedi, able to destroy several of that Order's most accomplished warriors with relative ease.
He was introduced as the commanding general of the Confederacy of Independent Systems' army and navy and an enemy of the Galactic Republic. Though technically a member of the Kaleesh species, his physical body is a fusion of a powerful robotic structure and an organic brain, nervous system and sensory organs.
[edit] Transformation into a cyborg
As explained in James Luceno's novel Labyrinth of Evil, General Grievous was originally a warlord named Qymaen jai Sheelal on his native planet Kalee. During those days, he was highly respected as a leader and a husband to a wife as well as a father to one child.
Grievous was among the most effective generals for the Kalee against their enemy, the Huks, a neighboring species. He weathered countless close calls as he unleashed destruction on Kalee's enemies. He would return home to his family, bloodied but emboldened, ready for battle again.[1]
During the war with the rival Huk worlds, the Republic was called in to settle the dispute. Because the Huk were rich in natural resources compared to the barren Kalee world, the Republic sided with the Huk and sent several Jedi Knights to attack the Kaleesh. Grievous and his armies were defeated and his homeworld was left in ruins, to suffer in poverty and shame of defeat. Grievous lost everything he held dear, including his family.
During these extremely harsh times, Grievous became a security chief for the Intergalactic Banking Clan. San Hill, leader of the clan, noticed that Grievous was both a brilliant strategist and an excellent fighter, and mentioned him to the Confederacy of Independent Systems leader, Count Dooku (secretly the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus). Led by Darth Sidious, the Sith Lords conspired to draw Grievous into the Separatist army. Despite Hill's generous offers, however, Grievous refused to lead the Separatist army.
During an attack by the army of the Republic on the clan's base, the shuttle that Grievous was on was hit by three missiles launched by a Republic gunship and caused the shuttle to have a terrible crash. It is suspected that Sidious was involved in this incident. Grievous was mortally wounded in the crash, kept alive by technology and Dooku's mastery of the dark side; his shattered, dying body was taken to the planet Geonosis, where most of it was replaced with a droid body that would complement his natural reflexes. After much resistance from the still-conscious Grievous - a warrior of his status, he felt, should die on the field of battle - the metamorphosis was complete.
As a cyborg, his armorplast plates were strong enough to stop a bolt from even a starfighter's laser cannon. Each human-sized hand had five fingers and one opposable thumbs (three digits to each half-arm when they split to produce four arms.) His hands and feet were capable of magnetizing when needed, allowing him to grip on to surfaces with incredible strength, even in zero gravity. His feet also could work perfectly well as hands, and in the Clone Wars TV series, he was seen to have killed/incapacitated a Jedi by grabbing the Jedi's head with his foot and brutally smashing it into the ground. His body was able to move in a seemingly unlimited number of unnatural ways with the twisting and alien movements of his body, almost exclusively to his unorthodox fighting style. His internal organs were enclosed in a layer of pressurized synthflesh with an organic fluid to prevent the organs from being damaged by bacteria and harmful viruses, and also to maintain a suitable temperature to keep them alive and functional. His organs were nourished by artificial arteries keeping them alive with blood transfused from Sifo Dyas, allowing him to survive in a vacuum (in space, for example), an advantage he would display in escaping from Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on his flagship. Additionally, sophisticated computers attached to Grievous' organic brain assisted the cyborg in perceiving patterns within his opponents attacks. They would then suggest that Grievous alter his stance and posture, along with the angle of his parries, ripostes, and thrusts accordingly. This transformation, when combined with his ruthlessness as a warlord, turned him from a courageous, generous leader into an implacable killing machine; the transformation rendered him incapable of any emotion other than blood-lust, hatred, and rage.
Grievous was consumed with anger at the Republic that had destroyed his homeworld, as well as (he believed) caused his shuttle crash, destroying his body. As such, he was more than willing to take up Hill's offer and agree to lead the Separatist troops throughout the galaxy against the Republic.
[edit] The Clone Wars
During the Clone Wars, Grievous was particularly enraged toward the Jedi; he made it a personal goal to hunt down and kill every single one of them and then collected their lightsabers as his personal prize. Grievous resented the Jedi for having sided with the Huk in the earlier wars. The bio-droid general was incapable of using the Force, so he instead relied on his skills as augmented by his lightning fast reflexes and the multi-jointed limbs of his mechanical body. In addition to his bodily modifications, General Grievous was trained in lightsaber combat by Count Dooku and became one of the most skilled fighters in the galaxy. Although Dooku personally found the cyborg military leader disgusting, he made Grievous his right hand man. As such, Grievous not only learned Dooku's secret identity, but became second only to the Sith (Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious) in the chain of command of the Separatist forces. He became the Supreme Commander of the Droid Army only after Count Dooku pit him against Asajj Ventress and Durge to decide which of his servants would take up the military command of the Confederate Droid Armies. Grievous easily defeated the two others.
