Darth Maul began life as one of the Nightbrothers on Dathomir. Darth Sidious brutally trained his apprentice to be a weapon of the Sith as well as a scheming mastermind. A relentless and acrobatic warrior with an extremely dangerous double-ended lightsaber, Maul longed for revenge against the Jedi, to destroy the Order and restore power to the Sith. Defeated at the Battle of Naboo, Maul disappeared from the galaxy for over a decade before reemerging as a new threat during the Clone Wars.
Darth Maul was Darth Sidious' apprentice. Sidious' master plan of conquest in the galaxy relied upon Maul's prowess and combat abilities. But Maul, too, was a capable strategist who embarked on his own diabolical plot upon his resurrection.
Obi-Wan Kenobi battled Darth Maul in the heart of the Theed Royal Palace as the Battle of Naboo unfolded. Kenobi was nearly bested by Maul, but he struck back with a lightsaber blow that cut the Sith Lord in two. When Maul returned during the Clone Wars, he made vengeance against Kenobi a priority.
Qui-Gon Jinn is the first Jedi Master to have crossed blades with a Sith Lord in centuries—and survive. Jinn was ambushed by Maul while departing Tatooine, and escaped to tell the Jedi Council that the Sith had returned. Maul later killed Jinn during the Battle of Naboo.
Maul hails from the Nightbrothers of Dathomir, a bloodline that included brothers Feral and Savage Opress. Opress was in training to become a Sith apprentice to Count Dooku, but his loyalty remained with the Nightsisters. Savage was tasked by Mother Talzin to find Maul and became apprenticed to his brother.
Mother Talzin was responsible for the creation of Savage Opress as a dark side warrior. When Opress left Count Dooku's side, Talzin gave him a new task: She claimed that Darth Maul was still alive, living in exile in the Outer Rim, and that Savage had to seek him out. Once Savage returned with Maul, Talzin used her dark magic to restore his mind and body.
For over a decade after the Battle of Naboo, Maul lived in hiding in the depths of Lotho Minor, a junk planet. Maul's mind was shattered by his defeat. His driving desire to cling to life caused Maul to rebuild himself as an arachnid abomination, who scurried about in madness within the garbage caves of the rotten planet.
Maul survived with the help of Morley, a scheming Anacondan who lured the unwary into Maul's cave where they would be killed and eaten by the insane dark warrior.