User:Jensaarai/Exar Kun

'''Screw it, Exar Kun can wait, Starkiller is much more dire need of repair. You know the drill; no editing without my say-so, but I welcome and encourage talk page suggestions.''' Jensaarai 02:11, November 5, 2010 (UTC)

"I'm not Starkiller! I'm-I'm a clone. I was grown in a vat to take his place."

- Starkiller

Starkiller was a clone of the late Galen Marek, the secret apprentice of Darth Vader. When Marek died, Vader endeavored to recreate his disciple by utilizing Kamino's cloning facilities. The cloning procedure was initially imperfect and many clones were too unstable to suitably replace Marek. After months of failures, one particular clone impressed Vader enough for him to hope that this version might become the first success. But as with the others, he inherited Marek's power and skills at the cost of receiving his emotions as well.

Like those who came before him, the clone couldn't free himself from the emotional imprints passed on by Marek, especially his personal attachment to Juno Eclipse. As with Marek, the clone's dedication to the Dark side of the Force was undermined by Eclipse as he steadily became obsessed with her. When Vader judged him to be another imperfect copy, the clone escaped from Kamino and embarked on a personal journey to find Eclipse. Lacking a name of his own, and refusing to take the one that belonged to his template, he was subsequently known by Marek's callsign Starkiller. After visiting several worlds in his search for Eclipse, the clone's journey came full circle when Eclipse's capture forced him to return to Kamino and confront his master.

Origins and Creation
"We are still left with hundreds upon hundreds of abject failures. While they no longer try to kill anything that comes near them, they are nearly insensible."

- Lead Cloning Technician, Timira City Cloning Facility



When the original Starkiller stormed the Death Star in a bid to rescue the captured Rebel Alliance leaders, Palpatine presented him with the choice of killing Darth Vader and replacing him as Palpatine's Sith apprentice. While Starkiller refused, perishing in the ensuing battle, Vader was at last made aware of Palpatine's long standing desire to replace him with a more able apprentice.

Now earnestly pursuing the idea of a secret apprentice to help him assassinate Palpatine, Vader preserved Starkiller's body, taking it to Kamino and extracting cells to clone the Force adept. Due to the inherent difficulty in cloning Force-sensitives, many of the initial Starkiller clones were deformed and aberrant monstrousities. As the process was refined, the clones became increasingly stable, though many still succumbed to madness after the period of a few months, at which point Vader would simply move on to training the next. This new clone was just the latest in a long line.

Escape
"The accelerated cloning process is still... imperfect. Those who came before you went mad within months. I believed you would be the first success, but it seems you are to suffer the same fate."

- Darth Vader



Starkiller's training progressed rapidly, thanks in large part to the imprinted memory flashes from the original Starkiller. He was also subjected to numerous brutal tests by Darth Vader, having spent thirteen days in isolation upon one of Vader's visits. Released from the isolation pit, Starkiller was informed by Vader that Rahm Kota, the original Starkiller's Jedi mentor, had been captured on Cato Neimoidia. At the conclusion of his training, Starkiller was to travel there and execute the Jedi. When Vader inquired about Starkiller's visions, the clone elaborated, curious about their meaning. Vader claimed that they were nothing more than the memories of a dead man, a temporary side effect of the accelerated cloning process. With that, Vader initiated a training session, providing Starkiller with a pair of lightsabers. Engaging a number of Sith Training Droids imitating Rebel Alliance soldiers, Starkiller cut them down with brutal efficiency, falling into a trance-like state. However, as he turned on the last faux-Rebel, he realized that it was an imitation of Juno Eclipse.

Despite Vader's orders, Starkiller was unable to strike her down. Disappointed at Starkiller's inability, Vader struck down the false Eclipse himself, and declared that Starkiller would suffer the same fate as the others. Now aware that he was going to be disgarded by the Sith Lord, Starkiller lost all respect for him, even doubting the story of his own origin provided by Vader. Experiencing a sudden memory flash of the original Starkiller being betrayed by Vader, Starkiller decided to escape this outcome, turning on Vader.

