Darth Maul vs. General Grievous

## Description

*These ruthless Sith enforcers were Obi-Wan Kenobi's greatest challenges, but who will survive when they duel one another for supremacy?*

## Interlude

Hiro: Whatever one's thoughts might be on the prequel era of Star Wars, one thing that cannot be denied is that it gave us some intimidating and formidable villains, such as these two cybernetic rivals of one Obi-Wan Kenobi.

**MBStarscream: Darth Maul, the Dathomirian Zabrak Sith Assassin and first apprentice of Darth Sidious.**

Hiro: And General Grievous, the Jedi-killing commander of the CIS Droid Army. I'm Hiro Hamada.

**MBStarscream: I'm MBStarscream.**

Hiro: And it's our job to examine both warriors' strength, abilities, weapons, and weaknesses to see who would win in a fight.

## Darth Maul

Hiro: During the era of the Galactic Republic, Maul was born on the planet Dathomire not knowing that the Sith Lord Darth Sidious would eventually come for him, having seen great potential in the young Zabrak. Anointing his new apprentice Darth Maul, Sidious raised him to despise the Jedi Knights.

**MBStarscream: In 32 BBY, Maul was ordered by his master to capture Queen Amidala of Naboo so that she could sign a treaty that would legalize the Trade Federation's invasion of the planet. He later dueled Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and, while he manages to kill the former, was bisected by the latter and felt down a shaft to his seeming death.**

Hiro: Following this defeat, Maul was driven to insanity and became a cyborg, but was eventually rescued by his brother Savage Opress years later, during the Clone Wars, and returned to the Nightsisters, who outfitted him with a new pair of robotic legs and restored his sanity. During his quest of revenge against Obi-Wan, Maul formed the Shadow Collective alongside several crime syndicates, and took over Mandalore.

**MBStarscream: While he succeeded in delivering a major emotional blow against Obi-Wan by killing his love interest, Satine Kryze, he lost everything when Sidious, who came to see him as a rival, captured him and killed all his relatives. After escaping and rebuilding the Shadow Collective, he returned to Mandalore and set up a trap for Obi-Wan and Anakin Skywalker, intending to kill the latter before Sidious could turn him to the dark side. However, Maul was captured by Ahsoka Tano and barely escaped when Sidious issued Order 66.**

Hiro: Rejecting his Sith title, Maul maintained his position as a crime lord throughout the Imperial Era, until being stranded on the Sith world of Malachor for years. He escaped after meeting Ezra Bridger, whom he attempted to turn to the dark side and later forced to assist in locating Obi-Wan. Upon tracking him down to Tatooine, Maul battled his old enemy one last time, resulting in the former Sith Lord's death. In his final moments, Maul let go of his hatred for Obi-Wan, and died knowing that the boy he was protecting would eventually avenge them by destroying the Sith.

**MBStarscream: Kinda ironic that Maul believed Luke Skywalker would destroy the Sith and avenge him, when the one who would end up doing so was none other than one of his replacements as Sidious' apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, the boy that Qui-Gon Jinn protected from him years ago.**

Hiro: Maul was one of the most powerful Force-users of his time. Notably, his powers in the Dark Side of the Force was also augmented after his injuries; due to his extreme hatred for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Additionally, even Darth Sidious considered Maul a dangerous rival.

**MBStarscream: Maul can do all kinds of things with telekinesis, like sending foes flying with Force Push, unleashing a wave of pure Force-energy with Force Wave, pulling opponents or objects towards him with Force Pull, choke people with, uh, Force Choke, and throw you around with Force Throw.**

Hiro: Force Grip lets Maul lift his opponents off the ground and into the air, sometimes by the neck, to immobilize them. When focusing his rage, he was able to telekinetically grab and suspend opponents without even looking at them or exerting much concentration on them to maintain the effect, as he did when holding Satine Kryze in the air by the neck. With Force Crush, Maul can crush objects or droids with ease, and he can also telekinetically guide his lightsaber towards his opponent like a shuriken.

**MBStarscream: Maul can utilize Force Deflection to redirect incoming attacks, such as blaster bolts, with or without his lightsaber, though it was difficult to do so. He notably was able to telekinetically direct blasterfire away from himself during the time of Order 66, when the power of the Dark Side became more dominant over the galaxy.**

Hiro: Maul was also skilled in telepathy, specifically the mind probe technique, as shown when he used the power on Hera to find the location of Kanan Jarrus's Jedi holocron and his true identity; he had even succeeded in using the technique on Obi-Wan Kenobi prior to their final duel, discovering the existence of Luke Skywalker. It is not improbable that he employed it on Ahsoka Tano, learning much about her past, and it was likely that he probed the minds of the Inquisitors to decipher their intentions and the name of their master.

