The Last Jedi is considered to be a failure by a large (or very loud, at least) portion of the Star Wars fandom, but before Force-fueled space flights and cranky Jedi Masters disgruntled die-hard fans, there was another movie: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Filled to the brim with boring space politics, obnoxious child-actors, and the shameful mishaps of a lanky amphibian alien known as Jar Jar Binks, The Phantom Menace grinded the gears of longtime supporters of the franchise.

Despite these painful missteps, however, The Phantom Menace had a collection of sequences and characters that almost entirely redeemed the excruciatingly terrible movie: the opening Jedi sequence, the thrilling pod race and, most critically, the villainous Darth Maul.

While most of the film was filled with garbage like “now this is pod racing!” and “ex-squeeeeze me!,” Darth Maul was a figure of supreme menace and seriousness that somehow grounded the goofiest of proceedings.

His demonic appearance, duel-edged lightsaber, limited (but still incredibly cool) dialogue, and the thrilling, three-way duel at the climax of the movie not only cemented the character among the ranks fan-favorite characters who do or say little, like Boba Fett, but even characters in which the franchise is anchored, like Luke or Darth Vader.

Maul’s popularity only continued to grow after his apparent demise, and he was resurrected in both Clone Wars and Rebels to great fanfare.

While Maul remains beloved, there’s a fair share about him that makes little to no sense.

From his personality to storylines and even events in the real world, we’re counting down the 17 Things About Darth Maul That Make No Sense!

His Unexpected Cameo

While Solo: A Star Wars Story sadly underperformed at the box office, the movie itself was a rather solid tale about Han Solo’s origins and how he became the rogue we know and love today.

One part of the movie took even the biggest Star Wars fans by surprise, though, and that was the reveal of a living Darth Maul.

While fans of the Star Wars television series have known for some time that Maul survived his ordeal in The Phantom Menace, the fact that Maul was now some kind of criminal kingpin was the real twist, and one that we’re not so sure we understand.

Although there’s some minor hinting that he sets out to set up a crime syndicate, the timeframe in which this happens and where Solo transpires is sketchy at best.

His Talkative Turn-Around

In the great tradition of Boba Fett, Darth Maul remained an exceedingly mysterious character throughout all of The Phantom Menace, with only a brief moment of dialogue in the movie.

The single sentence regarding long-awaited revenge was enough for fans to latch onto the character, and their love was only bolstered during the climactic duel at the end of the film.

On the flipside, while it was great to see Maul return during Clone Wars, he became a far more talkative character, polluting the potent and alluring mysteries around him.

Of course, in the series, he goes completely crazy and has his personality shifted to-and-fro, so we suppose it makes sense in some capacity, but it still would’ve been nice for them to leave the character short on words but big in menace.

His Alliance With Black Sun

black sun star wars most dangerous evil organizations

We’ve already mentioned that in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Darth Maul is revealed to be the master of Crimson Dawn, a criminal organization, and how it seemed sort of difficult to rationalize.

This wouldn’t be the character’s first foray into organized crime, however.

In a comic book series, Darth Maul single-handedly obliterates most of Black Sun, the most feared criminal syndicate in Star Wars.

This is no small feat, as even the Emperor has apprehensions about the power of the group.

Things take a turn for the bizarre, however, when Maul eventually forms an alliance with the same group he more-or-less destroyed during the Clone Wars.

Yeah, we know what’s canon and what isn’t is sort of muddy, but it’s still weird to see the people Maul beat down welcome him as a partner.

His Horrible Spider Legs

Maul returns to Star Wars psychologically damaged with spider legs in The Clone Wars

While it was awesome for Maul to be thrown back into the fold of Star Wars stories, it was more than a bit odd that he was given spider-legs.

As we all know, Darth Maul was sliced in two during the finale of The Phantom Menace. Of course he’s going to need new legs - this makes total sense so far.

What doesn’t make sense, however, is that, if he had the ability and mechanical know-how to craft functioning, prosthetic body parts using the Force, why in the world would he choose spider legs?

It all seemed like a twelve year-old’s attempt at being super edgy, and, like most attempts by twelve year-olds at being super edgy, it made little-to-no practical sense.

He's Never Brought Up In the Movies

Spinoff Obi-Wan

For such an iconic character, and one who slew the beloved Qui-Gon Jinn while simultaneously tempting Obi-Wan to the Dark Side, you’d think that he’d be mentioned during Attack of the Clones or Revenge of the Sith.

Of course, you’d be wrong, but we won’t fault you for thinking it.

It’s arguable that Darth Maul’s presence and actions are a major part of what set the prequel trilogy into action, so it’s extremely jarring that he’s never mentioned in any capacity.

