Mael Radec

"The essence of combat: kill or be killed."

- Colonel Mael Radec

Colonel Mael Radec is the Commander in the Helghast Forces and the secondary antagonist of Killzone 2. He is the founder of Radec Academy and was the personal Bodyguard of Scolar Visari.

Past
Radec was born during the great depression of Helghan and joined the military at the same time that Scolar Visari became Autarch. He quickly rose up the ladder of power thanks to his skills until he became colonel. Radec set up the Radec Academy for the training of Helghast soldiers and helped to launch the Vekta invasion, though he did not actually take part, becoming an advisor to Visari. Radec’s soldiers would come to greatly respect him and he would become Visari’s bodyguard and the main commander of the Helghast after the failed invasion of Vekta and the death of the other major Helgahst commanders. Radec spent the next two years preparing for an ISA invasion and also became focused on finding the launch codes for Red Dust, a nuclear weapon captured by the Helghast on Vekta.

Killzone 2
The ISA finally moved to capture Visari and their forces invaded Helghan as Radec had predicted. The first wave was defeated by the colonel, but the second wave, under the leadership of Colonel Templar, who’d played a major part in defeating the Helghast on Vekta, arrived. They managed to force their way into the Helghan capital of Pyrrhus and a squad was sent to the Radec Academy to capture Radec. However he’d laid a trap for them, activating the city’s defenses and preventing more of the ISA from entering Pyrrhus. Radec then had his soldiers ambush the squad, capturing Evelyn Batton, developer of Red Dust, and two other squad members. He tried to make Evelyn tell him the launch codes, but she said that only Templar had that information. Radec killed one of the ISA soldiers and threatened to kill the other, Daniel Garza. However other members of the squad, Rico Velasquez and Thomas Sevchenko showed up to rescue them and Radec managed to escape, fatally wounding Garza. Now that he knew how to get the launch codes, the colonel commanded the Helghast in their attack on the ISA ships, leading the assault on the ISA flagship, New Sun, personally. He encountered Templar and the two noted how they wished they could’ve met in combat, and Radec demanded the codes for Red Dust. Templar claimed that his access to that information had been revoked, but the colonel replied he was a very poor liar. Radec shot and killed Evelyn as she tried to delete the codes and when Templar attacked him, he shot the Vektan. The colonel ordered his men to download the codes, before leaving and meeting up with Visari, Admiral Orlock, and Jorhan Stahl. Radec and Stahl were ordered to launch Red Dust, while he addressed the people of Helghan. They loaded the nuke into a ship with Radec killing the soldier who loaded it, so there would be no witnesses that the Helghast had launched Red Dust and they could blame the ISA for it. The weapon was used to blow up Pyrrhus, taking out all the ISA and Helghast soldiers inside. Radec set his personal guard in to wipe out what remained of the ISA with the ISA launching a desperate last attack on the imperial palace to capture Visari. Radec lead the defense against them and eventually faced off against Ric and Sev with his honor guard. When his honor guard were taken down, Radec took them on personally, but was wounded in the fight by Sev. The colonel, as an honor-bound soldier of Helghan, shot himself, refusing to let anyone else kill or capture him.

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale
Radec appears in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale as a playable character. In his story, Radec noted how mankind constantly struggled for power, only to let it slip through their fingers when they possessed it, but power always found its way to him when it was needed. With the ISA invasion assaulting Helghan, Radec thought of rumors that even more formidable opponents were massing beyond. He stated that weaker men might wait for their enemies to show themselves, but luckily for Helghan, he was not weak and he would destroy any who threatened his world. Radec set out to join the fights and managed to defeat all of his opponents, saying that his search for a worthy opponent may have been in vain. Sir Daniel showed up and Radec ordered him to step aside, growing annoyed at his inability to understand the knight (due to his lacking a lower jaw). The colonel told Daniel he should’ve moved when he had the chance and engaged him, saying he hoped this provided more than a momentary diversion. Radec defeated Daniel, before bringing down Polygon Man and gaining his power. He returned to Helghan, noting that the enemies he’d defeated were the most worthy of his skills, though none were his equal. Radec declared that his planet needed strong leadership to bring order to it, while protecting it from enemies, which required power as he prepared for battle. He said that if the people of Helghan or the ISA thought they knew the power he now possessed, they were wrong, which would cost them dearly.

Personality
Radec is the model of a perfect Helghast solider, regarded as one of the greatest and most fearsome soldiers of their army and even the forces of the ISA respect his skill. He is fully loyal to Visari and his political beliefs, to the point that he is known as the Hound of Visari, but Radec lacks his desire for slaughter and conquest. The colonel is always at the front to lead his forces and focuses on swift and full completion of his goals. To this end, Radec removes any traces of his personality that might interfere with this, which makes him a ruthless enemy. He constantly maintains an attitude of polite, menacing calm, though he can quickly lose his temper if he doesn’t get what he wants. Radec also has something of a sense of honor as he prefers to settle things on the battlefield and is completely dedicated to Helghan and the Helghast’s ideals.

Abilities
Radec is an extremely skilled combatant, possessing great physical strength and agility. He is also skilled with various weapons, but prefers his combat knife and handgun and also makes frequent use of cloaking technology. Radec is an excellent tactician, despite the fact that he isn’t the best overall strategist. He is skilled at actual combat, having perfect awareness of situations and the ability to completely analyze the abilities of his forces and the enemy. Radec can also perfectly combine the various types of troops he has under his command to fluidly accomplish objectives.

Trivia

 * Radec has often been compared to numerous German military leaders from World War II, though none of these comparisons are completely fitting. The closest is Reinhard Heydrich, the darkest Nazi officer of the regime. Radec’s helmet and shoulder pads also resemble the outfits of the SS, the elite soldiers of Nazi Germany. He also has a symbol of an eagle clutching a wreath on his left shoulder pad, which was similar to the Nazi insignia. This was all most likely done on purpose by the game developers, who seemed to have heavily based the Helghast on the Nazis.
 * Sean Pertwee was Radec’s voice actor and also did the voice of Gregor Hakha from the first Killzone.
 * During the boss fight against Radec, there is a painting that can be seen featuring him with Visari, General Joseph Lente, General Armin Metrac, and Colonel Tendon Cobar.
 * Radec is the only colonel in the Killzone series not to serve as the right-hand of a general.
 * Every time Radec draws his handgun, he draws it from his side instead of from a holster, despite his having an empty holster on the opposite side of his belt. His knife doesn’t have a sheath either.
 * Radec is the announcer for the Helghast in the skirmish and multiplayer mode of Killzone 2.