Darth Vader brandished his lightsaber to execute the clone, but was caught off-guard by a sudden barrage of Force lightning, dropping to one knee as his cybernetics malfunctioned. Starkiller used the opening to blast a hole in the wall of the reinforced training room, leaping out of the tower into the Kamino rainstorms. Using the Force to clear his path of TIE fighters and exterior fixtures on the tower, Starkiller plummeted onto the exterior ramparts of the Timira City cloning facilities. Drawing his two lightsabers, he cut a bloody swath of destruction along the rain-slicked platforms, eventually reaching the landing platform where Darth Vader's fighter was docked.

As Starkiller paused, Darth Vader emerged from within the facility. Quickly boarding the fighter, Starkiller lifted off and escaped Kamino, despite Vader's brief attempt to telekinetically halt the fighter.

Cato Neimodia
"Starkiller: The Jedi, where is he? Merillion Tarko: Oh, he's alive, for the moment. He's been in the arena for seven days."

- Starkiller and Merillion Tarko



Deciding to rescue Rahm Kota, Starkiler followed up on Darth Vader's information and travelled to Cato Neimoidia. As he had not changed the transponder in Vader's ship, he was believed to be the Dark Lord and was directed to an executive landing pad, where he was greeted by a full retinue of Stormtroopers and Baron Merillion Tarko, the Imperial governor controlling the world. When Starkiller, clad in a tattered Imperial flightsuit, emerged from the vessel, Tarko immediately noticed that something was wrong, informing Starkiller that Kota had been in the Tarko-se Arena for the past several days before questioning his knowledge of the local Imperial security codes. When Starkiller didn't answer, Tarko and the Stormtroopers brandished their weapons, prompting Starkiller to ignite his lightsabers. Tarko retreated while Starkiller quickly cut down the troopers.

Carving his way through the eastern archway of Tarko-se, Starkiller eventually reached a public tramway to the western arch where the arena was situated. En route, he was forced to defend the vehicle against an assault by Imperial airforces, destroying most of the opposition. However, the tram finally malfunctioned and fell out of the sky just before reaching the western arch, forcing Starkiller to leap the distance to the tram station. Once in the western arch, he made his way to the entrance to the Tarko-se arena.

Once within the arena, he approached an exhausted Rahm Kota in the ring. An incredulous Kota turned to him, plainly surprised, but expressing his certainty in Starkiller's survival. As one of the arena doors opening, releasing a Rancor, Starkiller brandished one lightsaber. However, his relaxed attitude quickly vanished when the rancor was seized and consumed by a massive Gorog, and he ignited his second blade. While Kota fled the arena to hunt down Tarko, Starkiller remained to contend with the Gorog. With Kota's strategic assistance, Starkiller managed to use the Gorog restraints built into the arena to pin the beast's arms, before leaping onto it's head and cutting into it's brain.

The Gorog managed to break loose of it's restraints and fling Starkiller aside, destroying the hanging arena's supports in an enraged pursuit of the Force adept. Starkiller allowed it to do so, hoping it would fall with the rest of the arena. Making his way to Tarko's executive box, he rendezvoused with Kota and confronted the Baron. However, the confrontation was cut short by the Gorog, who seized hold of the box in a last ditch effort to avoid falling. Tarko fell into the Gorog's open mouth while Kota was grabbed by the beast before it fell. Starkiller leapt after them, attacking the Gorog with bursts of Force lightning and lightsaber throws. Finally, Starkiller used the Force to propel himself onto the Gorog's back, firing a blast of Force lightning into it's chest and stopping it's heart. Now freed, Kota used his comlink to contact the Rogue Shadow, which swept in on autopilot and caught them before landed on the rocky Cato Neimoidian landscape.



