Lit Why didn't Darth Maul tell the Jedi who Sidious was?

Yeah he's Sith and all so he hates the Jedi, but after his resurrection it's clear he's against Palpatine as well. Why didn't he just leak information to them that Palpatine was his Sith Master? Doing so would have practically ensured Palpatine's demise, and he could've been free to do what he wanted on Mandalore, as it was a neutral zone. He would have also been the only Sith remaining with Savage.

 

I like to think it was his trump card/weapon of last resort to use against Sidious at the right time.

 

If I had to come up with an explanation, I'd probably say it was simply that Maul wanted to kill his Master himself, and didn't want the Jedi to do it. For all Maul's belief he had broken free of his apprenticeship and was now a Sith Master, I'm sure subconsciously it still got at him, and that he wanted self-validation that he was indeed the better of the two...

But, yeah... excuses and explanations aside, there's a lot of things I don't understand about Spider Maul's return.

 

For me, it's fairly easy to justify. It's basically Maul's trump card/weapon of last resort. It's a damning piece of information and one that would cause some major uproar for Sidious, the Jedi, and the Republic. Then, of course, it would also bring Sidious's full wrath down on him.

I think Maul was doing his best to avoid his former Master's attention for as long as possible; ratting him out would be a good way to piss him off.

 

Cause he's no snitch.

 

Rule of Two aside, I don't believe Maul would ever tell the Jedi who Sidious was regardless. The reason, I think, is because in doing so he would ruin the entire progress the Banite line has made ever since the beginning. The Jedi wouldn't stop at just Sidious, but they would root out all the wealth and useful connections Sidious, Plagueis, Tenebrous and all the others have accumulated over the centuries. The entire Sith 'power base' would be razed to the ground.

Maul is smart. He obviously knows he can never assume a role in the spotlight like Sidious or Dooku. But he also knows that, even with the Republic weakened, his half-baked collection Mandalorians and criminal syndicates isn't enough to topple it, nevermind rule the galaxy. So I guess he figured if he killed Sidious himself, even if the Grand Plan would be set back, he would at least be able to 'inherit' a part of the wealth and connections of the Sith and at least salvage the situation somewhat.

 

Because continuity

 

Maul held a grudge against his master for abandoning him, but it paled in comparison to the sheer hatred he had for Obi-Wan. After returning from exile, Maul has two major goals, building a power base for himself and exacting revenge on Obi-Wan. By the time of the Lawless, he's achieved both, becoming the leader of Mandalore through his puppet Almec and murdering Satine while Obi-Wan watches helplessly. I would think that Maul's overarching goal would be the one that he mentioned to Viszla, using his position on Mandalore to expand to other netural systems. While the Republic and Separatists battle each other, Maul would build his own Confederacy of Neutral Systems, and forge them into a power capable to matching the Republic.

I would guess the reason he never revealed Sidious's identity to the Jedi is because of what Sable_Hart mentioned. It was his trump card, the most valuable thing piece of knowledge he has, knowledge that Sidious would never want revealed before the time was right. Maul probably hoped to use his knowledge of Sidious's true identity to keep his former master from interfering with his plans, and once he had enough power, return to Sidious's side with the intention of either ruling alongside him as an equal, or, more likely, supplanting him.

Too bad for him, Sidious was onto his game and came to Mandalore to personally nip Maul's plans in the bud. As strong as he was, Maul was no match for the man who raised him from infancy and taught him everything he knew. It explains why Sidious went to Mandalore personally, instead of dispatching Dooku to take care of the Nightbrothers. With the entire Grand Plan at stake, Sidious entrusted the elimination of Maul to the one person he knew would not fail.

Himself.

 

Because he was in two pieces at the bottom of a shaft on Naboo? Wishful thinking?

 

Yeah if anyone would have ratted it be Dooku.

 

That would be unlikely, as Dooku had a chance to betray Sidious right before Anakin executed him, and he chose to remain silent and accept his death like a gentleman of honor, Unfortuantely for the good Count, his master had no honor at all. In all seriousness, it's highly unlikely that Dooku would betray Sidious's identity to the Jedi. His and Sidious's plan only works if they're in control of both sides of the war, and the Republic still has heroes on their side, while the Separatists are mostly pawns, following Dooku and Grievous. If Dooku chose to reveal Sidious, one of two things would happen.

