Darth Maul

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Darth Maul was an Iridonian Zabrak Sith Lord, and an apprentice of Darth Sidiouswho took him at a very early age to in order to train him in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Maul executed a lot of missions for his masters, such as infiltrating a space prison, named Cog Hive Seven, destroynig the crime syndicate called the Black Sun, and tracking down and killing a former Trade Federation member, Hath Moncha, before his premature death in a duel with jedi padawan, Obi Wan Kenobi, who after an intense lightsaber fight menaged to cut a sith lord in half, ending his life. Maul was a master of Juyo, Jar'Kai, and Teräs Käsi, with training in Niman. Maul chose to wield a red-bladed saberstaff in combat.

Early life (54 BBY to 32 BBY)
Darth Maul was a Zabrak born on Iridonia, the home planet of his species. His master, Darth Sidious, took him from his family at a very early age, to begin his training to the dark side of the force. Maul began training with Sidious at an early age, who indoctrinated in him the ways of the dark side of the Force. During his training, any show of fear was severely punished by Sidious, and any hint of mercy rewarded with cruelty.

By the time Maul was an adolescent, his master had already forged him into a weapon of pure hatred. Marked by Sith tattoos that covered his entire muscular body, the young Zabrak warrior was now the ultimate tool of the dark side. He had a sense of honor, however, respecting those he deemed worthy opponents and granting them quick deaths. Despite a traumatic childhood, Maul had filial feelings toward his master, and never once contemplated killing him&mdash; until his final test.

Siolo'urmanka
One of Maul’s earliest missions was the assassination of Siolo'urmanka. One of the greatest living Jedi warriors, Manka had since gone into seclusion, renouncing the lightsaber to concentrate on what he felt was a "purer" technique. He now lived on a jungle world in the Jentares system. Maul arrived on the world and cautiously approached the Jedi Master, brandishing his lightsaber. Thinking that he could easily kill the meditating Manka, Maul was caught off guard by the Jedi Master’s sudden attack.

Wielding a simple wooden staff, Manka displayed incredible speed, batting Maul across the face with his simple weapon. Maul quickly countered with a quick overhand slash, but Manka managed to dodge. As the Jedi Master pivoted to face him, Maul extended his lightsaber out. However, Maul’s stance only opened himself up, and Manka batted his lightsaber out of his hand. Disarmed and injured, Maul was at Manka’s mercy. Manka allowed Maul to flee.



Rather than accept death, the punishment for failure, Maul resolved to best Manka. Knowing that Manka was much faster than himself, Maul determined to outsmart the Jedi Master, get in close and attack. He proceeded to create a new lightsaber, based upon Sith schematics which he had received from Darth Sidious and inspired by the Zhaboka, a traditional weapon of his species. Fabricating two lightsabers, Maul welded them together, pommel to pommel, creating a double-bladed lightsaber.

Confronting Manka again, Maul kept his second blade hidden. Evading the Jedi Master’s opening attack, Maul countered, with the exact same attack he used before. Allowing himself to be disarmed, Maul caught his weapon with his other hand. However, before he could regain his composure, Manka rushed inside Maul’s guard, with his staff to the Sith Lord’s throat and the "pommel" of Maul’s lightsaber pinned against his own back. Maul triggered the second blade of his lightsaber and ignited it through Manka’s back.

Ultimate test
The ultimate test came when Maul was abandoned by his master on an isolated Outer Rim Territories world, forced to survive alone while being hunted by hordes of Assassin droids. After a month's time, Sidious returned and challenged his apprentice to a lightsaber duel, one which the weak and famished Maul quickly lost. Sidious then tossed Maul's lightsaber aside and told Maul that he had failed, and revealed that he had been secretly training another apprentice to replace Maul the entire time. Rage and hatred overwhelmed Maul and, in one final act of defiance, he lunged forward and sunk his teeth into his master's hand. As he spat the blood back into his master's face in contempt, Maul realized he was no match for the Dark Lord of the Sith, and when Maul's emotions were finally spent, he prepared himself for death. Sidious struck his lightsaber down on Maul, but without killing him since it had only been a training lightsaber. Sidious then laughed. By wanting to kill his own master, Maul had in fact passed the final test. There had been no other apprentice. Sidious proclaimed him Darth Maul, a Dark Lord of the Sith and took him to a new home on Coruscant.

