PT Importance of Darth Maul

Here I want to stick to the films, since I am inclined to believe that Darth Maul served a very important purpose in the saga films and didn't need a resurrection to matter.

In my opinion the Duel of the Fates music signifies a battle of cosmic importance for the future of the galaxy. Darth Maul made everything possible by killing Qui-Gon Jinn. Had he failed in this Anakin's future might have been very different.

Darth Maul's death parallels that of Darth Sidious. Both fall down shafts. They represent the true original Sith, because everyone else in the saga gets recruited from the Jedi Knights. One is taken out at the beginning of the story and the other one at the end.

What are your thoughts about the importance of Darth Maul? I think since the television series brought him back, people ahve increasingly shrugged off his critical impact on the main story line. by which I mean the saga films. (Here I'm addressing the six saga films from George Lucas himself, not meaning to dismiss the sequel trilogy which I like, but focusing on the original six because Maul's importance does not change if you include the sequels)

 

Overall, I agree that resurrecting characters who clearly died (such as Maul.... or the Emperor for that matter!) is a really cheap move, and more importantly, makes that character's original contribution to the story somewhat irrelevant. If the dead don't say dead, the importance of that moment gets lots.

About Darth Maul, he is a functional character whose main purpose seems to be:
1) Have a fight with the Jedi, kill Qui-Gonn and be killed by Obi-Wan (who becomes a master in the process). As you say, the music of the battle contributes enormously to the importance of that moment, adding a religious element to the physical battle.
2) Establish the master-apprentice relationship of the Sith, which is the dark equivalent of the same relationship the Jedi have.

You're right about the symbolism of him being killed in a similar way to the Emperor, in the beginning and ending chapters of the saga.

Other than that, I admit that I don't think the appeal Darth Maul has on many viewers. Yes, he's a cool bad guy, visually impressive, and a really good oponent to the Jedi. But I'm glad his contribution is limited to that one film.

 

Well, some people wanted to believe that it was Sidious's plan to replace Maul with Dooku in the Clone Wars, which is debunked by both Lucas (he said Sidious shouldn't have lose his first apprentice in AotC) and later in the Clone Wars as well, because it looks like Maul knew everything about the Clone Wars and Sidious's future plans. And the producers of the Clone Wars specifically said that Maul was trained to be more than an assassin, he was trained to build forces and deceive people, it's the same training that every Sith lord received in Darth Bane's new Sith order.

Later in the Vader comics (which was canon), Sidious once again confirmed that Maul was a loss, and Dooku was a replacement until Vader grows powerful enough, since Sidious didn't have time to train another Sith apprentice and he needed someone already trained for the upcoming Clone Wars.

Loss of Maul crippled Sidious' plans, and probably the Sith have lost in the future because Sidious needed replace Maul with Vader, who still had a light side inside of him, which is the reason that in the end that Vader betrayed Sidious for the Jedi, by turning to the light side.

If Maul wasn't cheap-shotted by Kenobi at Naboo by using Qui-Gon's lightsaber, and if Maul killed Obi-Wan too after Qui-Gon, there would no Anakin or Vader (since no one would train Anakin from the Jedi order), and the Sith would probably rule the galaxy for much longer, probably until the moment that Rey becomes a Jedi, and the Light Side of the Force strikes back against the Sith and the Dark Side.

 

It's possible that untrained Anakin could have been snapped up by the Sith early in life, or he might have done something different and extra special. We really have no idea, but it's fun to speculate.

 

I agree and think your analysis is spot-on. Additionally, Darth Maul's original appearance on Tattooine marks the first open sighting of a Sith in 1,000 years by a Jedi. One of the EU novels described it as a "declaration of war" and I think that's a fantastic description.

So Lord Maul is even more significant because he is how the Sith declare their final war on the Jedi.

 

I am not going to run out and sign any silly petitions demanding Lucasfilm re-boot its decision here, but I really didn't like Darth Maul's 'return'. The explanation doesn't work for me, either.

Darth Maul was cut in half. IN HALF. He then fell down a shaft with no visible bottom. I don't see how he could possibly survive. Yet, according to the story, he did and came away from the experience with metal legs. His insanity, his thirst for revenge ... all that makes sense. But not the fact of his survival in the first place.

