Starkiller

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

- Darth Vader

Starkiller was a clone of the late Galen Marek, the secret apprentice of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After Marek's death, Vader endeavored to recreate his fallen disciple by utilizing Kaminoan cloning technology. However, the accelerated cloning process was heavily flawed in the beginning, thus resulting in numerous imperfect clones, none of which were suitable replacements for Galen Marek. After months of correcting the procedure, one clone in particular was stable enough for Vader to believe that he might have been the first success upon countless failures. But like those who came before him, the clone inherited Marek's power and skills at the cost of receiving his emotions as well.

Although he initially struggled to succeed for his Master, the clone could not free himself from the emotional imprints passed on to him by Galen Marek, especially his personal attachment to Juno Eclipse. Like Marek, the clone's immersion in 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 single-minded quest to find Eclipse. He was subsequently known by Marek's callsign Starkiller, due to lacking his own name and refusing to be known by his template's birth name. After traveling to several worlds in his search for the former Imperial Captain, the clone's journey came full circle when Eclipse's capture forced him to return to Kamino and confront his Master.

Creation
"Starkiller's emotions made him weak. If you are to serve me, you must be strong."

- Darth Vader

Six months after the death the original Starkiller, his body was brought to the Timira City Cloning Facility on Kamino by Sith Lord Darth Vader in an effort to create a more powerful and obedient version of his deceased apprentice. Unfortunately, many of Vader's attempts resulted in a series of deranged and deformed clones, as well as many others who were prevented from fulfilling their training by the emotions that they inherited from Marek. But after hundreds upon hundreds of failures, Vader finally created a clone who showed enough potential to become Marek's successor. After spending thirteen days in isolation, the clone was visited once more by his creator, whom he managed to impress with his ability to survive with only the power of the dark side to sustain him. To further test the clone, Vader informed him that he would soon embark on a mission to travel to Cato Neimoidia and execute the original Starkiller's Jedi mentor.

But like his cloned brethren before him, the clone was continuously haunted by visions of his genetic template's life, including the sound of the rustling forests of Marek's homeworld, a warning from General Kota during a past battle that Marek took part in, and a woman's voice in his sleep. Vader explained that they were the memories of the clone's dead progenitor, the result of a side effect in the accelerated cloning process and the memory flashes used to train the clone. Hence, Vader demanded that the clone prove his commitment to the dark side by becoming what the original Starkiller could not&mdash;by destroying what he created, and by hating what he loved.

Decision to leave
"Those who came before you went mad within months, tormented by emotional imprints I was unable to erase. Some would not kill their father, others their younger self. With you, it is this woman. Now you will suffer the fate they did."

- Darth Vader



In order to discover if the clone was truly unique or just another failure, Darth Vader provided him with a new test&mdash;destroy several holodroids disguised as Rebel troopers and Juno Eclipse herself. It was purely symbolic, a way for Vader to find out how much the clone was willing to destroy his predecessor's legacy. Starkiller spared little emotions over the Alliance to Restore the Republic. As far as he was concerned, his progenitor was dead and he needed to prove his worth to Vader. He easily annihilated the Rebel troopers with a combination of his Force powers and dual lightsaber skills. But much to his frustration, including Vader's, the clone could not force himself to harm the droid disguised as Eclipse. Disappointed with his latest failure, Vader destroyed the droid and explained that the clone was suffering from the side effects of the accelerated cloning process just like all of the other clones that came before him. When Starkiller asked what would happen to him, he suddenly experienced another vision where he watched as Vader used his lightsaber to stab the original Starkiller on board the Executor.

Starkiller became fully convinced that Vader was going to kill him, and thus lashed out by attacking his former Master with Force lightning. With Vader momentarily dazed, Starkiller blasted a hole through the wall and then jumped through it to begin his escape attempt. After killing numerous Imperial stormtroopers and destroying several TIE fighters on the way to the landing platform where his Master's TIE fighter was located, Starkiller quickly disposed of the stormtroopers and AT-STs guarding it. Darth Vader anticipated the clone's intentions and arrived at the platform, only to watch as Starkiller used the Sith Lord's own TIE fighter to escape from Kamino.

For a moment, Starkiller was unsure of what to do. Although he escaped, Starkiller knew better than to believe that he was truly free from Vader's control, or that Juno Eclipse would be safe. Overwhelmed by his progenitor's love for Eclipse, and convinced that Vader would try to use her to his advantage, Starkiller became determined to find Juno before Vader did. With a search grid no larger than the entire galaxy and the target being a fugitive woman on the run from the Galactic Empire, Starkiller realized that General Rahm Kota would be a useful asset in his mission to locate Eclipse. With the stolen TIE fighter at his disposal, the clone locked in a course for Cato Neimoidia.

