Darth Malak was a Human male born on Quelii who took the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith during the Jedi Civil War. Born Alek Squinquargesimus and nicknamed Squint, he was—prior to becoming a Sith Lord—a famed Jedi Knight and military commander. Squinquargesimus befriended the Jedi Padawan Zayne Carrick and, after taking the name “Malak,” assisted him in defeating the Jedi Covenant. During the Mandalorian Wars, Malak gained a reputation as a headstrong warrior who would recklessly charge into danger. He eventually drew closer and closer to the dark side, ultimately being seduced by Sith teachings imparted to him by his closest friend and fellow Jedi Knight Revan. After the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars at the Sith planet of Malachor V, the two twisted the allegiance of the Revanchists and the Republic forces under their command, building the foundations of what would eventually become a new Sith Empire.
In his role as Revan’s chosen apprentice, the newly-christened Darth Malak helped his Master track down the Star Maps, devices that led to the Star Forge, an ancient space station built by the Rakata. A year after Revan and Malak disappeared from known Republic space into the Unknown Regions, they returned and declared war on the Republic, determined to end the “tyranny” of the Jedi Order. At one point under Darth Revan’s tutelage, Malak’s entire jaw was removed by a lightsaber strike from his own Sith Master, forcing him to wear a large metal prosthesis. After the Jedi dispatched a strike team to capture Revan and Malak, the latter betrayed his Master, ordering the guns of his flagship, Leviathan, to fire on Revan’s vessel. Convinced that his Master had died, Malak usurped Revan’s mantle of Dark Lord and ruled the Sith unchallenged, brutally conquering territory after territory. He even took an apprentice of his own, a former Jedi named Darth Bandon.
It would not be long until Malak was proven wrong about his beliefs on Revan‘s death. The next year, Malak intercepted the Jedi Knight Bastila Shan and an amnesiac Revan, whose identity as the Dark Lord had been replaced with loyalty to the Republic by the Jedi Council. After Malak told Revan of his former identity as the Dark Lord, the two fought each other, but Shan allowed herself to be captured by Malak so that Revan and his companions could escape. Malak corrupted Shan, whom he had once considered a threat. She eventually became his apprentice, replacing Darth Bandon, whom Revan and his companions had previously killed. Now assisted by Shan’s battle meditation, Malak considered his Sith Empire to be invincible. However, when the Republic fleet attacked the Star Forge above Rakata Prime, a redeemed Revan boarded the ancient superweapon and confronted Malak in a lightsaber duel that resulted in the Dark Lord’s defeat. With that, Malak’s reign as the Dark Lord ended, and the Republic emerged victorious from the war.
Early life and Jedi training
Alek was a Human male born on the planet Quelii in a village named “Squinquargesimus.” After Quelli was devastated by the Mandalorians, the name of Alek’s home village was used as his surname on immigration records. Eventually, Squinquargesimus was found to be sensitive to the Force and was trained as a Jedi Padawan at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. Nicknamed “Squint” by his peers, Squinquargesimus’ closest friend was the Padawan who would eventually be known as “Revan.” Though Revan was recognized as the stronger of the two, Squinquargesimus’ desire to broaden his knowledge did not remain unnoticed and he, like Revan, eventually sought out additional training from the Twi’lek Jedi Master Zhar Lestin on the galactic capital of Coruscant. Some time before 3,963 BBY, both of the young men completed their training and attained the rank of Jedi Knight.
Mandalorian Wars
When the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders launched an assault on the Republic and started the Mandalorian Wars, both Squinquargesimus and Revan were eager to defeat the invading forces. As the war continued, however, the Jedi Council urged the Jedi to be patient and strictly forbade action against the Mandalorians, feeling that the true threat had not yet emerged. Revan would not be dissuaded, and both he and Squinquargesimus believed that the Order operated too slowly and exercised excessive caution in its decisions. Squinquargesimus was the first to join Revan’s movement, known as the Revanchists, and other Jedi soon followed. In the year 3,964 BBY, Squinquargesimus was among a group of Jedi that chose to take a more proactive role in the ongoing war by participating in a scouting mission along the Outer Rim, just prior to the Mandalorian invasion of the Republic. Led by Revan, whom Squinquargesimus called “his honorary Master,”] Squinquargesimus and his fellow Jedi investigated the Mandalorian threat along the Republic border against the wishes of the Jedi Council.
