One of the a new Sith Lord to the Star Wars franchise, but a new lightsaber as well, with Darth Maul’s double-bladed, staff-like weapon being used in battle against the Jedi on Tatooine and Naboo. As the Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious, Darth Maul was sent on numerous missions before the events of The Phantom Menace, and a Legends-era comic reveals that Maul crafted his lightsaber to kill a far more experienced opponent: a full-fledged Jedi Master.
While Darth Maul has seen renewed popularity in recent years thanks to the canon timeline reviving him, rewriting his origin story, and giving him a live-action cameo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the Sith Lord was explored in numerous Legends-era stories prior to Disney's acquisition of the franchise. In Legends continuity, Darth Maul is a Zabrak from Iridonia, raised and trained by Palpatine during Darth Plagueis’ lifetime, breaking the Sith Rule of Two. Since Maul died in The Phantom Menace in the Legends continuity, his character development and adventures generally take place before the prequel film.
The Star Wars Tales short comic “Nameless” by Christian Read and Chris Slane explains how and why Darth Maul built his lightsaber. On a mission for Darth Sidious to kill the exiled Jedi Master Siolo Ur Manka, Darth Maul, armed with a single-bladed Sith weapon, is overpowered by the Jedi, who only uses a wooden staff. Rather than fail his Master, Darth Maul constructs an identical weapon and fuses the two at the pommel, resulting in the iconic double-bladed lightsaber. Using the weapon to kill Master Manka, Maul returns to his Master, where he declares the lightsaber to be a nameless instrument of murder, just as its wielder is.
The double-bladed lightsaber precedes its Phantom Menace debut as a concept, first appearing in a 1995 issue of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi as a weapon constructed by the Sith Exar Kun. As a member of Darth Bane’s lineage, Darth Maul built his weapon with inspiration from both Exar Kun and the Zhaboka, a double-bladed sword used by Zabraks.
“Nameless” provides a fascinating glimpse at the grueling training of a Sith Lord. Darth Maul is tasked with killing a warrior far more skilled and experienced than he is, and he refuses to return to Sidious empty-handed after being defeated. Darth Maul’s declaration following his victory similarly speaks to his atypical status as a Sith Lord, with Maul being far more of a warrior than a manipulator, unlike Sidious or Plagueis. While the Jedi train their Padawans hard, Sith training shows no mercy, asking adherents to do the impossible in order to become more powerful.
Despite his incredible skill, Darth Maul only adopted his double-bladed lightsaber to slay an experienced Jedi Master he couldn't otherwise defeat. Sadly for the Sith, it wasn't quite enough to take down both Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels.
