There were quite a few problems with Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. In the original trilogy, we had a fantastic adventure story told in space. In the prequels, we got bogged down in politics and the most cringe-y romance ever to be seen onscreen. We also got Jar Jar Binks, objectively the worst character ever to stumble onto the Star Wars scene. However, I'm a glass-half-full kind of girl. I am a firm believer that even the worst movies have something redeemable about them, something that you can point to as a really cool moment. And The Phantom Menace is definitely not the worst movie ever made.
One of the best things about The Phantom Menace was the introduction of Darth Maul as a villain. We might not have approved of becoming mired in the political climate of the Old Republic, but we all got behind that final lightsaber duel between Darth Maul and the two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi. That was awesome! No one can deny that when Darth Maul activated his dual-blade lightsaber, their adrenaline and excitement levels shot through the roof.
As soon as we saw Darth Maul's red-and-black patterned skin and yellow eyes, we knew he was a force to be reckoned with. But what none of us counted on was how powerful he would actually become. Maul's ability to utilize the Dark Side, his determination, and his astounding survival skills have made him a character that is just a bit too powerful. Read on if you want to see the ways in which Maul has exceeded our expectations of the power of the Dark Side.
25 Remember Rathtars?
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we were introduced to the creatures known as Rathtars. These large, many-toothed beasts caused quite an amount of chaos when Han Solo, Rey, and Finn were trying to escape some gangsters who were onboard Han's latest smuggling ship. They could barely survive an encounter with these animals.
Would it shock you to learn that when Darth Maul was younger, before we saw him in The Phantom Menace, he hunted them for sport? Instead of ending Jedi, Maul ended Rathtars.
24 Any Way You Slice Him
If you want a clearer understanding of how powerful Darth Maul is, just look at the fact that he survived his encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Battle of Naboo. Obi-Wan defeated Darth Maul in battle and put him in half with his lightsaber, causing the two halves of Darth Maul's being to plummet down a deep shaft.
Not only did Maul survive the slicing, he also survived the fall.
It's cool that we were then able to see more of Maul as a villain, but come on! How in the flubbing flub did he survive that?!
23 Enduring The Worst Punishment
If Darth Maul is one of the toughest baddies of the lot, then it stands to reason that his master, Darth Sidious, is even worse to contend with. After becoming angered and embittered with his former master, Darth Maul gets in a fight with Sidious' new apprentice, Count Dooku.
Sidious shows up, and Darth Maul has to withstand cruel and unusual punishment from the two Sith Lords. Maul took the torturous circumstances like a champ.
22 You Don't Know The Power Of The Dark Side
Darth Maul's power extends beyond himself and his own endurance. Maul was able to influence the young mind of Ezra Bridger, a Jedi-in-training. Maul manages to plant seeds of doubt within Ezra's mind about the effectivenees of the Light Side.
Throughout some parts of Star Wars: Rebels, Ezra sees images of Darth Maul trying to persuade him to join the seductive path of the Dark Side. We have yet to see if Maul's influence will eventually change Ezra. (Fingers crossed.)
21 Power Runs In The Family
If the Star Wars universe has taught me anything over the years, it is that the power of your parents can easily transfer over to you. Just look at Luke and Darth Vader. Darth Maul is no exception to this tradition.
His mother is one of the Nightsisters on the planet Dathomir.
The Nightsisters are a group of women who can use dark magick to accomplish their goals. This makes it perfectly clear how Darth Maul ends up being an extremely proficient wielder of the Dark Side.
20 Swearing Vengeance On The Jedi
Darth Maul was brought up as Darth Sidious' apprentice. During his Sith training, he was told countless tales and experienced the memories of the Sith who had come before him.
In ages past, the Jedi had eradicated the Sith from the galaxy. (Or at least they thought they had.) Their actions angered Maul so much, that he focused all of his energies on taking revenge for what the Jedi had done to his kind. It takes a certain brand of commitment to try righting wrongs done hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
19 Which Brother Is Better?
After reaching his lowest point (which I think we can all agree occurred when his half of a body was dumped on the trash planet of Lotho Minor), Darth Maul and his brother were reunited. Savage Opress, Maul's brother, rescued Maul from Lotho Minor, and the two of them then set off on their crusade.
Despite being full-bodied, Savage is still a weaker fighter than his brother.
Don't get me wrong, Savage is an excellent fighter. It's just that Darth Maul is better.
18 Time's Up For The Watch
A superb example of Maul's power is when he takes on Pre Vizsla, leader of the Death Watch, a group of Mandalorian rebels. Most Star Wars fans know of Mandalore because Boba Fett's armor comes from there.
The Death Watch is filled with members who wear that kind of armor, so you know right away that they are all tough as nails. Darth Maul finishes Pre Vizsla off in a one-on-one fight, even though he lost his lightsaber during the bout.
17 Unhealthy Fixations
It is stated that the reason why Darth Maul was able to survive as half a body for so long was because he kept himself alive by feeding on the hatred he felt for the one who had put him in this position, Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Every action Maul took after that seems to have been rooted in his deep-seated dislike for the Jedi Master. He even tracked Obi-Wan all the way to his hideout on Tatooine when they were both older men. Now that's what I call a grudge.
