Mace Windu vs Count Dooku

                  vs

What could we expect if Mofo Mace decided to engage Lord Tyranus at the end of AOTC? Does Mace's mastery of Vaapid outperform Dooku's skill and experience?

I think Windu would win. He was almost on a par with Yoda, and i think he was at least as good a swordsman as Dooku and the ability to see shatterpoints in combat greatly increases his chances. Mostly i like to think that anything Anakin can do Windu can do better [except maybe piloting Anakin was real good at that].

Mace Windu for sure, he had Sidious beat, so why would he have problems with dooku?

Mace Windu's form VII, is a deadly, unpredidictable form, while Dooku uses the classic, heavy dualing form II. It would be quite a match, but Mace would be victorious.

Mace knew enough about the Dark Side to use it as a weapon against Dooku as he did against Palpatine.

Mace wins because I #ckin said so.Now Vance said dat!

I say Mace but is he really dead? thats my question.

I love Mace, but Count Dooku held his own against Yodu and curbstomped Obi Wan on two occasions. (Not saying thats the only reason he wins) It took the almighty Anikan to bring him down (which was kinda BS, seeing as he never even attempted to use his Force Lighting)

I just don't see this as clear cut as everyone else apparently.
Post Edited:2008-04-16 12:27:05

Dooku. According to the New Essential Guide to Characters, he's one of only two Jedi (the other being Yoda) to ever beat Mace in sparring. He also has knowledge of all the forms, although Makashi is his personal preference. They are pretty evenly matched, but I give the nod to Dooku.

I'm gonna go with Mace on this. He would have had Sidious beat if it wasn't for Anakin.

Alexander Anderson says:

"Dooku. According to the New Essential Guide to Characters, he's one of only two Jedi (the other being Yoda) to ever beat Mace in sparring. He also has knowledge of all the forms, although Makashi is his personal preference. They are pretty evenly matched, but I give the nod to Dooku."

So... Dooku could take Sidious?

Static Shock says:

"I'm gonna go with Mace on this. He would have had Sidious beat if it wasn't for Anakin."

Thats debatable.

Satyrquaze says:

"Alexander Anderson says:

"Dooku. According to the New Essential Guide to Characters, he's one of only two Jedi (the other being Yoda) to ever beat Mace in sparring. He also has knowledge of all the forms, although Makashi is his personal preference. They are pretty evenly matched, but I give the nod to Dooku."

So... Dooku could take Sidious?"

How did you come up with that?

Satyrquaze says:

"Alexander Anderson says:

"Dooku. According to the New Essential Guide to Characters, he's one of only two Jedi (the other being Yoda) to ever beat Mace in sparring. He also has knowledge of all the forms, although Makashi is his personal preference. They are pretty evenly matched, but I give the nod to Dooku."

So... Dooku could take Sidious?"

Whole different ballgame. Even if Mace did legitimately beat Sidious, different match-ups have different results. The attributes that give Dooku an advantage against Mace, such as his ability to mix telekinesis with lightsaber combat, might not work against Sidious, who is also quite force-oriented in his fighting style.

Because Mace had Sidious beat and he saying that Dooku could beat Mace.

mace abilities Force Speed:

Windu destroying droids on Dantooine with his bare hands.Windu went toe-to-toe with Kar Vastor on Haruun Kal, and demonstrated blinding speed by landing six blows to the man's body before he could blink. On Dantooine, having lost his lightsaber, Mace took to tearing super battle droids apart with his bare hands, showing incredible strength and resilience as he crushed armor and tore out circuitry with his fingers.

His mastery of the Force was also extensive, augmented by his considerable power. Mace was able to perform incredible feats, such as "riding" a landslide of rock and earth weighing hundreds of tons.

The Jedi Master also possessed an impressive resistance to the lures of the dark side, channeling his inner darkness into his attacks to help him serve the light. This allowed him to utilize some of the darkest powers known to either Jedi or Sith without succumbing to his aggression, such as the terrible Force Crush. His mastery of the form he created, Vaapad, also proved his devotion to the light side, as the only two other advanced users, Depa Billaba and Sora Bulq, fell to the dark side.

Shatterpoints:

Aiding him was also his shatterpoint ability, a power that he always had a natural affinity for. It allowed him to see weak points in opponents, events, and everyday life.

Despite the darker aspects of his nature and his incredible fighting prowess, Mace Windu was also extremely well-known for his diplomacy, with his use of words and legendary reputation settling many conflicts without incident. This, coupled with his courage, integrity, and skill, garnered him the position as a highly-respected Senior Jedi High Council member.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mace_Windu

Alexander Anderson says:

"Satyrquaze says:

"Alexander Anderson says:

"Dooku. According to the New Essential Guide to Characters, he's one of only two Jedi (the other being Yoda) to ever beat Mace in sparring. He also has knowledge of all the forms, although Makashi is his personal preference. They are pretty evenly matched, but I give the nod to Dooku."

So... Dooku could take Sidious?"

Whole different ballgame. Even if Mace did legitimately beat Sidious, different match-ups have different results. The attributes that give Dooku an advantage against Mace, such as his ability to mix telekinesis with lightsaber combat, might not work against Sidious, who is also quite force-oriented in his fighting style."

That's possible, but, I'm not changing my vote

Grandmaster says:

"mace abilities Force Speed:Windu destroying droids on Dantooine with his bare hands.Windu went toe-to-toe with Kar Vastor on Haruun Kal, and demonstrated blinding speed by landing six blows to the man's body before he could blink. On Dantooine, having lost his lightsaber, Mace took to tearing super battle droids apart with his bare hands, showing incredible strength and resilience as he crushed armor and tore out circuitry with his fingers.His mastery of the Force was also extensive, augmented by his considerable power. Mace was able to perform incredible feats, such as "riding" a landslide of rock and earth weighing hundreds of tons.The Jedi Master also possessed an impressive resistance to the lures of the dark side, channeling his inner darkness into his attacks to help him serve the light. This allowed him to utilize some of the darkest powers known to either Jedi or Sith without succumbing to his aggression, such as the terrible Force Crush. His mastery of the form he created, Vaapad, also proved his devotion to the light side, as the only two other advanced users, Depa Billaba and Sora Bulq, fell to the dark side.Shatterpoints:Aiding him was also his shatterpoint ability, a power that he always had a natural affinity for. It allowed him to see weak points in opponents, events, and everyday life.Despite the darker aspects of his nature and his incredible fighting prowess, Mace Windu was also extremely well-known for his diplomacy, with his use of words and legendary reputation settling many conflicts without incident. This, coupled with his courage, integrity, and skill, garnered him the position as a highly-respected Senior Jedi High Council member.

I think its save to say we're aware of what Mace can do. But thanks.

soul taker says:

"were are they fighting at because i think the enviroment might play key to either man"

Just giving reference to those who arent aware, thanks =)

were are they fighting at because i think the enviroment might play key to either man

Satyrquaze says:

"Because Mace had Sidious beat and he saying that Dooku could beat Mace."

Well, I'm not into Star Wars like I am with comics. So, that's my only argument.

This can go either way i think who ever uses there surroundings better can win but i will have to check out both guys in detail before i can choose a clear cut winner

Well, clearly the picture is of Jules Windu, Mace Windu's lesser known twin brother who left the Jedi order to "walk the galaxy" in a stage where he was finding himself after he felt the great spirit of the unified force come down and stop some blaster bolts from killing him and his padawan.

Little known fact is that he's vastly superior to mace with a Lightsaber and force skills and his Lightsaber has "BAD MOTHERF*CKER" engraved on the emitter button.

He could curbstomp Dooku.

"I think Windu would win. He was almost on a par with Yoda, and i think he was at least as good a swordsman as Dooku and the ability to see shatterpoints in combat greatly increases his chances. Mostly i like to think that anything Anakin can do Windu can do better [except maybe piloting Anakin was real good at that]."

dooku.........

Mace Windu. He was the most powerful Jedi during the Clone Wars besides Yoda. If Anakin killed him, MACE WILL SLAUGHTER HIM.

"Yeah. So, as I was saying, Count Dooku was Yoda's apprentice. This shouldn't be take lightly.  He was also handling both Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi quite well, until Anakin started to get serious.  It appears that Mace Windu had difficulty in blocking Sith "Lightning", and Count Dooku is certainly capable of using this ability in battle.  Either way, it would be a great fight.  "

 
I don't have any hard proof of the second part of this sentence, but I doubt Dooku's lightning is as strong as Sideous'.

We can cunlude that:  
Sideous>Dooku 
Windu>Sideous (Ep3) at the very least Windu=Sideous (Ep3). George Lucas won't comment on the Windu vs Sideous, and I don't believe in the idea that Sideous faked it, and put ALL his chips on Anakin's timing and decision making. The Yoda vs Sideous battle in Ep3 was mighty close, and Yoda only "lost" because he ran away. Yoda wasn't killed, and Sidious was left hanging from a Senate booth. There really wasn't a winner. So the Sideous>Yoda argument is silly.
 
Windu>Dooku 

@Edamame:
1. It's true Yoda ran with his tail between his legs, but Sideous didn't kill Yoda either. It was very close, and Yoda only lost because he gave up.  
 
3. I don't have hard evidence, but the nature of the Rule of Two says Dooku would need to try to overthrow Sideous if he indeed thought he was better. Maybe Dooku was waiting because he knew he had more to learn from Sideous. Either way Sideous seemed very confident that Dooku would not make such a move. So I maintain that Sideous>Dooku overall, even in combat. 
4. The Ep3 Windu vs Sideous battle debate has been going on since the day the movie was released, and I doubt* the ultimate answer to this question would be reached on this thread. I admit it is an unknown, but I personally believe Mace beat him, and Sideous got lucky. Sideous may have foreseen it as a possible outcome, but "always in motion is the future." - Yoda 
 
Either way it's a good fight. I don't think Mace takes the fight easily, but he does take it. 
 
