After 27 Years, Star Wars Finally Shows How Palpatine Trained Darth Maul

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The comic series Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord expands on the backstory of Darth Maul, a well-known character from the Star Wars universe. The story takes place shortly after the rise of the Empire, as Maul secretly attempts to build a criminal empire. However, the Empire discovers his plans on the planet Janix before he can fully succeed, and sends both Imperial troops to take control of the planet and Inquisitors to track down Maul himself.

In episodes 7 and 8 of Shadow Lord, Maul and his crew are unexpectedly attacked by the Empire, putting him in a dangerous situation. He’s forced to fight two Inquisitors, Marrok and the one known as “Crow,” and nearly loses the battle. Though he manages to escape into some caves, Maul is wounded and confused, and begins to experience disturbing mental flashbacks. As he struggles to find his way out of a sandy tunnel, the lingering effects of his near-death experience in The Phantom Menace intensify, causing painful memories and fears about his former master to reappear as vivid, sand-filled visions.

Maul’s Sith Origin Story Is Heartbreaking

The first vision depicts a young Maul being taken by Darth Sidious to begin his training as an apprentice. Maul went willingly, feeling he had no other option, even as his brother, Savage Opress, pleaded with him not to go and accused Sidious of manipulating him. Another vision reveals Maul’s training – though it was less training and more Palpatine brutally punishing him with Force lightning whenever he failed to meet expectations.

It’s just heartbreaking to watch Maul’s story unfold. They really show you everything he’s been through – being defeated by Obi-Wan and then abandoned by Palpatine in The Phantom Menace. Then, seeing him barely survive, broken and driven mad, until his brother and the Nightsisters piece him back together… only for Sidious to come along and kill his brother right in front of him during that epic duel on Mandalore, as we saw in The Clone Wars. It’s all this pain and betrayal that fuels his rage and makes him even more powerful with the dark side. Honestly, it’s incredible – and terrifying – to see how driven he is to finally take down Palpatine.

Shadow Lord Reveals How Palpatine Changed His Approach to Training Apprentices

This part of Shadow Lord isn’t just revealing details about Maul’s past that fans have been curious about for decades—it also shows how Palpatine initially struggled to find the right way to train his apprentices, before eventually perfecting his methods.

Palpatine manipulated Count Dooku and Anakin Skywalker differently than he did his other apprentice, Maul. Instead of using force or pain, he subtly played on their frustrations with the Jedi Order, appealing to their desires to be heroes and save those they cared about. Unlike Maul, who quickly understood his mistake, Dooku and Anakin only realized the gravity of their actions after going too far. Anakin’s actions included killing Count Dooku, helping to kill Master Mace Windu, and committing a massacre at the Jedi Temple – events that led to him becoming Darth Vader (as seen in Revenge of the Sith). Earlier, Dooku had killed his friend, Jedi Master Yaddle, after she discovered his secret meetings with Palpatine (Tales of the Jedi).

Looking at Palpatine’s apprentices – Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and Kylo Ren – reveals a clear progression in his power as a Sith Lord. He became increasingly skilled at manipulation and corruption, surpassing even his ability to use Force lightning. By the time he targeted Ben Solo, Palpatine had mastered the art of deception, using puppets like Snoke to hide his identity and operate an empire from the shadows – something Maul had always dreamed of achieving.

You can now watch Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord on Disney+. Join the conversation with other fans on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-04-29 03:10