Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 2

"Maul is ready again to take on the Separatist droid army, Count Dooku, and General Grievous&mdash;in a trio of simultaneous battles!"

- Publisher's summary excerpt

Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir 2 is the second issue of the comic series Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir. Within its pages, the once-Sith Lord Darth Maul continues his quest for vengeance against his former Sith master, Sheev Palpatine, and the new Sith apprentice: Count Dooku. Following his defeat on Zanbar, Maul contacts Mother Talzin, who recognizes that the Sith are attempting to destroy her by luring her into the open. On Talzin's orders, Maul and his Shadow Collective put a plan into motion to capture Dooku and Separatist General Grievous. Maul successfully lures the two Separatist leaders into a trap on Ord Mantell and captures them, hoping it will force Darth Sidious into the fight.

Son of Dathomir 2 was written by Jeremy Barlow and pencilled by Juan Frigeri. It was adapted from "A Tale of Two Apprentices," an episode that was scripted by Aïda Mashaka Croal and Matt Michnovetz for what would have been the sixth season of the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, had the show not been cancelled. Because it is based on a script from the series, which was produced by George Lucas, it is part of the official Star Wars canon. The 40-page issue was published on June 18, 2014 by Dark Horse Comics.

Publisher's summary
"With his Shadow Collective army stalled, Darth Maul calls on Mother Talzin for help and is sent reinforcements&mdash;the deadly Nightbrothers! Maul is ready again to take on the Separatist droid army, Count Dooku, and General Grievous&mdash;in a trio of simultaneous battles!"

Plot summary
In the aftermath of his defeat on Zanbar at the hands of General Grievous, Darth Maul has fled back into space, where he contacts Mother Talzin for guidance&mdash;just as Darth Sidious and Count Dooku intended him to do, hoping to lure Talzin into a trap. Talzin speaks to Maul from across space using Nightsister magic, as Maul tells her what happened on Zanbar. Talzin has anticipated that Sidious wants to lure her into a trap, so she sends Maul to Ord Mantell to regroup with his Black Sun allies. She tells Maul to gather his forces for another battle with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, so they can capture Dooku and Grievous, though she herself does not intend to be on Ord Mantell.

Upon arrival on Ord Mantell, Maul speaks with his allies in his Shadow Collective, namely Ziton Moj of Black Sun and Fife of the Pyke Syndicate, to inform them that a battle between them and the Separatists will take place on Ord Mantell. Maul expresses his confidence that they can defeat the Separatist battle droids and trap both Dooku and Grievous. Meanwhile, Dooku and Grievous prepare their own strategy while making their way to Ord Mantell, and Dooku informs the cyborg general that Talzin and Darth Sidious were once allies.

On Ord Mantell, Maul and his allies plan for their attack against the Separatists. The plan is to lure them into a specific point in the Black Sun-controlled territory, where the Mandalorians, Black Sun, and Pykes will engage in a counterattack against the invading droids. As they continue to prepare for battle, a team of Nightbrother warriors, led by Brother Viscus, arrives after having been sent by Mother Talzin to reinforce Maul's army. As Maul greets the Nightbrothers, the Separatists arrive in orbit and begin their attack, using their fleet to bombard the surface of Ord Mantell. Maul immediately orders his forces to begin carrying out their assault, while the Nightbrothers are to wait in the command center for instructions.

The Separatists deploy their droid forces on the surface, where they are met in battle by the limited but powerful number of Shadow Collective troops&mdash;Mandalorian, Pyke, and Black Sun alike. Meanwhile, Count Dooku arrives with a number of droid guards, while Maul leaves the surface and makes his way to the Separatist fleet. He and his Mandalorian warships attack the command ship, as Grievous realizes the Separatists have been lured into a trap. On the surface, Dooku is confronted by the Nightbrothers, and a duel ensues between the Sith Lord and the Dathomirian warriors.

The droid army continues its advance on the city, where Moj and Fife both begin to question Maul's plan while the droids cut through the Shadow Collective forces. As the droids arrive on their position and take the forces into custody, Maul continues his assault in space. His vessel attaches to the hull of the Separatist command vessel, as Maul and his forces board the ship and make their way to the bridge. Once there, the forces take out the battle droids, while Maul captures General Grievous and gives him a choice: disable the signal powering the droids on the surface, or die. Grievous disables the signal, shutting down the droids and allowing the captured Shadow Collective forces on the surface to escape from custody and cut the droids down. Dooku, meanwhile, defeats Viscus and the Nightbrothers, but is taken into custody by the Shadow Collective.

From the Separatist command ship, Maul contacts Mother Talzin to tell her what has happened. She promises that with Dooku and Grievous in custody, Sidious will soon be captured as well and they will both find revenge against him.

Development
Son of Dathomir 2 was adapted from "A Tale of Two Apprentices," an episode that Aïda Mashaka Croal and Matt Michnovetz scripted for what would have been the sixth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Collections

 * Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir (TPB)