Was Darth Maul ever truly worthy of the title of Sith LORD, despite what he thought?

Darth Maul is introduced as a Sith Lord in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menacebut whether his lordship was deserved remains in question. While the Jedi call themselves knights serving the will of the Force, the Galactic Republic and the innocent inhabitants of the galaxy, their ancient enemies use the title of Lord instead. The first Sith may have been fallen Jedi, but the Sith Order soon developed its own culture distinct from the Jedi. The Sith are Lords because they control (or seek to control) the dark side of the Force, the galaxy and its creatures.

The Sith Lords, especially those of Darth Bane’s dynasty, are not as eager to fight their enemies directly as the Jedi Knights. The Sith manipulate galactic events from the shadows, with many Sith holding political, economic, or social positions of power and influence. However, when the Sith are forced to engage their enemies directly, they appear to be unstoppable foes, possessing dark side powers and deadly lightsaber skills that allow them to make short work of even the formidable Jedi. IN The Phantom Menace and non-film material in canon and Legends, Darth Maul lacks key qualities of a Sith Lord.

Darth Maul was really just a Sith assassin

In context The Phantom MenaceDarth Maul is not shown acting like most Sith Lords, especially as a member of Darth Bane’s dynasty. Darth Maul is an exceptionally skilled warrior, having killed the feared Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and nearly killed then-Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. More Darth Maul is not shown or implied to be a behind-the-scenes manipulator like Palpatine. (Darth Sidious) or his successors, Count Dooku (Darth Tyranus) and Darth Vader. Maul serves Sidious only as an assassin, demonstrating the Sith Lord’s appropriate combat prowess but not his position.

In the original version of Legends, Darth Maul died in The Phantom Menacesplit in half by Kenobi. In modern Star wars canonically, Maul somehow survived this dismemberment and reappeared during the Clone Wars. Because of this, Darth Maul’s appearances in the Legends sequel primarily show him during training or on Palpatine’s missions. In modern canon, Maul finally begins to act as a Sith Lord – manipulating criminal organizations and uniting them under his rule – but by this point, he is no longer an official Sith, and his manipulations seem to be uncharted territory for him..

Darth Maul’s position within the Sith Order was detailed in James Luceno’s 2012 novel. Darth Plagueis. Although Darth Maul’s training gave him the combat prowess of a true Sith Lord, Palpatine refrained from completing his training—especially in areas unrelated to combat and assassination. Darth Maul’s Sith dominance – deserved or not – was official, and it violated the Rule of Two, since Darth Plagueis was alive at the time. Nevertheless, Palpatine notes that he views Darth Maul as a fighting machine rather than a true Sith apprentice..

In modern Star wars According to canon, Darth Plagueis died before the events of The Phantom Menace, suggesting that Darth Maul’s Sith power did not break the Rule of Two in the new continuity. Even if that’s the case, he is depicted only as a tool of Palpatine during his time as an official Sith Lord.. While this does not necessarily mean that Palpatine considered him to be nothing more than an assassin in modern canon, he still did not demonstrate the appropriate manipulation and leadership skills of a Sith Lord prior to his defeat on Naboo.

Darth Maul never became the Dark Lord of the Sith

If Darth Maul had won his battle with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, he could have truly grown into the role of a Sith Lord. Of course, this is unlikely to have happened in Legends continuity, given Palpatine’s comment in Legends. Plagueis and his use of Count Dooku’s wealth, political connections, and charismatic leadership qualities. In all likelihood, Maul would have been killed and replaced by Dooku, and Palpatine would have orchestrated their conflict..

Despite Darth Maul’s seeming unworthiness for his title of Darth, he is not the only Sith who achieved the status of Lordship before displaying the corresponding qualities of a Dark Lord.. Darth Vader is one such example: he sacked the Jedi Temple and killed the Separatist Council before his formal Sith training even began. Darth Vader became a Sith Lord, embodying the manipulative traits of the events of the original trilogy. Defeat of Darth Maul Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace denied him the opportunity to grow into the role of a Sith Lord in the same way.