**MBStarscream: Maul was also familiar with the magick practices of the Nightsisters, including a scrying spell which involved two people sharing a potion of magical ichor. He was able to manipulate the Force-bond he gained with Ezra Bridger as a result of holocron fusion to cause the young Jedi to hallucinate. He also used the fragment of a Sith holocron to activate Kanan's Jedi holocron and the Malachor Sith holocron as part of a plot to trick Ezra into luring Kenobi out of hiding.**

Hiro: Maul can channel his anger to increase his overall power, jump or leap at great distances, move at amazing speeds, and have visions of the past, the present, and the future; however, like all Force-users, his visions were not always clear or sometimes has visions even when he was not utilizing this power at will. He notably was shown to experience premonitions during the Clone Wars, as he foresaw his potential when allying himself with Deathwatch to gain power.

**MBStarscream: As a result of Sidious' training, Maul became one of the deadliest lightsaber duelists of the Sith Order. Despite Maul's great lightsaber combat skills, he was fully aware of his limitations, and that if he was to face Anakin/Vader or his master directly, he would not prevail. However, he was not afraid of facing the members of the Inquisitorius, knowing full well that he was more than a match for any of them, as evidenced when he killed the Seventh Sister, and the Fifth Brother relatively easily.**

Hiro: Maul is skilled in several lightsaber forms, such as Soresu, Ataru, Niman, Juyo, and Jar'Kai, holding his own against Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan simultaneously on Naboo before splitting them up. He even put up a reasonable fight against Darth Sidious on Mandalore when they dueled with dual blades, going as far as landing a kick on the Dark Lord.

**MBStarscream: Maul is highly skilled in piloting most speeders, and most types of flying crafts. Plus, he has an indomitable will and a high tolerance for pain, as he was able to survive being cut in half. Many years later, he also survived a long drop off the Malachor Sith Temple without any apparent injuries.**

Hiro: Maul was extremely intelligent and wise. He was a capable manipulator, a skilled tactician, and had political skills from his time as Palpatine's apprentice, managing to form the Shadow Collective in a surprisingly short amount of time, allowing him to seize control over the Galactic criminal underworld, and subsequent rule over the Outer Rim. His iconic weapon is a double-bladed red lightsaber which he used during his early years as a Sith.

**MBStarscream: Yeah, two blades!**

Hiro: Unfortunately, it was sliced in half by Obi-Wan and fell along with Maul down the pit on Naboo. During the Clone Wars, Maul used the still functional half of the lightsaber to fight Obi-Wan, Pre Vizla, and Palpatine, respectively. During the Clone Wars, Maul took Pre Vizsla's Darksaber as his own after slaying him in a leadership duel, using it to fight Palpatine and later General Grievous.

**MBStarscream: By the time of the events of Star Wars Rebels, Maul had obtained a new double-bladed red lightsaber. This lightsaber had a spike on one side of the hilt, allowing Maul to use the weapon as a part of his walking stick, which the lightsaber fit into when not in use. Based on its design, it is likely that Maul took it from an Inquisitor he killed and modified it for his own use. It would remain in Maul's possession until his death, as it was destroyed when Obi-Wan cut it in two during their final duel; fatally slashing Maul across the chest in the same blow.**

Hiro: Darth Maul is easily one of the strongest Sith in the galaxy. He's killed Qui-Gon Jinn, Pre Vizsla, an unarmed Fifth Brother, a wampa, and a Yuuzhan Vong, ruled Mandalore for a while, fought Obi-Wan several times, and survived being cut in half at the waist.

**MBStarscream: But Maul has his shortcomings as well. Despite his skills in dueling and the Force, Sidious was still far more powerful, easily beating both Maul and Savage Opress simutaneously, and prefers to use his own martial ability than the Force in a fight. He's also prone to overconfidence and murderously obsessed with Obi-Wan ever since he got bisected by the young Jedi Padawan on Naboo.**

Hiro: But as the apprentice of Darth Sidious himself, Maul is hardly one to trifle with.

