Darth Malgus Bio – A Brutal Sith Lord in Love

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If you’re a fan of Star Wars video games, you may have come across Darth Malgus at one point or another. He’s become an iconic villain over the last decade, taking the role of being a leading general for the Sith Empire army in the Old Republic Era.

In this bio, I’m going to take you through the events that shaped Darth Malgus, elaborate on his powers, and explain whether he’s still alive in the MMORPG.

Bottom Line Up Front: Darth Malgus was a Sith Lord and military leader for the Sith Empire in the Old Republic Era. He’s one of the main characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

If you choose to play as a Light Side character, you view him as your enemy. If you choose to play as a Dark Side character, he acts as one of the leaders who guide you through your missions.

Description/Overview

Darth Malgus

Darth Malgus was born in 3700 BBY. To put that date into context, it was a few hundred years after the events of Revan and Malak, and a few thousand years before the rise of Darth Vader.

He was born on the planet, Dromund Kaas. This was the planet where the Sith Empire built themselves up in secret for several years before revealing themselves in their might to the galaxy.

Malgus’ birth name was Veradun. His father ran a zoo on the planet, and Veradun would often help with running things there. While working, an instance occurred where Veradun killed one of this father’s slaves in a fit of rage.

He killed her to prove to himself and the people around him that he could do it. As Dromund Kaas was an inherently evil planet thanks to the Sith occupation, situations like this were praised instead of reprimanded.

Veradun’s father then sent him to the Sith Academy on the planet so that he could learn about the Dark Side of the Force and how to use it and become a Sith.

Veradun was taken on by a Sith Master named, Vindican. Darth Vindican trained him in the ways of the Dark Side, and the two of them went through many difficult trials together.

One of Veradun’s missions had him travel to Geonosis, a planet in the Outer Rim and one that features heavily in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

On this mission, he encountered a Twi’lek slave that had been tortured by her owners. Veradun killed the owner and decided to take the slave as his own. Her name was Eleena Daru, and she would eventually become much more than a slave to Veradun.

While she was a slave in public, the two of them fell in love in secret, and she became the closest person to Veradun. They would share an incredibly close emotional bond, something not commonly seen with members of the Sith.

Veradun eventually passed all the trials of the Sith Academy and became a Sith Apprentice. It was after being promoted that he became formally known as Darth Malgus.

Over the events of the Great Galactic War between the Sith Empire and the Republic, Darth Malgus became a key player in many of the Sith Empire’s skirmishes.

One of the first ones was when the Empire recaptured Korriban. Korriban was an ancient Sith planet, and the Empire needed to capture it to set up a base and another Sith training academy.

Darth Malgus and Darth Vindican were sent to board the Republic space station above the planet to clear it out. As they boarded, they entered into battle with Jedi Master Kao Cen Darach and his apprentice, Satele Shan.

While the Sith were victorious in this encounter, Satele managed to escape. Vindican was injured badly by Kao Cen Darach, but Malgus killed the Jedi Master.

Malgus then saw his own Master as weak and struck him down as well. Malgus was promoted to the rank of Sith Lord a few years after that and continued fighting for the Sith Empire against the Republic.

About 14 years later, Darth Malgus led an attack on Alderaan, one of the most prominent worlds under Republic control. Unfortunately for Malgus and the Sith, this attack proved unsuccessful, and the Republic was able to defend the world.

While attacking, Malgus fought with Republic Commander, Jace Malcolm. He captured Jace and ordered his men to execute him. Just before they could, Satele Shan arrived to save him. She was a Jedi Knight at that stage, and much more powerful than she was when she and Malgus first fought.

As the two Force users were fighting, Jace Malcolm spear tackled Malgus while holding a grenade. The grenade exploded and seriously wounded Malgus’ face. As this happened, Satele Force pushed Malgus into a cliff face. This caused the entire cliff to come crashing down on him.

The Sith retreated and Malgus was forced to wear a respirator mask afterward due to his injuries from that battle.

The third popular skirmish in Malgus’ history came in the form of the attack on Coruscant. At this stage, the Empire and the Republic had been fighting each other for two decades with no clear winner.

They began talking about a peace treaty, and an official meeting between the ambassadors of the two factions was to take place. However, the Sith were using this as a distraction while Malgus was sent to destroy the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

In the sacking of the temple, Malgus killed Jedi Master Ven Zallow. Ven Zallow was one of the greatest Jedi in the Order at the time, making this one of Malgus’ most impressive victories.

Malgus was accompanied by several Sith Warriors in the attack, and their combined strength proved too much for the surprised temple defenders. The Sith were victorious.

However, Malgus’ slave and lover, Eleena Daru, was badly injured in the battle. Malgus sent her off with Imperial troops for her wounds to be tended to. After that battle, the official attack on Coruscant began, with Imperial troops attacking all the important spots on the planet.

