Darth Maul had a wicked cool tattoo job, nasty bad-guy teeth and a double-blade Lightsaber. He could have been the poster child for the Sith Order. He is also one of the coolest bad guys ever. But he was no Darth Tyranus.

Many times I have seen blog entries that do nothing but poo-poo on Darth Tyranus. A lot of you think that he was unnecessary to the Star Wars movies, and that Darth Maul should have remained. Those of you who believe that could not be more wrong in your beliefs. In fact, Tyranus may be the most important person in regards to the annihilation of the Jedi Order.

Let us first look at Tyranus' history prior to the events in Episode I. Count Dooku was a powerful and well respected Jedi Master. He was trained in the ways of the Force by Master Yoda. Dooku, in turn, trained Qui-Gon Jinn, (another of my favorite characters whom does not get the respect he deserves). Qui-Gon trained Obi-Wan, who trained Anakin. It can be assumed that some of Dooku's Jedi traits were passed on to Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and even the Chosen One. In fact, Dooku was so well revered within the Jedi Order, that his bust was placed in the Temple archives so that generations to come could look to Dooku as an example of a great Jedi. Then came his departure form the Jedi Order following the Battle of Naboo. This was a harsh blow to the Jedi. One of the greats had become disillusioned by the cause of the Jedi. Dooku felt the Jedi served a Republic that no longer functioned correctly and, based on his Jedi teachings, he felt he could not continue to do the same.

That brings us to Tyranus' induction into the Order of the Sith. Maul had been killed by Obi-Wan, and Palpatine did not have time to train a new infant as a Sith Lord. Instead he sought out Dooku. Dooku had always been intrigued by the dark side, even as a Jedi Padawan. By the time he left the Jedi, he was already powerful in the Force and an excellent swordsman. His thirst for power and desire to change the Republic made Sidious' job easy. All he had to do was promise Dooku that he would be a man of great stature in the New Order. To prove himself to Darth Sidious, Dooku was ordered to kill his long time friend, Jedi Master Syfo Dias. While still a member of the Jedi Order at this time, Dooku erased Kamino from the Temple archives and took over the process of ordering an army for the Republic; a task that was begun secretly by Syfo Dias. Thus was born Darth Tyranus.

Over the next decade, Tyranus spent his time sewing seeds of doubt throughout the galaxy. He used his political skill to sway many systems into believing that the Republic was corrupt and became the figure head of the Separatist Movement. Darth Maul would never have been able to accomplish this. Maul did not have the charismatic attitude it took to promise protection from the Republic or to make people believe that they would have control over a new from of government. I'm not saying Maul would not have been able to gain support for the Separatist Movement, but he would have done it out of fear. His motives were pure hatred, whereas Tyranus' were a lust for power and control. (Look at their names: Maul means to injure greatly, Tyranus has a stem word of tyrant which means oppressive ruler or one who reigns) Tyranus was eventually able to convince planets to see his point of view. Maul would have killed people until they had no choice but to give in to him out of fear for their lives. Tyranus wanted to rule the galaxy and knew that if he had simply killed everyone, there would be no one to rule over. Sidious knew Dooku was the clear choice for a political leader. Once he had enough support, Tyranus pushed his follower to secede form the Republic.

Our next stop; the Clone Wars. In my opinion the Clone Wars were, for all intents and purposes, a Purge on the Jedi Order. For three years, the Republic fought the Separatists, using the Jedi as generals in the Grand Army. Many Jedi became one with the Force during this time, which is exactly what Sidious wanted since he was controlling both sides anyway. This ultimately left fewer Jedi to deal with when Anakin made his turn and Order 66 was initiated.

Darth Sidious' ultimate goal was galactic conquest and the destruction of the Jedi. As I have stated above, none of this would have been possible if Tyranus had not been around. He was the voice of the Separatist Movement and his war made it possible to do away with the Jedi. In closing, Maul was truly one bad mother, but it is quite plain to see that he was no Darth Tyranus.

May the Force be with you!

The Primordial Jedi