28 avr. 2006 10:14
Subsequently, in 2005, Dark Horse published Star Wars: Visionaries, a compilation of comic art short stories written and illustrated by members of the Revenge of the Sith art department and ILM artists.
The opening story, "Old Wounds" by Aaron McBride, is set in "the third year Imperial Occupation" and begins with Owen Lars trying to teach new words to a toddler-age Luke Skywalker. They see a strange figure on the horizon running towards the Lars homestead, and Owen instructs Beru to bring him his rifle and take the boy inside. The figure dodges warning shots with ease and uses the Force to disarm Owen before smashing the weapon over his head. Standing on strange, triple-jointed droid legs (simillar to General Grievous) and concealed by a dark hood, the figure calls out through the Force to an unseen enemy he "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !" nevertheless sense. The evil, psychic voice claims to have been tracking this adversary for years, just missing him on Kamino, Geonosis and Mustafar and to have killed witnesses on Polis Massa before finally gaining crucial information on Mos Espa from an aged Watto, whom he beheaded for his trouble. The dark creature declares that he knew threatening Luke would bring his adversary out into the open, to which the hidden voice finally asks through the Force, "Does Palpatine know?" The cyborg-legged monster replies, "No. There is no Palpatine. No Empire. No Jedi. There is no Light. No Dark. . . . Just you and I here now."
At this point, (a grey-haired) Obi-Wan bursts out from the sand and the dark figure casts off his hood and reveals himself to be Darth Maul, his severed lower body replaced by a pair of large cybernetic legs and abdomen, and his cranial horns having grown, crown-like, to over three times their original length. Consumed with greater hatred than ever before and clearly having never resumed contact with his former master, Maul had dedicated his new life to avenging himself on the man who had bested and killed him. Kenobi and Maul engage in furious combat, in which Maul loses a further arm and some horns before being held at Kenobi's mercy. With his lightsaber hilt to Maul's forehead and his finger on the blade-ignition button, Kenobi hesitates to execute his helpless opponent, but has the decision taken out of his hands when the revived Owen blows the former Sith's head apart with his damaged rifle.
Obi-Wan says he will take the body and burn it in the Dune Sea, and asks if Luke is all right. Owen replies, "I told you I'd keep him safe, and I will. Even if that means from YOU. You don't come back here. Understand?" Obi-Wan departs with Maul's corpse, speaking to Luke through the Force, assuring him "Don't worry. I'll be right here... even if you "pffffffuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit !"'t see me."
vala