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Star Wars: Shadow of Maul #5
Star Wars: Shadow Of Maul (2026) #5
DANGER LURKS EVER CLOSER ON JANIX! • CAPTAIN LAWSON and TWO-BOOTS unravel the treachery inside their department! • What will happen if they collide with MAUL as he launches his campaign of terror? • Will JANIX fall to the darkness of corruption and crime?
- GenresStar Wars
23 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 8, 2026
About the author
Benjamin Percy
832 books1,239 followersBenjamin Percy is the author of seven novels -- most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) -- three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men's Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer's Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 11, 2026
Afte he'd been waiting in the wings for the whole run, it makes sense that the final issue should be about Maul. But this was also Brander Lawson's story, so I can't help feeling this stole from that a little bit. All Lawson does in this issue is tail the Internal Affairs guy who's been after him since #1; we do also get another glimpse at how Young Lawson turned into Weary Lawson, how he went from the cute fresh-faced bounty hunter to the grizzled detective. But that's it.
Since #1, both Lawson and Maul have been making moves, fighting the Janix syndicates in their own way. It felt like it was building towards something that might change the way we see Maul's moves in Shadow Lord, especially when he offers Lawson an alliance to avoid the Empire's notice. My money was on Maul taking out all the syndicates' moles in the Janix Civil Defense, weakening the crimnals and empowering Lawson as a possible future ally. Instead, #5 feels like all a sidequest rather than the finale it ouht to have been. Even if the higher Maul content is excellent and the few lines of dialogue he gets are so on point that, even in my head, they sound like Sam Witwer is saying them.
Not the best way to end this series. But not the worst, either.
How did I find Shadow of Maul as a whole?
4.4/5 stars
Even in this final issue, the qualities of Shadow of Maul shine through. There's an eeriness as Lawson realises he hasn't won anything, that everything, every defeat and all his wins, has been the prelude to the real war. That's a great ending for a companion piece, not what Star Wars comics have sadly become since the Disney acquisition in 2014. Good companion pieces should add to the main show, not subtract from it; they should let us to see the story in a different light, not wish it had been the main story instead. Shadow of Maul is an excellent companion piece. Not perfect, but excellent. Nothing felt better than what we saw in Shadow Lord, nor did it cheapen the series by being anything less than another part of the same story. They certainly weren't filling pages for the heck of it, and it was far from the overly-ambitious, 'let's-rewrite-continuity' Charles Soule brought to Star Wars comics.
Benjamin Percy has proved he deserves his place along other excellent writers like Marc Guggenheim and Alex Segura.
Since #1, both Lawson and Maul have been making moves, fighting the Janix syndicates in their own way. It felt like it was building towards something that might change the way we see Maul's moves in Shadow Lord, especially when he offers Lawson an alliance to avoid the Empire's notice. My money was on Maul taking out all the syndicates' moles in the Janix Civil Defense, weakening the crimnals and empowering Lawson as a possible future ally. Instead, #5 feels like all a sidequest rather than the finale it ouht to have been. Even if the higher Maul content is excellent and the few lines of dialogue he gets are so on point that, even in my head, they sound like Sam Witwer is saying them.
Not the best way to end this series. But not the worst, either.
How did I find Shadow of Maul as a whole?
4.4/5 stars
Even in this final issue, the qualities of Shadow of Maul shine through. There's an eeriness as Lawson realises he hasn't won anything, that everything, every defeat and all his wins, has been the prelude to the real war. That's a great ending for a companion piece, not what Star Wars comics have sadly become since the Disney acquisition in 2014. Good companion pieces should add to the main show, not subtract from it; they should let us to see the story in a different light, not wish it had been the main story instead. Shadow of Maul is an excellent companion piece. Not perfect, but excellent. Nothing felt better than what we saw in Shadow Lord, nor did it cheapen the series by being anything less than another part of the same story. They certainly weren't filling pages for the heck of it, and it was far from the overly-ambitious, 'let's-rewrite-continuity' Charles Soule brought to Star Wars comics.
