Darth Maul

Darth Maul
Star Wars character

First appearance The Phantom Menace (1999)
Created by George Lucas
Portrayed by Ray Park (Episode I)
Voiced by Peter Serafinowicz (Episode I and Lego Star Wars: The Video Game)
Gregg Berger (Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (video game))
David W. Collins (Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron)
Stephen Stanton (Star Wars: Battlefront II)
Jess Harnell (Star Wars: Demolition, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds and Star Wars: Racer Revenge)
Lee Tockar (Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales)
Samuel Witwer (Star Wars: The Clone Wars,[1] Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, Disney Infinity 3.0 and Star Wars Rebels[1])
Information
Species Dathomirian Zabrak
Gender Male
Occupation Sith Lord
Affiliation Sith
Trade Federation
Shadow Collective
Homeworld Dathomir[2]

Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction franchise Star Wars. Trained as Darth Sidious's first apprentice, he serves as a Sith Lord and a master of wielding a double-bladed lightsaber. He first appears in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (portrayed by Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz). Darth Maul later makes appearances in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Samuel Witwer.

Characteristics

Concept and creation

After getting frustrated with a drawing of production designer Gavin Bocquet, McCaig started covering it in tape. Both he and Lucas liked the result, described as "a kind of Rorschach pattern". The final drawing had McCaig's own face, with the skin removed, and some Rorschach experimentation (dropping ink onto paper, folding it in half then opening).[3]

Darth Maul's head originally had feathers, based on prayer totems, but the Creature Effects crew led by Nick Dudman interpreted those feathers as horns, modifying his features into those common in popular depictions of the devil.[4]

His clothing was also modified, from a tight body suit with a muscle pattern to the Sith robe based on samurai pleats, because the lightsaber battles involved much jumping, spinning, running, and rolling.[5] Another concept had Maul a masked figure, something that could rival Darth Vader, while the senatorial characters would sport painted and tattooed faces. It was later decided to apply the painted and tattooed faces to Maul rather than the senator.[5]

Portrayal

Darth Maul was physically portrayed by martial artist/author Ray Park in The Phantom Menace. The character was voiced by comedian/voice actor/director Peter Serafinowicz in The Phantom Menace and Lego Star Wars: The Video Game; actors Gregg Berger, Jess Harnell, Stephen Stanton, Clint Bajakian, David W. Collins, and Samuel Witwer have all performed the character's voice in other adaptations.

Appearances

The Phantom Menace

Introduced in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul is ordered by Darth Sidious to capture Queen Padmé Amidala. On Tatooine, Maul fights Qui-Gon Jinn while approaching the Queen's starship. While Anakin Skywalker gets on board, Qui-Gon engages Maul in a lightsaber duel, but the Jedi Master manages to get away. During the film's climactic scene, Maul fights Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan Kenobi at the same time. Maul duels Qui-Gon while Obi-Wan becomes separated by laser gates. This leaves Qui-Gon to fight Maul alone. Maul eventually overpowers the Jedi Master and stabs him through the stomach with his lightsaber, mortally wounding him. Obi-Wan rushes to fight Maul after the laser gates re-open. Obi-Wan cuts the Sith Lord's lightsaber in half, but is nearly knocked down into a vast reactor pit, dangling on the edge, and Maul kicks the Padawan's lightsaber into the pit as well. However, Obi-Wan uses the Force to propel himself out of the pit, and equips himself with Qui-Gon's lightsaber to bisect Maul, after which the two pieces of Maul's body fall into the pit.[6]

The Clone Wars

Darth Maul returns in the CGI cartoon series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (set between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith).

In the third season, Darth Maul's origins are elaborated upon: he is portrayed as a warrior of the Nightbrother clan on the planet Dathomir inhabited by the dominant Nightsister witchcraft society led by Mother Talzin. Maul's tattoos are described as the markings of a warrior (in contrast to earlier sources which identify his body art as Sith markings). Talzin has Savage Opress find his long lost brother.

In the fourth season, Darth Maul himself returns. In his story arc, outfitted with bionic limbs, Maul is revealed to had survived his duel with Obi-Wan on Naboo yet lost his sanity and suffered amnesia for the next decade on a junk planet. But Opress finds Maul, bringing him to Dathomir in the aftermath of the Nightsisters' slaughtered by Separatist droids. Talzin used her magic to fully restore Maul's mind while creating for him a pair of robotic legs crafted by Talzin's magic. With his mind and body restored, Maul learns that the Clone Wars have started without him as he is aided by Opress to gave his revenge on Obi-Wan.[7] Maul proceeds to attack a village on planet Raydonia as his first attempt on Obi-Wan's life, only to be thwarted due to Asajj Ventress' unexpected appearance to collect a bounty on Opress. Obi-Wan and Ventress flee due to Maul and Opress overpowering them, the former deciding to await another opportunity while realizing that the Jedi already know of his continued existence through the Force.[8]

