Cullen Bunn And Luke Ross Turn To The Dark Side For ‘Darth Maul’

Darth Maul makes his return in February in a five-issue Marvel series that hopes to bring new dimensions to a character who was, in the eyes of many fans, under-served by the Star Wars movies. Maul appeared only in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, in which he had few lines, and was cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi before falling to his apparent death at the end of the film.

He was brought back to life in animation, appearing on Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. However, the new comic from writer Cullen Bunn and artist Luke Ross goes back to his life before The Phantom Menace, exploring his time as a young Sith apprentice to the future Emperor Palpatine, before he had ever gotten to face a real Jedi in battle.

From the USA Today article:

The comic finds Maul an untested warrior under the training of Darth Sidious, who would later become the Galactic Emperor. Told to stand down from engaging with Jedi yet, Maul hunts down the worst of the worst in the cosmic underworld to vent his frustration.

After learning a young Jedi Padawan named Eldra Kaitis has fallen into the hands of a crime lord, Maul seizes an opportunity to test his skills against a real Jedi but also maybe turn someone else to the dark side.

Bunn promises to explain the source of Maul's anger and impatience --- in short, the traits that make him practically an embodiment of the Dark Side of the Force. Personally, I've never found Darth Maul to be an interesting character, but if anything can help with that problem, it's an exciting story about who he really is, and how he got that way.

[via USA Today]