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Jan 22, 2024 · The Sith You May Have Missed In Star Wars Prequels Explained. Asajj Ventress, a hidden Sith character, will be explored further in upcoming Star Wars TV shows, expanding on her sprawling story and fan-favorite status. Ventress's origins lie with the Nightsisters of Dathomir, and her journey involved becoming a Jedi, then Count Dooku's Sith ...
Oct 12, 2011 · In the case of Asaaj Ventress, she is a dark jedi/ Sith aspirant. Another term is that she is a dark side adept. Ventress is also Dooku's "secret" apprentice. She is Dooku's assassin, not a Sith. Dooku/Darth Tyranus hopes to use her to beat Palpatine/Sidious. Only then could Dooku make Ventress his true apprentice.
- Overview
- Biography
- Personality and traits
- Powers and abilities
- Equipment
- Behind the scenes
- Appearances
- Sources
"None of this was my choice! I never asked to be ripped away from my home! From…my family. You'll never know what it's like."
"I wish I didn't…but I do."
―Pluma Sodi and Asajj Ventress
Asajj Ventress was a Force-sensitive Dathomirian female who was, at various points throughout her life, a Nightsister, a Jedi Padawan, a Dark Jedi and commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems military and a bounty hunter. In the final decades of the Galactic Republic's reign, Ventress was born into a clan of magick-wielding Nightsister witches led by Mother Talzin on the planet Dathomir. When she was only a baby, her coven was forced to surrender her to the criminal Hal'Sted, who spirited Ventress away from her sisters to the war-torn world of Rattatak where she was enslaved in his service. She was orphaned when her master was killed by Weequay pirates, but was later discovered by the Jedi Knight Ky Narec, who was stranded on Rattatak and waging a battle against the pirate marauders.
Narec raised Ventress and taught her to use the Force in the ways of the Jedi Order, and together they protected the populace of Rattatak and fought back against the predatory attacks of pirates and warlords alike. After a decade of helping the local population, Ventress was orphaned once more when Narec was killed by pirates seeking to end the Jedi's crusade on their world. Enraged by the loss and bereft of guidance, Ventress embraced the dark side of the Force, deposing the local warlords and ruling in their stead. She was ultimately captured while attempting to assassinate the warlord Osika Kirske, who forced her to fight as a gladiator in his arena. She was eventually discovered by the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus—publicly known as Count Dooku, who used her as an assassin of the Sith, and entered his tutelage as his aspiring apprentice.
When the pan-galactic Clone Wars erupted between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy, Ventress rose to become one of the military leaders of its droid armies. Her exploits brought her into conflict with the Jedi Order and she became renowned for her skill and cruelty as she waged war against the Republic. She frequently crossed lightsabers with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, heroes of the Republic who were often assigned to counter Ventress' efforts. Although she was highly talented and saw success in the kidnapping of Rotta the Hutt, the rescue of Nute Gunray, and the infiltration of the Republic fortress world of Kamino, Ventress was repeatedly forced to compete for her Master's favor against military leader General Grievous.
The Lost Sister
"When I was an infant, my clan was forced to surrender me to a criminal. I became his slave, but he was a surprisingly kind master. He was killed when I was still quite young during an attack by Weequay raiders. I was rescued by a Jedi Knight named Ky Narec, who sensed that I was strong in the Force. He was stranded on Rattatak, and he took me under his wing. I became his Padawan." ―Asajj Ventress In 50 BBY, the female Dathomirian Asajj Ventress was born on the planet Dathomir in the twilight years of the Galactic Republic. Dathomir, which was outside of Republic space, was ruled by the Nightsisters, a clan of witches that used the Force in the form of magick to manipulate their environment and control their male counterparts, the Nightbrothers. Ventress' mother belonged to the coven under the leadership of Mother Talzin, a powerful spellcaster and former associate of the Sith Order. While Ventress was still an infant, Talzin's clan came under a threat associated with the Siniteen criminal Hal'Sted. In order to ensure her people's safety, Talzin arranged for Ventress' mother to surrender the young girl to Hal'Sted. The Siniteen ferried the enslaved Ventress to the war-torn world of Rattatak, where Ventress lived with him for several years and appreciated his surprising kindness as a master. In reality, however, he was trying to turn her into a living weapon. Her new