If you’ve only watched the Star Wars trilogies, you might have thought Darth Maul’s story ended with Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. But there’s a lot more story to tell apparently, as Marvel has just announced the villain will be getting his own comic book series this February.
Since Disney purchased Lucasfilm and Marvel a few years ago, there’s been a lot of synergy between the brands. Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and Lando Han Solo, Chewbacca and Poe Dameron have each had their own series. Marvel even published a Star Wars: The Force Awakens comic, a throwback to the old days of publishing comics adaptations of blockbuster movies. But we’re headed back to look into the eyes of the Dark Side as writer Cullen Bunn and artist Luke Ross take on Darth Maul in a five-issue miniseries that will take place prior to Phantom Menace in Star Wars continuity.
USA Today had the exclusive reveal of the news and the first cover. Here’s how the paper describes the plot:
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 told USA Today the character Eldra “has a huge impact on Maul’s life going forward.”
Ray Park played Darth Maul in the film but the character has lived on in the animated universe. Both Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have utilized the character and told his story post-Phantom Menace. Oh, what? You thought getting sliced in half by a lightsaber would stop Darth Maul? Psht!
While everyone thought Darth Maul was the coolest character to come out of the prequels, we all know he didn’t do, or say, much. His subsequent stories have really fleshed out the character a ton and I’m looking forward to seeing what he did before he met up with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn in the long hallway of doom. “I like seeding where that impatience and anger comes from,” said Bunn.