| “ | I'll break your face! | „ |
| ~ Craig Marduk's intro quote in Tekken 4, Tekken 5, and Tekken 6. |
| “ | Get your cameras ready folks! This ain't gonna last long. | „ |
| ~ Craig Marduk's intro quote in Tekken 7. |
Craig Marduk is a supporting character in the Tekken franchise. He is a pro wrestler who first debuted in Tekken 4 and later returned in subsequent installments, He is the archenemy of Armor King II.
Marduk specializes in Vale Tudo, a form of free combat where almost anything goes. He is the one who killed the first Armor King, leading the second King to sworn revenge against the brutal wrestler. But the two eventually became good friends, evening teaming together. However, the second Armor King, the brother of the first, will never forgive him and will wish to avenge him.
In Japanese, he was voiced by Yasuhiro Mamiya in Street Fighter X Tekken. In English, he has been voiced by Walter Roberts in Tekken 4, Marcellus Nealy in Tekken 5, and T. J. Storm from Tekken 6 onwards.
Biography[]
Tekken 4[]
Marduk started as a respected, feared, and undefeated Vale Tudo fighter. But he was later expelled from the professional circuit due to a minor scandal. Craig once started a fight in an Arizona bar, and the victim he killed turned out to be Armor King. Craig received a ten-year prison term after being found guilty of second-degree manslaughter. Craig was mysteriously released from jail two years later when an unnamed "benefactor" bought off numerous courts to secure Craig's release. After his release, Marduk received an envelope with a plane ticket in and article about the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4.
Ending: After the winning the tournament, Marduk returns to his professional wrestling career. He runs into egotistical blond-haired Jeff Slater, the new Vale Tudo champion, who challenges him to a duel. Marduk headbutts the newly crowned champion without accepting the fight, immediately knocking him to the ground, and tells him not to "bother getting up". Marduk stamps on Slater as he walks away.
Tekken 5[]
Marduk was frustrated about his loss to King in the last tournament. After being released from the hospital, he underwent a rigorous training program that made his body into the ultimate weapon. He entered a Vale Tudo tournament while wearing Armor King's mask and defeated every opponent who crossed his path. He announced his rematch against King at the King of Iron Tournament 5.
Ending: It starts with two boxers getting ready to fight, Marduk comes into the ring and interrupts the match. While challenging both the boxers, the referee tries to stop him, but is punched and knocked out by tempered wrestler. The two boxers decide to charges at him but are easily defeated. Marduk rips the boxing ring's ropes.
The two boxers decide to attack Marduk but are easily taken down. Marduk taunts the audience and gloats in front of the camera, tearing up the ropes in the boxing ring for good measure. Steve Fox, who is in the audience, has a look of disgust on his face as he gets out of his seat to confront Marduk.
Tekken 6[]
In the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament, wrestler King and Craig Marduk engaged in a grueling fight. The two developed a close friendship despite the fact that he lost. Craig was attacked as he was making his way back to the waiting area. Craig could have sworn he recognized the assailant as Armor King when he caught a brief glimpse of the latter's back as he fled. Craig and King set out to take part in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 because they wanted to find out who the attacker was.
Ending: Marduk is digging up Armor King's grave in a cemetery while using a shovel to make sure the body is inside and that he is dead. He discovers the intact body inside Armor King's grave when he opens it, proving that Armor King is indeed dead. When asked who he is, a shadowy figure that resembled Armor King gives Marduk a blank stare and no response. As King II enters the cemetery, he questions the figure about his identity. The persona asserts that he alone is the "Armor King" and no one else. Marduk thinks this is a lie because he killed Armor King "with his own hands," but the assailant claiming to be Armor King insists that the name is not unique to just one person. He claims that he is the real Armor King II, but his late brother Armor King I, who Marduk killed two years ago, was also the real Armor King II. Armor King II views Marduk as a symbol of his vengeance because he believes his brother's murder was unforgivable.
Tekken 7[]
Despite King II's efforts to broker a truce, Marduk and Armor King II's conflict only grew worse and eventually put both combatants in hospitals. King thus enters the new competition in an effort to raise the funds required to cover their medical bills. Later, when Marduk awakens in the hospital, his body is covered in odd injection marks. He searched for Armor King, who was also recovering from their fight, in search of information. King stopped him before he arrived at his destination and insisted Marduk finally settle the score in the ring.
Marduk took his friend's advice and had a letter delivered to the Armor King II's bedside. In the letter, he demanded a rematch and threatened to permanently leave the fighting world if he lost. However, if Armor King lost, his mask would be forcibly removed from his face in humiliation. Armor King is happy to take on this challenge after he heals.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2[]
Marduk is in the wrestling battling Armor King II, who he successfully knocks out with a powerful arm strike to the head. Then Jaycee knees him in the face directly from his side. He is pushed into a corner and left vulnerable. King II can then be seen climbing into the ring. He is thrown out of the ring when Jaycee notices and rushes back to her corner of the ring. She then uses this as a boost to flip backwards and kick him with both feet in his chest.
Then, Marduk shatters one of the ring's bars and swings it around. When Armor King ducks, Jaycee is struck in the face. After King II has recovered, he observes Armor King being cornered by Marduk while he continues to swing the bar. Finally, Marduk flings the fragment into the ceiling, turning off the majority of the lights. Now there is only one spotlight in the ring. King II surprises him by tackling him, proving that it was a distraction. After he is knocked to the ground, Marduk picks him up, swings him by one of his legs, and slams him to the ground. They are the winners, and the bell rings. He and King II applaud and give high fives. They are the winners, and the scene ends with them raising each other's arms.
Trivia[]
- While the "minor scandal" that got Marduk banned from professional Vale Tudo was never revealed, judging by the image shown alongside the mention of it in his Tekken 4 prologue, alongside his story match involving him kidnapping Anna Williams after rejecting him, it's possible this scandal was sexual in nature.
- Marduk may have been based on the wrestlers Nathan Jones (as both are bald, large Australians who were once sent to prison, use Asian fighting styles, are seen as brutish) and Bill Goldberg.
- Despite being Australian, Marduk is shown to dislike kangaroos (as evidenced with his negative Netsu with Roger Jr. in Tekken Tag Tournament 2), with one having bitten part of his ear off.
- Some of Marduk's moves and animations was reused for Gigas in Tekken 7, leading some to theorize the two were once and the same before the game's release. This was later proven false, however.
