71 Votes in Poll
If you really think about it in depth, going through the backstory of his life, Grievous in reality emerges as quite the tragic figure.
A proud and powerful warrior, fiercely loyal to his people and his world, who through the machinations of others, ended up as a victim of circumstance, rather than the one-note, one-dimensional, snivelling coward the depictions coming from a certain corporation would have you believe; all cackle and no kill, running away when the poodoo hits the turbofan.
He rose to prominence as Warlord of the Kaleesh when he led his subjugated and oppressed people in an uprising to liberate themselves from submission at the hands of the invading Huk species (who had caused the death of Grievous's main wife), even when the Huk had technological superiority over the more primitive, tribal Kaleesh. For freeing his people he was hailed as a hero on Kalee, but also drew the attention of Darth Tyranus, and through him Darth Sidious.
Grievous at first rejected Dooku's entreaties to become involved with the military forces the latter was establishing with his separate Confederacy of Independent Systems, preferring to remain with and dedicate himself completely to his people. It was only after the Sith Lords arranged for Grievous to fall victim to a shuttle crash in which he ended up mutilated and mangled, injured beyond repair, that things changed.
Grievous's life was saved thanks to the leadership of the CIS, at the cost of losing most of his organic body, and of course he was made to believe that the crash had been caused by agents of the Galactic Republic, filling him with the rage and thirst for vengeance that drove him to willingly ally with Dooku. During his war against and eventual invasion of the Huk, the Republic had sided with the Huk, originally creating Grievous's resentment of the Republic and the Jedi that would only continue to grow over time.
Grievous ended up a warlord once again, now leading the forces of the CIS in his quest for retribution on a Republic he had been manipulated into believing was responsible for stripping away what his life had been. I believe it was after the shuttle crash that he adopted the moniker of Grievous (his original birth name is Qymaen Jai Sheelal), although I might be off on that, it's been a long, long time since I read that issue of the SW Insider.
Speaking of the CIS military, also a well-deserved mention to Sev'rance'tann (core name Vrancet), a criminally underrated but highly interesting Chiss who was not only Grievous's direct predecessor as Supreme Commander of the Confederacy's Armies, but also Darth Tyranus's Dark Acolyte; worth doing some research on, as is the Chiss Ascendancy as a whole!
