I wanted a glimpse as to where do people place TPM Dooku. The only thing we do know about him by the way of a direct comparison is that he is much inferior to AoTC Dooku. As is Qui Gon.
On the other hand, if we consider TPM Dooku to be below TPM Maul as you seem to do, there isn't any reason this isn't a solid fight.
According to Yoda, Qui Gon was the best initiate or apprentice he had trained in 400 years, putting him above Dooku at that stage. While this obviously does not necessarily translate to them as adults, it does indicate that they have loosely comparable potential. They also share similar hype as some of the order's most formidable masters as of TPM, as well as one of the best combatants in the order's history.
As it is, it doesn't seem like a mismatch.
Originally posted by LordOfTheLight
I wanted a glimpse as to where do people place TPM Dooku. The only thing we do know about him by the way of a direct comparison is that he is much inferior to AoTC Dooku. As is Qui Gon.
Originally posted by LordOfTheLight
On the other hand, if we consider TPM Dooku to be below TPM Maul as you seem to do, there isn't any reason this isn't a solid fight.
Originally posted by LordOfTheLight
According to Yoda, Qui Gon was the best initiate or apprentice he had trained in 400 years, putting him above Dooku at that stage.
Still, Qui Gon was a a formidable lightsaber duelist-the best his master has seen in 400 years of teaching-and has since fought in a variety of conflicts all over the galaxy, sometimes against odds that would have overwhelmed a lesser swordsman.
Credit: Core Rulebook
The master in question obviously being Yoda.
What's the source of the quote though? There's 15 core rulebooks.
Not sure how the "Essential Reader's Companion," which almost certainly does not mention an RPG book whatsoever, saying "that it could be a reference to Yoda." has anything to do with the quote though. Honestly, I don't even know what that means.
It is the one for the Star Wars roleplaying game, released in 2000.
The Essential Readers companion addresses the quote in the TPM novel by saying that it could be a reference to Yoda. Obviously, that extends here as well given the similar nature of the quotes, as it is just Qui Gon's master that is the source of this ambiguity.
If it refers to Yoda, it isn't retconned. As it would refer to them as Initiates.
Obi-Wan in The Empire Strikes Back refers to Yoda as "the Jedi Master who taught me" and in a post-TPM source, The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is a biography of Obi-Wan's entire life, he says the same thing to Luke IIRC.
Yoda refers to Dooku as his "Padawan" in Attack of the Clones and Dooku refers to Yoda as his former Master many times. Yet we know that Dooku was actually the Padawan of Thame Cerulian; he simply had private classes with Yoda.
Qui-Gon's quote obviously references Yoda, and there's no reason to assume a retcon given how historically characters have referred to Yoda as their Master even though a formal Master-Padawan relationship didn't exist. Yoda has taught every PT Jedi alive at some point in their lives, so I don't see any issue here.