Starkiller
Encyclopedia
Starkiller, also known as Galen Marek and the Apprentice, is the main character of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed project (including a video game, novel, and comics), who first appeared in the game Soulcalibur IV
. He is voiced by Sam Witwer, who also gave his likeness to the character. After Darth Vader kills Galen's father, he is raised by Vader and is made his secret apprentice, under the name "Starkiller". He is potent with using the Force
for destructive purposes, with Witwer describing him as less of an assassin and more of a "Force wrecking ball". After Starkiller's supposed sacrificial death in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, he is either resurrected or cloned by Darth Vader in order to be his secret apprentice again. Starkiller escapes from the cloning facility, and at the end of The Force Unleashed II he captures and imprisons Darth Vader.
The character's name is taken from Star Wars creator George Lucas' working name for Luke Skywalker
, "Annikin Starkiller"; the character is designed to be a "photo-negative" of Skywalker. Witwer described the character as being extremely competent, aggressive and unsubtle, but having an innocent side to him, stating that his growth had been stunted by being raised by Vader, meaning there are many parts of the character that are wide-eyed and innocent. Witwer has also said that while for other Force-users fighting a battle against a powerful opponent might be a difficult struggle for them, for Starkiller "finding a moment of inner peace is the true struggle".
Starkiller has been well received by IGN
, who called Starkiller's story arc in The Force Unleashed "nice and complete", as well as by Game Informer
, UGO Networks and GameDaily
. However, GamesRadar
has criticized Starkiller's design. In GameSpot's
vote for the greatest video game character of all time, Starkiller was eliminated in round 1 against Niko Bellic
.
motivated the team working on The Force Unleashed to make a brand-new character. Before deciding on the character of Starkiller, other ideas for the main character included a Han Solo
-like smuggler, a superheroic Rebel
Wookiee
, "the last Skywalker" and a gadget-wielding mercenary. The developers of The Force Unleashed used feedback from focus test respondents and executives at LucasArts
in order to make Starkiller. The developers consciously decided not to give Starkiller a name in the game, but as the novel's author (Sean Williams) said he needed a name Starkiller was given the name "Galen Marek" in the novel.
Starkiller was designed as a photo-negative of Luke Skywalker, and is named after "Annikin Starkiller" (Luke Skywalker's original name in Star Wars early scripts). The developers of The Force Unleashed tried to avoid making Starkiller too rigidly defined while keeping the character developed. The developers also wanted to avoid making Starkiller seem irredeemably evil, and used elements of his backstory and his relationships with other characters to balance it, while trying not to explain too much of his backstory. In order to avoid the character being over emotional, they tried to let short pieces of dialogue and looks carry scenes so that the player could interpret how Starkiller felt. They attempted to make Starkiller feel like he would belong in the classic Star Wars trilogy by making his actions faster and more intense. During an interview to Haden Blackman by The Guardian
, Blackman claimed that most of the testing players wanted the character to be ultimately redeemed by the end of the game.
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Starkiller was voiced by and given the likeness of Sam Witwer. According to Blackman, the staff were very hard in casting Witwer as Starkiller, but claimed he was far above the other candidates and that "he was already inhabiting the mind of this character". Starkiller's expressions are based on Witwer's, which Blackman described as a "a new approach for LucasArts", noting that it "affected the way we handled casting for The Force Unleashed" and comparing it to how people see Bill Nighy
as Davy Jones
in the Pirates of the Caribbean
movies. Blackman noted that Witwer brought new ideas and a sense of humanity to Starkiller. Sam Witwer has said that Starkiller would be a character he wouldn't mind revisiting.
During the concepting stages of The Force Unleashed II the developers considered replacing the character with either a new Force
wielder or a previous named Star Wars character. However they decided to keep Starkiller as the player character as they were fond of and were attached to him, and felt that there was more story that he could supply and they could build a franchise around him. Blackman commented that after deciding how to have Starkiller return, he felt "it all made sense and fell into place". Developers tried to make The Force Unleashed more personal to Starkiller, with the game focusing on Starkiller's search for the truth of his identity.