The battles once again ended in a stalemate, and the Sith Empire and Republic finally agreed to a peace treaty. Thus began the Cold War, and Malgus was one of the biggest critics of the Sith Empire’s stance in it.

After Eleena Daru had healed, Malgus ended up killing her. He realized that his love for her was a weakness that could easily be exploited by his enemies. So, in true Dark Side fashion, he murdered her and was further fueled with rage whenever he thought of her and their relationship.

Malgus eventually separated himself from the Sith Empire and sought to create his own. He was unsuccessful in this and was defeated on the planet, Ilum. Malgus was assumed dead, but he survived and carried on fighting for many years afterward.

Key Moments

Darth Malgus

  • Veradun kills one of his father’s slaves over a minor offense, showing his draw to the Dark Side at an early age.
  • He attends the Sith Academy on Dromund Kaas and learns the way of the Sith and Dark Side. He becomes an apprentice to Darth Vindican.
  • On one of his missions on Geonosis, Malgus encounters a slave named, Eleena Daru. He kills her owner and takes her as his own slave. The two of them fall in love in secret.
  • Malgus and Vindican play a vital role in the Sith Empire’s recapture of Korriban. In the battle, Malgus strikes Vinidican down as he perceives him as weak.
  • Malgus leads a skirmish on Alderaan. He and his troops are defeated, and Malgus suffers harsh wounds to his face from a grenade. He’s forced to wear a respiratory mask from that point onward.
  • Malgus leads a surprise attack on the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He kills Jedi Master Ven Zallow and orders the destruction of the temple.
  • The Sith Empire and Republic agree to a peace treaty which Malgus heavily disagrees with.
  • Malgus kills his lover, Eleena Daru.
  • He separates from the Sith Empire to begin his own. However, he’s defeated and presumed dead.

Darth Malgus Themes

Sith Empire in the Old Republic Era

One of the first things I realized about Malgus when playing the Star Wars MMORPG is that he was never referred to as the Dark Lord of the Sith.

This is because he wasn’t. Although he was the face of the game when it first came out, there were dozens of other Sith Lords around him at this time. This is because the Rule of Two never existed, and the Sith Empire was incredibly large and powerful, leading there to be as many Sith Warriors as there were Jedi.

Out of all the Sith Warriors, Darth Malgus was one of the strongest military leaders. The Sith were governed by Emperor Vitiate, and under him was the Dark Council. The Dark Council were the ones that gave Malgus orders, and Malgus carried them out by leading Imperial troops in battles.

Malgus served the Sith Empire faithfully for over 20 years. However, he grew disillusioned with them after they agreed to a peace treaty with the Republic. He wanted to fight until there was only victory for the Sith. So, he took troops and conquered worlds in the Outer Rim that weren’t aligned with the Republic.

He eventually separated himself from the Sith Empire due to his feelings toward them.

Relationship with Eleena Daru

Eleena Daru and Darth Malgus

Malgus’ relationship with his Twi’lek slave is perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of his character. It’s incredibly uncommon for Sith Lords to have romantic relationships, and it adds a lot of depth to Malgus’ character.

After watching, reading, and playing through the Star Wars world, I’ve realized that you can never have a Dark Side character without some sort of tragedy associated with them. Such is the way of the Dark Side. So, it strikes the heartstrings deeply when Malgus kills Eleena Daru.

They were together for several years. Eleena was the only one who referred to Malgus by his real name, Veradun. However, she only did so in private. There was an instance where she called him that in public and he threatened to kill her if she ever did so again.

Their relationship was complicated, but it worked well for them over the years. When Malgus’ Sith associates showed him that they may use her against him, he realized that he had to kill her. While killing her clearly broke his heart, it also fueled him with rage.

This rage made him more powerful, and it would resurface every time he thought about her. In her death, Eleena kept making Malgus stronger.

Inclusivity

One of the ongoing themes of the Sith Empire has always been their disdain for alien races. This was true in the Old Republic Era, and it’s true in Emperor Palpatine’s rule of the Galactic Empire as well. They’ve always seen non-humans as lesser beings, good for work or slavery.

Another race that was seen as superior in the Old Republic times was the Pure Sith species. They came from Korriban and were some of the first people to use the Dark Side of the Force.

Over the years, humans bred with the Pureblood Sith and the Sith name eventually became an ideology. So, Sith and humans were the only people seen as elite in the Sith Empire. The Dark Council didn’t include people of any other race or species.

Darth Malgus was outwardly opposed to this. This may be thanks to his relationship with the Twi’lek, Eleena Daru.

When Malgus formed his own empire, he planned on being more inclusive of all the races around the galaxy. He believed it would make his empire stronger as he had more people join his cause.

While Malgus was a terrible person, at least he was more inclusive of people compared to the other members of the Sith at the time!

Star Wars: The Old Republic Promotional Trailers

Darth Malgus became incredibly popular amongst Star Wars fans as the promotional trailers for Star Wars: The Old Republic were released.

