The early promotions for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace hinted at a new legacy, a Sith lord as legendary as the fearsome Darth Vader. His look alone was meant to inspire fear; his many horns, as well as his red and black skin and tattoos, suggested a demonic origin. Maul’s ninja-like fighting style only added to his mystique. Unfortunately, fans were treated to something far less than the dangerous Sith Darth Maul appeared to be. For one thing, Maul was a foe of far too few words, uttering a handful of lines in the entire film. And after a lengthy duel, Darth Maul appeared to meet his end, resurfacing only in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.
Despite his convincing death scene, Darth Maul’s many fans clamored for his return. From Halloween costumes to action figures and T-Shirts, Darth Maul’s distinctively devilish face continued to inspire fan loyalty. Novels and comics explored his past. We learned that Sidious took Maul as a child when he recognized Maul’s potential. In 2012, the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series revealed that Darth Maul had survived the duel with Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. Since then, Lucasfilm (and most recently Disney), have continued to expand on the legacy of the ruthless Sith. Now that he has an expanded story to inspire new fans, CBR examines the reasons why Maul is paradoxically the worst and best Sith in the Star Wars legacy.
21 HALF THE SITH
The elephant in the room is rather large when discussing Darth Maul’s failures. Arguably his greatest disappointment was falling at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In a duel with the young Jedi, then more a Padawan, Maul disarms Kenobi. Before Maul can kill his second Jedi in one battle, Obi-Wan uses the Force to reach out for his master’s lightsaber. Darth Maul relaxes his pose long enough for Kenobi to slice through Maul like he’s made of thin air.
After his fall, not even Darth Sidious can detect that Maul survived his predicament; Sidious then takes a new apprentice, Count Dooku (aka Darth Tyranus). Tyranus sets his master’s plans in motion to take control of the Galactic Senate, and destroy the Jedi.
20 MAUL’S BANE
The thorn in Maul’s side has always been Obi-Wan Kenobi. After Maul returns from the dead, Kenobi is at the top of Maul’s hit list. Carefully, he sets a plan in motion to lure Obi-Wan into a trap. With the help of his brother, Savage Opress (also a powerful Force-wielder), Maul disarms Kenobi.
Rather than kill his nemesis, Darth Maul chooses to gloat over his victory. A basic tenet of the Sith order is to destroy all Jedi Knights. Maul’s biggest mistake as a Sith is letting Obi-Wan live instead of killing him – ultimately it will prove to be Maul’s downfall.
19 MAUL THE PIRATE
When Savage Opress finds and rescues his brother Darth Maul, the pair make for a powerful duo. Unfortunately, that’s not enough to plan his revenge, and Maul embarks on a quest to amass wealth and power. He allies himself with the Death Watch, an order of Mandalorians. He also partners with the Black Sun, a crime syndicate.
Eventually the Hutts declare their allegiance to the Sith brothers; he calls his alliance the Shadow Collective. After the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story, we learn that Maul is the head of Crimson Dawn, a criminal organization. Although there’s no doubt that Maul is a survivor, he’s never able to achieve the level of a Sith lord again.
18 THE CONQUEST OF MANDALORE
After he is given up for dead, Maul seethes with rage over his perceived betrayal at the hands of his former master. To get his revenge, he begins to amass power, first getting help from the Dathomirian witch Mother Talzin. With the support of the Death Watch, Darth Maul also usurps the rule of the planet Mandalore.
Had he decided to seek out his former master and prove that he still deserved to be his apprentice, perhaps the outcome might have been different. An apprentice, even a former apprentice, is sure to incur his master’s wrath when claiming power for himself.
17 SIDIOUS VS. MAUL
All the years of planning and amassing power and influence lead to one point during the Clone Wars – a confrontation with Darth Sidious. After taking over Mandalore, Darth Maul knows that he’ll attract the attention of his former master, who won’t approve of his designs on power.
With the help of Savage Opress, the brothers fight with Sidious on Mandalore. Although the Dathomirian siblings mount an impressive challenge, Darth Sidious slays Opress and disarms Darth Maul, taking him captive. Sidious keeps him alive as a bait to destroy Mother Talzin, effectively ending Maul’s quest to rise to the ranks of Sith ruler.
