10 Star Wars Villains Who Weren't As Evil As You Think

You may think all of these Star Wars baddies are as vile and detestable as they come

but the truth is a little more complex, and highlights how these bounty hunters

Sith and soldiers, weren't quite as evil as you've been led to believe

So I'm Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 Star Wars Villains Who Weren't As Evil As You Think

10. Jango Fett Long before his baby boy became one of the galaxy's most feared bounty hunters

Jango Fett could be found helping the likes of Count Dooku slash Darth Tyranus

playing a part in the attempts to assassinate Padme Amidala and clashing with a few Jedi during Episode 2, Attack of the Clones

All that tells the story of a Beskar-sporting bounty hunter who didn't care which side of the fight he was on, only that he got paid

But there was actually a lot more to the genetic template for the entire clone army than that

On top of being classed as an honorable man by old friend slash pirate Hondo Onaka

Jango evidently cared for his additional request after agreeing to be the clone's genetic template

his unaltered clone son Boba. Jango took the time to train and raise his boy

teaching him valuable combat skills and the ruthlessness needed to survive in this unforgiving galaxy

before his shocking death via lightsaber on Geonosis. Again, the Mandalorian armor-wearing mercenary wasn't what you class as a perfect role model by any means

But he clearly loved his boy and had an excellent relationship with his clone son

Number 9, Maul When he first strutted into the Skywalker saga during Episode 1, The Phantom Menace

Darth Maul looked and felt every bit like the personification of pure evil

However, in the wake of relentlessly doing his master's bidding and cutting down a beloved Jedi

master in that flick, fans began to learn more about the sliced-in-half Sith Lord and his rather

tragic backstory. You see, Maul was actually the son of a rather powerful Nightsister leader known as Mother Talzin

and there was even a time there when Darth Sidious himself considered making her his apprentice before the time of the prequels

with Sheev Palpatine instead sensing the potential within her baby boy, and stealing him away to mold the Dathomirian into his new apprentice

Along with being dragged away from his family at a young age, and manipulated into despising the Jedi Order by his horrible master

the hate-filled Maul would also later watch one of the only people he truly cared about

his brother Savage Opress, be murdered by Sidious during the Clone Wars

He still did some absolutely diabolical things during his quest for revenge

against both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Palpatine, of course, killing Duchess Satine Kryze and blinding Kanan Jarrus over the years

But this consumed-by-pain dark side user never asked to be thrown onto this path

and have his life gradually destroyed by a cackling Sith Lord. Oh yeah, and speaking of Sith Lords, who is your favorite of all time

You let me know in the comments section right down below. Number 8, Balen Skull

Cutting through a number of New Republic officers and clearly stating he and his apprentice were anything but Jedi during his first on moments in the Star Wars universe Bale and Skull swiftly became yet another hugely fascinating villain within the galaxy far far away during the first season of Ahsoka

Far from just being yet another cold gun, or should that be lightsaber, far higher

there was far more to this one-time Jedi Order member than met the eye

After somehow surviving the purge that wiped most of the Jedi from the galaxy

Skull became a mercenary and would eventually join forces with Morgan Elsbeth

as the Nightsister looked to locate the lost Grand Admiral Thrawn. But it soon became clear that Skull only wanted to discover the Chiss' location on Peridia

as he felt it would lead to a great power that called to him. That power wasn't one that he desired so that he could rule the galaxy, however

It was one he felt could break the cycle of orders falling and empires rising

Balen may have assisted the baddies throughout that Disney Plus show, and murdered a few people along the way

but Skull is still a man who tries his best not to repeat the mistakes of the past

or kill his fellow Jedi, and is determined to create a better tomorrow

even if his methods are a little questionable at times. Number 7, Barriss Offee

Speaking of Jedi who ultimately became disenchanted with the Order, former Jedi Knight Barriss Offee was once a dedicated member of the side

seemingly fighting the good fight. However, she'd eventually go down in history

as the person responsible for bombing the Jedi Temple during the Clone Wars animated series

with it being revealed that the frustrated Force user had framed her pal Ahsoka Tano

to make it look like she was behind the shocking attack. At a glance, anyone who opts to target the place

where the current and next generation of Jedi were taught may seem like a piece of work

but once Offi finally stepped forward and explained her violent actions, it soon became apparent that the Jedi weren't dealing

with a purely evil figure here. this traitor had simply become disillusioned with the Order

feeling the people she'd been trained by were the ones responsible for the Clone War

Offey explained how the Order had become the villains in the conflict, and that all of the members within the organization should be put on trial

for their part in the battles going on around the galaxy. And while you can't exactly condone the murdering of her fellow Jedi to get her message across

Offey definitely had a point. The Jedi had lost their way, and had now become an army rather than keepers of the peace

Number 6, Armitage Hux General Armitage Hux wasn't always the ruthless and horrendous bloke

found blowing up multiple planets in the sequel trilogy. Long before he became a high-ranking officer within the villainous organization

young Armitage was savagely bullied and abused by his own father, Commandant Brendol Hux

He would be physically and verbally assaulted by his dad, with Armitage also having to deal with the gossip that came with being a child

Hooks unquestionably did some rather unforgivable things during the years that would follow that cruel upbringing

Even murdering his own father Brendol at one point with a little help from Captain Phasma

But after spending those formative years being physically abused and called pathetic and useless by his lovely daddy You do still have to feel a little sorry for that innocent kid who eventually grew up to become a rather sensitive and volatile military leader