homeworld was a violent land, ruled by warlords and wracked by repeated raids from Weequay pirate bands. When Ventress was six years old, in 44 BBY, Hal'Sted was killed during a pirate uprising. Ventress discovered her captor's body and grieved his passing, but she was alerted by the arrival of Ky Narec, a Jedi Knight who had been stranded on Rattatak and resolved to combat the pirate menace. When he too was attacked by a Weequay, Ventress called upon previously untapped Force power to throw the pirate into the air and across several houses. Recognizing her potential in the Force, Narec took the child into his care and made her his Jedi Padawan. Unknown to her at the time, Narec had been the one who killed Hal'Sted, rather than the pirates. For twenty-one years, Narec trained the young Dathomirian in the ways of the Jedi Order. Together they worked to protect the people of Rattatak from the pirates and warlords that preyed on them, becoming heroes to many and enemies of those who would visit violence on the local people. Narec tutored his apprentice in lightsaber combat with a blade of her own, and the use of the Force, and although very skilled, Ventress was ultimately unable to avoid being orphaned once more. While the two were battling another raid by Weequay pirates, Narec was shot in the back and killed. The loss devastated Ventress, and she took up her fallen Master's lightsaber and killed Narec's assailants. Bereft of guidance and with only an introductory training of the power of the Force, the young Dathomirian embraced the dark side and waged a war of vengeance against the pirates and warlords that controlled Rattatak. She ultimately deposed all of the planet's warmongers and ruled in their place, claiming the world as her own. However, when she attempted to assassinate a remaining warlord—a Vollick named Osika Kirske, who had ordered the death of her master—she failed. She was captured and forced to fight as a gladiator in his arena with a stun collar around her neck. Her power in the dark side eventually attracted the attention of an offworlder—the Serenno noble Count Dooku, who was further impressed by how she had conquered Rattatak.
Legacy
"Next you're going to tell me that you weren't planning to mention Captain Rex, Ahsoka, Ventress, Cad Bane, Savage Opress, Jar Jar, and the Mandalorians?" "Well... I guess I could always go back and tell their stories later." "Out of order?" ―A Whill, to another Ventress proved to be remembered long after the Clone Wars. Her image was printed upon a playing card included in a set that also used an image of Sidious. During the mutiny on Mon Cala, a group of four stormtroopers were in the middle of a card game, with both the Sidious and Ventress cards in one trooper's hand. However, their game was interrupted when Han Solo and Leia Organa breached the room and stunned the four soldiers. Sometime after the Galactic Civil War's Battle of Endor, she was mentioned by a member of the Whills as someone to be remembered in galactic history.
Disciple of darkness
"You've never been afraid of anything, Asajj Ventress." "You're wrong. I was terrified." "Of what?" "Of losing you. I've been lying for so long. It's second nature to me. We learned to trust each other, but what I felt…I was so scared. I was afraid to tell you about Tholme because I thought you'd hate me. I'd only just learned how to trust and care about someone again, and I…I couldn't bear the thought that if you really knew me, knew what I had done, you'd despise me." ―Quinlan Vos and Ventress As a child Ventress was kind and caring, but became dark and brooding after the death of her master, Ky Narec. Giving in to rage and resentment, she subsequently spiraled into darkness and developed a strong will to survive. For a time, she heard the voice of Narec in her mind, urging her away from the dark side. However, after learning Narec had been the one who killed Hal'Sted, she rejected his guidance, giving herself fully to her anger. She grew to believe that the Jedi Code and Jedi disciplines were overrated lies that prevented someone from achieving full power. Because of this, she believed the Jedi would not be able to stop her and believed selflessness made one vulnerable. Known to be quick to anger, Ventress could easily be infuriated, such as when her formidable lightsaber skills were described to her as those of an amateur by Luminara Unduli. Despite her quick temper, she was very cunning and swift, allowing her to outsmart most foes. She also had a modicum of respect for her opponents, believing Aayla Secura deserved a dignified death. Ventress could also be vindictive and inconsiderate. After being betrayed, abandoned and nearly killed by Dooku, Ventress desired to kill him and went to the Nightsisters to find a way to defeat her former master. She recruited Savage Opress and treated him like a slave, which ultimately caused him to turn against her.
