Star Wars: Shadow of Maul (2026) #1
BROKEN LAW
Janix, a bustling Mid Rim metropolis, is home to some of the most unsavory characters the galaxy has to offer.
As the captain of the local Tactical Defense Force, Brander Lawson is trying to keep them all in check.
But on these neon-lit streets, a new threat is always just lurking around the corner….
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Colorist: Luis Guerrero
Cover artist: Derrick Chew
Editor: Mark Pannicia
Publication date: March 4 2026
Long time readers of Darth Maul comic book adventures will feel very much at home with Marvel’s new series Shadow of Maul, taking place as it does within the realms of the underworld on the Mid Rim metropolis of Janix. With the underworld a place Maul often frequented as he trained as the apprentice of Darth Sidious, this series from writer Benjamin Percy and artist Madibek Musabekov sets the stage for the events of the upcoming Disney Plus animated series Maul: Shadow Lord, introducing the partnership of renegade cop Captain Brander Lawson and his droid partner Two-Boots.
We open as Lawson is being questioned by internal investigations, his evening interrupted as the officer asks about one dead and a missing cop. Lawson is clearly annoyed, not ready to scrape and bow to a ‘superior’ as we step back a week to the streets of Janix and Lawson as he approaches a members only club, a towering droid telling him it’s invite only. He quickly dodges that problem with an inhibitor that fritzes the droid, and he’s quickly inside talking to the bar staff, while also communicating with an unseen person on his com. He orders a Corellian whiskey from the hulking dowutin bartender, who asks if he’s there to make a bid, and we learn that there are three poisonous creatures available for sale – but quickly the drink turns sour as Lawson learns not only has he been rumbled, but the drink has a deadly toxin mixed in. He calls for backup as he pulls his blaster, but the dowutin swipes it from his hand, and as it appears that he’s about to be smited, a blaster bolt slows him down – Two-Boots has arrived.
Any hopes of the dowutin coming peacefully are smashed as the alien hurls a hammer at the glass wall behind the droid, and an enormous snake-like creature bursts out, and quickly the creature attacks as the dowutin grabs Two-Boots. Meanwhile, Lawson is flagging, the toxin taking affects as another creature, this time a spider-like monster lurches forward. Two-Boots managed to throw the bartender behind the bar for a moment as the spider spools him up in its silk, and we see Lawson fire off a final bolt at the spider before he passes out.
We cut to later back at Police HQ as Lawson and Two-Boots are sttod in front of their boss, Chief Clyce, who’s annoyed that their quarry got away leaving behind zero evidence. Only the quick thinking of the droid calling for back up saved them and tells her he believes there’s a mole. She however is having none of it, telling him he serves the city and partnering him up with three new faces – Hendrix, Jam Jam and Fraximoor – who are now part of his squad.
We return to the ‘now’ as the interogation continues, Lawson telling internal investigations that the red arm of Hendrix was similar to one he had seen in the illegal bar, and he admits to being somewhat resentful when the squad was assigned to him. He holds that the department is corrupt, and we step back to a police briefing as Lawson tells his squad to concentrate their efforts on the syndicates, and we cut to a warehouse at night, Jam Jam alone and nervous, and for good reason as a thermal detonator flies towards him and explodes. Hendrix pulls his weapon, ordering the hidden person to come out of the shadows, telling them how the criminal Deems asked him to bring them in alive. However, the hidden person was Two-Boots, who takes down Hendrix as Lawson finds Jam Jam, winded and in need of medical attention but alive.
Two-Boots arrives with an unconscious Hendrix, both relieved that Jam Jam is ok and their culprit captured, but suddenly the window explodes and Hendrix is hit by a blaster bolt and killed, and we’re back in the now at Police HQ as Lawson asks where Fraximoor is and internal investigations tries – and fails – to pull rank on Lawson as he stands to leave, his case waiting for him and not willing to divulge secret information, warning him if he gets in his way again there’ll be trouble.
We round off the issue away from Janix in the Cina system, as a starship captain talks to an unseen character, telling him the ship is loasded and ready to depart, but the night ends badly for him as a red blade ignites, telling him he’ll take the ship but not its captain, and striking him down we see on the final page the hooded figure of Maul, ready to set out for Janix…
With striking art from Musabekov and a fast-moving plot and script by Percy this not only sets the stall for the tough and uncompromising Brander Lawson, but also to give us a sense of what the world of Janix is all about. Impressively designed and clearly well thought out, Janix is the backdrop of Shadow Lord, and here it’s the perfect canvas for this gritty adventure. We’ve got a new underworld haven in the Mid Rim (always a great location to strike out from in stories), a very Andor-ish Morlana One – meets – Daiyu vibe to the setting, and a very solid start indeed.
