Marik Ishtar

Marik Ishtar is a male character who features in Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Biography

Marik Ishtar (マリク・イシュタール, Mariku Ishutāru) was the last in a long line of tomb-keepers. His mother died shortly after he was born. She had beseeched Rishid (Odion in the English anime), her adopted son, to watch over Marik, and so Rishid is always with Marik. After he turned ten, Marik received the "Tombkeeper's Initiation," which entailed having his family's secrets carved onto his back with a dagger (a tattoo in the English dub). To cope with this pain, his alternate personality was born. It was this event that caused his bitterness towards the Pharaoh to blossom. When he was eleven, his sister Ishizu took him outside of the tomb-keeper's home for the first time. There, Marik experienced the outside world for the first time. When he returned, his father was furious and began to take his anger out with his whip (In the English version, he had banished Odion). This triggered an appearance from his alternate personality known only as Dark Marik, who took possession of the Millennium Rod and killed his father with it (In the English version, Marik sent his father to the shadow realm, removing all the scenes that contained him). Shadi appears there, and tells Marik (now back in control) that this was the will of the Pharaoh. As such, Marik believes that the Pharaoh is responsible for his father's murder. He is unaware of his other self. After this event, Marik left the tomb-keepers and began to build his criminal organization to gain revenge on the Pharaoh. His elder sister, Ishizu Ishtar, the holder of the Millennium Necklace, has always cared deeply for Marik and has tried to make her brother see the error of his ways, even following him to the Battle City Finals. Marik, consumed by his hatred for the Pharaoh, refuses to let his sister foil his plans.

At the Battle City event, Marik sends his Ghouls to capture the God Cards. When this proves inadequate, he uses his Millennium Rod to possess the minds of various Ghouls and Katsuya Jounouchi to defeat the Pharaoh. After this too fails, Marik himself enters the Battle City Finals under the guise of Namu to defeat Seto Kaiba and the Pharaoh himself without exposing himself. Rishid enters the Finals as well under Marik's name to bring out the God Cards. When Marik orders Rishid to play a fake God Card in his duel with Jounouchi, he is struck by lightning and put in a coma. As a result, Marik's personality is completely suppressed by Dark Marik, save for a small part possessing Masaki Anzu. He warns his sister to make sure Rishid is kept safe from his dark half. His spirit enters the body of Bakura Ryo and duels his dark half with Dark Bakura for control of his body. He loses, and he splits his soul so that part of it remains within Anzu while the other part is sealed in Dark Marik's pyramid cage. His soul is the avatar for Dark Marik's life points during his duel with the Pharaoh, and regains control of his own body after the Pharaoh defeats Dark Marik. After his loss, Marik forfeits the Winged Dragon of Ra and shows the Pharaoh his scars on his back, which hold the key to his lost memories. He returns after Zorc's defeat to guide Pharaoh Atem to the Ceremonial Battle.

Overview

Personality and attributes

The sadistic alter ego of Marik Ishtar, Dark Marik was an entity that was created when his host was only ten years old. After having the secrets of the Pharaoh carved (In the English version tattooed) onto his back, Marik struggled to cope with the agony and pain. It also manifested itself into his other self, Dark Marik who could only emerge if Marik himself were full of rage.

Notes

• Marik Ishtar was created by Kazuki Takahashi and featured in the setting of Yu-Gi-Oh!.

Appearances

• Yu-Gi-Oh!:

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