*Darth Maul wordlessly ignites his double-bladed lightsaber as he faces down Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.*

## General Grievous

Hiro: At some point before the Clone Wars, a war was fought between Kalee, the homeworld of the Kaleesh, and the Yam'rii species of Huk. The Jedi Order and Galactic Republic aided the Yam'rii, destroying their economy and deepening the already hard times hurting their homeworld. This caused one Kaleesh named Griveous to develop a vendettta against the Jedi.

**MBStarscream: Grievous sustained severe injuries that required extensive repair by the time of the Clone Wars. Willingly submitting to a procedure that rendered him more mechanical than organic, he became a living weapon, granting him lightning-quick reflexes and devastating strength.**

Hiro: Grievous would rise as the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy of Independent Systems' droid armies during the Clone Wars. While not Force-sensitive, he trained in all lightsaber combat forms under Count Dooku to rival the Jedi of the Galactic Republic. Throughout the Clone Wars, Grievous killed numerous Jedi and collected their lightsabers as trophies, earning a reputation as the most feared Jedi hunter in the galaxy of his era.

**MBStarscream: Much like Maul, he developed a rivalry with Obi-Wan Kenobi, with whom he clashed numerous times during the war, and who eventually killed Grievous by shooting him in his organs underneath his exoskeleton, which then caught fire, killing the cyborg general.**

Hiro: Grievous may have been no Jedi or Sith, but that didn't make him any less dangerous on his own. His cybernetic body is incredibly strong and durable, and his speed can match that of most Force-users. And due to being a cyborg, Grievous does not need to breathe air and could survive indefinitely in outer space.

**MBStarscream: Despite his lack of Force-sensitivity, Grievous was highly skilled in lightsaber combat and a highly gifted duellist. He was one of the greatest lightsaber duellists of his time, as he killed dozens of Jedi, from Padawns to Jedi Masters. He was personally trained by Count Dooku, and was able to utilize not only his hands but also his feet when wielding lightsabers.**

Hiro: Grievous' knowledge of lightsaber combat was such that he knew all seven forms of it, but his preferred style was Jar'Kai, which utilizes in his style of combat but would often use the ability to wield four lightsabers to overwhelmehis opponents. Apart from his skills with lightsabers, Grievous is adept in unarmed combat, an expert pilot, and a highly skilled tactician as the Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Army. Grievous is not only skilled in lightsaber combat, as he also owns a custom DT-57 "Annihilator" blaster pistol called the "Grievance Striker."

**MBStarscream: Also equipped with grapple lines built into his wrist, Grievous can launch the line at a long distance to attach to things, and he can use an electrostaff to incapacitate an opponent with electricity, which are powerful to stop a person's heart within five seconds. All of this made Grievous quite a deadly enemy in the Clone Wars.**

Hiro: He's stood up to explosions and other attacks, overwhelmed multiple Jedi at once, kept up with the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Asajj Ventress in a duel, regularly sparred with Dooku, and held Chancellor Palpatine hostage on board his flagship. But all of this doesn't mean Grievous is without flaws.

**MBStarscream: His vital organs have not undergone modification, rendering them exceedingly vulnerable to any form of attack if his chest cavity is pried open, He is also somewhat arrogant and will often fail to accommodate for factors outside of his control when he has the upper hand.**

Hiro: A combination of factors, including natural breathing issues, cyborgization, and damage inflicted to his lungs, has left him with a serious cough and severe breathing deficiencies, making it hard to make out what he's saying half the time, and tends to flee when the situation starts looking bad.

**MBStarscream: That being said, I suggest avoiding this guy, or you may just end up in his collection.**

*General Grievous: Army or not, you must realize... you are doomed!*

## Fatal Fiction

*Mario flips a coin.*

Hiro: Well, General Grievous has the territory advantage, but can he stand up to Sidious' hateful apprentice?

**MBStarscream: And more importantly, who had a more embarrassing death by Obi-Wan?**

*Invisible Hand*

In the vastness of outer space, the Providence-class Dreadnought dubbed the Invisible Hand flew over Coruscant, the capital planet of the Galactic Republic. As it sailed across the stars, another smaller ship approached from behind. It was a Star Courier, an experimental starship, that was called the Scimitar. Its pilot, a man whose red and black face and horns made him resemble a demon, glared ahead from the cockpit.

