Was Dooku really a Sith? Was he really Evil?

Evil- the quality of being morally bad or wrong; wickedness.
Sith- The most common use of the word applies to a cult of warrior priests devoted to the dark side of the Force, serving as the evil counterparts of the Jedi Knights. They seek to use their power to take advantage of others for personal gain.

Knowing the definition of Sith, it is clear that Dooku is a real Sith, as he takes advantage of people and causes a huge war so he could take over the galaxy. Now the next question is, was Dooku evil? In order to determine this, let's look at what some other Sith Lords have done:

Darth Revan and Malak- Responsible for the killing of countless civilians, troops, and Jedi. Nearly destroyed the Republic.
Darth Maul- Was raised from birth to be naturally evil and an assassin, who is responsible for countless deaths of innocent people.
Darth Vader- Responsible for the Jedi purge, deaths of millions of own comrades, other troops, Jedi, and innocent civilians.
Darth Sidious- Same as Vader, except lied and manipulated the entire galaxy to take control of it. A true Sith and pure evil.

Now lets review what Dooku did as Sith Lord: he started a war, which caused many civilians deaths, worlds to be devastated, and paved the way for the Jedi purge and fall of the Republic, as well as corrupted many politicians.

After reviewing Dooku's actions and all of those other Sith Lords, I watched Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and noticed something that caught my eye... Dooku, never has Sith eyes in either two movies at any time. Now obviously the movie explanation is because Lee is meant to portray such a sophisticated character and it would not look right having Dooku have these yellow eyes... it would completely destroy the image of Dooku, but the in-universe explanation, might be the fact that Dooku really isn't that evil of a man. He's still a Sith because he's using his advantages over others for personal gain, but what has he personally done that can be construed as evil? I really cannot think of anything too serious that he personally did that was a pure evil act (you'll see why I am contradicting myself later in the blog, just have patience). In fact, I believe it's possible he had some other motives in the actions he took as a Sith.

Now I hope you've all read my Sith vs. Jedi Philosophy blog, titled "Good is a point of view Anakin...", but if not it can be found here. Now if you haven't read it I suggest you do before you continue reading. It is a rather long entry, but not too long and it is very insightful. Many have left good comments as well so check it out.

Now that we know my feelings on all that, the question becomes not was Dooku really evil, but rather, did Dooku have good intentions? Listen to some of these quotes by Dooku to Obi-wan in Episode II:

"I wish he were still alive (Qui-gon)... I could use his help right about now"

... after Obi-wan says he'd never join him (if he were still alive):

"Don't forget that he was once my apprentice, just as you were once his... he knew all about the corruption in the Senate, but would never had gone along with it if he had learned the truth as I have."

... shortly later:

"The Dark Side of the Force has clouded their vision my friend... what if I told you that hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called, Darth Sidious"

... after Obi-wan doubts him:

"The Viceroy of the Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious... but 10 years ago he came to me for help and told me everything..."

Now obviously he is just trying to lure Obi-wan to help him kill Sidious and allow himself to rise to be Master at which point if Obi-wan tried to stop him and/or wouldn't join him he would just dispose of him quickly, but is it possible that there was some truth in what he said. Is it possible deep down he thought there was a chance to save the Order and the Republic... that he truly believed, along with Qui-gon, that the Senate was too corrupt and needed to be humbled and felt that the only way to save the Republic was to destroy it and possibly rebuild it?

I that's exactly what he thought. Now before you crucify me hear me out...my theory is that Dooku's initial intentions were good, but by the time the war started (right about after he fought Yoda) he was so corrupted by the dark side that he craved power and had developed into a true Sith. In fact, as soon as Obi-wan says he'll never join him, Dooku seems saddened, not just because of loosing a possible Sith disciple/apprentice, but also loosing a friend and ally in humbling and correcting the corrupt Republic.

Summary: I proved Dooku was a true Sith and eventually became truly evil, but also posed a theory that perhaps he initially had good intentions and wanted to help the Republic by destroying it, but then became too corrupt by the Dark Side and then wanted power like Sidious.

Comments are welcome, but please no bashing. These are just theories, I am not saying they are correct or incorrect in any way. Any other questions? E-mail me at LittleEagle2032@aol.com.

P.S. I did not mention Dooku killing his former best friend and master, Sifo-Dyas for a reason. Yes, this was an evil action down personally and I believe this was the gateway that Sidious used to get to him to start down the Dark Path., similarly to how he made Anakin kill Dooku to take his first steps towards the Dark Side, and how he wanted Luke to kill Vader as his first steps towards the Dark Side, but I believe it's possible he still had some good intentions up until the start of the war.