| “ | Wipe this pathetic planet from the face of the galaxy. | „ |
| ~ Darth Malak orders the destruction of Taris. |
| “ | I suppose... I suppose you speak the truth. I alone must accept responsibility for my fate. I wanted to be Master of the Sith and ruler of the galaxy. But that destiny was not mine, Revan. It might have been yours, perhaps... but never mine. And in the end, as the darkness takes me... I am nothing. | „ |
| ~ Darth Malak's final conversation with Revan before his death |
Darth Malak is the main antagonist of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and the overarching antagonist of its sequel Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. He is a Sith Lord who was a former Jedi of the Republic against the Mandalorians that fell to the dark side, being second only to Darth Revan. This envy gave Darth Malak the sinister idea to betray Revan by firing a ship at him, sending his master into a coma, leading to the major plot of the game in how he became the evilest character in the installment.
He is voiced by Rafael Ferrer.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- He accepted the dark side, joined the Sith, and betrayed the Jedi and the Republic; furthermore, he and Revan founded a new Sith Empire.
- He betrayed his master, Revan, because he thought he wasn’t ruthless enough.
- Without his master's approval and to test Karath's loyalty, he ordered the Admiral to bombard Telos' surface during and after the main bombardment, killing millions of innocent people.
- He orders the destruction of the entire planet of Taris simply because he's impatient over the search for Bastila taking too long, resulting in the killing of billions of people. When Karath uneasily informs Malak that Taris is defenseless, he orders him to resume the bombardment with great contempt.
- He bombed Dantooine because of his obsession with capturing or killing Revan and Bastila.
- Although this attack was much more targeted, with the Jedi Enclave and Rakatan temple being the only structures heavily bombarded, this still caused many deaths and great damage to Dantooine's political standing, as seen in the sequel.
- He revealed the truth about Revan's identity and called out the Jedi for lying to Revan, although this was because he wanted to further turn Revan to the dark side rather than any moral standards.
- He captured and tortured Bastila for a week and succeeded in turning her to the dark side.
- He ordered Bastila Shan to kill Revan and prove herself as a worthy apprentice.
- Attempted to use the Star Forge for his own personal gain. As his plans to begin the final conquest of the Core Worlds, which would crush the Republic permanently.
- He is revealed during the final battle to have captured several Jedi at Dantooine to use as "batteries" to fuel his force powers during his battle with Revan aboard the Star Forge.
- When Revan offered him a chance to surrender and an opportunity to redeem himself, he replied that wiping an individual's identity was no act of mercy and stated that he would rather die.
- He stands out as significantly worse than all the villains in the game, as even Saul, a villain who painfully tortures others, was hesitant to go to the heinous lengths Malak was willing to go.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- He expressed some remorse and grief after his defeat by Revan during both the light side and dark side endings of the game, as he does exhibit some honor after his defeat to Revan, seeing him as a stronger opponent and more worthy than him.
- In the light side ending, he expresses regret at having gone down the dark side as far as he did. After Revan apologizes for mentoring him on the dark side in the past but mentions that he voluntarily continued further down than Revan ever did, he acknowledges Revan's claims as true and subsequently dies with some peace.
- In the dark side ending, Malak admits that all he has ever done is continue the path Revan started on and humbles himself, declaring that Darth Revan is the true Dark Lord of the Sith.
- He is somewhat tragic and sympathetic for several reasons:
- His planet was destroyed by Mandalorians, and he later witnessed the genocide of the Cathar race by another band of Mandalorians in a Force vision.
- He also went bald from a selfless act, letting himself be tortured instead of another Force-sensitive, with the torture being described as so horrendous that his hair never grew back.
- His jaw was also cut off by his master before his betrayal.
- He didn't punish Saul Karath after Calo Nord failed his task in spite of the former's recommendation of the latter, mentioning that although he punishes failure with death, it was Calo who failed and not Saul; showing that he's not completely merciless.
Trivia[]
- The legend's lore hasn't been quite clear post-Malak's turn to the dark side that he may still have some care and feelings for Jarael, as the Knights of the Old Republic never gave a hint of this in the slightest.
External Link[]
- Darth Malak on the Villains Wiki
- Darth Malak on the Star Wars Wiki
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 Near Pure Evils
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Disney Canon Legends Canon | ||