Starkiller

"**Starkiller**," designation **Subject 1138**, was a clone of Galen Marek, the Force-sensitive Human male apprentice of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. Following Marek's death in the year 5 BBY, Vader attempted to create a more powerful and obedient servant using the preserved corpse of his fallen apprentice as a template. Many failures were produced before Vader began training a clone who showed promise of becoming the first success. However, this clone was haunted by memories of his progenitor's life as well as Marek's feelings for the Rebel pilot Juno Eclipse. Having been deemed a failure by his Sith Master, the clone escaped from the planet Kamino and went searching for Eclipse. At the time, the clone was unaware that Vader was also training another clone with the potential to take Marek's place.

Lacking a name of his own, and refusing to take the one that
belonged to his template, the renegade clone was referred to as
"Starkiller"—Marek's former call sign during his time as Vader's secret apprentice and assassin—by General Rahm Kota, the Jedi mentor of the original Starkiller. Although the clone rescued the Jedi Master on Cato Neimoidia, he refused to support the Rebel Alliance and only desired to find Eclipse. Despite his reluctance to aid the Rebellion, Starkiller was forced to work with the Alliance Fleet after Eclipse was captured and taken to Kamino. Returning to his homeworld, Starkiller battled against the Imperial forces stationed in the facility where he was created. He also encountered other clones of Marek before finally reaching Vader, who tortured Eclipse in order to bring the clone to heel.

Starkiller fought back against his creator after the latter nearly killed Eclipse. The two engaged in a lightsaber duel with Starkiller emerging as the victor, although he reluctantly agreed to spare the Sith Lord's life on the advice of Kota, who wanted to make an example of Vader to the rest of the galaxy. After securing their prisoner aboard the *Rogue Shadow*, Starkiller and Eclipse departed from Kamino with the rest of the Alliance Fleet — unware however that they were secretly being followed by none other than the infamous Mandalorian bounty hunter Boba Fett in the *Slave I*.

## Bio

### Personality

Like the failed clones created by Darth Vader, Starkiller was
programmed with the knowledge and skills of Galen Marek via memory
flashes. As such, he also inherited a similar personality as his genetic
 template, although some characteristic traits were more dominant than
others. He was initially loyal and subservient to the will of his
creator; fearful of failure yet also determined to prove his worth as
the successor to the Dark Lord's original secret apprentice. In spite of
 his efforts to win Vader's approval, however, the clone was haunted by
visions of his progenitor's life. Starkiller struggled to focus strictly
 on surviving his Master's relentless and unforgiving training regimen,
hoping that the motivation to succeed would compensate for the confusion
 and frustration that he endured due to Marek's memories.[6]

On Kamino, Starkiller never questioned his origin as a clone. He
fully accepted the explanation for his existence: the original
Starkiller died and he had been created to take the apprentice's place.
Nevertheless, he remained conflicted by feelings of self-doubt and
uncertainty regarding his purpose in life. As with the other clones,
Starkiller did not inherit all of the same emotional attachments that
Galen Marek possessed by the end of his life.[6] Unlike the first Starkiller, who had gone to extreme lengths to uncover more memories of his forgotten childhood,[4] all the while developing an affinity for his Rebel allies,[9]
 the clone spared no feelings for the Rebel Alliance or the dead parents
 of his template. The cause of the Alliance was of little concern to
him, and thus he was willing to comply with Vader's wishes to destroy
the insurrection of his former apprentice. Regarding Kento and Mallie
Marek, Starkiller immediately dismissed them both as irrelevant. They
were long since dead, and hence neither mattered to him. After escaping
from Kamino, he experienced several visions of the two Jedi parents
through Marek's childhood memories, only to remain uninterested in
either of them.[6]

Starkiller, uncertain of everything else, felt absolute certainty
 in his love for Captain Juno Eclipse. Darth Vader asserted that
Starkiller's feelings for Eclipse were artificial; the result of flaws
he failed to eliminate from an experimental cloning procedure, and one
of many emotional imprints that were randomly distributed into each
clone of Galen Marek. It was Starkiller's sentiment for the Human woman
that ultimately drove him to desert Vader[6] and, in his deranged state of mind,[2] embark on a single-minded search for Eclipse.[6]
 This is also what motivated him to aid the Rebel Alliance during the
Assault on Kamino, despite the fact that he couldn't care less about the
 cause of the Rebellion.

While Starkiller's actions were motivated by his fixation on
Eclipse, and by extension the influence that Marek's emotional imprints
had on him, the clone managed to distinguish himself as a separate
individual from his genetic template to a certain degree. He insisted to
 Rahm Kota that he was not "Starkiller;" not the same man whom the Jedi
General befriended and mentored. Furthermore, the clone adamantly
refused to be acknowledged as "Galen Marek." In his eyes, the original
apprentice's codename and birth name belonged to a different man, not to
 the clone who had been created to replace him.[6]

