Originally posted by Rockydonovang
1. Lucas's intention of ben and vader being post prime doesn't apply to new canon, just like maul's original purpose of just being a skilled assasin has been replaced and is outdated.
The films are still canon and he still was the mastermind. That holds massive weight since Disney hasn't done away with the previous films created by Lucas. Maul has evolved as a character under Lucas' direction you ****. Maul was always highly skilled and an amazing Sith swordsman.
2. https://youtu.be/8eIZsJsck7A?t=7m33s
"The actual duel is very short, how did you come to the conclusion it had to come this way?...(feloni) If you talk to a lot of people who sword fight, they'll tell you people who are very good don't have long fights. So that scene, its a homage to the 7th samurai. I think on one level people would be excited to see a prolonged lightsaber fight. But I just never really saw the confrontation that way because to do that is to say the characters don't have growth "
sum up:
One of the reasons for the fight being so short(in addition to them having fought multiple times) compared to their previous duels is feloni wanted to show growth and that kenobi and maul are very good fighters(compared to their previous versions). This along with them having fought multiple times was the reason why the fight was so short. In addition to this we have maul having 15 years to grow in power, showcasing new force abilities on a scope we've never seen before, and witwer's own comments(which pertained to how he was as a fighter).
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“It really is to express the difference between the Jedi and the Sith. Which is the Jedi become selfless and the Sith remain selfish. When pressed, because Obi-Wan is protecting someone else in the end, he does fight. But because
he is so true and knows who he is in that moment, you can’t defeat that. So Obi-Wan is going to strike down Maul because Maul is such a broken and lost person,In the exact moment they fight Maul is broken and Kenobi knows who he is so it's the perfect situation with an unavoidable outcome according to Filoni. Undeniable. Maul also didn't spar and keep his skills in check. It's common sense since he's been isolated and no one to train with as well as being lost psychologically trying to find a person and locking in on Kenobi. I'm smarter than you.
Maul being emotionally broken(as sith often are) and kenobi winning because he was able to anticipate what kenobi did and having better emotional control(you know, quintessential jedi) doesn't change that this is maul in his prime.
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Maul was lost as a person and unable to find eho he was in the moment so as well as being out of practice he's psychologically at a terrible place at the moment of this duel. What other Sith are lost and defeat a true Jedi master with decades of experience at that moment. The new comic series of Maul describes he's in his prime. That's canon. Nothing about Filoni's comments state he's at his best or in his prime. If you look at what he does say the words imply the opposite. If you look at this logically no one gets better this much older after having been isolated for decades and lost as an individual searching for a new purpose.
3. kenobi being emotionally better, more focused, and being able to anticipate him better isn't circumstantial. It makes kenobi the better fighter and why "(maul) isn't beating that". BTW, maul being mentally unhinged isn't something that wasn't there as of tcw as deathsentence should make clear.[/B]
Maul has gotten worse with time. We see his mind has deteriorated worse in rebels. He's always been a little unstable since we see him after the Phantom Menace incident but with age and more times he's gotten worse and not better. Isolation isn't good for anyone. Kenobi knew who he was so this put him at a huge advantage over Maul who can't let go of anything. Maul died in combat as a warrior. Kenobi has a legitimate purpose outside his own and he wasn't losing especially when taking on a broken Maul.
4. TPM kenobi(and tpm maul) weren't in their prime. And maul being amped is based on maul dreaming about kenobi cutting him in half before their fight and him screaming kenobi when he wakes up.
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Maul was in his physical prime then and Kenobi was disarmed. Maul taunted him and dropped his awareness which allowed for the mishap to take place. Kenobi was at his best in the clone wars series and Maul continuously showed him up throughout the duration of the show.
Also, maul losing to a oneness kanan doesn't remotely serve as valid eveidence that he declined(unless you want to accept tcw maul struggling with someone who lost to tcw ahsoka and getting tackled by a dog as valid eveidence). Bringing up Maul's tcw tk feats doesn't help anything as maul, having grown and being active for 15 years would logically be more powerful and capable of surpassing. On the other hand Maul's ability to mentally fck with force users from across the galaxy(using a force bond) create visions of himself is crap tcw maul was never shown as capable of doing.And dueling wise, trying to say his performances vs tcw kenobi somehow place him above a version of maul capable of matching a challenge to vader in his prime is laughable. [/B]
Maul was arrogant and didn't take him seriously especially just having been blinded. Maul had declined as a combatant due to his older age and lack of sparring sprinkled with his insanity revving up over the heads.
He was tackled by a dog. Who cares ?? He took on elite assassins and I've seen Hondo and his pirates take Dooku, Kenobi, and Anakin as their prisoners. I accept all showings. These guys aren't without error and only fanboys want to dismiss certain facts to turn their faves into greater than they are. Despicable.
Just because he learned a new tactic that doesn't mean his skills with a light saber also increased. They aren't one and the same.
Maul defeated Kenobi twice and Vader did no such thing only after Kenobi granted him that victory due to it increasing his power and reach through the force. Maul taking on Sidious who would slap the dogshit out of Vader in a duel is another notch on Maul's bedpost in his favor. He's too quick for Vader. His advantage would exploit Vader's greatest deficiency.