Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #4
When Star Wars fans think about podracing, Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba are likely the first racers to come to mind (though real ones also think of Ben Quadinaros). An extremely fast and dangerous sport, podracing first debuted in The Phantom Menace with the Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine, a race won by Skywalker thanks to his fast reflexes. However, Star Wars has just revealed that a very surprising character also has some secret podracing skills: Darth Maul.
In Marvel’s brand-new and canonical Shadow of Maul #4 by Benjamin Percy and Madibek Musbekov, set before the events of Maul – Shadow Lord, it’s revealed that the former Sith Lord not only has experience with podracing, but technically owned a pretty incredible pod of his own between the prequel and original trilogies, right as he was beginning to rebuild his criminal empire during the “Dark Times”.
Before Shadow Lord, Maul Piloted His Own Podracer On Janix
Marvel’s Shadow of Maul #4 takes readers to the Outer Rim world of Janix, where a brutal podracing event known as the Star Gauntlet is underway before the events of Maul’s recent Shadow Lord animated series. Featuring Captain Brander Lawson and his droid partner Two-Boots, the Janix detective gradually discovers that a much darker game is being played behind the scenes.
The Star Guantlet’s deadliest racer is Tor Braxis, a notoriously violent competitor sponsored by crime boss Nico Deemis. Secondly, it’s eventually revealed that Braxis also accepted money from rival crime lord Looti Vario to intentionally throw the race before reaching the first checkpoint. Thirdly, Braxis was also hired by Maul (who recently arrived on Janix) to steal 100 million credits from Janix’s largest casino, crashing into multiple racers and using the resulting chaos to secretly maneuver his pod underneath the facility.
A Long Time Ago · In a Galaxy Far, Far Away The Sith Trivia Challenge
Dark LordsUnlimited power
PowerForce lightning
LoreHolocrons
BetrayalAlways two
LegacyThe dark side
01
The Sith operate under a strict doctrine that limits their number to prevent infighting and self-destruction. This ancient code dictates that there can only be a master and an apprentice — no more, no less. What is this fundamental Sith principle called?
✓ Correct! The Rule of Two states “Always two there are — no more, no less. A master and an apprentice.” As Yoda himself observed, this principle ensured the Sith could operate in secret for a millennium while plotting the downfall of the Jedi Order.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is the Rule of Two. While the Sith Code exists separately as their philosophical creed, the Rule of Two is the specific doctrine limiting Sith to a master-apprentice pair. It allowed them to hide in the shadows for a thousand years.
02
The most powerful Sith Lord in the saga hid in plain sight as a seemingly benevolent politician, secretly manipulating the Clone Wars from both sides. He orchestrated the fall of the Republic and the destruction of the Jedi Order. Who is this ultimate Sith Master?
✓ Correct! Darth Sidious, publicly known as Senator and later Emperor Palpatine, is the mastermind behind everything. He engineered the Clone Wars, executed Order 66, turned Anakin Skywalker to the dark side, and ruled the galaxy as Emperor for over two decades. Ian McDiarmid’s portrayal is iconic.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Sidious, also known as Emperor Palpatine. Darth Vader was his apprentice, Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku) was a pawn, and Darth Plagueis was his former master. Sidious was the puppet master who destroyed the Republic from within.
03
Once the most promising Jedi Knight in the Order, this Chosen One was seduced to the dark side by Palpatine’s promise of saving his wife from death. After his devastating duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Mustafar, he was rebuilt in a black life-support suit. Which Sith Lord is this?
✓ Correct! Darth Vader, born Anakin Skywalker, is the tragic heart of the Star Wars saga. His fall from heroic Jedi to Sith enforcer — and his ultimate redemption when he saves his son Luke by destroying the Emperor — is one of cinema’s greatest character arcs.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Vader. Darth Maul was Sidious’s first apprentice, Darth Revan is from the Old Republic era, and Darth Bane created the Rule of Two. Only Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader after his fall on Mustafar.
04
This fearsome, red-and-black-tattooed Zabrak wielded a double-bladed lightsaber and killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace. Though cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi, he survived through sheer hatred and returned with mechanical legs. Who is this relentless Sith assassin?
✓ Correct! Darth Maul was Palpatine’s first known apprentice, a weapon of pure rage trained from childhood. His survival after being bisected — fueled entirely by hatred for Obi-Wan — led to his expanded story in The Clone Wars and Rebels, where he became one of Star Wars’ most compelling villains.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Maul. Savage Opress was Maul’s brother, Asajj Ventress was Dooku’s dark side assassin, and the Grand Inquisitor served the Empire. Only Maul wielded the iconic double-bladed saber and killed Qui-Gon Jinn in that legendary duel.
05
This elegant former Jedi Master left the Order and became Sidious’s second apprentice, taking the Sith name Darth Tyranus. A master of Form II lightsaber combat with a curved-hilt saber, he led the Separatist movement. Played by Christopher Lee, who is this aristocratic Sith Lord?
