Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 1

"A part of The Clone Wars season 6 you never saw!"

- Publisher's summary excerpt

Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir 1 is the first issue of the comic series Star Wars: Darth Maul&mdash;Son of Dathomir. Within its pages, the once-Sith Lord Darth Maul is held captive by his former master, Darth Sidious, after being captured on Mandalore. He is rescued by his Death Watch followers from The Spire on Stygeon Prime, before rendezvousing with more of his forces on Zanbar. He is pursued by General Grievous and the Separatist Droid Army, under orders to weaken Maul's base of power in the hopes that he seeks out Mother Talzin so she can be drawn into the open and destroyed by the Sith. The two forces engage in a battle on Zanbar and each side suffers heavy losses, forcing Maul to flee and make contact with the Dathomir witch.

Son of Dathomir 1 was written by Jeremy Barlow and pencilled by Juan Frigeri. It was adapted from "The Enemy of My Enemy," 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 May 21, 2014 by Dark Horse Comics. Six pages of the issue had previously been released on May 3 as part of Free Comic Book Day.

Publisher's summary
''Getting cut in half by Obi-Wan Kenobi and being rejected by his former Sith master Darth Sidious isn't going to defeat Darth Maul. In fact, it only makes him mad enough to take on the galaxy&mdash;with an army of Mandalorians!''

A part of The Clone Wars season 6 you never saw!
 * Based on unaired episodes of The Clone Wars television series!

Plot summary
In the aftermath of Darth Maul's takeover on Mandalore, Maul is captured by Darth Sidious, his former Sith master. Sidious imprisons Maul in The Spire, a fortress controlled by the Confederacy of Independent Systems on Stygeon Prime. Sidious is followed by two Death Watch warriors, Rook Kast and Gar Saxon, who have orders from Mandalorian Prime Minister Almec to set Maul free. Once freed, Maul and the warriors are to rendezvous with Death Watch forces on Zanbar.

On Stygeon Prime, Sidious reveals that he still has use for Maul. The two are interrupted by Count Dooku, Sidious' current apprentice, whose arrival angers Maul; Maul views Dooku as a Sith pretender, one unworthy to the title. Sidious and Dooku leave Maul, as Sidious explains that he imprisoned his former apprentice to draw Mother Talzin, the Dathomir Witch, out of hiding so she can be destroyed. Sidious also reveals that he has a history with Talzin, who offered a young Maul to Sidious as a gift. Sidious orders Dooku to interrogate Maul and find out more information about the Shadow Collective, knowing that causing Maul to believe the Sith want to destroy his army will lead the former apprentice to seek out Talzin for help.

Meanwhile, Kast and Saxon arrive on Stygeon Prime and prepare to rescue their captive leader, who is being held on the seventh level of the fortress. Dooku proceeds to interrogate Maul, electrocuting him in an attempt to learn the names of Maul's associates and the location of his base of power. Maul, however, resists the Sith Lord, refusing to give up any information. Dooku leaves just before Death Watch sets off an explosion on the third level of the prison as a diversion, allowing them to enter the seventh level. Dooku sees through the charade, however, and commands his battle droids to pursue Death Watch. The two warriors reach Maul in time and blast out a wall of the interrogation cell, before making their way out of the fortress and down the mountain it sits upon via zipline. The three are able to escape the planet aboard a Mandalorian ship.

Separatist forces, led by General Grievous, pursue the ship on orders of Count Dooku. The Sith Lord makes it clear that Maul is not to be killed, only weakened. That way, he has enough reason to believe that the Sith wish to destroy his Shadow Collective and to seek out Mother Talzin for help. With Separatist forces in pursuit, Maul and the two warriors reach Zanbar. Maul speaks with Almec via hologram, where the Prime Minister says he ordered Maul's rescue as repayment for Maul freeing Almec from prison on Mandalore. Once again in command of his army, Maul reclaims his darksaber and tells the Mandalorians that the war they had been craving is at hand.

The Separatists arrive on the moon and launch all of their forces against Maul, knowing from experience that the Mandalorians will be a formidable enemy. Death Watch is overwhelmed by the droid soldiers, while Maul faces Grievous in single-combat. Death Watch is left in tatters, but Maul orders his gauntlet fighters to firebomb the area, destroying much of the Separatist force as a result. Maul escapes in the chaos and orders his surviving forces to retreat from Zanbar.

In the battle's aftermath, Grievous speaks to Dooku via hologram and tells the Sith Lord that Maul's army is on the run, at the cost of most of Grievous' forces. Dooku reminds the General that these are acceptable losses, as they further the plan to push Maul towards Mother Talzin. Grievous inquires as to why the witch would choose to reveal herself to Maul and asks what value Maul could hold to her, to which Dooku replies that Grievous will learn in good time.

Development
Son of Dathomir 1 was adapted from "The Enemy of My Enemy," 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)