Rescuing General Kota


After arriving on Cato Neimoidia, Starkiller landed his stolen TIE fighter at Tarko-se, the headquarters of Baron Merillion Tarko. When the vessel registered as Darth Vader's personal starfighter, Tarko had assumed that the Sith Lord was making an unexpected visit and immediately gathered a squadron of stormtroopers to greet him on a landing platform. But to Tarko's surprise, a young man, unknown to the Baron and wearing an Imperial pilot uniform, emerged as the pilot of Vader's TIE fighter. Although initially confused, the Baron became suspicious when Starkiller inquired about Kota's whereabouts. Hence, he asked the clone for the security codes to the sector, while also concealing a blaster pistol behind his back. When it became apparent that Starkiller did not possess the codes, Tarko and his soldiers began firing on the intruder. But when Starkiller easily deflected the blaster shots, Tarko retreated back into his city after ordering the stormtroopers to kill the Force-wielder.

Starkiller was undaunted by the Baron's Imperial forces and proceeded to make his way through the city through sheer power, leaving a path of utter destruction throughout the city. After fighting his way to the city's arena, Starkiller found Rahm Kota in the center of the stage, exhausted and wounded, but alive and amidst a legion of fallen opponents. The general was shocked to see a person who perfectly resembled the the Rebel Alliance's fallen hero, having sensed him as he became one with the Force. Without sufficient time to provide Kota with an explanation, Starkiller insisted that the general remain out of the rest of the fighting for his own safety. But Kota refused, determined to finally bring Baron Tarko to justice. Falling back on a last resort to kill both Starkiller and the general, Tarko ordered that the Gorog be unleashed into the arena, despite the concerns of his Neimoidian aides.



While Starkiller withstood the onslaught of the savage monster, Kota used the clone's distraction to reach the Baron's skybox. Unable to kill the clone, the Gorog was tricked by Starkiller into destroying most of the arena's infrastructure, essentially ruining the integrity of the entire arena. As the arena began to collapse and fall into the sinkhole beneath it, Starkiller entered the skybox and found Kota preparing to put an end to Tarko's brutal reign. Before either of them could kill Tarko, the Gorog temporarily prevented its fall by grabbing onto the skybox, effectively destroying it as well. To Tarko's horror, his own gold throne scooped him up as it slid towards the skybox's broken viewport. Unable to prevent himself from being taken down by his throne's massive weight, Tarko could only scream in vain as he fell straight into the Gorog's mouth.

Before falling into the depths below, the Gorog reached into the skybox and caught Kota, dragging the general down with it. Having literally destroyed Tarko-se to find Kota in the hopes of locating Eclipse, Starkiller dived out of the skybox's shattered window and used the Force to propel his speed to catch up with the falling general. With a sudden discharge of Force speed, Starkiller shot right through the Gorog's torso, causing the creature to finally release Kota. As the two continued to fall, Kota contacted the Rogue Shadow. The ship succeeded in intercepting them just in time while the Gorog continued to its descent into the mouth of the sinkhole. As the Rogue Shadow departed from Cato Neimoidia, Starkiller entered the ship's cockpit, only to find that Eclipse was not piloting the ship, nor on the ship at all anymore.

Kota was under the impression that the man who saved him in the arena was the same Starkiller he last saw on the Death Star, but "Starkiller" revealed that he was actually a clone created to take the place of the original Starkiller at Darth Vader's side. Kota thought that it was impossible to clone a Force-sensitive, believing that no one has ever attempted to clone Jedi or Sith. However, the clone was not convinced by the general's opinions and pointed out that Vader likely discovered the method to clone Force-wielders with the aid of Kaminoan expertise and technology. When Kota insinuated that Starkiller was too afraid to be Galen Marek, the clone adamantly refused to be called by his progenitor's birth-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 Starkiller, the Alliance could finally inflict a major blow to the Empire. But Starkiller refused to be used in the general's plans, placing more importance in finding Juno Eclipse. Although he saved Kota so that the general could help him find Eclipse, he soon realized that Kota wasn't any help at all. Moreover, he was unsure about what to do with himself and desired to find a place to meditate and think without Kota's distractions. 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
"Whatever you have seen, follow it, you must.''" "''To the ends of the galaxy if I have to."