Dorvalla
One of Maul's more notable missions was to unite Lommite Limited and InterGalactic Ore, two companies operating on Dorvalla, a planet in the Outer Rim, in order for the Trade Federation to move in and control all shipping of the ore. Lommite ore was an important component of transparisteel, a durable metal alloy used in many construction projects. Wilhuff Tarkin issued a challenge to the two companies for a major contract and both companies looked to the Toom clan to sabotage the other. This led to the loss of the majority of each company's ore transportation ships, and because of this the two companies made a joint effort to destroy the Toom clan. Maul followed the small army to the battlefield and, once they destroyed the Toom clan, killed the survivors, including high-ranking members of Lommite Limited such as Patch Bruit and the Falleen Caba'Zan, who was the leader of the InterGalactic Ore portion of the army. The mission was a success since the two companies' leaders came together and the Trade Federation received its prize.

Black Sun
"Stealth is the greatest tool of the Sith assassin."

- Darth Sidious

Maul originally went on countless missions of terror for his master, killing politicians, crime bosses, merchants, and warlords. Maul's very appearance had been carefully conceived to inject fear into the heart of the Sith's enemies and even their unwitting allies. Despite his untold successes, Maul longed for victory over Jedi. Victims of his included the Black Sun leader Alexi Garyn and his Nightsister guard Mighella, and all of the Black Sun vigos of 33 BBY, including Darnada and Morn. In addition, he killed the assassin Sinya.

Silus


"Wipe them out. All of them."

- Darth Sidious

At some point in 33 BBY, Sidious pitted Maul against the Force-sensitive Drovian Silus, sending Maul to an unknown planet in the Outer Rim. Sidious claimed Silus to be a threat to his plans, due to the surge in the dark side created by the Drovian. Should the Jedi feel it through the Force too, Sidious's presence could be threatened; that, however, could just have been used to persuade Maul into doing his master's bidding.

Silus was a hulking, savage brute using the Force for financial gain by pitting himself against other lesser opponents in a dueling ring. Sidious offered to take Silus on as his new apprentice should he be able to kill Maul. He found the Drovian, and after showing him a holo-message of his master containing Sidious' proposal of replacing Maul with Silus the two began to fight. A nullifier field surrounding the dueling ring prevented use of energy weapons, rendering Maul's lightsaber useless and forcing the pair into fighting using only the Force and unarmed combat tactics. Sidious' proposal of replacing Maul with Silus alarmed and unnerved his apprentice, causing a near-fatal lack of focus that allowed Silus to gain the upper hand. Calling upon his rage Maul prevailed in the end, using the Force to overload the field and using his lightsaber to end Silus' life. Darth Sidious then revealed to Maul that the ordeal had only been a test.

Another notable mission was to kill Hath Monchar, the Neimoidian Vice-Viceroy of the Trade Federation, and anyone he may have talked to about the trade embargo of Naboo. Maul learned that Monchar intended to sell a holocron that contained details of the embargo to Lorn Pavan, a Corellian information broker on Coruscant. Maul had to face both Jedi Padawan Darsha Assant and her Master Anoon Bondara. He dueled Bondara in a lightsaber fight on top of a building and nearly lost his life in the ensuing explosion when Bondara destroyed Maul's speeder bike. Darsha and Pavan escaped into the sewer system where they encountered and killed subterranean lifeforms. They made it to a cavern where they fought and escaped from a taozin, a beast invisible to the force. Later Darsha Assant blew up the warehouse that they were fighting in, in an attempt to prevail where her Master had failed, claiming her life in the process. Maul escaped the inferno and continued to hunt for Pavan. Pavan followed Maul into space, and had a chance to kill Maul when he was hibernating on board a space station. However, Pavan's blaster only had enough power for a single kill shot or three stun shots, and he was worried about missing. He planned to hit Maul in the back with a stun bolt, and then try to steal his lightsaber and kill him. Maul was seemingly unaffected by the shot, woke up, and sliced the Corellian's right hand off. He then pursued Pavan through the station and Pavan escaped. The mission ended when Maul ambushed Pavan outside of his room in a hotel on Coruscant and gave him a quick death for his surviving skill.