16 DARTH NO MORE
For years after the end of the Clone Wars, Darth Maul lives in obscurity. Knowing that Darth Sidious has taken on a new, powerful apprentice (Darth Vader), Maul plots his revenge from the shadows. He travels to Malachor in search of an ancient weapon in the remains of a Sith temple. I
t is there that he confronts The Inquisitors, Force users who are in service to Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. One Inquisitor calls him Darth Maul, but the Sith is quick to rebuke the villain. “Formerly Darth, now just Maul." Maul no longer wants to be a Sith lord, content instead to uncover the clues that will lead to Darth Sidious’ downfall.
15 SAVES DARTH SIDIOUS’ PLANS
Before Darth Maul is resurrected, a series of books detailed Maul’s early years. In Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Maul proves early on why he’s arguably one of the best Sith in history. While on a mission, Darth Maul discovers that one of his master’s agents has betrayed him, creating a Holocron that details Sidious’s plans.
Before the information can be sold, or the Jedi Council can be made aware of the plot to destroy their order, Darth Maul embarks on a hunt for the betrayers, succeeding in killing the traitors and keeping the secrets safe. If not for his deadly apprentice, Darth Sidious might never have destroyed the Jedi Council.
14 MARKED FOR LIFE
Anyone who’s ever had a tattoo knows it’s not the most pleasant experience. If you ask most people who’ve endured the process, the result is often worth the pain. The permanent art represents something personal for the wearer, but it’s also an outward expression of character and individuality. Few tattoos reflect a person’s inner character better than Darth Maul’s ink.
Like most of his life, Maul is never given the option to choose his markings. Before his first birthday, Mother Talzin gives Maul and his brother, Savage Opress, their face tattoos. Early on, pain is something the young Maul learns is part of life -- it’s something he channeled to transform into a ruthless Sith warrior.
13 CHILD APPRENTICE
To understand how and why Darth Sidious took interest in Maul, you must look to his past -- and Mother Talzin. When learning of the Dathomirians, and the order of Force-sensitive witches known as the Nightsisters, Darth Sidious traveled to their planet. After witnessing the power of Talzin, Sidious wished to obtain the secrets to her dark arts.
As Talzin tells it, Sidious betrayed the witch and took Maul from a very young age to become his apprentice. These formative years enabled Sidious to make Maul his perfect Sith servant -- that didn’t change until Sidious abandoned Maul, claiming Count Dooku as his new apprentice.
12 VISIONS OF REVENGE
“At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last, we will have revenge.” These are perhaps Darth Maul’s most famous lines – not that he has many in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Maul’s dialogue suggests that he has been betrayed by the Jedi Order. But at this point in the movie, the Jedi have yet to encounter Maul or Sidious.
Darth Maul’s thirst for vengeance comes from Darth Sidious’ conditioning. Years of tutelage taught Maul that the Jedi slaughtered the Sith generations ago, and Maul and his master are the only ones who can seek retribution. If motivation alone counts, Darth Maul’s absolute hatred of the Jedi makes him one of the greatest Sith.
11 MAUL’S SKILLS
From the moment that Sidious takes him as an apprentice, Maul is molded to be the perfect weapon. Sidious trains him in the dark ways of the force, honing him as the killing machine to take down the Jedi Order. But what makes Maul a particularly lethal weapon is his fighting agility; he can bounce and leap gracefully.
He also wields a dual lightsaber with lethal accuracy, fighting multiple opponents at once with little effort. Even years after skulking in the shadows, when Maul resurfaces in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels, he’s able to dispatch all of Darth Vader’s lightsaber warriors, the Inquisitors.
10 FIRST KILL
For a thousand years, the Sith were believed to be eradicated. When Sidious takes Maul as his apprentice, he lays an intricate web to deceive the Jedi; but to do this Darth Maul must remain in the shadows until the moment is ripe. The Marvel comic Star Wars: Darth Maul explores the time immediately preceding Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
Sensing that Darth Maul’s bloodlust is too strong, Sidious sends his apprentice on a mission. Maul encounters a Jedi, Eldra Kaitis, eventually testing his skills against her. He kills Eldra before she can warn the Jedi that the Sith have resurfaced, and it wets Maul’s appetite for slaying more Jedi.
9 MAUL VS. JINN
The highlight of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace happens when Maul battles the Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn and a then Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s a moment that Sidious has been planning for decades, and a clash Darth Maul has been relishing since his training was completed. Finally, Maul can execute his master’s orders, fulfilling the Sith mantra of destroying the Jedi.
After a heated battle, Maul isolates Qui-Gon Jinn from Kenobi. Kenobi is forced to watch as Maul disarms his Jedi master. Maul then thrusts his lightsaber through Jinn, ending his life. It signals the beginning of the end of the Jedi Order.
