Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir is a canon four-part comic book miniseries. Jeremy Barlow penned the story, while Juan Frigeri handled the pencils, Mauro Vargas the inks, Wes Dzioba the colors, and Chris Scalf created the cover art. Dark Horse Comics began publishing the miniseries on May 21, 2014. The fourth and concluding issue was released on August 20, 2014. A trade paperback edition came out on October 1, 2014, and Marvel Comics re-released it on November 21, 2017.
Son of Dathomir is based on unproduced scripts originally intended for the sixth production season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars television program. These episodes were never fully realized and thus never aired. This narrative is included within The Clone Wars Legacy collection.
Taking place during the Clone Wars, the series picks up the thread of Darth Maul's storyline from the animated show. Following the events of "The Lawless" episode of Clone Wars, the renegade Sith Lord, having survived the events of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace as revealed in the Clone Wars episode "Witches of the Mist," finds himself captured by his former master, Darth Sidious. Sidious's motive is to lure Mother Talzin, Maul's mother and the leader of the Nightsisters, out of hiding to eliminate her, perceiving her as a potential obstacle to the Sith's eventual control over the galaxy. In his quest for revenge against his former master, Maul clashes with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, capturing Count Dooku and General Grievous. The Galactic Republic and Jedi Order intervene, aiming to defeat Maul, Dooku, and Grievous, hoping to bring an end to the conflict.
Darth Maul won't be defeated by being bisected by Obi-Wan Kenobi nor by his rejection from his former Sith Master Darth Sidious. Instead, it fuels his rage, driving him to confront the galaxy with a Mandalorian army!
Having established the Shadow Collective, a criminal syndicate uniting the Hutts, Black Sun, the Mandalorians, and the formidable Nightbrothers, Maul initiates a war against Darth Sidious and his commanders, Count Dooku and General Grievous!
Adapted from unproduced scripts intended for Season 6 of the The Clone Wars animated series, this represents the planned conclusion to Darth Maul's narrative!
Following "The Lawless," Darth Maul is imprisoned by Darth Sidious, his former master, within the Spire, a Separatist prison located on Stygeon Prime. Gar Saxon and Rook Kast, two of Maul's loyal Death Watch followers, are dispatched by Mandalorian Prime Minister Almec to liberate Maul. Upon his release, Maul and his warriors are to meet with Death Watch forces on Zanbar.
Sidious visits Maul in the Spire, stating that he still has a purpose for his former apprentice. Their conversation is interrupted by Count Dooku's arrival. Maul is angered by the appearance of Sidious's new apprentice, viewing Dooku as an unworthy Sith Lord. Sidious and Dooku confer privately, with Sidious explaining that Maul's imprisonment is a ploy to draw out Mother Talzin, the leader of the Nightsisters, to eliminate her as a potential threat to the future Sith dominance of the galaxy. Sidious discloses his past connection with Talzin, revealing that he received Maul from her as a child. He tasks Dooku with gathering information about Maul's Shadow Collective, anticipating that Maul will believe the Sith intend to destroy his army, and will seek Mother Talzin's assistance.
After a brief interrogation of Maul by Dooku, Kast and Saxon initiate their rescue operation. The two Mandalorians reach Maul, free him from his restraints, and breach a wall of the interrogation cell. Maul and the Mandalorians descend the mountain on which the Spire is situated via zipline and escape aboard a Gauntlet fighter. Separatist forces, commanded by General Grievous, pursue their ship, with Dooku emphasizing that Maul should only be weakened, not killed, so that he will seek Mother Talzin's assistance. With Separatist forces in pursuit, Maul and the Mandalorians arrive at Zanbar. Once again leading his army, Maul reclaims his Darksaber, the weapon previously wielded by the former Death Watch leader, Pre Vizsla, and declares war to the Mandalorians.
The Separatists arrive on the moon, launching a full-scale assault against Maul. Death Watch is overwhelmed by the droid soldiers, while Maul engages Grievous in single combat. Maul's army suffers heavy losses, but Maul orders his fighters to bomb the area, eliminating numerous Separatist forces. Maul escapes in the ensuing chaos, ordering his surviving forces to retreat. Following the battle, Grievous informs Dooku of the events, satisfying Dooku that Maul will seek out Mother Talzin.
Retreating from Zanbar, Maul seeks guidance from Mother Talzin, precisely as Sidious and Dooku had anticipated. Talzin employs Nightsister magick to communicate with Maul remotely, foreseeing that the Sith are attempting to ensnare her. Refusing to cooperate, Talzin directs Maul to Ord Mantell without her, instructing him to regroup with his Black Sun allies and prepare for another confrontation with the Separatists—one in which Maul can capture Count Dooku and General Grievous. Upon arriving on Ord Mantell, Maul meets with his allies, informing them of the upcoming battle. Meanwhile, Dooku and Grievous devise their own strategy en route to the planet.