*edit

Makashi is the "best" dueling style while Vaapad is best used against the dark side... Good battle. I personally prefer Windu's Vaapad and will side with him on this one.

"Mace would [win]... then go out and enjoy a Royale with cheeze... "

Sorry about bringing this thread back but I feel like I have to comment on a coment about two of my favortite clone wars era star wars characters.

First of all to set the record straight it was stated that without vapadd the only people who could outspar mace were yoda, dooku, and obiwan. But that was before he and sorra bulg (not sure if I am spelling his name right) created vapadd to "perfect" lightsaber form 7 juyo. It was actually stated that when Mace Windu used vapadd that he was virtually unbeatable and he himself stated in the novel that without it he would have been killed by sidous. In fact in one of the novels Mace and Dooku fought and dooku was forced to retreat.

Also Dooku was no match for Palpatine. It was stated that Palpatine was the most powerfull sith lord of his time and possibly who ever lived. Dooku and Maul were just pawns so that Palpatine could start the clone wars, take over the republic from within, and turn Anakin to the darkside. In no way shape or form was Dooku ever going to survive Palpatine's primary plan.

Also about the Mace vs Palpatine fight, going by the books which go into more details than the films even though Mace did beat Palpatine in the lightsaber portion of the fight, Mace thought that even with Vapadd the best he could do against Palapatine was draw, It was also stated that the only reason why Anakin managed to cut off Mace Windu's arm was that he was so focused on Palpatine's shatterpoints he failed to predict Anakin in time.

So going by Mace's prevous fight with Dooku in the books and his other feats I say that Mace would beat Doou.

Windu

To the uninitiated, lightsaber combat can seem like a confusing blur of swipes and blade clashes, but on close examination, the secrets of the Jedi Knights become clear. To understand the combat of these warriors, we must delve into the sacred history of the fabled Seven Forms of Jedi lightsaber combat and look at how these have played out in the Star Wars saga. Only then can we understand the extraordinary combat moves of Yoda, perhaps the greatest lightsaber master the Jedi Order has ever seen.

--Taken from Insider #62

With a stooped, small appearance, Yoda may not look like a warrior, but his skills with a lightsaber were unequaled.

--Taken from Lightsabers: A Guide to Weapons of the Force

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m2yIAxeBHA&feature=player_embedded 

"We've not seen Mace fight yet, and we know that he's second only to Yoda."

http://web.archive.org/web/20051125042817/http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/bts/production/news20000711b.html  

"Mace Windu's fighting abilities are second only to Yoda."

Though it was true that he had slowed slightly in the years that Mace Windu had known him, Yoda's skill with a lightsaber was still second to none on the council.

--Taken from Darth Maul Shadow Hunter

Master Windu was also known within the Order for his unusual fighting style, one that he developed after studying the dueling styles of various lightsaber masters. His attacks consisted of relentless, unpredictable blows, like shots from an autoblaster. Master Windu himself remained perfectly balanced and centered. In the history of the Jedi Order, only two opponents ever overcame him in battle. One was Master Yoda, who some said was the Order's true master of lightsaber combat. The other was former Master Dooku, whose own fighting style was archaic, yet stunningly effective.

--Taken from the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook 

For one thing, Mace was a council member before the age of thirty. From this, we know for a fact that he was a Jedi Master by that age. Secondly, Dooku left the Order just after the Battle of Naboo. Mace was forty or a bit older by then, which means he had been a council member more than a decade and a master more than that. Thirdly, Depa Billaba was a council member by the Battle of Naboo as well, meaning she had been trained by Mace and promoted passed his apprenticeship years before then, as Mace stated she did in his journal in Shatterpoint . Fourthly, Depa displayed skill in Vaapad during the Emissaries to Malastare arc in Republic, as Mace recorded in his journal. If she knew Vaapad already and was already a master and council member, then Mace had to have developed Vaapad with Sora years before he himself became a council member so that he could have taken on Depa as his Padawan and trained her in Vaapad. Fifthly, when Dooku dueled Sora and Tholme, he was able to identify the intricacies of Vaapad in Sora's techniques, which demonstrates Dooku's affiliation with the style; the only way he could be affiliated with it is to have dueled Mace, who had to have had it fully developed as a Jedi Master. That being the case, Mace had more than a decade of mastery with Vaapad (his time on the council before TPM) within which he could have dueled Dooku. Considering the fact that Mace entered sparring matches with Saesee Tiin in the Infinity's End arc of Republic and a sparring match with Quinlan Vos in the Jedi: Mace Windu issue, as well as the fact that the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook  stated that Mace fought many master swordsman, he certainly is not hesitant to join sparring matches. So from all of this alone, I find it very unlikely that Mace and Dooku, who were friends in the Order, never dueled one another as masters. This is my first point. 
 
My second point is this: Both sources that identify that Mace and Dooku were of near equal skill level specifically included their title before their names, "master." In the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook  and in Insider #109, it notes Mace as "Master Windu," not simply Jedi Knight Windu, implying that the two had dueled before as Jedi Masters. Now, in Insider #109, it was stated "it is considered..." that Dooku is equal to Mace. "It is considered..." may not be irrefutable fact; however, if it is considered that Master Mace and Master Dooku were peers as swordsman, that at least further implicates that they dueled one another as Jedi Masters. 

Master Windu himself remained perfectly balanced and centered. In the history of the Jedi Order, only two opponents ever overcame him in battle. One was Master Yoda, who some said was the Order's true master of lightsaber combat. The other was former Master Dooku, whose own fighting style was archaic, yet stunningly effective.

--Taken from the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook  
 
Also, this is completely opinion-based, but I would like to address Yoda's assessment of Dooku's talents as a swordmaster. You can choose to disregard this at your own discretion, because Yoda's opinion is merely his opinion, not fact, but Yoda has fought both Mace and Dooku, which does lend credibility to his opinion in this instance. Yoda stated that on fair ground, only Mace might be a match for Dooku (and that on Vjun, Dooku is more deadly). Considering Mace and Dooku's history with one another; their reputation as swordsmen; and Yoda's relationship with them, I find this a valid opinion.

The Count's blade was quick as a viper striking. Among the other Jedi, perhaps only Mace Windu would have been his equal on neutral ground: but here on Vjun, steeped in the dark side, his bladework was malice made visible—wickedness cut in red light.

--Taken from Yoda: Dark Rendezvous  

All this compiled, I think we can very reasonably say that Mace and Dooku, as reputed Jedi Masters, had dueled one another before.

Dooku's plans had been realized, and he intended to escape because of the huge numbers of Jedi in the area. Mace confronted him, Dooku taunted him, neither of them landed a hit on the other, MagnaGuards knocked Mace off a hill, and Dooku casually walked away. Nothing here shows either one as superior to the other. 

Gallery

He only fought equally with Sora Bulq for a short time before using a Force Push to hurl him away and left to engage Ventress. Hurling your enemy back and then running away is not a victory.

    

Gallery

And for the record, you listed defeating Sora Bulq as a feat for Mace, in spite of the fact that Mace never even accomplished that (which you would have known had you actually read the material instead of coughing up information off wikis), well, Dooku actually did beat Sora and Tholme concurrently. He disarms Sora, proving his lead over Bulq with a lightsaber, then strikes him with Lightning and then incapacitates Tholme.

Gallery

The advantage came from a Force attack, not skill, and that was my point. Beyond that, all Mace did was knock Sora over with the Force. Sora successfully sent a Force Push against Mace, but whatever edge that may have provided, if any, was short-lived. Whether Sora remained in an unfavorable position is indeterminable because Mace left, as did the focus of the comic's art. We never saw how Sora may have recuperated from that afterward.

But Dooku batted away Sora's blade with his own. So I fail to see how that shows no lightsaber superiority. Additionally, the fact that Dooku handled Sora with far greater ease than Mace, who gained no lead over Sora solely by his adeptness as a fighter, is telling, especially since Dooku was simultaneously dealing with Tholme. What Dooku actually showed is that he supersedes Sora both as a swordsman and as a Force practitioner: First he disarms Sora with his own lightsaber; then, when Sora is vulnerable, Dooku incapacitates him with Lightning.

Kit's bulging black eyes indicated Palpatine. "They want to take him alive."

The words had scarcely left his mouth when something hit the train with sufficient force to whip everyone from one side of the car to the other, then back again. The Red Guards were just regaining their balance when the roof began to resound with the cadence of heavy, clanging footfalls, advancing from the rear of the train.

"Grievous," Mace grumbled.

Kit glanced at him. "Here we go again."

Hurrying into the vestibule between the two lead cars, they launched themselves to the roof. Three cars distant marched General Grievous and two of his elite droids, their capes snapping behind them in the wind, pulse-tipped batons angled across their barrel chests. Farther back, clamped by animal-like claws to the roof of the train, was the gunboat from which the frightful trio had been released.

Without pausing, Grievous drew two lightsabers from inside his billowing cloak. By the time they were ignited, Mace was already on and all over the cyborg, batting away at the two blades, swinging low at Grievous's artificial legs, thrusting at his skeletal face. The lightsabers thrummed and hissed, meeting one another in bursts of dazzling light. In a corner of Mace's mind he wondered to which Jedi Grievous's blades had belonged. Just as the Force was keeping Mace from being blown from the mag-lev's roof, magnetism of some sort was keeping the general fastened in place. For the cyborg, though, the coherence hindered as much as it helped, whereas Mace never remained in one place for very long.

Again and again the three blades joined, in snarling attacks and parries. Grievous was well trained in the Jedi arts. Mace could recognize the hand of Dooku in the general's training and technique. His strikes were as forceful as any Mace had ever had to counter, and his speed was astonishing. But he didn't know Vaapad—the technique of dark flirtation in which Mace excelled.

