Savage Opress

Biography

Sith apprenticeship

Savage Opress's birth occurred on the world of Dathomir, and he was the offspring of Mother Talzin. He had siblings named Maul and Feral. During his early years, Maul was taken from Dathomir by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. By the time the Clone Wars were underway, Opress was living in the Nightbrother village on Dathomir alongside Feral. As a key element of the Nightsister Asajj Ventress's strategy to exact revenge on her former Master, the Sith Lord Count Dooku, she journeyed to the Nightbrother village. Her goal was to select a warrior to serve Dooku but be secretly controlled by the Nightsisters, which would allow them to carry out their revenge. Ventress subjected the group of Nightbrothers to her demanding Selection trials, resulting in the deaths of numerous candidates. Opress distinguished himself as a remarkable, fearsome, and courageous warrior, leading Ventress to personally select him as her servant.

As part of their plan to undermine Dooku, Mother Talzin and her Nightsister witches used their magicks to grant Opress astonishing abilities. This greatly enhanced his strength and aggression, while also physically transforming him into a massive and intimidating figure. Opress experienced a significant increase in height and physical size, and even the horns on his head grew substantially larger. After strangling his brother Feral, whom he had fiercely defended during the Selection, to death as a demonstration of loyalty to Ventress, Opress was provided with armor and a mystically enhanced spear. Talzin then presented him to Dooku as a Dark Acolyte. Dooku accepted Opress, thereby allowing him to enter the Clone Wars as his personal enforcer. Opress's initial assignment was to carry out a mission against the Galactic Republic on the planet Devaron to prove his worth. This involved assisting the Separatist forces that were attacking the Temple of Eedit. Opress brutally murdered a group of clone troopers and killed his first Jedi, Master, Halsey, and his Padawan Knox, overpowering them with his immense strength, stamina, and hand-to-hand combat skills. Opress soon became Dooku's apprentice, with Dooku intending to use his new acolyte to overthrow his own master, Darth Sidious, and seize control of the galaxy.

While Opress was undergoing rigorous Sith training under Dooku's supervision, Ventress was preparing to turn the monstrous Nightbrother against Dooku when the opportune moment arrived. As his training advanced, Opress began to wield a double-bladed lightsaber. Although Dooku easily defeated him during duels, disdainfully pointing out his clumsiness and lack of refined technique, he conceded that Opress had the potential to become incredibly powerful with proper training. Outside, on the castle grounds, Dooku subjected Opress to intense tests of his abilities, requiring him to telekinetically lift a dozen obelisk stones simultaneously. When Opress failed to accomplish this task, he was repeatedly subjected to shocks of Force lightning as punishment for his failure. Opress grew increasingly resentful as he endured these tasks and the punishments for not succeeding.

Breaking free

Eventually, Opress was assigned a mission to Toydaria, where his objective was to capture the Toydarian King Katuunko. Opress slaughtered several guards and forcefully entered the royal palace, but he inadvertently killed Katuunko by using Force choking on him. He was confronted by Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he forcefully pushed past them and returned to Dooku with the King's lifeless body. Opress was once again subjected to Force lightning as punishment for killing the King instead of bringing him back alive, and when he pleaded for mercy from his master, Dooku responded that mercy was not in line with the ways of the Dark Side. However, Ventress soon arrived and initiated her plans for revenge, revealing Opress's hidden allegiance to her and attacking her former master. While she initially disarmed Dooku and knocked him down, he repeatedly overwhelmed and weakened her with his Force lightning.

A furious Ventress commanded him to kill Dooku, but after Dooku unleashed his Force Lightning on him once more, an exhausted Opress declared that Dooku was too formidable, which only led to Ventress scolding him. Being tortured by Dooku and berated by Ventress, Opress eventually broke free from Ventress's control and terminated his service to Dooku. In a fit of rage, he used the Force to choke both of them, throwing them back. He then launched a ferocious attack on both of them and initially gained the upper hand, but Dooku and Ventress retaliated, throwing him back. Dooku then made his escape, followed by Ventress, leaving Opress alone, who then proceeded to escape, battling his way through Skywalker and Kenobi, as well as an army of droids. Opress eventually reached the hangar, escaped, and headed for Dathomir. Upon returning to Talzin, he informed her that Ventress had betrayed him and then learned about his connection to the former Sith apprentice Maul. Talzin instructed him to find his lost brother and train under his guidance.