✓ Correct! Count Dooku, Darth Tyranus, was the political face of the Separatist movement and a pawn in Sidious’s grand plan. A former student of Yoda himself, Dooku’s elegant fencing style and aristocratic demeanor made him unique among the Sith. Palpatine ordered Anakin to execute him in Revenge of the Sith.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus. Mace Windu was a Jedi Master, Qui-Gon was Obi-Wan’s master killed by Maul, and General Grievous was a cyborg commander but not Force-sensitive. Dooku was the fallen Jedi who became Sidious’s Sith apprentice.
06
Approximately a thousand years before the events of the saga, one ancient Sith Lord recognized that the Sith kept destroying themselves through infighting. He wiped out the existing Sith Order and established the Rule of Two, ensuring the dark side would be passed from master to apprentice in secret. Who created this doctrine?
✓ Correct! Darth Bane, who appeared as a Force ghost in The Clone Wars, was the visionary who realized the Sith’s numbers were their weakness. By limiting them to two, he ensured each generation would be stronger than the last — a chain that ultimately led to Palpatine’s galaxy-conquering scheme a millennium later.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Bane. Darth Revan was a legendary Sith from the Old Republic, Darth Nihilus consumed entire planets through the Force, and Darth Malgus led the Sith Empire. But it was Bane who created the Rule of Two that shaped all Sith to follow.
07
In the sequel trilogy, the grandson of Darth Vader was seduced to the dark side by Supreme Leader Snoke. He wielded an unstable, crossguard lightsaber with a cracked kyber crystal and killed his own father, Han Solo, in The Force Awakens. Who is this conflicted dark side warrior?
✓ Correct! Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo to Han Solo and Leia Organa, was torn between the light and dark throughout the sequel trilogy. His worship of his grandfather Vader’s legacy and his crackling crossguard saber made him visually iconic. Like Vader before him, he ultimately found redemption, sacrificing himself to save Rey.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Kylo Ren, born Ben Solo. Snoke was his dark side mentor (later revealed as a Palpatine puppet), General Hux was a First Order officer, and Darth Revan existed thousands of years earlier. Kylo Ren carried the Skywalker bloodline’s burden into the sequel era.
08
In one of the saga’s most chilling scenes, Palpatine tells Anakin the “Tragedy” of a Sith Lord so powerful he could use the Force to influence midi-chlorians to create life and prevent death. His apprentice killed him in his sleep. Who is this legendary Sith whose tale tempted Anakin to the dark side?
✓ Correct! “Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?” is one of the most meme-worthy and narratively crucial lines in Star Wars. Plagueis was Palpatine’s own master, and the irony is thick — Palpatine tells Anakin the story as bait, having murdered Plagueis himself. It’s not a story the Jedi would tell you.
✗ Your lack of faith is disturbing! The answer is Darth Plagueis the Wise. Darth Bane created the Rule of Two centuries earlier, Darth Vitiate ruled the Old Republic Sith Empire, and Darth Sion was sustained by pain. Plagueis could cheat death itself — ironic, since he couldn’t save himself from his own apprentice, Palpatine.
Trial Complete Your Dark Side Record
/ 8
Are you a Sith Lord — or just another youngling?
However, Maul naturally betrays and decapitates Braxis once the racer served his purpose. Claiming the fortune to fund his future operations on Janix, Maul also takes Braxis’ pod, escaping the scene in his very own podracer before Janix authorities arrive, leaving Lawson with no clue as to who this mysterious third party was.
All things considered, Maul’s brand-new pod is remarkably fitting for the former Sith lord, a massive black single-engine racer that looks more like a deadly battering ram than anything else.
While it would have been fun to see the vehicle appear in the animated Shadow Lord series and its various speeder chases, it was likely far too conspicuous for Maul and his agents to use in the shadows and bowels of Janix. Even so, it’s pretty cool that Darth Maul canonically had a secret podracer, however briefly.
Technically, Darth Maul Has Been A Secret Podracer For 24 Years
As surprising as this reveal may seem, longtime Star Wars gamers may recognize that Maul’s connection to podracing goes back much further than this new comic. Back in 2002’s Star Wars: Racer Revenge, Darth Maul was a secret unlockable racer with a custom pod inspired by his Sith Infiltrator seen in The Phantom Menace.
Although the classic game exists outside the modern canon, it’s pretty funny that Star Wars has now canonized Maul’s podracing skills more than two decades later in the new Shadow of Maul #4. It’s also just fun, plain and simple. After all, the Star Wars franchise is at its best when it finds new ways to flesh out familiar characters with brand-new stories. To that end, Darth Maul technically having his very own podracer in the official Star Wars canon is exactly the kind of bizarre lore expansion I love to see.
Shadow of Maul #4 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