- Yoda and Starkiller

After parting ways with Rahm Kota, Starkiller traveled to Dac, the homeworld of the Mon Calamari, only to discover that the planet brought him no closer to finding Juno Eclipse. The failure to find Juno caused the clone to reflect on how rescuing Kota and traveling to Dac both turned out to be counter-productive in his mission, and only further deterred him away from his goal. While studying a map of the galaxy, Starkiller remembered Kota's brief mentioning of Dagobah. With no other apparent way of locating Eclipse, Starkiller traveled to the remote world, at the very least to meditate on his situation.

Not long after landing the Rogue Shadow on the surface of Dagobah, Starkiller discovered an entrance to a dark cave where he encountered a small, sentient creature. The first thing that Starkiller noticed about the creature was that it showed no sign of fear at the sight of the clone's lightsabers, and that its eyes were filled only with amusement. Sensing that the strange being posed no threat to him, nor tried to, Starkiller deactivated his lightsabers. Although he was unnerved by how the creature easily and accurately read the clone's situation, Starkiller asked if what he was searching for was inside the cave. The creature dropped his pretense of amusement and encouraged the clone to enter the cave to seek out what he was searching for.

When he entered the cave, Starkiller was confronted by a vision of other clones of Galen Marek, all reaching out for him. Although initially surprised, he decided to ignore them and walked deeper into the cave. His vision then revealed an event that occurred shortly after his escape from Kamino. He watched through his Master's "eyes" as a fully armored figure analyzed the room where Starkiller began his escape from the cloning facility. The vision also revealed that Vader ordered the bounty hunter to capture Juno in order to bring Starkiller back to Kamino, assuring the mercenary that the Empire would provide all of the resources to achieve the objective, including a detachment of stormtroopers and a rather large and heavily armed droid that Starkiller was unfamiliar with.

Shortly afterward, the cave induced him with another vision of the imminent future, this time through the eyes of Juno Eclipse, who was commanding a ship with the holodroid PROXY at her side. Then a battle commenced as the Rebel frigate was caught in a surprise attack by Imperial forces. After a brief skirmish on the starship's bridge, Starkiller saw Eclipse fall from a blaster shot to the shoulder. As he exited the cave, the clone became deeply disturbed by the visions that he endured and was determined as ever to save Juno before it was too late, at any cost. Before leaving, he saw that that the seemingly harmless being had remained by the cave's entrance the entire time. He briefly wondered how the creature was able to maintain such a calm composure around a cave that was immersed in the dark side, and then came to suspect that the creature possessed a power far greater than his appearance revealed. The creature encouraged Starkiller to follow the path that his visions directed him in, to which the clone nodded in acknowledgment of the creature's wisdom and departed from Dagobah to resume his search for the former Imperial captain.

Failed rescue attempt
"The fleet is converging exactly as you wanted it to." "Good, because if you hadn't sent the order I was going to go without you."

- Rahm Kota and Starkiller, shortly after Boba Fett captured Juno Eclipse

Shortly after his departure from Dagobah, Starkiller traveled to Malastare, where he found Rahm Kota and explained the details of his visions. After confirming that Juno Eclipse was indeed in command of the Salvation, and that PROXY had been salvaged and reactivated after the incident on Corellia, Kota convinced Starkiller to take him and his squad to the Rebel fleet's location. Along the way, Starkiller continued to contemplate on Juno's relationship with Galen Marek, and how his emotional imprints continued to dominate his mind and further drive his need to be with the woman that Marek loved. Ultimately, he came to realize that Juno had as much of a profound impact on him as she did on the original Starkiller. His artificial feelings for Juno were so powerful to the point where he would sacrifice anything just to be with her&mdash;even the Rebellion that his progenitor helped to create.

While still en route to the Salvation, Kota revealed two blue crystals, both of which had been in his possession since the Clone Wars, and bestowed them to Starkiller as a gift. After comparing them to the color of Juno Eclipse's eyes, the clone implemented each crystal into his lightsabers, thus switching the blades to a blue color. Meanwhile, Starkiller's thoughts drifted to the Rebel Alliance and what could be done to aid the fledgling organization in its quest to dethrone Emperor Palpatine. To that end, he insinuated to Kota that he was willing to provide the Alliance with everything it needed to launch a successful attack on Kamino, namely the navigation coordinates and schematics for the secret cloning facility where Vader created Marek's clones. Upon exiting Hyperspace, the Rogue Shadow arrived at its destination and found that the Salvation had not yet been attacked. However, Kota counseled the clone to remain cautious since Force visions were rarely ever wrong. Before docking with the Salvation, Kota promised that he would use Starkiller's knowledge of Kamino to the Alliance's benefit.

