| “ | You do not understand. I do not serve things evil; I am evil. | „ |
| ~ Armus to Picard. |
| “ | Save your compassion; it's revolting. You offer it like a prize, when, in fact, it's an insult. | „ |
| ~ Armus to Picard, showing his disgust for sympathy. |
| “ | I am a skin of evil, left here by a race of Titans, who believed if they rid themselves of me, they would free the bonds of destructiveness. | „ |
| ~ Armus to Picard. |
Armus is an antagonist in the Star Trek universe that the Enterprise encountered on Vagra II in 2364. Armus was composed of a black viscous liquid that largely resembled an oil slick and was also a shapeshifter that could also assume a vaguely humanoid shape.
He was physically portrayed by Mart McChesney, and voiced by the late Ron Gans, who also voiced Crimebuster in Heartbeeps. In Star Trek Lower Decks, Armus is voiced by Fred Tatasciore who also voiced The Mawgu in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island, Kakuzu in Naruto, Teetsi in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Major Force in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Deathstroke in Youg Justice, Mandarin in The Invincible Iron Man, Tony Alpert in Battlefield Hardline and Helm Hammerhand in Middle-earth: Shadow of War.
Many years later, Armus is shown to be even more bored with no one to hurt and had become more childishly angry when Mariner and his friends made fun of him without him being able to stop it.
History[]
Star Trek: The Next Generations[]
According to Armus, he was born of an unknown race that had left him on Vagra II. This race had purged from within them all the evil and negative attributes, which coalesced into a dank and vile second skin that was full of evil. The species abandoned Armus when they discovered what had happened.
In 2364 the crew of the Enterprise encountered Armus on Vagra II when a shuttle carrying Deanna Troi and a pilot crashed on the surface of the planet. The rescue team encountered Armus, who blocked their way to the shuttle. When Lieutenant Natasha Yar walked towards the shuttle, Armus responded with an energy attack that killed Yar within a matter of minutes.
Returning to the planet, the Enterprise away team tried to reason with Armus. Armus showed his total disregard for any other form of life, and dragged Commander Riker within itself with Commander Riker screaming for help. Armus was capable of blocking the orbiting ship's transporters, trapping the away team on the planet.
Captain Picard traveled to the planet, at which point Armus released Commander Riker and allowed the away team to leave. Armus revealed its interest in leaving Varga II to find and punish the race that had abandoned him there. However Picard declared that he would not take Armus anywhere. He was able to deride Armus enough that the being became angry enraged, which caused its energy output slacken, which allowed the Enterprise to beam Picard and the occupants of the shuttle off the planet.
Following the return of the Enterprise crew to safety, the wreckage of the shuttle was destroyed with a photon torpedo in order to keep Armus from repairing the shuttle and leaving the planet. Picard then placed Varga II under a permanent quarantine, confining Armus on Varga II forever.
Star Trek: Lower Decks[]
| “ | Armus: I wish I had someone to torture. Mariner: Hey, Armus! Shut up, shut up. You, uh, you look like a big bag of crap. Armus: Who said that? Show yourself. I am Armus. This is my domain. Mariner: Yeah, we already know you're Armus, dummy. Boimler: Come and find us. We're touching your stuff. Armus: What stuff? Stop that! When I find you, I'm gonna kill you with a flake of my power! I am a skin of evil! Mariner: More like a puddle of *bleep*! Armus: DAMN YOU!!!" |
„ |
| ~ Armus's breakdown when Mariner and her friends play a prank on him. |
27 Years after his world was quarantined, Armus is sitting on the edge of his puddle, bored of having no one to torment. Suddenly, he hears Beckett Mariner and his friends using a Submanifold casting stone to communicate with the slimy being for the sole purpose of making him go crazy. Unable to catch these jokers, Armus threatens them only to make himself even more of an idiot and trip over. Armus is seen standing up for the last time and cursing the teens with rage.
Personality[]
| “ | I would guess that death is no longer sufficient to alleviate its boredom. | „ |
| ~ Data about Armus. |
Armus is a purely malicious being devoid of any compassion or sympathy, and, in fact, despising these emotions. It has no remorse for the suffering and death that it inflicts on others. Its own self-assessment is that it is pure evil. Armus gains pleasure only from killing and causing suffering in other beings.
Armus is also quick to anger. This is seen when Picard reminded him that even if he killed them all, he would still be alone and stuck on Vagra II.
Powers and Abilities[]
Armus is a being of immense, though localized, power. It sensed the nearby shuttle craft and drew it to the planet, causing it to crash. It could create an energy field around itself to block transporter beams. It proved completely invulnerable to the crew's personal weapons and it is likely immortal. It could absorb a human being and keep him alive within its mass. It could kill at close range effortlessly. Its only known weakness was its inability to control its emotions, which was used to manipulate it. Armus' powers fade as its anger rises, a vulnerability which was manipulated and exploited in order to escape.
Trivia[]
- He briefly appeared in the Shades of Gray episode, part of Riker's memories.
- In an alternate timeline, Tasha was not killed by Armus but instead is found in the main timeline where she fathered a child, Sela, before being executed by the Romulians.
- Since its first appearance in Skin of Evil, Armus has not physically reappeared in the franchise.
