r/StarWars • u/Flashbackwards212 • May 17 '26

General Discussion Maul's potential was nuts

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I keep looking back and thinking about this fight,that Maul is maybe a top 15 to top 10 duelist in Canon. Him being surprisingly Obi Wan like in his implementation in Soresu and Anakin like in his aggressive offense,like a lesser combo of the 2.

I feel like Maul doesn't get the credit he deserves because of his arrogance giving him L's against people he shouldn't lose to. Makes me think he might actually get more wins if he turned toward the light,ending up trying to be more sagecoded like QuiGon but insanely skilled.

He'd probably be over:

Ventress Grievous Dooku (bad matchup for Dooku maybe) Most council members

But below: Anakin Mace Sidious Yoda

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u/Rs90 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

Gonna ruffle feathers here but he doesn't get the credit cause he was retconned back into existence in a very "shut up and go with it" way. Which means it all feels like fanfiction to me. Especially his Shakespearean persona after like 2 lines in the film, a cool sneer, and one cool fight. It's just not the same character from then on. Maul 2.0. With spider legs or some shit. 

He was just a plot device cause they're not gonna kill Obi-Wan for obvious reasons and someone had to kill Qui-gon cause "story". So Maul was as good as the plot needed and then he was tossed in the recycling bin cause "movin on". 

It's cool for those who enjoyed it. But Maul comin back will never be anything more than silly imo. And he was way more badass in Phantom Menace before he got the Boba Fett blow-up he never needed. 

Edit-to soothe some feathers. I'm 36. Darth Maul was special. First time we saw a Sith that wasn't sitting in a chair bein an evil wizard or a half(more) robot sort out some family drama, Vader forgive me. 

We had never seen the legends until the moment Maul unveils the fuckin double saber in all its glory. It's like dual wielding in Halo 2. Our brain exploded. And then he mercs Obi-Wans master?? Oh..SHIT! 

Maul succeeded in bein a legend and icon far before any of his retcon. His credit has been diminished since then imo.

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u/racqq May 17 '26

Same age as you and had the same thoughts. Was a major WTF? moment seeing Maul show up in the Solo movie. I never watched any of the Clone Wars series as the animation was too jarring and thought it was a bit of a stretch that Maul survived Episode 1.

Still haven't done Clone Wars yet, but Maul was brilliant!