The Revanchists stopped briefly on the ecumenopolis of Taris in hopes of recruiting more Jedi from the local Jedi temple. While there, Squinquargesimus met a Jedi named Zayne Carrick, who was Jedi Master Lucien Draay’s apprentice. Draay was the son of Krynda Draay, the Covenant’s founder. When Carrick failed to capture the Snivvian black marketeer Marn Hierogryph, whom he had been unable to apprehend seven times previously, Squinquargesimus rescued the Padawan from falling into the cityscape. After this, the two Jedi conferred, and one subject that they discussed was the ongoing war. Not only did the Jedi High Council disapprove of the war, but the teachers on Taris counseled their students that the Jedi were supposed to defend the Republic from the Sith. During their discussion, Squinquargesimus reminded Carrick that the Sith threat had ended decades ago. Squinquargesimus stated that sometimes one had to enter the darkness in order to save the light, and he opined that more Jedi should share his beliefs. Squinquargesimus unsuccessfully tried to recruit Carrick, who refused because the Jedi Masters, including Draay, believed that the Sith, not the Mandalorians, were the Jedi’s business. Squinquargesimus laughed, saying that the Mandalorians could be in the Masters’ presence, but to get the Jedi’s attention, the Mandalorians would have to act like Sith. Though Carrick was a less-than-promising student, Squinquargesimus suspected that he would be a major player during the war.
Sometime before Squinquargesimus and the Revan chists went to Taris, four Sage Masters of the secret Jedi organization known as the Covenant—which was dedicated to preventing the return of the Sith—envisioned that one of their Padawans would become a Sith Lord and would be responsible for their deaths and the destruction of the Jedi Order. After Squinquargesimus and the Revanchists left Taris, Carrick’s Jedi Masters killed their apprentices and framed Carrick for the Padawans’ deaths, subsequently forcing Carrick to hide from the Jedi Order and civil authorities.
The final battles
The entrance of Revan and his Jedi into the war marked the conflict’s turning point. Revan’s military strategies and tactics, coupled with Malak’s courage and determination, saw the pair becoming the foremost heroes of the war. Claiming victory time after time, they were propelled through the ranks of the Republic military, and Revan was given direct control over the entire Republic fleet. With his newfound authority, Revan spearheaded the Republic war effort and began to steadily push the Mandalorians back, and though Malak lacked Revan’s military genius, he exemplified himself as a capable war leader. Malak eventually gained a reputation as a headstrong warrior who would recklessly charge into danger.
Together, Revan and Malak liberated Taris, fought Cassus Fett at Jaga’s Cluster, and defeated much of the Mandalorian army at Althir. Yet, despite such victories, the Jedi Masters they had left behind believed that Revan, Malak, and the Jedi that had joined them were only offering easy solutions to the galaxy’s problems, fearing that much woe would result from their recklessness. As the war progressed, concerns were raised over Revan and Malak’s behavior. They gradually changed from the idealistic men that had first rebelled against the Jedi Council and began to adopt characteristics similar to their Mandalorian adversaries. To Revan and Malak, ultimate victory became all that mattered, and in order to ensure it, the two Jedi met their enemies’ brutal, merciless tactics with a ruthlessness of their own. Over the course of the war, Malak and Revan developed a cold, calculating disposition that was uncharacteristic of Jedi and grew to despise weakness and indecisiveness. “Moral shortcuts” became common practice under their leadership, along with a number of other unsavory acts. Though there were some who frowned upon such actions, the vast majority of the galaxy cared only that Revan and Malak were winning the war and hailed them as heroes.