Now, to be fair, Anakin Skywalker could not survive having his limbs sliced off or the extensive damage done when he burned. The story is that his hatred was so powerful that the dark side kept him alive and in terrible pain. The reason this works for me is because Anakin was not chopped in half, nor did he fall down a practically bottomless shaft.

Han was stabbed in the chest, fell down a bottomless shaft, and the planet where that happened not only exploded, but became a new sun. Han's 'return' works, because he was a vision or memory; another voice in Ben/Kylo's head. Obi-Wan, etc., remained dead but returned as echoes from the Force. Okay.

Darth Maul, though. No way.

 

Resurrecting Darth Maul was a mistake. No matter how much regret there may have been at his demise, and thus his potential as a character moving forward from The Phantom Menace, bringing him back as they did was just vandalism of the character.

Darth Maul was perfect as a kind of pure force of nature, a dark warrior-monk type character, almost humble, but totally devoted to the dark side, and to his impressive skills as a warrior. He was completely without any visible injuries, scars, burns or cybernetic enhancements. A "clean" humanoid character, with a striking visual aesthetic to boot.

He was the anti-Jedi we had been waiting for, considering that we had only really had Vader, who was a burned old man in a life-support suit and mask.

Making him then a clunky, half-robotic crime syndicate boss totally sullied that character for me.

 

i dont think it would have been much different.
i just rewatched TPM yesterday. you could see several scenes of his anger. in the final scene obi wan looked at him when he looked at queen amidala (he felt anakin was dangerous even then). everyone except for qui gon knew he was dangerous. the council at that point already said no, before the fight with darth maul. so palpatine already knew qui gonn and the council thought he was the chosen one.
if the jedi wouldnt train him, the sith would.
palps to anakin "follow me and i will grant you the power to save your mother from certain death" "the jedi refused to save her, the jedi are more than capable of saving her but they refused" "the jedi want your mother to suffer in slavery and separate you and her" (qui gon lost a game of chance, but he could just take her away with him to coruscant quite easily)...

anakin's destiny was always to become a powerful sith lord. the clone wars was just another push to the dark side, but if he got to be trained by darth plagues and darth sidious at the age of 10, we would see a supremely powerful sith lord, far stronger than darth vader ever was or could be.

 

Maul's skills as a military leader and a deceiver who can rule the criminal syndicates was unknown to most people, because they never show it to the audience.

TCW showed us that. If anything, they add a lot to the character. Also we learned about Maul's home planet and where he comes from. Though, if you are happy with him just fighting against the Jedi, then that's fine. But that's something people like Jango Fett and Grievous can do as well, it's not special to Sith and Maul.

It wasn't ''sun burn'' you know.

The guy burned by the lava, which also has toxic fumes as well. There is no way, a regular human being could survive what Anakin survived in Mustafar, especially not after losing two legs and one arm. He clearly used the Force to survive. It's the same for Maul. Maul only had to deal with saving himself when his upper half was fine, Anakin burned completely and he had no limbs left.

 

I often believe in less is more. The less seen and less known about a character can enhance their presence and mystique.

 

I believe Maul’s importance is pivotal to the story itself. Until his appearance the Trade Federation believed it was only dealing with Sidious; the moment Maul was revealed the complexity and depth of the blockade immediately escalated, the Jedi Council was made aware of a new threat (Rule of Two) and Sidious/Palpatine was able to start his manipulation of the Senate, Padme and the Council.

Episode I foreshadowed the Sidious grand plan, how he could hide in the shadows and still be the ultimate puppy master. I look at Maul as being a pawn and Sidious used him to move his knight into position. Darth Maul is so significant that without his impact, Sidious could’ve moved his other pieces over the trilogy into place (Dooku, Grievous, his ascension in the Senate, manipulation of Anakin etc)

 

I'm wondering why people never made as much a deal out of a character like Obi-Wan dying in his first outing, but somehow that's a major character flaw for Maul. Usually those same people also said he needed more character development, but preferred the "less is more" approach taken with Boba Fett in the trilogy versus his expanded story in Attack of the Clones. I think that criticism of Maul is oft-repeated, but really without substance. Thus, I don't really consider it a valid criticism.

