Was Darth Maul trying to kill Anakin?

Krash · Jedi Knight Joined: Mar 20, 2004 Posts: 3495

"Anakin...DROP!"

Ever wonder why Darth Maul's speeder would have run down Anakin, if not for Qui-Gon's warning? If Maul's goal was to kill the jedi and capture the queen...what possible difference could a little boy make?

Could it be that he sensed Anakin's force potential, and was trying to eliminate an enemy (or possible rival) before he becomes one? There's been some debate over whether Palpatine knew about Anakin, and his role in the prophecy...would his appentice want to knock off the competition?

Beltayn · Jedi Knight Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 1712

I dunno... I think Anakin was just in the right place at the wrong time, and Maul probably didn't much care whether or not the kid was involved or not (once he finished off Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan, he would have probably killed the rest of the characters on Padme's ship, and Anakin would have been cut down on GP... or better yet- once Maul found out he was strong in the Force- made him his student... Twisted Evil

young, impressionable, easilly corrupted...oh yes... turn to the Dark Side, my son...)

Padme92 · Treasury Councillor Joined: Mar 27, 2004 Posts: 2123

or maybe...the sith was a little punk who thought a little boy was a early kill and to get the Jedi upset at him... Razz

Beltayn · Jedi Knight Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 1712

Krash wrote:

There's been some debate over whether Palpatine knew about Anakin, and his role in the prophecy...would his appentice want to knock off the competition?

Hold on a sec... there's a debate as to whether or not Palpatine knew of Anakin's existence...before he even met him on Naboo at the end of PM?

Hmm.. let's see... Palpatine and Shmi got their groove on and he's is actually Anakin's long lost father...

<Mos Eisley Holiday Inn, Tatooine-sounds of Barry White playing in the background>

Shmi -"Oh Palpy... when will I ever see you again?"

Palpatine- "Well babe... I'll be back on Tatooine in a few months... I have to get back to my posting on Corusant...but in the meantime... we can't mention this to anyone, alright? after all, we can't have rumors going around about us..."

Shmi - "Ok sweetikins, what should I do in the meantime?"

Palpatine - "Go to this address and see this man, he's a doctor and will take good care of you until I get back"

Shmi - "No problem honeybuns, see you in a few months"

<Palpatine on his way to the spaceport, talking on a communicator>

Palpatine - "Alright, when the chick comes in, make sure she can't remember the past three nights... uh huh... yep... and if she's got one in the oven... yep.. uh huh... just like the last one... yeah... make her think it's immaculate conception... yep... works every time..."

Twisted Evil

Krash · Jedi Knight Joined: Mar 20, 2004 Posts: 3495

It's not so much a question over Palpatine's "mojo" but rather how much he can sense the big picture/future through the Force.

I always refer to Senator Palpatine as "the great manipulator" (no offesne to former President Reagan, known as "the great communicator") because how Palpatine must be using his Sith abilities to rise the ranks of Coruscant politics, and it would make sense to think that the ultimate "master of puppets" would sense a presence in the Force like "the chosen one" and begin to alter his plans to make the most use of Anakin's introduction to the story.

If Palpatine could sense "the chosen one" would it be possible that Maul wanted to run down the possible competition...either as a jedi OR Sith?

Beltayn · Jedi Knight Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 1712

Ok...

...Riddle me this, Batman...

...How is it... that all those Jedi Masters in Palpatine's presence... especially Yoda and Mace Windu... haven't picked up on Palpatine's Jedi powers (or even sensed a "presence" in the Force?) by now?

I'll even concede the remote chance that Maul's "Spy in the Sky" may have been eavesdropping on Qui-Gonn Jinn on Tatooine at some point during the communications between him and Obi-Wan Kenobi when he first discovered that Anakin's 'metachlorians'(sp?) count was off the scale.

Outside of that, or the possibility that Anakin is Palpatine and Shmi's love child, how would Palpatine even be aware of the little brat's potential?

If Palpy was indeed *that* powerful to be able to pinpoint the kid (that early on), even know of his existence and his potential, how is it that after 20-25 years later, during the first trilogy (growing more powerful as time went on), Palpatine had his military (especially Darth Vader) combing the galaxy for Luke Skywalker, instead of using The Force to locate him? What about Leia? Yoda (sure, he's on a swamp planet somewhere) can still train potential Jedi, and Ben Kenobi somehow managed to slip through the cracks and hide out on Tatooine (of all places). All the Jedi "foot soldiers" were wiped out, but they kept the remaining master alive, and a powerful Knight as well?

That's like saying:

Palpatine in OT stretching out with the Force (ala Cerebro in 'X-Men') "Hmm.. what have we here... some kid on a moisture farm on Tatooine... yep, that's Ani's kid... hey, that hot little number on Alderaan... ok, that's Ani's daughter... Obi-Wan... he's on Tatooine too... hmm.. that might be a problem... Yoda.... living in a swamp on Dagobah... oh, wait... the Death Star just went boom... NOW where did they go?"

I think Maul's target was Qui-Gonn, and the kid wasn't even part of the equation

Krash · Jedi Knight Joined: Mar 20, 2004 Posts: 3495

Beltayn wrote:

How is it... that all those Jedi Masters in Palpatine's presence... especially Yoda and Mace Windu... haven't picked up on Palpatine's Jedi powers (or even sensed a "presence" in the Force?) by now?

Well, if you think about the way they describe the ability to use the Force...Palpatine and other SITh are refered to as "the dark side," Yoda speaks of a weakness the jedi have (that only the Sith know about) and how "th eshadow of the dark side has fallen" If you want to get kind of philosophical, maybe one of the things a Sith like Palpatine can do is "shadow" or conceal his Force power in the presence of jedi?

