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Who would win in a lightsaber duel: Darth Vader or Darth Maul?
Results so far:
| Lord Vader | 72% | 664 votes | Total: 928 votes | |
| Darth Maul | 28% | 264 votes |
Lord Vader
by Wayne Reeves
Created on: February 19, 2008
Harnessing the true power of the dark side of the force, Darth Vader was unsurpassed in his ability with the lightsaber. In the 'Return of the Jedi' film, emotions would ultimately get the better of him (the father and son confrontation in the throne room between Vader and Luke Skywalker). Lord Vader used experience, anticipation and guile to overcome his opponent, this compensated for any apparent lack of speed on his part.
In the new episodes, lightsaber duels were realized in a faster, more athletic approach, speed was a key factor here. The new Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, was a skilled lightsaber user, incorporating a double-edged blade with martial arts style body movement; this new style of fighting was a common theme throughout 'The Phantom Menace', 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith' films.
Anakin Skywalker trained in a similar way before becoming Darth Vader, speed combined with technique, but also coupled with a confident arrogance that he was one of the best. That is where the Sith are flawed, they believe they cannot be beaten under any circumstances and the dark side will prevail over everything else.
Vader's intuition in battle was always strong, almost always one step ahead of his adversary, this was witnessed in his confrontation with Obi-wan Kenobi on the Death Star in 'Star Wars'. Not only did he sense Ben on the station, he knew that he'd be facing his old master there as well. The battle itself was a master class in understatement, two colossal powers of the 'force' going head-to-head. Each strike in the battle was a carefully placed attack, both Vader and Obi-wan using their experience with the saber to get the most out each offensive move with minimum effort.
Their abilities were unquestioned, youngsters such as Darth Maul would be appear to be reckless in comparison, using over-elaborate attacks and wasting energy crucial in a battle situation. Maul succumbed to Obi-wan at the end of 'The Phantom Menace', again through over-confidence, all his training and undoubted abilities came undone in that last battle.
Vader was credited with being one of the very best students of the dark side, rising up to become one of the key figure-heads of the Empire. He repressed his past and his emotions to the very end, Maul on the other hand appeared to relish the position he held, getting swept up in all the propaganda of the Sith and doing whatever he was told without question.
Darth Vader was the epitome of the dark side, fueled by hate and rage of what happened to him in the past, he learned to channel those feelings into becoming the most feared Sith lord the Empire would ever know, and probably the best student of the lightsaber there was.
Learn more about this author, Wayne Reeves.
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Darth Maul
by Tyler Gloe
Created on: February 24, 2010
With an immense amount of agility and precision in combat, Darth Maul is portrayed as one of the most skilled characters in the Star Wars series. It is almost humorous to compare Darth Vader with Darth Maul. This is because in the movies when Darth Vader is shown in combat, he appears to be incredibly stiff, and it seems like the only part of his body that moves is his hips, while his arms remain stiff as a board. On the other hand, Darth Maul is shown somersaulting through the air, swinging his double-sided saber around like it is a toothpick.
Whether you look at the fighting styles of the two Siths, they seem to have completely different fighting styles. Darth Vader has a slow but powerful approach and Darth Maul has an incredibly speedy fighting style. One advantage that Darth Vader has over Darth Maul is his ability to force choke opponents. However, Darth Maul has an unprecedented amount of speed, and if the two were to meet up against each other, his agility would be next to overwhelming.
Another difference between the two combatants is the variance in lightsabers. Darth Maul has a double-sided lightsaber. He holds it with two hands in the middle. This gives him a great amount of room to maneuver, as every time that he swings, he is able to attack his opponents with twice the amount of strikes. On the other hand, Darth Vader has a single-sided blade. He holds it on the handle in the bottom. This gives him a greater amount of strength, but he has less speed and rate of strikes.
The main aspect that sets the two warriors apart is their speed. Darth Vader seems almost like he is a very elderly man under the costume, as he moves extremely slowly. Darth Maul is very limber and is able to fly through the air, roll, spin, and slice. He is so quick and efficient that it would be extremely difficult to block his attacks. It is a wonder how Darth Vader killed any Jedi in the movie with his dreary speed.
Overall, Darth Maul is a much quicker Sith than Darth Vader. Even though Darth Vader probably has more power, Maul's speed is a force to be reckoned with. It would be very interesting to watch the match up between the two Siths. It would probably be very close, as they are both very powerful and have different fighting styles. However, in all, Darth Maul has an unprecedented amount of agility and fighting prowess, and he would be extremely difficult to bring down with a slow warrior like Darth Vader.
Learn more about this author, Tyler Gloe.
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