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| “ | You cannot hide from what you once were, Revan. Recognize that you were once the Dark Lord — and know that I have taken your place. | „ |
| ~ Darth Malak taunts Revan. |
| “ | I always knew the title of Dark Lord would be mine. When the Jedi strike team boarded your vessel, I saw my day had come. I ordered my own ships to fire at your bridge. The Jedi strike team captured you and the council used the Force to reprogram your mind. They wiped away your identity and turned you against your own followers. | „ |
| ~ Darth Malak confronting Revan and revealing the truth to him. |
Darth Malak, born as Alek, is the main antagonist of the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and an overarching antagonist of its sequel Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
He was originally a Jedi Knight and a prominent commander of the Republic Military who led the Galactic Republic to victory during the Mandalorian Wars. After the war's end, he and Revan chased the surviving remnants of the Mandalorian fleets into the Outer Rim where they met the Sith Emperor and were corrupted into becoming Sith Lords. He and Revan later established their own Sith Empire and Malak later took over and usurped power in his quest for galactic conquest.
He was voiced by Rafael Ferrer.
Appearance[]
Malak without his cybernetic jaw.
Darth Malak was a light-skinned male human who was two meters tall in height, as well as possessing a very muscular physique. His head was bald and was covered in blue tattoos that he received from Zayne Carrick while he was helping clear his name. Later on, Malak would have his lower jaw severed from his master, Darth Revan, after he had angered him and would wear a cybernetic jaw emplacement for the rest of his life that allowed him to speak despite the intense physical wound. After this event, Malak would wear a large metal shield in order to protect his face from such an attack. Malak would also undergo dark side degradation common in Sith Lords: his skin became even paler, almost milk white, and his eyes changed color, being either a dark cloudy gray or the traditional yellow associated with dark side users. All in all, Malak cut a very imposing and intimidating figure.
He retained his ability to speak due to a vocabulator, but this voice referberated and with a gruff electronic tone and had a disconcerting effect since his jaw didn't move when he spoke. As a Jedi Knight, Alek wore the standard traditional Jedi Robes and wielded a blue colored lightsaber. After becoming a Sith Lord, Malak wore skin-tight red colored body armor draped in a half-cape of black cloth. Malak also had a Sith Sword that he recovered from the Sith homeworld of Korriban, but he rarely used it in combat.
Personality[]
| “ | There's nobody left who remembers who I was before. But they'll remember Malak. I'll make sure of that. | „ |
| ~ Malak, before becoming a Sith Lord. |
During his days at the Jedi Order, the young Alek was an optimistic Jedi youth with a distinctive sense of justice and shared it with his friend and later master, Revan. Due to his belief in the order's passiveness, Alek joined the Revanchists and Revan's personal campaign against the Mandalorian Neo-Crusader during the Mandalorian Wars in defense of the Galactic Republic with Alek believing that the Jedi High Council was unable to end the conflict all by themselves.
Alek believed that the council had failed the order's standards and goal of peacekeeping and used this to recruit other Jedi to the Revanchist cause to fight against the Mandalorians ravaging the Republic. Alek held pride in the Revanchists and believed that the efforts of the Jedi Crusaders was just and held up the goals of the Jedi Order; the defense of the innocent and the Galactic Republic.
Later when he was assisting Jedi Padawan Zayne Carrick in exposing the Jedi Convenant, he changed his name to Malak and said that it was a name he felt that he was born to have. After the Mandalorians attacked and ravaged his homeworld, Malak viewed his name and identity as important as he believed that there was no one left who knew him by the name of Alek.
After the Battle of Malachor V marked the end of the Mandalorian Wars, Revan and Malak began to despise weakness, and became convinced that a strong hand was needed in order to prevent any threat from rising again, edging battle-hardened Jedi renegates closer to the dark side. Even with their compassion waning, both Revan and Malak at this point still wanted to protect the Galaxy against danger, and this desire is what eventually led them both to investigate the threat of the reconstituted Sith Empire in the Unknown Regions, and face it's Sith Emperor in his very throne room. Their recklessness against a force they did not fully understand, however, caused them to be mentally overwhelmed by the Emperor's immense power, completing their fall to the dark side and their transition into the Sith Lords that would terrorize the Galaxy as Darth Revan and Darth Malak.
