Mace Windu vs. Darth Maul would be a legendary duel, pitting one of the most aggressive Sith Lords in Star Wars history against arguably one of its fiercest Jedi Masters.
If you are a fan of ferocious fighting styles, a duel between Mace Windu and Darth Maul ensures can’t miss action.
Mace Windu served as Master of the Jedi Order. His fighting style, Vaapad, consisted of unpredictable, brutal blows with his lightsaber.
Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber and his acrobatic fighting style, makes him an ideal challenge for Windu.
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Who Is Mace Windu?
Mace Windu entered the Jedi Temple on Coruscant at six months old. His parents had already died, so his clan gave him to the Jedi.
Windu showed off his immense power early in his training, however, he had trouble building a lightsaber. He had Force visions of himself using a purple lightsaber, and eventually constructed one.
He also trained several Padawans like Depa Billaba, Devan For’deschef, and Eschuu Shen-Jon. Many of them became respected Jedi Knights within the Order.
Windu quickly rose through the ranks, and as a Jedi Master, Windu focused on lightsaber combat. His negative emotions and inner darkness required a form different from those the Jedi taught.
This new lightsaber form, Vaapad, allowed Windu to channel and release his negative emotions during lightsaber combat.
Releasing, or looping these emotions prevented the negative energy from corrupting him, which is why Windu never fell to the dark side.
Vaapad also drained dark side emotions from its wielders into Windu. When he released those emotions through his blade and onto an opponent, it was like forcing them to fight against themselves.
Vaapad was a dangerous fighting form. As a branch of the banned Form VII, he needed approval from the Jedi Council before teaching it to prospective students.
The Council agreed that only Windu’s students could learn Vaapad. Further, Windu could only select those he felt were worthy of learning the form.
While Windu trained several students, Depa Billaba became the only other known Jedi to master Vaapad.
Mace Windu’s Abilities
Many claimed Mace Windu was the most powerful Jedi Master during the last days of the Republic, eclipsing even Grand Master Yoda. In 19 BBY, he dueled with and nearly defeated Darth Sidious before Anakin Skywalker interfered.
Windu’s accomplishments also included victories against other powerful Force-wielders like Sora Bulq and Asajj Ventress.
No one was more skilled with a lightsaber than Mace Windu. He could dismantle entire droid armies in close combat, something few Jedi were capable of.
He could also use the Force to see what are called “shatterpoints,” or physical and mental weaknesses in his opponents. This further allowed him to gain the upper hand in combat.
Windu also displayed incredible speed and durability, such as surviving falls from high distances. He also knew the Force Crush, something he used against General Grievous.
Overall, Windu would be nearly impossible for any dark side practitioner, Maul included, to defeat. However, he has one major weakness, and that is his inability to perceive manipulation.
This weakness was a collective flaw in the Jedi Order and it ultimately led to their downfall and Windu’s death in 19 BBY.
Who Is Darth Maul?
Darth Sidious’ first known apprentice, Darth Maul first appeared in Star Wars when he was sent to capture Padmè Amidala. When Maul located Amidala on Tatooine, he met and dueled with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.
Jinn correctly guessed Maul was a Sith Lord, which the Jedi long believed to be extinct for 1,000 years. However, because of the Rule of Two that Darth Bane instituted a millennium before, the Sith merely operated undetected in the galaxy.
Before the events of The Phantom Menace in 32 BBY, Darth Sidious had already killed his master, Darth Plagueis. In doing so, Sidious became the one who harnessed the dark side of the Force while Maul, the apprentice, craved it.
In The Phantom Menace, Sidious deployed Maul to capture Queen Padmè Amidala and force her to sign an agreement that would enable the Trade Federation to invade her home planet of Naboo.
However, Maul was unable to fulfill his mission as Qui-Gon, Amidala, and Obi-Wan escaped his attack on Tatooine.
He eventually dueled and killed Qui-Gon before losing the fight to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi bisected Maul and he was believed to be dead, prompting Sidious to replace him with Count Dooku.
While Maul would reappear and face his rival in Kenobi many times, he was unable to best him, ultimately meeting his death at Obi-Wan’s hands in 2 BBY on Tatooine.