Once within the ship, Starkiller charged into the cockpit, expecting to find Juno Eclipse there. Kota revealed that he didn't know where she was, as the Rebel fleet had been scattered. Starkiller convinced Kota to help him find Juno, and Kota provided the coordinates for the Rebel rendezvous in the Athega system. However, they were ambushed by an Imperial fleet upon their arrival, and forced to flee. Kota was quick to try convincing Starkiller to join the rebellion and counterattack against the Empire, brushing aside Starkiller's claims of being a clone with the supposed certainty that cloning Force-sensitives was impossible, and even trying to drill Starkiller for information on the Kamino cloning facilities. However, Starkiller remained committed to finding Juno, stating that he simply needed a quiet place to think. An enraged Kota considered Starkiller's desire as little more than letting the galaxy die to go find yourself. Kota stormed out of the cockpit, but not before giving the Rogue Shadow to him, feeling that the ship had always been his, and demanding to be let out on nearest spaceport before Starkiller got "lost in the stars".

Vision on Dagobah
"Fine, then. Go to the forests of Kashyyyk or the caves of Dagobah, or wherever you think you'll find what you need and let the galaxy die."

- Rahm Kota

Dropping Kota off on Malastare, Starkiller then followed up on both his Force visions and hints Kota had inadvertently dropped. Travelling to Mon Calamari, he found the planet in turmoil from recent resistance activity. On Kashyyyk, he experienced a vision of the original Starkiller's father. So he travelled to Dagobah.



Landing on the planet, he probed the swamps through the Force, discovering an odd Force signature that studied him in return. Picking his way through the swamps towards it, Starkiller was forced to fight off several predators, but prevailed. Reaching the Dark Side Cave, he was greeted by Yoda. Yoda steered Starkiller into entering the cave, which the Force adept did after a moment.

Within the cave, Starkiller experienced a vision. Now clad in the robes of a Jedi Knight and wielding blue lightsabers, he wandered the interior of the cave, only to be accosted by various versions of himself. Initially brandishing his lightsabers, Starkiller lowered them and forced his way through. Entering a final chamber shrouded in shadows, he experienced additional layers of the vision, seeing Darth Vader hiring Boba Fett to track him down, and Juno Eclipse being attacked and wounded on the bridge of her vessel, the Salvation.

Emerging from the cave, Starkiller was counciled by Yoda to follow what he had seen. Returning to his ship, Starkiller travelled to Malastare to find Kota. Finding Kota in the workshop of the Rebel contact Berkelium Shyre, Starkiller was recognized by Shyre, who was infatuated with Juno, as the man whom Juno Eclipse always spoke of. After Kota left to rendezvous with his new squad, Starkiller erased Shyre's memory of him, and of his own last meeting with Juno. Afterwards, Kota introduced Starkiller to his squad's medic, the Cerean Ni-Ke-Vanz. Vanz possessed extensive knowledge of cloning, having been educated in the subject by a Khommite slave during a shared sentence in the Spice Mines of Kessel. Vanz elaborated on why Force-sensitive cloning was considered impossible; the clones would lapse into insanity, developing psychotic and suicidal tendencies.

Starkiller wasn't reassured by this information, despite Kota's belief that it proved he wasn't a clone. They departed for Nordra, the current location of the Rebel fleet, soon afterwards. En route, Kota presented Starkiller with a pair of blue Lightsaber crystals; relics of the Clone Wars; which Starkiller installed in his dual-lightsabers.

Attack on the Salvation


Arriving at Nordra, Starkiller and Kota docked aboard the Salvation ahead of Kota's squad, which had taken an alternate vessel. While taking a rapid cargo tram towards the Salvation bridge, Kota informed Starkiller about the state of affairs within the alliance. The Alliance leadership was deadlocked, as they didn't have the firepower to take out a meaningful Imperial target, and hit-and-run raids wasted too many lives. Juno Eclipse was part of the militarist camp, calling for an aggressive strike, even for only a symbolic victory. Kota did't tell Juno that Starkiller was with him, feeling that it would be better for her to see for herself. Starkiller handed Kota an encrypted Code cylinder that contained information about the Timira City cloning facilities; everything the Alliance needs to launch a successful attack.