The Invasion of Naboo (32 BBY)
"At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last we will have revenge."

- Darth Maul

Duel on Tatooine
"This is my apprentice, Darth Maul. He will find your lost ship."

- Darth Sidious to Nute Gunray

Prior to the Invasion of Naboo, Maul was dispatched to eliminate the Jedi who had been sent by the Republic to settle the conflict. After tracking them to the planet of Tatooine using the Force&mdash;and killing Aneesa Dym, a Pa'lowick smuggler who got in the way&mdash;Maul engaged the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Following a brief but intense duel Qui-Gon escaped, but with the fear of what would become the eventual revenge of the Sith. He only used one side of his double-bladed lightsaber in this short duel. Maul, having failed in his task to prevent Queen Amidala and the Chosen One from reaching Coruscant, was eager to exact revenge on the Jedi Knights.

Duel on Naboo
"You have been well trained, my young apprentice. They will be no match for you."

- Darth Sidious

In a second, vicious duel on Naboo&mdash;this time against both Qui-Gon and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi&mdash;Maul showed his true mastery of the lightsaber arts. A long and intense battle ensued, with Maul seemingly on the defensive, but in actuality, steering the battle to a location of his choice. Drawing the Jedi out of the hangar and into the Palace reactor room, he engaged them on the high catwalks. Kicking Obi-Wan off the platform onto one of the lower catwalks, he turned to Qui-Gon, only to be knocked down himself. As Qui-Gon leapt down to deliver the killing blow, Maul kicked him in the face and quickly righted himself.

However, the Jedi Master delivered a flurry of attacks and drove Maul along the catwalk into the laser-walled security hallway protecting one of the exhaust shafts. Suddenly, the walls activated, separating Qui-Gon and Maul, but also Obi-Wan from Qui-Gon. With the battle momentarily halted, the three took a moment to recover, with Maul pacing like a caged animal. When the wall deactivated, Qui-Gon immediately attacked, driving Maul to the edge of the shaft. However, Maul managed to regain the offensive. In the confined space around the shaft, Qui-Gon was unable to adequately counter-attack, and Maul eventually smacked the Jedi Master in the face with his weapon's long hilt, stunning Qui-Gon. Once this act was finished, Maul quickly impaled him in the stomach.

Turning to Obi-Wan, Maul again awaited the laser-walls deactivation. As soon as it did, the Jedi Padawan viciously attacked, momentarily catching Maul off guard, even managing to sever Maul's weapon in two. Discarding the nonfunctional lesser half of his weapon, Maul unleashed a flurry of his own attacks, driving Obi-Wan back. Eventually, Maul pushed Obi-Wan into the reactor shaft. As Obi-Wan grasped hold of a input nozzle, Maul kicked the Jedi Padawan's lightsaber into the reactor pit.

Death
As Darth Maul struck the edge of the pit repeatedly with his lightsaber, the Jedi Padawan managed to calm himself. Although Maul disposed of his lightsaber, Obi-Wan remembered his fallen master's weapon still lay at Qui-Gon's side. Using the Force, Obi-Wan leaped out of the shaft and summoned the lightsaber to his hand. The Jedi Padawan landed after a mid-air turn, executing a blindingly fast horizontal slash that bisected Maul.

Flinching in shock and pain, Maul fell backwards into the shaft in silence, his two halves separating. After briefing the Jedi Council and the newly elected Supreme Chancellor, Obi-Wan was sworn to secrecy, as well as Queen Amidala, regarding the identity of the assassin and his connections to the Sith.