Darth Maul’s Abilities
Unlike Mace Windu, whose most distinguished powers came with his lightsaber wielding and Vaapad fighting style, Maul had more widespread abilities.
While Windu knew Form VII with Vaapad, Maul mastered Juyo. Known as the Ferocity Form, Juyo required all-out offensive, berserker-like swings with the lightsaber.
Believed to be the toughest of the seven forms, Maul’s mastery of Juyo shows how skilled he was with a lightsaber.
Maul also knew Ataru, or Form IV. This required the practitioner to use acrobatic movements, often performing front flips and somersaults. It also highlighted offense, using quick strikes to wear down opponents.
Besides Ataru, Maul also mastered Niman (Form VI) and Jar’Kai. The former provided a stark contrast from Juyo and Ataru. And while it would not seem to fit Maul’s approach, using Niman in a duel with Windu would force the Jedi Master to adjust to a completely different fighting style.
Jar’Kai is what Maul is perhaps most famous for. It required either a double-bladed or dual lightsabers. And while we know Maul for his double-bladed lightsaber, he was also skilled in fighting with two separate sabers.
While it was difficult to master, Jar’Kai practitioners had an easier time dueling multiple opponents. Given Windu’s overall power, Jar’Kai would come in handy for Maul.
Descended from the Nightsisters, Maul could also use Nightsister Magick to determine one’s location. But since this required a ritual and sacrifice, often with flesh and blood, it wouldn’t work well for Maul during a head-to-head duel with Mace Windu.
Another ability Maul had but couldn’t use over Windu included Dun Möch, a taunting mechanism that Sith and other dark side practitioners used to throw opponents off their rhythm. Like the Force Scream, Windu would most likely feed off this and use it against Maul.
Side-By-Side Comparison
| Mace Windu | Darth Maul |
| Weapon of Choice: Purple-bladed lightsaber | Weapon of Choice: Double-bladed lightsaber |
| Biggest Strength: Vaapad fighting form | Biggest Strength: Multiple fighting forms |
| Biggest Weakness: Lack of ability to detect manipulation. | Biggest Weakness: His own rage and hatred, as Mace Windu would use this to his advantage. |
| Occupation: Master of the Jedi Order | Occupation: Sith Lord/Dark Side Practitioner |
Mace Windu vs. Darth Maul: Who Wins?
This is a unique fight, because using anything other than his lightsaber ability would be a mistake for Darth Maul. Force Screams and other dark side abilities wouldn’t work against Mace Windu, which gives the Jedi Master a huge advantage.
Assuming Maul keeps his wits and does not let his rage get to him, he can use his multiple fighting forms to confuse Windu.
However, this may not be enough, as Windu would use shatterpoints to detect Maul’s physical and mental weak points.
This would allow him to pinpoint and attack Maul and force the former Sith Lord into his moderate fighting form of Niman. This moderate fighting form is used as more of a defense mechanism, a large contrast to Ataru or Juyo.
Maul’s cybernetic legs may outpace Windu in both speed and agility. However, in this duel, Windu will realize that he only needs to bring out Maul’s rage and the battle is his.
Knowing Maul’s personality is full of rage and hate, the dark side practitioner will eventually return to his Ataru and Juyo forms. Especially if he believes he can find a weakness in Windu.
At this point, expect Windu to again use shatterpoints to gauge Maul’s weaknesses. He is too skilled of a duelist to give Maul the upper hand in this battle.
Windu only needs to keep up with Maul’s eventual all-out offensive strikes until the latter lets his aggression take hold of him.
When this happens, Windu will channel that aggression and use it against Maul, leading to his ultimate victory.
Conclusion
Mace Windu would have defeated Darth Sidious in Revenge of the Sith had Anakin Skywalker not intervened. Further, Darth Maul failed to defeat Obi-Wan Kenobi on multiple occasions. The first of which occurred when Kenobi was still a Padawan.
This alone shows that Darth Maul would have a tough time holding up against Mace Windu, despite his proficiency in multiple dueling forms.
Windu’s Vaapad form would also be overwhelming. Once Maul’s rage and hate boils over, Windu would win this duel.