The cargo tram suddenly ground to a halt as the ship was attacked. Starkiller and Kota quickly drew their lightsabers and made their way to the bridge on foot, attacked by Terror Troopers and droids along the way. Reaching the bridge, they found it in shambles, most of the personel dead and Juno missing. Starkiller found PROXY, the original Starkiller's training droid, who informed them that Juno had likely been taken to the Deck 7 docking bays. While Kota remained on the bridge to take command of the ship, Starkiller continued on alone, following the destructive trail left by Vader's bounty hunter and the Imperial forces.

Making it to the hangar, Starkiller arrived just in time to see Boba Fett and a very shocked Juno Eclipse board Fett's ship. Attempting to stop Fett's ship from fleeing by grasping it telekinetically, Starkiller was forced to break off when he was attacked by a Terror Walker. Pursuing the monstrous droid into the Salvation's reactor chamber, Starkiller destroyed it. Contacting Kota, Starkiller demanded that Kota order the attack on Kamino, so he could go rescue Juno from Darth Vader.

Battle of Kamino
Starkiller returned to the hangar just in time to see the Rebel fleet arrive at Kamino. Engaging the Imperial forces that boarded the Salvation, Starkiller systematically eliminated them before returning to the bridge. Kota and PROXY informed him that the attack was going badly; as the Imperials had been waiting for them, and the deflector shield protecting Timira City prevented them from landing any of their forces. Starkiller advised Kota to order the ship abandoned so he could crash in through the planetary shield and destroy the planetside shield generator.

Slaving all ship systems to the bridge, Starkiller plotted a course straight at the planetside shield generators and set the ship on autopilot. As the ship plummetted towards Timira City, Starkiller cleared debris from the battle out of the ship's path, allowing it to smash through the shield. As the Salvation continued falling, it broke in half, with the rear half plowing into the shield generator, while his flew at the spire where Darth Vader was holed up. Too late realizing that Juno was also being held in the spire, Starkiller used the Force to destroy the entire forward section of the Salvation. Managing to survive the fall onto the facility, Starkiller briefly lost consciousness.

While unconscious, Starkiller remembered Galen Marek's mother, and how she sacrificed herself to protect her family from Trandoshan slavers before Galen's abduction by Vader. When he awoke on the Kaminoan battlefield, he tried to shrug it off and focus on the task at hand. As he was on the cloning facilities interior, he needed to find an entrance to allow the Rebel forces in. Making his way towards one of the Imperial hangar bays, he killed everything in his path, as well as clearing out a group of snipers harrying Rahm Kota and his squad. Rendezvousing with Kota, they broke into one of the Imperial command centers, hoping to use it to open the hangar doors, but the controls were destroyed by an Imperial bombing run. While Kota and his men looked for a security hub to prevent any more lockdowns, Starkiller made his way to an alternate command center only to find the controls locked. Instead, he used telekinesis to wrench the doors open.

Needing a shortcut across the facilities interior towards the base of the cloning spires, Starkiller climbed on top of the hangar doors and leapt onto a passing Y-wing. The pilot, Wedge Antilles, obliged to Starkiller's request for a ride, flying him across the dome. Leaping off and entering the spire, Starkiller began ascending. Within, he engaged Imperial Saber Guardsman and Force-users, and finding to his horror that most of the cloning tanks within the spire contained more clones of Galen Marek. As he ascended higher and higher, he attempted to do so stealthily and with as little bloodshed as possible, but was given away by an unnoticed Terror Trooper, forcing him to kill them all.

Confrontation with Vader
"I knew it would only a matter of time before you returned. Now you will surrender to me, or you will die here where you were created."

- Darth Vader



Exiting an elevator in the cloning labs near the top of the spire, Starkiller continued on, despite Kota's protests via-comlink. As he wandered the smoke-shrouded corridors, he was attacked by Vader. Starkiller managed to fend off the Sith Lord, but was struck by a sudden and violent Force vision before he could counter, allowing Vader to slip away. Tortured by his own mind as he wandered the corridors, Starkiller was attacked twice more by Vader before reentering the larger interior spaces of the spire.