Attachment, loss, and letting go
"You've told me your existence has been nothing but pain and loss. Never feeling secure. Never having a home. You deserve so much, and I can get it for us. The life we'll be able to have together once—" "What kind of life will that be, Quinlan? The kind where we're slaves to our hatred? Our rage? That's what the dark side made me. That's what it does. Nothing is ever enough. You get more, and more, but you're never happy. It's a trap baited with all the things you want most in life—and it's not worth living. I already left that behind." ―Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress After becoming a bounty hunter, her attitude softened somewhat, as seen when she allowed Pluma Sodi to return to her people. Likewise, she lost interest in killing some of her former enemies, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano. In fact, she rescued Kenobi from Darth Maul and Opress, more interested in the latter's bounty reward than her previous enmity with the Jedi Master. On the other hand, she helped Tano, as she empathized with the Padawan's situation, likening it to her own with Count Dooku. She also incapacitated a group of clones without seriously harming any of them, and implied that not killing people was her new modus operandi. As she distanced herself more and more from her time under Dooku, Ventress, to highlight her misunderstood status, used a snake as the icon on her bounty hunter armor; they were thought to be evil, even when they were not. Glad to have a reason to have a new weapon after losing her red ones on Coruscant, she came to wield a unique lightsaber with a pale yellow blade. The color reassured Ventress that she had indeed left behind her life as a pawn of the Sith. Additionally, its yellow color equally showed her she had not been pushed towards the Jedi; Ventress' lightsaber showed she was no Jedi nor Sith, she was simply herself. During her encounter with Ohnaka Gang, Ventress changing her allegiances and lightsaber did nothing to make her less dangerous. She was also, to her surprise, happy to replace her old red lightsabers after spending a time inconvenienced by their loss. She also realized the red blades had been her last physical link to her time as Dooku's apprentice, and she was pleased to find her new lightsaber produced a pale yellow blade. Needing to pretend to be a captured Jedi to fool the Ohnaka Gang was not a part she was rather comfortable taking on, but she did so nevertheless, and her yellow lightsaber—the design of which was symbolic of her state of mind—made the act more convincing. Near the end of the war, as she traveled with Quinlan Vos to assassinate Count Dooku, her more compassionate and trusting side was even more strengthened—to the point of her developing a romantic attraction to him, with the two eventually becoming lovers. She sacrificed herself to save Vos, who was influenced by the dark side, fully redeeming herself into the light.
Lightsaber abilities
"Do you think you'll still be able to call on the Force once I've separated your head from your body?" "Even with my vision clouded, I recognize the fighting style of Count Dooku. Your version is unrefined, amateurish, sloppy." ―Ventress and Luminara Unduli Ventress was exceptionally skilled with her blades Asajj Ventress was a master of Jar'Kai, a style she acquired after the death of her first master, Ky Narec, taking up his lightsaber alongside her own. Under Count Dooku, the mechanisms in her new curved lightsabers enabled her to combine them into a bizarre, though effective, S-shaped double-bladed weapon known as a split saber. These red blades became her distinctive weapon. Under the tutelage of Dooku, Ventress learned to utilize Form II. However, her technique still was not without its flaws; notably her version was criticized by a temporarily blinded Luminara Unduli as being "unrefined," "amateurish," and "sloppy." By the time of their duel, Ventress had already developed a physical strength to hold up simultaneous bladelocks with multiple duelists at a time, and Ahsoka Tano recognized her as "too powerful for any one Jedi to fight alone." Aayla Secura also recognized that she had significant raw power. Ventress proved a match for both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in many of their encounters. On Teth, she disarmed Kenobi—a member of the Jedi Council—who later deprived her of one of her weapons in return. She was able to contend with General Grievous, as she gained the upper hand and cut one of his robotic arms in a lightsaber duel. She could throw her lightsaber and recall it back to her with the Force. In one instance, Ventress managed to wield her final lightsaber with both hands tied behind her back, all the while fighting off the Ohnaka Gang. Assisted by the Force, she detected the direction of blaster bolts and used the blade to deflect them as well as make physical contact with a few pirates.