Once the Scimitar was close, it fired its laser cannons at the Invisible Hand's atmospheric shield generator, lifting the shields around the main hangar bay and causing emergency blast doors to seal the breached hangar in seconds, but not before the Scimitar landed inside the Providence.

Upon landing in the hangar, several OOM-series security droids aimed their blasters as the pilot jumped out of his ship and ignited the two red blades of his double-bladed lightsaber. **Darth Maul** quickly got to work on the droids, deflecting several shots and slicing through metal with each swing of his lightsaber until only dismembered bodies lay around him. "Hmph." He said with disdain before turning off his lightsaber and moving on.

Maul silently walked through the hangar bay, eventually spotting an elevator. But as he approached, the elevator doors opened to reveal two IG-100 MagnaGuards and a giant of a cyborg composed of white metal with yellow reptilian eyes, and a cape.

"Maul! How dare you raid my flagship!" **General Grievous** said through a series of hacking coughs. Maul was not impressed. "I think you'll find I can seize whatever ship I please, Grievous. Especially when it's under the orders of my master."

"Lord Sidious has low standards to take in an apprentice such as yourself!" Grievous' words struck a nerve with the Zabrak, who instantly drew his two red blades once again, ready to shut Grievous up. "Watch your words, Grievous." He warned. Grievous only ignored him. "Dispose of this fool, MagnaGuards!" He commanded. His two minions each drew an electrostaff and charged at Maul, engaging him combat.

Grievous watched as his MagnaGuards were slowly overcome by Maul, the Zabrak ruthlessly cutting them down. When they were both defeated, Maul looked up at Grievous and entered a stance, lightsaber still drawn. Grievous removed his cape and split his arms into four, each hand igniting a lightsaber.

"Prepare for your doom." He said evilly.

**FIGHT!**

Maul tried to cut down Grievous, but was blocked by four lightsabers forming an "X" position in front of the general. Grievous pushed Maul back and brought down two lightsabers on Maul's saberstaff, towering over Maul. Forced on the defensive, Maul frantically tried to block four lightsabers at once as Grievous pressed his assault. Maul jumped backward and threw his saberstaff at Grievous, who blocked with two lightsabers. Maul pulled his saberstaff back into his grasp and rushed Grievous, clashing blades with him again.

As they dueled, Maul spotted an opening and struck at Grievous' torso with his saberstaff a few times before knocking him back. Maul did a slashing dash with his saberstaff, but his blade missed as Grievous backed up, quickly taking the opportunity to hit Maul's shoulder with one of his sabers. Wincing in pain, Maul was exposed to a rapid flurry of lightsaber strikes from Grievous, with the Droid Army commander ending by knocking Maul to the ground and kicking him away. Grievous stormed over and raised his foot to stomp on Maul, but the apprentice of Darth Sidious rolled away and got up.

Grievous pointed all of his lightsabers forward and rapidly rotated his hands, advancing menacingly on Maul. Maul, however, leaped over him and landed behind him, quickly slashing at his back. Grievous growled and spun around, kicking Maul in the gut hard enough to knock him onto his front. He swung two lightsabers down at Maul, but the Zabrak nimbly dodged the blades and got back to his feet again. Grievous swung a lightsaber at Maul's head, but Maul telekinetically held the general's saber in place and then ducked under the swing of another saber. Maul parried several more strikes from Grievous until the two of them ended up in a blade lock. Grievous bared down on Maul, his reptile-like eyes glaring into Maul's own.

"I have been trained far better than you have. You will not win this, Maul." Grievous taunted. "Don't be too proud of yourself." Maul retorted before he broke the blade lock and swung his saberstaff upward. Grievous let out a cry of pain as his lower left hand fell to the floor, before he was slashed across the chest by Maul's saberstaff. The Jedi hunter sheathed the lightsaber in his lower right hand and tossed it away in favor of using his two main arms in combat, twirling his two blades before charging at Maul.

*"At least it'll be easier to keep up with just two lightsabers."* Maul thought as he and Grievous continued to clash with their blades. Indeed, the bout was more even now that Grievous was using two lightsabers instead of four, which worked well for Maul's saberstaff. Maul managed to push Grievous back and tried to slice through his leg, but Grievous jumped over his blade. Grievous lunged forward to impale Maul with his two lightsabers, but was blocked by Maul's saberstaff. Then to the Sith Lord's shock, Grievous swung his two blades upward, disarming Maul as his saberstaff flew into the air. Grievous then did a sweeping kick that knocked Maul off his feet and swung his lightsaber at the Zabrak's falling saberstaff, cutting it in two.