1. The Jedi confront Sidious on Coruscant and somehow prevail and destroy Darth Sidious. At which point the Jedi turn their full might against the Separatists and wipe them out. Unless of course, Dooku could also execute Order 66, which in light of the Lost Missions, is possible.

2. Palpatine knows he's been revealed, issues Order 66, and then sends Anakin to kill Dooku.

 

Maul wouldn't even consider ratting out Sidious because Maul knows what Sidious is capable of. Perhaps he's the only one who does. Plagueis certainly didn't know the extent of Sidious's abilities, and Dooku's face when Sidious started the Sith ritual in the last TCW episode says he didn't either.

Put simply, Maul really doesn't want to make Palpatine angry.

 

I can't believe Maul surviving is official canon but none of the good stuff was even considered.

CURSE YOU!!!

 

What I don't understand about the Maul situation isn't Maul not telling the Jedi about Sidious being Palpatine, but rather the Jedi not making a full-fledged effort to capture and interrogate Maul. I mean, I can understand them sending in only Obi-Wan when Maul first reappeared because Maul was threatening to kill innocents if anyone else came with Obi-Wan. But after that, why assign only Obi-Wan and Adi Gallia to apprehend Maul and Opress instead of, say, a team of a full dozen Jedi that includes five or six Masters? Aside from Dooku, Maul is the one being the Jedi Council can be certain knows Sidious's real identity. That should IMO have made Maul's capture an absolute priority for the Jedi, with corresponding resources and personnel assigned to the task instead of just two Jedi Masters, which resulted in Adi Gallia being killed and the Sith brothers escaping again.

 

They put together a team in a comic book (two, I think, actually). I know, I know, we're talking about the writing in the show, but yeah, the issue was addressed. Now comics will bring the story to a close, so it's fitting.

 

Very interesting. What comic book is that? And is that comic still canon?

 

Canon: God, who even knows? Let's say it is and be done with it.

Now, one is called The Sith Hunters, I believe, and the other is Darth Maul -- Death Sentence.

Edit: I just checked, and The Sith Hunters is written by people who wrote for the show (Henry Gilroy and Steven Melching, wrote something like 20 episodes, and Gilroy actually was head writer at the beginning, which means he shaped the show to a very great degree). They're clearly telling the same story, in a different medium. So, what is it that would make the comic not canon? Some pronouncement by Lucasfilm? %$& that, I don't see a difference.

 

That comic is no longer canon, no, so you are indeed free to continue to laugh and ridicule the canon state of affairs.

 

Thank you for taking the time to research this out, Starkeiller. I ask because, fairly or not, I do care about official canon status, and I have limited disposable income. With those two considerations in mind, I've decided to only buy material that will be canon going forward. Still, I'm glad that some of the show's writers noted the same problem I did and made an effort to address it.

 

Maybe the blood spray in TPM will be de-canonized, at least.

 

It is my estimation that Lucasfilm 2.0 has now made a mess of canon in its "effort" (I apologize to everyone who ever used that word, but I will invoke scare quotes and use it anyway) to simplify it. Things that are officially non-canon will get referenced, and it will be easier to assume they're canon unless contradicted than to assume they're non-canon until further referenced, and then maybe Mara Jade shows up in Rebels, and then the starwars.com blog or the new Visual Guide says "Jedi Extra #5" is actually Corran Horn or Streen or something, and then a Yuuzhan Vong shows up somewhere random, and so on until it's just a mess.

What I'm saying is, when Quinlan Vos shows up and uses psychometry in TCW, it's nice to be able to go dig up the Republic comics and find out what's the deal with all that, even if they're officially "not canon". So, as I said to a friend of mine recently, don't sell any SW books you already have if you only want canonical products in your library.

 

Y'know, it's worth noting that prior to the release of the Darth Plagueis novel and the resurrection of Darth Maul there was no indication at all that Maul even knew Sidious's real identity. The impression I always got was that Maul in fact did not know that Sidious was Palpatine, just as other servants of Sidious would also be similarly in the dark (such as Kinman Doriana).

 

I don't think Maul would be too keen on doing anything to directly aid the Republic/Jedi, even if just to spite his former master.

 

After his initial shock, it looked like Dooku had resigned himself to his fate. The strong survive, and he had been foolish and weak. Turning on his master out of spite wouldn't have been the "noble" thing to do, in his mind.