In fact, it's annoying to the point where it seems like the characters have even forgotten about who he was and what he did.

This really sort of serves as further proof of George Lucas no longer really understanding the incredible universe he brought to life, or believable writing and realistic character arcs.

His Relation To The Witches Of Dathomir

Mother Talzin in Star Wars the Clone Wars

Darth Maul’s return was well-liked and fans appreciated a longtime favorite being brought back into the fold and having a sizable character arc to boot.

However, this doesn’t mean it made perfect sense, though.

For this entry, we’re going to be dealing with a considerably non-canon story, one from Dark Horse comics. What makes the whole thing weird, though, is that this took place during the pre-Disney Clone Wars, or the pre-canon purge, and it didn’t even make sense at the time.

Basically, Darth has a run-in with a Nightsister from the Witches of Dathomir, and the two don’t recognize or know one another.

Sure, it’s easy to say that this doesn’t matter after the buyout, and we suppose you’re right, but it’s just weird that this giant plothole existed before that.

Why Didn't Mother Talzin Find Him Sooner?

Mother Talzin sends a message to Asajj Ventress via magick in Star Wars The Clone Wars

Speaking of the Witches of Dathomir and their leader, Darth Maul’s legitimate mother, why didn’t she rescue her sliced-in-two son sooner?

Some may argue that she didn’t know he was in trouble, but that seems beyond far-fetched considering that she had a magic talisman that would be able to located him at any time, which she entrusted to Savage Opress, Maul’s brother.

Since he's a major element of her own plot against Darth Sidious, you would think that she would have sought her Sith son far quicker, instead of waiting over ten years to do so.

Also, no, this is never cleared up, and we can’t really fathom as to why, especially considering how otherwise concrete the rest of Clone Wars is.

It almost seems like bringing back Maul was far less thought out than it appeared.

The Double-Sided Lightsaber

Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace.

Don’t mistake the double-sided lightsaber of Darth Maul being on this list meaning that it’s terrible, because that’s far from the case.

When Maul slowly activated both ends of his lightsaber with a pure-evil menace in his eyes, he made Star Wars history with one of the most iconic sequences of the series, by far.

The reason his weapon is on this list is because it just doesn’t really make that much sense, despite being ridiculously cool.

In fact, this entry isn’t even limited to Darth Maul’s lightsaber, but all of the other lightsaber variations, including (maybe especially) the Inquisitor’s or the lightsaber pikes.

They all seemingly serve no purpose other than to look cool, and while they definitely do, they just aren’t practical in the long run.

His Voice Change

Darth Maul and Darth Sidious in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

“At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last, we will have revenge.”

That single sentence takes up most of the words Darth Maul speaks in all of TPM, and it still manages to cement the villain as one of the coolest characters in the entirety of the Star Wars saga.

Coldly delivered by Peter Serafinowicz, these lines offered a chilling look into the brutal evil of Darth Maul.

Bizarrely, Serafinowicz would be replaced by Sam Witwer in the Clone Wars, Rebels, and even Solo.

While actors change all the time, this decision seems off, considering that the lines most associated with the character are in TPM, and so is the voice that delivers them.

When a character is literally defined by a single sentence, it doesn’t make much sense to change who delivers the next one.

His Plan For Vengeance

Star Wars Rebels Darth Maul Twin Suns

Darth Maul was cut in half by Obi-Wan. Understandably, this caused Maul to develop a burning, seething hatred for the Jedi Master.

As the years took their toll and Maul lost his mind in his attempts at survival, he finally reunited with his family and was able to plot his vengeance, hopefully settling the score once and for all and allowing his obsession to dissipate.

So what does he do? He takes on plenty of Jedi, creates a personal army by combining various organized crime gangs, and then tries to politically pollute Mandalore.

While this eventually leads into a revenge attempt on his hated rival, it sure seems like a pointlessly lengthy and round-about way to do it.

Ezra Trusts Maul Without A Second Thought

Ezra Bridger Darth Maul in Star Wars Rebels

While this may not necessarily be something about Maul that doesn’t make sense, he’s involved so we are counting it anyway.

Maul’s story arc comes to a reasonably satisfying end in Star Wars: Rebels, but not before proving that the show’s main protagonist, Ezra, is a moron.

When Ezra finds his way to a Sith Temple, Darth Maul is waiting for him. He emerges from the shadows and Ezra is immediately okay with working with the Sith warrior.

We’re not sure about you, but if we ran into someone who looked like the devil in the middle of a Sith Temple who is barely able to hide their sinister side, we wouldn’t be anywhere near him, nor would we put our life in his hands multiple times

Why Doesn't He Finish Off Obi-Wan In The TV Shows?

