I said comparable. And sure, why not? Sidious picked Maul under the premise that he was strong enough to succeed him.
Maul was very powerful and capable as of TPM, and remember that a big chunk of his training was outsourced to the Orsis academy and things like that. But even in his early 20s he was already comparable to people like Mace or Dooku.
Then he got bisected, which, given what we know of Anakin, should lessen his potential tremendously. Then he spent a decade as a madman, with no training or use of the Force whatsoever.
After Talzin heals him he is enough of a threat that both Yoda and Dooku sense him through the Force and are greatly concerned. And in a short while he becomes powerful enough that Sidious steps up and nips the threat in the bud.
Can you honestly say that if Maul hadn't lost half his body and had the benefit of a full 30-40 year apprenticeship, that he wouldn't have surpassed Sidious?
Even if we go by Lucas' now irrelevant "full potential Anakin is twice as strong as the emperor" quote, that would still make a full potential Maul comparable, assuming he caps at 120-140% of Sidious' power.
But leaving all that aside, in case you haven't noticed the Chosen One's potential doesn't mean much these days, with the rise of Rey and Kylo Ren.
Both experienced an insane rise in power way faster than Anakin did. Of course, Luke already did the same, so that's nothing new.
The Chosen One has lost his luster a long time ago.
Yeah since this is all Disney Canon, even a few hours of training can make all the difference apparently.
Not that theres anything to suggest that comic takes place literally hours before TPM. Just the fact that Sidiois sends him to battle against both a seasoned master and padawan (and believing they would be no match for him), suggests some time has past since the days where a solo padawan was a challenge for him.
"The moment of revenge is CLOSE AT HAND..."
"The Jedi's DAYS ARE NUMBERED..."
"This series takes place SHORTLY BEFORE the events of TPM..."
Couple that with Palpatine being allied with the Trade Federation, AND stating that his plans against the Jedi were "already IN MOTION", and you honestly think this is the writer's way of describing "at least" a year gap? C'mon, man.
"The man he will become" is likely in reference to Maul's revival/portrayal in TCW(and beyond), because we were hardly given any information at all about "the man he was" during TPM itself. Heck, all the film really told us about Maul is that he was Palpatine's apprentice... It was only during TCW/SoD/Rebels that we learned anything deeper about his character(in canon, at least.) /shrug
So yes, ALL the evidence points to the comics being set right before TPM -- likely just a matter of weeks at most. I don't understand how this is even debatable, tbh.
__________________
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Last edited by Galan007 on Mar 28th, 2019 at 01:21 AM
I mean, you could argue that, but it'd be an uphill battle with quotes like these floating around:
Maul had grown more powerful since the last time he'd been in Sidious's presence, before the Neimodian invasion of Naboo had turned diastrous and Obi-Wan had bested him inside the Theed power core. His hermitage on Lotho Minor, his lessons on Umbara, his restoration by Mother Talzin, and his training of Savage had all strengthened him, made him a more worthy vessel for the dark side to fill with its power. --Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy p.180
^ Right. So Shadow Conspiracy isnt Canon. And that line (plus the one in Sith Hunters) contracdict a lot of Filonis general comments on Mauls resurrection anyway.