One of Star Wars’ most compelling and powerful Sith Lords,Darth Maulis a persistent menace whose Sith Code perfectly mirrors Palpatine and the Empire’s rise in power. One of Palpatine’s earliest apprentices, Maul knew enough of his master’s plan to predict the Republic’s fall and Darth Vader’s ascension well before Order 66. If the Jedi Order had paid more attention to Maul’s creed, they may have seen their destruction coming.
Star Wars: Darth Maul - Death Sentence -by Tom Taylor and Bruno Redondo - is a Legends-era comic miniseries that followsMaul and Savage Opressas the brothers are forced to deal with the consequences of a bounty placed on Maul’s head.
Momentarily pausing their reign of terror in the Outer Rim, the Sith Lords have tracked down the person who ordered the hit. After inscribing the military might of the local population, Maul and Opress lay waste to their enemy’s forces. In the midst of the lethal chaos, Maul proudly recites his Sith mantra to his brother:
“We move as Sith. We move in confusion. We move in fear. We move in chaos.”
Star Wars: Darth Maul - Death Sentence #1-4 -Written by Tom Taylor; Art by Bruno Redondo; Colors by Michael Atiyeh; Lettering by Michael Heisler; Cover Art by Dave Dorman
“We move in confusion.”
Confusion, fear, and chaos. These three concepts define Palpatine’s decades-long plan tooverthrow the Galactic Republicand install a Sith-led government. Long before the rise of the Empire,Palpatine needed a justificationthat the Republic rally behind to peacefully turn itself over. Of course, this would come in the form of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Inciting a surge ofrevolutionary rhetoricamong those dissatisfied with therampant corruptionwithin the Senate, Dooku inspired several independent systems and banking clans to turn against the Republic.
Darth Vader’s Imperial Team Unleashed the Empire’s Living Nightmares
This squadron of twisted relics from the Clone Wars is just as physically and mentally scarred as Vader; an utterly unmatched Imperial terror.
In the galaxy’s tense final moments before the ignition of the Clone Wars,no place felt safe.Neighboring Confederate systems were swarmed with battle droids and previously safe hyperspace lanes were cut off by Separatist blockades. Companies andgovernments affiliated with the Republiccould no longer rely on the banking clans, destabilizing large portions of the galactic economy. Tracing back to a single speech delivered by an ex-Jedi, the galaxy had becomeengulfed in distrustin both the centralized government and theirmilitant lapdogs,the Jedi.
The Jedi Were No Longer Paragons of Peace, All According to Palpatine’s Plan
“We move in fear.”
All-out war soon consumed the galaxy, as confusion turned into terror. Entire populations of clones were grown, raised, and killed forthe sake of the Republic. Casual genocide had becomean art of war.Planetary economies crashed without stable trade routes. And the Jedi had beenperverted into dogs of war.Nothing was off limits during the war and no one was safe. While the films and television shows did a fair enough job at depicting the slow-burningterror of the Clone Wars, the comics’ storytelling thrived.
All according to his plan, the Emperor wanted the galaxy to fear itself and its peacekeepers-turned-soldiers.
Legends series likeStar Wars: Republicexpertly depicts theexhaustion and distrustthat had spread throughout the galaxy and the Jedi. The Jedi, in their teachings,are not meant for war.They are peacekeepers,forced to throw away their dogmaand lead soldiers to their deaths. Children likeAnakin and Ahsokawere forced to become militant leaders and transformed into killers. The Jedi had been made to fear the concept of the Separatist movement and the power of “fallen Jedi” like Count Dooku. All according to his plan,the Emperor wanted the galaxy to fear itselfand its peacekeepers-turned-soldiers.
Palpatine Vilified the Jedi, Turning the Galaxy Against Them
“We move in chaos.”
By the issuance of Order 66, the Jedi had become as Palpatine had hoped they would. No longer arbitrators of peace, the Jedi were considered powerful andviolent religious fanatics.The Jedi Orderhad become synonymous with war and death. Meanwhile, both the Republic and the Confederacy had exhausted their resources. When it came time to blame a new enemy for the failures of both sides, the Jedi were perfect targets. Order 66 made the Jedi the scapegoats,offering the galaxy a common enemyto unify against. Leveraging the collapsing pillars of galactic society, the Empirepromised safety amidst chaos.
Star Wars: I Can’t See Darth Vader’s Redemption The Same After Learning About Sith Hell
All Sith Lords are destined to endlessly suffer in Chaos, but I think Darth Vader would have become something worse than what he was in life.
Looking back at Maul’s mantra and tactical philosophy, every element of Darth Sidious’s rise to power can be foundhidden in Maul’s words.Everythingthe Sith Lordknew and believed had been implanted into him by Palpatine. The Sith needed the galaxy to be confused, afraid, and disorganized to gain the leverage to overthrow the old government and the Jedi. Had the Jedi Order takenDarth Maulmore seriously at the time, they may have seen the patterns that inevitably led to their fall.
Darth Maul
Palpatine’s apprentice, Darth Maul was nothing more than a tool to winnow down the ranks of the Jedi ahead of Darth Sidious' true plans. Discarded after he was defeated by Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo, Darth Maul swore revenge against all those he blamed for his past struggles - Jedi and Sith alike. Maul tended to operate within the shadows, running various syndicates, and even established himself as a true rival for Palpatine on at least one occasion. He was eventually killed by Obi-Wan in a duel on Tatooine.