To the rear of the car, where Grievous's pair of MagnaGuards had made the mistake of pitting themselves against Kit Fisto, the Nautolan's blade was a cyclone of blazing blue light. Resistant to the energy outpourings of a lightsaber, the phrik alloy staffs were potent weapons, but like any weapon they needed to find their target, and Kit simply wasn't allowing that. In moves a Twi'lek dancer might envy, he spun around the guards, claiming a limb from both with each rotation: left legs, right arms, right legs...

The speed of the train saw to the rest, ultimately whisking the droids into the canyon like insects blown from the windscreen of a speeder bike.

The loss of his confederates was noted by whatever computers were slaved to Grievous's organic brain, but the loss neither distracted nor slowed him. His sole setting was attack.Successful at analyzing Mace's lightsaber style, those same computers suggested that Grievous alter his stance and posture, along with the angle of his parries, ripostes, and thrusts. The result wasn't Vaapad, but it was close enough, and Mace wasn't interested in prolonging the contest any longer than necessary.

Crouching low, he angled the blade downward and slashed, guiding it through the roof of the car, perpendicular to Grievous's stalwart advance. Mace saw by the surprised look in the cyborg's reptilian eyes that, for all his strength, dexterity, and resolve, the living part of him wasn't always in perfect sync with his alloy servos. Clearly, Grievous—onetime courageous commander of sentient troops—realized what Mace had done and wanted to sidestep, where General Grievous—current commander of droids and other war machines—wanted nothing more than to impale Mace with lunging thrusts of the paired blades.

Slipping into the gap made by Mace's saber, Grievous's left talon lost magnetic purchase on the roof, and the general faltered. Mace came out of his crouch prepared to drive his sword into Grievous's guts, but some last-instant firing of the general's cybersynapses compelled the cyborg's torso through a swift half twist that would have sent Mace's head hurtling into the canyon had the maneuver prevailed. Instead Mace leapt backward, out of the range of the slicing blades, and Force-pushed outward, just at the instant of Grievous's single misstep.

Off the side of the car the general went, twisting and turning as he fell, Mace trying to track the general's contorted plunge, but unsuccessfully. Had he fallen into the canyon? Had he managed to dig his duranium claws into the side of the car or grab hold of the mag-lev rail itself?

Mace couldn't take the time to puzzle it out. One hundred meters away, the gunboat retracted its landing gear and rose from the roof on repulsorlift power. Reckless shots from one of the pursuing gunships obliged the Separatist craft to skew, then dive, with the gunship following close behind.

--Taken from Labyrinth of Evil

Notice the circumstances: Grievous fights with only two lightsabers, as opposed to his usual four. His magnetic clamps adhere him to the top of the mag-lev train to prevent him from being hurled off by the wind but also restrict his mobility. Yet he still fights evenly with Mace for a while, and eventually, Mace only wins by exploiting his restricted mobility and BFRing him. (On that note, it is not entirely accurate for me to call this a stalemate, because Mace did win via BFR, but what I was referring to was their lightsaber contest only. And in that, they were equal.) 

Yes, Mace outmaneuvered Grievous, but you have to note how and why. Mace and Grievous were dueling one another on top of the mag-lev train as it traveled through Coruscant's airways. Mace called on the Force to root him in place as a measure of circumventing the wind resistance and avoiding falling off the train. Grievous' magnetic clamps offered a parallel effect, but for him, the adherence restricted his mobility. Mace was capable of moving freely without hindrance of motion, but Grievous was locked in place with far less dexterity and switfness than he usually enjoys. This factor, combined with Grievous' neural networking systems, is why Mace managed to lock his foot hold. Even then, after one of Grievous' feet had fallen into the crevice that Mace's lightsaber created on the mag-lev's surface, Mace still never overwhelmed him with a lightsaber. Rather, he BFR'd Grievous by a Force attack. I would hardly call this advantageous for Mace as a duelist. I would call him the victor in the sense that he ended the duel but not by virtue of being more skilled, and lightsaber proficiency is all we were discussing. Grievous lost, but his duel with Mace was very equal in respects to how they matched one another skillfully.

Dooku has beaten Grievous on a number of occasions. 

Grievous had been a delight to train, as well. No need to coax him to release his anger and rage, as Dooku had been forced to do during the training of his so-called Dark Jedi disciples. The Geonosians had arranged for Grievous to be nothing but anger and rage. And as to the general's combat skills, few, if any, Jedi would be capable of defeating him. There had been moments during the extensive combat sessions when even Dooku had been hard-pressed to outduel the cyborg.

--Taken from Labyrinth of Evil

This is a heated topic, and one which both myself and JediXMan have become rather tired of. But I want to write this out here so I can avoid having to re-explain it ad nauseam on the forums. The debate over whether Palpatine truly lost to Mace Windu in Revenge of the Sith or whether he allowed Mace to win in order to win over Anakin is a complex subject. In this blog, I will describe (and provide proof of) the circumstances of the duel, clear up misconceptions, and give my opinion on it. I will say that my perspective on the matter may not be perfectly accurate, but if nothing else, mine is the most evidentially supported. I can respect if others disagree with my assessment, but I would also appreciate it if you consider the case I present here and make an objective consensus on it. If in doing that, you still disagree, fair enough, but if I challenge you in the forums about it, you will need to be able to provide reasoning for it. 

Let me start by posting their duel. I believe everyone has seen the movie; so allow me to post the sequence from the novel, as that grants a better view of the whole picture.

The Coruscant nightfall was spreading through the galaxy. The darkness in the Force was no hindrance to the shadow in the Chancellor's office; itwas the darkness. Wherever darkness dwelled, the shadow could send perception. In the night, the shadow felt the boy's anguish, and it was good. The shadow felt the grim determination of four Jedi Masters approaching by air. This, too, was good.
As a Jedi shuttle settled to the landing deck outside, the shadow sent its mind into the far deeper night within one of the several pieces of sculpture that graced the office: an abstract twist of solid neuranium, so heavy that the office floor had been specially reinforced to bear its weight, so dense that more sensitive species might, from very close range, actually perceive the tiny warping of the fabric of space-time that was its gravitation.
Neuranium of more than roughly a millimeter thick is impervious to sensors; the standard security scans undergone by all equipment and furniture to enter the Senate Office Building had shown nothing at all. If anyone had thought to use an advanced gravimetric detector, however, they might have discovered that one smallish section of the sculpture massed slightly less than it should have, given that the manifest that had accompanied it, when it was brought from Naboo among the then-ambassador's personal effects, clearly stated that it was a single piece of solid-forged neuranium.
The manifest was a lie. The sculpture was not entirely solid, and not all of it was neuranium. Within a long, slim, rod-shaped cavity around which the sculpture had been forged rested a device that had lain, waiting, in absolute darkness—darkness beyond darkness—for decades. Waiting for night to fall on the Republic.
The shadow felt Jedi Masters stride the vast echoic emptiness of the vaulted halls outside. It could practically hear the cadence of their boot heels on the Alderaanian marble. The darkness within the sculpture whispered of the shape and the feel and every intimate resonance of the device it cradled. With a twist of its will, the shadow triggered the device. The neuranium got warm. A small round spot, smaller than the circle a human child might make of thumb and forefinger, turned the color of old blood.
Then fresh blood.
Then open flame.
Finally a spear of scarlet energy lanced free, painting the office with the color of stars seen through the smoke of burning planets. The spear of energy lengthened, drawing with it out from the darkness the device, then the scarlet blade shrank away and the device slid itself within the softer darkness of a sleeve.
As shouts of the Force scattered Redrobes beyond the office's outer doors, the shadow gestured and lampdisks ignited. Another shout of the Force burst open the inner door to the private office. As Jedi stormed in, a final flick of the shadow's will triggered a recording device concealed within the desk.
Audio only.
"Why, Master Windu," said the shadow. "What a pleasant surprise."

Shaak Ti felt him coming before she could see him. The infra-and ultrasound-sensitive cavities in the tall, curving montrals to either side of her head gave her a sense analogous to touch: the texture of his approaching footsteps was ragged as old sacking. As he rounded the corner to the landing deck door, his breathing felt like a pile of gravel and his heartbeat was spiking like a Zabrak's head. He didn't look good, either; he was deathly pale, even for a human, and his eyes were raw.
"Anakin," she said warmly. Perhaps a friendly word was what he needed; she doubted he'd gotten many from Mace Windu. "Thank you for what you have done. The Jedi Order is in your debt—the whole galaxy, as well."
"Shaak Ti. Get out of my way."
Shaky as he looked, there was nothing unsteady in his voice: it was deeper than she remembered, more mature, and it carried undertones of authority that she had never heard before. And she was not blind to the fact he had neglected to call her Master.
She put forth a hand, offering calming energies through the Force. "The Temple is sealed, Anakin. The door is code-locked."
"And you're in the way of the pad."
She stepped aside, allowing him to the pad; she had no reason to keep him here against his will. He punched the code hungrily. "If Palpatine retaliates," she said reasonably, "is not your place here, to help with our defense?"
"I'm the chosen one. My place is there." His breathing roughened, and he looked as if he was getting even sicker. "I have to be there. That's the prophecy, isn't it? I have to be there—"
"Anakin, why? The Masters are the best of the Order. What can you possibly do?" The door slid open.
"I'm the chosen one," he repeated. "Prophecy can't be changed. I'll do—" He looked at her with eyes that were dying, and a spasm of unendurable pain passed over his face. Shaak Ti reached for him—he should be in the infirmary, not heading toward what might be a savage battle—but he lurched away from her hand. "I'll do what I'm supposed to do," he said, and sprinted into the night and the rain.

