Full Series Why does Maul not use " force lightning"

But Maul is generally not depicted as using it, even pre-cyborg legs to my knowledge. Savage got hit by lightning on day 1 of training pretty much, I would think that Maul was hit by it/tortured/punished just as Savage was. Dooku apparently had it used against him if we're going by the "you must be hit by it to use it" explanation of the novel (which is a terrible explanation IMO). Savage got hit, Sidious himself had it used against him. So I wouldn't think that Maul just never had it used against him and never learned.

 

I remember there was a Star Wars magazine a while back that had a page devoted to a hypothetical battle between Maul and Savage, and it mentioned that Maul had some control over Force Lightning. Can't remember which magazine it was, though...

 

Well I had a little bit of a problem with the Darth Plagueis novel's idea of Maul being "Sith Lite", or just an assassin. There are people like Jango for that. Darth Maul is referred to by Sidious in TPM as "Lord Maul". He was a full-fledged Sith Lord. Sure he was young and brash, but if Dooku or Anakin had never come along, given time, Maul would have mellowed and become like any other wicked old Sith Lord. He probably wouldn't have been Palpatine's choice to lead a Seperatist movement, but plenty of Senators or Corporate heads could have done that. It didn't necessarily have to be a Sith or ex-Jedi. Dooku was just a perfect pawn at the right time.

 

That was my only knock, re sith lite.

 

Dooku's musings on Maul in the RoTS novel were even less kind than that.

"Maul had been an animal. A skilled one- but a brute beast nonetheless."

 

Looks like my post on the first page never made it through. Not going to rely on the Plagueis novel for any illumination here.

I always thought of it as a technique that was for advanced Sith only. Maul just wasn't around enough to learn it. Ditto Savage, Ventress, etc.

Not to mention the Master would want to hold something back for security reasons.

 

This is the most logical explanation.

 

Yeah, that's an awful explanation and I don't buy it. Githany taught Bane how to wield it and that aspect was never mentioned or hinted at, and I think we can all agree Darth Bane was a master of the skill.

 

Come on people, that explanation makes perfect sense as disinformation, a hallmark of the Sith.

 

Maul was considered Plagueis and Sidious' assassin, not yet truly ascended to the place of a Sith, except in name. This explains his inability to use force lightning: he never was taught to harness it.

 

If not for his bisection, Maul probably would have gone into more advanced training as reward for killing Qui-Gon Jinn, and probably would have learned it. Imagine Maul's hatred influencing Force Lightning...

 

He doesn't use it because he doesn't like the color bluee.

 

Maul was an actual sith, the whole "assassin" thing was a lie Palpatine told Plagueis. It wasn't like Maul was basically just a dark jedi/assassin working for Sith like Ventress, he WAS a sith (why would Palpatine give him a "Darth" title if he was merely a dark jedi?) Palpatine lied about that to Plagueis because he didn't want Plagueis to expect that his time was coming to an end.

Besides, you don't need to be a Sith to use force lighting, its not like the Sith invented it anyways (force lighting existed before the sith organization was even created). It is a darkside technique which people using the darkside can use, its not a Sith only thing. Dark jedi have used it, and even the Rakata were able to (a species who used the darkside, pre-republic era).

 

Only in the mind of Hego Damask.

 

If anyone deserves to be robbed of their status as a Dark Lord, it's Plagueis after the attempt on his life sent him into idle seclusion for years, engaging in fruitless navel-gazing while Sidious and Maul worked together to take over the galaxy. I fully believe that Sidious had ceased to view his old master with anything even approaching respect at that point. Maul was certainly worth more than feeble old Hego in Palps' eyes.

 

Perception isn't everything. Maul was strong yes, but he was still an animal. Plagueis may have been weak but he also planned the Clone Wars only to be killed before their beginnings. I think Plagueis was the greater Sith.

 

Maul may have gotten a really good Sith training, but Sidious never finished his training. And as of yet there is no proof that Maul cannot use Sith lightning. We have to wait and see. He has still his own hands, so it's entirely possible. Not displaying the full capacity of his powers might come in handy in the future.

As to Maul's role in Sidious's plans: He was always a tool for Palpatine. Plagueis was his tutor, and a tool in that capacity, and Maul was just another tool. He was never trained to succeed Sidious, or to rule beside him as a partner. He did Sidious's dirty work, and nothing else. Had Sidious intended for him to become an equal Sith, he would have created a civilian identity for him, and put him on his staff and eventual in the Senate, to ensure that Maul could continue the plan if something should happen to him. The fact that he did nothing of this sort is quite telling.

 

There's also the fact of his appearance! No chance of a cover identity while he looks like something out of a nightmare!

 

at the end maul was a bait for the jedi. I dont think sidious ever wanted him to be his real apprentice. Sidious knew that the jedi would hunt and kill maul when he has revealed himself once. He was a bait to bring disbalance to the force of the jedi. No need to teach him more sith stuff.Sidious just would accept an equual powerfull beeing as his true apprentice. Vader was promising but after his defeat on mustafar he was just a usual servant to sidious.

 

I don't think Sidious would invest all of that time with Maul if he never intended him to be his real apprentice. Dooku was more expendable since he picked up a Jedi Master that pretty much already knew most of what he needed to know and required minimal training, so throwing Dooku away in favor of Vader wasn't a huge loss of invested time and effort.

 

Did Sidious invest all that much time on Maul, though? As much time as Plagueis invested in Sidious? Not so, I think!

 

Granted I'm not well versed in the EU, but were any of the Sith between Bane and Maul fallen Jedi? In the Darth Plagueis novel, Plagueis warns Sidious about how a fallen Jedi can never become a true Sith because they can never fully embrace the Dark Side (paraphrased). Palpatine had no knowledge of Anakin prior to TPM, and I don't think Palpatine was hinging on a fallen Jedi to be his apprentice. He may have intended to use Dooku as a pawn regardless, but when it comes to him becoming a Sith, I interpret it as Maul dying unexpectedly and Dooku as being Palpatine's "oh crap button" since his plans need to move forward quickly during his term as Chancellor and he can't afford to wait around to train another Sith. Plus Dooku was just conveniently useful. As for Vader, I think his power was just too tempting to Palpatine such that the latter was blinded by greed and did not heed Plagueis' warning.

 

That is funny considering fallen Jedi were the first Sith after they conquered the original Sith and stole their name, language, and anything worth taking, and since then some fallen Jedi have become real Sith(some more real than others).

 

From the Wook, there may have been as many as 30, and we know only of Bane, Zannah, Cognus, Millennial, Gravid, Gravid's apprentice (who took over when Gravid fell to the Light side!) Tenebrous, Plagueis and Sidious. More needs to be written!