I don't think Palpatine can see that much detailed information about the future. In ESB, Yoda tells Luke that while concentrating he could sense "the future, the past, old friends long gone" I take that as saying that a Force trained person, when conditions are right can "see" what one POSSIBLE version of the future can be. Perhaps, Palpatine knew the queen would escape...and in her travels (to Coruscant for help form HIM) would bring someone of great potential to his efforts. Perhaps Maul was told that capturing the boy was a secondary target; and he tried to remove the competition. It's just an interesting theory, and an interesting topic.

I think Maul was just looking to distract Qui-Gon, who was his 1st target, by having to concentrate on saving Anakin from the speeder. He knew a jedi wouldn't let an innocent child be run down like that...and it may have given Maul the early advantage. [/i]

Beltayn · Jedi Knight Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 1712

Krash wrote:

Well, if you think about the way they describe the ability to use the Force...Palpatine and other SITh are refered to as "the dark side," Yoda speaks of a weakness the jedi have (that only the Sith know about) and how "th eshadow of the dark side has fallen" If you want to get kind of philosophical, maybe one of the things a Sith like Palpatine can do is "shadow" or conceal his Force power in the presence of jedi?

**I dunno Geoff- sounds pretty transparent Razz

**

I don't think Palpatine can see that much detailed information about the future. In ESB, Yoda tells Luke that while concentrating he could sense "the future, the past, old friends long gone" I take that as saying that a Force trained person, when conditions are right can "see" what one POSSIBLE version of the future can be. Perhaps, Palpatine knew the queen would escape...and in her travels (to Coruscant for help form HIM) would bring someone of great potential to his efforts. Perhaps Maul was told that capturing the boy was a secondary target; and he tried to remove the competition. It's just an interesting theory, and an interesting topic.

**I'm getting the impression that the Force is fickle, and that GL didn't want the bad guys (and in the case of Yoda & Mace with Palpy, the good guys) know anything that would shoot too many holes in his plotlines Laughing

**

I think Maul was just looking to distract Qui-Gon, who was his 1st target, by having to concentrate on saving Anakin from the speeder. He knew a jedi wouldn't let an innocent child be run down like that...and it may have given Maul the early advantage.

**I can agree with that line of logic**[/i]

Krash · Jedi Knight Joined: Mar 20, 2004 Posts: 3495

Beltayn wrote:

**I dunno Geoff- sounds pretty transparent Razz

**

That might be the whole point...Palpatine can hide his ability by making it appear "transparent" when among jedi. Wink

I think the Force is fickle, in terms of what information (and to whom) it reveals. JEDI spend the better part of their lives meditating and trying to understand this connection we all have in The Force. A jedi may go their entire life, with the understanding that they may never fully KNOW all there is to know.

On the other hand, Sith seem more concerned with the POWER they can gain by using the Force to their benefit. They may not KNOW everything, but they want to be sure they know more then the other guy...and aren't afraid to use that knowledge.

I don't think GL wanted to make either the jedi or sith with almost god-like abilities. It would be kind of boring if they could figure everything out, without some kind of struggle. It's the struggle that makes for a good story, and while they can do more then the average person...they are still human (in a manner of speaking).

So the question still is...why did Maul target Anakin with his speeder? Diversion...or was there something more? Think in terms of that guy (The Black Knight) in "Highlander" who kills MacLeod before he turns into an immortal.

Beltayn · Jedi Knight Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 1712

Krash wrote:

[So the question still is...why did Maul target Anakin with his speeder? Diversion...or was there something more? Think in terms of that guy (The Black Knight) in "Highlander" who kills MacLeod before he turns into an immortal.

Trying to psychoanalyze this is starting to remind me of a bad tennis match...and I hate tennis (well, Anna Kournikova isn't too bad, as long as she's off the tennis court and wearing very little Twisted Evil

)

Maul, being the evil Sith bastich he was, probably could have cared less about who or what was in the way of his objective- the rugrat was there, all meter high of him, in Mauls flight path- kid ducked in time, kid got lucky, kid became a Jedi Knight, kid eventually became Darth Vader. If he was in fact 'targeted' by Maul, it wasn't because he wore a t-shirt saying 'FUTURE SITH LORD IN TRAINING', it was probably to provoke or distract Qui-Gonn Jinn so he could take out those defending Padme...

I'm starting to think SW fans are bigger conspiracy theorists then some of the UFO hunters out there Razz

!

Krash · Jedi Knight Joined: Mar 20, 2004 Posts: 3495

Like I said, personally I think it has more to do with Darth Maul trying to divert Qui-Gon's attention from his attack. I saw this one on the TFN boards and thought it was an interesting point for speculation.

TheRandomMenace · Jedi Knight Joined: Mar 30, 2004 Posts: 1886

Quote:

So the question still is...why did Maul target Anakin with his speeder?

Because, he was thinking, hmm, we need a cool action sequence here, and what would be a cool effects shot? I know, let's have Anakin almost crushed right here! In other words, because it looks really cool.

Beltayn · Jedi Knight Joined: Apr 18, 2004 Posts: 1712

TheRandomMenace wrote:

Quote:

So the question still is...why did Maul target Anakin with his speeder?

Because, he was thinking, hmm, we need a cool action sequence here, and what would be a cool effects shot? I know, let's have Anakin almost crushed right here! In other words, because it looks really cool.

I think that's probably the best explanation on this topic I've seen yet Very Happy