My reasoning? Maul is probably the most remembered character from The Phantom Menace because he appeared exactly as he did. He had a striking character design, provided a menacing introduction to the Sith, and gave Obi-Wan with a feasible challenge in his path to Jedi Knighthood. Not to mention all the plot implications of re-introducing the Sith to the universe.

 

Except for the severing of vital organs. Can one 'use the Force' to stay alive when one is chopped in two across the middle? Anakin's vital organs (save for, yes, his lungs) were undamaged. He also had Palpatine on hand who did something when he touched his forehead, with a currently popular theory involving a Sith version of Force-healing.

 

Apparently, when you get cut by a lightsaber, you don't bleed.

So Maul had no problem with dying due to blood loss. He only needed to stop the initial shock, and then he needed to sustain himself somehow so he could survive.

I understand that in comparison with the real world, if you get cut in half it is worse, but that's only because of blood loss. If you get cut in half by something that stops your bleeding, I think you can survive if they put you in a mechanism that would help you to sustain yourself. That's what Maul did by using the Force, he sustained himself.

As I said, the only thing Maul needed to do was surviving the initial shock and then sustain himself by using the Force. He had no problem with blood loss. Anakin on the other hand, not only he lost all of his arms and legs, he burned very heavily by lava and poisoned by toxic fumes at the same time. I think his injury is worse than Maul's.

 

I don't contest the right of Lucasfilm to crete a crazy comeback for the character and having actually watched some of those episodes, they did about as well as they could have given the choice. However I am one of those fans who chooses personally to regard the non-saga film outings as optional and to me they are secondary fiction. In my headcanon those shows are "legends" and not really part of the story. I'm not telling other people to look at it that way too, it's just my inclination and it's why the Solo movie is definitively in the legends category for me too.

Why this is relevant is that I think Darth Maul is a powerful and important character in the saga film narrative alone, and that he has a profound effect on the galaxy's fate and Anakin's destiny.

 

I think his purpose was to tell the Jedi that the Sith had returned, as Palpatine was always going to stay hidden, and thus couldn't serve that function yet. It also forced Palpatine to keep looking for another apprentice, and someone who could improve upon Maul's failings.

 

I appreciate the idea that a lightsaber wound might have a cauterising effect, which might stem the flow of blood to an extremity such as an arm or hand, but getting severed right across the midsection of the torso as he did surely couldn't be effectively sealed in the same way? Assuming that this character is biologically similar to a human, the transection wound would cause all his organs to fall out. I never saw how he could survive such an injury, especially as he was left for dead at the bottom of a massive shaft.

 

I guess something like this is possible even for a regular human being for a very short time;

 

Oh you rascal, that scene always er....puts an inconvenient bit of dust in my eye.

 

I totally agree on this.

 

he was a henchmen, he died, that's about it.

bringing him back took Star Wars into the sillyland where nothing matters,
which the ST followed up on. "Maul and Sidious died and now they're back and you're questioning how? Forgetaboutit and just go along for the ride! you like Fast and Furious and Transformers, you'll love this !"

 

Star Wars WASN'T in sillyland before that happened?!

 

Maul was the only person we see in TPM whom Sidious didn't have put up a facade in front of. Through their private conversation, we get a glimpse of the Sith's true thoughts and feelings. We learn that they hate the Jedi, and they want revenge.

 

I say the difference is he wasn't trying to turn Maul to the dark side, because Maul was already a natural dark sider from Dathomir.

With Dooku and Vader, he had to work with their Jedi past.

 

Maul serves his purpose in the main Star Wars Saga, which is why he never returned in Episode II or III. But his resurrection does offer a look into the life of a Sith and utterly miserable it is to be a Sith. It's a recurring theme with these Sith Apprentices. They are treated as disposable tools by Darth Sidious. This feared, devil-horned monster that would give children nightmares in particular is ultimately a pathetic being who cowers before a greater evil that is the Emperor. It's like an expansion into the actual character of Darth Vader. Behind that intimidating armor is a pathetic, sad man who made the deal with the devil and lost.