At some point during the Mandalorian Wars, Revan found a Rakatan Star Map in the old ruins near the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. The Star Map was necessary to uncover the secret location of the Star Forge, a relic of the Rakatan Infinite Empire that had ruled the galaxy approximately 20,000 standard years before. Revan and Malak delved into the ancient ruins, and after successfully passing the trials set for them by the guard droid that had been left behind by the so-called “Builders,” they were given access to the Star Map. Moments before they crossed the threshold that would lead them to their prize, Malak warned Revan of the consequences, feeling that if they examined the Star Map, the Jedi Order would banish both he and Revan. However, such words did not dissuade Revan from continuing to the Star Map. Though a part of Malak yearned to return to the Order, he remained at his friend’s side, knowing that once he crossed the threshold, there would be no chance of ever returning to the life he once had.
In the final year of the Mandalorian Wars, Revan found another Star Map on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Shortly thereafter, Revan traveled to the Sith planet of Malachor V, where he discovered the Trayus Academy and delved deeply into the Sith secrets contained within. Revan introduced Malak to the Sith teachings, causing him to fall to the dark side. The heroic reputation that Revan and Malak had gained during the Mandalorian Wars was finally cemented during the final battle of the war, where Revan forced a final confrontation with the Mandalorians over Malachor V. Revan intended to unleash the Mass Shadow Generator—a superweapon recently constructed by the Zabrak engineer Bao-Dur—on the planet. Trusting the device’s activation to a capable Jedi General that would later become known as the Jedi Exile, Revan battled and killed Mandalore the Ultimate himself. The Mass Shadow Generator‘s activation wiped out the majority of the Mandalorian fleet, in addition to the Republic forces and Jedi who were not fervently loyal to Revan. In the end, many Jedi were twisted to the dark side, and the once-proud Mandalorian clans were crippled, just as Revan had intended.
After the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars, Revan constructed an assassin droid designated HK-47. When the Exile—who had ordered the Mass Shadow Generator’s activation and had disconnected herself from the Force during the cataclysmic final battle—left Revan and Malak’s fleet to answer for her actions before the Jedi Council, Malak wanted Revan to order HK-47 to kill her. However, Revan, who saw the woman as a Jedi that was already dead, would not allow her assassination. Having defeated the Mandalorians, the two now-legendary Jedi Knights did not return to the Republic. Instead, they led the remainder of their forces into the Unknown Regions, claiming to be hunting down surviving Mandalorians. For a year afterward, nothing was heard from them, and the Republic feared its heroes to be lost. However, the purpose of the two Jedi’s quest was somewhat different from what the Republic believed. Revan and Malak were committed to uniting the galaxy beneath Revan’s authority, and in order to ensure this and secure the Republic’s defeat, the two were determined to locate the Star Forge. After the end of the Mandalorian Wars, Revan and Malak began to search for the Star Forge, using the maps they had found on Dantooine and Kashyyyk. The two fallen Jedi located and uncovered three more Star Maps on the desert world Tatooine, the Selkath’s oceanic homeworld Manaan, and the ancient Sith tombworld Korriban.
Sith apprentice
With the information obtained from the Star Maps, Revan and Malak were able to travel to the previously unknown Rakata system. Upon their arrival, the pair crashed on Rakata Prime. Shortly thereafter, they were attacked by the primitive Black Rakata, who attempted to take them prisoner, but after the two fallen Jedi displayed their Force powers, the natives were quickly cowed into submission. Though Revan initially negotiated with The One, the leader of the Black Rakata, it soon became apparent that none among the Black Rakata had relevant information pertaining to the Star Forge. Revan then decided to win the favor of the Elders, a Rakatan tribe that the Black Rakata was at war with. Unlike their violent introduction to the Black Rakata, Revan and Malak approached the Elders in peace, learning much from them about the Rakata, their old empire, and of the disruptor field that had caused Revan and Malak’s ship to crash. Increasingly aware of the abhorrence that the Elders held for their species’ violent past, Revan and Malak styled themselves as servants of the light, searching for a way to destroy the Star Forge. After Revan and Malak gained the Elders’ trust, the Elders gave the Jedi access to the temple. Thanking the Elders, the two fallen Jedi promised to destroy the Star Forge and return.