Just as Starkiller secured the Rogue Shadow alongside the Salvation, the proximity alarms were activated, warning the Rebels of an enemy surprise attack. Recalling his earlier vision from the cave on Dagobah, Starkiller realized that Vader's bounty hunter and his Imperial escort were hiding behind asteroids, waiting for the clone to arrive before executing their mission. Upon boarding the ship, Starkiller and Kota headed towards the bridge, the path littered with the bodies of dead Rebel soldiers along the way. Although Starkiller did not find Eclipse on the bridge, he did encounter a heavily damaged PROXY, who was surprised to see a clone of his former master who died shortly before the holodroid's reactivation.

After learning that the bounty hunter only injured Juno before taking her to the ship's cargo bay on deck seven, the realization of the true nature behind the attack suddenly dawned on the clone. The mercenary's mission was never about killing everyone on board or commandeering the Salvation&mdash;it was about capturing Juno Eclipse alive. To Vader, she was more than just a fugitive captain of a Rebel starship; she was the bait that the Sith Lord needed in order to lure the wayward clone back to Kamino. Having Anticipated Vader's intentions, Starkiller demanded that Kota order the Rebel fleet to launch an attack on Kamino, both to take the fight to Vader and just as a precaution in case Starkiller failed to stop the bounty hunter from taking Eclipse off of the Salvation.

While Starkiller made his way to deck seven, he encountered much opposition along the way, such as Terror Troopers and Terror Droids, dispatched by Vader to assist the bounty hunter in his mission. Although he succeeded in destroying all who stood in his way, Starkiller made it to the cargo bay only to watch as the bounty hunter's ship, containing both its pilot and prisoner, escaped into the vacuum of space. Even as the Salvation traveled to Kamino, Starkiller felt his hatred and rage build up as he began sliding back towards the seductive power of the dark side. While he was contemplating on how he would annihilate anyone who stood between him and Juno, Starkiller's mind was struck by another vision of the future.

Starkiller saw himself standing victorious over his defeated Master, wondering about whether or not he should finally put an end to the life of the infamous Darth Vader. The hesitation that he initially felt was not enough to overcome his desire for revenge, and so he raised his blade and prepared to deliver the final blow that would put Vader out of his misery for good. But before he could strike his former Master down, a red blade suddenly emerged through the center of his chest, causing him to drop his lightsabers as he fell to the ground in utter shock and pain. After hearing the sounds of a short battle, Starkiller struggled to look at the face of the man who had killed him. When Vader explained that he had lied about failing to perfect the accelerated cloning process, the mysterious figure removed his hood and revealed his identity as a fellow clone, an exact replica of Galen Marek, just like Starkiller&mdash;only better and whole in every way. As the imperfect clone slowly succumbed to his fatal wound, he listened as Vader provided instructions to the reborn Starkiller. Rising as the new apprentice of Darth Vader, Galen Marek's perfect clone obediently complied with his Master's orders and prepared to depart in search of the remaining Rebel leaders. The last thing that the Dark Apprentice's fallen brother saw was Darth Vader, who used the Force to send the dying clone's body over the side of the platform and into the ocean.

Although Starkiller was unsure of what to make of this latest vision or of the "other Starkiller" clone, he was not deterred from his goal to go to Kamino and save Eclipse from Vader. Although the clone knew that Eclipse's capture was clearly a trap to lure him back to Kamino, where Vader awaited his return, Starkiller warned Kota to launch the attack on Kamino, or he would do so alone without the Rebel Alliance. Eager to move on to bigger targets rather than continue with small hit-and-run tactics, Kota complied with Starkiller's demands, but also pointed out that Vader was waiting for the clone's return. Both he and Starkiller hoped that Vader would not expect the entire Rebel fleet to converge on Kamino.

