WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The King's Man, now streaming on HBO Max.
Grigori Rasputin is largely credited with being a master of manipulation and an elite opportunist. Attribution of his actions led to an influential position in the Russian royal court during the days of the First World War and some argue the ultimate fall of the Romanov dynasty. The King's Man is set during the peak of his powers but is quite liberal in accentuating his hobo chic appearance with a ballet dancer's grace, a fencing champion's skill and the mystical powers of a Force-sensitive acolyte.
The combination of deadly blade beauty and seemingly psychic abilities brings the acrobatic Dathomirian to mind that struck fear in the hearts of Jedi across the galaxy. These two blade dancers were cunning, sinister and eminently resourceful. Since the film took implausible liberties in its depiction of the Svengali, the following will pit one against the other and compare who might stand triumphant.
The Duke of Oxford is the protagonist of the film. A patriotic nobleman who has dedicated his life to the security of his country by employing back-channel diplomacy, a network of spies and maintaining connections with the military elite to foster information sharing as well as logistical counsel. He is an extremely charming, highly skilled veteran of many battles and the man you are meant to root for during the course of the film. His son has been trained by his man at arms, a warrior spy named Shola, and is an eager pupil with enormous potential. When Rasputin engages the three of them in battle, simultaneously, he shreds them to pieces.
Every movement of the eccentric holy man is a display of balance, precision and power. Rasputin anticipates every feint and lunge as if he is accessing a third eye and counters with whistling steel that keeps his enemies in improper footing, continually on the defensive and open to hummingbird strikes that needle and sever mercilessly. Reminiscent of Duel of the Fates and Darth Maul's ability to remain aggressive while flinging away multiple adversaries, Rasputin fluidly repositions from one form to the next, leaping and swiveling in a maddening circuit of dizzying mastery. However, his blade work is not the only skill he brings to bear or the only one that harmonizes with certain Force abilities.
His ability to sustain and heal from damage borders on the supernatural. After being stabbed multiple times he grits his teeth through the pain and soldiers on as if he has only been introduced to some mild discomfort. He rose from a frozen pool of water like a revenant after being forcibly submerged for minutes in its icy depths. At one point as the Duke of Oxford and his son Conrad marveled at their victory while Shola nursed his wounds, Rasputin rose to continue the fight. Darth Maul was bisected by Obi-Wan Kenobi and his two halves tumbled down an endless vent and yet Maul rose to hound Kenobi relentlessly for years to come. His upper half was fitted with cybernetic lower limbs and the Sith Lord continued to thrive as an almost seemingly immortal menace.
Rasputin's healing was not limited to his own wounds, however. He was successful in healing an old battle injury in the Duke of Oxford's leg that had left him hobbled for years, forced to rely on a cane and diminished from his former martial prowess. His methods for cure were unorthodox in the extreme, but they were effective and permanent. While engaged in the curative arts he displayed two other fantastic abilities. One was immune to cyanide that he honed through repeated disciplined exposure. After consuming enough of the poison to kill him tenfold he regurgitated it automatically. The second was the ability to coax information out of his subject using only the power of suggestion.
Its application was very similar to a Jedi mind trick and though that is a skill set better suited to a Jedi, Darth Maul's skills at intimidation and coercion were legendary. A blending of his physical appearance and facility with the Dark Side, in addition to his lack of patience and reputation for swift retribution, allowed him to bleed all manner of information from his subordinates and enemies or allowed him to recruit the hesitant to his cause. This mastery gained him rule over all of Mandalore much like Rasputin's influence made him a shadow sovereign during a time of war in the Russian empire.
If the two skilled combatants were to ever cross swords the victor would be hard to determine. The two men fight with a vicious mimicry of the other that makes it hard to determine the limits of their raw skill. Darth Maul though boasts some obvious advantages given that his reach extends much further by virtue of his ability to push and pull objects and people through the Force. Pummeling Rasputin with detritus, furniture or even other weapons would most likely overwhelm his defenses. Ultimately though it would come down to weaponry.
Darth Maul's double-bladed lightsaber did not survive his initial encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi, but he was still in possession of at least one kyber blade. At one point he even wields the Darksaber, an ancient ebon sword of legend that holds the power of authority over all Mandalorians and whose sentience can aid or hinder its wielder. Rasputin would simply have no answer for a sword made of light that could cut through almost anything. The mystic might survive a Force choke, only to rise frustrated and wheezing. He might also trade blows with enough finesse to alter the course of the battle in his favor, but he has no answer for a lightsaber, neither crimson nor obsidian and would loss this particular duel of fate.