I’ve always thought Darth Maul deserved a death as epic and intense as his character. Sure, his final duel with Obi-Wan in Star Wars Rebels was beautiful in its simplicity—quiet, symbolic, poetic—but honestly, compared to how he went out in Legends, it just didn’t hit the same way.
In the Legends comics, however, Maul meets a completely different fate—he dies at the hands of Darth Vader himself. And trust me, it’s every bit as intense and dramatic as you’d imagine.
In the Star Wars Tales issue #9, titled “Resurrection,” the story kicks off right after the Rebels successfully steal the Death Star plans and escape. Vader, at the peak of his power, immediately sets out with a squad of stormtroopers, determined to hunt down the Rebels and recover those plans before they can slip away for good.
Their search brings them to Kalakar Six, a volcanic moon orbiting Dromund Kalakar deep in the Outer Rim—a place as dark and dangerous as you’d expect from a showdown involving Vader himself.
Leaving a squad of stormtroopers near his ship, Vader only takes two troopers deeper into the planet to find the Rebels and retrieve the plans.
However, moments after Vader departs, the entire squad left behind is brutally slaughtered by a mysterious figure wielding a red lightsaber.
Meanwhile, Vader and his two troopers enter an abandoned building. Almost immediately, the two troopers are killed by an unseen Force choke. At first, one trooper suspects Vader himself, but it quickly becomes clear someone else is responsible.
From the shadows, three mysterious figures emerge, confronting Vader and even calling him by his real name, Anakin Skywalker.
Vader ignites his lightsaber, ready to strike, but suddenly another figure steps from the darkness, blocking his attack with a red blade of his own. To Vader’s shock, he realizes it’s none other than “Darth Maul”.
Initially, Vader doubts this could truly be Maul, believing Maul was long dead after being defeated by Obi-Wan years ago. The mysterious trio explains that Maul’s sheer hatred kept him alive and insists that Maul will reclaim his position as Palpatine’s true apprentice, replacing Vader.
The mysterious trio explains that Maul’s sheer hatred kept him alive and insists Maul will reclaim his position as Palpatine’s true apprentice, replacing Vader.
Enraged, Maul lunges at Vader, and their fierce lightsaber duel begins. As they fight, Maul mocks Vader’s supposed weakness, boasting, “Not like me. My darkness, my hatred is unending.” He taunts Vader continuously, suggesting Vader’s dark side power is weak compared to his own.
In response, Vader uses the Force to activate blaster rifles dropped by his fallen stormtroopers. Maul dismisses this tactic as child’s play, easily deflecting the blasters and casually throwing the troopers’ bodies into the surrounding lava.
As the fight intensifies, Maul’s aggressive combat style forces Vader onto unstable lava rocks. Seeing this as Vader’s weakness, Maul skillfully leaps from one boulder to another, knowing Vader’s mechanical body limits his agility. Eventually, Maul challenges Vader to jump onto his rock, stating only one of them will leave alive and claim the title of Palpatine’s apprentice.
Accepting the challenge, Vader leaps toward Maul for a decisive strike, but Maul expertly blocks every blow, mocking Vader with the taunt, “You’re more machine than man. How can a machine hate?”
Fueled by rage and hate, Vader intensifies his attack, slicing Maul’s lightsaber in half. Just when it seems the battle is over, Maul ignites both halves of his broken weapon, continuing the duel and managing to knock Vader down.
As Maul stands over Vader, confident of his victory, he mocks him one final time, saying, “No Jedi pyre for you, Skywalker. Your hate was not nearly enough.”
Prepared to deliver the killing blow, Maul is caught off guard when Vader swiftly uses the Force to retrieve his lightsaber, turning it on himself and stabbing through his own mechanical body, directly impaling Maul.
As Maul stands over Vader, confident of his victory, he mocks him one final time, saying, “No Jedi pyre for you, Skywalker. Your hate was not nearly enough.” Prepared to deliver the killing blow, Maul is caught off guard when Vader swiftly uses the Force to retrieve his lightsaber, turning it on himself and stabbing through his own mechanical body, directly impaling Maul.
Shocked and mortally wounded, Maul weakly asks, “What… what could you hate enough… to destroy me?” Vader simply replies, “Myself.” With that final revelation, Maul takes his last breath, defeated by Vader’s self-loathing.
Yet Vader’s mission is far from over. He returns to confront the three mysterious figures, ready to end them as well. However, before he can strike, powerful Force lightning hits and instantly kills the trio. Palpatine himself emerges, revealing he had secretly followed Vader, emphasizing the urgency of retrieving the Death Star plans.
Vader explains what happened and mentions the trio’s plan to replace him with Maul. Palpatine acknowledges this but assures Vader that since he emerged victorious, he remains his rightful apprentice.