Grievous was active from the very beginning of the Clone Wars. His existence was kept secret, however, since no Jedi had escaped his presence alive. He was inside the catacombs of Geonosis during the the opening battle of the Clone Wars. It was there that he would kill his first Jedi, although the exact numbers are not known. It was his rear-guard actions in the catacombs against the clone troopers and Jedi that would allow Nute Gunray and the rest of the Separatist leadership to flee with their lives. The Jedi who would later find their dead comrades thought that perhaps it was a wild animal that had torn them apart. They found it unusual, however, that all of the dead Jedi were missing their lightsabers.
Grievous first revealed himself to the public when he attacked and dispatched a team of seven Jedi Knights in an aggressive display of lightsaber mastery during the Battle of Hypori. With his mechanical enhancements and attributes combined, he battled seven Jedi single-handedly. The Separatist general began the swift conquest of almost all of the Outer Rim planets. Time after time, Grievous' strategic genius and bloodthirstiness in battle struck fear into the very heart of the Republic. Grievous led the assault into the inner systems, along the Corellian Trade Spine, conquering world after world.
Grievous would go on to defeat many other Jedi Knights and Masters with his incredible swordsmanship. Jedi Master Mace Windu battled him on the planet Thule, a match that ended in stalemate. Windu was able to discern a single weakness in his opponent: "a lack of appreciation for simplicity".
[edit] Battle of Coruscant
Grievous would later resurface during the Battle of Coruscant, using the first wave of his attack as a distraction to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine (who, unbeknownst to Grievous, was Sidious in his civilian disguise). In the process, he pursued Palpatine all the way from his office through the Skyline of Coruscant (on the back of a nearby transport) through the Coruscant Subway System, and finally into Palpatine's private bunker. Grievous finally sneaked into Palpatine's bunker and slew the Chancellor's Jedi gaurds, Roron Corobb and Foul Moudama, after distracting guard leader Shaak-Ti and wrapping her in an electric cord. Mace Windu came to the rescue after he and Yoda sensed the attack on the city was a distraction. As General Grievous escaped with his prize, Windu used the Force to crush Grievous' chest plates. This attack left Grievous with the wheezing cough heard in Revenge of the Sith.
In that film's opening scenes, Grievous battled Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker onboard his vessel, the Invisible Hand. Skywalker and Kenobi were taken prisoner, but escaped and confronted Grievous. Grievous grabbed one of his fallen Magna-guard's electrostaffs and flung it at the viewport, which casued the atmosphere to vent into space. Grievous was sucked into space and used a hook to fling himself to the hull. He then used his mechanical feet to magnetize to the outside of his fallen flagship to regain entry into the vessel. He then fled in an escape pod.
[edit] Escape to Utapau
Grievous directed his escaped pod to the nearest droid control ship, where he ordered his armies to flee. He then traveled to the planet Utapau, where the Separatist Council resided. Grievous was now the supreme leader of the Confederacy, Dooku having died at Skywalker's hand. Sidious ordered him to move the Separatist leaders to the fiery planet of Mustafar, and to prepare for Obi-Wan Kenobi's imminent arrival. Moments before Kenobi's arrival, Grievous dismissed the Separatist Council.
[edit] Battle of Utapau and death
On Utapau, Kenobi ambushed Grievous. Grievous took out his lightsabers and engaged the Jedi in combat. Kenobi seemed to have the upper hand in the first part of the battle, using his expertise in deflection attacks to fend off Grievious' lightsabers and slice off his two lower hands at the wrists, but Grievous escaped as the Republic assault force began their attack on the Separatist armies. Kenobi chased after Grievous throughout most of the battlefield. He eventually upended Greivous' vehicle, forcing him to engage Kenobi in combat once again. Grievous tried to escape to his fighter by dueling Kenobi through the control room, the top of a tower, through a cave, and finally to his landing platform. On the landing platform, Kenobi used the Force to get Grievous' blaster on the ground nearby, where it had fallen during the fight. He fired five shots into Grievous' torso, igniting his flammable organic components. All of Grievous' organic parts ignited. Grievous burned from the inside out, and only his mechanical body remained, motionless without its master.
