Darth Maul is one of the most ruthless and resilient Sith Lords to have ever lived in the Star Wars Universe. However, before his incredible duel of the fates with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi during The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul was the restless apprentice of Darth Sidious, waiting for his role to come into play. Desperate for purpose and meaning with an insatiable bloodlust, with his patience wearing thin, Darth Sidious allows Maul to seek out distractions and challenges in Marvel's Darth Maul #1. This includes going on the hunt for Rathtars, the galaxy's most deadliest beasts. Read on to learn more about Darth Maul and how he spent his time while waiting to do his master's bidding.

In the first few pages of Darth Maul #1, from writer Cullen Bunn with art by Luke Ross, a crew of paid hunters are in search of Rathtars, incredibly vicious animals first seen by Star Wars fans in The Force Awakens. In that film, Han Solo and Chewbacca had captured three of the beasts to deliver to one King Prana, before Rey and Finn accidentally released them (though they did help cover their escape from the Guavian Death Gang and Kanjiklub). The hunters manage to flush out a Rathtar, much to their detriment. However, they did their job, and Darth Maul enters the scene to turn the fearsome predator into his prey.

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As Maul fights the Rathtar, readers get an inner monologue from the Dark Lord, learning how impatient and bored he his, even while fighting the beast with an axe instead of his typical double bladed lightsaber, presumedly for an extra challenge. Even when two more Rathtars emerge to attack Maul, he still wishes he were elsewhere, hunting down Jedi that he's been trained to kill and despise so much. However, he's been held back, as his master Darth Sidious' plans have not yet come to fruition where he needs to utilize Maul just yet.

Maul would like nothing more than to unleash his rage and fury on Jedi. Apparently, Rathtars are dull in comparison, hardly sating his bloodlust and rage, despite his ability to dispatch all three of the terrible creatures before him. Returning to Coruscant's lower levels, Maul almost gives himself away while observing two Jedi from the shadows. Unfortunately, his rage and hate almost give him away, as the Jedi could sense his feelings through the Force.

Sidious warns his young apprentice that while his hunting trips are permissible, toying with the Jedi would not be tolerated. He even threatens Maul: if he endangers his plans further, it won't be a Jedi who casts him down. Thankfully for Maul, Sidious sends him a mission to aid their Trade Federation allies against a group of pirates. One such pirate, fearing for his life after Maul massacred the rest of his crew mates, gives Maul some information regarding a Jedi Padawan that had been captured and up for auction on the black market. Keeping this information for himself, Maul determines to follow his desires by finding the Padawan and killing them without notifying his master. It seems as though Rathtars just don't cut it anymore.

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