Starkiller was originally skeptical about the existence of Galen
Marek's other clones. Darth Vader revealed that they had all been
undermined by a variety of emotional imprints; some were distracted by
memories of Marek's father; others were conflicted by his younger self;
yet all experienced the same identity crisis that drove them into a
state of complete and utter madness. At first, Starkiller was convinced
that there were never any other clones, mainly because he found it
impossible to believe that any other version of Marek could exist
without being in love with Juno Eclipse. This belief was ultimately
broken, however, upon viewing the aberrant clones with his own eyes. The
 revelation that Vader had told the truth about their creation led
Starkiller to accept his origin as a clone; a copied version who was
superior to his imperfect precursors, but still an overall failure by
Vader's standards. Overwhelmed with internal conflict, the clone became
even more desperate to hold on to his feelings out of the fear that they
 truly were counterfeit. After killing the aberrant clones, Starkiller
was distraught with guilt and remorse. Through the Force, he learned
that they all had the same inner turmoil that mirrored his own, hence
causing him to feel as though he had committed fratricide—even
suicide—by killing his clone brothers, all of whom were made from the
same genetic source that created Starkiller.[6]
Though his abilities and Force techniques relied on the dark side
 of the Force, Starkiller's emotional attachment to Juno Eclipse caused
him to struggle with his own anger and hatred. His compassion for the
female Captain made him more resistant to the allure of the dark side,
but it also proved capable of forcing him to surrender to its power if
Eclipse's life hung in the balance. When Darth Vader threatened to kill
Eclipse via strangulation through the Force, Starkiller submitted to his
 former Master once more.

## Powers and Abilities

### Lightsaber training

As was the case with most of the Galen Marek clones, Starkiller was trained to fight with dual-lightsabers.[1] 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.[6] 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.[1]

Starkiller also demonstrated an aptitude for improvised weapons and disarmament techniques; in particular, he would often deprive riot stormtroopers 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 utilized advanced Telekinetic lightsaber combat techniques, throwing his twin lightsabers in devastating arcs, often striking multiple opponents at a time.[1]
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.[6] Riot troopers, Imperial Saber Guardsman, even other Marek clones were no match for him.[1] He was not invincible however, as Vader managed to both disarm him and destroy his weapons during their duel

### 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.[6] Notably, the memory flashes did grant him knowledge of advanced Force techniques that he was previously unaware of.[1] It was said that Starkiller was even more powerful than the original Marek was.

Starkiller's skills with telekinesis were such that he could
catch and crush TIE fighters in mid-flight. When unleashing Force
pushes, he could clear massive areas 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. He was
even able to catch or redirect missiles and other ballistics in
mid-flight. Most notably, Starkiller's Force repulse unleashed
sufficient energy to disintegrate enemies within a certain proximity,
the only protection against this ability being either heavy armor or
advanced Force abilities.[1]

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, amplifying his melee
attacks with sudden arcs of energy. He also used lightning in a more
tactical manner, charging up or shorting out certain types of machinery.
 As with his telekinetic abilities, Starkiller's lightning even had the
potential to disintegrate targets.[1]

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, jump from high places or into
environmental hazards. 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, they would
physically explode in a sudden burst of Force energy, an otherwise
unheard of ability.[1]
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 instantly vaporize
foes, and he was able to further 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 its taxing nature meant that Starkiller
could only draw on it sparingly.

## Equipment

### Lightsabers

Starkiller's Lightsabers

Starkiller's lightsabers were modified versions of the stock
lightsabers provided to the clones of Galen Marek. They all featured a
transparent hilt that displayed the lightsaber energy oscillating
within, which was lined by a series of black plates. The activator was a
 simple red button on a silver ring around the hilt approximately
halfway along its length. The emitters
 on Starkiller's lightsabers featured a slanted, wrap-around guard that
bore design similarities to emitter shrouds, as opposed to the standard
emitters on the original stock design.[1]
The vast majority of the clones wielded silver lightsabers, but
Starkiller and other select clones were provided with weapons that
emitted a red blade. Starkiller later replaced the red crystals with a
set of blue crystals provided by Rahm Kota.

### Apparel

A simple garment provided to all of the clones, his test subject
garments were designed to be purely functional. The outfit consisted of
simple slacks and short-sleeved shirt, basic boots, all dark colored,
topped off by a brighter sleeveless tunic with a low neckline. The
shoulders and the waist featured guards or braces composed of a
leather-like material.[10] The uniform also appeared to be fire-retardant.[2] Starkiller's particular set was tattered and threadbare by the time of his escape, due to his heavy training under Darth Vader.[1]

Starkiller evidently found his Imperial flightsuit garment on board Darth Vader's fighter
 when he stole the vessel. The outfit was a simple Imperial flightsuit,
though Starkiller notably did away with the helmet and chest-mounted
equipment.[1]

A garment adopted by Starkiller just before his and Kota's
rendezvous with the Rebel fleet, his Hero's armor would become his
primary outfit. Consisting of a loose-fitting blue and white bodysuit
covered by a long white, sleeveless tunic, the garment featured a
utility belt covered with pockets and a segmented, bare-metal
breastplate. His wrists and knees were also covered by bare-metal
guards.[1]
The clone would also adopt a worn-out training suit[1] that was used by the original Starkiller.

## Trivia

* Starkiller makes his appearance in The Force Unleashed II: Return of a New Hero