Character Profile: Maul, a thread

This Dathomirian Zabrak who went from Sith Warrior to Crime Lord is the spotlight of today’s thread. One of the most compelling characters in the Skywalker Saga, Maul is full of rich history and valuable lessons.

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The boy who would become Maul was born on Dathomir and had two blood brothers, Feral and Savage Opress. When the shaman Clan Mother Talzin became an ally of Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord took the boy as an apprentice, later being dubbed “Darth Maul” by his Master.

During his training with Sidious, Maul proved himself to be a skilled hunter. Maul embarked on many solo missions, including hunting a Jedi Padawan with Cad Bane and his crew. Him and Sidious would also travel to the Sith Temple on Malachor to train, where Maul had Force Visions.

In 32 BBY, Maul and Sidious revealed themselves to the Jedi and the Galaxy. Maul was sent to hunt and kill Queen Amidala of Naboo. It was during this time he would duel Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maul would kill the former, but lose to the latter.

Believed to be dead by both Sidious and the Jedi, Maul used his hate and rage towards Kenobi to survive. He made his way to the junkyard planet Lotho Minor, where he built himself a six-legged apparatus. Slowly losing his mind, Maul remained there in hiding.

Ten years later, during the Clone Wars, Maul’s brother Savage Opress, after being trained by Count Dooku in the Sith arts, recieved a talisman from Mother Talzin that would lead to his long lost brother. Opress found Maul, a former shell of himself, and returned him to Dathomir.

Upon returning to Dathomir, Maul’s mind was restored and he was given new cybernetic legs from Talzin. From there, Maul and Savage began their hunt for Kenobi. The three would duel several times, with Maul eventually fleeing in defeat in a ship stolen from Hondo Ohnaka’s pirates.

Maul was then rescued by Pre Vizsla and the Mandalorian group known as Death Watch. Now allies, the brothers and the warriors began to forcefully recruit crime syndicates to their cause, including Black Sun, the Pykes, and the Hutt Cartel. This included a raid at Jabba’s Palace.

With the crime syndicates assembled under the new Shadow Collective, a conquest of Mandalore was imminent. A successful capture of the captial was swift and Pre Vizsla took command. He quickly betrayed Maul and Savage, imprisioning them below the city.

It didn’t take long for Maul to escape however, and he returned to the palace to challenge Vizsla to a duel. Maul overpowered Vizsla, striking him down, claiming the Darksaber and taking the throne of Mandalore. This, however, split his forces. Maul now needed to bait Kenobi.

Upon discovering a connection between the Jedi and the former Duchess of Mandalore, Satine Kryze, Maul took the opportunity to bring Kenobi to him. After his capture, Kenobi watched as Maul struck down his love. Maul’s revenge had begun. Kenobi was imprisoned, but later escaped.

With his new rise to power, Maul had become a threat to his former master. Sidious travelled to Mandalore, alone, where he engaged in a duel with the Dathomirian brothers. He killed Savage with ease, but kept Maul alive, citing that he still had uses for the former Sith.

Maul was imprisioned on Stygeon Prime and tortured by both Sidious and Dooku. However, Maul’s Death Watch forces quickly rescued him. Maul would flee to Zanbar, where his forces would engage with General Grievous and Separatist droids. The leaders would duel, with Maul escaping.

Maul then regrouped his forces on Ord Mantell, baiting the Separatist forces to him. After a long battle, Maul captured both Grievous and Dooku. The General would escape, but the Sith Lord would remain captive until they returned to Dathomir and Mother Talzin.

Sidious and Grievous would track Maul and Talzin to Dathomir, where they would duel the two Dathomirians once again. Talzin possessed Dooku’s body, and held off Sidious and Grievous. Talzin sacrificed herself to allow Maul’s escape, despite his pleas otherwise.

Maul would regroup his forces, as well as forge ties with Crimson Dawn. With the Pykes and the Black Sun back under control, Maul returned to Mandalore, where it would remain under his control until the end of the Clone Wars.