In the fifth season, Darth Maul continues to appear with Savage Opress. With Opress as his apprentice, Maul begins building a criminal empire. Needing followers, they travel to Florrum and manage to convince Weequay pirate Jiro and his crew to join them and betray their leader Hondo Ohnaka. Maul once again duels Obi-Wan, while Opress fights and kills Jedi Master Adi Gallia. Nevertheless, the duel goes badly for Maul: Hondo winning back his crew and having them blow off Maul's robotic legs, Obi-Wan cuts off Opress's arm, and Maul's ship is badly damaged, forcing Maul and Opress to escape. Maul and Opress are later found by the Death Watch Mandalorian warriors, led by Pre Vizsla, who gives Maul a new set of legs and Opress a new mechanical arm. Maul offers Vizsla the chance to reclaim Mandalore by recruiting the Black Sun and Pyke crime families and Jabba the Hutt's minions to create the criminal syndicate Shadow Collective.

From there, Maul engineers Vizsla's rise to power: he orders his henchmen to attack Mandalore so the Death Watch can arrest them and appear as heroes to the denizens who have long lived under Duchess Satine Kryze's pacifist rule. But when Vizsla has no intention of releasing him, Maul decides to replace him with the prime minister Almec, whom Satine had imprisoned for corruption. Easily breaking free, Maul challenges Vizsla to a duel to take over the Death Watch and Mandalore; he succeeds in killing Vizsla and then claims his former co-conspirator's darksaber. He wins the loyalty of most Death Watch members, but Bo Katan retreats along with those loyal to their previous leader. Maul then anticipates Satine being broken out of prison and her attempt to contact the Jedi Council as part of his plan to get Obi-Wan to Mandalore. Once Obi-Wan arrives and attempts to rescue Satine, Maul captures him and exacts revenge on the Jedi by murdering Satine right in front of him. Obi-Wan is freed by the Night Owl rebels, however.

Maul senses Darth Sidious arriving on Mandalore. Although impressed with his former apprentice's survival, Sidious declares Maul a rival and uses the Force to push and choke him and Opress. He then engages them both in lightsaber combat, fatally injuring Opress. After Opress dies from his wounds, Sidious reminds Maul of the Rule of Two and that he had been replaced. Enraged, Maul pulls out both his lightsaber and darksaber and proceeds to fight Sidious on equal ground, but Sidious ultimately defeats him. Maul pleads for mercy, but Sidious ignores him and tortures him with blasts of Force lightning. However, Sidious reveals that he has no intention of killing Maul, remarking that he has other uses for his former apprentice.

Rebels

An older Maul appears in the season 2 finale of Star Wars Rebels.[1] Tracked by an Inquisitor named the Eighth Brother, Maul has become stranded on the ancient Sith world of Malachor, where he is discovered by Ezra Bridger among the ruins. Introducing himself as "Old Master" and seeking revenge for Sidious' actions against himself and his family, Maul leads Ezra into an ancient Sith temple, where they discover a holocron that Maul claims can give them the knowledge needed to defeat the Sith. After recovering it by gaining Ezra's trust, the two find Ezra's master Kanan Jarrus and former Jedi Ahsoka Tano locked in battle with the Eighth Brother and two more, the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister, who have been pursuing the rebels for some time. Maul-having cast aside the title of Darth-then reveals a new lightsaber disguised as a component of a walking stick and joins the Jedi in battling their enemies.

After the Inquisitors retreat, Maul convinces the Jedi that he can be trusted due to his shared antagonism of the Sith, and expresses his conviction that he lacks the ability to defeat Darth Vader on his own. Working together, he and the Jedi ascend towards the top of the Sith temple and successfully defeat the three Inquisitors, two of whom Maul eliminates personally while the third dies trying to escape. It is then that Maul reveals his intention to take Ezra as his apprentice, having already tricked him into activating the temple, which is in fact a Sith battle station. After blinding Kanan, Maul briefly duels Ahsoka before facing Kanan again, only to be knocked off the temple's edge by the weakened Jedi Knight. However, he survives the fall and escapes Malachor in one of the Inquisitors' TIE Fighters after the temple's destruction.

Literature

Canon

Son of Dathomir is an adaptation of an unproduced story arc intended for the sixth season of The Clone Wars. After Maul's capture by Darth Sidious, he is taken to a Separatist prison and tortured by Count Dooku about the Shadow Collective and the allies he made. Minister Almec arranges Maul's escape and the latter then heads to Zanbar to command the Death Watch army. However, he is followed there by General Grievous and his droids, who then battle with Maul and the Mandalorians. While they put up a fierce fight, Maul and his minions are ultimately overwhelmed by the droids. During the battle, Maul tears through the droid ranks and attacks Grievous, but is overpowered and forced to retreat. Afterwards, Maul confers with Mother Talzin (revealed to be his biological mother) and plots to draw out Sidious by capturing Dooku and General Grievous. The scheme works, and Talzin is able to restore herself to her physical form, but she sacrifices herself to save Maul and is killed by Grievous. Although Maul escapes with a company of loyal Mandalorians, the Shadow Collective has largely fallen apart due to the conflict with Sidious, as the Hutts, Pykes, and Black Sun have all abandoned Maul.