Instead, Revan took control of the Star Forge, and he and Malak added the “Darth” title to their names, declaring themselves the new Dark Lords of the Sith. In 3,959 BBY, the pair founded a new Sith Empire and returned to Korriban, seizing control of the planet and establishing a new Sith Academy there. Revan and Malak then returned to known Republic space at the head of a massive invasion fleet. Openly revealing themselves as Sith Lords, the pair and their followers declared war on the Republic and the Jedi Order. This marked the beginning a twenty-year campaign to end the “tyranny” of the Jedi Council once and for all, initiating the Jedi Civil War. At one point under Darth Revan’s tutelage, Malak saw his Master as being soft, causing tension between the two that culminated in a lightsaber duel. Malak’s jaw was removed by a lightsaber strike from Revan himself, and Malak was forced to wear a large metal prosthesis cover over where his jaw had once been. A portion of the device allowed Malak to talk, but his voice now reverberated with a gruff electronic tone because his cybernetic jaw could not move.
In the year 3,958 BBY, Revan and his Sith carried out a successful attack on the shipyard world of Foerost, capturing the majority of the Republic’s fleet. The Republic Admiral Saul Karath, who had served under Revan and Malak in the Mandalorian Wars, declared the Republic unworthy of his loyalty and transferred his services and his flagship Leviathan to Revan‘s service. Karath also gave the Sith codes that enabled them to bypass a Republic Navy docking bay’s scanners. This allowed the Sith forces to sweep in and destroy over half of the docked ships before they had time to react. Later, Revan promoted Karath as the commander of the entire Sith fleet. As a final test of loyalty to the Sith, Darth Malak ordered Karath to destroy Telos IV, a planet that Revan had originally intended to conquer. Karath complied, killing millions of innocent people and earning the wrath of the surviving Telosians, including the Republic commander Carth Onasi, who once considered Karath his mentor and Malak a hero. Later that year, Darth Malak bombed the Zabrak homeworld of Iridonia, and the Sith also carried out a successful attack on the planet of Rodia. Though a powerful Sith Lord, the ambitious Darth Malak began to chafe under the dominion of Revan as the war progressed. The man who had once been Revan’s staunchest ally and most loyal friend began to eagerly await an opportunity to replace his Sith Master.
Dark Lord of the Sith
Malak’s chance to usurp Revan’s position came in 3,957 BBY when the Jedi Council sent a strike team to capture the pair of Sith. The team managed to corner Revan on the bridge of his flagship. Malak, who was separated from his Master, ordered the guns of his own flagship, the Leviathan, to fire on Revan‘s vessel in an attempt to slay both his Master and the Jedi—specifically the strike team’s leader, Bastila Shan, because of her power with Battle Meditation, a Force power that enabled her to strengthen the Republic forces’ resolve and coordinate their fighting effort while sapping the will of their enemies.
Unbeknownst to Malak, Shan saved Revan’s life and brought him to the Jedi Council, and Revan’s mind was then reprogrammed with the identity of a Republic soldier. Though Malak failed in his attempt on Revan’s life, his Master had been incapacitated during the attack. Believing himself to have been successful, Darth Malak assumed command of the Sith Empire, at last taking the mantle of Dark Lord for himself. A small part of Malak always regretted betraying his Master from afar. Malak knew there would be some who thought and claimed that he had been a coward, that he had acted out of fear, and that would not want to face Revan in personal combat again.