Witwer compared him as being "two parts Han Solo, one part Darth Maul
, one part Indiana Jones
[...] and then one essential part Luke Skywalker", noting that in the character's development "[b]ehind it all, there had to be this wide-eyed kid who was trying to figure out what the hell to do". According to Witwer, Starkiller's characteristics and personality depended on who he was talking to and what circumstances he is in. Witwer called him "a really interesting guy, speaking of layered characters". Although acting as a villain in the beginning of the first game
, Blackman has commented how Starkiller is "really just this damaged kid."
Haden Blackman noted that in the first Force Unleashed Starkiller was a hunter, while in the second Starkiller is more a fugitive. Matt Filbrandt, one of the producers of The Force Unleashed II, said that Starkiller in the second game is trying to find out "who he is" and "what it means to be human".
universe. The Apprentice defeats Algol and returns to Vader without either the Soul Edge or the Soul Calibur, due to perceiving them as worthless. Vader Force Chokes the Apprentice for disobeying him, causing the Apprentice to draw his lightsaber and prepare to fight Darth Vader. Starkiller also appears in Star Wars: Visions of the Blade, an Infinities comic focusing on the Soulcalibur and Star Wars crossover.
In the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
video game, as well as the novel and comic adaptions, Darth Vader dispatches Starkiller to kill the Jedi
who survived the Great Jedi Purge
(an event portrayed in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
). Starkiller is initially kept in secret, though after Starkiller is discovered by the Emperor
, Darth Vader sends Starkiller to find enemies of the Galactic Empire
and unite them. Darth Vader later betrays Starkiller and attempts to kill those he united, but Starkiller sacrifices himself for the Rebel Alliance
and becomes a martyr for the rebels. During the game, he falls in love with Juno Eclipse, an Imperial pilot. If Starkiller chooses to kill Darth Vader rather than the Emperor at the end of the game, Starkiller becomes a minion of the Emperor and is put into a suit similar to Darth Vader's. Starkiller reappears in this suit in the Ultimate Sith Edition of The Force Unleashed game, which continues the dark-side path as a "what if" story. However, the light-side ending is considered canon
ending, and is used in the novel adaption and sequels.
In the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II video game and comic, as well as the Force Unleashed II novel, Starkiller is allegedly cloned
by Vader. Starkiller is haunted by visions of the original Starkiller's life. After escaping Kamino
, Starkiller goes on a quest to find out who he is and to find Eclipse, who has been kidnapped by Darth Vader. At the end of the game, if the player chooses the light-side ending, Starkiller spares and captures Darth Vader, and rescues Juno. However, in the dark side ending Starkiller is stabbed just before he can kill Vader by another successful clone trained by Darth Vader. The dark side clone of Starkiller is set to reappear in downloadable content
for the video game, which will take place on Endor.
Starkiller appears under the name "Vader's Apprentice", as an unlockable character in Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
. He is unlocked by finding all the mini-kits in the "Defenders of Peace" level.
has made multiple action figures of Starkiller, along with the rest of the characters in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
. A Lego
version of Starkiller was released as one of the three figures in the Rogue Shadow Lego set.
UGO Networks chose the character as the 50th top Star Wars Expanded Universe character. IGN's Jesse Schedeen called Starkiller's appearance in Soulcalibur IV
the second best bonus character in the series, complementing his inclusion from a story standpoint as "[Soulcalibur IV] is about the dichotomy between good and evil, corruption and redemption, [...] Starkiller is a Dark Jedi who finds himself at a crossroads. He can either follow his master and take control of the galaxy, or break away and seek out his own destiny", with Schedeen later including Starkiller in a list of characters that would make up their idea of the ultimate fighting game. Chris Buffa also put the character as the 24th top gaming hunk, saying that "nothing compares to a bad boy". Jesse Schedeen called Starkiller one of the most promising player characters to be released during fall 2008. After the release of The Force Unleashed, Robert Workman, also from GameDaily, put the character as one of his favorite Star Wars video game characters. Buffa choose Starkiller as one of the top double-crossing characters. Jesse Schedeen listed Starkiller as one of the best video game entertainers of 2008, commenting that "Starkiller unleashed the Force in ways the movies never showed us".