[the following is a transcript of an audio recording presented before the Galactic Senate on the afternoon of the first Empire Day; identities of all speakers verified and confirmed by voiceprint analysis]
PALPATINE: Why, Master Windu. What a pleasant surprise.
MACE WINDU: Hardly a surprise, Chancellor. And it will be pleasant for neither of us.
PALPATINE: I'm sorry? Master Fisto, hello. Master Kolar, greetings. I trust you are well. Master Tiin—I see your horn has regrown; I'm very glad. What brings four Jedi Masters to my office at this hour?
MACE WINDU: We know who you are. What you are. We are here to take you into custody.
PALPATINE: I beg your pardon? What I am? When last I checked, I was Supreme Chancellor of the Republic you are sworn to serve. I hope I misunderstand what you mean by custody, Master Windu. It smacks of treason.
MACE WINDU: You're under arrest.
PALPATINE: Really, Master Windu, you cannot be serious. On what charge?
MACE WINDU: You're a Sith Lord!
PALPATINE: Am I? Even if true, that's hardly a crime. My philosophical outlook is a personal matter. In fact—the last time I read the Constitution, anyway—we have very strict laws against this type of persecution. So I ask you again: what is my alleged crime? How do you expect to justify your mutiny before the Senate? Or do you intend to arrest the Senate as well?
MACE WINDU: We're not here to argue with you.
PALPATINE: No, you're here to imprison me without trial. Without even the pretense of legality. So this is the plan, at last: the Jedi are taking over the Republic.
MACE WINDU: Come with us. Now.
PALPATINE: I shall do no such thing. If you intend to murder me, you can do so right here.
MACE WINDU: Don't try to resist.
[sounds that have been identified by frequency resonances to be the ignition of several lightsabers]
PALPATINE: Resist? How could I possibly resist? This is murder, you Jedi traitors! How can I be any threat to you? Master Tiin—you're the telepath. What am I thinking right now?
[sounds of scuffle]
KIT FISTO: Saesee—
AGEN KOLAR: [garbled; possibly "It doesn't hurt"(?)]
[sounds of scuffle]
PALPATINE: Help! Help! Security—someone! Help me! Murder! Treason!
[recording ends]
A fountain of amethyst energy burst from Mace Windu's fist. "Don't try to resist."
The song of his blade was echoed by green fire from the hands of Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin. Kolar and Tiin closed on Palpatine, blocking the path to the door. Shadows dripped and oozed color, weaving and coiling up office walls slipping over chairs, spreading along the floor.
"Resist? How could I possibly resist?" Still seated at the desk Palpatine shook an empty fist helplessly, the perfect image of a tired, frightened old man. "This is murder, you Jedi traitors! How can I be any threat to you?"
He turned desperately to Saesee Tiin. "Master Tiin—you're the telepath. What am I thinking right now?" Tiin frowned and cocked his head. His blade dipped. A smear of red-flashing darkness hurtled from behind the desk. Saesee Tiin's head bounced when it hit the floor. Smoke curled from the neck, and from the twin stumps of the horns, severed just below the chin.
Kit Fisto gasped, "Saesee!"
The headless corpse, still standing, twisted as its knees buckled, and a thin sigh escaped from its trachea as it folded to the floor.
"It doesn't..." Agen Kolar swayed. His emerald blade shrank away, and the handgrip tumbled from his opening fingers. A small, neat hole in the middle of his forehead leaked smoke, showing light from the back of his head. "...hurt..." He pitched forward onto his face, and lay still.
Palpatine stood at the doorway, but the door stayed shut. From his right hand extended a blade the color of fire. The door locked itself at his back. 
"Help! Help!" Palpatine cried like a man in desperate fear for his life. "Security—someone! Help me! Murder! Treason!"
Then he smiled. He held one finger to his lips, and, astonishingly, he winked. In the blank second that followed, while Mace Windu and Kit Fisto could do no more than angle their lightsabers to guard, Palpatine swiftly stepped over the bodies back toward his desk, reversed his blade, and drove it in a swift, surgically precise stab down through his desktop.
"That's enough of that."
He let it burn its way free through the front, then he turned, lifting his weapon, appearing to study it as one might study the face of a beloved friend one has long thought dead. Power gathered around him until the Force shimmered with darkness.
"If you only knew," he said softly, perhaps speaking to the Jedi Masters, or perhaps to himself, or perhaps even to the scarlet blade lifted now as though in mocking salute, "how long I have been waiting for this..."

Anakin's speeder shrieked through the rain, dodging forked bolts of lightning that shot up from towers into the clouds, slicing across traffic lanes, screaming past spacescrapers so fast that his shock-wake cracked windows as he passed.
He didn't understand why people didn't just get out of his way. He didn't understand how the trillion beings who jammed Galactic City could go about their trivial business as though the universe hadn't changed. How could they think they counted for anything, compared with him? How could they think they still mattered? Their blind lives meant nothing now. None of them. Because ahead, on the vast cliff face of the Senate Office Building, one window spat lightning into the rain to echo the lightning of the storm outside—but this lightning was the color of clashing lightsabers.
Green fans, sheets of purple—
And crimson flame. He was too late. The green fire faded and winked out; now the lightning was only purple and red.
His repulsorlifts howled as he heeled the speeder up onto its side, skidding through wind-shear turbulence to bring it to a bobbing halt outside the window of Palpatine's private office. A blast of lightning hit the spire of 500 Republica, only a kilometer away, and its white burst flared off the window, flash-blinding him; he blinked furiously, slapping at his eyes in frustration. The colorless glare inside his eyes faded slowly, bringing into focus a jumble of bodies on the floor of Palpatine's private office. Bodies in Jedi robes.
On Palpatine's desk lay the head of Kit Fisto, faceup, scalp-tentacles unbound in a squid-tangle across the ebonite. His lidless eyes stared blindly at the ceiling. Anakin remembered him in the arena at Geonosis, effortlessly carving his way through wave after wave of combat droids, on his lips a gently humorous smile as though the horrific battle were only some friendly jest. His severed head wore that same smile. Maybe he thought death was funny, too.
Anakin's own blade sang blue as it slashed through the window and he dived through the gap. He rolled to his feet among a litter of bodies and sprinted through a shattered door along the small private corridor and through a doorway that flashed and flared with energy-scatter. Anakin skidded to a stop.
Within the public office of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, a last Jedi Master battled alone, blade-to-blade, against a living shadow.

Sinking into Vaapad, Mace Windu fought for his life. More than his life: each whirl of blade and whipcrack of lightning was a strike in defense of democracy, of justice and peace, of the rights of ordinary beings to live their own lives in their own ways. He was fighting for the Republic that he loved.
Vaapad, the seventh form of lightsaber combat, takes its name from a notoriously dangerous predator native to the moons of Sarapin: a vaapad attacks its prey with whipping strikes of its blindingly fast tentacles. Most have at least seven. It is not uncommon for them to have as many as twelve; the largest ever killed had twenty-three. With a vaapad, one never knew how many tentacles it had until it was dead: they move too fast to count. Almost too fast to see. So did Mace's blade.
Vaapad is as aggressive and powerful as its namesake, but its power comes at great risk: immersion in Vaapad opens the gates that restrain one's inner darkness. To use Vaapad, a Jedi must allow himself to enjoy the fight; he must give himself over to the thrill of battle. The rush ofwinning. Vaapad is a path that leads through the penumbra of the dark side. Mace Windu created this style, and he was its only living master. This was Vaapad's ultimate test.

Anakin blinked and rubbed his eyes again. Maybe he was still a bit flash-blind—the Korun Master seemed to be fading in and out of existence, half swallowed by a thickening black haze in which danced a meter-long bar of sunfire. Mace pressed back the darkness with a relentless straight-ahead march; his own blade, that distinctive amethyst blaze that had been the final sight of so many evil beings across the galaxy, made a haze of its own: an oblate sphere of purple fire within which there seemed to be dozens of swords slashing in all directions at once.
The shadow he fought, that blur of speed—could that be Palpatine?
Their blades flared and flashed, crashing together with bursts of fire, weaving nets of killing energy in exchanges so fast that Anakin could not truly see them—but he could feel them in the Force. The Force itself roiled and burst and crashed around them, boiling with power and lightspeed ricochets of lethal intent. And it was darkening.
Anakin could feel how the Force fed upon the shadow's murderous exaltation; he could feel fury spray into the Force though some poisonous abscess had crested in both their hearts. There was no Jedi restraint here. Mace Windu was cutting loose.

Mace was deep in it now: submerged in Vaapad, swallowed by it, he no longer truly existed as an independent being. Vaapad is a channel for darkness, and that darkness flowed both ways. He accepted the furious speed of the Sith Lord, drew the shadow's rage and power into his inmost center—
And let it fountain out again. He reflected the fury upon its source as a lightsaber redirects a blaster bolt.
There was a time when Mace Windu had feared the power of the dark; there was a time when he had feared the darkness in himself. But the Clone Wars had given him a gift of understanding: on a world called Haruun Kal, he had faced his darkness and had learned that the power of darkness is not to be feared. He had learned that it is fear that gives the darkness power. He was not afraid. The darkness had no power over him. But—
Neither did he have power over it.
Vaapad made him an open channel, half of a superconducting loop completed by the shadow; they became a standing wave of battle that expanded into every cubic centimeter of the Chancellor's office. There was no scrap of carpet nor shred of chair that might not at any second disintegrate in flares of red or purple; lampstands became brief shields, sliced into segments that whirled through the air; couches became terrain to be climbed for advantage or overleapt in retreat. But there was still only the cycle of power, the endless loop, no wound taken on either side, not even the possibility of fatigue.
Impasse.
Which might have gone on forever, if Vaapad were Mace's only gift. The fighting was effortless for him now; he let his body handle it without the intervention of his mind. While his blade spun and crackled, while his feet slid and his weight shifted and his shoulders turned in precise curves of their own direction, his mind slid along the circuit of dark power, tracing it back to its limitless source. Feeling for its shatterpoint. He found a knot of fault lines in the shadow's future; he chose the largest fracture and followed it back to the here and the now—
And it led him, astonishingly, to a man standing frozen in the slashed-open doorway. Mace had no need to look; the presence in the Force was familiar, and was as uplifting as sunlight breaking through a thunderhead. The chosen one was here.
Mace disengaged from the shadow's blade and leapt for the window; he slashed away the transparisteel with a single flourish. His instant's distraction cost him: a dark surge of the Force nearly blew him right out of the gap he had just cut. Only a desperate Force-push of his own altered his path enough that he slammed into a stanchion instead of plunging half a kilometer from the ledge outside. He bounced off and the Force cleared his head and once again he gave himself to Vaapad.
He could feel the end of this battle approaching, and so could the blur of Sith he faced; in the Force, the shadow had become a pulsar of fear. Easily, almost effortlessly, he turned the shadow's fear into a weapon: he angled the battle to bring them both out onto the window ledge. Out in the wind. Out with the lightning. Out on a rain-slicked ledge above a half-kilometer drop. Out where the shadow's fear made it hesitate. Out where the shadow's fear turned some of its Force-powered speed into a Force-powered grip on the slippery permacrete. Out where Mace could flick his blade in one precise arc and slash the shadow's lightsaber in half.
One piece flipped back in through the cut-open window. The other tumbled from opening fingers, bounced on the ledge, and fell through the rain toward the distant alleys below. Now the shadow was only Palpatine: old and shrunken, thinning hair bleached white by time and care, face lined with exhaustion.
"For all your power, you are no Jedi. All you are, my lord," Mace said evenly, staring past his blade, "is under arrest."
"Do you see, Anakin? Do you?" Palpatine's voice once again had the broken cadence of a frightened old man's. "Didn't I warn you of the Jedi and their treason?"
"Save your twisted words, my lord. There are no politicians here. The Sith will never regain control of the Republic. It's over. You've lost." Mace leveled his blade. "You lost for the same reason the Sith always lose: defeated by your own fear."
Palpatine lifted his head. His eyes smoked with hate. "Fool," he said. He lifted his arms, his robes of office spreading wide into raptor's wings, his hands hooking into talons.
"Fool!" His voice was a shout of thunder. "Do you think the fear you feel is mine?"
Lightning blasted the clouds above, and lightning blasted from Palpatine's hands, and Mace didn't have time to comprehend what Palpatine was talking about; he had time only to slip back into Vaapad and angle his blade to catch the forking arcs of pure, dazzling hatred that clawed toward him. Because Vaapad is more than a fighting style. It is a state of mind: a channel for darkness. Power passed into him and out again without touching him. And the circuit completed itself: the lightning reflected back to its source. Palpatine staggered, snarling, but the blistering energy that loured from his hands only intensified. He fed the power with his pain.
"Anakin!" Mace called. His voice sounded distant, blurred, as if it came from the bottom of a well. "Anakin, help me! This is your chance!"
He felt Anakin's leap from the office floor to the ledge, felt his approach behind—And Palpatine was not afraid. Mace could feel it: he wasn't worried at all. "Destroy this traitor," the Chancellor said, his voice raised aver the howl of writhing energy that joined his hands to Mace's blade. "This was never an arrest. It's an assassination!"
That was when Mace finally understood. He had it. The key to final victory. Palpatine's shatterpoint. The absolute shatterpoint of the Sith. The shatterpoint of the dark side itself. Mace thought, blankly astonished, Palpatine trusts Anakin Skywalker...
Now Anakin was at Mace's shoulder. Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Korun Master's face.
Palpatine's eyes glowed with power, casting a yellow glare that burned back the rain from around them. "He is a traitor, Anakin. Destroy him."
"You're the chosen one, Anakin," Mace said, his voice going thin with strain. This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade. "Take him. It's your destiny."
Skywalker echoed him faintly. "Destiny..."
"Help me! I can't hold on any longer!" The yellow glare from Palpatine's eyes spread outward through his flesh. His skin flowed like oil, as though the muscle beneath was burning away, as though even the bones of his skull were softening, were bending and bulging, deforming from the heat and pressure of his electric hatred. "He is killing me, Anakin—! Please, Anaaahhh—"
Mace's blade bent so close to his face that he was choking on ozone. "Anakin, he's too strong for me—"
"Ahhh—" Palpatine's roar above the endless blast of lightning became a fading moan of despair. The lightning swallowed itself, leaving only the night and the rain, and an old man crumpled to his knees on a slippery ledge. "I... can't. I give up. I... I am too weak, in the end. Too old, and too weak. Don't kill me, Master Jedi. Please. I surrender."
Victory flooded through Mace's aching body. He lifted his blade. "You Sith disease—"
"Wait—" Skywalker seized his lightsaber arm with desperate strength. "Don't kill him—you can't just kill him, Master—"
"Yes, I can," Mace said, grim and certain. "I have to."
"You came to arrest him. He has to stand trial—"
"A trial would be a joke. He controls the courts. He controls the Senate—"
"So are you going to kill all them, too? Like he said you would?"
Mace yanked his arm free. "He's too dangerous to be left alive. If you could have taken Dooku alive, would you have?"
Skywalker's face swept itself clean of emotion. "That was different—"
Mace turned toward the cringing, beaten Sith Lord. "You can explain the difference after he's dead." He raised his lightsaber.
"I need him alive!" Skywalker shouted. "I need him to save Padme!"
Mace thought blankly, Why? And moved his lightsaber toward the fallen Chancellor. Before he could follow through on his stroke, a sudden arc of blue plasma sheared through his wrist and his hand tumbled away with his lightsaber still in it and Palpatine roared back to his feet and lightning speared from the Sith Lord's hands and without his blade to catch it, the power of Palpatine's hate struck him full-on.
He had been so intent on Palpatine's shatterpoint that he'd never thought to look for Anakin's. Dark lightning blasted away his universe. He fell forever. Anakin Skywalker knelt in the rain. He was looking at a hand. The hand had brown skin. The hand held a lightsaber. The hand had a charred oval of tissue where it should have been attached to an arm.
"What have I done?" Was it his voice? It must have been. Because it was his question. "What have I done?"
Another hand, a warm and human hand, laid itself softly on his shoulder. "You're following your destiny, Anakin," said a familiar gentle voice. "The Jedi are traitors. You saved the Republic from their treachery. You can see that, can't you?"
"You were right," Anakin heard himself saying. "Why didn't I know?"
"You couldn't have. They cloaked themselves in deception, my boy. Because they feared your power, they could never trust you."
Anakin stared at the hand, but he no longer saw it. "Obi-Wan—Obi-Wan trusts me..."
"Not enough to tell you of their plot."
Treason echoed in his memory.
...this is not an assignment for the record...
That warm and human hand gave his shoulder a warm and human squeeze. "I do not fear your power, Anakin, I embrace it. You are the greatest of the Jedi. You can be the greatest of the Sith. I believe that, Anakin. I believe in you. I trust you. I trust you. I trust you."
Anakin looked from the dead hand on the ledge to the living one on his shoulder, then up to the face of the man who stood above him, and what he saw there choked him like an invisible fist crushing his throat. The hand on his shoulder was human. The face...wasn't.
The eyes were a cold and feral yellow, and they gleamed like those of a predator lurking beyond a fringe of firelight; the bone around those feral eyes had swollen and melted and flowed like durasteel spilled from a fusion smelter, and the flesh that blanketed it had gone corpse-gray and coarse as rotten synthplast. Stunned with horror, stunned with revulsion, Anakin could only stare at the creature. At the shadow. Looking into the face of the darkness, he saw his future.
"Now come inside," the darkness said.
After a moment, he did. Anakin stood just within the office. Motionless. Palpatine examined the damage to his face in a broad expanse of wall mirror. Anakin couldn't tell if his expression might be revulsion, or if this were merely the new shape of his features. Palpatine lifted one tentative hand to the misshapen horror that he now saw in the mirror, then simply shrugged.
"And so the mask becomes the man," he sighed with a hint of philosophical melancholy. "I shall miss the face of Palpatine, I think; but for our purpose, the face of Sidious will serve. Yes, it will serve."

         

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith

Now, there are some very particular issues that need to be noted here, and despite the intended outcome being somewhat unclear, there are certainties, such as the following: 

• Mace's speed/power was dramatically amped. He was operating on an exceptionally higher level than he ever has before, due to the events that took place.
• In terms of sheer skill, even with a huge speed and power amp, he still only fought Sidious as a perfect equal.
• Mace beat Palpatine by exploiting fear in him, but this fear was never there to begin with.
• Palpatine could have killed Mace with Force Lightning anytime he wanted.
• Yoda is factually a superior duelist to Mace, yet Palpatine fought evenly with him.

 
For the first point, let me show how this happened. Mace received a temporary, critical speed augmentation for this one duel. This happened because of the nature of Vaapad. Vaapad is an off-shoot of the Juyo form of lightsaber combat. Juyo is an aggressive and erratic fighting form, much more than even Ataru is, and it is this aggression that has made it a matter of discussion among Jedi whether Juyo is a safe style to learn. It relies on simply relentless strokes thrown continually until the user's opponent is defeated. The notable difference between Juyo and Vaapad is that Vaapad is a channel for darkness. It takes the user "through the penumbra of the dark side." Vaapad affords the practitioner the ability to harness their own inner darkness as a ferocity and drive in combat but does so without them falling victim to their darkness. Basically, Mace or Sora or Depa could draw on their darkness and still stay true to the light. Vaapad also works to turn the darkness of the enemy against them, but this has its limitations. It does not equate to an instant victory against any dark sider; if it did, Mace would not have lost his fight with Kar Vastor. The more darkness in the user, the more potent Vaapad will be. However, in Mace's duel with Palpatine, he achieved a fighting state he had never accomplished before, and this happened because, at that time, the darkness within him had been monumentally increased. It was increased because Mace had an attachment to the Republic that was shattered when Anakin told him that Palpatine, the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, was the Sith. The Republic he had been fighting for had already fallen under the Sith's influence, and this affected him at his core, heightening his darkness. On account of that, Mace managed to wield his own immensely accentuated darkness, Sidious' darkness, and Anakin's fear in order to enhance his speed so much that Anakin was unable to see the movements of Mace's blade and instead only saw the dozens of afterimages of it and the "nets" and "oblate sphere" he blurred from his lightsaber. Mace has never shown to be faster than Anakin or anyone of Anakin's speed class.

