Starkiller

"You are yet another failure, like those that have come before you."

- Darth Vader

Starkiller was a clone of Galen Marek.

Creation
Six months after the death the original Starkiller, Darth Vader took his body to Kamino and cloned him, hoping for a more powerful and obedient version of his deceased apprentice. After a series of deranged and deformed clones resulted in numerous failures, Vader finally created a stable clone of Starkiller. However, due to the fact that the accelerated cloning process was incomplete, the clone began to experience visions, including the sound of the rustling forests of Galen's home planet, a warning from someone during a past battle his template took part in, and a woman's voice. Vader explained that they were the memories of the clone's dead template, due to a side effect in the cloning process and the memory flashes used to train him. In order to overcome them, Vader implied that the clone had to be what his progenitor couldn't&mdash;to destroy what the original Starkiller created, to hate what he loved.

Decision to leave
Hence, Vader warned him that he was going to be abandoned if he didn't ignore the visions and gave him a small training mission: kill several holodroids disguised as Rebel troopers and Juno herself. Starkiller easily dispatched all of the troopers, but having inherited the memories and feelings from his genetic template, he was unable able to strike at the droid impersonating Juno. Vader destroyed the droid, and informed the confused clone that he was suffering from the same side effects of the accelerated cloning procedure just like all of the other clones before him. Just as Starkiller asked what would happen to him then, he experienced another vision: the original Starkiller being stabbed in the back by Vader himself on board the Executor. Now fully convinced that Vader was going to kill him, Starkiller unexpectedly unleashed a bolt of Force lightning at his master before blowing a hole in the wall and escaping. After killing numerous stormtroopers and destroying TIE fighters on his way, Starkiller found the one way to get off Kamino, his master's TIE fighter. After quickly disposing of the stormtroopers and AT-STs guarding it, he took the ship and flew to Cato Neimoidia, to seek out General Rahm Kota in order to find out where Juno Eclipse was located.

Rescuing General Kota
"I'm not Starkiller! I'm&mdash;I'm a clone. I was grown in a vat to take his place.''" "''Is that what Vader told you?"

- Starkiller and Rahm Kota, after killing the Gorog

After arriving on Cato Neimoidia, Starkiller immediately found out that Kota had gone missing during a mission. After fighting his way through Imperial forces, he took part in the gladiator matches, eventually saving Kota from a Gorog. Kota was under the impression that this was the same Starkiller he last saw on the Death Star, while Starkiller insisted that he was not him but a clone grown to take his template's place. Kota found this impossible, as he said that no one has ever attempted to clone Jedi. When Kota insinuated that Starkiller was too afraid to be Galen Marek, the clone adamantly refused to be called by that name, believing that it wasn't technically his name. Aside from Starkiller's identity, Kota was more interested both in how to use Starkiller's power for the Rebel cause and his knowledge of the cloning facilities on Kamino, as he explained the fragile situation with the Rebel Alliance: their leadership was deadlocked, unwilling to commit resources and personnel to large targets or hit-and-runs. He firmly believed that with someone as powerful in the Force as him, they could deal a major blow to the Empire. However, Starkiller's only concern was finding Juno. Moreover, he was unsure about what to do with himself and desired to find a place to meditate and think. The Jedi General snapped at him for putting his personal feelings ahead of the needs of the galaxy but relented and asked to be dropped off at a spaceport while the Rogue Shadow remained with Starkiller.

Meeting Yoda
After leaving Kota on Malastare, he traveled to Dagobah, where he met a small green sentient creature in front of a dark cave. After a short conversation, he entered the cave, where he found other clones of himself reaching for him, which he quickly disposed of. He then saw Juno, who was commanding a ship, and was injured by a green armored man with a T-visor helmet.

Failed rescue attempt
Having seen what would happen to Juno, Starkiller quickly left Dagobah for Malastare, where he picked up Kota, before passing him the layout of the cloning facilities. As they made their way to Juno's ship, the Salvation, Kota counseled him that Force visions are rarely wrong. And Starkiller's vision proved right, as Terror Troopers and Terror Droids, led by bounty hunter Boba Fett, assaulted the ship and captured Juno. Though Starkiller was successful in purging the Salvation of the Imperials, he was unable to stop Fett from escaping with Juno.

Attack on Kamino


Knowing that the bounty hunter must have taken Juno to Kamino, where Vader was obviously setting a trap, Starkiller impulsively decided to dive into the fray. But even with an entire blockade in orbit, it wasn't enough to stop him from sending the Salvation crashing into Timira City, taking down the planetary shields and allowing Kota's forces to land. Starkiller fought his way through the facility, until he came face-to-face with other defective clones before Vader himself. But the Dark Lord revealed his secret weapon: Juno. He threatened her life if Starkiller did not submit to him, complete his training and hunt down the Rebel leaders. Unwilling to see harm come to Juno, Starkiller surrendered. However, Juno, refusing to see him submit to Vader once again, grabbed one of Starkiller's lightsabers and attempted to use it against Vader, only to be defenestrated onto a lower platform. Starkiller's reaction was pure rage, as he assaulted Vader with everything he had. He was close to killing his former master when Kota ran up to reason with the clone. Kota argued that they should take the Sith Lord prisoner first, for interrogation as to learn the Empire's secrets, including the mystery behind Starkiller's origins, before they publicly execute him. Reluctantly, Starkiller relented and spared Vader.

