Darth Maul

Darth Maul

Sith apprentice

A Zabrak male born on Dathomir, Darth Maul was surrounded by the dark side even at birth. His mother, a member of a witch clan on Dathomir, gave him to the mysterious Darth Sidious, who sensed the Zabrak infant possessed great potential in the Force.

Maul endured a hard childhood under the tutelage of Darth Sidious, who hoped to wield Maul as a weapon against the Jedi Order when the time was right. Facing verbal and physical abuse from his Master, Maul was essentially beaten down until the only person he feared was the only person he was loyal to - Sidious. All of Maul's training was kept secret from the rest of the galaxy, taking place on distant worlds in the Outer Rim. Only Darth Sidious' Master, Darth Plagueis, knew of Maul's existence; he allowed Sidious to train him, deeming Maul as no more than a pawn that could easily be removed.

Finally, after years of hiding in the shadows, Sidious was ready to reveal his apprentice to the galaxy. With the Trade Federation setting up a blockade over the planet of Naboo, a vital world for the Republic Senate, Sidious sent Maul on an assignment to help the Federation's droid forces. Maul had more than one purpose, however; when the Jedi Council sent two of their best, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to stop the blockade, Sidious hoped to eliminate the powerful Master Qui-Gon.

The Jedi were ultimately able to escape Naboo with Queen Amidala and her entourage, but their ship was forced to land on the backwater planet of Tatooine. Maul tracked them to the desert world, unknown to the Jedi, and waited to strike. While on Tatooine, Master Qui-Gon discovered a young slave boy, named Anakin Skywalker, who he sensed was very strong with the Force. All of this was according to Sidious' ultimate plan, unknown to either Maul or Qui-Gon Jinn, with the both of them serving as merely pieces to move the events along. Maul carried out his duty by attacking Qui-Gon as he prepared to leave the planet with the boy, wielding a unique red-bladed lightsaber staff. Although he did surprise the Jedi Master, Maul was unable to defeat him and Qui-Gon escaped with the others.

Although Sidious was disappointed by Maul's failure, he allowed him another chance to attack back on Naboo. As Queen Amidala and her guards engaged the droid forces during the Battle of Naboo, Darth Maul appeared and challenged Qui-Gon and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi to a lightsaber duel. Displaying an acrobatic style and lethal flair with his saber staff, Maul managed to separate Obi-Wan from Qui-Gon so that he could face the Jedi Master alone. Once he had accomplished this, Maul was able to slay Qui-Gon, much to the anger of Obi-Wan. Filled with rage, Obi-Wan redoubled his attack on Maul and was victorious in the end, cutting the Zabrak Sith across his waist and sending his body tumbling down a pit in Naboo's palace.