Attack on Kamino
"I knew it was 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 to Starkiller

Before joining Kota and PROXY on the bridge, Starkiller was forced to protect the Salvation's secondary reactor from a Terror Walker, a massive droid that he saw in his vision on Dagobah. During the fight, Starkiller realized that the droid was merely a delaying tactic since Boba Fett never intended to directly confront the cloned Force-wielder. Starkiller knew that he would have killed the bounty hunter without hesitation for standing between him and Juno, and thus he was impressed by Fett's wise decision to avoid Starkiller at all costs. Even after disarming the giant droid of four legs, as well as inflicting a severe amount of damage all over its body, the Terror Walker still remained a considerable threat. The droid was finally neutralized after a hull breach caused it to get pulled out of the starship, vanishing into space while the Salvation was still traveling through hyperspace.

While returning to the bridge, Starkiller began to think about his Master's origins. Like the original Starkiller before him, the clone wondered if Vader had been a Jedi Knight prior to Order 66 and Palpatine's ascension as the Emperor of the Galaxy. But he failed to recall any hints of Jedi training in his Master's own techniques. Outwardly, everything about Darth Vader reflected Sith training and philosophy. But even though his lessons under Vader were extremely brutal and the cost of failure was always high, Starkiller noticed that Vader completely lacked the malicious cruelty that was often possessed by a Sith Lord. Ultimately, Starkiller believed that everything was black and white in Vader's perspective&mdash;the Master dictated what was to be done while the Apprentice obeyed without question. Failure to comply or succeed resulted in death, but it was all impersonal to Darth Vader.

By the time Starkiller returned to the bridge of the Salvation, the Rebel fleet had already commenced its attack on Kamino. But it became clearly obvious that Darth Vader had indeed anticipated the Alliance's arrival and responded with a fleet of Imperial-class Star Destroyers to guard the ocean-covered world from space while a massive Imperial garrison remained planet-side to defend the cloning facilities. In spite of Kamino's considerable defense perimeter in orbit, the Imperials were completely unable to prevent Starkiller from using the Salvation to create a breach in Kamino's planetary shield, thus allowing the Alliance to dispatch its ground forces to Timira City. To prevent Juno from being injured or killed by her own ship, Starkiller destroyed the remaining massive fragments of the Salvation before they could collide into the cloning facility.

As the battle raged on, Starkiller fought his way through the facility, occasionally assisting General Kota and his troops whenever he could. But as he made his way to the top of Timira City, Starkiller became increasingly obsessed with saving Juno and left the Rebels to fend for themselves. Although Kota was on the verge of begging for Starkiller's help, even going so far as to urge him to sacrifice Eclipse's life for the sake of the Rebellion, the clone was far too driven by his progenitor's feelings for Eclipse to be bothered with assisting the Rebels against the Imperials' counterattack. He continued to press on towards Eclipse's location, slaughtering all Imperials who stood in his way, including Sith Acolytes and Saber Guards. Near the top of the cloning facility, Starkiller was confronted by Darth Vader, who issued a final ultimatum to the clone&mdash;return to the Sith Lord's side or die in the same place where he was created.

Master versus apprentice
"I've always been stronger than you.''" "''Yet you fail to defeat me. If you wish to play at being a Jedi, so be it."

- Starkiller and Darth Vader

The two engaged in a lengthy duel, displaying their respective skills in lightsaber combat and Force techniques, thus reflecting the final battle between Vader and the original Starkiller. During the fight, Vader released numerous aberrant clones of Galen Marek from their clone tanks and ordered them to kill their renegade clone "brother." Although they also possessed Marek's Force potential and skills to a certain degree, these clones were of a much lower quality compared to Starkiller; their genetic flaws and unstable minds prevented them from utilizing Marek's power to its full degree. As a result, the aberrant clones were ultimately destroyed by Starkiller, who simultaneously pressed his attack on Vader. As Starkiller fought his fellow clones, however, he became increasingly distraught over his own origin. Although Kota insisted that it was impossible to clone Force-sensitives, the existence of the aberrant clones, however imperfect, was enough to prove that Kota was not entirely correct in his assumption.

Ultimately, seeing so many other versions of Galen Marek filled Starkiller with more conflict and confusion than ever before. Although part of him wanted to believe that he was the original person instead of a clone, the revelation of so many fellow clones of Marek forced him to confront his true identity. Despite their insanity, the aberrant clones were just like Starkiller in the sense that they all possessed the same physical and mental attributes of Galen Marek, in varying degrees. Furthermore, they all suffered from the same identity crisis that Starkiller endured. In light of such overwhelming evidence behind the truth in Darth Vader's words, Starkiller feared that his feelings were more artificial than genuine&mdash;nothing more than the imprinted emotions that were passed on from his genetic template. It was only his fixation on Juno Eclipse that helped Starkiller to ignore the distractions in his mind long enough to destroy the last of the aberrant clones before continuing his fight with Vader.

