Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #5
"Advent of Shadows"
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Artist: Madibek Musabekov
Colorist: Luis Guerrero
Cover Artist: Derrick Chew
Prequel comics—especially ones that start before the streaming show they're tied to, but end after it has finished its season—can be tough to pull off. You need to set up for what comes after, but you also have to tell a complete story of your own. It's a delicate balance.
Star Wars: Shadow of Maul has maintained that balance rather well throughout its run.
Inside Man
This mini-series has been fairly episodic, which is fitting given its ties to a streaming series. But at the same time, there are characters and subplots that persisted throughout and came to a head in issue #5.
After a brief rumination by Captain Brander Lawson on how his life now compares to his bounty hunting days, our hero is more determined than ever to hold on to what he has. That means taking down the corrupt Internal Affairs officer Clariveen Ruhl.
In the course of a single evening, Ruhl has meetings with crime bosses Deemis and Vario, as well as a third individual—Benejin Bloor, who runs a murder-for-hire syndicate. The IA officer is even more connected than Lawson thought. Bloor forces Ruhl to help his syndicate with a raid on a mysterious shadow unit that's been making moves all over Janix. Hmm, I wonder who that could be?
Before the night is over, a red double-bladed lightsaber ignites, and carnage follows in its wake...
Power Play
Let me start off by saying, I have not yet watched Maul: Shadow Lord on Disney+. I purposely held off until this series ended, just because I was afraid that either the comic or the show would spoil something big about the other.
I can see now that's likely not the case.
This comic miniseries has ultimately been a very personal tale of Brander Lawson, with Maul himself being a looming presence in the background, teasing an inevitable confrontation. I actually like this approach. Lawson is a likeable character, sure, he's got the cliche "I was a bounty hunter who only cared about credits, and now I'm an officer of the law" backstory, but that befits the crime novel tone that this series maintained throughout.
Also befitting the crime novel theme was the setting of Janix itself. Brightly lit, yet full of shadows where all the bad things hide their presence. Multiple crime lords, each with their own territories and alliances, who are always vying for more. Corrupt cops, guns for hire. It's all there. And looming in the background is Darth Maul, making preparations to take Janix as his own.
I did think it was a little too easy how Ruhl had meetings with all three syndicates he was involved with, one right after the other, all on the very same night that Lawson and Two-Boots were surveilling him. That's extremely lucky timing on Lawson's part. But as Han Solo would probably say, "better lucky than good, right?"
Once Bloor's syndicate prepares to make their move, the pace quickens, and chaos erupts quickly. I liked this. Darth Maul should be an overwhelming force of nature to mundane beings, and that's exactly what he is here. The syndicate never had a chance.
Now the stage is firmly set for the streaming series—Lawson no longer has to worry about Ruhl, Deemis, and Vario having lost an inside man in the department, and Maul is no longer confined to the shadows. Now the real battle begins...
Partners in Crime
I think it's an awful look for the comics industry that I even have to mention this, but this five-issue miniseries maintained the same consistent creative team throughout its run. From start to finish, it was brought to us by Benjamin Percy and Madibek Musabekov, with colors by Luis Guerrero.
Percy has done a great job maintaining the crime novel feel throughout the series, and his issue-to-issue pacing was strong. The pacing for the series as a whole felt a little bit too scattered, as each issue was very much its own story, and it wasn't always clear how it was part of the overall whole beyond "it takes place on Janix." His character work was strong throughout, especially Lawson and Two-Boots, whose partner bond always shone through, no matter what was happening.
Musabekov's artwork captured the dark, grimy feel of Janix that hid beneath the bright lights very well. His character work was detailed, and his action scenes were fluid. Even though Star Wars comics are very much all-ages, I did appreciate how he snuck the shadow of a few dismembered limbs in when Maul started cutting loose. You can't swing a lightsaber without someone losing some sort of appendage, after all.
The colors by Guerrero are an integral part of capturing the correct feel for Janix—an outward facade of bright lights, with the real shadows hidden at its heart. The colors display this dichotomy very well, maintaining a consistent atmosphere throughout. Once the lightsaber comes out, everything that follows is tinted in its red glow, and that gives Maul that otherworldly force of nature feel that he needs to show just how major a threat he really is.
Darkness Rising
Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #5 wraps the miniseries up in fine fashion, finally turning the titular Sith Lord loose and letting carnage reign in his wake. The stage is now set for the streaming series, and if you're like me and haven't watched it yet, now is the perfect time to start. I, for one, left this comic excited to see more stories about Captain Brander Lawson and Darth Maul, which means it did its job.