The Emperor however, underestimated Malak and his friend; both of whom eventually had a will so powerful that overcame the Emperor's dominion over their minds. Despite this, both former Jedi were already too far gone, and Darth Malak adopted the traits of the Sith; a being filled and driven by anger and hate, presumably coming to the belief, like his friend-turned Sith Master, Darth Revan, that the best way to prevent an invasion from the Emperor's Sith forces was to strengthen the Galaxy by means of war.
While his master fought the Jedi Civil War by means of subversion and conversion making a point in leaving the Republic infrastructure intact, Malak brutally killed all opposition and caused immense collateral damage, viewing his approach as the best to cause results. While Revan favored more complex and nuanced strategies and manipulation to get his way, Malak favored all out brutality to hammer his foes into submission. In essence, Revan was a scalpel, Malak was a club. This radical difference of methods led to many conflicts between the two, such as when Malak disobeyed Revan's orders and destroyed the planet of Telos IV, and another scene where Revan cut off Malak's jaw after Malak called him soft. This, coupled with Malak's ever-growing hunger for power and jealousy towards his master, caused a rift between the two that eventually culminated in Malak's betrayal of Revan.
During Malak's reign as Dark Lord of the Sith, the Sith Empire became even more brutal, destructive, tyrannical and treacherous than it ever was under Darth Revan. To the Republic, Malak was more monstrous than Revan ever was. Malak's reign of terror lead to the devastation of many planets, among those Taris and Dantooine. Malak was an impatient, callous, careless and reckless military leader, as seen when he ordered his top admiral to destroy an entire planet because the Sith's search for Bastila Shan was taking too long, even though Sith troopers were still on the planet. Like most Sith, Malak was intolerant of failure, saying it was punishable by death. He did, however, spare Admiral Karath after the bounty hunter he hired, Calo Nord, was killed in his mission to kill Revan and capture Bastila, saying the failure was Calo's alone. Despite his brutal and reckless methods, Malak possessed a good level of cunning and intellect, and some skill in manipulation, as shown when he succeeded (albiet briefly) in turning Bastila to the dark side. As Dark Lord of the Sith, Malak was cruel, callous, sadistic, treacherous, careless, reckless, merciless and utterly brutal and power hungry, willing to go to any extreme to get what he wants.
Even after becoming a Sith Lord however, Malak never let go of the Jedi Code and a part of him still adhered to it. When he and Revan found the map to the Star Forge, Malak was initially apprehensive about it knowing that if they found the weapon, they would abandon their commitment to the Jedi Order and the Republic. At the end of the Jedi Civil War when Malak was defeated by a redeemed Revan over Rakata Prime, Malak let go of his hatred and held no contempt towards his former master. He understood what he had done, pondering upon his decisions in regret and wondering in his final moments if he could have returned to the light as Revan did had their position been reversed.
Relationship with Jarael[]
Malak and Jarael on Wor Tandell.
| “ | Don't—Jedi refrain from… Emotional connections? Physical contact? No. Oh, there's a school in the Order that's always been pushing for that—wherever there's three people, there's one who thinks the other two shouldn't have any fun. Their voices have become louder since the Sith War. Turns out the children of Jedi are often strong with the Force. So you could say that the proponents of love have a certain…practicality…on their side of the argument. Besides…in times like these, it helps to have something to hold on to. I—Alek— |
„ |
| ~ Malak and Jarael |
Alek met Jarael at flashpoint station during his days as a Jedi Knight, but knew that she was not a Jedi and pleaded with Demagol to be examined in her place. He wanted to spare the Arkainian female from being tortured and managed to spare her from such a fate. He was called "Squint" by Jarael and asked her to call him by his real name the next time they met after Malak, Carrick and Dyre rescued the Jedi that were being held prisoner on Flashpoint Station. When Arkoh Adasca struck Jarael for talking to him via comlink and demeaned her, Alek ignited his lightsaber and threatened Adasca with it demanding that he never hurt her ever again.
