When we think about some of the worst miscalculations in Star Wars, Count Dooku’s underestimation of Anakin Skywalker has to be near the top. I mean, we all saw what happened aboard the Invisible Hand — Dooku lost his hands (and his head) in record time. But if you dig into the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, you find out something even crazier.
Dooku genuinely believed Anakin wasn’t much of a lightsaber duelist — and honestly, the reason why is just ridiculous.
Why Dooku Thought Anakin Was Easy To Beat
First, we need to understand where Dooku’s head was at. He wasn’t just a Sith Lord — he was a snob, obsessed with traditional strength: grace, style, and precision. To him, a true lightsaber master wasn’t just powerful — they embodied the refined elegance of combat. Everything about Dooku’s own style, Makashi, was built around the idea that dueling was an art form, not a brawl. Raw power alone wasn’t enough. In his mind, true mastery required finesse.
One thing Dooku absolutely despised was cybernetics. The moment Anakin lost his real arm at Geonosis and replaced it with a mechanical one, Dooku mentally downgraded him. From that point on, he viewed Anakin as something lesser — awkward, clumsy, and too reliant on mechanical strength instead of true skill with the Force. To Dooku, Anakin’s new arm wasn’t a weapon. It was a crutch.
We can see Dooku’s disdain clearly during his conversation with Sidious in the Revenge of the Sith novel, when the two are plotting Anakin’s kidnapping — the very event that kicks off Episode III. As Dooku reflects on Anakin, the novel shows:
“Still, though, Dooku had some reservations. This had all come about too quickly; had Sidious thought through all the implications of this operation? But I must ask my Master: Is Skywalker truly the man we want? He is powerful. Potentially more powerful than even myself.”
“‘Which is precisely,’ Dooku said meditatively, ‘why it might be best if I were to kill him, instead.’”
“Are you so certain that you can?”
“‘Please. Of what use is power unstructured by discipline? The boy is as much a danger to himself as he is to his enemies. And that mechanical arm—’ Dooku’s lip curled with cultivated distaste. ‘Revolting.’”
“Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm.”
‘Hmp. A gentleman would have learned to fight one-handed.’ Dooku flicked a dismissive wave.”
From this exchange, we clearly see how much Dooku looks down on Anakin, even mocking the idea that Anakin needed a mechanical arm at all. In Dooku’s mind, a true master would simply have learned to fight with one arm, just like how Dooku himself wielded his blade with elegance and precision.
Dooku’s disdain didn’t stop there. The novel continues with Dooku comparing Anakin unfavorably even to General Grievous. In his private thoughts, Dooku sneers:
“He’s no longer even entirely human. With Grievous, the use of bio-droid devices is almost forgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical parts are clearly an improvement. But a blend of droid and human? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justify associating with him?”
In Dooku’s mind, Anakin wasn’t just a failed Jedi — he was an embarrassment. And it was this arrogant, snobbish view that blinded Dooku completely to the real threat Anakin posed.
Dooku’s Moment of Horror
As we all know, the fight between Dooku and Anakin aboard the Invisible Hand, right in front of Palpatine, is a major turning point.
But what the Revenge of the Sith novel shows us is something even deeper:
Dooku’s realization about Anakin’s mechanical arm wasn’t just a minor detail — it was a complete nightmare for him.
The novel describes it perfectly: “Dooku felt himself blanch. Where had this come from? Skywalker came on, mechanically inexorable, impossibly powerful, a destroyer droid with a lightsaber: each step a blow and each blow a step. Dooku backed away as fast as he dared; Skywalker stayed right on top of him. Dooku’s breath went short and hard. He no longer tried to block Skywalker’s strikes but only to guide them slanting away; he could not meet Skywalker’s strength-to-strength — not only did the boy wield tremendous reserves of Force energy, but his sheer physical power was astonishing — And only then did Dooku understand that he’d been suckered.”
Dooku realized — far too late — that all his pride and assumptions had blinded him. Anakin wasn’t the clumsy, overaggressive brawler he had dismissed earlier. He was something far worse: a destroyer. For all of Dooku’s elegance and refined skill, he simply couldn’t survive the onslaught. It wasn’t even a fair fight anymore. His horror wasn’t just that he was losing — it was the cold realization that he had never stood a chance in the first place.