Windu vs. Maul: who would win?

By Zach Griffith | Sep 15, 2018

Try to imagine the savage, double-bladed lightsaber-wielding Maul facing off against the expert, purple-bladed Windu, one of the most gifted Jedi ever. In this unparalleled duel, who would come out on top?

Of all the spectacular lightsaber fights that Star Wars has offered, there have been just as many that we didn’t get to see. Sidious vs Dooku, Windu vs Grievous, Yoda vs Vader, the list goes on. However, the one that I think would be the coolest to see is Mace Windu vs Darth Maul.

Let’s set some ground rules first. Try and envision the best versions of these two guys; I’m thinking Phantom Menace-era Maul facing off with Attack of the Clones/Revenge of the Sith– era Windu. Maul was an absolute tank in his first appearance, taking on Qui-Gon (a highly trained Jedi master) in the middle of Tatooine before eventually killing him in the final act of the film.

In AOTC, Windu disposed of Jango Fett with ease even though Obi-Wan struggled with him earlier, plus he was unstoppable in the arena battle and the Battle of Geonosis. Windu’s swift defeat of Jango even surprised Dooku, who looked on as his prized bounty hunter was mowed down mercilessly. In ROTS, he outdueled the most infamous Sith Lord ever before a certain third party intervened.

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While some of this information was gathered from my knowledge of Star Wars, most of the specific details regarding Maul’s and Windu’s powers was found on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars database from the website FANDOM.

Let’s break it down:

The Case for Maul

The best thing going for Maul is that he was trained by Darth Sidious from a very young age. Taken from his home on Dathomir after Sidious sensed the Force within him, Maul was brought up by the Dark Lord to become the ultimate Jedi-killing machine.

Going off of Maul’s page on Wookieepedia, Maul was originally intended to be a long-term chess piece in Palpatine’s plot to bring the Galactic Empire to power. Sidious taught Maul to use his unique fighting style to his advantage, something that proved to be a major asset during his duel with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

Another aspect working for Maul is his savage, athletic and acrobatic dueling technique that gave him an advantage in almost all of his fights. Just look at the duel in The Phantom Menace; the guy was flying around the two Jedi, keeping them on their toes for the duration of the battle. The only reason Maul wasn’t able to close the deal was his cockiness, something Obi-Wan took full advantage of.

Maul’s powers with the Force are also pretty evident throughout his storylines. He was able to use the Force to stave off certain death after being sliced in half – I could just stop right there, but I won’t. As is a common power among Sith, he has the ability to Force-choke opponents at will, while also being equipped with Force Waves, evident in one of his duels with Obi-Wan in The Clone Wars.

It’s assumed that Maul had all of these abilities at the time of the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan duel, so let’s imagine Maul in his prime (Phantom Menace era) going up against Mace Windu in this fight.

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 08: Samuel L Jackson attends the ‘Incredibles 2’ UK premiere at BFI Southbank on July 8, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

The Case for Windu

According to Windu’s entry on Wookieepedia, Mace was considered the Jedi Order’s greatest champion. Think about that; off all the people to walk through the Jedi Temple (Yoda, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Kit Fisto, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon, Anakin Skywalker, etc.), it was Mace Windu who was thought of as the ultimate warrior. That’s impressive.

Windu’s dueling abilities were nearly unparalleled among other Jedi, as evidenced in his battle against Darth Sidious. Windu bested the Sith Lord in combat, something that was considered impossible before he accomplished the feat. If Anakin hadn’t intervened, Windu would’ve killed Sidious and Darth Vader may have never existed.

Mace specialized in the seventh form of lightsaber combat, AKA Juyo or Vaapad. Windu was the only known practitioner of this form that didn’t fall to the Dark Side, mainly because the style calls for an aggressive, unpredictable approach (much like Maul’s, just less jumping around).

Also from Wookieepedia, Windu was able to use his high-level Force sensitivity to increase his physical capabilities. For example, he’s adept at landing high jumps and engaging in acrobatics in combat.

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The Winner

The duel between Maul and Windu would be filled with Force powers, acrobatic techniques and fierce lightsaber usage. However, I believe that Mace Windu would defeat Maul, and at that, defeat him with relative ease.

The fact that Windu bested Sidious in combat is all the evidence I need to think that he would take down Maul as well. We all know Maul wouldn’t go down without a fight, as evidenced in his entire journey in the Star Wars saga, but Windu’s experience and balanced Force abilities would prove to be too much for the Dathomirian.

I love both of these characters, so that’s mainly why I want to see a battle between them. Still, I don’t think it’d be much of a fight, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know, but it’s just awesome to think about these two going at it one-on-one.

Who do you think would win, Darth Maul or Mace Windu? Is there another duel that you’d want to see? Let us know in the comments.