Force powers
"When Ky Narec was killed, I allowed my hatred to take over. Hatred gave me access to abilities the Jedi think are too unnatural. But the Sith know that hatred is the path to ultimate power." ―Asajj Ventress Ventress was viewed by Obi-Wan Kenobi as having immense willpower, with more experience in the Force than many Jedi Knights. Darth Sidious himself sensed that the Dathomirian was growing more powerful and feared that his apprentice, Darth Tyranus, would use her to help overthrow him as Dark Lord of the Sith. All of this had been in due part to her close connection with the dark side. She did not often employ the taming beasts power but could successfully use it. Ventress displayed a great aptitude for Force-enhanced jumps, frequently employing them during her duels. She was also skilled with telekinesis, as witnessed when she lifted Captain Rex in the air, while simultaneously choking him. Later, the assassin proved herself capable of Force-choking and telekinetically levitating Skywalker and Kenobi simultaneously, when fueled by her rage, pain and desperation. Shortly after, she used that same power on Ratch and his three men, this time achieving a lethal result. Ventress demonstrated an aptitude for using mind tricks, though Rex was able to avoid her influence when contacting Skywalker.
Other skills
Ventress also displayed skill in unarmed combat, being able to easily fight a group of Nightbrothers when she was looking for a suitable servant on Dathomir. Her hand-to-hand combat skills were later displayed when she fought Savage Opress and Maul alongside Kenobi, dodging Opress' aggressive blows and striking back with a flurry of punches and kicks until Kenobi returned her lightsaber to her. Ventress also demonstrated piloting skills when flying a Ginivex-class fanblade starfighter and the Banshee, a Lancer-class pursuit craft.
As a Jedi, Ventress used a green-bladed lightsaber during her apprenticeship under Ky Narec. After Narec was shot and killed by a Weequay pirate raider in battle, Ventress took up her master's own green-bladed lightsaber together with her own to enact her vengeance upon the raiders. Dooku later gave her two red curved-hilt lightsabers as a gift upon taking her on as his own Sith apprentice. Later when Ventress and her clan sisters attempted to assassinate Dooku for betraying and abandoning her; she wielded a Jedi lightsaber with a blue-blade. One that was provided to her by Mother Talzin in order to convince Dooku that the infiltrators and would-be assassins were Jedi. During her career as a bounty hunter, she used a full face mask with a voice modulator, but lost this along with her dual red lightsabers to Barriss Offee.
Ventress later acquired for herself a new yellow-bladed lightsaber from the black market. The yellow lightsaber's design provided a great deal of information about Ventress' own state of being. Ventress typically wore the weapon openly, though during the mission to infiltrate Dooku's high society gala on to Raxus she strapped the blade to her upper left thigh, concealed under her dress. Nevertheless, she continued her tradition of being nothing if not practical through its design, as she could easily reach the lightsaber hilt through a side seam. During the Imperial Era, she wielded a new yellow lightsaber with a curved hilt akin to her red lightsabers' hilts.
Conception and design
Asajj Ventress debuted in the current canon continuity in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, in which she was voiced by Nika Futterman. Futterman knew only as much as the audience regarding the character and for her portrayal simply assumed that Ventress had a difficult childhood. The character was created for the 2003 Star Wars Legends animated television series Star Wars: Clone Wars. The name "Ventress" was suggested by Samuel C. Spitale, naming her after the town of Ventress in the state of Louisiana because it reminded him of "the voodoo queen" Marie Laveau. Her first name, "Asajj," was proposed by Leland Chee after the character Asaji (浅茅) from Akira Kurosawa's 1957 film Throne of Blood, in turn based on William Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth from the seventeenth-century play Macbeth. Her design originated as concept art by Dermot Power for a potential female Sith Lord during the development of the 2002 prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. However, the character was abandoned in favor of Count Dooku upon the casting of Christopher Lee in that role. Power wanted the Sith's earlier designs to look almost as if she was a samurai. Ventress' costume at the beginning of The Clone Wars episode "Nightsisters" was a direct recreation of the outfit she wore in her initial concept art and early Legends appearances. Chris Glenn designed her costume for the episode "Bounty." The outfit was accented with leggings with a pattern that resembled the red piping on Han Solo's trousers. The shoulder plate of the costume had an illustration of a black snake that represented Ventress' character as a misunderstood creature that is commonly assumed to be dangerous. The helmet worn by Ventress in the Clone Wars episode "To Catch a Jedi" was designed by Dave Filoni, Chris Glenn, and Darren Marshall. In Legends, Ventress first encountered Anakin Skywalker during a duel on Yavin 4, while Skywalker and Kenobi's first encounter with Ventress in canon was part of a mission to Cato Neimoidia in the novel Brotherhood. However, author Mike Chen revealed that Skywalker's mention of fighting other agents of Dooku by that point can be read as a reference to the Yavin 4 duel; as Chen explained, the duel can still have happened in canon, but Skywalker was unable to see his opponent was Ventress because of the rain and darkness around them. Indeed, in Brotherhood, Skywalker also notes that he thinks he has seen Ventress' fanblade starfighter before, and Ventress displays a familiarity with him by revealing that she knows his name, much to Skywalker's surprise.
