Star Wars: Was General Grievous Ever a Sith?
We know that the prequel trilogy had a lot of different lightsaber scenes involving lightsaber combatants. While Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and Palpatine were obvious choices because they were Sith Lords, one other villain that fought using lightsabers was none other than General Grievous, who was the top general of the droid army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (Separatists). So, was General Grievous also a Sith?
General Grievous was never a Sith Lord because of the very fact that he was never born sensitive to the Force. As such, he was devoid of any Force-related powers. However, after gaining cybernetic enhancements from the Separatists, he received Jedi training from Count Dooku to become a powerful lightsaber user.
The fact that Grievous was never sensitive to the Force was never one of the things that held him back as far as his combat prowess was concerned. He may have been a coward in the eyes of the Jedi, but he was still a very powerful fighter that could match the prowess of any Jedi in a fight. So, with that said, let’s look at whether or not Grievous was ever a Sith Lord.
Is General Grievous on the dark side?
If there’s one enemy that some Star Wars fans don’t know much about, it’s General Grievous. Originally introduced in the 2003 ‘Star Wars: Clone Wars’ cartoon that is no longer canon, Grievous was one of the top generals of the droid army that the Separatists fielded against the Jedi Order and the clone army of the Republic.
And he eventually made his way to ‘Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ as the last remaining general that the Republic was looking to neutralize after the death of Count Dooku, the Separatists’ leader.
Of course, that would mean that Grievous was in league with the Separatists the entire time. In fact, he was aware of the nature of Darth Sidious and Count Dooku as Sith Lords. And it was that fact that allowed Grievous to find common ground with Dooku, as they both hated the Jedi.
Years ago, Grievous and the Kaleesh forces drove the Yam’rii from their homeworld as the Kaleesh were known to be great warriors that fought different races throughout the galaxy. However, the Yam’rii sought assistance from the Republic and the Jedi, and that was why the Jedi Order intervened and defeated the Kaleesh, who the Republic punished with embargoes and fines. In that regard, the Kaleesh suffered as they starved due to the embargoes and fines imposed on them by the Republic.
Because of that, Grievous’ anger for the Jedi grew as he knew that they were the cause of the suffering of his people. He also understood that he and the other Kaleesh would never stand a chance against the Jedi because they could use the Force, which allowed them to become nearly unbeatable in close-combat situations. And the Kaleesh were proud warriors that excelled in melee combat.
In that regard, Grievous sided with the Separatists and decided to allow the Sith to test their technological advancements on him so that they could turn him into a cyborg. Grievous sacrificed much of his biological parts and nerve endings to become a cybernetic beast with the strength, speed, and extra limbs that bridged the gap between him and the Jedi Masters.
That means that he sided with the Sith Lords when the wars between the Separatists and the Republic were happening. Due to his strength as a combatant, Grievous became a general for the droid army during the Clone Wars. He also became a highly skilled warrior that Dooku was willing enough to train in Jedi lightsaber combat as he understood that Grievous was already a strong melee fighter even before he became a cyborg.
In that regard, Grievous quickly adapted to lightsaber combat and became one of the strongest fighters on the side of the Separatists during the Clone Wars. His enhanced strength, speed, and extra limbs made him stronger than regular Jedi Knights. And because he could wield four lightsabers at once, he was a very difficult opponent for any Jedi to overcome during the time that he allied himself with the users of the dark side of the Force.
Why wasn’t General Grievous a Darth?
As mentioned, General Grievous allied himself with the Sith Lords and the Separatists due to his hatred for the Republic and the Jedi Order. But what needs to be considered is that while Count Dooku may have trained him in the art of Jedi lightsaber combat, he was never a Sith Lord. And that’s why he was never a Darth.
The reason why Grievous was never a Sith Lord was the fact that he couldn’t use the Force. Grievous was never born with the ability to manipulate the Force as the Jedi and Sith did. And that was why, before he became a cyborg, he understood that he would never be able to defeat the Jedi as he was because the Jedi had a mystical power that neither he nor the other Kaleesh possessed.
In fact, George Lucas once confirmed in 2005 that Grievous couldn’t use the Force even though he used lightsabers. He even flirted with using Darth Maul as the person under Grievous’ armor, although this idea was eventually trashed. As such, Lucas stuck to the idea of turning Grievous into a cyborg that didn’t have Force abilities but was strong and fast enough to keep up with the Jedi.
Was General Grievous a human?
When we met Grievous, it was tough to imagine his appearance before he underwent the cybernetic enhancements that turned him into a cyborg. But while that may be true, Grievous was never human. In fact, he was a Kaleesh that came from the planet called Kalee, which existed in the Wild Space portion of the galaxy. In fact, in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars,’ we even saw a statue of Grievous’ old self before he turned into a cyborg.
As mentioned, the Kaleesh were proud warriors known for fighting different races and appropriating the spoils of war among themselves. They were known to be primitive people that didn’t have the same access to technology that the other species and races had. But they were very strong fighters that used primitive weapons, such as swords and shields.
The Kaleesh were some of the greatest melee fighters in the galaxy, as they could overwhelm other species with their combat prowess. Grievous was the strongest out of all of them. But Grievous accepted harshly because neither he nor his people could ever stand a chance against the Jedi in melee combat. And that was why he decided to become a vengeful cyborg that could give any Jedi Master a run for their money, especially after he learned the many different lightsaber combat forms that the Jedi were taught.
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