General Grievous: What Happened?
The universe of Star Wars have given us plenty of memorable villians. Those that instanly come to mind include Vader, Maul, Sidious, and Boba Fett. However, there has been one villian in Star Wars that has come under great fan appreciation and disgust. That villian is General Grievous. Since his introduction in the 2003 cartoon, Star Wars: Clone Wars, the character has divided fans. Some see him as a great menacing villian, while others see him as a waste of good potential. It all depends on which fan you are asking and what incarnation of him you talk about.
While the majority of the public saw Grievous for the first time in Revenge of the Sith, as mentioned before, his first apperance was in the 2003 2D-animated cartoon, Star Wars: Clone Wars. This incarnation of Grievous has been universally praised by fans. In fact, I am with them, this is my favorite version of the character as well. Want to know why? He is actually a badass. His first ever scene was taking on 5 Jedi at once and winning. Yes, a few of them survived, but that's beacause reinforcements were brought in.
But yeah, overall, I loved everything about this version. He was badass, he was one of the most powerful duelists in the galaxy, and he rarely spoke. Granted, I have grown used and even like the current voice of Grievous, Mathew Wood, but his old voice was actually more menacing in my opinion. The sad thing of it all is, now that this series is considered non-canon now, we only have to go by the film and the Clone Wars TV show now. Oh boy.
Let's talk about his apperance in Revenge of the Sith first. This was the first time we heard his current voice, played by Mathew Wood, and he displayed his trademark wheezing cough as well. In the 2003 show, his cough was explained and why he appeared to be weaker. At the end of the show, Mace Windu literally crushed his chest with the force. Yeah, I would be pretty weak after that. That being said, it was cool seeing him in live-action and fighting Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel, even if the duel is so-obviously a CGI fight.
That being said, now that Clone Wars is non-canon, we only have to go off of the fact that Grievous acted like a coward for most of the film and couldn't beat someone with four lightsabers.
Now, let us talk about the incarnation that has divided the fanbase, his role in the CGI cartoon, Star Wars: the Clone Wars. What the hell happened to him. While he keep his voice, personality, and mannerisms from Revenge of the Sith, he apparently lost his skill from the 2003 show. By that, I mean for most of the show, he is a punching bag. While he is a good duelist in his own right, he gets his ass kicked all the time, is always running away from danger, and never shuts the hell up at times.
There are times where he does kick some ass, however, I think that it is more of what the plot calls for more than anything else. For example, he is able to go up against Obi-Wan numerous times against him and hold his own and almost beat him, yet he is not able to beat Ahsoka Tano. I think the worst example of his patheticness is when he got tricked and defeated by a bunch of gungans. Yes, you heard me right, he lost to gungans. I remember seeing that live when the episode first came out and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The same guy who once took on 5 Jedi lost to a bunch of Jar Jars.
That being said, I still like seeing him at some points and I do like his voice, even if at the same time it can be a little draining as well.
So, overall, what do I think of Grievous. Well, it's hard to say. He does have his moments, and overall, I can't say I hate the character. However, if there was ever a villian in Star Wars that had so much potential and lost it, it would be him. He started off a complete badass, but in the end, I think a lot of fans will remember him mostly as a wimp and a waste of potential.
