PT Darth Maul: Is he awesome or is he sucky?

My brother hates Darth Maul and thinks that he is the suckiest character in Star Wars. And I want to prove him wrong. Do you think that Darth Maul is a good chaacter or a bad character?

 

Personally, I don't like Maul. However, it really shouldn't be about proving someone 'wrong'. Tastes vary and there are reasons that happens. Just because he doesn't like Maul doesn't mean you can't. Neither of you are wrong simply different.

 

A possibility:

Find all the moments you think are "awesome" - and show him them.
Find other characters that you think are "suckier" - and show him their worst moments.

That's pretty much all that can be done - and if he doesn't agree with either postulate - that's his prerogative.

 

He is awesome, but he was used in a sucky way

 

Maul is awesome.

But I will say that imho, bringing him back in TCW kind of diminished his character a bit. That's the one part of TCW that I really couldn't 'get'.

 

This sums it up for me, really. Our opinions don't matter, as its down to him what/who he likes.

And same as anakinfan, i've never really cared too much about Maul. In TPM he was more a plot device than an actual character. He had, what, two or three lines in the entire film? The rest was him looking menacing and doing acrobatics. In the EU he tends to be an efficient, if blunt/unsubtle, assassin who isn't particularly likeable because he spends the majority of his time killing the likable characters. In TCW he is a shadow of his former self, and in a way it makes him somewhat interesting to watch, but he still never really grabbed me. He is good for the occasional 'grr, right in the emotions' moment like with Qui-Gon and a certain TCW character, but that's about the depth of it for me. Just because he's never been portrayed as anything but mostly silent killer stops him from being genuinely compelling.

 

I liked Maul even though he wasn't given much development until TCW.

 

I'm going to chase a rabbit here. If your brother thinks that Darth Maul is the suckiest character in Star Wars, that means that position cannot be filled by Jar Jar Binks. Props to your brother for that.

I was 4 years old when TPM came out, and I watched it numerous times throughout my childhood. I never really questioned how he was portrayed, because he played a good (and freakishly cool, in the mind of a 7-year-old kid ) role. I did always resent him for knocking Obi-Wan off the platform, separating him from Qui-Gon, in essence killing him right there. But other than that, he was fine.

 

I should elaborate a bit on what I said earlier. TCW did give Maul more depth, because it added a whole new story arc to him. The reason I feel it diminishes his character is because well... the fact that he survived Naboo is just too much of a stretch for me to swallow. If he wasn't 'killed' so distinctively on Naboo, then I would have an easier time with him in TCW. But I mean he was cut clean in half and fell from who knows how high.

But in general, I do like him as a character. He's got a nice mystique to him, that's for sure.

 

He's the Boba Fett of the prequels.

Both have limited screen time, and even more limited lines.

Both look "cool"

Both are feared fighters

Both died from kinda cheap avoidable moves (I know Maul is technically not dead now)

 

Awesome. One of the best things to come out of the Prequels

 

Awesome. His death was sucky, but his return in The Clone Wars was awesome so it came full circle.

 

Maul was cool looking, but as a character, he was mediocre. Just some muscle with no depth.

 

I don't have to find Maul awesome to have found the DOTF sequence to be the highlight of the entire franchise so far. Maul is kind of an outline or a vessel into which you may pour your prejudices of what is antithetical to the Jedi, or proportionate to the Republic in its prime. Maul doesn't have to be a "himself". He was a placeholder, a pawn, a bookend, a flying buttress to a greater firmament. (I'll be the judge of how they retcon resurrect him into TCW, but there were no loose strings as it were at the end of TPM.)

 

Love Maul. A perfect demonic sycophant. The Wormwood to Palpatine's Screwtape.

 

Maul is what a sith should be, star wars should be. Was awesome

 

I can't really vote here as neither of the two options fit with my opinion of the character.
He doesn't suck but I don't think he is great either.

My opinion, mediocre. Style over substance, surface over depth.
He fought well and the end fight is well done. But to me it lacked something.
There was no personal connection, Maul had no character and had no previous history with Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan.did little for me.

It was just a fight, well done and great music, but lacked dramatic punch.
Yes I know Qui-Gon dies but that did little for me. Possibly that is because I accidentally got spoiled by looking at the soundtrack album (great job whoever did that.).

I also think there wasn't much build up of tension, Maul hadn't really done much and hadn't shown himself to be this deadly killer before the fight. And Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi all seemed to think that they could take him with ease. They seemed unconcerned with the danger he represented.

Lastly, why is Maul even on Naboo? At that stage, Palpatien/Sidious has gotten what he wanted, Valorum is gone and he is on his way to be chancellor. So what happens to Naboo, Padme or the TF is of little importance now.
He no longer needs the treaty and it seems that he wants the TF to simply kill Padme.
If so, why not warn the TF that Padme is returning to Naboo and then they won't remove their blockade and simply blow up her ship when it arrives near Naboo?

Maul was initially sent out to track down and capture Padme and get her back to Naboo to sign the treaty. That is no longer of interest to Sidious so why even dispatch Maul? It makes no difference to him if the Jedi are killed or not.
And logically, he would have known that Qui-Gon would have informed the council of his encounter with Maul.
So he could figure that the Jedi might be more interested now and could do something.
The Sith have used secrecy to their advantage, the Jedi haven't been hunting them as they don't know that they are even around. That secrecy is partly gone now so a little more caution could be good. Esp as he has no reason to send Maul.

Bye for now.
The Guarding Dark

 

someone needs to up their vocabulary.

 

Awesome character

 

I feel like Darth Maul was much cooler in the Star Wars: Clone Wars television show rather than the Episode I movie. Especially since he felt more like a leader and I liked him hanging out with Savage Opress.

 

I liked him. He's by no means among my favorite characters, but he was quite awesome when TPM came out, and even now, I think he's one of the best and most memorable things about TPM. It's clear that GL's purpose for him was what we got in TPM (at least at the time). But as the silent and deadly Sith lord that he was, I think he served his role well. Now, I do prefer that they didn't bring him back in TCW, as it diminishes his death and serves no true purpose other than to, well, bring him back. But I'd be lying if I said he wasn't awesome in the show.

 

Yeah, they were grasping for straws it seems. But as you said, he was still cool. I think he should have been depicted like on film as he was in the show. But, yes, he was good at being the "cool, silent" guy in Episode I and quite honestly was one of the only things that made that movie redeemable for me.

 

Maul was a great character, because he was a farewell to an "obsolete" understanding of Sith-Lords and therefore Qui-Gon's counterpart.
Qui-Gon was a Jedi-tpye with a strong focus on intuition, tolerance and independence - all traits the Jedi were gradually losing. Maul was a wild, fierce, hateful, devilish looking Sith who loved to kill Jedi in a head-to-head fight.

Both were dying version of their kind at the time of TPM.
The Sith learnt to become political, illuminated by Palpatine's rise to chancellorship and Dooku replacing Maul.
The Jedi were becoming more and more institutional, bound on rules.

It was only fitting, yet slightly ironic, that Qui-Gon and Maul eliminated each other.
Maul killed Qui-Gon, Maul was killed by Qui-Gon's apprentice remembering his master's teachings.

This all goes back to the theme of adaption and development.
The Sith were able to adapt and develop, which enabled their rise to power. The Jedi got stuck. Ironically, though, their resurrection relied heavily on Qui-Gon again.

So Maul was absolutely a good character, although he's more of a symbol.