Starkiller then ran to Juno's inert form. PROXY told him that he was unable to revive her. Distraught, Starkiller cradled her body in his arms, lamenting that he should have stayed on Kamino. But miraculously, Juno awoke and kissed him.

As Vader was secured aboard the Rogue Shadow, Starkiller approached him, telling him that he was no longer his slave. But as Starkiller turned his back, Vader promised him that he would always control him so long as Juno was alive. The Rogue Shadow then took off for Dantooine, unaware that Boba Fett's ship, the Slave I, was tailing them.

Lightsaber Training
Having mastered the Jar'Kai form of combat, the clone favored dual-blades. He developed his skills in the form by delving into both Niman and Ataru, practicing the dual-blade training regimes common to both. He compensated for the inherent weaknesses of dual-blade combat by building up his physical strength and speed, becoming a formidable duelist.

Lightsabers
After his creation, the clone was provided with two red-bladed lightsabers by Darth Vader in order to test his apprentice's willingness to strike down holographic droids in the images of Rebel soldiers and Juno Eclipse. Some time between leaving Cato Nemoidia with Kota and heading for Dagobah, Starkiller replaced the red crystals with blue ones.

Force Powers
As with the original Starkiller, the clone had a formidable mastery of Force powers, although his abilities were less potent at first due to his incomplete training when he left Vader's side. The imprinted knowledge of his progenitor's skills would gradually surface within the clone, as well as the ability to amplify certain Force techniques to an overwhelming degree of effectiveness and lethality.

Like his template, the clone was very proficient in using Force lightning and was able to use it in unique ways. For instance, he could channel power directly from lightning spires, as demonstrated on Kamino, in order to amplify his own power and unleash a powerful blast of lightning, enough to bring even Darth Vader to his knees. He could also combine his lightning power with his saber attacks to unleash devastating strikes, just as the original Starkiller could.

He was also a master of Force repulse upon learning of the ability from the original Starkiller's memories. At full power his repulse would simply disintegrate his surrounding opponents unless they were Force users or had protective armor of sorts. He was also very proficient in lightsaber throw which, at full power could seek out enemies from long distances, kill multiple enemies at a time or cause devastating damage to a single opponent.

Another ability that the clone inherited from the original Starkiller was Force push, which he was able to utilize to a devastating degree. When fully charged, he could send multiple enemies off of their feet with a single blast. His Force grip ability was also very powerful, enabling him to grip very large and heavy objects, even two or three objects at the same time. He could also use this ability to grab and crush flying TIE fighters into blocks of scrap metal.

This clone was also proficient in the Jedi ability of mind trick, which allowed him to control the minds of his enemies, thus forcing them to either fight each other or commit suicide. After fully mastering this ability, the clone could control three people at once until they exploded in a blast of concentrated energy after the mind trick wore off.

The clone possessed an ability dubbed "Force rage." Upon building up a sufficient level of Force energy he could unleash it through his body, thus amplifying all of his abilities far beyond their already formidable levels. Through Force rage, he could grip and crush AT-STs with minimal effort. He was able to infuse all of his abilities with Force lightning to inflict massive damage. He would also utilize his sabers in a very brutal fashion and at range so his enemies couldn't even get close to him. He took full advantage of the Jar'Kai form using his speed and lightning to his advantage. His saber throw could travel over much more range, thus allowing him to kill enemy targets from even greater distances. He could Force push dozens of people at once, his repulse was imbued with Force lightning and created an immensely powerful discharge of energy that could knock enemies off of their feet and disintegrate them, and his Force lightning blasts could vaporize multiple opponents in mere seconds. Under the power of Force rage, the clone was a virtually unstoppable combatant. However, the clone could only use this ability sparingly as it would drain his Force energy reserves at a quick rate. Despite this limitation, he would not be weakened after its effects wore off, but required time to build up the same concentrated Force energy in order to use this ability again.

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.

It is implied throughout the game that he is possibly the real Starkiller and has been led to believe he is a clone so that Vader could break him into his tool again. Although it is strongly suggested that he is a clone in the dark side ending by way of another clone dispatching him and Vader revealing that he lied when he said the cloning process was imperfect, it is worth noting that the dark side ending is only speculatively non-canon. This speculation is because the clone responsible for killing the supposedly imperfect clone of Galen Marek does not reveal himself in movie canon. It is also interesting to note that in the dark side ending, the Dark Apprentice wields Starkiller's original lightsaber, originally thought to be destroyed by Vader.

However, the Distant Thunder cinematics, which illustrate the origin of the Dark Apprentice, take place before the ending of the game. These cutscenes have no impact on the game's progression, and because they precede the player's decision between the canonical or non-canonical endings, it is assumed that the Dark Apprentice is canon.

In the novel, Starkiller's clone experiences a vision of how the Dark Apprentice kills him just before he can execute Vader.

The Distant Thunder scenes also reveal that Vader showed the dead body of the original Starkiller to the dark clone for progressing much farther in his training than his predecessors, thus further implying that the player character is a clone of the original.

In the early marketing of TFU2, the clone is seen wearing a different costume known as the "combat arena" costume in the PS3 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.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II novel
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II comic