I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about this. While I’ve been a fan of Star Wars for as long as I can remember, and collecting since before the Prequels were a thought, when Darth Maul was first revealed, I was instantly smitten. Many know that Maul is the primary focus of my Star Wars collection and his return in The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels has kept me going.
As such, this morning’s news that Marvel is developing a new mini-series about Darth Maul has me all sorts of giddy. The news comes from USA Today, revealing the five-issue series from Marvel will debut in February. The comic will focus on a YOUNG Maul, in a time before The Phantom Menace and will be written by Cullen Bunn, with drawing from Luke Ross.
So yes, this is a “Prequel” eracomic, but will explore some of Maul’s past as well as his relationship with Darth Sidious (before he was Emperor Palpatine). While some of these ideas have been previously explored, this comic will actually give us the first New Canon background for the character, which I’m excited to see what they bring in. Here’s a little bit more on the upcoming story:
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.
Eldra is a protagonist who “has a huge impact on Maul’s life going forward.” Bunn also promises interactions between Maul and Sidious that look at how Sidious relates to his apprentice: “He’s not a very warm teacher.”
I’ll be picking this up in February, what about you guys?
-Jordan