The novel and other sources state this very plainly, pointing out that the focal point of Mace's existence has been a waste. The novel then describes that Anakin felt fury poor into the Force and that Mace endured with a "poisonous abscess" in his heart, a result of his attachment crumbling. More, it exposits on how Mace is immersed in Vaapad to a degree that had never been before, articulating that he was losing his individual being within it. Lastly, the novel outlines that in this fighting state, Mace was capable of absorbing Palpatine's darkness into himself and funneling it back out at him, which abounded Mace's power and speed.

Anakin's revelation—that Palpatine and Darth Sidious are one and the same—hollows Mace to the core. Not days earlier, he and other Jedi had risked their lives against Grievous's droid forces to prevent Palpatine from being abducted. Grasping that the abduction and the war itself has been nothing more than a deception, Mace leaps into action, promising to take Palpatine into Jedi custody, dead or alive.

--Taken from The Complete Visual Dictionary

Because Mace, too, has an attachment. Mace has a secret love. Mace Windu loves the Republic.
Many of his students quote him to students of their own: "Jedi do not fight for peace. That's only a slogan, and is as misleading as slogans always are. Jedi fight for civilization, because only civilization creates peace."
For Mace Windu, for all his life, for all the lives of a thousand years of Jedi before him, true civilization has had only one true name: the Republic.
He has given his life in the service of his love. He has taken lives in its service, and lost the lives of innocents. He has seen beings that he cares for maimed, and killed, and sometimes worse: sometimes so broken by the horror of the struggle that their only answer was to commit horrors greater still.
And because of that love now, here, in this instant, Anakin Skywalker has nine words for him that shred his heart, burn its pieces, and feed him its smoking ashes.
Palpatine is Sidious. The Chancellor is the Sith Lord.
He doesn't even hear the words, not really; their true meaning is too large for his mind gather in all at once.
They mean that all he's done, and all that has been done to him—
That all the Order has accomplished, all it has suffered—
All the Galaxy itself has gone through, all the years of suffering and slaughter, the death of entire planets—
Has all been for nothing.
Because it was all done to save the Republic.
Which was already gone.
Which had already fallen.
The corpse of which had been defended only by a Jedi Order that was now under the command of a Dark Lord of the Sith. Mace Windu's entire existence has become crystal so shot-through with flaws that the hammer of those nine words has crushed him to sand.

Anakin blinked and rubbed his eyes again. Maybe he was still a bit flash-blind—the Korun Master seemed to be fading in and out of existence, half swallowed by a thickening black haze in which danced a meter-long bar of sunfire. Mace pressed back the darkness with a relentless straight-ahead march; his own blade, that distinctive amethyst blaze that had been the final sight of so many evil beings across the galaxy, made a haze of its own:an oblate sphere of purple fire within which there seemed to be dozens of swords slashing in all directions at once. 
The shadow he fought, that blur of speed—could that be Palpatine? 
Their blades flared and flashed, crashing together with bursts of fire, weaving nets of killing energy in exchanges so fast that Anakin could not truly see them—but he could feel them in the Force. The Force itself roiled and burst and crashed around them, boiling with power and lightspeed ricochets of lethal intent. And it was darkening. 
Anakin could feel how the Force fed upon the shadow's murderous exaltation; he could feel fury spray into the Force though some poisonous abscess had crested in both their hearts.

Mace was deep in it now: submerged in Vaapad, swallowed by it, he no longer truly existed as an independent being. Vaapad is a channel for darkness, and that darkness flowed both ways. He accepted the furious speed of the Sith Lord, drew the shadow's rage and power into his inmost center—
And let it fountain out again. He reflected the fury upon its source as a lightsaber redirects a blaster bolt.

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith
 
As can be seen, Mace's own abilities were elevated for that one battle. If there is any doubt that Mace is not normally as powerful or fast as he was in that duel, another issue to consider is this: that Windu has fought many opponents without operating on the speed level he did against Sidious. Sidious fought so fast that Anakin could never even track his blows. Sidious similarly killed Saesee and Agen before they could react. Mace and Saesee have dueled one another before. How is it Mace was not faster than Tiin's eye could follow here, yet he could compete with Sidious, who blitzed Tiin? 

Mace has lost to Dooku before. Dooku was portrayed as roughly parallel to Anakin respective of their adroitness in Force Speed when they dueled one another in RotS. How is it Mace never moved faster than Dooku's eye could follow? 

Master Windu was also known within the Order for his unusual fighting style, one that he developed after studying the dueling styles of various lightsaber masters. His attacks consisted of relentless, unpredictable blows, like shots from an autoblaster. Master Windu himself remained perfectly balanced and centered. In the history of the Jedi Order, only two opponents ever overcame him in battle. One was Master Yoda, who some said was the Order's true master of lightsaber combat. The other was former Master Dooku, whose own fighting style was archaic, yet stunningly effective.

--Taken from the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook

Mace has fought equally with Sora Bulq. Bulq lost to Count Dooku. How is it Mace never moved faster than Bulq's eye could follow? 

Gallery

Mace fought and drove back Asajj Ventress. Ventress has lost to Anakin, whose vision was too slow to follow Palpatine's strokes. How is it Mace never moved faster than Ventress' eye could follow? 

Gallery

Mace dueled General Grievous, whom he only beat by exploiting Grievous' restricted mobility in that duel and the Force hurling him off the mag-lev train they fought on. How is it Mace never fought overwhelmingly faster than Grievous?

Kit's bulging black eyes indicated Palpatine. "They want to take him alive."
The words had scarcely left his mouth when something hit the train with sufficient force to whip everyone from one side of the car to the other, then back again. The Red Guards were just regaining their balance when the roof began to resound with the cadence of heavy, clanging footfalls, advancing from the rear of the train.
"Grievous," Mace grumbled.
Kit glanced at him. "Here we go again."
Hurrying into the vestibule between the two lead cars, they launched themselves to the roof. Three cars distant marched General Grievous and two of his elite droids, their capes snapping behind them in the wind, pulse-tipped batons angled across their barrel chests. Farther back, clamped by animal-like claws to the roof of the train, was the gunboat from which the frightful trio had been released.
Without pausing, Grievous drew two lightsabers from inside his billowing cloak. By the time they were ignited, Mace was already on and all over the cyborg, batting away at the two blades, swinging low at Grievous's artificial legs, thrusting at his skeletal face. The lightsabers thrummed and hissed, meeting one another in bursts of dazzling light. In a corner of Mace's mind he wondered to which Jedi Grievous's blades had belonged. Just as the Force was keeping Mace from being blown from the mag-lev's roof, magnetism of some sort was keeping the general fastened in place. For the cyborg, though, the coherence hindered as much as it helped, whereas Mace never remained in one place for very long.
Again and again the three blades joined, in snarling attacks and parries. Grievous was well trained in the Jedi arts. Mace could recognize the hand of Dooku in the general's training and technique. His strikes were as forceful as any Mace had ever had to counter, and his speed was astonishing. But he didn't know Vaapad—the technique of dark flirtation in which Mace excelled.
To the rear of the car, where Grievous's pair of MagnaGuards had made the mistake of pitting themselves against Kit Fisto, the Nautolan's blade was a cyclone of blazing blue light. Resistant to the energy outpourings of a lightsaber, the phrik alloy staffs were potent weapons, but like any weapon they needed to find their target, and Kit simply wasn't allowing that. In moves a Twi'lek dancer might envy, he spun around the guards, claiming a limb from both with each rotation: left legs, right arms, right legs...
The speed of the train saw to the rest, ultimately whisking the droids into the canyon like insects blown from the windscreen of a speeder bike.
The loss of his confederates was noted by whatever computers were slaved to Grievous's organic brain, but the loss neither distracted nor slowed him. His sole setting was attack. Successful at analyzing Mace's lightsaber style, those same computers suggested that Grievous alter his stance and posture, along with the angle of his parries, ripostes, and thrusts. The result wasn't Vaapad, but it was close enough, and Mace wasn't interested in prolonging the contest any longer than necessary.
Crouching low, he angled the blade downward and slashed, guiding it through the roof of the car, perpendicular to Grievous's stalwart advance. Mace saw by the surprised look in the cyborg's reptilian eyes that, for all his strength, dexterity, and resolve, the living part of him wasn't always in perfect sync with his alloy servos. Clearly, Grievous—onetime courageous commander of sentient troops—realized what Mace had done and wanted to sidestep, where General Grievous—current commander of droids and other war machines—wanted nothing more than to impale Mace with lunging thrusts of the paired blades.
Slipping into the gap made by Mace's saber, Grievous's left talon lost magnetic purchase on the roof, and the general faltered. Mace came out of his crouch prepared to drive his sword into Grievous's guts, but some last-instant firing of the general's cybersynapses compelled the cyborg's torso through a swift half twist that would have sent Mace's head hurtling into the canyon had the maneuver prevailed. Instead Mace leapt backward, out of the range of the slicing blades, and Force-pushed outward, just at the instant of Grievous's single misstep.
Off the side of the car the general went, twisting and turning as he fell, Mace trying to track the general's contorted plunge, but unsuccessfully. Had he fallen into the canyon? Had he managed to dig his duranium claws into the side of the car or grab hold of the mag-lev rail itself?
Mace couldn't take the time to puzzle it out. One hundred meters away, the gunboat retracted its landing gear and rose from the roof on repulsorlift power. Reckless shots from one of the pursuing gunships obliged the Separatist craft to skew, then dive, with the gunship following close behind.

