Darth Maul captures Count Dooku in Son of Dathomir #3!

Publisher summary:

"Darth Maul has captured Darth Sidious's new apprentice! Mother Talzin and Maul attempt to sway Count Dooku to their cause, revealing surprising facts about Maul's past. But an attack by an elite Jedi strike force throws everyone's plans into chaos!"

As a Maul fan, I find this quite promising.

Source - Scroll down, it's in alphabetical order.

Thoughts?

@shootingnova@dccomicsrule2011@jedixman@beezlebub@jaken7@wolfrazer@juiceboks@shroudofsorrow@erkan12@easternwind@whirlwind_33@darthaznable@ssjdarthplagueis

Oh come on...they better come up with some fantastic explanation as to how Dooku got captured. But ah...looks nice.

ALSO SIDE NOTE! WOO! IG-88 gets some shine in Issue 19! My fav Assassin/Bounty Hunter in Star Wars! FINALLY! Have been waiting for him to get stuff.

Well, good to know nothing in it is spoiled for me...

@_atomikill_: Publisher solicitations aren't really classed as spoilers. If Maul capturing Dooku was a massive spoiler they wouldn't have released it. I think the interesting part surrounding Dooku's capture will not be released to us until we buy the comic.

I really need to read more of Maul's newer books...

I wonder how long until he gets killed off

@darthaznable: I have a feeling he'll get killed off in this book. The writer, Jeremy Barlow, has speculated "Is this going to be Maul's last storyline? Read and find out!" Which kind of suggests one of two things to me.

1. He's just hyping up the potential for Maul's death, in order to increase sales.

2. By even mentioning that this could be Maul's last story, is not good news in terms of the character's likeliness to survive. He could have said anything else, but he deliberately glossed over the potential for this to be Maul's last story, and death.

However, it was said in another interview something to the effect of "We are excited to continue Darth Maul's story" which says to me, hey, maybe they aren't killing him off. Maybe they have some long term plans for him.

If they did his death the right way, and really let him go out with a bang, I'll be happy. But if he survives, that's good too.

@i_like_swords: OR maybe he'll get a new pair of legs....:P They could possibly be putting him on hold on awhile after this book. Might even just pull a Ventress where he goes off into space never to return.

@i_like_swords: Oh. Well then... *sits in the corner*

I wish Talzin could just conjure him two organic legs and that could be that. The man needs some stability!

They could do something like have him meditate in an ancient Sith temple for a few decades then bring him back sometime in the future. Although really Maul doesn't actually have a lot motivating him other than revenge, and power. Those wells can dry up quite quickly.

Indeed it can get boring when that's all that ever drives him. I hope they give him some new motivation...

@beezlebub: I think a big problem is that Maul doesnt belong to anything. He isnt with the Separatists/Sidious, nor the Jedi order. He has created his own force of Mandalorians, criminals and Nightbrothers, but its a bit of a unorganised mashup in all honesty. It wont last. If he became fully integrated into Dathomir that could open some new doors.

But why would he? I hope he finds and takes control of the prophets of the Dark Side which kind of fills in the reason they used a doppelganger of him and it also gives him new direction.

@beezlebub: So he has a purpose, some stability to become powerful again. He might even become fond of his Dathomiri heritage.

Maybe... Though I'd say the chances on that are doubtful.

@beezlebub: Well according to the solicitations of SoD he's actually working under Talzin now. And the fact "Dathomir" is the title of the series, it only further suggests he'll explore his Dathomir roots - maybe even live there.

I'm wondering how Maul captures him?

Isn't dooku much more powerful than maul?

@ssjdarthplagueis: He only needs three things for that.

1. A box.

2. A stick.

3. A block of cheese.

That or Dooku intentionally let himself get captured.

Sweet!

Something looks off about Maul's Darksaber in that picture...

HELL YEAH !

Kneel before the Emperor Maul !

Yeah, it's shaped like a traditional sword/lightsaber in that picture when it actually only has one sharpened side, with the other one flat. Artist mistake most likely.

He's slightly more skilled in lightsaber combat and honestly, that's only really attributed to the fact he's had the chance to fight more formidable opponents, since Maul is yet to have fought anyone who has really, properly, challenged him. Also, Maul is the better martial artist.

