Maul vs. Kenobi — An Exploration of a Character Defining Rivalry

From the moment the steel doors opened at the flying hangar in Naboo, to meeting as two battle weary and experienced old men all these years later on Tatooine, the rivalary between #ObiWanKenobi and #DarthMaul has become one of the most fascinating side-stories in the #StarWars Universe.

While it's not exactly the most consistent one (as the two only bumped into each other a few times in every decade or so), it did tend to leave lasting effects for both each time it happened. So, as we are about to witness what could possibly be their final encounter in the next episode of #StarWarsRebels called Twin Suns, let's take a look at the ones that led up to it and how it shaped these two fascinating characters.

Duel On Naboo: The Birth Of A Long Rivalary

What were the cirumstances of this encounter? As any Star Wars fan would know, the first time these two came into direct contact was during the battle of Naboo, where an epic three-way duel between Obi-Wan, his master Qui-Gon and Darth Maul took place. Resulting in the death of Qui-Gon and a devastating defeat for Maul, this encounter set both Maul and Obi-Wan on a path that would go to define them.

How did it affect both sides? For Obi-Wan, this first clash with Maul was essentially the ultimate coming of age moment. Entering the duel as a Jedi Padawan, he emerged from it as a soon to be Jedi Master, who had just sworn to his dying master to take up training the most gifted (and dangerous) student one could think of in #AnakinSkywalker — an idea he himself had been sceptical about before.

Furthermore, this whole duel was essentially a test of composure for Obi-Wan as he was able to overcome a fit of rage (and giving in to the dark side in the process), which overwhelmed him after after witnessing the death of Qui-Gon. On that note, seeing Qui-Gon lose to Maul also made him reevaluate his lightsaber technique to focus more on defence (a style known as Soresu), since he realised what can happen when you only rely on offence.

Now, what was a character building moment for Obi-Wan, could be viewed as a character deconstructing one for Maul (no pun intended). He entered the duel as a ferocious and over-confident soon to be Sith Lord, and exited it by falling into a reactor shaft after being cut in half by a Jedi Padawan just moments before. In fact, he only survived it thanks to grabbing on to an air vent, which lead to a trash container. Having failed his master (non other than #DarthSidious), all he had left was rage towards his fate and, of course, towards Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Re-Encounter On Raydonia: Reigniting The Flame

What were the circumstances of this encounter? More than a decade would pass until the two would meet again on planet Raydonia during the height of the #CloneWars. Now, fair to say that the paths, which were layed out for them by the events of Naboo, had been quite different.

As for Obi-Wan, he had certainly established himself in more ways than one. Considered among the most renowned Jedi Masters of his era, Kenobi was not only famous for his almost unparalleled mastery of the aforementioned Soresu lighsaber technique, but had also earned a rather fitting nickname — The Negotiator — due to often managing to avoid conflicts by non-violent and clever methods during the Clone Wars. Also, and perhaps more importantly, he had made a close friend and ally in Anakin, whom he had trained just like he had promised to Qui-Gon all these years ago.

Maul, on the other hand, had had a bit tougher time. After Naboo, his shattered body was dumped on the junkyard world of Lotho Minor, where he lived in exile and had his legs replaced by a strange six-legged apparatus. During this time, he was driven mad with rage and despair, but remained motivated by dreaming of his revenge against Kenobi. That lasted until he was brought back to sanity (well, by his standards at least) by a powerful cult called the Nightsisters and his brother Savage Opress. He was also given a pair of cybernetic legs by them.

With his strenght restored, Maul (along with Opress) set out to lure Kenobi towards him. He eventually succeeded and it all culminated with a duel on Raydonia between Obi-Wan, Maul, Opress and another Sith Assassin Assajj Ventress. It was one from which Obi-Wan just managed to escape in the end.

How did it affect both sides? For Obi-Wan, this encounter was essentially a disturbing part from his past coming back to haunt him — one he was determined to put to rest. To Maul, it was just a fuel for his rage towards Kenobi as he and Opress started wreaking havoc throughout the galaxy.

