25 Greatest Characters in Star Wars History

3. Darth Maul

(Write-up by David Harris (Razor), Dork Side of the Force Editor in Chief)

When Darth Maul first appeared, in The Phantom Menace, sporting his black hooded robes and his red tattooed face, I thought I had never seen anything so cool. And, when he revealed his double-bladed lightsaber, I almost did a back-flip in the theater.

Ray Parks portrayed Maul so well, and let’s be honest, it was his martial arts skills that really sold the character of Darth Maul. The look of unbridled rage and hatred on his face, has gone unchallenged, with the exception of Anakin Skywalker when he changed to the Dark Side.

My one problem with how Maul was handled in The Phantom Menace, is that he was a “one and done” villain. Even though he was brought back in Clone Wars, he was considered dead in the films, which was a terrible move on Lucas’ part. Darth Maul made it cool to be a Sith, and for that, we thank him.

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