Later on when Adasca's scheme was foiled and the two of them returned to Paris, Malak attempted to enter into a romantic relationship with Jarael, but she was hesitant due to recent experiences that left her vulnerable and was left unprepared for another one. Alek was confused and the young Jedi was wondering if it was the timing or if she didn't want to be with him that was the problem. The two later reunited on Wor Tandell during the Mandalorian Wars where Malak tried to convince her to join the Revanchists against the Mandalorians and to become romantically involved once again. After Malak's duel with Rohlan Dyre (who was actually Demagol), Carrick deceived Malak into believing that he and Jarael were in a relationship. When Malak confronted him on this, Carrick said that they ended their relationship, something that Malak was not surprised with saying that Jarael wouldn't be romantically involved with someone who wasn't older and more established.
Powers and Abilities[]
Artwork of Malak showcasing his Force powers.
Powers[]
| “ | This is but a taste of the dark side to whet your appetite | „ |
| ~ Darth Malak to Bastila Shan. |
Alek was originally trained within the Jedi Order as a Jedi Guardian and he favored an aggressive combat-oriented mindset, mastering the art of Lightsaber combat and of battle during his time as a Jedi hero in the Mandalorian Wars. After embracing the teachings of the Sith, Darth Malak focused on deepening his connection to the Force and researching the Star Forge’s dark side lore, eventually becoming one of the most dangerous Sith Lords of his time.
- The Force: Darth Malak’s power in the Force was such that he was second only to Darth Revan himself; one of the greatest Force users in Galactic history. As Dark Lord of the Sith, his power grew even more after uncovering the secrets of the Star Forge’s properties to the point that he felt confident enough to engage his former master in a duel to the death.
- Telekinesis: Like most users of the Force, the Dark Lord was very capable of using traditional applications of the Force to telekinetically manipulate objects through space.
- Force Push: Malak’s telekinetically-applied pushes were directly applied at his opponents in either a concentrated single-target oriented force or powerful Force Waves that could send back flying an entire group.
- Force Whirlwind: Darth Malak was very fond of this power and he often used it to telekinetically manipulate the currents of wind around a target to incapacitate them within a rotating vortex.
- Force Grip: The Sith Lord could employ the Force to telekinetically seize a target with great strength, lifting off their feet and suspending them in the air, often accompanying it with a choking hold over the victim’s neck. He had such fine control of this Force ability, that he even could choke at least two Jedi Knights simultaneously with no visible effort.
- Force Barrier: As a Jedi Guardian and later Dark Lord of the Sith, Malak was highly specialized in generating passive telekinetic barriers around himself to defend against other Force users.
- Force Throw: Having spent his life as a Force warrior for most of his life during both the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War, Malak became highly adept in using the Force to telekinetically manipulate his Lightsaber to kill an enemy from a distance.
- Telepathy: While he lacked subtlety and finesse, Dark Lord’s psychic abilities were strong enough to be used to achieve immediate results in a variety of ways.
- Force Suppression: Malak trained himself the ability to overshadow a being’s connection to the Force for a time and his mastery of this power was enough that he could actively amplify it to the point of the more powerful Force Breach variant.
- Dominate Mind: When he pleased, Malak could use his psychic abilities to erode the target’s will and completely take over their minds.
- Force Stun: Adopting the philosophy of dividing and conquering, the Sith Master was highly proficient in using the Force to overwhelm a target’s senses to render them temporarily stunned and helpless against him while he either engaged another enemy or closed in for the kill. His mastery of this power extended to the point where he could create a stasis field of Force energy around multiple targets, rendering them completely unable to move.
- Force Speed: Be it for combat or utility, Darth Malak was very skilled at using the Force to augment his body to gain superhuman speed and reflexes.
- Force Leap: During both his time as a Jedi and Sith, Malak used this power to augment himself to leap great distances and to rapidly close the gap between him and his prey.