The Fight On Florrum: A Temporary Conclusion

What were the cirumstances of this encounter? Following their first re-encounter, it didn't take long for Maul and Kenobi to face off again. This time it was on planet Florrum in the middle of a pirate base to where Kenobi had traced Maul. The duel that ensued ended with a hollow victory for Obi-Wan (losing a fellow Jedi Master Adi Gallia) and another defeat for Maul who (along with Opress) barely escaped.

How did affect both sides? Now, while this encounter probably didn't change much for either of them in terms of their rivalary (or life in general), it did start a sequence of events that would see Maul finally have his revenge. Well, sort of.

Conflict On Mandalore: Maul's Revenge

What were the circumstances of this encounter? The last major clash these two had during the Clone Wars era was on planet Mandalore and, well, safe to say that both had been rather busy during the interviewing time.

For Obi-Wan, it largely revolved around various conflicts and adventures related to the Clone Wars. For Maul, however, busy is perhaps an understatement. To make a very long story short, through cunning, luck and sheer ruthlessness, Maul had been able to form his own little army (the Shadow Collective), overthrow the neutral government of Mandalore, become it's leader and imprison it's former ruler Duchess Satine Kryze.

Now, that last step was crucial, since Maul had found out about Obi-Wan's and Satine's rather close friendship. Therefore, she became the perfect bait and, as expected, Obi-Wan did come to Satine's aid, which ended in his capture by Maul. It was actually at this point where the two finally had a longer conversation. During it, Maul taunted Obi-Wan to give in to the dark side and threatened to kill Satine. Obi-Wan, however, had none of it and just expressed his belief that it had not been Maul's decision to join the dark side, but rather it was forced upon him. Strucking a nerve, Maul killed Satine and ordered Obi-Wan to be taken to prison and contemplate his loss (from where he escaped shortly after).

How did it affect both sides? Obi-Wan had lost someone for whom he would have been willing to leave the Jedi Order at some point. Yet, as an excellent example of this aforementioned composure, even following this heartbreaking event, he never became obsessed with getting back at Maul. For Maul, it simply eased his obsession with Kenobi (at least temporarily) as his new place of power made him firmly shift his focus towards more ambitious goals.

Events Leading Up To Their Meeting On Tatooine

Fair to say that things didn't go too well for either side following their last major encounter during the Clone Wars with both being forced into exile shortly after. Albeit, under very different circumstances.

As any fan would know, Obi-Wan became one of the sole survivors of the Great Jedi Purge (Order 66) and was forced to cut down his former friend and apprentice, whom he had vowed to train following his first encounter with Maul all these years ago. That of course lead him to his exile on Tatooine to watch over #LukeSkywalker and learn the secrets of becoming one with the Force from Qui-Gon's force ghost.

Come to think of it, Maul too finally met his old master again. However, let's just say that Sidious was not too happy to see him alive. It was something, which became rather apparent when he killed Opress with Maul barely escaping the wrath of the soon to be Emperor. From there, it really just proceeded to go downhill for Maul with him losing Mandalore, thus forcing him to go into hiding once again (at least this time he could pass his time not only raging towards Obi-Wan and the Jedi, but also the Sith).

Many years went by until he finally emerged from the shadows. This time, it was with the goal of learning ancient Sith knowledge from the artefact know as the Sith holocron. It was during this search, when he came into contact with a highly talented Force user named Ezra Bridger. That gave Maul his new obsession with taking Ezra under his wing and using his help to explore the powers within the holocron.

Now, although he didn't exactly succeed with that goal, the holocron did provide him with a vision of a planet with twin suns and the location of a certain old acquaintance residing there.

To Sum Up

Even if a part of me wishes that it wasn't the case, having a long-standing enemy or a rival can be a good thing, since encounters with them can often be among our most character defining. Maul and Obi-Wan have certainly had this effect on each other and I can't be more excited to see how it concludes.