Although Vader put up an almost impenetrable defense, utilizing telekinesis to hurl wrecked platforms and cloning tubes at the clone and nearly killing him with each lightsaber strike, his fighting ability was ultimately limited by his heavy prostheses. Starkiller used his agility and greater strength in the Force to his advantage by avoiding his former Master's attacks and wearing down his defenses. But just before he could end the Sith Lord's life once and for all, the clone received a vision of Eclipse's apparent death, thus staying his hand as his mind became wrought with fear and confusion. Vader was quick to capitalize on Starkiller's momentary distraction by delivering a telekinetic shove to put some distance between him and the clone.

After their duel moved to the top of the facility's spire, Vader insisted that the clone find the willpower to push aside his template's feelings in order to become what he was created to be. When Starkiller refused, the Sith Lord revealed Juno Eclipse and ordered his stormtroopers to execute her. Starkiller quickly reacted by killing the troopers with a powerful Force push before any of them could shoot Juno. But before he could do anything else to save her, Vader lifted Juno in the air and began choking her through the Force, threatening to kill her if Starkiller continued to resist. Unwilling to see harm come to Eclipse, the clone dropped his lightsabers and fell to his knees in submission. Releasing Eclipse from his grip, Vader declared that he would still kill her if Starkiller refused to find and kill General Kota; Starkiller silently complied. Further terms for Eclipse's prolonged safety included Starkiller's full immersion into the dark side and eradication of the Alliance leaders once his training was complete. Failure to meet any of Vader's expectations would be punished with nothing less than the death of Juno Eclipse.

But while Darth Vader was distracted, Juno discreetly picked up one of Starkiller's lightsabers and cautiously approached Vader while the Sith Lord's attention was focused entirely on the clone. Unable to bear the thought of being used as the catalyst for Starkiller's return to the dark side, Juno attempted to kill Darth Vader before he could fully re-establish his hold over the clone through her. Although she nearly succeeded in destroying Vader with Starkiller's lightsaber, the Sith Lord's senses enabled him to avoid the fatal strike, but not in time to prevent the damage that she caused to his chest panel. The Dark Lord of the Sith retaliated by hitting Eclipse with a powerful Force push, causing her to smash through a window before falling onto a lower platform where she lost consciousness shortly thereafter.

Master versus apprentice, round two
"Her death gives you strength. Embrace it.''" "''I WILL KILL YOU!"

- Darth Vader and Starkiller

Starkiller's reaction was a mix of utter terror for Eclipse's life and uncontrollable anger towards Vader. Grabbing both of his lightsabers through telekinesis, Starkiller unleashed all of his rage and attacked his former Master without restraint. Despite his considerably enhanced power and skills, Vader refused to capitulate and firmly stood his ground. As the battle gradually faded around them, both were far too distracted to notice as they continuously battled back and forth, neither one wanting to be the first to relent. Despite his fury, Starkiller continued to try to get to Eclipse, while Vader did all that he could to stand in the desperate clone's way.

Vader did not give up on trying to persuade the clone to embrace the purpose intended for the original Starkiller. He insisted that it was their destiny to destroy Emperor Palpatine together as master and apprentice. Starkiller was initially baffled that Vader was again using the same unfulfilled promise that he once offered to Galen Marek, but then came to wonder how similar he and his Master actually were, and how far the Emperor had gone to create Darth Vader. Starkiller then felt a deeper sense of understanding for his creator and began to wonder if Vader knew exactly how the clone felt. He inquired as to why Vader had not considered joining with the Rebel Alliance since he and they shared a mutual goal&mdash;the destruction of the Emperor. The clone soon realized how absurd such a notion was since the Alliance would never trust the Emperor's right-hand man, and Vader made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with the Rebellion by pressing his attack on Starkiller.



Just as it seemed like the duel would never end, Vader threw his lightsaber at Starkiller, only for the clone to intercept the saber and send it back to its owner. Despite his own fast reflexes, Vader failed to catch the lightsaber and lost his prosthetic right hand to his own weapon. Starkiller finally finished the battle by utilizing the one attack that Vader could neither withstand or conjure without critically damaging his armor's life-support systems&mdash;Force lightning. With Vader literally disarmed and completely vulnerable, Starkiller defeated his Master by unleashing several waves of lightning directly into him, causing the Sith Lord agonizing pain before falling to one knee in defeat. With one blade pointed at his throat, Darth Vader found himself at the mercy of his original apprentice's vengeful clone. Unknown to Starkiller, however, Vader had a contingency plan that was ready to be executed if the clone decided to strike him down. Boba Fett was prepared to shoot Starkiller from a distance with a sniper rifle while Vader's true apprentice stood nearby to intervene if his "brother" chose to murder their Master.

