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Gristol Malik, also known under his assumed identity of Nick Johnsmith and the stolen identity of Truman Zanotto, is the main antagonist of Psychonauts 2.
Biography
Backstory
Gristol Malik is the last living heir of the former ruling family of Grulovia, a fictional nation based on Czarist Russia, and its would-be "Gzar". Twenty years before the events of the game, his father, Gzar Theodore Malik, ruled the nation with an iron fist and recruited a psychic woman named Lucrecia Mux to help enforce his will after she saved Gristol from an attempt on his life. During a people's demonstration which she was ordered to suppress, Lucrecia attempted to drive the protesters off by bringing down heavy rainfall upon them, only for this to work too well and cause a flood which broke a nearby dam, drowning countless people including her own sister Marona. This caused Lucrecia to go insane with grief and become the malevolent version of herself known as Maligula, who was later defeated by Ford Cruller and the other original Psychonauts, supposedly killing her, amid a successful uprising that drove the Malik family into exile. In reality, Lucrecia was brainwashed into assuming the identity of her own deceased sister for her own good and safety.
Gristol Malik was meanwhile lead to believe that Maligula had been a righteous instrument of his father's will who was murdered by Ford Cruller, a supposed act to which the flood and subsequent uprising were attributed in the version of events he was taught. On his deathbed, Theodore Malik told his son that Maligula was not truly dead, and Gristol subsequently vowed to find a way to bring her back, an act which he believed would lead to his family's reinstatement as Grulovia's rulers with himself becoming Gzar.
Psychonauts 2
Gristol infiltrated the Psychonaut organization as an unassuming mailman named Nick Johnsmith, as whom he posed for some time, gaining their trust. Come time to set his plan into motion, he hired Dr. Loboto to kidnap the current leader of the Psychonauts, Truman Zanotto, and place Gristol's brain in his body while leaving "Nick" brainless. Following the events of the interquel Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, in which Loboto is the main antagonist, Truman Zanotto's body is recovered while remaining seemingly unresponsive, while Loboto is taken in for questioning and psychological treatment, but refuses to give any answers as to his employer's identity out of fear. Shortly following protagonist Razputin's arrival at Psychonaut headquarters and employment as an intern, Nick's brainless body is found inside a package as an apparent threat from the unidentified mole in the organization responsible for Zanotto's kidnapping and, as it is discovered, a conspiracy to resurrect Maligula.
During the events of the story, Gristol Malik manipulates Razputin as Truman Zanotto, telling him that he is only pretending to remain in a coma and that Raz is the only one he trusts with certain relevant information. This is done with the goal of arranging an attempt by a mentally restored Ford Cruller and the other original Psychonauts to repair Lucrecia Mux's mind with the same device that used to alter it many years ago in hopes of preventing her from becoming Maligula again, which Gristol as Truman hijacks and sabotages, reawakening the dark spirit on the spot. Gristol proudly reveals his identity to Maligula and takes credit for restoring her in the belief that she is still loyal to his family and will help him retake the Grulovian throne, but her only interest proves to be indiscriminate destruction.
The final level of the game, titled "Fatherland Follies", is set inside of Gristol Malik's mind and depicts his history and plans from his warped point of view in the form of an amusement park ride, parodying Disneyland's "It's a Small World", which sings praises of his delusional vision.
Personality
Gristol Malik is largely a spoiled brat, taught to believe that his family's tyrannical rule of their country was righteous and vilifying the Psychonauts for causing its downfall; this is best shown by how the narration of his mental ride describes their exile as tragic and worthy of pity, when in reality they got off easy to have escaped the revolution with their lives, and Gristol remained wealthy enough during the period immediately preceding the game's events to stay at a very expensive casino hotel and eat caviar, his favorite food. He thinks lowly of his father, though, not in acknowledgement of any moral wrongdoing, but for his supposed failure to protect Maligula during the events that lead to their downfall, thus seeing him as a failure.
When confronted by Lili Zanotto within his own mind, Gristol proves weak enough to be beaten into submission with a plush toy.
Despite his immaturity and weakness, Gristol Malik still proved intelligent and cunning enough to enact a highly convoluted plan which the Psychonaut organization failed to catch onto until it was too late to stop him, whereupon it only failed due to his expectations being based on a lie.