General Grievous

Grievous, born Qymaen jai Sheelal, was a Kaleesh male warlord who served as a commanding officer within the military forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. Bearing the title of Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, he led countless engagements against the Republic's Grand Army. Recognized for his ruthless tactics and extensive cybernetic enhancements, he became a figure of terror across the galaxy and earned a reputation as a hunter and killer of the Jedi, his sworn enemies.

Warlord of Kalee#

A native of the planet Kalee in Wild Space, Qymaen jai Sheelal was taught the arts of war from childhood and grew into a fearsome warrior. He led his people against the Yam'rii, a technologically advanced insectoid species invading from the neighboring world of Huk, and drove them from Kalee before carrying the war to the Huk worlds. Taking the name Grievous, he became a legendary and bloody-handed figure among the Kaleesh, fighting alongside his elite bodyguards, the Izvoshra. When the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order intervened on the side of the Yam'rii, the resulting punishment and famine inflicted on his people left Grievous with a hatred that would define the rest of his life.

Reconstruction#

Grievous's reputation and his deep hatred of the Jedi drew the attention of the Sith, who had been recruiting minions with unique skills and a hatred of the Order. Sidious and Dooku offered him cybernetic enhancements, which the Kaleesh accepted and took on over time. Sometime later, Dooku conspired to mortally wound him, sabotaging his shuttle in a crash that left him on the brink of death. Whatever remained of his organic form, lost in the disaster or surrendered by his own choice, was replaced, and he emerged a creature more machine than flesh. Dooku claimed that a Jedi had been responsible for the sabotage, deepening Grievous's rage, and trained him as a lethal lightsaber duelist before welcoming him as a warrior of the Confederacy.

Supreme Martial Commander#

Shortly after the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Grievous was granted the rank of general and the title of Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies, making him one of the most powerful figures in the Separatist Alliance, second only to Dooku. A brilliant military strategist and a fearsome melee combatant, he led numerous campaigns against the Republic and gained notoriety as a Jedi hunter, making a habit of claiming the lightsabers of the Jedi he killed as trophies and weapons. The clone troopers nicknamed the Confederacy's battle droids "clankers" and dubbed Grievous the "head clanker."

He commanded fleets of the Confederate Navy from flagships such as the heavy cruiser Malevolence, leaving worlds wrecked and burned in his wake, though he suffered setbacks at the hands of Jedi such as Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Kit Fisto. Throughout the war he found his greatest rival in Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom he dueled on numerous occasions, each confrontation inconclusive.

The Battle of Coruscant and death#

Days before the end of the war in 19 BBY, Grievous launched a daring assault on Coruscant under orders from Darth Sidious and captured the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, Sheev Palpatine, who was secretly Sidious himself, aboard his flagship, the Invisible Hand. During the battle, Kenobi and Skywalker rescued the Chancellor, an engagement that also ended in Dooku's death. Grievous escaped, and with Dooku gone he became the de facto leader of the Confederacy. He withdrew his forces to the Outer Rim and relocated the Separatist Council to Mustafar on Sidious's orders before retreating to the planet Utapau.

Unknown to Grievous, Sidious betrayed his location, leading to a Republic invasion. After a prolonged chase, Grievous was slain by his nemesis, General Kenobi. His death brought the Clone Wars to a close and was followed by the systematic collapse of the Confederacy.