Maul's death was an unfortunate setback for Darth Sidious, but for a calculating man with foreknowledge of the future, it was not a disaster. Within a year, Maul would be replaced with the late Qui-Gon's former Master, Darth Tyranus, who was not only a fully capable warrior and duelist, but also a charismatic idealist, exactly the traits Palpatine needed to instigate the Clone Wars.

Echo in the Force
An apparition of Maul would later appear to the Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker in a crystal cave on Ilum, only a few years after his death. Anakin was to enter a cave (similar to one which Luke Skywalker would later have to enter on Dagobah). When Anakin went into a trance-like state, Darth Maul appeared and Anakin immediately attacked him. After a furious lightsaber duel in which Maul taunted Anakin about Qui-Gon's death and about the boy's training lightsaber, Anakin won, but as real as he might have looked, this time Maul was a creation of the dark side.

It was not the last time the two would do battle.

The Program remains
"Shut down, PROXY. There's nobody inside you that I haven't already defeated.''" "''Give me some credit, Master. I have one module you've never seen. An enemy I've stored for years&hellip;"

- PROXY and Galen Marek

Though deceased, Maul still proved to be valuable to Sidious. The Emperor had recorded many of Maul's training sessions over the years. Using this data, a training program mimicking his fighting style was developed. Darth Vader placed this fighting program, along with many others, into PROXY, Galen Marek's droid. Proxy used Darth Maul's holographic visage in his final attempt to complete his primary programming: to kill his own master. He failed once again, and after a short but furious battle on Raxus Prime, Starkiller cut the double-bladed lightsaber in half and impaled Proxy with the two pieces.

Doppelgänger on Kalakar VI
"What could you hate enough to destroy me?''" "''Myself."

- Darth Maul and Darth Vader

Shortly before the Battle of Yavin, a dark side splinter group called the Prophets of the Dark Side managed to resurrect Darth Maul. It is unknown whether this Maul was created through cloning techniques, by using some form of Sith Alchemy to restore and reanimate Maul's actual corpse, or through other means. The Prophets themselves stated that "there are techniques to mold a being in every way." As an example to the lesser vassals of Sidious's Galactic Empire and to put an end to the tainted Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, was chosen as the first target for the dark warrior. These dark side worshipers believed Vader to be too much of a Jedi to be a worthy Sith Lord. So they agreed that with Vader out of the way, Maul would once again become Sidious's apprentice and, with the Empire intact, together rule the galaxy.

On the shadowy volcanic moon Kalakar Six, Vader thought he would intercept a Rebel courier with the stolen plans to the first Death Star. Instead, he was met by a reborn Darth Maul and the observing dark acolytes. After dealing with Vader's stormtrooper guards, Maul then dueled the armored Sith Lord. The two appeared to be evenly matched until Vader cut Maul's saber in two. Unlike on Naboo, this time both ends of the weapon continued to function, allowing Maul to switch to the Jar'Kai style. Due to his size and armor, Vader had a difficult time countering this style, and Maul gained the advantage. Yet, in the final moments of the battle, Vader surprised Maul by stabbing his lightsaber through his own body (and, through proximity, Maul as well), damaging his own life-support circuits and almost losing his own life in the process. With Maul defeated, the observing acolytes were executed by the newly-arrived Darth Sidious himself for their "treacherous" act towards his rule.

Holographic resurrection
"I will have my revenge&hellip;"

- Darth Maul

Later, during the reign of the New Republic, a mad Iridonian scientist named Drell Kahmf managed to retrieve and resuscitate Darth Maul's brain from where he was killed. This mad Iridonian scientist believed Maul to be a paragon of the Iridonian people. Stories would later spread of this happening.

To the end of giving Maul new life he placed his brain in a chemical vat, wired up to a device which utilized technology he called a "solid-state holographic projection" which could manifest anywhere in Iridonia's capital. As a hologram, this wraith-like version of Maul had the ability to strike, but could not be struck back.

When Jedi Master Luke Skywalker arrived on Iridonia in an ambassadorial capacity, he was attacked by the Jedi-hating holographic Maul. Not easily fooled by the dark warrior's ghostly appearance, Luke searched for the anomalous presence of Maul through the Force and stumbled upon Kahmf's hideout. Luke declared that "artificially keeping him alive was causing an unnatural disturbance in the Force" and scared Kahmf away before switching off the life-support system sustaining Maul's disembodied brain. Finally, Maul was brought to an end.

