Galen Marek (Starkiller)

SW Character


bgcolor = #00b
fgcolor = #000
name = Galen Marek (Starkiller)
position = Darth Vader's secret apprentice
species = Human
gender = Male
hair = Black
height =
eyes =
vehicle = "Rogue Shadow"
planet = Kashyyyk
affiliation = Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance
portrayer = Samuel Witwer (voice and appearance)

Galen Marek or Starkiller is a fictional character of the Star Wars universe, and the protagonist of "" video game and the book of the same name. He also appears as an unlockable character in "Soulcalibur IV". The name Starkiller most likely originates from "Luke Starkiller", the original production name for Luke Skywalker which was dropped for being too violent.

Galen Marek is Darth Vader's secret apprentice during the rise of the Galactic Empire. Trained in the force and lightsaber swordsmanship, Marek serves as Darth Vader's personal assassin, killing various Jedi survivors and Imperial opposition, all while in preparation for a coup d'état against Vader's master, Emperor Palpatine.

Concept and creation

Game planning began in summer 2004.cite web|url=http://www.gametrailers.com/player/20007.html|publisher=GameTrailers|accessdate=2008-08-15|date=2007-05-25|title=Unleashing The Force Part 1: The New Beginning|work=Star Wars: Force Unleashed] Initially, about six developers started with a "clean slate" to conceptualize a new Star Wars game; the small group of engineers, artists, and designers spent over a year brainstorming ideas for what might make a good game.cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/starwars2007/video.html?sid=6197689|publisher=GameSpot|accessdate=2008-09-14|date=2008-09-13|title=Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Postmortem Interview] Over 100 initial concepts were whittled down to 20 to 25 that included making the game the third entry in the "" series, or to have the character play as a Wookiee "superhero," Darth Maul, a bounty hunter, a smuggler, a "gadget-wielding mercenary", or "the last Skywalker".cite web|url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2008/07/14/star_wars_force_unleashed_new_interview.html|title=Star Wars Force Unleashed — new interview|date=2008-07-14|accessdate=2008-08-31|publisher=The Guardian] cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/starwars2007/news.html?sid=6186606|accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-22|title=GDC '08: LucasArts prioritizing PS3 dev, unleashing Force|publisher=GameSpot] cite web|url=http://www.starwars.com/gaming/videogames/news/f20070322/index.html|accessdate=2008-03-09|date=2007-03-22|publisher=Lucasfilm|work=Star Wars: Gaming|pages=1|title=The Force Unleashed: From Concept to Console|first=W. Haden|last=Blackman] [cite web|url=http://www.starwars.com/gaming/videogames/news/news20070301.html|title=Production Diary: A Tale of Many Storylines|date=2007-03-01|first=Brett|last=Rector|accessdate=2008-08-31|publisher=Lucasfilm]
He has been said to be what Luke Skywalker would have been if he had joined Darth Vader.
Quote|The Apprentice is the photo negative of Luke Skywalker. He's been raised by Darth Vader, and is what Luke would have become if he had joined his father. Vader's not a very nice daddy. This guy has been raised to be a Jedi. When the Jedi use the Force, they respect it and don't overuse it. The bad guys — the Sith - keep testing their limits. Vader discovered this person who had the potential to be the most powerful Force user ever. He's up there with the top tier. He's extremely powerful. Vader has trained him in such a way that he just kept pushing his limitations, seeing how far he could use the Force. So, where a normal Jedi might use the Force to trick his way past a few stormtroopers, the apprentice might use the Force to bring down an adjacent building on top of those stormtroopers. He's extremely confident in everything he does. He's been trained by Vader to be an assassin, an unstoppable force.|Haden Blackman|

Character history

Galen Marek was born on the world of Kashyyyk and was raised by his father, Jedi Master Kento. When he was just a young boy, he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of Darth Vader, during the imperial invasion of Kashyyk. Vader sensed that the the Force was strong in him and took him away to be trained in the ways of the dark side as his secret apprentice. He is sent to hunt Jedi refugees after the implementation of Order 66, killing Rahm Kota, Kazdan Paratus, and Shaak Ti. After Shaak Ti's death, Emperor Palpatine became aware of Starkiller's existence and ordered Vader to kill him. Vader throws Starkiller out of the window of the command bridge of the "Executor" into space.

However, Vader rescued Starkiller and brought him to recover on his personal science vessel. Six months later, Starkiller wakes up, and Vader gives him orders to create an army of dissidents and rebels to distract the Emperor's spies away from themselves. Starkiller, who would discover his name to be Galen Marek, his pilot Juno Eclipse, and droid PROXY bring together the rebel senators Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis, and Rahm Kota, alive but blinded. They declare the beginning of the Rebel Alliance, but Vader reveals the entire scheme to be a ploy, in order to bring the Emperor's enemies into one location. The rebels are taken to the Death Star, and Starkiller follows them, confronts Vader and beats him in single combat, and sacrifices himself to allow the Rebel leaders to escape. Inspired by this, his family insignia is declared the symbol of the Alliance, a symbol of hope.

Reception

References

External links

*sww|Galen Marek