UGO Networks listed Sam Witwer's performance as Starkiller as one of their top 11 celebrity voice actors in video games. Chris Buffa put Starkiller as the 19th top anti-hero, commenting that "the thought of cutting through good guys as a Sith filled us with murderous joy", also praising his eventual turn to good. Jesse Schedeen also thought that it would be best if the character was not revisited in the upcoming live-action TV series
after the first The Force Unleashed as "his story arc was nice and complete". Starkiller was voted the top 10th Star Wars character by IGN's readers. IGN later claimed Starkiller as the 34th top Star Wars
character. GameSpot
listed Starkiller, as "The Apprentice", in a vote for the all time greatest video game character. Starkiller was eliminated in the first round after being put against Niko Bellic, a character from Grand Theft Auto IV
, with Starkiller garnering 44.9% of the votes. Starkiller was also voted as the 17th top video game character by Game Informer's readers. Game Informer
listed him sixth on their list of the "Top 10 Dorks", saying "The words "jedi
" and "dork" rarely go together, but Starkiller is the Chosen One to unite them".
Negatively, GamesRadar's Dave Meikleham wrote that while Starkiller was not a terrible character, he was just "basically Luke" if he'd "had all his personality removed", claiming he looked "like a generic extra from the prequels". Meikleham also mentioned that his evil design in the dark-side ending of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was "just Vader with Boba Fett’s
helmet". GamesRadar's Charlie Barratt also included Starkiller in a collaboration of images demonstrating "The Buzz Cut Space Dude" on his list of the top 7 lazy character clichés. Alexander Sliwinski, writing for Joystiq
, criticised Starkiller's appearance in The Force Unleashed II as being a "Mary Sue
".
Soulcalibur IV
is the fourth installment in Namco's Soul series of fighting games. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on July 29, 2008, in North America, on July 31, 2008, in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and on August 1, 2008, in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.The game is notable for...
. He is voiced by Sam Witwer, who also gave his likeness to the character. After Darth Vader kills Galen's father, he is raised by Vader and is made his secret apprentice, under the name "Starkiller". He is potent with using the Force
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
for destructive purposes, with Witwer describing him as less of an assassin and more of a "Force wrecking ball". After Starkiller's supposed sacrificial death in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, he is either resurrected or cloned by Darth Vader in order to be his secret apprentice again. Starkiller escapes from the cloning facility, and at the end of The Force Unleashed II he captures and imprisons Darth Vader.
The character's name is taken from Star Wars creator George Lucas' working name for Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
, "Annikin Starkiller"; the character is designed to be a "photo-negative" of Skywalker. Witwer described the character as being extremely competent, aggressive and unsubtle, but having an innocent side to him, stating that his growth had been stunted by being raised by Vader, meaning there are many parts of the character that are wide-eyed and innocent. Witwer has also said that while for other Force-users fighting a battle against a powerful opponent might be a difficult struggle for them, for Starkiller "finding a moment of inner peace is the true struggle".
Starkiller has been well received by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, who called Starkiller's story arc in The Force Unleashed "nice and complete", as well as by Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
, UGO Networks and GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
. However, GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
has criticized Starkiller's design. In GameSpot's
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
vote for the greatest video game character of all time, Starkiller was eliminated in round 1 against Niko Bellic
Niko Bellic
Niko Bellic is the main protagonist and playable character in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows. He is a 30-year-old former soldier from Eastern Europe who moved to Liberty City to escape his troubled past and pursue the "American Dream"...