These cinematic trailers showed his growth as a character and depicted his 3 most popular skirmishes in a high-quality fashion. If you want to see Malgus in action and appreciate how great of a character he is, you need to see these trailers.

Battle above Korriban:

Battle on Alderaan:

The sacking of Coruscant:

Related Perks, Special Abilities

Darth Malgus was incredibly talented in both lightsaber combat and Force usage. When dueling, he used his incredible strength and demonstrated brute force to cut down his enemies.

Even though he was strong, he was also very agile. He often moved around in quick bursts and acrobatically jumped to catch his foes off-guard.

He beat both Kao Cen Darach and Ven Zallow in lightsaber combat, and they were high-ranking members of the Jedi Order.

In terms of Force abilities, Malgus used an impressive number of them. In the MMORPG, you can see him using Force lightning, Force choke, Force speed, and many more.

One of his most notable abilities was Force Maelstrom. This was when he used telekinesis to hold shrapnel around him and then blast it all away using Force lightning. A Force bubble would be formed inside the shrapnel to protect him.

Key Quotes

Darth Malgus

  • “After a thousand years, Korriban is ours again. Welcome home.” – Darth Malgus’ final words to his master, Darth Vindican, before he strikes him down and the Sith begin to retake the planet of Korriban.
  • “Our time has come. For 300 years, we prepared, we grew stronger while you rested in your cradle of power.” – Darth Malgus referring to how the Sith Empire built itself in hiding in preparation to overthrow the Republic.
  • “You were deceived, and now your Republic shall fall.” – Darth Malgus at the sacking of Coruscant.
  • “I fight because that is what I was made to do, and the Empire is the instrument through which I realize my purpose.” – Darth Malgus refers to the Empire. He supported them at first but eventually parted ways.
  • “It must survive. Even if that means burning it to the ground and forging it anew from the ash.” – Darth Malgus justifying his attempt at starting his own Empire.

FAQs

Question: How Powerful Was Darth Malgus?

Answer: Darth Malgus was one of the most powerful Sith Lords in the Old Republic Era. He was the commander of several battalions that won countless battles across the galaxy, and he played a massive role in the Sith Empire’s plans during the Great Galactic War.
His status and power are proven by the fact that there were hundreds of other Sith Warriors at the time, yet he was one of the most well-known ones. Also, he killed Jedi Master Ven Zallow in single combat, and he was one of the most prominent Jedi in the entire Order at the time.

Question: Why Did Darth Malgus Wear a Mask?

Answer: He suffered wounds to his face during a battle on Alderaan. In a fight with Republic Commander, Jace Malcolm, Jace first shot blasts from a heavy gun at Malgus, burning his face.
Later in the battle, Jace tackles Malgus while holding a grenade. The explosion from the grenade damaged the face of Malgus even further.
After that battle, Darth Malgus had to wear a respirator mask to help him breathe. This tends to be a common thing in the Star Wars universe, and you can see the same thing happening with both Darth Malak and Darth Vader.

Question: Is Darth Malgus Still Alive in Star Wars: The Old Republic?

Answer: Yes. You firstly defeat Darth Malgus in a Flashpoint mission in the game. However, he fakes his death and returns at a later stage. He continues to be part of other missions in the game that came as DLCs. He’s a main character in the latest DLC of the game as well.

Question: Would Darth Malgus Beat Revan?

Answer: It’s difficult to say as the two Sith Lords were around at different times. However, it’s fun to assume a few things for an interesting argument. Revan was both the most powerful Sith and Jedi in his time, and there wasn’t much he couldn’t do.
Malgus, on the other hand, was only a Sith Lord serving others in the Sith Empire. He never opposed the Sith higher-ups as much as Revan would. While Malgus was incredibly strong, I don’t think he’d be able to beat Revan.
Malgus’ anger and rage would help him in a fight, but it would ultimately lead to his downfall. Since Revan has mastery of both the Light and Dark Side, he’s much more balanced and discerning. I’d like to think he’d be able to read Malgus’ moves and counter them suitably.

Conclusion

With so many Dark Side characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic, it’s amazing that Darth Malgus stands out the most. His relationship with Eleena Daru is particularly interesting, and his scenes in all the cinematic trailers are unforgettable.

I’ll never forget how enthralling I thought they were when they first dropped. I wanted to play the games immediately and get to the bottom of who this menacing Sith Lord was.

If you want to learn as much as you can about Darth Malgus, you need to play the Star Wars MMORPG. You not only get to see him in action, but you get to interact with him and see how he reacts to varying dialogue options.

It’s a beautifully underrated game that is still getting support from BioWare, even after being out for over 10 years.

If you’ve never played or seen the game before, just think Mass Effect, but in the Star Wars universe. It’s beautiful!

For more interesting readings on Star Wars lore, check out the following articles:

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