--Taken from Labyrinth of Evil

Example after example of that sort could be elucidated on. In none of Mace's fights did he ever accelerate his movements to the degree that he did against Palpatine, because Vaapad has limits; Vaapad's limit is the darkness within the user. To further solidify this point, Palpatine killed Agen Kolar and Saesee Tiin before either could react, but another source even states that Palpatine killed Tiin, Kolar, and Fisto before Mace realized it, showing the difference in speed between Palpatine and Mace and showing that had Mace not tapped into a greater speed level/fighting state, he would have similarly been unable to match Palpatine's speed.

Before Mace realizes what has happened, Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto have fallen to Sidious's blade.

--Taken from The Complete Visual Dictionary

The novel stated that Mace's powers were increased, sources stated that Mace failed to see Sidious' attacks, and Mace never moved that fast before. So no matter how you look at this, if Mace never improved his fighting capabilities, he would have been cut down just as quickly as Saesee, Agen, and Kit were.

Next point: Mace only fought as a perfect equal with Palpatine. The novel is very clear that Mace, even when his speed and combat efficiency are so acutely aggrandized, is still only an equal with Palpatine in a duel.

Vaapad made him an open channel, half of a superconducting loop completed by the shadow; they became a standing wave of battle that expanded into every cubic centimeter of the Chancellor's office. There was no scrap of carpet nor shred of chair that might not at any second disintegrate in flares of red or purple; lampstands became brief shields, sliced into segments that whirled through the air; couches became terrain to be climbed for advantage or overleapt in retreat. But there was still only the cycle of power, the endless loop, no wound taken on either side, not even the possibility of fatigue. 
Impasse.

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith

Another source even bears mention that Palpatine forced Mace back.

In the inner recesses of his private office, the Jedi confronted the Chancellor. Palpatine produced a lightsaber hidden in his sleeve and let the dark side flow through him. It granted him unnatural dexterity and speed—enough to quickly kill three Jedi Masters and force the mighty Mace Windu back.

--Taken from The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

This proves that Mace is incontestably not a better duelist than Sidious regardless of what some may think.

Which leads us to the next point: If Mace isn't a more skilled duelist, how did he win? Setting aside the possibility that Palpatine allowed him to, the novel shows that Windu won by exploiting Palpatine's fear which caused him to become distracted and slow down. Mace felt fear emanating around the office, which he believed was Palpatine's, and abused it by breaking the window, resulting in Palpatine hesitating when he stood near it for fear of falling down. This allowed Mace to land a blow that disarmed him. 

Mace disengaged from the shadow's blade and leapt for the window; he slashed away the transparisteel with a single flourish. His instant's distraction cost him: a dark surge of the Force nearly blew him right out of the gap he had just cut. Only a desperate Force-push of his own altered his path enough that he slammed into a stanchion instead of plunging half a kilometer from the ledge outside. He bounced off and the Force cleared his head and once again he gave himself to Vaapad. 
He could feel the end of this battle approaching, and so could the blur of Sith he faced; in the Force, the shadow had become a pulsar of fear. Easily, almost effortlessly, he turned the shadow's fear into a weapon: he angled the battle to bring them both out onto the window ledge. Out in the wind. Out with the lightning. Out on a rain-slicked ledge above a half-kilometer drop. Out where the shadow's fear made it hesitate. Out where the shadow's fear turned some of its Force-powered speed into a Force-powered grip on the slippery permacrete. Out where Mace could flick his blade in one precise arc and slash the shadow's lightsaber in half. 
One piece flipped back in through the cut-open window. The other tumbled from opening fingers, bounced on the ledge, and fell through the rain toward the distant alleys below.

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith  
 
So Mace capitalized on the fear. However, the fear he felt was not Palpatine's; it was Anakin's. Sidious seemed to somehow project Anakin's fear out through himself (either that, or Mace's Force senses are incredibly inaccurate, but it makes no sense to me that Mace would simply "miss" in detecting whose fear it was; it makes more sense that Palpatine misdirected it).  

"For all your power, you are no Jedi. All you are, my lord," Mace said evenly, staring past his blade, "is under arrest." 
"Do you see, Anakin? Do you?" Palpatine's voice once again had the broken cadence of a frightened old man's. "Didn't I warn you of the Jedi and their treason?" 
"Save your twisted words, my lord. There are no politicians here. The Sith will never regain control of the Republic. It's over. You've lost." Mace leveled his blade. "You lost for the same reason the Sith always lose: defeated by your own fear." 
Palpatine lifted his head. His eyes smoked with hate. "Fool," he said. He lifted his arms, his robes of office spreading wide into raptor's wings, his hands hooking into talons. 
"Fool!" His voice was a shout of thunder. "Do you think the fear you feel is mine?" 
Lighting blasted the clouds above, and lightning blasted from Palpatine's hands, and Mace didn't have time to comprehend what Palpatine was talking about; he had time only to slip back into Vaapad and angle his blade to catch the forking arcs of pure, dazzling hatred that clawed toward him. Because Vaapad is more than a fighting style. It is a state of mind: a channel for darkness. Power passed into him and out again without touching him. And the circuit completed itself: the lightning reflected back to its source. Palpatine staggered, snarling, but the blistering energy that loured from his hands only intensified. He fed the power with his pain. 
"Anakin!" Mace called. His voice sounded distant, blurred, as if it came from the bottom of a well. "Anakin, help me! This is your chance!" 
He felt Anakin's leap from the office floor to the ledge, felt his approach behind—And Palpatine was not afraid. Mace could feel it: he wasn't worried at all.

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith
 
But if Mace won by manipulating Palpatine's fear, how did he win if he was never afraid in the first place? This to me seems like the greatest implication from the book that Palpatine had set it all up, but it can be interpreted different ways. 
 
Next: Palpatine could have killed Mace with Lightning at any point. When Sidious started firing Lightning at Mace after losing his lightsaber, he generated so much power with his Lightning that Mace's blade was being contorted. It literally bent back toward his face and would have slashed him if Palpatine continued. The book even goes so far to say that Vaapad is of no consequence; he just lacked the power to defend against it.

Lightning blasted the clouds above, and lightning blasted from Palpatine's hands, and Mace didn't have time to comprehend what Palpatine was talking about; he had time only to slip back into Vaapad and angle his blade to catch the forking arcs of pure, dazzling hatred that clawed toward him. Because Vaapad is more than a fighting style. It is a state of mind: a channel for darkness. Power passed into him and out again without touching him. And the circuit completed itself: the lightning reflected back to its source.

Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Korun Master's face.

Mace's blade bent so close to his face that he was choking on ozone. "Anakin, he's too strong for me—"

This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade.

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith

With this, we can conclude that even if Mace could beat Palpatine in a duel (which is reaching because Mace is not only severely outclassed in speed but is not a better duelist than Sidious), Palpatine could still kill him with Lightning if he so chooses. 
 
Last fact: Yoda is a better duelist than Mace. Nick Gillard, who was designated by Lucas to choreograph the duels in the movies and conversed with Lucas about character abilities, has stated twice that Yoda is superior to Mace. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m2yIAxeBHA&feature=player_embedded  (5:28 to 5:35)

"We've not seen Mace fight yet, and we know that he's second only to Yoda."

 
http://web.archive.org/web/20051125042817/http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/bts/production/news20000711b.html  

"Mace Windu's fighting abilities are second only to Yoda." 

 
Yoda has also beaten Mace before. More than that, he has beaten Dooku twice, who was an equal to Mace. 

Master Windu was also known within the Order for his unusual fighting style, one that he developed after studying the dueling styles of various lightsaber masters. His attacks consisted of relentless, unpredictable blows, like shots from an autoblaster. Master Windu himself remained perfectly balanced and centered. In the history of the Jedi Order, only two opponents ever overcame him in battle. One was Master Yoda, who some said was the Order's true master of lightsaber combat. The other was former Master Dooku, whose own fighting style was archaic, yet stunningly effective.

--Taken from the Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
 
These are canon facts. Whether Mace beat Palpatine or not, these points cannot be overlooked.  

One misconception I feel I should address is Lucas' remarks on the fight during the Revenge of the Sith commentary. 

"Okay, well, this sequence always started out with Mace overpowering Palpatine, and then Palpatine using his powers to try to destroy Mace, and Mace deflecting his rays with his lightsaber. And it always was that Anakin cut the lightsaber out of his hand. But this part where he pretends to lose his power and be weak was something that I added later, 'cause this is, it moved the point where Anakin turns down to this moment right here, and you can see now, that it's very clear that he's, he, he wants him to go on trial so he can pump him for information about how to get these powers."

--Taken from the Revenge of the Sith commentary

If you fail to pay attention to context, this sounds like Lucas said that Mace in fact did defeat Palpatine. However, you need to notice the comment as a whole. Lucas starts off by offering a description on a certain scene, but then he moves on to tell how he fitted details in with one another. But this is the distinction: He describes a sequence of events as the viewer sees them at first, giving a brief background on what sequence in particular he is talking about, but then his focus shifts from what the audience sees to what the characters' intentions are and what they experience and think. So from the context of simply a perceivable sequence, no, this does not constitute proof that Lucas stated that Mace did really defeat Palpatine.

A last point respective to the duel itself, in the direct sequel novel to Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine, in his musings, notes that all of his plans for leading Anakin to the dark side had been successful. Anakin aiding him in the holding office, choosing Palpatine over the Jedi, was a crucial moment in his fall. It is entirely possible this indicates that Palpatine had set the entire incident up. 

