Maw (Dark Jedi)

"To the one called Maw: a bitter individual that loathes all and holds loyalty to few. A strong and formidable foe. For every quart of muscle, there is hatred. It is this hate that keeps his aging body strong."

- Qu Rahn as a Force ghost, to Kyle Katarn

Maw was one of the seven Dark Jedi that Kyle Katarn faced and defeated in his quest to protect the Valley of the Jedi.

Biography
Maw was short-tempered, and tended to go berserk when facing too much pressure. Relying on strength and aggression rather than technique, Maw tended not to block opponents' attacks, though his defenses were almost impenetrable when he did block.

Maw was an arrogant Jedi Shadow over 70 years old at the time of the Great Jedi Purge, during which he was on a mission in deep space. He was listed as being still at large in the early days of the Galactic Empire, but was tracked down by Inquisitor Jerec, who turned him to the dark side. Maw then helped Jerec kill his fellow Jedi Shadows. During the following years Maw gathered a small army of Grave Tuskens and used them to loot Jedi burial sites.

In a duel with Jedi Master Qu Rahn, Maw was severely injured, losing both of his legs; he stayed alive only by a force of will aided by his anger. Maw replaced his lower body with a repulsorlift carriage to preserve mobility, but he soon learned to rely only on the dark side by mastering the art of Force flight. Flying became second nature, enabling him to appropriate the Trispzest style of lightsaber combat and thereby use a devastating spinning lightsaber attack.

Maw was one of the six Dark Jedi, along with Yun, Sariss, Boc, Gorc, and Pic, that accompanied Jerec on his quest to find the Valley of the Jedi.



Anger and hate might have been Maw's greatest strengths, but in the end they proved to be his greatest weaknesses, too. In a fierce duel with self-taught Jedi Kyle Katarn, Maw went berserk when Kyle taunted him with remarks about how Rahn had cut him in half (Kyle had learned this information from Rahn's Force ghost). Enraged, Maw charged Kyle, who evaded the powerful, but sloppy attack, and injured Maw severely with a cunning counterattack. Having been defeated by Kyle, Maw taunted him with detailed remarks about his father's death. Kyle Katarn responded by giving in to his anger and killing the injured, immobilized, and unarmed Maw. This brought Katarn closer to the dark side.

Behind the scenes



 * Maw was portrayed by actor Morgan Hunter in the filmed sequences that appear between levels.
 * Maw is mistakenly depicted without legs in the Jedi Knight novel in scenes that occur before the game. Maw's legs are actually cut off by Rahn in the prologue of the game.

Appearances

 * Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241
 * Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire
 * Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
 * Dark Forces: Jedi Knight
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II