.
Concept and creation
George LucasGeorge Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
motivated the team working on The Force Unleashed to make a brand-new character. Before deciding on the character of Starkiller, other ideas for the main character included a Han Solo
Han Solo
Han Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
-like smuggler, a superheroic Rebel
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
Wookiee
Wookiee
Wookiees are a species of bipeds in the Star Wars universe. The most notable Wookiee is Chewbacca, a companion to Han Solo.-Inspiration:...
, "the last Skywalker" and a gadget-wielding mercenary. The developers of The Force Unleashed used feedback from focus test respondents and executives at LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
in order to make Starkiller. The developers consciously decided not to give Starkiller a name in the game, but as the novel's author (Sean Williams) said he needed a name Starkiller was given the name "Galen Marek" in the novel.
Starkiller was designed as a photo-negative of Luke Skywalker, and is named after "Annikin Starkiller" (Luke Skywalker's original name in Star Wars early scripts). The developers of The Force Unleashed tried to avoid making Starkiller too rigidly defined while keeping the character developed. The developers also wanted to avoid making Starkiller seem irredeemably evil, and used elements of his backstory and his relationships with other characters to balance it, while trying not to explain too much of his backstory. In order to avoid the character being over emotional, they tried to let short pieces of dialogue and looks carry scenes so that the player could interpret how Starkiller felt. They attempted to make Starkiller feel like he would belong in the classic Star Wars trilogy by making his actions faster and more intense. During an interview to Haden Blackman by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Blackman claimed that most of the testing players wanted the character to be ultimately redeemed by the end of the game.
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
as Davy Jones
Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Davy Jones is a fictional character and antagonist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Davy Jones is the captain of the Flying Dutchman , roaming the seas in search of souls to serve upon his vessel for a century...
in the Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
movies. Blackman noted that Witwer brought new ideas and a sense of humanity to Starkiller. Sam Witwer has said that Starkiller would be a character he wouldn't mind revisiting.
During the concepting stages of The Force Unleashed II the developers considered replacing the character with either a new Force
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
wielder or a previous named Star Wars character. However they decided to keep Starkiller as the player character as they were fond of and were attached to him, and felt that there was more story that he could supply and they could build a franchise around him. Blackman commented that after deciding how to have Starkiller return, he felt "it all made sense and fell into place". Developers tried to make The Force Unleashed more personal to Starkiller, with the game focusing on Starkiller's search for the truth of his identity.
Characterization
Witwer described Starkiller as less of an assassin and more of a "Force wrecking ball". Witwer also described the character as being extremely competent, aggressive and unsubtle, but having an innocent side to him, stating that his growth had been stunted by being raised by Vader, meaning there are many parts of the character that are wide-eyed and innocent. Witwer has also said that while for other Force-users fighting a battle against a powerful opponent might be a difficult struggle for them, for Starkiller "finding a moment of inner peace is the true struggle".Witwer compared him as being "two parts Han Solo, one part Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....
, one part Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
[...] and then one essential part Luke Skywalker", noting that in the character's development "[b]ehind it all, there had to be this wide-eyed kid who was trying to figure out what the hell to do". According to Witwer, Starkiller's characteristics and personality depended on who he was talking to and what circumstances he is in. Witwer called him "a really interesting guy, speaking of layered characters". Although acting as a villain in the beginning of the first game
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...
, Blackman has commented how Starkiller is "really just this damaged kid."
Haden Blackman noted that in the first Force Unleashed Starkiller was a hunter, while in the second Starkiller is more a fugitive. Matt Filbrandt, one of the producers of The Force Unleashed II, said that Starkiller in the second game is trying to find out "who he is" and "what it means to be human".
