Full Series Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir

Thats only one instance , and it was mostly backstabbing or backshooting often in mid battle with the enemy as that was Order 66 initiative . Think there was even clones infiltrating the temple or hanging around the temple to make Jedi think there is Jedi there to be sneak attacked and thus assassinated. The march on the temple was 6,000 or more men of the 501st legion where the Jedi would be outnumbered and swamped , was like 5-10 Clones armed with repeaters on 1 Jedi. Ventress and Grievous cut through Clones like Jedi do droids, Maul cuts through droids and clones alike, Master Krell made short work of clones as did Yoda and Kenobi when they re-entered the temple grounds.

 

Maul seems to be losing troops left, right and center in this series. First there were the heavy Mandalorian losses on Zanbar, then all of the Shadow Collective troops were heavily decimated on Ord Mantell, and in this issue, Maul seems to have escaped with only Rook Kast and Gar Saxon. That scene at the end of issue 3 with the Death Watch soldiers being captured was a sign that Maul's Shadow Collective is swiftly dwindling into nothingness.

 

Yeah, he doesnt seem to care about his own loses, if he really thinks the CIS and Dooku will go with him, he must have rocks in his head. I dont see Pykes as loyal soldiers to the end, nor Black Sun. In issue 2 they were rather shaky during the battle and held firm only due to Mandalorian discipline. The Pykes though may be in it more long term since Dooku assassinated their leader. Neither Pykes, Black Sun or Nightbrothers were around in issue 3. See what happens in issue 4 but 4 issues seems rather short.

 

Maul's not the only one--Hondo Ohnaka lost men like crazy. He loses a whole attack force in Bounty Hunters.

But that's just the start. Later in the Young Jedi arc, Grievous arrives and massacres his men, and by the time the arc is over there are only about three left.

In Revival, his army seems to have recovered significantly, with several dozen men under his employ, but nearly all of them are killed during the skirmish.

Makes you wonder where he keeps finding guys to join him. And unlike Maul, he doesn't have an entire planet of subordinates to draw from.

 

Isn't it obvious? He's the most interesting man in the galaxy!

To quote Senator Kelberry:
His goggles have experienced more than a lesser man's entire body.
You would give him all your credits, simply because he asked for them.
For him, the rum is never gone.

He is the most interesting man in the galaxy.

 

That sums him up perfectly.

 

Hondo also had some hidden fleet on Florum as well from what I remember. Could be just cartoon storyline for what the plot calls for, having endless manpower. Being that its a comic(they can only fit so much in) and they give no stats, it looks like Grievous is leading the entire CIS armada against Maul so there could be like 50,000-100,000 battle droids plus whatever battleships and fighters at their disposal. I think with this storyline though it seems to be always pushing forward Maul's dwindling forces since issue 1. Grievous' mission was to win a war of attrition more than actually win totally as droids are pretty incapable of winning just outnumbering - that said, the series suffers from keeping alive the villain. The publishers summary of issue 4 seems to make clear his Shadow Collective is broken now. Maul should've logically have killed Grievous or atleast badly damage him, maybe offering an explanation to give him that stupid cough in ROTS and left him upon the battlefield to die but somehow survives something a tad more interesting that capture/escape. So far the only reinforcements Maul got were a select group of Nightbrothers lead by Viscus armed with Electrostaffs which apparently they knew before they got there they may be battling Dooku or Grievous as 6-10 Nightbrothers armed with riot or melee weapons would not change much of an outcome if they were facing the entire droid army plus they're pretty much decimated by Dooku.

It is likely Mandalore and its Moons are sending more soldiers and replenishing the loses. Some of the Mando's in issue 3 even look to be sporting Clone Trooper like full battle armour, unless its an artist f ' up ?! I dont see a good reason why Mandalore isnt sending in more fresh recruits now that its Militarized per Vizla' Death Watch dream of returning Mandalore to its former military glory and killing all of Satine's pacifists. So far Mandalore has been left out of the CIS invasion so their war effort doesnt look touched. And Dathomir as well, and there is more reinforcements there in the form of Nightbrothers and whatever is left of the Nightsisters, so far Talzin has remained allusive we dont know whether she has amassed an army of her own the entire time.

 

One issue to go, the last nail in the coffin, the end of TCW. I'M NOT READY!

How, you want Maul to force Grievous to smoke a pack of cigs?
Besides, its been established that Grievous had respiratory problems already.

 

Critically wounding Grievous much like Windu did on Star Wars: Clone Wars would've been more ideal than just sending him off to the brig unshackled.

 

Would that have made a difference?



Even with Maul and Talzin as allies, does Dooku believe he has any hope of escaping Sidious' grip? I'd say no, not at this point. He knows the extent of Sidious' power. What a terrible existence, knowing he might never overcome Sidious, and will probably die at Sids' whim. If only the show could have continued! This storyline sheds new light on Dooku's relationship with Sidious before his beheading.

