Riff Tamson / Legends Riff Tamson was a Karkarodon male who served as a commander for the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars . A ruthless warlord , Tamson acted as an envoy on behalf of the Separatists , heralding their arrival while perturbing political stability in various star systems . In 21 BBY , Tamson was sent by his master , Count Dooku , to the planet Mon Cala , assassinating their Mon Cala King , Yos Kolina , in an effort to dampen race relations between the Mon Cala and Quarren populations sharing the planet . Tamson rallied the Quarren , leading them in battle against the Mon Cala . Dooku gave him the task of hunting the wayward prince , Lee - Char , who was in line to succeed his deceased father as king . Biography . Around 21 BBY , Tamson was sent as an envoy to the system , which was slowly falling to an advance by the Confederate Navy . There , he secretly assassinated King Yos Kolina of Mon Cala and the subsequent Mon Calamari , causing Quarren tensions to rise in the Calamari system . The Galactic Republic responded by sending Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala in an attempt to quell the tensions , but Tamson led a pre - emptive strike against the Mon Cals , and personally went after Prince Lee - Char . Though the attack was temporarily driven off by Republic reinforcements , Tamson soon brought in Hydroid Medusa into the battle , driving the Republic forces deep into the underwater caves . He then turned to his Quarren allies , angry that they chose not to join the battle during his second strike . He personally warned Nossor Ri not to disobey Count Dooku ' s orders again , or he would kill him on the spot . As Tamson ' s forces gained control of the Calamari cities , Dooku ordered him to locate and kill the prince in order to crush the morale of the Mon Cals . Tamson predicted that his quarry would attempt to reach the waiting Consular - class cruiser on the surface and had it destroyed just before they could reach it . He later received word that the long - range sensors had been destroyed , rendering the Separatists blind if any Republic reinforcements arrived . Shortly after , Gungans were deployed from a Republic cruiser . When Tamson was informed that the prince was spotted attempting to rally the hopes of his people , he decided to hunt the prince down personally . He deployed Trident - class assault ships to create whirlpools in order to confuse his enemies . Tamson then attempted to kill Lee - Char , but Jedi Kit Fisto and Ahsoka Tano stood in his defense . Eventually , Tamson had all the Jedi but Tano and Senators Amidala and Meena Tills captured , though the prince still eluded him . Tamson attempted to kill Lee - Char as he killed Yos Kolina . After killing off many of Lee - Char ' s soldiers , Tamson attempted to fight Char with explosive knives . Lee - Char managed to throw one of the explosive knives into Tamson ' s arm and , as Tamson swam toward the Prince , Lee - Char detonated the bomb , killing Tamson . Personality and traits . An ambitious warlord , Tamson acted as an envoy for the Separatists on the aquatic planet Dac , perturbing political stability between the native Quarren and the Mon Calamari following the assassination of King Yos Kolina , an assassination that he had been personally responsible for . He was extremely vicious , mercilessly killing anyone who got in his way and was not above threatening his allies when he was enraged or frustrated . Tamson was loyal to Count Dooku and never disobeyed his orders and would threaten anyone who even considered disobeying the Sith Lord . By being loyal to Dooku ' s cause , he hoped that his homeworld would become a galactic power because of its ties to the Separatists . He was also sadistic and enjoyed watching his prisoners suffer , commenting that whether the Jedi told him the whereabouts of Lee - Char or not , he would torture them either way . Skills and abilities . Riff Tamson was shown to be a deadly opponent in battle , even managing to defeat Jedi Master Kit Fisto in hand to hand combat . He appeared to have a preference for hand to hand combat , normally attacking his opponents with his powerful jaws or his bare hands , but also used explosive knives when he attempted to kill Prince Lee - Char . Ironically , it was one of his own knives that was responsible for his demise . In addition to being a formidable warrior , Tamson was a skilled commander and strategist and was well suited to underwater warfare . Tamson was also a very powerful swimmer , being able to match a Republic OMS Devilfish sub in speed underwater . He was also able to break through a thick glass tube by repeatedly ramming it with his head when he was pursuing Prince Lee - Char , who had taken shelter in the tube . Behind the scenes . In " " , Riff Tamson was voiced by actor Gary Anthony Williams . Riff Tamson features several homages to the title character in Jaws . Aside from being clearly based on a great white shark , the scene in which Tamson shatters a glass tube with his head is likely a reference to a similar ( and imfamous ) scene from Jaws 3 , and more notably his death is a reference to the death of the shark in the original film ( the shark from Jaws was killed when the movie ' s protagonist shot an air tank the shark had in its mouth , blowing it into bloodied pieces that splattered into the water . )