16 Servant Of Sidious
A good indicator of Maul's power is the simple fact that Darth Sidious chose him to be his apprentice. Darth Sidious is pretty selective when it comes to choosing his apprentice.
Clearly, he saw some potential in Darth Maul.
As a matter of fact, Sidious noticed Maul's potential when he was a young Zabrak playing around on the planet Dathomir. Sidious stole Maul away from his home planet and from his furious mother, who swore never to trust Darth Sidious again.
15 His Choice Of Weapon
What separates Darth Maul from all of the lightsaber-wielding folks out and about is that his lightsaber is ten times cooler than theirs. Maul's lightsaber is dual-bladed.
A jet of red light emits from both sides of the handle.
I have yet to see any other person, Jedi or Sith, who can use a lightsaber like that. Maul is proficient with it, too. I mean, seriously, just look at that final fight at the end of The Phantom Menace again. That dual-bladed lightsaber was absolutely phenomenal.
14 The Cyborg Sith
Maul did not let the loss of his legs stop him from a) surviving and b) getting himself a new pair of legs. After Obi-Wan unceremoniously sliced off the lower half of his body, Darth Maul made himself a rudimentary lower half using bits of garbage. He looked like a half Zabrak, half spider.
Eventually, once he had access to better materials, he swapped his spider legs for a swanky set of robotic legs. Don't ask me how this technology works because I have no idea. It's science fiction. Deal with it.
13 A Grievous Combatant
Despite having a wracking cough, General Grievous is a huge threat as an opponent. For the longest time during the Clone Wars, Grievous evaded capture from several Jedi, and he also eliminated four Jedi and stole their lightsabers to add to his collection.
Jedi aren't the only ones who have gone up against the General. Darth Maul also fought Grievous, and he was able to beat him in a fight two out of three times. If you've seen Grievous crazily spin his four lightsabers, you know that's a feat to be proud of.
12 Choking On Some Maul
Darth Vader is not the only Sith Lord who can Force Choke people. Darth Maul can do it too. He infamously chokes and tosses young Obi-Wan Kenobi aside during the final fight in The Phantom Menace. He's also done it several times during the animated series, The Clone Wars.
It almost feels like overkill at this point. Darth Maul is already so powerful, being able to Force Choke seems like an extra weapon in his arsenal that he does not need. As if I needed another reason to think that Maul is cool.
11 Who Leads Crimson Dawn?
In the latest Star Wars movie, Solo, Darth Maul makes a surprise appearance. Whoops, guess I should have put a spoiler warning before typing that. Oh well, spoiler warning.
Apparently, after the Clone Wars but before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, Darth Maul climbed his way to the leadership position of a crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn. Maul obviously has the power to coerce people to do his will, even if he's coercing them by using brute force.
10 Two Against One
Jedi are powerful, no doubt about that, but is it just me, or do Sith always appear to be stronger than Jedi when they go up against each other? Take the epic fight between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul.
Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan have proven themselves to be very capable fighters, even though Obi-Wan is still a Padawan. And yet, Darth Maul is able to hold his own against the two of them when they battle on Naboo. It's as if he is stronger than the two of them combined.
9 Qui-Gon Versus Darth Maul
As we said in our last entry on this list, one of the ways in which Darth Maul proves himself to be extremely powerful is that he took on two Jedi and lived to tell the tale. If we examine that fight more closely, we can see that just the fact that he beat Qui-Gon Jinn makes him too powerful.
Qui-Gon was an experienced Jedi Knight who new how to use his lightsaber in combative situations like a pro. Darth Maul was able to bring him to his knees with one cruel stroke.
8 Blinded With Power
Darth Maul became heavily invested in having Ezra Bridger as his apprentice. However, Ezra already had a teacher, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus. Maul couldn't allow that. At least twice, Maul tried to do away with Kanan so that no one could stand in the way of him instructing Ezra in the ways of the Dark Side.
At one point, Maul viciously swung his lightsaber at Kanan's face and blinded him. And I by blinded, I don't mean temporarily. Kanan was blind for the rest of his life.
7 More Than Just A Pretty Lightsaber
Just because Darth Maul has a holy awesome dual-bladed lightsaber does not mean that he is not skilled in any other styles of combat.
Darth Maul is an expert of hand-to-hand combat.
Without his lightsaber and without the use of the Force, he can take down foes using whatever martial art form he learned. That's partially how he took down Pre Vizsla, leader of the Mandalorian Death Watch. A thorough knowledge of hand-to-hand combat is just what our Star Wars villains need.
6 The Superweapon On Malachor
Maul does not always set his sights so low as to just contemplate revenge on Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Though, to be honest, he does focus on his revenge an awful lot.) Sometimes Maul sets his sights much higher.
At one point, Maul wanted to activate an ancient Sith superweapon on the planet Malachor. That's right. Maul wanted to get himself into the business of superweapons. He's not the only Sith to have turned to that. Darth Sidious was completely enamored of large superweapons.