Legends

As portrayed in the novel Darth Plagueis, the titular Sith Lord sends his apprentice, Darth Sidious, to the Force-rich world of Dathomir. A Dathomiri witch, or Night-sister, senses Sidious' power in the Force and approaches him. She assumes he is a Jedi and begs him to take her Zabrak infant son. She realizes Sidious is not a Jedi, and explains how she is trying to save her son from a Nightsister named Talzin, who killed Maul's father. It is implied that Maul has a twin brother and that Talzin is only aware of one child. Sidious realizes the infant is strong in the Force, and would become a threat if found by the Jedi. Concealing the existence of his own master, Sidious raises Maul to believe that he is a Sith apprentice, but he actually intends him to be an expendable - albeit useful - minion rather than an heir. Maul himself acknowledges his shortcomings, such as his limited understanding of politics, even as he tries to become a true Sith.

As portrayed in the novel Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, Maul was raised by Sidious for as long as he can remember. He then trains Maul as a Sith, marking his body with Sith tattoos. Maul initially goes on several missions of terror for his master, killing politicians, crime bosses, merchants and warlords.

Several sources depict Maul returning from the dead in several different forms. The story "Resurrection" from Star Wars Tales 9 depicts a cult creating a duplicate of Maul as a replacement for Darth Vader, only for Vader to kill him. The story "Phantom Menaces" in Star Wars Tales #17 (set after Return of the Jedi) depicts Luke Skywalker visiting Maul's home planet of Iridonia in an ambassadorial capacity, where he faces a "solid state hologram" of Maul projected from Maul's salvaged brain as part of a scientist's attempt to recreate Maul as Iridonia's "champion". Luke recognizes the disruption that Maul's existence is causing in the Force, and shuts down the life-support systems keeping the brain alive.

In 2005, Dark Horse Comics published Star Wars: Visionaries, a compilation of comic art short stories. One story "Old Wounds", considered to be non-canonical to Star Wars lore, depicts Maul, now with longer horns on his head, surviving his bisection at Obi-Wan's hands, replacing his missing bottom half with cybernetic legs, similar to those of General Grievous. He then follows Obi-Wan throughout the galaxy, finally tracking him down on Tatooine a few years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Maul taunts Obi-Wan, saying that after he kills him, he will take a toddler-aged Luke Skywalker to his master, Emperor Palpatine. Maul plans to kill Darth Vader, and resume his rightful place at Palpatine's side as his apprentice. He ignites his new double-bladed lightsaber, and engages Obi-Wan in a lightsaber duel, but Obi-Wan again bests him in combat, cutting off his opponent's horns. The Sith Lord is killed, unexpectedly, by a blaster bolt to the head from Owen Lars. Obi-Wan thanks Owen, and says he will take Maul's body into the desert and burn it so he can never come back.

In early 2012, a young adult novel entitled Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul was released by Scholastic. In the 2014 novel, Star Wars: Maul: Lockdown, set before The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul is sent into an infamous galactic prison. Maul is also featured prominently in several comic series starting in this period, including: Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters; Darth Maul: Death Sentence; and Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir. Set in the period of the Clone Wars around the various episodes that featured Maul, Sith Hunters and Death Sentence detail his and Savage Opress' journey across the galaxy as they seek vengeance on the Jedi.

In popular culture

Since the release of The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul has proven to be a popular character. IGN named Darth Maul the 16th greatest Star Wars character, noting, "Of the countless characters to walk in and out of the Star Wars saga, none looks or acts more badass than Darth Maul."[9]

Darth Maul related merchandise was popular among Hasbro Star Wars toy lines, with plastic recreations of his double bladed lightsaber and various action figures in his likeness developed. Darth Maul has been the focal point of the toy marketing campaign surrounding the 2012 re-release of The Phantom Menace, being featured on the packaging for the toy line.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Star Wars Rebels: Darth Maul Returns
  2. ↑ "Maul, Darth". Star wars Databank. Lucasfilm. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  3. ↑ "Designing a Sith Lord". Retrieved 2015-02-06.
  4. ↑ Moyers, Bill (1999-04-26). "Of Myth And Men". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  5. 1 2 Designing a Sith Lord Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
  7. ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)
  8. ↑ Valby, Karen. "Entertainment Weekly – Darth Maul Lives!". Insidetv.ew.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  9. ↑ "Darth Maul- #16". Ign.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  10. ↑ Star Wars New Line Look for 2012

External links

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