Star Wars is a franchise filled with many competent characters. Even so, some were unquestionably more skilled than others.
There were the likes of Jedi Grand Master Yoda, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Darth Sidious (Chancellor/Emperor Sheev Palpatine), and more. These characters possessed Force and combat abilities that made them appear unstoppable.
Count Dooku, the Jedi-turned-Sith, and Jedi Grand Master Mace Windu were among them. These two portrayed their impressive feats in multiple instances, which prompted fans to pit the two against one another.
So without further ado, let’s get into what would happen if Count Dooku fought Mace Windu.
Table of Contents
Who is Count Dooku?
Count Dooku was a Force-sensitive who climbed the ranks of the Jedi Order until he eventually fell to the dark side.
Dooku’s journey from Jedi Master to Sith Lord Darth Tyranus was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, nor was it due to manipulation by anyone else.
Rather, Count Dooku decided to leave the Jedi Order because he believed it had become too political and corrupted.
Once Dooku left the Order, he assumed a new role as the Head of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Furthermore, Count Dooku became a Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious’ second apprentice.
Although it was against the Rule of Two for a Sith to have more than one apprentice, Sidious’ plan to take over the galaxy hinged on Dooku first leading an attack against the Galactic Republic.
Count Dooku thrived on the dark side. He allowed himself to fully embrace the teachings of the Sith and did whatever he needed to advance his and Darth Sidious’ plan. What he didn’t account for was the fact that Darth Sidious was just using him as a pawn to do his bidding.
During his time on the dark side, Count Dooku had some students who he trained to become great soldiers for Chancellor Palpatine. Specifically, there was General Grievous, who stood side by side with Dooku until they met their respective ends.
In the third year of the Clone Wars, Dooku and Grievous captured Darth Sidious from Coruscant as part of the Chancellor’s master plan.
Ironically, Count Dooku met his end in the skies above that same planet after an intense battle with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, who beheaded Dooku.
Strengths
Count Dooku was undoubtedly talented. Not only was he skilled in the Force, but he possessed an almost unnatural amount of stamina, especially considering his age.
Dooku could dodge and block lightsaber advances far more frequently than others. This allowed the warrior to avoid more attacks and counteract the advances of his opponent at a much faster rate.
As mentioned before, Count Dooku was a master duelist. Once this is combined with the Force, his stamina, and his quick thinking, it makes the damage doled out by his lightsaber all the more impactful.
Count Dooku had two standout abilities in his repertoire. These were Lightning Stun and Expose Weakness.
The Lightning Stun knocked Dooku’s opponent off their feet, which left them vulnerable to more attacks. While this power could kill weaker opponents and was quite helpful in giving Count Dooku the upper hand, the damage of Lightning Stun diminished with each target it was used on.
Moving on to Expose Weakness. With a name like this, one might be under the impression that this ability could expose an already existing weakness of Dooku’s opponent. However, this was not the case.
The way Expose Weakness worked was that it stopped the combatant from their sprint position and depleted any extra health they may have had. This left the foe completely open to Count Dooku’s lightsaber attacks, which could potentially end their lives.
Weaknesses
Count Dooku’s most pressing weakness was his age. Count Dooku was around eighty-three years old.
Because of his advanced age, Dooku’s stamina (although one of his greatest strengths) would have been decreased. Along with his stamina, his strength would have been diminished as well.
What this means is that if Count Dooku were to enter a duel against someone who was in his/her prime, the odds would not be in his favor.
Even though Dooku was exceptional at blocking shots and dodging attacks, his natural physical ability was not at its best. Thus, it would not be difficult for a younger person to overpower him and claim the victory.
A case in point is when he fought against the incredibly powerful Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Had Dooku been in his prime, there is no indicator of whether or not this battle would have had the same outcome.
As it was, Anakin was able to behead the great Count Dooku, subsequently ending his life.
Who is Mace Windu?
Mace Windu was a Force-sensitive human who also climbed the Jedi Order’s hierarchical ladder. In contrast to Count Dooku, however, Mace Windu reached much further than he did.
Windu sat on the Jedi High Council and eventually was elected as the leader of the Jedi Order.
Mace Windu was a devout Jedi who even preached the Order’s values while the dark side grew in popularity. During the Clone Wars, he took on the role of Jedi General.