Maul and his allies intend to lure the Separatists to a specific location within Ord Mantell City, where the Mandalorians, Black Sun, and Pyke Syndicate will launch an assault against the invading droid army. A team of Nightbrothers, led by Brother Viscus, arrives under Mother Talzin's orders to bolster Maul's forces. As Maul greets the Nightbrothers, the Separatists initiate their attack, bombarding Ord Mantell City with their fleet. The Shadow Collective begins its defense, while the Separatists deploy their droid forces on the surface. There, they encounter the Shadow Collective's limited but potent troops—Mandalorian, Pyke, and Black Sun alike. Meanwhile, Count Dooku arrives with a contingent of droid guards, while Maul departs the surface to target the Separatist fleet. He and his ships attack the Separatist command vessel, prompting Grievous to realize that the Separatists have been lured into a trap. On the surface, Dooku is confronted by the Nightbrothers, leading to a duel between the Sith Lord and the Dathomirian warriors.
The droid army advances on the Shadow Collective, taking Maul's forces into custody, while the renegade Sith Lord continues his space assault. He and Mandalorian warriors board the Separatist command ship, capture General Grievous, and compel the Kaleesh cyborg to deactivate all battle droids on the surface. The deactivation of the droids allows the Shadow Collective forces to regroup and capture Count Dooku. Maul contacts Mother Talzin to inform her of the events, and she assures him that, with Dooku and Grievous in custody, Sidious will soon be captured, and they will achieve their vengeance against the Dark Lord.
A Jedi team arrives on Ord Mantell to examine the battle's aftermath, identifying Darth Maul's connection to the Mandalorians upon discovering a Death Watch helmet. Jedi Master Mace Windu informs Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly Darth Sidious, that Maul orchestrated the battle. Windu intends to use this information to capture Maul and Dooku, hoping to end the Clone Wars through their capture. Windu then consults with fellow Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Tiplee, and Aayla Secura, and together they deduce that Maul may have gone to a Mandalorian asteroid outpost. Fearing Mandalore's potential fall to the Separatists, Kenobi and Tiplee volunteer to investigate the outpost.
Meanwhile, on the Mandalorian outpost, Maul informs Darth Sidious that Dooku and Grievous have been captured. Sidious instructs Maul to eliminate them, deeming them failures. Instead, Maul orders Grievous to be imprisoned. As the Jedi approach the outpost, Tiplee expresses concern that Kenobi will struggle to control his emotions, given that Maul murdered Satine Kryze, the Duchess of Mandalore and a close friend of Kenobi's. Kenobi assures his fellow Jedi that he will remain composed. As the Republic approaches, Maul presents Dooku with a choice: alliance or death. Mother Talzin appears in a cloud of magical smoke, revealing that she too was once betrayed by Darth Sidious and that Darth Maul is her son. Talzin reveals that Sidious is currently seeking a new apprentice.
The Republic assault on the outpost commences, with Republic ships navigating through Gauntlet fighter fire towards the base. Grievous exploits the chaos to escape in an escape pod, while Dooku agrees to join Maul in fighting Kenobi's boarding party. The Jedi arrive at the outpost, where Kenobi and Tiplee are confronted by Maul and Dooku. A lightsaber duel ensues, joined by Windu and Secura. Dooku kills Tiplee, while the Mandalorians launch a missile towards the Jedi, incapacitating them. This allows Maul and Dooku to escape. Following the battle, Windu informs Palpatine of the events. The Jedi Master also suggests that the battle indicates Dooku is the Sith Master, a false conclusion that Palpatine, the true Dark Lord, allows the Jedi to believe.
Following the Galactic Republic and Jedi assault against the Shadow Collective at the Mandalorian asteroid outpost, Darth Maul speeds towards Dathomir with his Death Watch allies, along with Count Dooku, who has allegedly joined Maul's quest for vengeance against Darth Sidious.
En route to Dathomir, Maul receives a communication from Ziton Moj of Black Sun and a representative of the Pyke Syndicate. Having lost the moon of Zanbar and the planet Ord Mantell, in addition to the supply outpost, in their conflicts with the Sith, the two allies express concern that Maul's plan is failing and that the conflict has devolved into the former Sith Lord's personal vendetta against his former master. Maul assures them of their eventual compensation, promising that the galaxy will belong to the Shadow Collective once Darth Sidious is defeated. Maul then instructs Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian, to maintain control over the Pykes and Black Sun. Meanwhile, Maul reveals to Dooku that he is aware the Sith Lord is not a genuine ally and that Dooku has been instructed by Sidious to feign cooperation. Maul then orders Rook Kast to take Dooku into custody.