Search for Maul

Opress's search for his brother led him to the Outer Rim. After getting into an altercation at a diner on Stobar and being pursued by the authorities, he came across a collection of cargo crates that provided him with clues about his brother's whereabouts. Locating the nearest ship, he coerced the captain into allowing him to travel with him to the planet Lotho Minor, later ejecting the unfortunate man from the ship upon their arrival. As he commenced his search, he was greeted by Morley, an Anacondan, who offered to serve as his guide. Opress initially refused, but after realizing that he would have little chance of finding his brother alone on the dangerous and unfamiliar world, he reluctantly followed Morley, who claimed to have seen another of his kind on the planet.

Opress navigated through tunnels filled with junk, eliminating numerous Junkers and avoiding acid rain, eventually discovering what he believed to be his brother's residence. However, when his talisman stopped glowing, he became frustrated. At that moment, Morley tricked him, causing him to fall through the junk into a tunnel. The Anacondan remarked that he would soon be killed by his master. After wandering the tunnels, Opress was attacked by a spider-like creature, which Opress soon realized was his deranged brother with cybernetic legs. Recognizing this, Opress chased after his brother, calling out to him until he caught up to him in a cavern. Opress attempted to communicate with his sibling, but Maul's words were nothing more than desperate and nonsensical ravings.

After killing Morley for setting him up, he began to question his brother to learn more about how he had ended up there. He eventually discerned his brother's hatred for the Jedi and ultimately rescued him from his tortured existence on the junk world, bringing him back home to Dathomir, where Talzin used her magicks to restore his mind and body. Maul was given new cybernetic legs, and his injuries were healed to some extent. Opress then began serving his experienced brother, becoming involved in Maul's pursuit of revenge on Kenobi, who had cut him in half over a decade ago in the Theed Royal Palace on Naboo.

Serving Maul

Maul devised a plan to draw out Kenobi by orchestrating a massacre on the planet Raydonia, believing that the Jedi would not ignore such an event. He then sent the Jedi a hologram of himself slaughtering the civilians and calling for Kenobi. When Kenobi arrived, Maul and Opress launched a surprise attack on him in the ruins of the town, using coordinated attacks to knock him unconscious and take him prisoner. As they tortured him aboard their ship, Ventress, who was seeking to collect the substantial bounty on Opress's head, arrived to assist her former adversary, Kenobi. After a prolonged battle inside the ship, Kenobi and Ventress managed to escape from the two brothers.

Opress and Maul continued their plans for revenge and galactic domination, and, guided mostly by Maul, turned to the criminal underworld to achieve their needs. Opress and Maul cut a swath through the Outer Rim, battling through civilians and slaying multiple Jedi Knights who stood in their way. After pillaging the Cybloc Transfer Station, Maul asserted his dominance over his brother, acknowledging his brother as a Sith Lord but forcing him to become his apprentice. Opress was taken aback by the change in power and recklessly challenged his brother to combat, but was quickly and ruthlessly defeated and forced to submit to his renegade Sith brother in accordance with the Sith Rule of Two.

Maul then led his brother to seize a starship belonging to a group of Weequay pirates, whom they forced into their service. They then contacted their leader, Hondo Ohnaka, and informed him that if he did not join them, they would forcibly take his base. However, as Maul and Opress pitted the pirates against each other, Kenobi and Jedi Master Adi Gallia arrived. After an intense battle, Opress charged at Gallia, impaling the Jedi Master on his horns, resulting in her death. Kenobi barely managed to fend off the two brothers before allying with Ohnaka and escaping into the complex. After Ohnaka regained control over the treacherous pirates, he rallied his forces and attacked the brothers. Opress dueled Kenobi, but lost his left arm to Kenobi's lightsaber. Maul assisted his wounded brother in limping away from the reinvigorated pirates, and they fled.