They're roughly even in speed, Maul is considerably stronger and more durable, but Dooku can dampen the strength advantage with Makashi, although I question if he'd be able to entirely avoid being overpowered at times. And Dooku's only real noticeable advantage is his telekinesis, and the fact he can use Sith lightning. But Maul can near enough shrug off his Sith lightning due to his resistance to lightning, and his overall durability, and Dooku's telekinetic advantage isn't enough to suggest he can stomp Maul with it at all.

So really, if Maul was to do something like beat General Grievous, fight Mace Windu on even terms, or even fight evenly with Dooku, he would be going up a tier in overall combat effectiveness, but the fact is right now, he hasn't fought a worthy opponent yet (barring Obi Wan, but Maul's shown he's better than him).

So if your issue was that Maul is not powerful enough to justify being able to capture Dooku/beat him in a duel.. well, I think it can be justified.

@ssjdarthplagueis said:

@i_like_swords said:

@ssjdarthplagueis: He only needs three things for that.

1. A box.

2. A stick.

3. A block of cheese.

That or Dooku intentionally let himself get captured.

Eh, dunno how that could benefit him.

@i_like_swords: Just using imagination here, but maybe it's a way to kill Maul and the Nightsisters.

Wow. More and more reason for me not to touch anything TCW related.

This is ridiculous.

I don't think it's that. In the solicitation it talks about them trying to convert Dooku to their "cause", and that through this, something interesting about Maul's past will be revealed.

I saw someone on another forum post something very interesting in regards to that. He said the thing from the past could be that Sidious and Mother Talzin were Maul's illegitimate parents. And it makes sense to me, because during Maul's training years, one time, Talzin attempted to steal Maul from Sidious. Sidious came face to face with Talzin, and got Maul back, and then spared her even though she jeopardized the years Sidious put into training Maul. And it almost seemed like he knew her. He was sort of like "go before I change my mind". When the hell has Sidious ever shown anyone that kind of mercy before? It's a very interesting theory.

How come, man?

lol tag Erkan and not me

I'm curious where you guys find this stuff out at, are they releasing new comics that take place after the last season?

I highly doubt that after what was revealed in the novel Darth Plagueis. It shows how Sidious takes in Maul. He was an infant at the time.

@ssjdarthplagueis: Well the story has always been that Maul's legitimate mother, after pleading for a considerable amount of time with Palpatine, convinced him to take Maul away from Dathomir. But maybe Maul was being cared for by both Talzin and his mother, and Sidious had been taking an interest in Maul for some time but was never planning on actually taking him. And if him and Talzin being illegitimate parents of Maul held true, it'd make sense that he seemed to know her when she was trying to steal Maul from him. I dunno. Maybe we'll find out that Talzin and Sidious have some kind of history involving Maul. Maybe we won't.

I have gradually been compiling a mental list of people I tag in SW threads, just of people I talk to most. I can start tagging you aswell if ya want.

Find what out specifically? You mean find out the finer details of what's happening in Son of Dathomir, or just the random stuff I've been speculating on in this thread? I google daily to find out about Son of Dathomir updates, and anything else I've been talking about is based on general knowledge.

Edit: Eh, there's been a few comics based around the TCW series. Son of Dathomir is an adaption of four episodes that were supposed to be aired during season 6, but never were. Dunno if they're going to try and continue Maul's story through comics or anything else after TCW time period, but I suspect he'll end up dead or disappearing into mystery very soon, unless Lucasfilms make a genuine effort to give him something to do in the EU.

Dumb... this... this is dumb!

I... really don't have words right now...

@jedixman: Search your feelings.

Preferably the less volatile ones.

The cynical ones, then.

@jedixman: That'll do.

I'm going to wager a guess and say the part about Dooku getting captured by Maul is what you find to be BS?

I think if they actually do it in a way that makes sense, it could turn out okay. I'm not expecting Maul to beat him in a 1v1 then slap the handcuffs on. We see Dooku fighting multiple Nightbrothers on the issue 2 cover so maybe after an extensive duel with Maul, the Nightbrothers burst in and take Dooku prisoner by dogpiling him? I dunno.

It's not the "how" that bothers me - it's the fact that it happened at all. I thought the episode where Dooku was captured with Obi-Wan and Anakin was dumb, too. He is the leader of the CIS - you really think that, between episodes II and III, he was in and out of prison multiple times? The leader of the CIS? It's like having Palpatine captured multiple times (... which I think TCW did, too -_-)

@jedixman: Ah I see what you mean. Fair enough, then.