What I found interesting was the disrespect Grievous showed Dooku! Who knew the good general had the cojones?

 

I think it follows the logic if you "give power to that which you fear, and it will show itself to you". Dooku and Maul are pre-programmed into fearing their master Sidious, he makes his apprentices think he's all powerful and once they fear him and surrender their freewill over to him through fear, he uses that fear to keep them in check. As a master of the darkside, he can tap into your own fear and feeds off of negative energy and use it against you. Mostly cause you believe it to be and are giving him that power over you. Once a Jedi like Yoda lets go of fear and any darkside flaw or trait even hubris, he renders himself invulnerable to darkside attacks which usually begin with the psyche. Vader keeps all his Imperial officers in a constant state of fear for their lives which gives him the ability to strike you dead from afar, but they're giving him this power over them cause they're weak willed and scared.

Trying to sway someone to their side is the same rhetoric we heard since Empire Strikes Back and again in AOTC with Dooku now instead of Vader delivering the lines. Anakin also tried luring Kenobi over on Mustafar but he did it more angrily and hasty with Lucas trying to imitate George Bush's speech as the movie contained some hidden a political statement against Republicans with Vader and Sidious being Bush. Maul and Talzin give Tyranus the same choice, join us or die the with us or against us routine. Plus Maul is relying on Dooku's own treacherous nature, his selfishness and self preservation to gain an ally, he betrayed the Jedi once they were losing power, so now he'll betray Sidious for the same reason. Whether or not Maul or Talzin believe Tyranus remains to be seen. But Tyranus released Grievious so he did not betray Sidious. Talzin and Maul may just be tempting to lure out Sidious himself.

 

Do not underestimate the power of the Chosen One.

 

Is it a wonder, Jedi never wanted to join Dooku in a concerted attempt to overthrow Sidious? "Fear is my ally", Maul said once. That's true for Sidious even more. If it means the fear of the others, of course. And I guess such fearful allies are much worser than most arch-enemies you aren't in touch with that much. Maul took so many efforts to break free from his former master and the fear he instilled in his (or his two) hearts. Will Dooku take him back to that state?



Until now I didn’t mind to read the commentaries in this thread about the issues 1-3 till I got them weeks after US-customers will get it. But now I’m afraid to read the end of the story here much sooner than I want it to know. That’s why I would like to refrain from looking into this thread till I hold the Issue #4 in my very own hands. I want to have a surprise. And to keep Maul alive at least for me for some more time if he really wouldn't survive.

 

Loving the reference.

 

I wonder if Tiplee and Tiplar were meant to reference Maul and Savage.

They're siblings, red and yellow-skinned, with the yellow one having longer head horns/tentacles. The yellow one is killed first, devastating their sibling, and in their next appearance the red one is killed.

Following this to its logical conclusion, Maul will meet his end in the next issue.

 

Great theory The Shadow Emperor..

 

I wonder if Witwer is talking about the post "Son of Dathomir" rather than "Lawlesss":

http://www.hollywood.com/news/tv/49...rs-fate-he-s-playing-a-long-game-q-a?page=all

http://makingstarwars.net/2014/03/s...star-wars-episode-vii-until-the-role-changed/

 

My thoughts on issue 2

The battle in this issue was absolutely brilliant - Pykes, Black Sun and Mandos vs Battledroids. Even Ziton Moj and Fife the new Pyke leader were personally involved in the battle. Dooku vs Nightbrothers, I was pleasantly surprised to see them return along with Viscus, I'm glad they put up a decent fight against Dooku and meanwhile Maul swiftly catches Grievous. I guess Viscus is still alive?

One thing that left me confused however was did the Grapple Droid kill or capture Fife the Pyke leader? The Grapple Droid is a nice reminder of the ROTS video game - such a brilliant game.

My thought on issue 3

Nice to finally understand why Talzin hates Sidious so much although I can't understand why she was so bothered with Dooku in S3, why not just explain to Ventress that Sidious will have been the one that forced him to betray her? She could have united Ventress, Savage and Maul.

The Lightsaber fights were brilliant, very pleased to see Aayla and Mace in a duel and nice to see the surviving Jedi from the order 66 arc return, I think it was a good decision that Dooku killed her, he had been long overdue a Jedi kill.

So it's looking like Pykes and Black Sun won't be working for Maul for much longer. On another note I'm glad the Hutts didn't stay on his side for long, it makes them look more powerful this way like they were in the EU, guess they put a plan in place to protect them from Maul and his allies. I'm guessing Talzin won't make it out of this arc alive, Maul on the other hand is more likely to.