At that moment, General Kota arrived with a squad of Rebel Commandos and attempted to reason with the clone. Even though he yearned for Darth Vader's destruction as well, Kota argued that they should secure Vader in a hidden base as a prisoner of the Alliance. The general assured Starkiller that Vader would be interrogated and placed on trial to answer for all of his crimes before being publicly executed to show the Galaxy that the Sith were no longer worth fearing. Starkiller was reluctant to pass up on his chance to finally kill Vader, just as Galen Marek had done before him. But Kota also pointed out that only Vader knew if the original Starkiller was dead or alive. For a moment, the clone was unsure of what to do. On one hand, he could finally complete his training by doing what Vader was never able to do himself&mdash;kill his own master. On the other hand, Kota made a point about how Vader's knowledge could be essential to the fragile cause of the struggling Rebel Alliance. Torn between two possible outcomes, Starkiller forced himself to believe that the only thing that mattered was that he had just defeated Darth Vader. After much hesitation and indecision, Starkiller relented to General Kota's advice and chose to spare the life of his former Master.

Aftermath of the battle
"As long as she lives, I will always control you."

- Darth Vader to Starkiller

As General Kota and his men secured their valuable hostage, Starkiller ran to Eclipse's inert form where 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 the Rebels prepared to depart from Kamino with Darth Vader as their prisoner, Starkiller decided to remain with the Alliance in order to remain at Juno's side, knowing that she was firmly committed to the Rebel cause and wished for him to do so as well. Despite his victory, Starkiller remained as confused and uncertain as ever over his origins. Although he initially believed himself to be the only clone or even possibly the original apprentice, Starkiller was haunted by the revelation that Vader had indeed told the truth about creating many clones of Galen Marek.



While Juno and Kota reported their success to Senator Leia Organa, Starkiller helped the Rebels as they placed Vader in the meditation chamber of the Rogue Shadow. The Sith Lord was contained within a harness designed with durasteel cuffs to restrain his arms and legs, magna locks to encase his waist, chest and throat, and a cage that surrounded his helmet and left only his mask exposed. With Vader fully secured, Starkiller chose to confront his Master once more. He gloated about sparing the Sith Lord's life and declared that he no longer cared about whether he was a clone or the original apprentice. Despite all of the conflict and confusion that plagued his thoughts, he tried to assert that his victory and freedom were the only things that mattered to him. Darth Vader remained completely unresponsive to the clone's provocations. Starkiller turned to leave after finishing his short display of bravado, but was immediately stopped by the sound of his Master's voice. With more assurance in his words than the rogue clone had in his, Darth Vader simply stated that he would always control Starkiller as long as Juno Eclipse was alive. Although Starkiller was utterly caught off guard by Vader's warning, he chose not to reply and returned to the ship's cockpit where Eclipse resumed her former role as its pilot. The Rogue Shadow then took off for Dantooine, unaware that Boba Fett's ship, the Slave I, was hiding in the wreckage of a Star Destroyer before tailing them.

Personality and traits
"He is no Jedi. A Jedi controls his emotions and his powers. But Starkiller... he does not know restraint. He will bring down an entire Star Destroyer on your head, if that is what it takes to kill you." "The Starkiller you knew? The one who could pull starships out of the sky? He's dead. Vader had him cloned. That's who is searching for you... a half-mad copy who only thinks he loves you."

- Juno Eclipse and Boba Fett

Upon his creation, "Starkiller" was trained to be the same lethal assassin that the original Starkiller had been, prior to his death. But like all of the clones who came before him, Starkiller was undermined by the emotions that he inherited from the original Starkiller, Galen Marek. As his training continued, the clone tried to avoid contemplating on the memories he inherited from his genetic template, especially when it came to surviving Darth Vader's relentless and unforgiving training regimen. However, Starkiller became increasingly confused by visions of Marek's life, mainly due to his inability to separate Marek's memories from his own experience.

