And so it ends where it began.  We started our Month of Menace with a review of Darth Maul (Jedi Duel).  That figure started my collecting hobby, so it was particularly meaningful to me.  Hasbro released approximately 372 different Darth Maul figures during the run of the Episode I line, including 3 in the basic line (Jedi Duel, Tatooine, Sith Lord), and others from a cinema scene, Sith Speeder vehicle, Invasion Force off-screen Sith Speeder, Sith Speeder Handheld Electronic Game, Holograph, Deluxe (with the lightsaber handle that activated fighting action features), a two-pack (bisected) with Obi-Wan, and that “trophy series” one off (because it was such a poor seller, they never released any more).  Thatsalotta Darth Mauls.  I only wanted the first one to put on my desk, and here I am, thousands of figures later, a real chump.  So now the circle is complete, as we finish the month with a look at Darth Maul (Sith Lord).

As mentioned in the last couple of reviews of some of the aforementioned core characters, this Darth Maul is basically the same look as compared to its original release, but Hasbro experimented a bit.  Like the last basic releases of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, this Darth Maul includes some soft goods.  Specifically, the “skirt.” Admittedly, it looks pretty great.  Of course there’s just the standard swivel hips that represent the entirety of the lower body articulation, so the soft goods doesn’t really do anything to improve posability, as they often do in modern figures.  It’s just a nice part of the figure that gives it the appearance of some added dynamism, even though it really isn’t all that dynamic. 

Another experiment was conducted with the lightsaber.  Hasbro tried out a new idea by creating a removable blade.  In this case, of course, Maul is equipped with a double-bladed lightsaber, and somewhat oddly, only one is removable.  I get what Hasbro was going for here, but sticklers for screen accuracy certainly weren’t pleased.  With only one blade ignited, the accessory represents the weapon as it was used by the robed Darth Maul on Tatooine.  When he ditched his robe to participate in the, uh, tri-uel of the fates, he ignited both. After mortally wounding Qui-Gon with it, the hilt was sliced in half by Obi-Wan, so it more resembled a standard lightsaber.  Therefore, engaging the removable blade feature renders the figure non-screen accurate.  That aside, this experiment was something that Hasbro ran with for several years, although it eventually died out because the tiny pegs at the end of the blade were too easily broken off.  The idea was shelved in favor of including lit and unlit hilts with most Jedi and Sith figures, something that was introduced with the second releases of Obi-Wan (Naboo) and Qui-Gon (Naboo).  I think most fans would agree that was a good move.

As for the figure, it does look nice, as I said.  It is somewhat preposed to more or less approximate the moment when Maul first ignites both blades in the Naboo hangar.  Almost any other pose looks awkward and unnatural, so it’s a trade off.  The face sculpt and paint are quite good, and here Hasbro avoided the “pink chin” issue that plagued earlier releases.  One other problem is that the right hand is sculpted in an open “c” grip that is too wide to actually hold the lightsaber. 

At the time, among the many Darth Maul figures available, this was likely most people’s favorite, since it was basically specific to the single most memorable moment in the film.  It also had made a very successful early implementation of soft goods, and also introduced the removable blade advancement.  All that, however, doesn’t really overcome the fact that the figure is basically a small statue.  Future Darth Maul figures would render this one obsolete, but it is still an important part of the history of the 3.75” line.  Overall, I give the figure a 4/10.