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Star Wars Finally Reveals General Grievous' TRUE Face
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Wars Age of Republic - General Grievous
The Star Wars villain may only have appeared in one actual movie, but General Grievous was instantly one of the saga's most memorable. Now that his true face has been revealed beneath his famous mask, however, fans may wish to forget it.
The commander of Count Dooku's massive Droid Army blurs the line between organic and robotic, intentionally difficult for audiences to tell where the robotic limbs and upgrades end, and where the living being that was once Grievous actually begins. Nowhere is the point clearer than when it comes to his face. Because the world may only know his 'face' as the metallic mask that strikes fear into his enemies… but his original face has finally been officially revealed in his very own Star Wars comic.
BEFORE GENERAL GRIEVOUS WAS A CYBORG
The mystery surrounding the alien race to which General Grievous originally belonged, and how much he may still resemble it, has been briefly touched upon in The Clone Wars series. According to the official Star Wars canon, Grievous is (or) was a member of the Kaleesh, physically defined as such by Wookieepedia:
"...a species of red-skinned humanoid reptilians from the planet Kalee, in Wild Space. They had two yellow eyes with slit pupils. Although all of their facial features were reminiscent of bats, such as their elongated ears and flat noses, the Kaleesh usually wore masks. They were digitigrades, walking on their toes rather than their entire feet, and they possessed a brain, a heart and lungs. They were known for their lack of mercy."
The closest that fans previously got to seeing the face of Grievous unmasked, or any other member of his race came in the Clone Wars episode entitled "Lair of Grievous," when Jedi forces infiltrated Grievous’ personal stronghold. His living space was decorated with heroic statues of warriors vanquishing their foes, but fans still had to assume that they represented Grievous personally, and not other members of his race or family. And that unanswered question is actually the first to be addressed by Grievous in Star Wars: Age of the Republic - General Grievous.
In the story titled “Burn” by Jody Houser, Luke Ross, and Java Tartaglia, General Grievous ambushes a Jedi Master and their Padawan who have come to the planet Ledeve in search of a mysterious Force temple. Deciding that a temple may be an even better way to humiliate the Jedi he despises, Grievous seeks it out. When he finds statues of past Jedi Masters lining its halls, he destroys them--but not before remarking that he, too, has statues of similar scale and quality at home. Statues that he has “earned,” seeming to confirm that the appearance of the head-wrapped, scimitar-swinging warrior truly is him, prior to his robotic augmentations.
Thankfully, the storytellers give eager fans a much better image of the face beneath the mask of Grievous once he finally arrives at the Force anomaly around which the temple is built. And trust us, neither readers nor Grievous himself are ready to see it.
THE FACE OF GENERAL GRIEVOUS IS REVEALED
Fans who would prefer to leave their mental image of General Grievous as his final form (a cluster of organs and a head piloting a massive Droid body) can stop reading here. Even if it only makes obvious sense in hindsight, there was really no way that Grievous’ biological face could measure up to the mask he actually got to choose. But this comic is not intended to grow the legend of Grievous, or make him into an antihero like Darth Vader. The goal is to show the Grievous fans know: angry, envious, intensely insecure, and suffering from unparalleled rage issues and a need to prove himself.
So when he arrives at the Force anomaly in the heart of the temple, he decides it is not match for him, and leaps in. Upon entering the realm of the Force beyond, Grievous finds himself completely helpless for the first time in… well, maybe ever. Such is the power of the Force, and the voice it takes to pierce straight through to the heart of the man Grievous used to be. Since the Force can see through all of the artificial and intimidation he hurls at his enemies, Grievous is instantly transformed into a plaything to be toyed with, objecting and uttering threats every step of the way.
And as the half-cyborg leader disbelieves it as “impossible,” the Force restores his original body (whether literally, or just to his and the reader's perception) back to its natural state, and Grievous back into his traditional, non-droid armor and clothing. Not to mention removing his mask, showing the face to which his famously slitted, reptilian eyes belong. Have a look for yourselves, and end the mystery once and for all:
We don't know if it's rude to say that the natural face of General Grievous is infinitely less intimidating than most fans will expect, although it does place his native species alongside many other similar peoples in the Star Wars Universe. Perhaps it's actually a compliment to say that Grievous’ reputation is greatly aided by his mechanical body and mask... since it means he made the right call in ‘upgrading’ himself one piece at a time. Combined with his eyes and his voice, and his murky mix of organic and Droid physiology likely IS what makes him so nightmarish. Even in the galaxy far, far away, that's a level of body horror that even the scorched Anakin Skywalker rarely reaches.
No matter how he may actually feel about it, the Star Wars canon has an official image of Grievous in and out of his mask. If that doesn't make you want to hunt down some Jedi, defeat them in a wildly lopsided lightsaber fight, and then cough your guts out, we don't know what will.
Star Wars: Age of the Republic - General Grievous is available now from your local comic book shop, and directly from Marvel Comics.