Upon arriving on Dathomir, Maul speaks with Brother Viscus, who survived his encounter with Count Dooku during the Battle of Ord Mantell, and Viscus informs Maul that preparations have been completed for the next phase of their plan. The Nightbrothers present Dooku to Mother Talzin, who appears in a cloud of smoke and initiates a magick attack against the Sith Lord.
Simultaneously, a Sith Infiltrator arrives in orbit, carrying both General Grievous and Darth Sidious, having tracked Dooku's location to Dathomir. Sidious orders Grievous to disrupt Dathomirian communications and cloak the ship, enabling them to arrive undetected. Maul and the Nightbrothers remain unaware of the ship's arrival and proceed with their plan, as Talzin employs her magic to drain Dooku's life force, intending to use it to physically manifest herself once more. As Maul explains, Talzin's physical return necessitates a significant sacrifice, and they have chosen Dooku for this purpose.
As the process unfolds, an explosion erupts in the area, and Grievous and Sidious confront Maul. Sidious reminds his former apprentice that only one plan matters: Darth Sidious's plan to rule the galaxy. As they converse, Moj and Pykes contact Kast, informing her that Separatist armies have begun attacking them. The Shadow Collective allies demand to know Maul's whereabouts, but Kast dismisses their concerns, instructing them to fight the Separatists.
On Dathomir, Mother Talzin assumes control of Dooku's body, and she and Maul engage Sidious and Grievous in combat. Talzin battles the Dark Lord of the Sith while Maul confronts Grievous. Sidious quickly gains the upper hand against Talzin, demanding that she release his apprentice. Sidious bombards Dooku's body with Force lightning before Talzin releases Dooku and reappears in physical form. Kast, meanwhile, continues communicating with Black Sun and the Pykes, who inform her that they are withdrawing from the Shadow Collective, abandoning Maul as a Separatist fleet emerges from hyperspace above Dathomir.
Maul continues his battle against Grievous, forcing him away from the main conflict. Sidious unleashes lightning against Talzin once more, while Talzin retaliates with a surge of magical energy towards the Dark Lord. Maul implores Talzin to take his strength, but as Dooku joins the fray with his own lightning attacks, Talzin instructs her son to retreat without her, even if it means her demise. Talzin uses her magic to telekinetically remove Maul from the battle, and he is extracted by Kast and another Mandalorian warrior, witnessing Grievous's return and fatal stabbing of Talzin through the chest with two lightsabers.
With his Shadow Collective in ruins, Maul and Death Watch flee Dathomir. Sidious, Dooku, and Grievous observe Talzin's body, with Dooku expressing regret that Maul has escaped once again. Sidious remains unconcerned, as events have unfolded as he intended. Maul's potential as a Sith rival has been extinguished, and the Sith have taken another step towards securing their future.
Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir was originally envisioned as four episodes of the Cartoon Network series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Matt Michnovetz and Aïda Mashaka Croal wrote four completed scripts that ultimately became Son of Dathomir. These scripts were intended for a full seventh season of the show, had the network ordered it. The scripts were developed in collaboration with Star Wars creator George Lucas, making them, and thus Son of Dathomir, part of the official Star Wars canon. Following the writing phase, the episodes progressed through the production pipeline. The Clone Wars team created some design work for the episodes, and these designs, along with the stories and characters from the scripts, were incorporated into the comic miniseries.
After The Clone Wars was cancelled in 2013, Lucasfilm Ltd. decided to adapt the four Darth Maul episodes into the Son of Dathomir comic miniseries. Dave Filoni, the show's supervising director, said he believed an adaptation was a great idea. It would not only allow Lucasfilm to keep telling unfinished Clone Wars stories, but Filoni also knew that Dark Horse Comics had done great Star Wars work in the past and would be a good fit to adapt the episodes. Filoni gave Dark Horse the design and story work for the episodes, which would let them create, in Filoni's words, "an accurate representation of what [the production team] were planning for the show."
Jeremy Barlow was chosen to adapt the episodes into comic book form, with art by Juan Frigeri (pencils), Mauro Vargas (inks), Wes Dzioba (colors), and Chris Scalf (cover art). Barlow, hired for the miniseries by Star Wars editor Randy Stradley, wanted to make the comic accessible, knowing that not all readers would know Maul's story from The Clone Wars. Because it was based on pre-written scripts, Barlow's work required, in his words, "sharp editing skills" and "judicious choices" to "keep as much of the screenplays intact as possible while still giving the comics their own exciting and natural flow." Filoni has also suggested that Son of Dathomir may not be the end of Darth Maul's story.
According to Star Wars Insider 149, a creature called the shatterax was planned to appear in Son of Dathomir. However, the scene didn't make it into the final comic. The Insider article, written by Daniel Wallace, was based on early story notes he got for the comic.