Dark Disciple
, the 2015 novel focusing on the character, is based upon eight episodes planned for the unfinished seventh and eighth seasons of The Clone Wars. The first illustration showing Ventress with her hair grown out was also developed for the series. Dave Filoni explained Ventress' shaved head symbolized her loyalty to the Sith philosophy. The Official Star Wars Fact File Part 112 states that Ventress built and designed the yellow lightsaber she wielded in the novel. According to it, after she acquired the kyber crystal under unknown means, the kyber, as always, had taken its color from the emotions of its wielder, which was why it was yellow. However, Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition later confirmed she did indeed secure the yellow lightsaber on the black market, as she had claimed in Dark Disciple. Ventress' yellow lightsaber was designed by Will Nichols for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. It was scheduled to appear in eight episodes starring Ventress and Quinlan Vos. The show was canceled, however, before the episodes were finished and the story was instead adapted into the novel Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. Nichols posted the concept design of the lightsaber in his portfolio in 2016. The lightsaber's concept design was later used in the revived Season 7 of The Clone Wars, being used as half of Maul's lightsaber.
Fate and future
"We don't want to spoil anything, but want fans to know that any new storytelling with Ventress will align with the events of Star Wars: Dark Disciple." ―Brad Rau, on The Bad Batch Season 3 Ventress was going to be revealed to have survived her fate in Dark Disciple to make an appearance in Star Wars Resistance, specifically the episode "The Relic Raiders." In this appearance she would have dueled Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. Her role however was later changed to accommodate the original character Mika Grey instead. The decision was apparently made by Dave Filoni, who had earlier pitched her appearance on the show. Filoni's reasoning for ultimately not including Ventress was based around the notion that Ventress' appearance would take too much attention away from the main cast. Ventress eventually made her return to animation with 2024's The Bad Batch Season 3, which would align with previous storytelling from Dark Disciple, in which she apparently died. Her Databank entry on StarWars.com was updated, removing the mention of her "giving her life" to instead more vaguely note she "sacrificed herself" by taking most of Dooku's Force lightning. The entry teased her return by noting that her sacrifice was not the end of her story. In an interview with TheDirect, Bad Batch Supervising Director Brad Rau, after once more affirming they would not contradict Dark Disciple, teased that Ventress could return in future projects: he stated that The Bad Batch would not answer every question fans had and that those may instead be addressed in other stories.
Non-canon appearances
•LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales — "Crisis on Coruscant" (In flashback(s)) ••LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (DLC) •LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (DLC)
Non-canon sources
•Art Prints (Pack: Asajj Ventress: Ascension) (backup link) •Star Wars Mythos (Pack: Asajj Ventress Mythos Statue) (backup link)
Asajj Ventress. A former Jedi Padawan turned assassin, Asajj Ventress was trained in the ways of the dark side by Count Dooku. For many years, she yearned to be considered a true Sith, secretly acting as Dooku’s apprentice. During the time of the Clone Wars, Ventress fought for the Separatists, clashing with Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi and ...
Jan 25, 2024 · While Asajj never became a true Sith Lord, as the Sith's Rule of Two wouldn't allow for more than one Master and Apprentice at a time, she became Count Dooku's Dark Side acolyte and personal assassin. Naturally, this made her an important figurehead once the Clone Wars broke out — even if a rather secretive one — including becoming the commander of Dooku's droid army and the Sith's hitwoman.
Jan 30, 2024 · Asajj Ventress was initially created for Genndy Tartakovsky’s 2003 Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network as a Force-wielding villain on the side of the Separatists, intended as a rival for Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. She was an apprentice of sorts to Count Dooku, but did not hold the title of Sith as the Rule of Two didn’t allow for a third Sith.
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Asajj Ventress (/ əˈsɑːʒ ˈvɛntrəs /) is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. She was introduced in Genndy Tartakovsky 's 2003 animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars (voiced by Grey DeLisle). The character later appeared in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the 2008 television series of the same ...