@i_like_swords: Was there an explanation for how he did this? I'm assuming he wins in a fight, or there was a ship crash, or something. Although if it was a fight, it contradicts the source you gave me (potentially) .

Also, why is Mother Talzin trying to convert Dooku after trying to kill him? And why is Maul trying to get Dooku's help?

@i_like_swords: By the way, his horn length seemed to reduce.

I'm not annoyed by the fact that Dooku gets captured, but why Talzin and Maul want to convert him. That's just stupid.

Also, Maul's hand looks strange.

No..going purely off of the solicitation from Dark Horse, and the cover art. My only theory was Maul maybe used the Nightbrothers to dogpile an unsuspecting Dooku, and maybe knock him out with a toxin or just use manpower to restrain him. And this is half-backed up by the fact he was fighting groups of NB's on issue 2's cover art.

Yep.. although maybe this "willpower" shenanigans has something to do with a fight between them being even. I mean.. if Barlow wants to establish Dooku as the better fighter, but have Maul fight evenly with him through sheer determination, all the more power to him. It'd make for quite a dramatic fight sequence.

I have no idea, my friend. Here's my theory on the whole blasted thing.

Issue #1

So Maul and Sidious are the only confirmed characters for this issue so far, to my knowledge. Perhaps in this issue, it'll be an introduction of things to come. Sidious says he has his "uses" for Maul at the end of The Lawless so.. I'm presuming after putting Maul into this "Obsidian prison" as Barlow describes it, he eventually releases Maul from captivity so that he can go and do something productive. Obviously, Maul then escapes while on whatever errand it is Sidious has for him, and he could either have had help from Mother Talzin, or could have escaped himself and headed for Dathomir off his own initiative. The point is here, Sidious' plans for using Maul as a slave have failed, Maul is loose, he's joined forces with Mother Talzin, and he's out for revenge against Sidious and Dooku. This is all based off of the interviews I've read, as well as general knowledge from past events, btw, I'm not just speculating.

Issue #2

So Maul is on Dathomir.. or maybe after he escapes from Sidious, he heads to Mandalore. There was also mention of Maul having crime families on his side as well. I honestly don't know what the hell is going on. From the solicitation we know that the Mandalorians are involved, but they either get held up somewhere else, or are defeated. So Maul gets Talzin's Nightbrothers as reinforcements.

In this issue there is meant to be a "trio of simultaneous battles". Dooku will obviously be fighting Nightbrothers. Grievous could be fighting Mandalorians.. criminals.. Maul? Who knows. And we know Dooku's droids are the third component of this fight against Maul's forces. So really we can only speculate who is fighting who. Perhaps Grievous gets sidetracked by Maul's criminals, the Mandalorians engage the CIS droids, and Dooku is left unprotected from a large group of Nightbrothers and Maul (and maybe even Talzin), where he gets overwhelmed and captured.

So yeah the main points here are, Maul's first move in taking revenge against Sidious is getting to Dooku. And there will be three separate battles going on in this comic. And Dooku gets captured at the end of it. That's all we can know for now.

Issue#3

So here is where things get interesting. Maul and Talzin try to get Dooku to join their "cause". I think their "cause" is to take down Sidious. Maul obviously has his own motivations for this. I believe Talzin has prior history with Sidious involving Maul. This is because:

1. According to the solicitation, something surprising is revealed about Maul's past. This could be something involving Talzin and Sidious, and his transfer from Dathomir to Sidious at a young age. Not really sure of the specifics.
2. Talzin has met Sidious before, pre-TPM. She tried to steal Maul while he was in training. Sidious personally retrieved Maul, but instead of destroying Talzin when getting Maul back, he spoke to her almost as if he knew her but didn't want to alert Maul to this, and let her go, saying something to the effect of "go before I change my mind". Why would Sidious show that kind of mercy to someone who nearly stole his personal assassin? He and Talzin were obviously both fighting over Maul, as Talzin was trying to convince Maul to come back to his Dathomir roots and undergo a transformation like Savage eventually did.

So yeah. I think their cause is to take down Sidious, and I think they're going to try and convince Dooku to command his droid army in a way that is more advantageous for them. If they can remove the entire CIS from Sidious' control, while Maul lets Nightbrothers, Mandalorians, and criminals run rampant, then they will have Sidious in a very isolated state, with only the Republic armies under his thumb. The theory could be that combining Maul's motley crew with the CIS, would be enough to defeat the Clone Army.