With Maul’s strong grip on Mandalore, former Death Watch lieutenant Bo-Katan Kryze sought the help of former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano, as well as the Republic to free her world. Hearing of a Jedi on Mandalore, Maul sprung a trap, expecting Kenobi, but was shocked to find Tano.

On the final days of the war, Maul began to sense an imminent change, and began to understand Sidious’ plan for the Clones and the Jedi more deeply, yet not fully. He also began to understand the key role Anakin Skywalker played into his former master’s plans.

Maul, more on edge than ever before, took a calculated risk as he watched his forces fall during the Siege of Mandalore. He attempted to seduce Ahsoka Tano to his side, and together they could stop Sidious. Tano refused, capturing Maul after a fierce duel.

While Maul was on his way to Coruscant, Order 66 was executed and the Clone War had come to an end. He was subsequently released by Tano, who needed a distraction for her own escape. This worked well for Maul, who used the opportunity to steal a shuttle of his own and flee.

After another failure, Maul sought refuge on Dathomir during the rise of the Empire until at least 10 BBY. He would continue to lead Crimson Dawn behind-the-scenes, using Dryden Vos as a figurehead and recoup his forces that he sent into hiding prior to the end of the Clone War.

Sometime in the next seven years, Maul lost all of his power within Crimson Dawn, and travelled to Malachor in search of an ancient weapon. His ship crashed and he became stranded. In 3 BBY, he came in contact with Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, his Master Kanan Jarrus and Tano.

Maul would then kill several Imperial Inquisitors, blind Kanan Jarrus, and escape. He would come back into contact with Ezra several times. Maul sought a way to destroy the Sith, and using young Bridger’s help, he would fuse Jedi and Sith Holocrons in search for answers.

Maul discovered something he never expected - hope. He also discovered his longtime foe Kenobi still lived, and continued to seek his revenge. Later, Maul brought Ezra once more to Dathomir, but after achieving his objective, Maul left Ezra behind, as well as the Darksaber.

Maul tracked Kenobi to Tatooine. After taunting the now older Jedi, the two dueled one final time. Kenobi defeated Maul in one swift blow. At the end of his journey, Maul died knowing there was hope left in the galaxy, saying “He will avenge us.” in reference to Luke Skywalker.

Maul was once compared to King Sisyphus, a Greek Mythological figure who was punished by Zeus to role a large boulder up a steep hill. However, before the peak could be reached, the boulder would slip away and roll back down the hill, creating a cycle.

Sisyphus’ punishment was a direct result of his attempts to cheat death. Maul also cheated death at the hands of Obi-Wan. Sisyphus was also known for seeking revenge on others, just like Maul sought on Kenobi, Sidious, and that “Sith pretender” Dooku.

Perhaps the greatest comparison Maul has to Sisyphus is the punishment of pushing the rock up the hill, only for it to fall again. This is symbolized by Maul’s continuous rise to power as a Sith Lord, as a ruler of Mandalore and as a Crime Lord, and his continuous failure.

Maul went from a very cool looking villain in ‘The Phantom Menace’ to one of the most interesting and compelling characters in all of Star Wars. He also has one of the most complete stories in the saga, with the majority of his life covered in various mediums across canon.

Maul is a beautifully tragic character, who went from seeking nothing but revenge and anger to seeking hope and answers, looking for any sign that the evil that had cursed him time and time again would be extinguished.

And thankfully, on his deathbed, he found it.

I truly love Maul’s character and story. He is one of my favorite characters in the saga, and I hope after reading this, you too found a deeper love and understanding for his character too!

What other characters should I do profiles on? Let me know!

That’s going to conclude this very long thread! I hope you all enjoyed reading, and thank you to those who read the entire thing! These take a lot of time and effort and I’m always very thankful for any support I get on them!

As always, May the Force be with You!

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