 

No, that wasn't Fife, just a random Pyke grunt.

 

Looks like Ventress regrew her during some season 6 arc where she faces off against Vos(who at some point was going up against Maul as well according to concept art):

 

I wonder how Sidious would have salvaged that situation.

 

Likely Dooku would have to make amends for him being captured and failing in his task, so staying loyal to Sidious could fill that role. Perhaps Dooku's plan was to be captured, tricking Talzin into revealing herself - while Talzin and Maul knew of Dooku's treachery and playing a long to get Sidious to reveal himself- but thats a stretched webb imo. Am curious over the possession of Dooku's body and why this is necessary. I know her magiks stem from "Spirit Ichor"(Talzin gets her powers from force ripped from souls of the Jedi or Force sentients) so Dooku looks in trouble here. Am wondering if Talzin dies and transfers her spirit into Dooku, or Talzin has not yet revealed herself and is projecting her essence into Dooku's body once again like she did with Maul and Dooku and acting through Dooku's body. If the cover art is anything to go by, she appears to face Sidiious in person so that may be the later half of the comic.

Spirt Ichor is interesting...according to this Legend summary its summoning the winged-goddness, the sister of Mortis which is supposed to be the lightside incarnate. Kinda odd. The canon summary is very bland.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Spirit_ichor

 

From the original source (Book of Sith):

The Writings of the Nightsisters
It is a core truth of the Nightsisters that the spirit plane exists parallel to our own. It is inhabited by the essences of animals, nature's forces, and our own ancestors. Yet it is ruled by the manifestations of female and male energy.
The spirits bestow fertility on our tribe and visit us when sickness and death come upon one of our sisters as well as to claim the spirits of those who have fallen. Only here on Dathomir, however, are the two realms close enough for us to see their shapes, and only here is there an intermediary to act on the tribe's behalf. A shaman of the Nightsisters can cross the valleys of death and dream to carry messages between the physical and spiritual worlds.
The spirits first called on me as I lay cold and trembling, struck with a fatal affliction while birthing my first daughter. It was at that moment, suspended between life and death and bathed in the light of Dathomir's four moons, that I saw clearly the matching landscapes of both realms. It was then that I grasped how living beings are but fleshy physical shadows of their spirits and that spirits live on after their flesh has been cast aside.
I passed the challenge. The spirits restored my health, and I willingly became their conduit. The spirits pull on the folds of my robe as I walk and echo beneath my voice when I speak. These writings are not merely my words but the commands of the spirits. Challenge my authority and you challenge life itself!

(the next bit is mostly criticisms of the Jedi and Sith perspectives, and some Dathomiri history, given a Nightsister slant. After that):

The Winged Goddess
In the spirit realm, the Winged Goddess appears as a blinding-white gryphon. It is she who governs fertility and growth, and she who acts as a mediator to reconcile wounded parties. She knows everything that has occurred and everything that is yet to come.
Channelling the Winged Goddess brings forth great quantities of spirit ichor into the physical realm. This ichor appears as green smoke, but it can be given physical shape and mass as well as be manipulated in spellcasting by a gifted shaman such as myself.
A skilled shaman may conjure objects from raw spirit ichor. The conjured object is everlasting and can take many forms such as a hunting lance or a goblet of boiled blackroot. Divination and scrying are achieved by shaping the spirit ichor into a sphere and peering into its depths. Through scrying, the shaman can view events occurring anywhere in the galaxy. Divination, or heartshadow, calls forth visions of possible futures. Through this art, I have learned the fall of empires yet to come and how to protect the Nightsisters from those who would seek to exploit us.
In spellcasting, spirit ichor can become the waters of life and be used to heal wounds or restore memories. When used in conjunction with crafters chanting incantations, I can channel the ichor to rejuvenate the near-dead by coaxing the injured spirit to emerge from hibernation.
Mesmerism is another gift provided by spirit ichor. This power allows a shaman to override the thoughts of those weaker than oneself - particularly men and offworlders. A tap of the fingertip to the victim's forehead will induce a trancelike state and make the victim powerless to refuse your commands.
Another form of control is achieved by crafting a small statue of a victim, combining a strand of hair and a roiling cauldron brimming with the waters of life. This crude figure may be stabbed with wooden needles or weakened with a breath of miasma. Any harm done to the totem will be felt by the victim it resembles. But nothing comes without a cost. The effort required of the shaman to summon such quantities of ichor can prove exhausting.
I do not wish to disturb the Winged Goddess with endless supplications, but in times of severe distress, I have used the shaman's connection to directly invoke the spirits. When the call succeeds, the specters of long-ago warriors will glow into view. Heralded by a rush of wind, they will charge a target while uttering a shriek that emanates from every direction at once.

Those are the most relevant bits in the Nightsister section of the book.