The Shadow Collective

However, Kenobi continued his pursuit of Opress and Maul off Florrum, destroying their ship and forcing them to eject in the escape pod. The two became stranded until they were discovered unconscious by members of the Death Watch, a group of Mandalorian warriors led by Pre Vizsla. The two brothers were taken to the Death Watch encampment on Zanbar, where Vizsla aided them by giving Maul new cybernetic legs and Opress a cybernetic arm. When Opress woke to see droids working on his new arm, he destroyed them in his anger and pain. However, Maul calmed him down, telling him that they would be wise to ally with Death Watch but reassuring him that they would still be able to finish Kenobi after helping their new allies reclaim Mandalore. Vizsla and his second in command Bo-Katan Kryze then entered the tent and informed them that they had agreed to the proposed alliance.

Maul advised Vizsla to gather allies to grow in strength to overthrow the pacifist rulers of Mandalore. As their first step to assembling what would become the Shadow Collective, Opress traveled with Maul, Vizsla, and Death Watch to Mustafar to meet with Black Sun leadership. Greeted by Vigo Ziton Moj, they were invited to the council chambers to meet with Xomit Grunseit. When he refused to join them, he commanded his forces to kill them and take their weapons and ships. Opress grabbed an advancing guard and snapped their neck, hurling the body onto the council table. When Maul delivered his ultimatum, but Grunseit once again refused, at which point Maul stepped back to allow Opress to finish the job. Hurling his double-bladed lightsaber, he beheaded the entire council, leaving Moj the lone Black Sun member left in the room. As de facto leader, Moj quickly agreed to their proposed alliance.

Opress, Maul, and the Mandalorians were soon joined by the Pyke Syndicate before traveling to Nal Hutta to meet with the Hutt Ruling Council. When they refused to join without being paid a large sum of credits, the Shadow Collective was attacked by a force of bounty hunters. Opress battled with the bounty hunter Embo, and eventually, the bounty hunters were defeated. They returned to find Oruba the Hutt still inside, who Opress killed before they planned to travel to Tatooine to find Jabba the Hutt. After a battle at Jabba's Palace, Jabba and Gorga Desilijic Aarrpo decided to join Maul.

After his brother was seemingly captured by the Morubas crime family, Opress went to Bahlah with a force of the Shadow Collective, beginning the battle around the stronghold of the Morubas crime family. In reality, Maul had purposefully allowed himself to be captured in order to bring down the Morubas family. Upon reuniting with his brother, Opress left the world as the two brothers prepared for their takeover of Mandalore.

Soon after, the Sith brothers and Death Watch ordered members of the Shadow Collective's crime syndicates and gangs to attack and overrun the capital of Mandalore, thus revealing Duchess Satine Kryze's inability to protect the planet from an invading force. Opress joined the attackers in perpetrating crimes throughout the city. The members of Death Watch would then stage a rescue where they would defeat the invaders such as Opress, thus becoming heroes of the public. With the support of the civilians, Death Watch was able to take control of Mandalore.

Even though the operation succeeded, Vizsla and his men betrayed and arrested Opress and Maul and successfully maneuvered their way into good favor with the populace. However, the two brothers were not finished. Opress and Maul would easily break free from prison, also freeing Almec, Mandalore's incarcerated Prime Minister. The two brothers then arrived in the throne room to confront Vizsla. Maul challenged Vizsla to a duel for control of Mandalore, which he accepted. Opress watched as Maul seized control of Mandalore after defeating Vizsla in lightsaber combat and beheading him. Some of Vizsla's supporters did not accept Maul's rule and left, but the remaining warriors pledged themselves to Maul. Maul installed Almec as the puppet ruler of Mandalore.

Death

The brothers' control of Mandalore attracted unwelcome attention from Maul's former Master, Darth Sidious, who viewed their increasing power and alliances as a threat to the dominance of his Sith Order. Sidious journeyed to Mandalore to confront the two brothers. Despite Opress's skill, Sidious ultimately defeated the Zabrak warrior in combat, impaling Opress with his twin lightsabers before using the Force to hurl him from the building. With his last breath, Opress expressed regret for never having been Maul's equal. As he passed away, the green mist of Nightsister magick emanated from his body, and his armor vanished. His muscles and physique reverted to their pre-Nightsister ritual form, and Opress died as the man he had been before becoming Ventress's pawn. An enraged Maul attempted to kill his former master, but he was quickly defeated and captured.

