Originally posted by Gideon
How cute; a suggestion that Darth Malak's "legendary" status during the Old Republic-era is somehow a counter to the statement (issued by the omniscient narrator) in reference to Maul's obscenely difficult and monstrous training. Sadly, your analogy fails. First, the only person to ever survive an actual fight to the death with Darth Maul would be Obi-Wan Kenobi -- who fought him once. He only had one "peer", Darth Sidious, who rarely spoke of him or made reference to him. In short, unlike Malak, there is little opportunity for Maul to achieve "legendary" status amongst his peers and fans -- simply because he had few of either. Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix are regarded as "legendary!!1!" by everyone who carries a decent knowledge of music; Neal Schon and Steve Vai are lesser-known and unlegendary, yet Clapton admits he's not as technically versed and as skilled as Schon or Vai. Fame, infamy, "legendary" status =/= talent, Janus.Raise your game or get off the court.
Well, Gideon. By your own standards the only being that survived a "fight to the death" with Malak would be Revan himself. And Kavar who "barely" managed to escape alive when the circumstances of his confrontation with Malak are rather unknown.
Of course, the legendary status (and by the way...Steve Vai is not a legend? WTF...he certainly is among guitar players) might not matter that much. He still had a talent in the ways of the force that made him the second most powerful force user in his own time, friend of Revan, who was without doubt the most powerful of the corresponding era.
Surely, Maul had some nice amount of training that Malak is missing (at very last the Sith training), yet Malak had several years of actual war experience that would have forced him to develop some nice amount of skill in a rather short amount of time. Perhaps on the very same amount or even more than Maul's training forged Maul into a "perfect Sith weapon". At least we can't write that possibility off.
Certainly. Maul was trained from infancy by a master with considerably higher standards and harsher tests. Malak? Not so much. Maul was trained from infancy in various martial arts and physical disciplines? Malak was a big guy. Maul spent twenty-something years being indoctrinated in Sith teachings and combat. Malak? Five, six years? Sorry, Janus. Only in KotOR Fantasy Land would that somehow tip in Malak's favor. Training, education, and standard of education clearly go to Maul. 😉
Well. If training in the SW universe would matter that much, Gideon, you would of course be right. Yet the best example for a powerful force user, Luke Skywalker, tells us an entirely different story. Luke's actual training time in comparison to the Jedi and Sith before and after him is almost non-existant. He did grow through actual conflicts and confrontations. And yet he does still top anybody else in terms of lightsaber combat or force powers. Because, unlike many other force users, he was forced to become "great" by the circumstances he lived in. He was the only hope for a Galaxy ruled by the Dark Side.
In the same manner, Malak lived in times of war for a nice time of his life. First the Mandalorian Wars which, without doubt, demanded that he became strong in all possible ways of combat - just to survive them. Then the Jedi Civil War which also wouldn't have been a piece of cake. That would mean a development in personal ability compareable (or even above) that we saw in characters like Anakin or Obi-Wan from AotC to RotS. "Wars don't make people great", as Yoda said. Yet they most certainly make people stronger at the very least in the "personal confrontation" department.
As Nai said, this list of "apprentices" would also include Darth Bane, Darth Zannah, Darth Sidious, Count Dooku, Darth Vader, and Darth Plagueis. And Darth Malak as well. 😉
Correct. But being "one of the best" and "one of the most deadly" doesn't mean he is the best or the most deadly, which allows enough room for speculation that the people above are actually better than he is. Darth Malak as well. Which is entirely possibly considering Malak's obvious talent in combination with his actual war experience.
Still. I would give Maul an advantage in a sheer lightsaber fight, going by the fact he defeated a guy on par with (TPM) Mace Windu (Qui-Gon) in lightsaber combat. In a force fight, Malak seems to be more powerful going by his showing. On the other hand: That we don't see Maul toasting people with force lightning (or other offensive force powers for that matter) doesn't mean that he wasn't capable of using them. One should think that he had access to techniques like that after two decades of Sith training. Especially since he's obviously able to resist a (weaker) form of that ability.
I am not suggesting that Maul is superior to Malak in the Force or in an all out fight, Nai, merely contesting the ridiculous notion that someone here has proven that Malak > Maul in strict lightsaber combat. So we've arrived at the same conclusion.
Steve Vai is well known and well regarded amongst guitarists, true, as is Neal Schon (who received offers from Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton to play in their respective bands, as a full time member, at the age of 15 [he's a prodigy in every sense of the word]), but neither of them can compete with the fame and status of Clapton or Hendrix, which is the point: fame and status as a legend is not necessarily indicative of superior ability compared to those of lesser fame and status.