Marik Ishtar

For other versions of this character, see Marik Ishtar (disambiguation).

Marik Ishtar

Names
English	Marik Ishtar
Other	Namu Maric Ishutarl (bunkoban) Malik Ishtar
Japanese Japanese マリク・イシュタール Rōmaji Mariku Ishutāru
Korean
Hangul	마리크 이슈타르
Other languages
Arabic	مِريك إشتار
Filipino	Malik Ishtar
Personal
Birth	December 23
Age	16
Height	1.8 m <br />5.906 ft <br />70.866 in <br />180 cm
Weight	121.254 lb <br />55 kg
Gender	Male
Blood type	B
Favorite food	Koshary
Least favorite food	Meat dish
Relatives
Ishizu Ishtar (older sister) Odion (adoptive older brother) Mr. Ishtar (father; deceased; sent to the Shadow Realm in the dub) Mrs. Ishtar (mother; deceased)
Career
Previous occupation	Tomb Keeper
Previous organization	Rare Hunters
Duelist
Tournament Position Battle City Runner-up
Anime Deck	Machine (through Bandit Keith) Slime/Slifer (through Strings) Burn (through Joey Wheeler) Immortality/Torture (as Yami Marik)
Other Decks
Nightmare Troubadour	Keeper's Judgment Roar of Ra Dark Destroyer
WC 2004	Darkness
Appearances
Anime debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! episode 05050: "The Mystery Duelist, Part 1"
Video game debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories
Appears in Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! (second series) Game Boy Color Yu-Gi-Oh! Dark Duel Stories Game Boy Advance Yu-Gi-Oh! The Eternal Duelist Soul Yu-Gi-Oh! Reshef of Destruction Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards Yu-Gi-Oh! 7 Trials to Glory: World Championship 2005 Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2004 Nintendo DS Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour PlayStation 2 Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monster Coliseum
Voice actors
English	Jonathan Todd Ross Taaz Gill (Marik, Singapore) Brian Zimmerman
Japanese	Tetsuya Iwanaga Akiko Kimura (child)
Other languages
German	Charles Rettinghaus
Italian	Patrizio Prata
Tagalog	Michael Punzalan
Ishtar, Marik

Marik Ishtar (マリク・イシュタール Mariku Ishutāru) is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime and the main antagonist of the Battle City and Battle City Quarterfinals arcs, until the defeat of Odion, when Marik's alter ego Yami Marik takes over his body and replaces him as the main antagonist. He is the leader and founder of the Rare Hunters and heir to the Tomb Keepers.

Marik is the younger brother of Ishizu Ishtar and the adoptive younger brother of Odion.

Design

Appearance

Marik linework.

Marik's initial outfit consists of purple hooded robes with the Eye of Anubis on it, and a long purple cape with a gold chain at the front. He wears golden earrings, three bands of neckwear, an armband on each arm, and five bracelets on each arm starting from close to his elbows down to his wrists. He has dark skin, purple eyes and white-gold hair that occasionally appears as more light gray hair, especially in the Battle City tournament and at night.

When he arrived in Domino City, he wore a sleeveless light purple hoodie with two gold chains on the front, black pants, and black shoes. While in Battle City, he acquires a KaibaCorp Duel Disk on his left arm. In the manga, his pants are beige, and he wears a black tank top underneath his hoodie, which would come to be the clothes his split personality would wear, minus the hoodie.

When he was switched with Dark Marik as his sacrifice during his battle against Yami Yugi, he wears the outfit that Dark Marik wore but he removes the purple cloak before he destroys his dark self in the shadow game.

Throughout Season 5, Marik eventually changed in a steel blue shirt with a black vest over it, two black and gold bracelets, light gray pants, and black shoes.

Personality

As a child, Marik was an innocent boy who desired to see the outside world, despite his clan's laws forbidding him from doing so, and was willing to sneak out to fulfill his desire. He cared for his sister Ishizu Ishtar very much and also considered Odion to be his brother, despite not being blood related.