[edit] More information
[edit] Fighting technique
Grievous could dislocate his shoulders and split his arms to give himself four arms, and could use his feet as one would use hands. His unorthodox moves mainly involved misdirection with his many limbs, something only the most experienced and talented of Jedi could withstand. Much of this misdirection involved releasing a lightsaber from one limb and catching it with another, sometimes even while two other limbs are performing the same trick. The opponent, focused on limbs which are no longer dangerous, was then struck. In addition, his hands and torso are able to spin in a 360 degree motion. A Jedi master of offensive lightsaber training could only last so long against the General's unpredictable style of combat. The Clone Wars animated series also clearly displayed the anxiety Grievous creates for the Jedi both with his stealth tactics and relentlessness, unforgiving technique with a lightsaber. As shown in Revenge of the Sith, Grievous is a dangerous adversary in unarmed combat as well, putting a dent in his own Belbullab-22 starfighter with his fist. His brilliant mind also gave him the ability to plan his battles out in a very calculating fashion; because of this, he often only fought those who were worth his time.
[edit] Weakness
Grievous' only recognized weakness in battle was his inability to use the Force. He was not a Jedi or Sith, and because of his lack of midi-chlorians, he had no Force wielding capabilities. His lightsaber style was only enhanced by his experienced fighting techniques, the computers connected to his brain, and the lightsaber fighting styles taught by Dooku. Unlike the Jedi and Sith, Grievous could not use the Force to guide his lightsaber or to foresee potential dangers in a duel.
Grievous' only physical vulnerability, exploited in combat by Obi-Wan Kenobi, was the presence of his remaining biological organs contained within his torso, that could be attacked by forcing one's way through Grievous' chestplate.
In the Battle of Hypori, the Jedi facing Grievous started to use the Force to project items towards him as to avoid lightsaber combat. Grievous had no problem deflecting and dodging the projectiles, but the Jedi noticed the General's lack of response; he wasn't trying to hit them from afar with projectiles.
[edit] Relationship with Viceroy Gunray
It was Viceroy Nute Gunray who paid the costs of rebuilding General Grievous, and when the Viceroy was first introduced to the General, he made the mistake of treating him as just another in long line of officer droids. To say that Grievous resented this would be an understatement, and Gunray's mistake very nearly cost him his life at the claws of the General. Gunray opposed Grievous shortly before the Battle of Utapau, making note of the escape of Chancellor Palpatine and the death of Count Dooku, and informing the General that he doubted his ability to keep the council safe. Grievous quickly dismissed Gunray and sent him to Mustafar. Ironically, Gunray outlived Grievous (though not by long).
The Invisible Hand, General Grievous' command ship, was originally intended for Viceroy Nute Gunray's use. However, Count Dooku gave the ship to Grievous, adding to the hostility between the General and the Viceroy.
[edit] Jedi kills and trophies
- Adi Gallia—female human killed on Boz Pity in Obsession
- B'dard Tone—male Coway killed on Belsus in General Grievous
- B'ink Utrila—female Twi'lek killed on Coruscant in Labyrinth of Evil
- Daakman Barrek—male human killed on Hypori in Clone Wars Volume 1
- K'Kruhk—male Whiphid killed on Hypori in Clone Wars Volume 1. Oddly, he appears in several comics well after his 'death' at Hypori. It is likely that he survived and was traded back to the Republic in a prisoner of war exchange.
- Firkrann—male Shard killed on Xagobah
- Flint Torul—male human killed over Belderone
- Flynn Kybo—male human killed on Belsus in General Grievous
- Foul Moudama—male Talz killed on Coruscant in Clone Wars Volume 2 and Labyrinth of Evil
- Jmmaar—male Viraanntesse killed on Vandos
- L'lacielo Sageon—male Lorrdian killed over Coruscant in Labyrinth of Evil
- Nystammall—male Vuvrian killed on Tovarskl
- Pablo-Jill—male Ongree killed over Coruscant in Labyrinth of Evil
- Quarmall—male Abyssin killed in General Grievous
- Puroth—female Eirrauc killed on Tovarskl
- Roron Corobb—male Ithorian killed on Coruscant in Clone Wars Volume 2 and Labyrinth of Evil
- Roth-Del Masona—male human killed on Coruscant in Labyrinth of Evil
- Sha'a Gi—male human killed on Hypori in Clone Wars Volume 1
- Soon Bayts—male human killed on Boz Pity in Obsession
- Tarr Seirr—male Cerean killed on Hypori in Clone Wars Volume 1
- T'chooka D'oon—male human killed on Vandos in General Grievous
- Ur-Sema Du—female human killed on Geonosis
- Waldan Bridger—male human killed on Togoria
- Zephata'ru'tor—male Duinuogwuin killed over Nadiem
Aside from these individuals, Grievous's collection was known to include lightsabers belonging to at least four beings he did not personally kill: Shaak Ti (though in the deleted scenes from Revenge of the Sith, he impales her on her own lightsaber), K'Kruhk, Sifo-Dyas, and Darth Zannah. In Revenge of the Sith, Grievous carries a green lightsaber that is an almost exact replica of Luke Skywalker's.