Darth Vader made himself visible on one of the tank platforms, declaring that Starkiller would either surrender to him or die. Starkiller leapt up to engage Vader, but the Dark Lord relied on more evasive tactics, fending off Starkiller's attacks while sending Sith Training Droids in the guise of various figures from Galen Marek's past to fight him. Starkiller easily held them off and turned on Vader. However, the Vader he fought turned out to just be another Holodroid, and Starkiller leapt further upwards in search of the real Sith Lord.

As he prepared to face the true Darth Vader, Starkiller also found himself confronted by a veritable army of Aberrant clones of Galen Marek. Faced with what were essentially alternate versions of himself, Starkiller was forced to truely accept his identity as a clone in the face of this overwhelming proof. His aggressive counters against the clones were reluctant, as he felt they had just as much right to live as he. He killed them all with a powerful Force repulse, then quietly questioned Darth Vader why me?

After a momentary dialogue, Starkiller rushed Vader in a rage. Vader casually parried the attack, and blocked the follow-up with his lightsaber and telekinesis, throwing Starkiller off his feet as the platform bucked. Starkiller regained his feet and came on swinging. Even as they fought across the top of the tower, Starkiller sensed that Vader was still testing him, and attempted to keep a handle on his emotions. When an opening came, Starkiller moved to take it, only to be hit by a vision of a dead Juno Eclipse in his arms. Starkiller's momentary confusion allowed Vader to knock him down and quietly retreat. Starkiller pursued him, and reached the very top of the spire.

When Starkiller demanded Juno location, Vader quietly sidestepped, revealing her standing behind him. Vader took her up in a telekinetic chokehold, demanding that Starkiller surrender to him in exchange for her life. Starkiller agreed, casting aside his lightsabers and dropping to his knees. Vader demanded that Starkiller locate and kill Rahm Kota; embrace the Dark side; and at the conclusion of his training, hunt down and execute the Rebel leaders. However, while Vader spoke, Juno retrieved one of Starkiller's lightsabers and attacked Vader. Vader managed to dodge, blasting her back with a powerful Force push, seemingly killing her. Starkiller fell on Darth Vader in blind rage.



As they fought across the rain-slicked spire roof, Starkiller realized that this was Vader's plan all along; to use Juno's death to bring about his own fall. Realizing this, Starkiller attempted to reason with Vader even as their fight increased in intensity, but Vader simply redoubled his own attack in response. Starkiller was forced onto his back foot and disarmed. Dodging Vader's lightsaber throws, he caught the Dark Lord's lightsaber and threw it back at him, cutting off Vader's right hand. Starkiller than telekinetically arranged several of the massive lightning rods across the top of the spire to direct a bolt at him. Catching and redirecting the bolt of lightning, Starkiller channelled it into a powerful barrage of Force lightning, driving Darth Vader to his knees.



Reclaiming his lightsabers, Starkiller prepared to execute Darth Vader, even as the Sith Lord continued to try turning him. However, he was halted at the last second by Rahm Kota and his squad. Kota called for taking Vader prisoner to interrogate and formally execute him, reasoning to Starkiller that the Vader was the only one who knew for sure whether or not he was truly a clone. Unknown to Starkiller, he had both Boba Fett and a fellow surviving clone of Galen Marek preparing to intervene if Starkiller attempted to kill Vader.

Starkiller spared Darth Vader.

Reunited


With Darth Vader overcome, Starkiller rushed to Juno, whom PROXY was attempting to revive. Unsuccessful, PROXY apologized for his failure, though Starkiller was quick to forgive him, stating that the fault was his own, for seeking out Juno in the first place. Holding her body in his arms, Starkiller began grieving when Juno inexplicably awoke. They kissed, and were happy. Unknown to Starkiller, Boba Fett had been preparing to kill him with a sniper rifle, only relenting out of sympathy when Juno awoke.

