Due in part to this popularity, former Sith Lord Darth Maul has recently featured in newer Star Wars projects. However, this was despite being cut in half and falling down a reactor shaft in Episode I.
How did Maul survive such a fate, and how did he return to fighting fit form as we see him in the 4th season of the Clone Wars animated series?
Here’s what you need to know!
Contents
Who was Maul?
Maul has been one of the most well-appreciated parts of the prequel trilogy and introduced many younger fans to the devious Sith Lords that stood in opposition to our protagonists. He was a Force-sensitive Zabrak from the planet Dathomir who served as Darth Sidious’ Sith apprentice and assassin.
He seemingly met his end in Episode I: The Phantom Menace in a second clash between himself and the venerable Jedi Master Qui Gon Jin and his then apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi.
After slaying Qui Gon, he let his hubris and desire to revel in his victory cost him the duel.
In the ensuing counterattack, Kenobi severed Maul’s torso from his lower half and watched on with us as both halves fell into a reactor shaft.
How did Maul survive getting cut in half?
“…he lives in the Outer Rim, in exile.“
–Mother Talzin, telling Savage Opress that Maul had survived.
While the Jedi (and most of us gullible saps watching) thought that Maul had perished, he did manage to survive, as we saw in the Clone Wars series.
He was able to survive the mortal blow, avoid a fatal fall, and cling to life for many years afterwards, allowing him to be found and aided in recovery back to his full power.
This feat was likely made possible by a number of possible and probable factors, which we will discuss below.
#1 The Nature of the Wound
While lightsabers are one of the most effective weapons in the galaxy far far away, it is worth noting that one feature of the iconic weapon might have lent itself to Maul’s survival.
The blade of a lightsaber is made of plasma generated from a Kyber crystal and can cut through almost anything, with few exceptions.
However, this high-energy cutting power also meant that wounds inflicted by a lightsaber would often cauterise immediately, minimising blood loss and even trauma of the wound.
This is even more so true for a strong, swift strike delivered by a well-trained Jedi like Obi-Wan, who is known to be a prolific duelist.
While Obi-Wan is adept with the lightsaber, he actually prefers negotiating and you can find out why he was called the negotiator here.
Despite the severe nature of the wound, Maul was likely spared the bleeding that would have occurred with any other cutting weapon.
#2 Maul’s Constitution
Maul’s species, the Zabraks, are built tougher than many other species due to the conditions of their home world Iridonia. This includes many differences from human physiology, including a different skeletal structure and an extra heart.
With this unique build, it is likely that they are able to endure more damage than other humanoids would be able to.
This might have contributed to Maul’s resilience in the aftermath of the duel.
Additionally, Maul trained under Darth Sidious, a villain known even to his subordinates for his sadistic nature and mastery of Dark Side techniques.
As such, Maul must have been more resilient than most others to survive the gruelling training that Sidious prescribed.
#3 The Force
The Force grants those that can wield its power. In many cases, this has also extended to granting users increased resilience and survivability. We see this in the case of Anakin Skywalker surviving the loss of multiple limbs and being abandoned on Mustaphar, a planet notorious for its harsh landscape.
“The Dark Side Of The Force Is A Pathway To Many Abilities Some Consider To Be… Unnatural.”
–Chancellor Palpatine to Anakin Skywalker.
The Dark Side of the Force seems to lend itself especially well to unnatural feats like extending life, as alluded to by Sidious when he revealed his affinity for the Dark Side while recruiting Anakin to his side in the prequel movies.
He referenced the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise, a Sith Lord known to have the power to extend the life of others through Dark Side powers.
Furthermore, Sidious mentions that Plagueis couldn’t extend his own life, though, at the time, he conveniently failed to mention that Plagueis was his own Master and that he had killed him in the style of the Sith.
#4 Intense Hatred and Willpower
“My hatred kept my spirit intact even though my body was not.”
-Maul, on how he survived the encounter with Kenobi.
Related to the power of the Dark Side of the Force, the hatred and anger Maul felt towards Kenobi likely also helped him survive. Maul says as much himself while explaining to his brother Savage Opress how he survived. This could have worked in 2 ways;
- Dark Side users draw on passion and negative emotion to bolster their powers, and so this intense shot of hatred and anger could have also increased the effectiveness of his survivability boost.
- Having a strong will to live on, even if only to exact revenge on Kenobi, probably aided Maul in surviving what was going on. This is made clear by his own statement, as well as the fact that he lost his mind, but his spirit wore on.
You can find out more about why he hated Obi-Wan so much here.
#5 His Mother’s mystical arts
While this is mostly speculative, there is a good chance that Mother Talzin’s mystical powers could have served to augment Maul’s vitality.
It is clear from her actions that she was interested in his survival, and we see later on that her powers are also instrumental in restoring him to his former condition.
How did Maul get to Lotho Minor?
While he survived his injuries, Maul still went MIA for many years. He was eventually found by his brother on Lotho Minor, several planets away from where he was initially defeated.
Through the use of the Force, Maul was able to stall his fall and mitigate further disaster. He managed to make his way through a vent and into a trash container, which was then taken and dumped on the trash planet Lotho Minor.
It was here that he remained, out of his mind and getting around on makeshift mechanical spider legs that he cobbled together from scrap metal until Mother Talzin sent Opress to fetch him and restore him to good condition.
Conclusion
Maul’s resurrection in the Star Wars canon is one of the more interesting turns of events we’ve seen in recent media. The reception was very positive, with the storyline being reminiscent of some of the ones we see in Legends.
Hopefully, fans can expect more similarly pleasant twists and revelations as the future of the Star Wars story continues to wind forward.
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