Appearances
Starkiller first debuted in Soulcalibur IV as a fighter, alongside Darth Vader and Yoda. In Soulcalibur IV he is known as the "Apprentice". After Darth Vader sends him to investigate a dimensional rift that seems to be growing, he passes through to the SoulcaliburSoul (series)
The is a weapon-based historical fantasy fighting game series by Namco Bandai Games. The series revolves around a sword that, after years of bloodshed and hatred, gained a soul of its own, the Soul Edge, and the sword forged to counter it, Soul Calibur. The series is special in that each character...
universe. The Apprentice defeats Algol and returns to Vader without either the Soul Edge or the Soul Calibur, due to perceiving them as worthless. Vader Force Chokes the Apprentice for disobeying him, causing the Apprentice to draw his lightsaber and prepare to fight Darth Vader. Starkiller also appears in Star Wars: Visions of the Blade, an Infinities comic focusing on the Soulcalibur and Star Wars crossover.
In the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...
video game, as well as the novel and comic adaptions, Darth Vader dispatches Starkiller to kill the Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
who survived the Great Jedi Purge
Great Jedi Purge
The Great Jedi Purge, or Order 66, is a major event in the Star Wars storyline. It is officially documented as a plot element in the 2005 film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and is further referenced in the Star Wars Expanded Universe...
(an event portrayed in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
). Starkiller is initially kept in secret, though after Starkiller is discovered by the Emperor
Palpatine
Palpatine is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Star Wars saga, portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in the feature films.Palpatine first appeared as the unnamed Emperor of the Galactic Empire in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
, Darth Vader sends Starkiller to find enemies of the Galactic Empire
Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
and unite them. Darth Vader later betrays Starkiller and attempts to kill those he united, but Starkiller sacrifices himself for the Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
and becomes a martyr for the rebels. During the game, he falls in love with Juno Eclipse, an Imperial pilot. If Starkiller chooses to kill Darth Vader rather than the Emperor at the end of the game, Starkiller becomes a minion of the Emperor and is put into a suit similar to Darth Vader's. Starkiller reappears in this suit in the Ultimate Sith Edition of The Force Unleashed game, which continues the dark-side path as a "what if" story. However, the light-side ending is considered canon
Star Wars canon
The Star Wars canon consists of the six Star Wars feature films, along with all officially licensed, non-contradicting spin-off works to the six films. As once defined by Lucas Licensing:- History :...
ending, and is used in the novel adaption and sequels.
In the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II video game and comic, as well as the Force Unleashed II novel, Starkiller is allegedly cloned
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
by Vader. Starkiller is haunted by visions of the original Starkiller's life. After escaping Kamino
Kamino
Kamino is an ocean planet, in the fictional Star Wars universe, similar to Mon Calamari and Manaan. It was here that the Army of the Republic was generated. It is inhabited by a race of tall, elegant, long-necked creatures, called Kaminoans, who keep to themselves and are known for their cloning...
, Starkiller goes on a quest to find out who he is and to find Eclipse, who has been kidnapped by Darth Vader. At the end of the game, if the player chooses the light-side ending, Starkiller spares and captures Darth Vader, and rescues Juno. However, in the dark side ending Starkiller is stabbed just before he can kill Vader by another successful clone trained by Darth Vader. The dark side clone of Starkiller is set to reappear in downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for the video game, which will take place on Endor.
Starkiller appears under the name "Vader's Apprentice", as an unlockable character in Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars is a 2011 Lego game for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC and Nintendo 3DS consoles based on The Clone Wars animated series, developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts and TT Games, released in March 2011 and is...
. He is unlocked by finding all the mini-kits in the "Defenders of Peace" level.
Promotion and reception
HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
has made multiple action figures of Starkiller, along with the rest of the characters in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a multimedia project developed by LucasArts along with Dark Horse Comics, Lego, Hasbro, and Del Rey Books...
. A Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
version of Starkiller was released as one of the three figures in the Rogue Shadow Lego set.