The first issue of the comic came out on May 21, 2014, with the second and third issues on June 18, 2014, and July 16, 2014, respectively. The fourth and final issue was released on August 20, 2014. A trade paperback was released on October 1, 2014.
The publisher's summary incorrectly stated that the script was based on episodes from the "sixth" broadcast season of The Clone Wars series, when this was in fact referring to the sixth "production season." If the episodes had been produced, they would have been part of the seventh season.
Several foreign-language versions of Son of Dathomir have been released with the Star Wars Legends banner, indicating that the comic series is part of the Legends continuity in addition to the official Star Wars canon. Editora Vuk, a Spanish-language publisher, released the four individual Son of Dathomir comic issues with the Legends banner for Peru, while Panini Comics published Spanish and Portuguese editions of the Son of Dathomir trade paperback with the Legends banner for Mexico and Brazil, respectively. Although not explicitly labeled with the Legends banner, Panini released a trade hardcover of the series in Germany in 2017 as part of their "Star Wars Comic Kollektion," a series of reprints of various Legends comics. Matt Martin of the Lucasfilm Story Group has supported Son of Dathomir's inclusion in Legends.
Son of Dathomir references many episodes of The Clone Wars, most of which involved Darth Maul. The events of "Eminence," "Shades of Reason," and "The Lawless" served as the comic's backstory, and the consequences of those episodes, including Maul's capture on Mandalore, played out in the comic miniseries. The series also references the Battle of Dathomir, as shown in the episode "Massacre," and used many characters who first appeared in the show.
The narrative weaves in references to occurrences from the Star Wars film saga. Specifically, Mother Talzin informs Dooku that Sidious is already in the process of finding a replacement Sith apprentice for him. This alludes to the approaching events found in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, where Anakin Skywalker ultimately slays Dooku and subsequently transforms into Darth Vader, the Sith Lord. As a recognized story within the official Star Wars timeline, Son of Dathomir holds the distinction of introducing the planet Ord Mantell into canon, even though it was initially mentioned in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back. While Ord Mantell had previously appeared in Star Wars Legends stories, it had not been featured in an official canonical narrative until this point. Furthermore, in Son of Dathomir, the Black Sun organization maintains a base on Ord Mantell. In the Legends video game Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, which marked the debut of Black Sun and played a significant role in the plot, Ord Mantell is the setting for a confrontation between Dash Rendar and IG-88D. Additionally, Ord Mantell is the initial location for both the Smuggler and Trooper class storylines featured in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The Stygeon prison, as it is depicted in Son of Dathomir #1, was later incorporated into the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. This prison, which was featured in the third episode titled "Rise of the Old Masters," was officially designated as the Spire within Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide. This reference publication also confirms Stygeon's formal name as Stygeon Prime.
Son of Dathomir was merely the first of several unfinished narratives originating from The Clone Wars that were later adapted into other forms of media. During San Diego Comic-Con 2014, Lucasfilm made the announcement of a forthcoming novel, Dark Disciple, which would center around Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos, and would be based on scripts that had not been produced from what would have been the show's seventh season. Filoni has indicated that there are many more incomplete stories, and he has even shared concept artwork – including some featuring Darth Maul – for these unproduced narratives. The opportunity remains for these unused stories to be utilized in some capacity sometime in the future.
When The Clone Wars was revived in 2020 for a twelve-episode seventh season streaming on Disney+, Sam Witwer, the voice actor for Maul, watched several episodes of the show again in order to refresh his memory of how he portrayed Maul in The Clone Wars, since he had last voiced a much older Maul in Star Wars Rebels. While the Son of Dathomir story arc was adapted into a comic, Witwer expressed his desire to have seen the arc produced as television episodes, though Dave Filoni and George Lucas assured him that the events depicted in Son of Dathomir are considered canon.
- " Blaster " · — Star Wars Insider 149
- SDCC 2014: Star Wars: A New Dawn Panel - Liveblog on StarWars.com (backup link)
- " Blaster " · — Star Wars Insider 151
- The Clone Wars Legacy on StarWars.com (backup link)
- Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir Concept Art Gallery on StarWars.com (backup link)
- The Nightsisters from Dathomir: A History on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- How Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir Connects to Solo: A Star Wars Story on StarWars.com (backup link)
- 20 Eerie Easter Eggs from LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales on StarWars.com (backup link)
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Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir #1 on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir #2 on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir #3 on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir #4 on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars: Darth Maul — Son of Dathomir TPB on Dark Horse Comics' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars: Darth Maul - Son of Dathomir (Trade Paperback) on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars – Editora Vuk (backup link) (Peruvian Spanish-language publisher)
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