Star Wars: Shadow of Maul # 1 finally filled in Maul's missing timeline, confirming what the former Sith was doing after the events of Clone Wars, right before Maul: Shadow Lord. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7 ended with Maul escaping his prison cell and taking advantage of Order 66 to flee from Ahsoka and Captain Rex's clutches and cause chaos inside the Star Destroyer Tribunal (a vessel that was supposed to transport him to Coruscant for trial). The Clone Wars' ending sets the stage for Maul to go into hiding to build his criminal shadow empire.
Star Wars: Shadow of Maul # 1 caught fans up to speed about what Maul was doing after the events of the Clone Wars, finally revealing the character's missing timeline in the galaxy far, far away.
The story is set during the early Imperial era, chronicling the criminal underworld and shadowy nature of a planet called Janix, and focusing on Captain Brander Lawson as he tries to uphold the law in a corrupt territory.
Maul didn't appear until the final pages of Shadow of Maul # 1, but he made an impactful debut that could reverberate in his upcoming appearance in Maul: Shadow Lord.
Maul was seen trying to enter Janix undetected, leading to a run-in with a smuggler who tried to bribe him with chain codes to assume any identity without detection.
Instead of accepting the assist, Maul violently slaughters the smuggler using his double-bladed red lightsaber, setting the stage for his arrival in Janix.
Maul announced his imminent arrival in Janix by saying, "Now that the terms of my passage have been arranged… Janix awaits."
This moment is crucial because it sets up the larger conflict between Maul and Captain Lawson (who is positioned as the main villain of Maul: Shadow Lord) and confirms why the former Sith Lord chose Janix as the perfect home base for his shady operations.
Star Wars: Shadow of Maul # 1 is the first issue of a five-issue miniseries that serves as the prequel to Maul: Shadow Lord. The comic is written by Benjamin Percy, with art by Madibek Musabekov and colors by Luis Guerrero.
Maul: Shadow Lord is Star Wars' fourth villain show, and it is set to have a two-episode premiere on Disney+ on April 6.
Shadow of Maul's Ending Has a Deeper Meaning
Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #1's ending, which showed Maul not needing help from a stranger and straight-up killing him, has a deeper meaning because it shows that he is on a relentless path to rebuild his criminal empire and take revenge against the Empire at any cost.
The ending of the latest Star Wars comic also reinforced Maul's core traits and deep ties to his killer identity, setting the stage for his dangerous return in his own Disney+ spinoff series.
Maul clearly doesn't want any other allies (aside from the Mandalorian Warrior, Rook Kast) in his rise to power, which makes sense because he is a character known for total self-reliance and rejection of dependency, unless they serve an immediate purpose. This mindset makes sense, given that he had already been betrayed by the Empire.
The fact that Maul can kill anyone in cold blood lays the groundwork for his unrelenting path of vengeance in Maul: Shadow Lord, meaning that he will be as dangerous as ever when he returns in the animated realm of Star Wars.
