An epic lightsaber duel took place in a Star Wars Legends project in 2001, but it was recently brought into canon by Lucasfilm and Disney. Lightsaber fights are one of the cornerstones of the Star Wars franchise. Nearly every canon project includes at least one, and they are often the climax of each rivalry, storyline, or even friendship.
Lucasfilm’s newest Disney+ series, Maul - Shadow Lord, has been a smash hit for the studio and for Disney, and the season finale was no exception. The series has included a lot of major moments in the galaxy far, far away, but the biggest undoubtedly occurred in the Season 1 finale when Darth Vader and Maul crossed lightsaber blades for the first time in canon.
Despite Anakin Skywalker and Maul appearing all throughout the animated Clone Wars series, the two never formally clashed. Both characters also showed up in Star Wars Rebels, and were even featured in the same episode on the same planet (Rebels’ Season 2 finale, “Twilight of the Apprentice”). However, they never dueled until now, at least in canon.
In a 2001 Star Wars Legends comic from Dark Horse Comics titled Star Wars Tales #9, fans got to see Darth Vader vs. Maul for the one and only time. Since Maul debuted as a Sith Lord in 1999’s The Phantom Menace, Star Wars fans dreamed of seeing those two characters go toe-to-toe, and that comic granted those wishes.
However, as mentioned, that fight is not recognized in Star Wars canon. It is also the only instance of the two characters physically fighting each other. So, many have continuously appreciated the fight, but it has never held any importance since it did not take place within the official Star Wars story.
However, Maul - Shadow Lord's Season 1 finale finally gave fans a canon version of that epic 2001 duel from the comics, and it seemingly lived up to everyone’s expectations.
Fans may have had to wait 25 years to see the duel from Legends play out on-screen and be recognized as a concrete part of Star Wars lore, but many would likely say that it was worth the wait.
How Similar is Darth Vader and Maul’s Fight From the Comics to Maul - Shadow Lord’s?
The only similarity between Maul's fight with Darth Vader in the comics and Maul - Shadow Lord is that they lock blades. Every other element of the fights is extremely different, and it just goes to show that lightsaber duels can work in many different ways.
In the Maul - Shadow Lord Season 1 finale, Vader technically fought against not only Maul, but also Devon Izara and Jedi Master Eeko-Dio Daki. In the comics, the fight was almost exclusively between Maul and Vader.
Essentially, in the comics, Dark Side users (who weren't Sith) thought that there was still a sliver of the Light Side in Vader, and that, because it remained in him, he wasn't a worthy apprentice to the Emperor. So, these Dark Side users either conjured a vision of Maul, resurrected him, or made a clone of him, and lured Vader to a planet called Kalakar Six.
Ironically, Kalakar Six was a setting that was not unlike Obi-Wan and Anakin's fight on Mustafar, as Kalakar Six was a volcanic planet with lava and rock formations. Notably, this comic came out four years before Revenge of the Sith, so it was a bit ahead of its time in terms of creating a high-stakes dueling location.
Speaking of the setting, that is another major difference between the canon and the Legends fights between Vader and Maul. Whereas the two fought on a volcanic planet amidst rock and lava in the comic, they fought on Janix in an environment with much more vegetation in Maul - Shadow Lord.
Another major difference in the fights is how much was said between Maul and Vader. In the Disney+ series, Maul said a few things to Vader, but Vader never muttered a word to Maul. In the comics, Vader said things to Maul, such as accusing him of being dead. Maul also referred to Vader as "Skywalker," knowing exactly who was behind the mask.
It is also worth noting that Maul was trying to kill Vader in order to replace him as the Emperor's apprentice once again in the comics. In the show, Maul literally hates the Emperor and would never rejoin him, so their motivations are entirely different.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two fights, though, is how they finished. In Shadow Lord, Maul was able to escape with his life, and really didn't even cause Vader to break a sweat. In the comic, Maul was actually able to cut through Vader's mask and somewhat injure him, which caused Vader to drop to his knees.
However, just as Maul was standing behind Vader and about to deal the killing blow, Vader turned his lightsaber toward himself, pressed it against his midsection, and ignited it. So, he impaled himself with his lightsaber, but also struck Maul and dealt a killing blow to him in the process, which allowed Vader to win the fight.
A common theme throughout the comic book fight was also each character's strength, and how Darth Maul was going to use his hatred and anger to overcome Vader. After Vader dealt the fatal blow to Maul, one of the most emotional and heartbreaking exchanges in Star Wars history (canon or Legends) came about.
Maul was shocked that Vader was able to beat him, because he thought that he had more hate and anger than Vader. So, Maul questioned him about it and asked what he could possibly hate so much to be able to defeat him. Vader simply replied, "myself," which put into perspective just how tragic Anakin's fall to the Dark Side was, and how much he resented himself for his actions.
Notably, this all happened before Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, so, once again, this comic was really ahead of its time, considering no one knew just how much Vader would go on to regret his actions and feel so much self-guilt for not being able to save Padme.