The search for Bastila
While the war against the Republic continued with success, Darth Malak feared that the Jedi Bastila Shan’s rare gift with battle meditation—which surpassed even the most powerful Jedi Masters—would make her a grave threat to the Sith war effort. Malak expended tremendous resources in an attempt to locate and capture Shan. He nearly succeeded when his apprentice, Darth Bandon, led an attack on her ship, the Endar Spire, above the planet Taris. Shan, among other Republic soldiers, was forced to evacuate her craft via an escape pod and crashed into the lower levels of Taris. To prevent Shan from escaping the planet, Malak blockaded Taris. However, Malak soon grew impatient with the search for Shan and ordered Admiral Saul Karath aboard his flagship, the Leviathan, to destroy the planet. Nonetheless, Shan was able to return unharmed to Dantooine on the light freighter Ebon Hawk, thanks to the efforts of the Republic commander Carth Onasi; the amnesiac Revan, who was unaware of his former identity as the Dark Lord; and their companions. After Revan was retrained in the Jedi ways in the Enclave on Dantooine, the local Council ordered Revan and his allies to search for the Star Forge.
Soon after, a bounty hunter named Calo Nord—who had been defeated on Taris by Revan, Shan, and Onasi—managed to escape Taris’ destruction. Nord was hired by Malak to track down the group, capture Shan, and kill her companions. Nord and Karath revealed to Malak that one of Shan’s companions was Revan, whom the Sith Lord had long believed to be dead. Despite Nord’s galaxy-wide reputation as a bounty hunter, he did not survive his next encounter with Revan. After Nord’s death, Admiral Karath informed Malak of the bounty hunter‘s failure. Malak told Karath that no bounty hunter could stand against a Jedi, and to avoid making the same mistake twice, the Sith Lord sent his apprentice, Darth Bandon, after Shan. Malak ordered Bandon to find Shan and to bring her to him alive, if at all possible. There were rumors that Bandon would challenge Malak for the right to rule the Sith, but Bandon never had a chance to develop his plans, as he failed to capture Shan and was killed by Revan after the former Sith Lord found a fourth Star Map in his quest to locate the Star Forge. During Revan’s search for the Rakatan space station, Malak and his Sith forces attacked Dantooine. They destroyed the Jedi Enclave and killed many, Jedi and civilian alike. Malak also captured eight Jedi for later use on the Star Forge. The Sith Lord plundered through the ruins of the Enclave, looking for Jedi artifacts. The Jedi Council had sensed this would happen and tried to evacuate everyone, but it was too late. The local Jedi Council managed to escape, however, and some of the Jedi holocrons and relics were moved to another location.
Revelation on the Leviathan
“You cannot hide from what you once were, Revan! Recognize that you were once the Dark Lord—and know that I have taken your place!”
―Malak, to his old Master, Revan
While on their search for a fifth Star Map, Revan and the crew of the Ebon Hawk were captured by the Sith and brought on board the Leviathan, Malak’s flaship. Before Revan and his crew were taken to the detention area, Revan sent a member of his crew to free the rest of the group from the Leviathan’s detention area. After taking Revan and his crew into custody, Admiral Saul Karath tortured and interrogated Revan, Shan, and Onasi in an attempt to find out their mission’s objective. Sometime after Karath departed the detention area, the Ebon Hawk crew member managed to liberate Revan and the others from the detention area. The crew then split in two groups. Shan, Onasi, and Revan headed to the bridge of the Leviathan to lower the ship’s shields, disable the tractor beam, and unlock the door to the docking bay, while the Mandalorian Canderous Ordo led the rest of the crew to the docking bay.
When Shan, Onasi, and Revan made their way to the bridge, they were confronted by Admiral Karath. The admiral informed the two Jedi and Onasi that Malak was on his way to the bridge and requested their surrender. When the three refused, a fight broke out, during which Karath was struck down. Before the two Jedi and Onasi made it to the docking bay, Malak arrived, hindering their escape. Conferring with his three adversaries, Malak discovered that Revan still had no knowledge of his time as a Dark Lord, which had been wiped out by the Jedi. Amused, Malak revealed to Revan the truth of his former identity. Shocked by the revelation, Revan asked Shan if this was true, and she confirmed both his former identity and her own role as part of the Jedi strike team that had captured him. Malak soon used the Force to create a stasis field around Shan and Onasi and prepared to kill his former Master. Revan proved himself a capable swordsman, however, holding his own against the Dark Lord. Shan intervened so that Revan and Onasi could escape, and Malak defeated and captured her.