And it does sort of make sense that Maul is going to be doing some kind of army commanding. In interviews Barlow has talked about how Maul is trying to manipulate his criminal army, but it's going to go very wrong for him since they aren't very loyal. I'm thinking when this "Elite Jedi Task Force" interrupts this whole arrangement, Maul's plans will be thrown into disarray, Dooku will escape, and Sidious will focus all of his energy into removing Maul from the picture. Well actually, Barlow has said that that is exactly what Sidious will do, and that Maul had become an unforseen issue for him.

So yeah.. basically, Sidious tries to enslave Maul, Maul escapes, joins up with Talzin to fight Sidious for their joint personal reasons. They capture Dooku to try and get out of the CIS/Republic sandwich they are inbetween. The Jedi muck up this plan, Dooku escapes, and Maul and his unreliable criminal forces are targeted by Sidious, the Jedi, the clones and the droids.

Maul is supposed to be fighting with everything he's got in this, lashing out at the entire galaxy as a massive underdog and causing issues for everyone, despite the fact he is severely outmatched. He is managing to keep up in this whole situation because of his sheer willpower. So I see things ending with Maul being pushed to his limits physically and mentally, being involved in a couple of cool lightsaber duels, and then being killed off in issue 4 after going out with a massive bang that has caused a big effect on the galactic war, the entire criminal underworld, the neutral systems as well as Sidious and the Jedi.

His horns are all over the place, man.

The only reason I can think of for them wanting to convert Dooku is to control the droid army and overthrow Sidious. Maul could maybe be playing the "it's only a matter of time before you get replaced too" card on Dooku.

Oh my god, man.. his hand is black. I mean, sometimes he has "red" tattoos, sometimes he has black "sith" tattoos, sometimes he has "red and black tattoos". Writers can't make up their mind what colour the guy is, and what colour his tats are. It's ridiculous. But he can have whatever colour hands he wants for all I care.

@i_like_swords: I'd agree, and since Maul and Talzin are trying to convert Dooku, I think it's safe to say Dooku wasn't pulling a trap. Also, it seems as if Maul lost his influence over the Mandalorians.

@shootingnova: Yeah. That's why he would of needed the Nightbrothers in the first place. The Mandalorians aren't interested in whatever Maul is trying to accomplish, and keep to themselves. Maul is just left with a bunch of criminals.. not the best fighting force. Then Mother Talzin, for whatever her reasons turn out to be, comes in with her Nightbrothers and helps Maul.

@i_like_swords: Talzin had her plans foiled as well.

I dont think it needs to be tooo crazy, Maul is skilled, so any slip up would be enough. And he also uses Juyo , which is agresive, and he has powerful strikers, so it could be advantagous agaisnt ma... whats it called?( Dooku Style)

I think it will go wrong way. It looks like Disney is going to make Maul OP.

I did this analyse before this issue ;

http://www.comicvine.com/profile/erkan12/blog/darth-maul-vs-darth-tyranus/95498/

Lol. Well, you have never been interesting in SW Debates, except cursing me of course...

Excellent prediction ! And I really like the idea of Sidious and Talzin, I am sure this nightsister (or nightmother) was really strong, she engaged with Mace Windu in direct duel.

It seems good :)

Also shooting send me this message ;

PREVIEWSworld: So there seems to be more and more writers wanting to explore the potential of Darth Maul as an "A" list villain. But how far would he have to go to be in the same league as Darth Vader? Is that what makes him such a fascinating character? That he's getting close to being on par with the Dark Lord of the Sith?

Jeremy Barlow: His power isn’t on Vader’s level, true, or even on Count Dooku’s level — but that never stops him. He stands alongside the Sith Lords only by sheer force of will.

Maul is the ultimate underdog here, and that’s what I like about him. The Jedi are hunting him. The Sith are trying to destroy him. His only allies are mercenaries and cutthroats that are only as loyal as they’re paid to be. And yet no matter how bad the situation gets for Maul, and it gets bad here, he just keeps getting up and pushing forward. I love that.

Maul stands alongside with Vader and Dooku...

Barlow : ''His power isn’t on Vader’s level, true, or even on Count Dooku’s level — but that never stops him. He stands alongside the Sith Lords only by sheer force of will. ''

@erkan12: Just to say, I'mthe one who found that interview. I told him about it.

I deserve the credit!1!