With the battle won and Vader captured, the Rebel attention was turned to cleanup. Vader would be transported on board the Rogue Shadow to keep his whereabouts secret, with Starkiller supervising his transport, and the Timira City facilities with wreckage from the space battle. Kota saw to Vader's "accomodations" aboard the Shadow, telling Starkiller that he hadn't said a word during this process. Starkiller was skeptical that Vader would give in to interrogation, believing that the Sith Lord's own experiences had already pushed him past his breaking point. Starkiller then saw PROXY enter the ship, with scavenged parts from the numerous Sith Training Droids Starkiller had destroyed clutched in his arms. Starkiller followed him into the crew quarters, where PROXY was experimentally swapping out components from the scavenged droids with his own, revealing that he was attempting to find himself a new primary programming to replace his long since erased original. Starkiller advised PROXY to instead figure out a common factor between all the various individuals he had encountered; a set of principles.

Starkiller then went into the onboard meditation chamber, where Vader was detained. While he attempted to project a bold front, Starkiller was inwardly confused and uncertain. He declared to Vader that by letting the him live, he had broken the Sith Lord's hold over him. As Starkiller turned to leave, Vader countered that as long as Juno lived, he would always control Starkiller. Starkiller refused to give Vader the satisfaction of an answer, and left the room.

Taking his place in the copilot seat in the Rogue Shadow cockpit, Starkiller left the piloting duties to Juno. The Shadow met up with a formation of Rebel cruisers above Kamino, all arrayed in different directions to throw off pursuit, and was the last to leave. However, they were being tracked by Slave I, which had been hiding in the wreckage from the battle.

Aftermath
Darth Vader's tenure in Rebel Alliance captivity wouldn't last long, as he would be free and active by 0 BBY. Starkiller's reemergeance would likely prove to be a boon to the Alliance, though both Kota and Juno encouraged him to keep a low profile, wanting to keep it under wraps for the time being, unsure about what the Alliance leadership would think of him. Starkiller's ultimate fate is unknown.

Lightsaber Training
As was the case with most of the Galen Marek clones, Starkiller was trained to fight with dual-lightsabers. Starkiller strongly favored the Ataru and Niman lightsaber forms, using their dual-blade training regiments to develop his skills, mastering Jar'Kai. In combat, Starkiller utilized heavily pre-practiced fighting sequences, performing them instinctively while he lapsed into a trance-like state. His bladework was elaborate and highly unpredictable, reinforced by sudden Force-based attacks that he chained into his sequences. Like Galen Marek, Starkiller favored the Shien-style reversed grip.

Starkiller also demonstrated an aptitude for improvised weapons and disarmament techniques; in particular, he would often deprive Imperial riot troopers of their Electrostaffs and attack them with the weapons. When caught up in the frenzy of Force fury, Starkiller would unleash brutal physical attacks against his hapless enemies. Also, while in "Fury mode", he demonstrated an aptitude for Telekinetic lightsaber combat, throwing his dual-lightsabers in devastating arcs, often striking multiple opponents at a time.

Starkiller's skill as a duelist was such that he could overcome most opponents with little difficulty, with only Darth Vader being able to stand against him for a significant length of time. Riot troopers, Imperial Saber Guardsman, even other Marek clones were no match for him.

Force Abilities


Starkiller retained the powerful Force-connection of his genetic template, advancing quickly thanks to both Darth Vader's brutal training methods and memory flashes of the original Marek's experiences. Notably, the memory flashes did grant him knowledge of advanced Force techniques that he was unaware of.

Starkiller's skills with Telekinesis were such that he could catch and crush TIE fighters in mid-flight. When unleashing Force pushes, he would often clear entire hallways as everything in front of him was blasted back. Highly proficient at telekinetic lightsaber combat, he would often direct his lightsabers to seek out specific enemies and impale them, often killing them instantly. He was even able to catch and redirect missiles and ballistics while they were in mid-flight. Most notably, Starkiller's Force repulse unleashed sufficient energy to disentigrate enemies within a certain proximaty, the only protection against this ability being either heavy armor or advanced Force abilities.

Starkiller proved able to utilize Force lightning in many unique ways, able to target multiple foes with overwhelming barrages. Like the original Galen Marek, Starkiller was able to chain lightning attacks into his lightsaber strikes, even amplifying blade attacks with sudden arcs of energy. He also used lightning in a more tactical manner, charging up or shorting out certain types of machinery.