Throughout the latter portion of Darth Maul’s twisted existence, a single thought bounced around his increasingly-maddened mind: destroying Obi-Wan Kenobi and getting revenge.

After suffering immense mutilation and embarrassment at Kenobi’s hand, it makes perfect sense that Maul would think of nothing but the destruction of his nemesis.

Yet, when given the opportunity to carry out his long-awaited revenge, Maul just… doesn’t - and this happens not once, not twice, but three times.

We couldn’t begin to tell you why other than some illogical writing to draw out the proceedings.

Even though we know that he would never succeed in terms of canon, it would have been nice to see Maul actually try to finish off Obi-Wan instead of biding his time.

Maul does have a pattern of doing this, though.

The Clone Wars Retcon

Star Wars Clone Wars Savage Opress Darth Sidious and Darth Maul duel on Mandalore

Clone Wars was a popular addition to the Star Wars universe, and when it was recently announced that it would continue for one more season, fans went wild.

That said, after the events of Rebels, it will be interesting to see what happens with the seemingly-shelved Darth Maul plot that was apparently retconned after the initial cancellation of the Clone Wars, especially considering how vastly things were changed for Rebels.

Clone Wars concluded with Maul’s brother being destroyed by Darth Sidious, and the former apprentice being electrocuted into oblivion.

A follow-up comic shows that Mother Talzin was actually using Maul as part of a clandestine scheme to lure out Darth Sidious.

This angle was seemingly dropped in favor of the (much stronger) “I hate Obi-Wan” stuff, so we’re not sure how things are going to wrap up.

The Cancellation Of His Awesome Video Game

Star Wars Darth Maul Video Game Concept - Gameplay

Star Wars video games once had a pretty awesome pedigree, with the likes of Rogue Squadron I & II, Jedi Outcast, the real Battlefronts I & II, and others.

It’s a shame how gravely the ball has been dropped in recent years, with the controversial EA Battlefronts, the cancellation of 1313, and others.

Perhaps the greatest example of this is the truly mind-boggling cancellation of an epic Darth Maul game entitled Battle of the Sith Lords, which would take place during Return of the Jedi and feature Maul going on suitably impressive rampages.

Of course, this project was canned due to the Disney buyout and the new canon they brought with them.

However, it’s a shame, considering how promising this game appeared. It will eternally haunt us that it will never see the light of day.

Playing With His Food

Obi Wan Kenobi fighting Darth Maul after he kills Qui-Gon Jinn in Phantom Menace

For how cool Darth Maul is, there’s one aspect of his character that just doesn’t seem to make all that much sense: his tendency to play with his food.

We touched upon this before, but this entry focuses on the first time it ever occurred on screen. In fact, it’s so grievous that it actually makes the other entry even more confusing.

After putting an end to Qui-Gon Jinn and easily outclassing Obi-Wan, Darth Maul has the Padawan exactly where he wants him.

Instead of just finishing the job, though, he torments Obi-Wan, glares at him, and deviously smirks.

This underestimation would trigger Maul’s downfall (pun intended), and you would think that it would prevent him from doing it again. However, it doesn’t.

This didn’t make sense the first time, and it doesn’t make sense when it happens again and again.

His Survival

Darth Maul in the Mandalorian throne room in Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Make no mistake: bringing Darth Maul back was an awesome decision. He was given more layers, exciting plots, and it was just all-around cool to see our favorite demon-like Sith in action once again.

However, none of that means that his survival made any sense in the first place.

Sure, it’s been explained in great detail, but the reasoning is so absurd that it truly stretches the boundaries of suspension of disbelief, perhaps to the breaking point and even beyond.

We’ve seen ridiculous things happen throughout all of Star Wars, such as General Leia soaring through the vacuum of space, but even that, in some twisted way, was more believable than someone being cut in half, somehow surviving, and then adapting to this new life for years and years.

His Underutilization

The one entry on this list that makes the absolute least sense is the sheer negligence that Maul’s character received from George Lucas.

The potential was almost unlimited, and if he were to have survived TPM, he could have been an incredible foil for Obi-Wan, and one that would constantly tempt him to the path of the Dark Side with a need for revenge.

Maybe Count Dooku could’ve been cut out of the picture, leaving Maul to be a threat throughout the entire prequel trilogy until Obi-Wan chooses not the destroy him, and instead Anakin does it as evidence of his tainted spirit.

That said, we’re glad the character is back, and will seemingly be back again. Let's hope that he never again falls into the misunderstood category like he did with George Lucas.

---

Can you think of any other aspects of Darth Maul in Star Wars that don't make any sense? Sound off in the comments!