After successfully capturing Shan aboard the Leviathan, Malak took the Jedi to the Temple of the Ancients on Rakata Prime. Seeking to make Shan his apprentice to fortify the Sith Empire’s efforts with her battle meditation, Malak attempted to turn her to the dark side and tortured her with Force lightning. Shan was at first firm and resisted his efforts, but Malak insisted that it was not merely torture—it was a taste of the dark side power that she could possess. Following a week of torture, Malak succeeded in breaking Shan’s will, finally turning her to the dark side and taking her as his apprentice to replace the fallen Darth Bandon.
Battle of Rakata Prime
The preparations for the Star Forge were nearing completion, and the space station added new ships to the Sith fleet every day. The Star Forge operated at three hundred percent beyond the Sith’s expectations. The fleet was merely awaiting Malak’s instructions, and the Dark Lord was confident that they would be invincible once Shan provided assistance with her battle meditation. Assuming they would be victorious, Malak was already planning to begin the final conquest of the Core Worlds and crush the Republic forever.
After Revan and his crew located the Star Forge, they sent the space station’s coordinates to Republic Admiral Forn Dodonna so that he could take the Republic fleet and attack the Sith and their Star Forge. When the Jedi penetrated the Star Forge’s defenses, Malak was not surprised, ordering one of his Dark Jedi to dispatch the battle droids, which had been constructed by the Star Forge, to deal with them. However, Malak underestimated the Jedi, and the Dark Jedi brought news of the droids’ failure. Malak was at first surprised that any Jedi could stand against an army of Star Forge droids, but then he was told that Revan was with the Jedi. Though Malak knew that his Sith troops would only slow Revan down, the Dark Lord dispatched his forces and Dark Jedi on the Star Forge to hinder Revan’s progress and allocate enough time for the Sith Lord himself to fully prepare the Star Forge’s defenses.
Malak summoned his new apprentice, Bastila Shan, and informed her that Revan was on the Star Forge. Shan feared Revan’s power, but Malak stated that she would prove herself worthy of being his apprentice if she defeated the former Sith Lord. Shan proclaimed that she would not fail Malak again. After their conversation, the Dark Lord mused that perhaps Shan would be able to defeat Revan, but even if she failed, it would supply the necessary time to prepare the Star Forge’s defenses. After defeating an attack force of Forge droids, killing nearly all of Malak’s Dark Jedi and Sith forces, and convincing Shan to return to the light side, Revan confronted Malak, who was in the midst of using the Force to choke two Jedi prisoners. Upon his former Master’s arrival, the Dark Lord threw his lightsaber into one of the Jedi and blasted the other with Force lightning, effectively killing both. Revan offered Malak a chance to surrender, reminding the Dark Lord that the Jedi might show him mercy. However, Malak replied that the wiping of an individual’s identity was no act of mercy and stated that he would rather die. The Sith Lord unleashed the unlimited army of Star Forge battle droids against Revan, using the opportunity to escape to the Star Forge’s observation tower.
Revan managed to stop the droids from attacking him and followed Malak to the observation tower. Malak realized that his former Master’s powers had surpassed those that he held during his own reign as the Dark Lord. Malak proclaimed his intention to break Revan’s will and make his former Master his apprentice, as Revan would be a far greater asset than Shan and her battle meditation. However, Malak feared that Revan was too powerful to be his apprentice, believing that Revan would betray him should the former Sith Lord became the stronger between the two. After Revan retorted that he would not turn to the dark side again, the two began a lightsaber duel, in which the victor, unlike in their previous duels, would decide the fate of the galaxy.