One of Starkiller's unique abilities was a variant of Mind trick. Unlike Jedi, who used it subtly or to evade notice, Starkiller would take complete control over his target's mind, convincing them to attack their allies, or in more extreme cases, attempt suicide. When he advanced his skills with this ability to their highest level, he was able to control up to three enemies at a time, and when the effects of the Mind trick wore off, their would physically explode in a sudden burst of Force energy.

One of Starkiller's most dangerous abilities was Force fury. Upon building up sufficient levels of Force energy, he would channel it through his body, heavily amplifying his already formidable abilities. His prowess with telekinesis would be boosted to the point where he could seize AT-STs and crush them, and then hurl the wreckage as a weapon, all with minimal effort. His blasts of Force lightning would often vaporize foes, and he was able to amplify it with Tutaminis, even redirecting a lightning bolt into an offensive attack. Fury allowed the already powerful Starkiller to become a nigh unstoppable force of destruction, though it's taxing nature meant that Starkiller could only draw on it sparingly.

Behind the Scenes
Starkiller's clone was created for the 2010 video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, and was played by Sam Witwer like the original Starkiller.

In the early marketing of TFU2, the clone is seen wearing a different costume known as the "combat arena" costume in the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360's unlock of costumes.

In the previews and posters leading up to the release of The Force Unleashed 2, the clone is seen wielding different lightsaber hilts than those in the actual game.

Conception and Contradictions
Some of the hints to Starkiller's origin appear to contradict each other. On one hand, the blurb of the novel stated that Starkiller was brought back as a person devoid of memories from his former life and "programmed to kill." In the Force Unleashed II section of the LucasArts website, however, Darth Vader's profile clearly states that Vader secretly cloned the original Starkiller in order to continue his plot to overthrow Emperor Palpatine&mdash;and then lost control of the clone when he escaped from Kamino.

Within the game, it is implied that the player character is possibly the real Starkiller, having been led to believe he is a clone. However, this argument is largely based around Rahm Kota's perspective. Most of the other supplementary material is fairly straightforward in identifying Starkiller as a clone. However, the novelization, being told largely from Starkiller's point of view, leaves the idea largely up for grabs.

Distant Thunder
The major piece of evidence supporting Starkiller's identity as a clone are the Distant Thunder cinematics unlocked through the challenge levels. These motion comic-style cinematics depict the training and development of the Dark Apprentice, and shows Vader displaying Galen Marek's corpse to the clone. Interestingly, the body was dressed in Marek's Sith training outfit rather than the Jedi Adventure Robes that he wore before his death.

The Distant Thunder cinematics take place before the ending of the game and have no impact on the game's progression. With the evidence including the Dark Apprentice's appearance in the novel through a Force vision, as well as being mentioned in the Databank profile of the canonical Aberrant Clones, it is assumed that the Dark Apprentice is a canonical character. The Distant Thunder scenes also reveal that the Dark Apprentice learned to forget his feelings for Juno Eclipse, the original Galen Marek's love interest, and thereby become a "more perfect" clone of the original, devoid of emotions to cloud his judgment. The Dark Apprentice was ordered by Darth Vader in the last scene of Distant Thunder to "intervene only when necessary" in reference to Vader's upcoming battle with the other clone of Marek. When Vader was defeated by the clone at the end of the game, the Dark Apprentice chose not to intervene in Vader's capture for unknown reasons, as seen in the light side ending. However, the Dark Apprentice only appeared when his counterpart was about to deliver a finishing blow to kill Vader, as seen in the dark side ending. In the light side ending, Vader's life was not in immediate danger, thus not requiring the Dark Apprentice to stop "Starkiller" from executing the Sith Lord.

Alternative Ending


In the dark side ending, the clone decides to execute Vader. But before he is able to deliver the final blow, another clone of Galen Marek, known as the "Dark Apprentice" or the "reborn Starkiller" in the novel, saves Vader by stabbing his "clone brother" in the back before killing Rahm Kota and his Rebel troopers. Before the clone dies from his mortal wound, Vader reveals that he had lied when he said the cloning process was imperfect, referencing the Dark Apprentice as the only perfect clone of the original Starkiller.