8 MADNESS
Although Maul kills Qui-Gon Jinn, a momentary lapse costs Maul dearly. Obi-Wan uses his slain master’s lightsaber, slicing the Sith in two. Maul falls down a cavernous well, appearing to die. Yet Maul is so strong that his hatred keeps him alive. For a decade he survives in obscurity, his mind shattered except for his lust for revenge.
Living in darkness for years virtually drove Maul insane. When his brother Savage Opress finds him, Maul’s mind is fractured. But as a Sith, hate and vengeance are the keys to power; Maul masters his hatred of Kenobi, surviving being cut in two. He banishes his madness and plans his revenge.
7 MAUL’S NEW LEGS
When Savage Opress returns to Dathomir to confront Mother Talzin, she reveals that his brother lives. Opress travels to the junkyard world of Lotho Minor, finding Maul. Maul is barely coherent, but despite his pain, he survives. Darth Maul’s torso is sown to a grotesque body of twisted metal, with six spider-like legs.
Although he’s more a monster than a man, Darth Maul manages to cling to his hate enough to craft a new body, an impressive feat considering the damage to his psyche. Maul doesn’t keep his new legs for long after he’s rescued, but Maul’s hideous new body accurately reflects his repulsive need to embrace hate.
6 HATRED IS BEST
Visions of revenge plagued Darth Maul while he was a prisoner of his own mind, living as a castoff in the outer rim of planets. Even at his lowest, there’s no doubt what kept Maul alive. Hatred is the path to the dark side, and after his defeat at the hands of Kenobi, Maul has more hatred than ever.
Soon after Maul regains his sanity, Savage Opress marvels at his brother’s newfound power, claiming he is stronger than ever. Together the siblings put a plan in motion to crush their enemies. Although they want to destroy Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, Maul’s greatest goal is to inflict pain on his nemesis, Obi-Wan.
5 DUCHESS SATINE
Opportunity presents itself when Darth Maul takes control of the Mandalorian Death Watch. The splinter group wants to usurp control of the planet from the hands of Duchess Satine Kryze. Fortunately for Maul, the Duchess is a close friend (and former love interest) of Obi-Wan’s, his sworn enemy.
Maul lures Kenobi to Mandalore, goading him into a fight. Obi-Wan is forced to witness as Maul drives his saber into Duchess Satine. Maul taunts his enemy, tempting him to give in to his hate, and perhaps fall to the dark side of the Force. Although Maul misses his opportunity to kill the Jedi, he fulfills a long simmering goal to avenge his defeat at Kenobi’s hands.
4 MASTER AND APPRENTICE
During his resurgence, Maul alludes to a new order in the galaxy. Even though he owes his brother his life, ultimately Maul is a creature of the dark side. After a disagreement, Maul demonstrates his power by defeating Opress in a show of superiority. At that moment he makes a bold statement, claiming that there are always two in the Sith Order, a master and an apprentice.
When the corrupt Mandalorian Pre Vizsla accuses Maul of being an agent of Count Dooku, Maul brazenly claims that he and his brother answer to no one. Maul thus makes his play for ultimate power, hoping that he will also have his revenge against his former master, Darth Sidious.
3 ALLIANCE WITH DOOKU
Perhaps Darth Maul’s supreme gambit happens in an unfinished episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. After seeking out Mother Talzin’s advice, Maul plans his revenge against Darth Sidious. The Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir comic book details what should have aired in the animated series. Maul captures Sidious’s two generals, Grievous and Dooku (aka Darth Tyranus).
Now that his brother has been slain, Maul needs an ally. He boldly contacts his former master, informing him of his victory over Dooku. Sidious tells him to slay Dooku, and Maul uses that to try to form an alliance with Dooku. Tyranus ultimately remains loyal to Sidious, but Maul’s ambitions for power are as great as his former master’s.
2 TAINTING EZRA
Perhaps it gives them pleasure and power, but one trait of a Sith lord is to corrupt the innocent. Darth Sidious does this most famously when he whispers in Anakin’s ear, promising him power and abilities beyond his imaginings. Ultimately, he succeeds, gaining a new apprentice in Darth Vader. In a similar move, Maul encounters the Jedi-in-training Ezra Bridger in the animated series Star Wars: Rebels.
Recognizing that the young Force-wielder can still be shaped, Maul begins invading Ezra’s mind, suggesting that they are fated to be teacher and student. Maul manages to convince Ezra to combine powers and unlock the Holocrons, thus unveiling great secrets -- and possibly for Maul, a key to Darth Sidious’s defeat.