- Force Shield: Malak’s active defenses against the Force were so impressive that he was even able to shrug off Force-based assaults from Revan during their final duel at the Star Forge by creating a protective shield of Force energy around his own body.
- Force Rage: As common for any Force users who use the dark side, Darth Malak was highly proficient in turning his fear, anger and frustration into power that he channeled to amplify his physical strength, speed and durability.
- Force Scream: A dark side power capable of channeling the rage and frustration of Darth Malak into a powerful Force-enhanced scream capable of causing devastation to anyone unfortunate enough to be in his proximity.
- Force Lightning: The Dark Lord was a master in the infamous dark power of channeling lightning from his fingertips to torture, incapacitate or outright kill an enemy. His proficiency with the infernal energy was enough that he managed to effortlessly kill an immobilized Jedi Knight with a single powerful blast of concentrated lightning on board the Star Forge.
- Force Drain: As a powerful practitioner of combat-based dark side abilities, Darth Malak often employed the Dark Healing variant of Force Drain to leech the life out of a target to reform his own wounds.
- Sith Sorcery: While not a particularly philosophical academic, the Dark Lord of the Sith, as one of the most powerful dark siders of his era, complemented his already impressive dark powers with more arcane practices of the dark side of the Force such as Sith Sorcery. His particular area of focus in this department was his research into the ancient, dark side infused, Rakatan technology of the Star Forge, which he used to both increase the eldritch factory’s productivity by 300%, something Darth Revan never achieved, and to empower himself in his final duel against the redeemed Sith Lord. He also demonstrated some interest in Sith Alchemy and was known to have in his possession an ancient Sith war sword.
- Telekinesis: Like most users of the Force, the Dark Lord was very capable of using traditional applications of the Force to telekinetically manipulate objects through space.
Abilities[]
- Lightsaber mastery: Malak was a highly gifted duelist, being of the best duelists of his era and, as of the events of KOTOR, is the reigning swordsmaster of the galaxy. According to the game's head writer, Drew Karpyshyn, out of the two, Malak was a superior swordsman to Revan, being the brawn to Revan's brain. Ever since he was a young Jedi, Alek demonstrated a strong affinity for lightsaber combat, which caused him to develop as a Jedi Guardian when he reached the rank of Jedi Knight. His skills increased over the course of his experience in battles, most notably in the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War.
- Style: Malak's approach was direct and aggressive, leading him to heavily favor Juyo, the seventh and most vicious form of lightsaber combat, marked by extreme offense. By the time of his reign as Dark Lord of the Sith, he complemented Juyo with a Makashi one-handed grip and Ataru-like acrobatics that he used to out-flank his opponents. This combination of offensive combat made Malak a deadly foe that hit nimbly but hard at his opponents, relentlessly subverting and overwhelming their defenses while holding back at nothing for his own, and though he was capable of an active defense when attacked, his ultimate focus was on hitting first and hard.
- Manipulation: While Malak lacked the subtlety that characterized his master Revan, in true Sith fashion he still understood how to exploit the desires of a person and use them against them in order to tempt them with the power of the dark side.
- Torture methodology: This was one of the Dark Lord’s favorite tools to break an individual’s will, using blunt but ruthlessly brutal torture methods to get results. This included using deadly Force powers such as Sith Lightning to cause immense pain on his victims.
- Tactical ability: While not even coming close to a tactical and strategic genius like his former master, Darth Malak was no fool, and he had a great talent in thinking on the fly to achieve maximum results. His tactical mind was displayed in the final battle of the Star Forge where he correctly deduced that while his armies of Dark Jedi and Sith Acolytes would not be enough to stop his former master, they would still weaken him enough before isolating him from his group to face the him alone in the observation deck of the Star Forge, where Malak would be able to draw power from the dark factory and give himself an advantage over Revan. Regardless, Malak did favor blunter and more brutal methods over subtle and organized strategies.
Theme[]
Darth Malak Theme
Darth Malak Battle Theme
Gallery[]
