“Maul is a super dangerous threat because he’s been trained for years, he’s really adept, but he’s broken. So he’s kind of in the Vader-realm, and he’s a bit severed from what he knew, which was having a master, but he’s well trained by Sidious in all types of Sith ways, not the least of which is manipulation.”
―Dave Filoni, Director of The Clone Wars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr-6Lfkvxkk&feature=youtu.be&t=2m38s
“The root of that though is that if he is a good apprentice to Sidious, Sidious would train him in his likeness really, and teach him what he knows. The Sith by their nature can’t be so overt. He is a deadly weapon because George needed him to be that in Phantom Menace, but he didn’t have the time to get more into who he is. If you listen to the few times he speaks, he is very subservient and he doesn’t come across as someone who is very dim. He comes across really rather sharp which makes your villain that much more effective.
[...]
“He calmed down and better stepped into his body and said “I need to settle myself down and think about this, I need to utilise this brother I have, I need to really do what my master had taught me,” which is work within the shadows and build power slowly and then opportunities will present themselves that he can take advantage of. … to show that he was a good apprentice to Sidious, a cunning apprentice, cause in the end it makes him a lot more dangerous. We already know he can fight, but we’re not clear if he can fight as well as he used to given that he is you know half cybernetic now - like anyone recovering you kind of lean on your other skills, and in this case he has become a bit more of an architect.
―Dave Filoni, Director of The Clone Wars
https://youtu.be/RGvwH4Z92A0?t=56s
SW: On The Clone Wars, we had to show that Maul was capable of being a general. Darth Sidious chose him to be his apprentice and trained him well. Maul wasn’t just a mindless hitman.
[...]
HW: Now we get to see that Maul’s actually an intellectual character. He’s not just a blunt instrument, an assassin, like it seemed in the movie.
SW: He had to be. The Sith as a culture realized, “Hey, we’re all bad guys, we don’t work well together, so let’s keep it to two. Otherwise we’ll be killing each other left and right.” So if you follow the Rule of Two, you have to pick your apprentice very carefully.
You don’t just pick a guy because he can do cool flips and swing a sword good. You choose a guy who is brilliant and gifted in so many ways, physically and mentally, and can carry on the Sith tradition proudly. A thuggish hitman would be a hindrance when trying to take over the galaxy. You need someone who can work with you and to whom you can pass the baton when the time comes.
And that’s a theme in the Star Wars saga as a whole. It’s so very much about Sidious trying to find that successor. He thinks he’s found that person in Darth Maul, but then Maul is cut down.
―Sam Witwer, voice actor of Darth Maul from The Clone Wars (http://www.hollywood.com/tv/sam-witwer-on-darth-maul-s-clone-wars-fate-he-s-playing-a-long-game-q-a-57698611/)
And if you have read Death Sentence or Shadow Conspiracy, both of which are Legends, you can see that Maul is indeed the "scheming mastermind" the Star Wars website points him out to be. So forgive me for not giving a shit about the "relaunched fact files" you are apparently quoting from.
Lmfao, so Sam Witwer quotes carry more weight than the Fact Files now. Not that any of it actually contradicts Sidious >>> Maul in terms of scheming. Sidious is teaching Maul what he knows, we all know that, but he's evidently not even close to finished.
If the Voice Actor for Dooku said that he was masterful in the art of manipulation, and a Canonical source stated otherwise, you wouldn't be taking the former as fact. The Relaunched Fact Files are basically Legends, as they reference the events on Bakura, Durge, Dark Rendezvous, Ventress in the Rattataki Arena etc. as things that did actually happen.
So forgive me for not giving a shit about what a voice actor says about their character. What a piss poor performance, I expected nothing less.
Edit: SoD is a thing, and it was all Talzin's planning. Maul did nothing but fail.
I didn't say Sidious wasn't >>> Maul in terms of scheming. I was evidently responding to this:
Originally posted by RealistRacism
Lmao. Maul, the 'scheming mastermind,' is but a "blunt instrument" compared to Dooku.
Originally posted by BestDebaterEver
No, your quote claims Maul is a blunt instrument period. Except I have more than a few very recent sources that contradict yours, so that leaves you in a bit of a predicament.
Originally posted by RealistRacismMaul, obviously, isn't a blunt instrument in TCW. May have been the case pre-TCW.
And what are those ILS...?
So far you have failed to prove both of your claims: 1. That Maul was going to be replaced (contradicted by many, many sources) and 2. Maul was just a blunt instrument.
Dooku and Sidious might be much better schemers than Maul (although your source saying that Dooku is seems to be predicated on the now-debunked idea that Maul has no tact), but Maul himself is a scheming mastermind.
Time to go back to the short bus kiddo.
No. Nothing you've posted contradicts that Maul is a blunt instrument compared to Sidious. Dooku is nearly on Sheev's level, whereas Maul is blunt in comparison. We can deal in semantics for as long as you like, but my purpose was to prove that Dooku >>> Maul in terms of manipulation/scheming.
Do you deny that Dooku is vastly superior to Maul in this area?
No, you didn't. Sidious taught Maul to be skilled in all areas, but he's still a blunt instrument compared to his Master (look at the quote I posted earlier). Dooku is nearly on par with Sidious, ergo Sidious >/= Dooku >>> Maul. And again, Witwer doesn't get to overwrite Canon sources.
Are you capable of reading?
Originally posted by RealistRacismQuote where I said Maul was comparably skilled to Sidious in manipulation? Pro tip: I didn't. I told you what I responded to. You're being retarded on purpose.
No, you didn't. Sidious taught Maul to be skilled in all areas, but he's still a blunt instrument compared to his Master (look at the quote I posted earlier). Dooku is nearly on par with Sidious, ergo Sidious >/= Dooku >>> Maul. And again, Witwer doesn't get to overwrite Canon sources.Are you capable of reading?
Again, the source that says Dooku is comparable to Sidious is the same source that thinks Maul is a blunt instrument. Maul isn't a blunt instrument per all of the sources I just posted, so it's entirely possible Maul is no longer outclassed.
I'd argue based on the aggregate of sources that Sidious outshines every one in manipulation hilariously, though.
"All sources" Being Witwer and Filoni.
Is it possible for one to be blunt and still a mastermind? Filoni and Witwer can't overwrite sources with their opinions. The video links you posted don't work, but the interview, Shadow Conspiracy, and Lockdown were all released before the Fact File quotes, so if there's an inconsistency we go with the latest material.
Not that it matters, Fact Files > Witwer and Filoni.
You’re refusing to acknowledge a Canon source, in favour of director/voice actor statements and Maul’s earlier appearances. If you can do this, I refuse to acknowledge the Malak > Exar Kun source, and hold Tom Veitch’s opinion in higher regard. Veitch claims Kun’s DE Sheev level, and Kun’s portrayal in the JA trilogy corroborates this fact.