Benjamin Percy has proved he deserves his place along other excellent writers like Marc Guggenheim and Alex Segura.
July 17, 2026
Těchto krátkých 5 sešitků bylo mega fajn. Rychlé čtení, až moc rychlé. 😂😭
Ve své podstatě se jedná o takovou malou ochutnávku toho, s čím později přichází seriál Maul: Shadow Lord (2026), který v dění nadále pokračuje ve svých deseti dílech. Seriál jsem tedy viděla dříve, takže jsem věděla k čemu to vše "vesele" vede, ale to ve výsledku nijak nevadilo.
Moc se mi líbila celková estetika, která zde byla vyobrazena. 💅 ✨ Obecně tento neon Blade Runner/neon-Gothamovský vibe miluju a Lawson zde působí jako místní Jim Gordon. love that. ✨ Nechci říct, že v seriálu mi byl tak nějak jedno, to zase ne, přece jen šlo o hlavního protagonistu, ale tady jsme dostali o tročku bližší a užší pohled na jeho osobnost a tak nějak se mi líbil asi více.
Art styl je naprosto úžasný a je za mě fakt škoda, že tohle není nějaká long run série. Během 5 sešitů se postupně, víceméně anonymně, představují postavy, se kterými se dále setkáme v seriálu, což krásně, i s nastaveným tempem a dějovými zvraty, buduje ten startovní podklad a dráhu pro seriál jako takový, takže tak nějak už můžeme očekávat s čím, a s kým, se bude nadále pracovat. Big thumbs up! 🤩
Maul je tuff as hell, jako vždycky 😂
Ve své podstatě se jedná o takovou malou ochutnávku toho, s čím později přichází seriál Maul: Shadow Lord (2026), který v dění nadále pokračuje ve svých deseti dílech. Seriál jsem tedy viděla dříve, takže jsem věděla k čemu to vše "vesele" vede, ale to ve výsledku nijak nevadilo.
Moc se mi líbila celková estetika, která zde byla vyobrazena. 💅 ✨ Obecně tento neon Blade Runner/neon-Gothamovský vibe miluju a Lawson zde působí jako místní Jim Gordon. love that. ✨ Nechci říct, že v seriálu mi byl tak nějak jedno, to zase ne, přece jen šlo o hlavního protagonistu, ale tady jsme dostali o tročku bližší a užší pohled na jeho osobnost a tak nějak se mi líbil asi více.
Art styl je naprosto úžasný a je za mě fakt škoda, že tohle není nějaká long run série. Během 5 sešitů se postupně, víceméně anonymně, představují postavy, se kterými se dále setkáme v seriálu, což krásně, i s nastaveným tempem a dějovými zvraty, buduje ten startovní podklad a dráhu pro seriál jako takový, takže tak nějak už můžeme očekávat s čím, a s kým, se bude nadále pracovat. Big thumbs up! 🤩
Maul je tuff as hell, jako vždycky 😂
August 17, 2026
As a sci-fi neo-noir with Blade Runner aesthetics, about a cop investigating corruption in the force, it works fine, but Maul is reduced to a literal footnote on every last page, with none of the plot points resolving, the final issue simply saying, "watch the tv series!" which I am disinclined to do, because the comics were a bit of a letdown. It should've been a self-contained story, not tying into anything else, with a proper ending.
July 13, 2026
Hot damn, some Darth Maul action this issue! Big payoff for those who wanted to see the Sith-Lord-turned-crime-lord use his lightsaber. Lead in to the Disney+ series. I'd say stick with this series, as I have found the journey rewarding and the series progressively get better. Recommended for Star Wars crime drama fans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2026
Finally got to see Maul do something in the last few pages of the comic series with his name. I like Lawson and Two-Boots, but I can’t help but feel the same way I felt while watching the show: I would like a bit more Maul.
July 11, 2026
Yeah, there wasn't much elsewhere it could go the closer it got to the TV show.
July 31, 2026
Maybe I should try rewatching the show without exhausted end-of-day pregnant lady brain now
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews