One of the most popular Sith Lords we’ve seen during the events of the Skywalker Saga was Darth Maul, introduced as one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Of course, we learned in Star Wars: Clone Wars that Maul survived the first movie’s events and had a bigger role in the Clone Wars series, which featured some of his history and past. He even worked with the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters during the events of the Clone Wars. So, is Darth Maul a Nightbrother?
Darth Maul was born a Nightbrother to Mother Talzin, the leader of the Nightsisters on the planet of Dathomir. However, he was offered to Darth Sidious at a very young age so that he would be trained to be a Sith in exchange for Mother Talzin to become the Sith Lord’s apprentice.
The childhood of Darth Maul is quite sad as he was merely the victim of the insidious machinations of Darth Sidious. In that regard, his past is quite interesting for those who want to learn more about him and his status as a Nightbrother. Now, let’s look deeper into Maul’s past and life as a Nightbrother before he became a Sith Lord.
What Is a Nightbrother?
Throughout the storyline of the Skywalker Saga in Star Wars, one of the characters that fans were quick to love was Darth Maul, a dark lord of the Sith and was the apprentice of Darth Sidious during the events of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. But the thing about Darth Maul is that, as unique as he may be, he isn’t one of a kind.
That’s because other characters belong to the same race as Darth Maul belongs to. Of course, we know that Maul is a Dathomiran Zabrak, but other types of Dathomiran Zabraks can be found in Star Wars. Some of the more prominent Zabraks are the Nightbrothers. So, what exactly are Nightbrothers?
Not all Dathomiran Zabraks are Nightbrothers because the only ones that can be called as such are those in service of the Nightsisters in Dathomir. These Zabraks are subservient to Lady Talzin, who we know is the leader of the Nightsisters. And due to their innate strength and skills as fighters, the Nightbrothers are the “muscle” of the Nightsisters, who specialize more in areas like stealth and magick.
The Nightbrothers, however, originated from their planet before they found themselves on Dathomir after a group of them were exiled from their homeworld. In that regard, they bonded with the Nightsisters, who quickly subjugated them. And the Nightsisters were able to place the Nightbrothers under their control because Mother Talzin and the rest of the Nightsisters used the Nightbrothers’ anger toward the Republic against them.
All 11 ‘Star Wars’ Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
After Count Dooku slaughtered the Nightsisters and Mother Talzin, the Nightbrothers became a scattered people that the fallen Jedi Master Taron Malicos were able to be to his will when he decided to stay in Dathomir years following the fall of the Jedi Order.
Is Maul a Nightbrother?
Of course, the Nightbrothers not only bonded with the Nightsisters but most likely mated with them as well. That is why there were Dathomiran Zabraks that were born to the Nightsisters of Dathomir. The most prominent of them all was Maul, who was born in 54 BBY to Mother Talzin. As such, the fact that Maul was born to the leader of the Nightsisters made him a Nightbrother.
Despite being a Nightbrother, Maul was given preferential treatment by Talzin due to his status as her son. However, he was forced to live with the other Nightbrothers instead of the Nightsisters during his youth, as the Nightbrothers were still second-class citizens on Dathomir. Maul grew up with other Nightbrothers whom he treated as blood brothers, and one of them was Savage Opress, who became a Sith Assassin serving under Count Dooku during the Clone Wars.
How Did Maul Become a Sith?
The reason Maul eventually came under the service of Darth Sidious as his apprentice was due to the manipulative nature of the dark lord of the Sith. At that time, Maul was known by a different name he had already forgotten. But the thing is that Sidious used his relationship with Mother Talzin to his advantage in turning Maul into a fierce warrior.
Maul was already strong with the Force during his youth because his mother was trained in Force magicks. That meant that Sidious, who frequently visited Dathomir to trade secrets and techniques with Mother Talzin, had already noticed that Maul was powerful. And because Talzin wanted to be the one to train under Sidious as his apprentice, the Sith Lord ordered her to keep Maul under the watch of another Nightbrother, who threw him into a pit.
While living in a pit, Maul was forced to live under harsh conditions as he was frequently abused and beaten by the other Nightbrothers. He was also forced to live on scraps that were leftovers of the other Nightbrothers. As such, this made him angrier, as that was what Sidious wanted to happen.
Darth Vader vs. Darth Maul: Which Sith Lord Would Win
One day, Maul overheard that Sidious would visit Dathomir to choose a champion among the Nightbrothers. The young Maul realized that this was his only way to get revenge on the dark lord of the Sith, as he broke out of his pit using the dark side of the Force and ended up Force-choking those who were responsible for abusing him.
Impressed by the rage and power that Maul displayed in front of him, Darth Sidious chose him as his next apprentice, to the dismay of Mother Talzin, who wanted to be the one to serve him as an apprentice. As such, the dark lord’s plan of turning Maul into an angry agent of the dark side worked, indicating how great of a manipulator he was.
It is possible that Maul’s innate rage and temperament as a beast seemingly on the loose was why Darth Sidious gave him the “Maul” nickname when he became a Sith Lord. In that regard, this Nightbrother was the first among his kind to serve the Sith, as we all know that Savage Opress eventually joined his blood brother as a dark side user during the events of the Clone Wars.