UGO Networks chose the character as the 50th top Star Wars Expanded Universe character. IGN's Jesse Schedeen called Starkiller's appearance in Soulcalibur IV
Soulcalibur IV
is the fourth installment in Namco's Soul series of fighting games. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on July 29, 2008, in North America, on July 31, 2008, in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and on August 1, 2008, in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.The game is notable for...
the second best bonus character in the series, complementing his inclusion from a story standpoint as "[Soulcalibur IV] is about the dichotomy between good and evil, corruption and redemption, [...] Starkiller is a Dark Jedi who finds himself at a crossroads. He can either follow his master and take control of the galaxy, or break away and seek out his own destiny", with Schedeen later including Starkiller in a list of characters that would make up their idea of the ultimate fighting game. Chris Buffa also put the character as the 24th top gaming hunk, saying that "nothing compares to a bad boy". Jesse Schedeen called Starkiller one of the most promising player characters to be released during fall 2008. After the release of The Force Unleashed, Robert Workman, also from GameDaily, put the character as one of his favorite Star Wars video game characters. Buffa choose Starkiller as one of the top double-crossing characters. Jesse Schedeen listed Starkiller as one of the best video game entertainers of 2008, commenting that "Starkiller unleashed the Force in ways the movies never showed us".
UGO Networks listed Sam Witwer's performance as Starkiller as one of their top 11 celebrity voice actors in video games. Chris Buffa put Starkiller as the 19th top anti-hero, commenting that "the thought of cutting through good guys as a Sith filled us with murderous joy", also praising his eventual turn to good. Jesse Schedeen also thought that it would be best if the character was not revisited in the upcoming live-action TV series
Star Wars live-action TV series
The untitled Star Wars live-action TV series is a planned space opera television series, set between the events seen in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope....
after the first The Force Unleashed as "his story arc was nice and complete". Starkiller was voted the top 10th Star Wars character by IGN's readers. IGN later claimed Starkiller as the 34th top Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
character. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
listed Starkiller, as "The Apprentice", in a vote for the all time greatest video game character. Starkiller was eliminated in the first round after being put against Niko Bellic, a character from Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
, with Starkiller garnering 44.9% of the votes. Starkiller was also voted as the 17th top video game character by Game Informer's readers. Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
listed him sixth on their list of the "Top 10 Dorks", saying "The words "jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
" and "dork" rarely go together, but Starkiller is the Chosen One to unite them".
Negatively, GamesRadar's Dave Meikleham wrote that while Starkiller was not a terrible character, he was just "basically Luke" if he'd "had all his personality removed", claiming he looked "like a generic extra from the prequels". Meikleham also mentioned that his evil design in the dark-side ending of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was "just Vader with Boba Fett’s
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
helmet". GamesRadar's Charlie Barratt also included Starkiller in a collaboration of images demonstrating "The Buzz Cut Space Dude" on his list of the top 7 lazy character clichés. Alexander Sliwinski, writing for Joystiq
Joystiq
Joystiq is a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 that has since become one of the most successful sites within the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs. It is the centerpiece of WIN's own network of video gaming blogs, which also includes a blog dealing specifically with the popular MMORPG World of...
, criticised Starkiller's appearance in The Force Unleashed II as being a "Mary Sue
Mary Sue
A Mary Sue , in literary criticism and particularly in fanfiction, is a fictional character with overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, and primarily functioning as a wish-fulfillment fantasy for the author or reader...
".
See also
- HK-47HK-47HK-47 is a fictional assassin droid from the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion pack to the massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: Galaxies...
, a major supporting character in the Knights of the Old RepublicStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (series)The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, often abbreviated as KotOR, is a comic book and RPG video game series based on the fictional universe of Star Wars by George Lucas. The first video game installment was developed by BioWare, while the second was done by Obsidian Entertainment per...
video game series. - Kyle KatarnKyle KatarnKyle Katarn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, the protagonist of the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces and its sequels....
, the main character of the Jedi Knight video game series. - Revan, another character in the Knights of the Old Republic series and the main character of the first game.