And who's to say his looks are all that scary to a galaxy full of different species, and humans who are used to millions of different species. Would Maul look appreciably more frightening than a Wookie, a Gamorrean, a Noghri, or any of a thousand of other clawed, huge, carapaced, or otherwise formidable looking aliens? Excuse me if I doubt it.GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:A saber-thug with no officially existing identity is great for covertly killing people and raising hell while you're making your way up the political ladder. However, when it comes time for the apprentice to step onto the galactic stage and help you start a civil war, scary looks and fighting skills aren't of much use.
And who says he needs Dooku for the figurehead who will attract the support of the Trade Federation and other disaffected groups? Dooku was alble to fulfill that role, but it could also have been done by another, non Force-using individual with charisma and political skills who was loyal to Palpatine, or who, if need be, operated with Maul closely overseeing things from behind the throne, so to speak.GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:No, at that point you need an apprentice with an established reputation and political credibillity of his own. Someone like a charismatic maverick Jedi Master and nobleman, long known to disagree with the political establishment. And once you find him, you're not going to subject him to a duel with your fifty-years-younger thug, as if combat ability really decides who is more worthy. Palpatine isn't a Klingon.
See above. Even if Maul couldn't do the job (something we cannot take for granted, since we really saw very little of Maul, and don't know what else he might actually be capable of), he could easily oversee someone who can do these things.GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:Really, imagine Maul surviving Naboo, then coming home and managing to take out Dooku in a duel. What's Palpy gonna do? Send him on a political mission to gain the support of the Banking Clan with a rousing speech?
I see no evidence that this is necessarily the case.GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:If Maul had survived, Palpatine would have gotten rid of him one way or another. He had outlived his usefulness, and with the Rule of Two forcing him to choose, Palpy wasn't about to take him over someone as useful as Dooku.
True, but again, all you have is opinion that Maul had outlived his usefulness. I don't think the evidence bears this out. There is every appearance, in both the movie and the novelization (both canon), that Sideous sent Maul out in the full expectation that he could dispose of two Jedi - one of whom, after all, was merely a green apprentice. Sith, remember, tend to be individually more powerful than Jedi. For one thing, the Dark Side is a much quicker path to power, so a Sith advances far more quickly than a Jedi. Secondly, the Sith are far less restrained in their use of their powers. Thirdly, Sith appear to possess offensive skills that Jedi lack (e.g. Force lightning). And fourthly, Sith train in lightsaber dueling. I've read in many official sources that Jedi don't train in this very much, since after the Sith Wars they pretty much never face lightsaber wielding opponents. They train to fight people using blasters, and their swordsmanship skills are not as developed as those of the Sith, who train specifically to fight lightsaber wielding Jedi.GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:And as soon as Dooku outlives HIS usefulness and becomes a potential rival, I'm guessing we'll see him put away in favor of a certain headstrong young idiot. And when Vader becomes disloyal and not worth the effort, well, then it's supposed to be Luke's turn. See a pattern here? Palpatine's apprentices are just pawns, chosen for their utility and dropped with no great sentiment.
Sideous had every reason to believe Maul was powerful enough to take on a pair of Jedi and win, and in fact, he was very nearly correct. Maul was in control of the entire fight (until the last second when Obi Wan surprised him). He's never really hard pressed and in danger of losing, he never allows his two opponents to box him into a bad position, and he gives ground and holds them off until he maneuvers them into a perfect position to split them up so he can take them out seperately. His tactics are perfect. He does everything right for a single man facing two opponents, until at the very end, he relaxes his guard because he's got Obi Wan disarmed and thinks he's got him beaten, so he pauses to toy with him. That's the only reason he lost. He got overconfident and underestimated Obi Wan's resourcefulness, which allowed the Jedi to pull of a last second, unexpected victory. If Maul, instead of gloating, had immediately Force pushed Obi Wan off that stanchion (or whatever it was that he was holding, he would have beaten him without taking a scratch. I think that's exactly what Sideous was expecting to happen.