Darth Sidious had had most of his beloved Sith statues and ancient bas-reliefs removed from his ruined chambers in the Senate Office Building, where four Jedi had lost their lives and one had been converted to the dark side. Relocated to the throne room, the statues had been placed on the dais, the sculptures mounted on the long walls. Swiveling his throne, Sidious gazed at them now.
As some Jedi had feared from the start, Anakin had been ripe for conversion when Qui-Gon Jinn had first brought him to the Temple, and for well over a decade all of Sidious's plans for the boy had unfolded without incident.

--Taken from Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

Pertaining to Mace deflecting Force Lightning back onto Palpatine, it is widely (and incorrectly) believed that Palpatine's deformations stemmed from this event, but this is untrue. Sidious had studied alchemical practices that adjusted his facial structure and grants him the appearance of the face of Palpatine. This has been indicated, both in Revenge of the Sith  and in other sources.
http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/4/48765/1994427-new_picture__111_.jpg
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As often as Plagueis maintained that the Rule of Two had ended with their partnership, the Muun remained the powerful one, and Palpatine the covetous one. Bane’s dictum notwithstanding, denial was still a key factor in Sith training; a key factor in being “broken,” as Plagueis put it—of being shaped by the dark side of the Force. Cruelly, at times, and painfully. But Palpatine was grateful, for the Force had slowly groomed him into a being of dark power and granted him a secret identity, as well. The life he had been leading—as the noble head of House Palpatine, legislator, and most recently ambassador-at-large—was nothing more than the trappings of an alter ego; his wealth, a subterfuge; his handsome face, a mask. In the realm of the Force his thoughts ordered reality, and his dreams prepared the galaxy for monumental change. He was a manifestation of dark purpose, helping to advance the Sith Grand Plan and gradually gaining power over himself so that he might one day—in the words of his Master—be able to gain control over another, then a group of others, then an order, a world, a species, the Republic itself.

--Taken from Darth Plagueis

That warm and human hand gave his shoulder a warm and human squeeze. "I do not fear your power, Anakin, I embrace it. You are the greatest of the Jedi. You can be the greatest of the Sith. I believe that, Anakin. I believe in you. I trust you. I trust you. I trust you."
Anakin looked from the dead hand on the ledge to the living one on his shoulder, then up to the face of the man who stood above him, and what he saw there choked him like an invisible fist crushing his throat. The hand on his shoulder was human. The face...wasn't.
The eyes were a cold and feral yellow, and they gleamed like those of a predator lurking beyond a fringe of firelight; the bone around those feral eyes had swollen and melted and flowed like durasteel spilled from a fusion smelter, and the flesh that blanketed it had gone corpse-gray and coarse as rotten synthplast. Stunned with horror, stunned with revulsion, Anakin could only stare at the creature. At the shadow. Looking into the face of the darkness, he saw his future.
"Now come inside," the darkness said.
After a moment, he did. Anakin stood just within the office. Motionless. Palpatine examined the damage to his face in a broad expanse of wall mirror. Anakin couldn't tell if his expression might be revulsion, or if this were merely the new shape of his features. Palpatine lifted one tentative hand to the misshapen horror that he now saw in the mirror, then simply shrugged.
"And so the mask becomes the man," he sighed with a hint of philosophical melancholy. "I shall miss the face of Palpatine, I think; but for our purpose, the face of Sidious will serve. Yes, it will serve."

--Taken from Revenge of the Sith

"Always two there are"—not only master and apprentice, but persona and true face. Unmasked by deflected lightning during his duel with Mace Windu, the Sith Lord's true face is revealed to the world.

--Taken from The Complete Visual Dictionary

Having gone through all of this, I think my opinion is obvious: I believe Sidious allowed Mace to win to persuade Anakin to help him. The events are too convenient. In the movie, Palpatine communicated with Anakin through the Force while Anakin was in the Council Chamber, goading him to come to the chancellor's office. In the novel, Palpatine sets up a recording device which he alters to make it sound as if he was the victim. Also in the novel, Palpatine notes that it is good that Windu, Kolar, Tiin, and Fisto are coming, just as it is good that Anakin is coming. In the novel, Mace won by exploiting a fear in Palpatine that never existed in him at all. All of it just leads me to believe that Palpatine restricted himself purposefully. If you disagree, I can understand. This is only my opinion, not a fact. Do I believe this is a credible and logical assessment of the occurrences? Obviously, or else I wouldn't believe them. But the fact is that there is no fact on this. I don't believe we will ever really know without a doubt who won that duel, as I doubt it will ever be stated in any canon source or by anyone from Lucas Licensing. But we can draw a reasonable conclusion from it, and this is mine. However, simply because we have no irrefutable fact on whether Sidious lost on purpose or not, we do still have to acknowledge what the facts we do have that surround that ambiguity, such as the facts I covered above. The fact is that even if Mace did win legitimately without Sidious intending that outcome, it speaks nothing of Mace's standard abilities because of the amplification he received for that one duel, a resource he does not have access to under normal circumstances.

@Silver2467 said:

[A post which should be read by all]

Amazing post, Silver. Absolutely stunning. Kudos to you, sir or madam. I've always felt Dooku may have been slightly superior to Mace but now I'm leaning towards them being equals.

A side note: If I see one of the dreaded "Mace defeated Palpatine" people, I might reference a good chunk of your post. I hope that is fine with you (credit will be given).

@Silver2467:

Holy Crap. That had to have been one of the best post I have ever seen anywhere. Well done, good sir.

I once read that this fight happened in the Jedi Academy and Windu handled Dooku. However, this was before these guys became masters and I'm not sure the story was canon or not. Either way, Windu was said to be the best light saber-ist of them all (recall how Palpatine quickly took out all the Jedi masters when Windu confronted him in the chamber, but Windu managed to take Palpatine down).

@meta knight said:

Mace Windu's form VII, is a deadly, unpredidictable form, while Dooku uses the classic, heavy dualing form II. It would be quite a match, but Mace would be victorious.

This is exciting. So Windu didn't die in EPIII?

@Silver2467:

The god speaks

/thread

Mace.

With all the post that are in here I'm thinking they are equal. With that being said, I say who ever make the first big mistake loses this battle.

@Silver2467:

I will try to clean this post up as best as I can. I'm at work and the computer here don't support the text editor. So. Forgive me if this is hard to read. But I have just a few question. First, as I said before, that was an amazing post. And I am pretty sure that Mace/Dooku are equals now. Mostly because everything you posted was very well supported. So if you wouldn't mind addressing a few questions I have, then I will be satisfied with the entire thing.

1)Is Vaapad really and enhancement. It seems to me that this is the perfect style to combat foes of the darkside. And, unless I misunderstood what you were saying, it seems that you are saying that Mace recieved a crazy stat boost in his fight with Sidious. However, my question is, does that or rather should that really count as a "boost"? It seems that this would be different from a force enhancment. Again, I apologize that I can't make this a more neat post. I will try to make an edit later.

2)Is it ok to say that his Dual with Sidious doesn't have bearing on other fights? Again based off the resouces you posted, Vaapad draws for two places, the user and what it's being used against. It seems to me, that Sidious was the first fight Mace had where his "Morals where off". What I mean by that is, in other duals, Mace seemed more limited by his own sense of the Jedi way. Like in Shatterpoint, Ventress and Sora. Even in your scans above. Ventress wanted the battle, but her skills so far beneath that of Mace that she just had to back down. I believe her name was Depa(from Shatterpoint) and like Sora, Mace seemed to lament his hand in there fall due to his creation of Vaapad. He seem to seek there and his own redemption. But in all three encounters, Mace as not out to kill. His dual with the General, less of every thing above, but still not really out to kill Grevious. As opposed to when he encountered him again and crushed his chest. I'm bring these thing up to say, in the his last fight, the novals state that this time he was fighting for more than even his life and he seem to have made up his mind the moment the dual started that he would kill Sidious. Unlike his other duals with Yoda, Grevious, Sora, Dapa, Ventress ect, he wanted Sidious dead. Sidious himself was using force speed. Could the arguement not be made that Sidious himself had to match Mace, less he be overwhelmed? I'm not saying that it's completely true, but is it at all possible? Not that as they moved to the window, he used less force speed and more force grip. In this moment, Mace stole the advantage as Sidious was no longer able to match his saber speed. So, is it really not to have any bearing on any other fight or standing of Mace. As those things seem to suggest to me that Mace is in a constant state of holding back. In fact, to further elaborate on this (I really wish I could do quote. Bear with me. I will totally clean this up when I get home) Mace said that he create Vaapad to answer his own darkness and channel it right? But even that has to be kept in check I.E Sora and Depa.

3)All these things compared to the Count who fights without limitation on what he is willing to do for victory. Like his dual with Sora, where he just Blasted him with lightning. (Which honestly, I don't understand why that doesn't happen more often. Like, why even dual at that level. LOL) The Count trained Grevious. So, it does stand to reason that he would be more adapt at handling him in a 1v1, especially given, that they were not duals to the death and Grevious was seeking to learn. Were as Mace handled him well enough in there battle and resorted to just trying to Kill him with Force Crush instead of engaging him in a dual again. (Much like Count v Sora)Even Dooku tells him, that by trying to talk the line of light and dark, he lacks power and that give him the clear ability to overwhelm him. Where as Mace does not normally do that. Especially in an instance where he wants to save the person like those who have fallen because of Vaapad.

I'm not saying that Darkside is greater than Light or the reverse. However, it seems clear from those in the SW Universe that form 7 doesn't seem to suit lightsiders. Vaapad answered most of this. However, it doesn't allow for one to use it to it's fullest if they believe what the Jedi believe. Yet, When Mace used the style to it's fulliest, Even the Sidious was forced to enhances his physical stats less he be killed. Well, all in all, that's what leads me to believe that over all, Mace maybe above Dooku. However, it's his morals that limit has effectiveness and make them equals.