Top 10 Worst Things Darth Maul Has Done
#10: Tortures Jesse
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-14; 2020) One of the great things about the Clone Wars is the way it allowed viewers to get underneath the helmets of the Clone troopers themselves, making them more than just interchangeable cannon fodder. While Captain Rex might have taken the spotlight, Jesse played a starring role in several episodes and was quickly defined by his bravery and loyalty. Of course, the bad thing about humanising your characters like this is that it makes it all the more painful when something bad happens to them - watching Maul force-torture Jesse for information is heartbreaking, not just for the physical agony he’s in, but because we know exactly how devastated he will be to have given up information that endangered others.
#9: Brings His Brother Into His Schemes
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-14; 2020) In truth, neither of the Zabrak boys were ever likely to grow it into the nicest fellas - they do come from a planet bathed in blood-red light and ruled by witches, after all. Plus you don’t really name a kid “Savage Opress” if you’re hoping to raise a philanthropist. But there is no question that Maul was often an added bad influence on his brother - like when he had him kill a Hutt council member even after they’d provided vital information. Naturally, following Maul down this dark path eventually brings Savage to a grisly end. In a final ironic twist, Savage uses his dying breath to express his regret at not having been more like Maul.
#8: Tries to Bring Ezra to the Dark Side
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“Star Wars: Rebels” (2014-2018) While many of Darth Maul’s worst moments see him wreaking havoc with his saber, he was also adept at more subtle manipulations. He meets young Ezra by chance and begins making the usual Dark Side sales pitch - acting aggressively and ruthlessly is the only way you can protect yourself and the people you care about. But while Darth Sidious was able to tempt a young Anakin into executing an unarmed man with this same argument, Maul is unable to draw Ezra all the way over the line. Still, it’s clear that his words have had an effect on the young apprentice, and that’s really the true power of the Sith - their capacity to bring out the worst in others. That and Force Lightning, anyway.
#7: Blinds Kanan Jarrus
“Star Wars: Rebels” (2014-2018) The more you dig into Darth Maul’s backstory in the animated series, the easier it is to feel a certain amount of sympathy for him - he was basically raised to be a weapon, and is now too consumed by fury and vengeance to be anything else. Plus he got cut in half that one time. But Ezra, Ahsoka and Kanan quickly learn how grave an error it would be to offer him a second chance - after forming an uneasy alliance to take on the Inquisitors, Darth Maul reverts to type and blinds Kanan with his lightsaber in one of the most sudden, shocking moments of violence in the whole series.
#6: Blows Up a Prison
“Lockdown: Star Wars Legends (Maul)” (2014) Prison stories are great because they let us see how the protagonist copes when they’re trapped in a hostile environment with nothing but their fists and their wits. When Maul infiltrates a prison in search of a nuclear weapon, he has to give up his lightsaber and refrain from using his Force powers, to avoid his true identity being discovered. This all becomes a lot more pressing when he has to enter into the prison’s gladiatorial contest, but the fact that he triumphs anyway provides one of the clearest demonstrations of just how lethal Maul can be. He does eventually obtain the nuke and makes his escape, though not before triggering the prison’s self-destruct sequence, and ensuring that he’ll leave nothing but space dust behind.
#5: Creates an Intergalactic Crime Syndicate
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-14; 2020) While Darth Maul starts out as Darth Sidious’s apprentice, acting solely on the Emperor’s orders, he has to find a destiny of his own after Obi-Wan chops him in half and his old master finds a new right-hand man. At first, his vision doesn’t extend much beyond seeking revenge against the Jedi that cost him his legs, but he soon begins to set his sights upon a more ambitious goal - creating a galactic crime syndicate called the Shadow Collective. Presiding over it as a kind of space Godfather, Maul is able to unite several of the galaxy’s most fearsome gangs into a single deadly force.
#4: Takes Over Mandalore
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“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-14; 2020) While the Disney+ series might have put the term “Mandalorian” into a lot more people’s vocabularies, their story goes back long before the days of Baby Yoda. One of its darkest chapters involves Maul using his newly-formed personal army to take over their entire planet. He does so with the help of an exiled Mandalorian group known as the Death Watch, whose leader Pre Vizla seeks to use Maul to take back control of his home planet and restore its warrior traditions. As tends to happen when people team up with Maul, though, Vizal quickly finds himself staring down a red lightsaber, leaving Maul in complete control of the Mandalorians and their home planet.
#3: Kills Satine Kryze in Front of Obi-Wan
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“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-14; 2020) Even with a crime syndicate and a full planet to oversee, though, Maul’s mind is still largely on his thirst for vengeance against the Jedi who cost him his legs, his place at the Emperor’s side and his sense of purpose. When Obi-Wan falls in love with a Mandalorian named Satine Kryze, Maul spies the perfect opportunity to inflict the kind of all-consuming pain that he’s been dreaming of. Having become the rightful leader of the Mandalorians, Maul forces Satine to kneel before him and then begins torturing her while Obi-Wan looks on — he is determined to break the Jedi’s resolve and draw him to the dark side. When this fails, he forces Obi-Wan to watch as he impales Satine on the Darksaber.
#2: Annihilates a Village to Get Obi-Wan’s Attention
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008-14; 2020) The worst thing about Maul killing Satine might be that it’s not even the worst thing he did in his efforts to provoke Obi-Wan... that came on Raydonia. With so much turmoil in the galaxy, Maul knew that he would have to do something truly horrific if he wanted to get the Jedi’s attention. So he went to a far off planet, found a village full of innocent civilians and ruthlessly dispatched all of them. When the horror was over, he calmly sent a hologram message to the Jedi council informing them of what he had just done, and daring Obi-Wan to stop him. Undoubtedly the most brutally chilling moment of Maul’s story.
#1: Kills Qui-Gon Jinn
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“Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999) No matter how far his backstory has been filled in, though, Darth Maul will always be defined by his iconic appearance in the first prequel film. He remains largely cloaked in shadows, springing from nowhere to battle Qui-Gon on Tatooine early in the film, to offer a glimpse of his abilities. But it’s the grand finale between Maul, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan which everyone remembers - the heart-stopping reveal of his double-edged lightsaber, the acrobatic fight between him and the Jedi, and the horrid final blow he delivers. It’s a truly devastating moment and, as well as taking out a wise and kindly Jedi master, it begins a cycle of revenge which consumes countless more lives before it is done.
