Darth Maul – Black, White & Red #3
“THE MISSION”
Before the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the rise of Darth Vader, Darth Sidious trained another disciple in the secrets of the Sith Order.
This apprentice was a mysterious warrior of Dathomir, who left a path of death and destruction as he made his way through the galaxy….
Writer: Erica Schultz
Artist: Leonard Kirk
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Andres Mossa
Cover artist: Sara Pichelli
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: June 26 2024
While the events of most Darth Maul tales are relatively predictable (Maul is sent on a mission or Maul is sent to train), within those fairly tight constraints are opportunities to drop juicy elements of character building, and this third issue of Darth Maul – Black, White & Red grabs that opportunity with both hands, giving us a far more nuanced tale than first impressions might indicate. We open on the lower levels of Coruscant as Maul leaps into the fray, cutting through swathes of battle droids just as his master contacts him with his next mission, one that will take him to the moon of Dawk to execute a Devaronian called Coir Cion. A simple task, but one made instantly harder when Maul makes the error of asking his master why this man must die. Demanding unquestionable, unswerving loyalty, Sidious is less than impressed at being questioned, and so the next scene (which links directly into The Phantom Menace) makes plenty of sense as we watch his Schimitar arrive at the moon and see the black sith droid of Palpatine hovering next to him, to watch his actions. Maul knows he is a novice in the Force compared to his master, and if he is to progress then he must listen and most importantly, obey.
We cut to Korts Cantina down on the moon where we see Cion and his colleagues, and quickly learn that the Devaronian believes that his troubles will soon be behind him. A pardon for his crimes, and the chance to leave behind his criminal ways and go legit, much to the amazement of his friends. Suddenly a Rodian tears into the bar out of breath and tells them of a visitor who has just landed on the moon. Coir is initially doubtful, but soon orders the Roidian to bring him their head and we cut to Maul landing in a clearing as the ‘welcoming committee’ order him to tell them his business. His silence speaks volumes, and they open fire, leading to Maul cutting them down in short order leaving only the Rodian alive. Force choking the Rodian he asks what his orders were, and when he tells Maul it was to bring Coir his head Maul complies, agreeing that yes, the Devaronian will indeed have a head.
Stepping back to Coruscant we watch Palpatine in his guise as the avuncular senator of Naboo, guiding colleagues into decisions that benefit him (here by gaining support for a bill that will presumably weaken Chancellor Valorums leadership) and playing a communication from Coir, who we now know has dirt on Palpatine. We return to the moon as Coirs nerves continue to fray, and watch as the head of the Rodian Aro comes flying into the cantina. Suddenly the lights are cut and we see Maul enter, quickly cutting down the patrons, leaving only Coir alive. The Devaronian fires on Maul, which the Zabrak easily blocks, and holding him against a wall with the Force he asks why he is marked for death. Coir explains how he stumbled upon a secretive conversation down a dark Coruscant alley between Mas Amedda and a weequay pirate. Curious, he tailed Amedda all the way to the upper levels where he watched as the Chagrian then met with Senator Palpatine.
Coir offers to split the credits he believes his blackmail will earn him 60/40 with Maul, but uninterested, Maul turns as Coir pulls his blaster, and as Maul used the Force to crush the barrel we hear the voice of Palpatine through his sith seeker droid asking if he has carried out the mission yet. Without another word he turns and ignites his saber through the chest of Cion, ending him almost instantly.
Back on Coruscant, on the balcony where we first saw the two convene in Episode I, Palpatine commends Maul on his successful mission, then admonishes him again for questioning him, telling him he has much to still learn beforre handing him his next mission as we roll out of an excellent issue. Erica Schultz nails all characters here, giving Maul an understandable curiousity regarding the missions he is sent to do. He is dark side, he is sith, but he still wants to know ‘why’. Of course, from Sidious’ point of view, if he needed to know ‘why’ he would tell him, so the master and apprentice relationship is clearly fixed, but it adds just enough friction between the two to make his journey as an apprentice more than a simple case of blindly following every instruction. Leonard Kirk has been drawing evocative art for decades now, and in black, white and red it really pops, the shadows telling us as much as the colours.
Excellent work throughout, and while this has been dropped into the 2024 schedule to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace, a follow-up mini series somewhere down the line would be most welcome.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Pak, Greg (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 33 Pages - 07/31/2024 (Publication Date) - Marvel (Publisher)