Personality and traits


"Maul had been an animal. A skilled animal, but a beast nonetheless."

- His successor's thoughts on Darth Maul

Darth Maul was little more than a being of pure hatred and evil, thanks to his harsh, severe training under Sidious. However, he was not totally heartless, granting those he felt worthy of his respect quick and painless deaths. He was even capable of some level of emotional connection with others, feeling respect, admiration, perhaps even a level of attachment towards his master, despite his torturous years under Sidious, likely because he knew nothing else.

In battle, Maul was a ruthless and implacable enemy, possessed of an arrogant urge for self improvement, to be the best. His skill level left him overconfident, and he would lower his guard when he felt an opponent was no longer a threat. His arrogance ultimately got him killed when he opened himself up for a vicious killing blow from Obi-Wan Kenobi, an opponent he believed defeated.

Unlike many Sith Lords, including his master, Darth Maul never taunted his opponents, or at least not with words, as he preferred to win a duel through combat prowess alone.

Lightsaber training
Darth Maul was a highly skilled lightsaber duelist, trained by Darth Sidious in Juyo, which drew heavily on volatile emotions and the dark side. However, Maul only devoted himself to Form VII's physical focus, desiring pure physical victory, rather than the "higher" Sith tradition of Dun Möch; dominating the opponent's spirit and exposing his inner doubts through taunts and psychological warfare. In addition to this, Maul had training in Niman lightsaber combat and the Jar'Kai dual-saber technique. , as well as mastery of the fighting style of Teräs Käsi.

When fighting multiple opponents, Maul extended the second blade of his lightsaber to form a saberstaff, doubling his lethality as Jedi rarely faced such a weapon, or a skilled practitioner in its use. Maul often used this to catch opponents by surprise. Maul had constructed the weapon himself, using ancient plans stored within one of the holocrons the Sith still possessed. He had based his lightsaber design upon that of Darth Zannah's weapon, which in turn had been a development on Exar Kun's original design. It is likely that this choice also came from his species' penchant for the zhaboka, a similar weapon.

Unlike the traditional dueling techniques of most Jedi, Maul combined his swordsmanship with martial arts and hand-to-hand combat skills&mdash;a combination which made him a nearly unstoppable dervish of destruction. And whenever Maul encountered a foe he could not best through his martial prowess, he would fall back on his tactical know-how, outmaneuvering such enemies.

Force abilities


Maul displayed a reasonable amount of competence in telekinesis, utilizing Force Grip and Force Choke while interrogating Hath Monchar, and being able to activate a set of door controls behind him with a flung piece of wreckage. While dueling Obi-Wan Kenobi, Maul used Force push against the Jedi.

Maul also demonstrated a resistance to Force lightning, shrugging off a barrage unleashed by the Night Sister Mighella while hunting for Alexi Garyn.

Darth Maul was skilled in combining Force talents with mechanics. Sidious gave Maul the funds and schematics he needed, and provided his apprentice with a secret facility on Coruscant in which to work. There Maul constructed his signature speeder bike Bloodfin and the Dark Eye seeker droids. Using the Force mechanical skill mechu-deru, Maul modified the protocol droid C-3PX into an assassin droid to guard his ship.

Other talents
Due to his Zabrak heritage and his intense training at the hands of Darth Sidious, Maul was able to withstand immense amounts of physical pain.

When crippling the Black Sun Syndicate Maul came across an Iktotchi Guard who in turn attempted to read his mind in order to find who sent him and who he was hunting. Maul let him but the Iktotchi was soon incapacitated because of the darkness of his mind. Maul then neutralized the guard.

Maul had also mastered the use of the Sith lanvarok.

Sidious also gave Maul a powerful Sith Infiltrator called Scimitar which contained a cloaking shield generator. This vehicle was developed by Raith Sienar, the man whose company would later develop the TIE/ln starfighter for the Empire.