[edit] Behind the scenes
General Grievous was developed for Episode III as a powerful new villain on the side of the Confederacy. The initial instructions that director George Lucas gave the Art Department were very open-ended: "a droid general." From that vague direction, the artists developed a lot of explorations, some purely mechanical, some not, for General Grievous' look.
The initial design for General Grievous was done by Warren Fu. That initial sketch was refined and made into a foot-tall maquette sculpture. That was further refined when it was made in to a realistic computer-generated model by Industrial Light and Magic. This was one of the most complicated models ever created by ILM, with many parts of differing physical qualities. General Grievous is completely computer-generated imagery in the movie. On set, Duncan Young read the lines off-screen, while Kyle Rowling wore a bluescreen or a greenscreen suit to act out the fights with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
[edit] Movie notes
- Gary Oldman originally agreed to provide the voice for Grievous in the film. He later pulled out because the film featured actors who were not part of the Screen Actors Guild, of which Oldman is a member. This report is disputed by Matthew Wood, who provided the final voice. He claims that Oldman is a friend of producer Rick McCallum, and agreed to submit a voice audition, but that his involvement never went beyond that. Lucas never officially offered him the role.
- General Grievous' breathing problems in Revenge of the Sith were intended to emphasize his organic nature as well as the flaws of cyborg prosthetics. Grievous had previously appeared in Star Wars: Clone Wars before many of his personality traits had been finalized. To reconcile the differences between the two presentations, Mace Windu "force-crushes" Grievous towards the end of the show's third season (volume two) as the General was making off with Palpatine, crushing the cyborg's chest panel. This "explains" why General Grievous' voice is lighter in the Clone Wars series and then deepens dramitically in the movie, although the actual explanation is that the two were portrayed by different voices. The audio effects for the coughing were taken from Lucas, who had bronchitis during principal photography.[1]
[edit] Trivia
- The original concept for General Grievous' appearance came from looking down on the top of the head of a household spray bottle.
- When introduced to the public in Chapter 20 of the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series, Grievous has 10 fingers, while in Revenge of the Sith, he has 12 (four are opposable thumbs so that he may hold four lightsabers when he separates his arms). This happened because Lucas used the cartoon to introduce Grievous sometime before his actions in Revenge of the Sith were fully worked out, and so he did not know what Grievous would be doing or that he would have four arms. In the second season of the cartoon he still has 10 fingers (with four thumbs) when using two arms but has 12 when they split into four.
- For several months following Oldman's reported (but never confirmed) refusal, actor John Rhys-Davies was widely reported to be the voice of Grievous. This was eventually revealed to be a prank by a humor website, which planted the misinformation to see how far it would spread. [2]
- Matthew Wood reprised his role as General Grievous for the October 2005 Halloween audiocast from the official Star Wars website (available only to members) and again for the games Star Wars: Battlefront II and the Revenge of the Sith video game.
- A droid named "Necrosis", occupying Grievous' cyborg body after his death, can be fought by players of Star Wars: Galaxies in a quest in the "Rage of the Wookiees" expansion.
- One of the concept ideas for Grievous was that he was to be a child, with 4 IG-88 droids for bodyguards. This idea was rejected because Lucas felt that such an interpretation wouldn't be taken seriously.
- General Grievous has been seen hanging upside down on numerous occasions in Star Wars: Clone Wars. However, whenever he does so, his cape seems to be unaffected by gravity.
- Grievous feels privately humiliated at his Cyborg form and will lash out at any negative comment regarding it, or mistaking him for a Droid. This is evidenced in the Revenge of the Sith video game where Obi-Wan growls "Leave it to a droid to cheat!" to which Grievous indignantly replies with " I'm no droid!".
[edit] External links