Yet, that was not the Jedi’s only role during the war, as he wore many hats. Apart from being the general in the heat of the battle, Windu operated on Coruscant as Chancellor Palpatine’s advisor, as well as doing diplomatic work.
In the waning years of the war, Windu grew suspicious of Palpatine’s true motives. Of course, his speculations were confirmed after the Chancellor revealed that he was the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious.
As a result, Windu and his team of Jedi Masters intended to arrest Palpatine. Unfortunately, they underestimated his ability, which ended with Windu being the only man left standing.
It was in this instance that Mace Windu diverted from the Jedi Code and decided that the Chancellor was far too dangerous to remain alive.
With his mind made up, the Jedi Master confronted Palpatine for the final time.
What he didn’t account for was the fact that the Dark Lord had already manipulated Anakin into trusting him. All he needed was an opportunity for the young Knight to mistrust the Jedi.
Windu’s choice to end Palpatine’s life gave him that chance, and as a result, Anakin saved the Chancellor, subsequently murdering Mace Windu.
Strengths
Mace Windu was without a doubt one of the strongest characters in the franchise. One of the things that made him powerful was his ability to toe the line between the light and dark sides.
As we briefly touched on above, Mace was able to momentarily step outside of his Jedi teachings when he made the conscious decision to kill Darth Sidious. Windu was able to do that without being overcome by darkness.
This granted the Jedi Master the ability to come up with solutions that a regular Jedi would not. His capability to be connected to both sides of the Force is often thought to be signified by his purple lightsaber.
The standard lightsaber color for the Sith is red, whereas it’s generally blue for the Jedi. As such, it’s not a stretch for fans to think Windu’s purple weapon was displaying the mixture of light and dark within him.
To that end, Mace Windu’s Form VII fighting style (commonly referred to as Vaapad), was indicative of his ability to switch between light and dark.
This fighting style was chaotic, aggressive, and required the user to channel their inner darkness. Moreover, the Vaapad fighting style allowed the user to harness their opponent’s rage and use it against them.
Weaknesses
Mace Windu was not infallible. Windu was a human first, which meant he had weaknesses just like any other person.
While the Jedi Master has few recorded flaws, one that fans frequently mention is his arrogance.
A prime example of this is when Windu thought he could simply kill Darth Sidious. Although he was probably the only one who could have defeated Palpatine at that time, it is a common belief that Palpatine allowed him to gain the upper hand.
What’s more, Windu had a misconception that the Sith could not reappear without his and the Jedi’s knowledge. For this reason, Windu was ignorant of the existence of the Sith and their ability until it was too late.
In addition, Mace Windu (just like many others in the galaxy) could not discern manipulation. This common flaw worked together with his arrogance. In his mind, if he could not perceive something, then there was no need for him to believe it.
Mace Windu vs. Count Dooku
Although Count Dooku proved himself to be an outstanding warrior, many fans believe he would not stand a chance against Mace Windu.
Count Dooku’s age would already put him at a disadvantage. Additionally, Windu was able to momentarily defeat Darth Sidious, who was significantly stronger than Count Dooku could ever have been.
Mace Windu had his Vaapad fighting style, in which he used his opponent’s anger as fuel to destroy them. Because Dooku later became Darth Tyranus, it’s safe to assume he was filled with anger.
This, coupled with Dooku’s decreasing strength and stamina, meant he was essentially a sitting duck.
In the Star Wars Adventures #10 comics, the pair fought one another. The comic shows that at first they were both matched in combat.
Eventually, Windu overpowered Dooku and prompted him to flee, saying, “This is where I must leave you, Master Windu.”
While some may not see this surrender as a complete win for Windu, it shows that Dooku possibly saw that his end was near. Chances are, had the battle continued, Windu would have defeated Dooku.
Conclusion
Count Dooku and Mace Windu were strong characters in the Star Wars franchise. The pair built names for themselves because of their combative skills and acclimation to the Force.
Nevertheless, they were not flawless. In fact, both Count Dooku and Mace Windu lost their lives at the hands of Anakin Skywalker.
Still, this posed the question of what would happen if Windu fought Dooku. Well, in the comic Star Wars Adventures #10, the pair faced off, which ended with Dooku running.
This (coupled with Windu’s fighting style and strength) showed fans that if the battle had continued, Mace Windu would probably have emerged victoriously.