Underneath all that screaming and backstabbing was just a young lad who needed a hug

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for more WhatCulture Star Wars in your life. Number 5, Cyril Kahn

From an abusive father creating a bit of a Star Wars monster, to an abusive mother doing precisely the same thing in the first season of Andor

Throughout that Disney Plus show, Cyril Kahn is shown to be a ridiculously obsessive civil servant

determined to prove himself to those in a position of power within the Empire. He's a little creepy, sure, stalking ISB supervisor Dedra Miro

and this unsettling antagonist also becomes entirely obsessed with capturing Cassian Andor

as he looks to be of service to his Empire. But the more you yse the character's relationship with his mother, Edie

the easier it is to understand this dangerously needy soul. Cyril didn't grow up with a father, according to the star playing the character Kyle Soller

meaning he was raised by his stage mother from hell, as he put it. And as seen during the scenes involving Cyril and his mom

Edie is quick to physically abuse her boy, undermine him, and regularly make him feel like he will never be enough

After all that and what must have been a rough upbringing, it's no wonder the guy spends the majority of his life trying to impress those above him

He's not a purely evil presence in this galaxy far, far away

He's just a rather intense man trying to fill a hole in himself, as Sola put it

4. Slick Introduced as one of the many clone troopers seen fighting alongside the Jedi during the Clone Wars animated series

Clone Sergeant Slick would eventually be revealed as a traitor to both the Order and the Republic

But it wasn't that Slick simply wanted to earn some money, and was willing to stab the Jedi and his clone brothers in the back

by leaking information to Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku's right-hand woman, to do so

this clone was just tired of following orders, and he wanted to save the rest of his fellow soldiers from the war that was taking so many of their lives

Admittedly, his attempts to bring down the Jedi, who he felt were enslaving himself and his brothers

actually ended up putting them all at risk. But much like Barriss Offee, he did have a point

The clones were being treated no better than the Separatist battle droids throughout the war

And this clone spy Slick just wanted himself and the brothers he loved to be free from the war they were being forced to fight for the Jedi and the Republic

Number 3, Grievous Anyone who has enjoyed the prequel ending ride that is Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith

will know that the terrifying General Grievous isn't the biggest fan of the Jedi Order

But why was he so obsessed with hunting down Jedi and stealing their lightsabers

Well, it turns out that the Order did him dirty before his prequel's debut. His people on the planet Kali found themselves being invaded by the Yamri race

from the world of Hook, and Grievous eventually led his people against those invaders

pushing them off his homeworld and back to their own. Now sure, Grievous probably didn't need to then unleash all hell on the planet Hook in the aftermath

but the people of Kali had every right to be a little upset after being targeted by the Yamri first In the end though those same Yamri ultimately asked for backup from the Republic

leading to the Jedi intervening as the Khaleesh were fined and punished for their actions

The fact hundreds of thousands of his people died due to the starvation caused by the Jedi helping out their enemies

understandably left Grievous holding quite the grudge against the Keepers of the Peace

Like a lot of the folks on this list, he still did an awful lot of absolutely unforgivable things over the years

But he was far from a mindless killer, he was a devastated Kaleesh looking to avenge his people

2. Morgan Elsbeth While on the subject of General Grievous doing some pretty horrific things over the years

that Kaleesh warrior all but wiped out the Nightsisters of Dathomir during the Clone Wars

However, one of the human survivors of that massacre would ultimately do everything in her power to avenge her fallen sisters

Though that awful event did eventually lead to the Mandalorian and Ahsoka's Morgan Elsbeth

joining forces with the oppressive Empire throughout their reign. Searching for, finding and eventually helping Grand Admiral Thrawn return to the galaxy far, far away

fans know and love, was certainly not the most heroic move, admittedly

But Elsbeth wasn't just driven by the pursuit of power in the end. The Great Mothers on Peridia had been secretly communicating with and guiding Elsbeth in another galaxy

with Morgan eventually helping make the Eye of Sion that would transport her crew to Thrawn and those Nightsisters far, far away

And though the eventual official Nightsister would ultimately die before getting to see those mothers return to her homeworld

her vital sacrifice helped Thrawn and those other Nightsisters return to Dathomir

By that point, she was willing to pay the ultimate price to ensure the potential future of her people

and prove she was far more than just a selfish villain looking out for herself and the Empire

Put simply, this survivor was just doing it all for Dathomir. Number 1, Count Dooku

Once a respected member of the Jedi Order trained by Master Yoda himself

Count Dooku eventually walked away from it all after sensing the corruption within the Galactic Senate

He would obviously end up becoming Darth Sidious' next apprentice post-Mall being sliced in two in the wake of that exit

But that was largely down to Sidious taking advantage of his feelings towards the corrupt Republic and the arrogant Order

with the Sith Lord offering him the chance to lead a new Separatist movement

Sure, he would then go on to gradually become consumed by the dark side

and turn out to be little more than another one of Palpatine's puppets. And that once somewhat understandable quest to bring an end to the corrupt Republic

also eventually saw him shockingly cut down Jedi Masters and attempt to assassinate Padme Amidala

But Dooku clearly just wanted to see some much-needed change at one point there

and felt that the only real way to bring peace and justice to the galaxy involved him teaming up with the Sith and bringing down the broken bureaucracy of the Republic

In the end though, Dooku simply became another power-hungry Sith who longed to overthrow his master

with the political idealist only realizing way too late that he had merely been a pawn insidious grand plan all along