Legacy

Savage's demise served as a constant source of fuel for his brother Maul's fury for the remainder of his days. Sometime in the period between 19 BBY and 2 BBY, Maul journeyed to the world of Damanos with the intention of uncovering the secrets held within a Sith castle. While inside the castle's walls, Maul experienced a vision of Opress, who rejected Maul's inability to be either a true master or a true brother to him. Sixteen years following Opress' death, Maul reflected upon the loss of Opress while articulating his hatred for the Sith to the Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger during an attempt to recruit him as his new apprentice.

Later, Opress was acknowledged by a member of the Whills as a figure deserving of remembrance within galactic history.

Personality and traits

Savage Opress was a male Dathomirian [Zabrak], standing at a height of 1.89 meters, which is equivalent to 6 feet, 2 inches before his transformation, and 2.18 meters, or 7 feet, 2 inches after his transformation. Opress's skin was yellow, adorned with brown tattoos, and his eyes were initially a grayish-green, changing to yellow once he channeled the energy of the dark side. Opress shared a strong connection with his younger brother Feral, both residing in the Nightbrother Village. Feral possessed considerable physical strength, having survived the initial two trials of the Selection, but Opress proved to be the stronger of the two, holding his own against Ventress for a time and pleading with the witch to spare his brother's life during the final trial. After being taken to Mother Talzin, she employed her magic to enhance his height and physical power even further. Despite being created to serve as Dooku's new assassin, he maintained loyalty to Talzin and Asajj Ventress, with his actual objective being to assist Ventress in assassinating the Count.

After Opress became convinced that he was unable to defeat Dooku due to the Count's Force lightning, Ventress's screams ignited such rage within Opress that he turned against her, using the Force to choke both the witch and Dooku. Subsequently, after reuniting with his brother Maul, they forged a bond and collaborated as master and apprentice, adhering to the Sith's Rule of Two. After Opress sustained mortal wounds to his chest from Darth Sidious's lightsabers, he expressed regret for never having achieved equality with Maul. As he succumbed to his injuries, green mist, indicative of Nightsister magic, emanated from his body, and his armor vanished. His muscles and physique reverted to their pre-Nightsister ritual state, and Opress died as the man he was before becoming Ventress's pawn.

Powers and abilities

Savage Opress was a fearsome Sith warrior, skilled in the use of various weapons found in the Nightbrother village. He was also a proficient hand-to-hand combatant, employing the Nightbrother's fighting style, known for its acrobatics and agility. Consequently, Opress was regarded as one of the clan's finest fighters, capable of contending with Asajj Ventress even before his transformation. After Ventress chose Savage to be her apprentice, Mother Talzin employed magic to bestow upon him formidable abilities, transforming him into a terrifying adversary for the Jedi. Following his transformation, Savage's height increased significantly, his chest broadened, his arms grew stronger, and he developed a full crown of sharp, elongated horns, accompanied by substantial enhancements to his already impressive strength, durability, agility, and stamina.

Savage demonstrated proficiency as a lightsaber duelist. Dooku commenced training Savage Opress, who quickly became adept at wielding the double-bladed lightsaber, similar to his brother before him, a weapon known for its potential danger to the wielder. His combat style relied on his considerable strength, with Opress delivering powerful strikes and swiftly repelling opponents with raw kinetic energy. Opress quickly proved capable of fighting on par with skilled adversaries, including multiple opponents simultaneously, as demonstrated during encounters with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Toydaria and later on Dooku's ship. Alongside Ventress, Opress even managed to overpower and disarm Dooku, a highly skilled duelist, due to his immense strength. However, when Dooku began employing Force Lightning, Opress was significantly weakened and overwhelmed, acknowledging Dooku's superior power.