Angered, Maul thrust his hand forward, and Grievous was launched forward. As Grievous landed on the ground, Maul pulled one half of his saberstaff and ignited it. Grievous turned around and prepared himself as he and Maul faced each other. Then they charged at each other and swung their lightsabers.

Now one blade against two was a different story. Maul had always preferred using two blades, which made it easier said than one to fight an opponent that had multiple blades with only one half of his saberstaff. Still, he and Grievous were mostly even in their duel. If Maul could just disarm his opponent somehow...

He was too focused in his thoughts to react before Grievous planted another kick into his chest, sending him to the ground. Grievous brought his sabers down, but Maul blocked them with his own saber before kicking Grievous away. Once Maul got up, Grievous rushed him with both sabers, and after dueling for several seconds, Maul lifted Grievous the opponent up with the Force, telekinetically strangling him, then slammed him into the ground multiple times and tossed them away. Grievous sent a burning glare towards Maul.

The cybernetic Kaleesh threw one lightsaber at Maul, but the Zabrak jumped over it and did a dashing slash with his lightsaber. He darted around Grievous at very high speeds, rapidly striking him with his lightsaber, then kicked him into the air. Maul then jumped up and did a falling slice with his lightsaber before blowing Grievous away with a shockwave of the Force. As Maul walked up to him, Grievous fired a grappling hook at Maul's leg and pulled the Sith towards him. Grievous then picked up Maul by the head, tossed him into the air, and jumped after him, doing a rapid barrage of lightsaber slashes, followed by sending him into the ground. As he fell, Grievous kicked Maul towards the nearest wall.

Discarding his lightsabers, Grievous brandished an electrostaff as he observed Maul. "Sith scum!" He snarled. Maul looked up and dodged as Grievous thrust his electrostaff forward, hitting the wall in the process. Grievous turned to face Maul and clashed his electrostaff against the Sith apprentice's ligntsaber. They swung their weapons at one another again and again, locked in combat. After a while of this, Grievous managed to hit Maul in the stomach with his staff, the resulting shock knocking Maul to the ground. Grievous pointed his staff at Maul's throat. "It is time for you to die."

He lifted his staff over his head and swung it down.

To his annoyance, Maul rolled out of the way. However, Grievous managed to hit him across the head with his staff twice, dazing him. Grievous then disarmed Maul of his lightsaber with his staff. "No!" Maul cried out. Not even a second later, a vicious swing of Grievous' staff knocked him down again. Stepping on Maul's back to hold him down, Grievous raised his staff as the Zabrak desperately pulled his lightsaber into his hand with the Force.

Just as he ignited his saber, he felt a sharp pain in his head. He stared ahead with a shocked expression, then buried his face into the ground as his life left him.

Grievous lifted his staff off of Maul's cranium and laughed maniacally, signifying his victory over Sidious' apprentice. He reached down and grabbed Maul's lightsaber before walking away. It would make a fine addition to his collection.

**FATALITY!**

## Results

**MBStarscream: And nothing of value was lost for Palpatine.**

Hiro: One would be inclined to think that having Force abilities would have given Maul the win here, and it certainly could have... if only he had more advantages over General Grievous than that alone.

**MBStarscream: Remember when we said that Maul rarely even uses the Force and prefers to use his physical abilities instead? Yeah, that wasn't gonna do him any favors against someone like Grievous. Plus, Grievous had been trained by Dooku to keep up with Force users, so Maul wouldn't have been much of an issue for him.**

Hiro: Both were excellent duelists, but Grievous has effectively mastered all seven forms of lightsaber combat, meaning that he could easily adapt to Maul's fighting style and overpower him. Not only that, but his cybernetic body gave Grievous plenty of physical advantages over Maul.

**MBStarscream: Maul was definitely strong with Force augmentation, but Grievous has dented starships with just his punches, survived in space without oxygen, and kept up with a far older Obi-Wan than the same one who gave Maul the Snoke treatment. All in all, Grievous' dueling prowess and cybernetic physicality meant that Maul was *grievously* outmatched.**

Hiro: General Grievous wins.

## Advantages

### General Grievous (Winner)

* Maul having the Force didn't matter much when he rarely even uses it
* Can adapt to Maul's fighting style
* Stronger
* Faster
* More durable