In the ever-evolving landscape of comics, there are simply some things that should not have happened. In Retcon This!, we examine some of the more questionable aspects of our beloved characters’ sordid histories.

This week:  Darth Maul

I would like to start this article off by stating that I have never claimed to be a Star Wars buff. Although I couldn’t tell you if Han or the other dude shoots first, I can say with great pride that the Rancor and I go way back. I may not know the ins and outs of the entire Star Wars universe, but I do know when an opportunity is missed - and George Lucas killing off someone who could have been the Dark Side’s Master of Badassery, Mr. Darth Maul himself, so early was a huge one. Darth Maul’s death is fine, but it’s the timing of it that really gets me.

Ric Flair says it best: “To be the man, you must beat the man,” and that rings perfectly for the prequel’s storyline. Anakin Skywalker should have had to defeat Darth Maul as a right of passage on his journey to the Dark Side and to ultimately becoming the Emperor’s right-hand man. The Emperor tests Luke in The Empire Strikes Back by forcing a showdown against Darth Vader in order to see if he was worthy to take Vader’s place. You would think the Emperor would have done the same years before when he was recruiting Anakin.

George Lucas missed out on what could have been the greatest lightsaber battle in all of the Star Wars films. It should have been Maul, not Dooku, who took Anakin’s hand, which started his robotic path to the Dark Side. As it is now, Anakin’s descent from good to evil is as lame an excuse for a story arc as Peter Parker’s “emo dark side” transformation in Spider-Man 3. A manly saber battle between Anakin and Maul would have helped sell Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side, but instead, we have to listen to him whine through two films. But, I’ll save that rant for a future BLAARGH! installment, so for now, here’s how it should have went down.

As written in Episode I, Obi-Wan takes out Darth Maul with one “slap chop” to the waist that sends Maul sadly down a bottomless pit in two pieces. Now even though it helped Obi-Wan’s case of being a badass Jedi Master, it was a lame way for Maul to go out. In the grand scheme of the saga, Obi- Wan’s character gains nothing by being the one to kill Darth Maul. Obi-Wan never even sways toward the Dark Side, and he still sacrifices himself to Vader later in the story. The fight should have ended with Maul pulling out some dirty Sith trick to get away, leaving Obi-Wan mourning over the loss of his mentor and vowing to hunt down Maul to bring him to justice as a good Jedi would do.

In Episode II, the hunt for Maul, who has lain low since the death of Qui-Gon, is still on while Anakin continues to question the system as he goes through puberty. To me, Dooku’s character was lame. Although the Yoda fight was entertaining, Dooku’s part in it was more than it should have been - only because of the loss of Maul. The fight with Dooku and Yoda can stay, but insert a showdown, all strategically planned by the Emperor himself, with an emotional Anakin and Obi-Wan teaming up to face off with Darth Maul.

During this fight, you can see Obi-Wan holding back the urge to kill Maul, even though Maul killed Qui-Gon, and Anakin is having trouble containing his rage as Maul does his best to push him over the edge after seeing Anakin’s desire to let go. With a swift counter-attack, Maul takes Anakin’s hand, which sends Anakin overboard as he loses all restraint and control over his powers. At this point, Anakin - to the surprise of Obi-Wan and himself - hits Maul with a Force push, and the three-way fight eventually becomes a one-handed Anakin vs. Darth Maul fight as they split off from Obi-Wan. Until now, Anakin’s powers have been untested, but at the first chance to use them, he doesn’t disappoint the diehard Vader fans as he corners a weaponless Maul and in an emotional rage over his hand, and a horrible Padmé remark, snaps Maul’s neck with a Force choke.

When Obi-Wan finally catches up, he sees Anakin standing over Maul’s lifeless body. While Anakin says it was self-defense and that he had no other choice, Obi-Wan can sense that Anakin went too far and that Maul was without his saber. From there, we go to the secret wedding and continue the storyline with the fans a little happier than they were after watching episodes I and  II. By having Darth Maul hang around to fight Anakin, the story of Anakin’s path to the Dark Side becomes manlier than just a spoiled Jedi who whines about everything. This would set up that Anakin, without his even knowing it, has proven to the Emperor his ability to stand by him as part of the Dark Side and rightfully take the place of Maul.

Maybe I expected a more serious and adult take on the prequels. Maybe Lucas took too much time on podraces and underwater slumber parties and not enough time advancing Anakin’s path to becoming Vader so we could have had at least one lightsaber fight as Vader in the prequels. I still say that General Grievous was put in Episode III only because Darth Maul’s character was out of the picture. It was like Lucas knew he fucked up and was in a mad dash to create a villain better than Maul, and the only way to one up a dual-lightsaber-wielding Sith Lord is to have Grievous, who can carry four lightsabers. Problem solved.

Maul’s early death only hurt the prequels. Keeping him around at least until Episode II would have only benefitted the overall storyline and the story of Anakin’s path to the Dark Side and eventual transformation to Darth Vader. Only in the world of Retcon This! does Darth Maul live to fight another day.

–Jose Guzman