After joining his brother Maul, he continued his Sith training. Opress's abilities progressed rapidly, and he soon became capable of contending with and even defeating members of the Jedi Council, such as Kenobi, in combat. He even became skilled and powerful enough to kill Adi Gallia in a duel on Florrum, although he sustained a dislocated knee and severed arm from the Jedi Master in the process. When confronting Darth Sidious alongside his brother Maul, he demonstrated sufficient speed and skill to keep pace with the immensely powerful Dark Lord of the Sith. Opress fought valiantly alongside Maul and even knocked Sidious off a balcony with a headbutt, proving to be a formidable opponent for the Dark Lord. However, when separated from his brother, his exceptional strength and brutality were no match for Sidious's impeccable swordsmanship.

Beyond his capabilities as a lightsaber duelist, Opress possessed immense power in the Force and was strongly aligned with the dark side of the Force. He wielded sufficient telekinetic power to simultaneously lift and Force choke Dooku and Ventress when consumed by rage. He could also unleash a potent Force repulse capable of incapacitating battle droids and simultaneously pushing back Kenobi and Skywalker. Opress could hurl his lightsaber with deadly accuracy, decapitating Black Sun members with a single throw at his brother's command.

Equipment

Before his transformation, Savage donned simple rags similar to those worn by his Nightbrother counterparts and wielded rudimentary, archaic weapons such as an ax. Upon undergoing his transformation, Mother Talzin presented Savage with a custom-designed suit of armor and a spear. The armor was remarkably durable, capable of withstanding blaster fire and the acid rains of Lotho Minor. The armor seemingly vanished upon Savage's death at the hands of Darth Sidious. Savage employed the spear during the Devaron massacre, slaying several clone troopers and two members of the Jedi Order with the enchanted weapon.

Subsequently, after the Devaron massacre, Savage adopted a crimson double-bladed lightsaber in place of the enchanted spear bestowed upon him by Talzin, wielding the weapon until his demise at the hands of Darth Sidious. After betraying Ventress and Dooku, Savage returned to Dathomir and received the Talisman of Finding from Mother Talzin. The talisman served as a compass that ultimately guided Opress to Lotho Minor and his long-lost brother Maul.

During his apprenticeship under Count Dooku, Opress piloted a Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop akin to his master's vessel. Opress utilized the ship for travel to and from Devaron and Toydaria, and later escaped Tyranus' Providence-class Dreadnought aboard the solar sailor.

For his expedition to Lotho Minor, Opress commandeered a hijacked Turtle Tanker. He also employed the Turtle Tanker for travel to Dathomir and later Raydonia. Following their confrontation with Kenobi and Ventress, Opress and Maul abandoned the tanker in favor of a YV-865 Aurore-class freighter. The brothers utilized the YV-865 for travel to Florrum; however, it was subsequently damaged beyond repair by the Ohnaka Gang on the planet's surface.

Behind the scenes

Development

Clancy Brown, a prolific voice actor, lent his voice to Savage Opress in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, making his debut in the episode "Monster." Savage Opress's introduction in the series, along with the recommendations of George Lucas, played a key role in bringing Maul back into the series after his presumed death in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

Early concepts for the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twin Suns" included Maul experiencing Force visions of both Opress and Satine Kryze before his confrontation with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine. Unlike Kryze, Opress nearly progressed to the design phase before Dave Filoni decided against it, believing that the already lengthy episode lacked the time to adequately explain Savage's origins, as they couldn't risk alienating new Star Wars fans who might be confused by Opress's sudden appearance.

The Witches of Dathomir Squad Pack for Star Wars: Shatterpoint identifies Oppress as Talzin's eldest son. However, the preview databank entry for the set indicated that Maul was his older brother. This article refrains from definitively stating which is correct.

Non-canonical information

In the LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales episode "Crisis on Coruscant," Savage Opress was present on Geonosis alongside numerous other Separatist operatives, seated at a table within a room of a factory as General Grievous presented top-secret Republic plans to Count Dooku. As Opress and the other Separatists prepared to view the plans, R2-D2—disguised as a Separatist astromech droid—instead played footage of several Ewoks dancing. A group of Jedi—led by Yoda—subsequently arrived, and Opress initially engaged in combat with Ki-Adi-Mundi. The factory soon exploded after R2-D2 became entangled in some of its gears, forcing the Jedi, C-3PO, and R2-D2 to escape with the plans while the Separatists fled on their own. C-3PO later recounted this narrative to Admiral Gial Ackbar during the Imperial Era.