Revan proved himself to be the better lightsaber duelist, almost defeating Malak. However, Malak withdrew from battle, explaining to his former Master that he could not be defeated. Malak then told Revan that he had brought the bodies of eight Jedi from the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine to the Star Forge and explained that rather than letting the deceased Jedi become one with the Force, he used the Star Forge to corrupt what remained of the dead Jedi’s Force energy. Malak used the Force to drain the life force from one of the Jedi, transferring it to himself. After replenishing his energy, Malak resumed his duel with Revan. However, the former Sith Lord freed as many of the captive Jedi as he could, allowing them to become one with the Force and shortening Malak’s supply of energy.
Malak was eventually brought to his knees, mortally wounded. He began to regret turning to the dark side, and Revan apologized to his old friend for starting him down the dark path. Malak was reminded by his former Master that he had chosen to continue to practice the dark side, and Malak told Revan that perhaps there was more truth in the Jedi Code than he had ever believed. The dying Dark Lord realized that he alone had to accept responsibility for his fate. With his dying words, Malak realized that as the darkness took him, he was nothing in the end. Malak died with sorrow and regret over his deeds, but without hatred or malice toward Revan, his one-time closest friend. Malak’s corpse was consumed by the flames of the failing Star Forge as the Republic fleet destroyed the ancient space station.
Legacy
One year after Darth Malak’s death and the defeat of his Sith Empire, Revan, now in possession of his full memories from his time as the Dark Lord, vanished from known Republic space to search for a mysterious Sith faction known only as the “True Sith.” Although Malak had died in his duel with Revan, the Dark Lord’s final confrontation did not mark the last anyone saw of him. Four years after Revan’s disappearance, the Jedi Exile discovered the lost tomb of the ancient Sith Lord Ludo Kressh while exploring a shyrack cave on Korriban. The Exile encountered visions from her past, the first of which was an apparition of the young Malak before his fall to the dark side. As the Exile looked on, Malak slowly lured several Jedi to his side, including Bastila Shan. When the Exile refused to join him, Malak and the other apparitions attacked. The Exile prevailed and made it through the tomb alive after experiencing several more visions, including one of Malak’s former Sith Master, Revan.
Approximately three centuries after Darth Malak’s death, it was presumed that Revan never returned from the Unknown Regions. However, the True Sith Empire—which was led by a mysterious Sith Emperor—that Revan went to battle with launched an attack on the Republic, igniting a war that lasted for decades until the Sith Emperor signed a treaty with the Republic. An image of Malak was featured in a record of the event that was produced by the Kel Dor Jedi Master Gnost-Dural for the Jedi Archives.
The atrocities that Darth Malak committed would overshadow his good deeds as a Jedi Knight in galactic history. Although Revan was remembered—and even admired by some, including Canderous Ordo—for his tactical genius and subtleties, the Dark Lord was remembered by others, such as the droid and Exchange crime boss G0-T0, as something of a brute who had left the galaxy in a mess. Many sentients, including the Jedi Mical, thought the situation would have been different if Revan had remained as the Dark Lord. While Revan‘s strategies would have led to a stronger and more unified galaxy, Malak’s genocidal reign only caused a greater destabilization of the galaxy and nearly destroyed all of his former Master’s original goals. In contrast to his Sith Master, Revan, Malak used brute force rather than strategy to defeat his enemies, as demonstrated when he ordered both the bombing of Telos IV and the destruction of Taris. The destruction that Malak caused would portray Malak as a monster who, despite all his attempts to gain absolute power, was still inferior compared to Revan.
When Darth Revan first introduced Malak to his assassin droid, HK-47, the droid liked Malak. HK-47 expressed this opinion to Revan after his reconditioning by the Jedi, stating that Malak was efficient and brutal. However, HK-47 informed Revan that if he had known that Malak would betray his Sith Master, HK-47 would have “gladly removed his entrails” when he had first met him. After the Jedi Civil War, HK-47 thought of Malak as an angry club that was given to grandiose displays of brutality and murder that seemed inefficient, and in many cases, unnecessary. However, the Echani Handmaiden Brianna was of the opinion that Malak’s destruction of Taris exemplified his heart through the operation’s execution and intent. Brianna felt that while Taris‘ destruction was brutal and lacked finesse, it showed Malak’s commitment to defeat the Jedi.