When Darth Vader revealed that other clones of Galen Marek had previously been created, Starkiller refused to believe him. According to Vader, the clones had also inherited many aspects of Marek's personality, although some characteristic traits were more dominant than others. Some clones were overtaken by Marek's sentimental emotions over the memory of his dead father, while others were brought down by the memories of Marek's younger self. In Starkiller's case, the most dominant trait that he inherited from the original apprentice was his love for Juno Eclipse. Starkiller cared nothing for the memory of his template's dead father or the young boy Marek had once been. It didn't seem possible to the clone that any version of Galen Marek could be more motivated by anything other than his feelings for Juno. He believed that if there were any other clones besides him, they would have all been in love with the same woman while everything else was less relevant. Aside from all of his self-doubt and uncertainty, Starkiller's emotional attachment to Eclipse was the one thing he felt truly certain about.

Even though Rahm Kota believed that cloning Jedi and Sith was an impossible accomplishment, Starkiller remained unconvinced by the general's stubborn opinion. Even though it hadn't been achieved in the past, the clone suspected that Vader may have discovered a way with the help of Kaminoan cloning technology. Although he became known as "Starkiller", the original apprentice's former codename, he had no intention of being known by his template's birth name, "Galen Marek." As far as Starkiller was concerned, Marek's birth name had no significance to him since it technically didn't belong to the clone at all. Despite Kota's contradicting argument, Starkiller remained convinced that he was nothing more than an imperfect version of Darth Vader's dead apprentice.

Ultimately, the two greatest aspects to the clone's personality were his uncertainty over his origins and his single-minded fixation on Juno Eclipse. He was willing to sacrifice anything to protect her, even if it meant sacrificing the Galaxy to the oppression of the Sith or destroying the Rebel Alliance that his template helped to create. Despite the clone's refusal to return to the dark side, he was willing to serve Vader once more as long as his obedience insured Juno's survival. Aside from Starkiller's feelings for Eclipse, Galen Marek's other personality traits were not nearly as dominant within his clone by comparison. Before his death, Marek became increasingly curious about his past, especially after seeing a Force vision of his dead father. Marek even traveled to Coruscant, the capital world of the Galactic Empire, just to visit the ruins of the Jedi Temple in order to learn more about his father. But unlike his template, Starkiller did not share Marek's emotional sentiment over the apprentice's origin. In spite of the childhood memories that he inherited, the memory of Marek's father and mother was of little importance to the clone.

During his confrontation with the Sith Lord, he struggled internally with his feelings over the matter. Overall, Darth Vader's explanation made more sense to him than Kota's argument, which was greatly undermined with the discovery of Marek's other clones located in Timira City. Furthermore, Starkiller began to believe that he struggled to hold on to his feelings with even greater desperation because, deep down, he knew that they were counterfeit. After sparing Vader's life, Starkiller struggled even more with his inner conflict over whether he was a clone or not. Although he tried to convince himself that the truth did not matter as long as his existence led to the eventual destruction of Emperor Palpatine, he was still haunted more than ever by the clones that he killed while fighting Vader. Starkiller was burdened with guilt after realizing that he had committed fratricide&mdash;or even suicide&mdash;by murdering his brothers, all of whom were genetic copies of the same man just like him.

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. After escaping from Kamino, the clone continued to wield both lightsabers during his travels, especially on Cato Neimoidia. While on his way to the location of the Salvation, General Kota provided Starkiller with two blue crystals. Before arriving on the Salvation, Starkiller inserted each new crystal into his lightsabers, thus changing the color of his saber blades from red to blue.

Force powers
"I want to be as far away from here as possible when Starkiller shows up. I've seen what he can do."

- Boba Fett

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 somewhat implied in the game that the player character is possibly the real Starkiller and has only been led to believe he is a clone, though this is mostly based on Rahm Kota's perspective. The Distant Thunder cinematics, however, reveal that Darth Vader kept the dead body of the original Starkiller inside a secret chamber within Timira City so as to use Marek's corpse as a clone template. In a Distant Thunder scene entitled "The Body - The Burden of Proof, Vader revealed Marek's body to the Dark Apprentice for progressing much further than his clone predecessors, thus further implying that the player character is a clone of the original.

At the end of the game the player has the choice to execute or spare Darth Vader. In the light side ending, Galen Marek's clone chooses to spare Vader and allow Rahm Kota and his Rebels to take Vader captive in order to transport him to Dantooine so that they may extract the Empire's secrets before executing him to show the Galaxy that the Empire was no longer worth fearing.

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.

The Distant Thunder cinematics, which illustrate the origin of the Dark Apprentice, 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.

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

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.

Appearances

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