What I really like about being a Star Wars fan is finding the details of the Star Wars universe. Sometimes, it’s the small things—the ones you’d almost miss—that add so much depth to a character. One of those details that’s always stuck with me is Darth Maul’s markings. We all know how iconic he looks. Red skin, black tattoos, horns—it’s one of the most recognizable designs in the entire franchise.
But what’s the story behind it? Were those markings natural? Were they cultural? Or were they part of his transformation into a Sith?
Turns out we actually have two different explanations—one from Star Wars canon, and the other from Legends, tied to Palpatine’s brutal Sith training.
Star Wars Canon Says Zabrak Males Are Born With Natural Tattoos
The first explanation for Maul’s markings is that they’re part of his natural biology. In the Star Wars canon, Darth Maul’s look didn’t come out of nowhere—it actually began shortly after he was born.
According to Wookieepedia, “Before his first birthday, Talzin gave the Zabrak infants their first tattoos.” But that detail alone doesn’t fully explain the meaning behind Maul’s markings. To understand the full picture, we can look at what the Star Wars: Visual Encyclopedia adds to the lore:
“Dathomirian tattoos represent their tribal heritage. Males have natural striping that is enhanced and embellished with tattoos. Females (Nightsisters) generally have more subtle, monochrome tattoos that contrast with their pale skin.”
Which mean this giving us a clear answer about Maul or any Nightbrother about their tattoos are first born with those natural striping and later on they got enhanced and embellished with tattoos from Mother Talzin.
However, in Legends, Maul’s markings have a different origin. When Maul began his training under Darth Sidious, the tattoos were given to him as part of a brutal Sith ritual. Here’s how it plays out.
Maul’s Tattoos Had a Painful Purpose in Legends
In Star Wars Legends, things happened a bit differently. It’s explained that Maul was born without any markings, and before he ever received the traditional tattoos like other Nightbrothers, his biological mother asked Palpatine to take him away from Dathomir—and away from Mother Talzin.
We see this version of the story in Star Wars Tales 24, in the short comic titled “Marked.” At the beginning of the comic, we see a young Maul with no markings at all on his face or body. But as the story unfolds, it’s revealed that it was Palpatine himself who gave Maul his tattoos.
And these weren’t just decorative—they were part of a Sith ritual. As Palpatine tells him during the process:
“The agony of the Sith tattoos will cleanse your mind.”
With that one simple line, we can easily see what Palpatine was doing when he began training Maul. This wasn’t about giving him identity—it was about erasing it. The tattoos weren’t part of any Nightbrother tradition. They were meant to inflict pain, to break Maul down, and to reshape him into a true Sith weapon.