Marik bore a grudge towards the Pharaoh because he was forced by his own father to guard the family's carving with his life via a ritual of having carvings (in the anime's Japanese version and the original manga) or tattoos (in the anime's dub) onto his back which brought intense pain during and after the ritual and robbed him of his freedom.

With the intense pain and his hatred towards the Pharaoh, he spawned his second personality Yami Marik to deal with it all. Such as a year later when his father brutally tortured Odion for helping Marik and Ishizu to sneak outside, Marik was unconscious while Yami Marik killed his father and woke up with no recollection of his father's murder. Immediately afterwards, he sees a loyalist to the Pharaoh, Shadi, had come to warn him about the dangerous path he had taken. Marik thought that Shadi had murdered his father, leading to Marik's betrayal of the clan to get revenge against the Pharaoh (this aspect is removed from the dub).

While leading the Rare Hunters in his quest for world domination and freedom, Marik became cruel and uncaring, willing to brainwash people to do his bidding, force them to cheat, and use cruelty on his behalf, the victims included Bandit Keith and Strings. He was not above using death to punish his subordinates for failure despite them pleading to Marik they tried their best, such as Arkana and Lumis, nor did he care about sacrificing Rare Hunters to test the fake "The Winged Dragon of Ra" cards which produced severe injuries and death. He even threatened his sister Ishizu with the Millennium Rod for getting in his way and ordered Odion to use the fake Ra card against his will when was so close to winning against Joey. This may all stem from his other persona influencing him as when they met during Yami Marik's duel with Yami Bakura, the former said that he caused him to not feel guilty over his actions. Though He still retained his love for his family, despite his mistreatment of them.

Etymology

His given name "Marik" is derived from the Arabic name Malik (مالك Mālik), meaning "owner" or "holder". It was likely also influenced by the distinct Arabic title "Malik" (ملك Malik), which means "king". The use of "r" rather than "l" comes from the two consonants being represented by the same speech sound in Japanese. He uses the name "Malik" in the Filipino and Indonesian versions.

His surname "Ishtar" comes from Ishtar, a Mesopotamian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex.

Biography

History

Marik's family guarded the tomb of the Pharaoh for generations and two Millennium Items (the Millennium Rod and Millennium Necklace) were passed on to Marik and his sister Ishizu Ishtar. Marik was forbidden to leave the Pharaoh's tomb due to his father's fear that the freedom and marvels of the outside world would further divert Marik's attention from his heritage. Marik no longer wanted to become a Tombkeeper, so his adoptive brother Odion Ishtar asked if he could take Marik's place but Marik's father rejected the thought of Odion taking Marik's place. When Marik was forced to take the initiation ritual to become a full Tombkeeper, Marik spawned his second personality Yami Marik from the pain he endured. A year later, Marik and Ishizu took a forbidden trip to the surface but their father found out and attempted punish Odion for not stoping Marik and Ishizu, by killing him. In the midst of his father's torturing Odion, Marik blanked out and his second personality Yami Marik emerged for the first time to resist his father's punishment and claimed the Millennium Rod for himself. Ignoring his father's orders to put it down, Yami Marik used its powers to smash him against the wall. When Ishizu protested, she suffered the same strike. Yami Marik then proceeded to kill his father. After Yami Marik was sealed away in Marik's body by Odion, Marik believed that the Pharaoh had ordered the loyalist Shadi to kill his father, due to Odion saying Shadi had killed him, trying to be a big brother and hiding from Marik that it was actually his alter ego who had done so. This increased Marik's grudge and resentment to the Pharaoh, causing him to create the Rare Hunters.

As a teenager, Marik was the leader of the Rare Hunters organization as he wished with the Millennium Rod to obtain the three Egyptian God Cards so that he could unlock their power for himself, gain the title of "Pharaoh" and set his family free from the duty of the Tombkeepers (In the dub, he wants the God Cards and the Millennium Puzzle, so he can unlock the Pharaoh's power for himself and use it to rule the world). He also had a hidden agenda - to get revenge on the Nameless Pharaoh's soul for killing his father as he mistakenly believed that it was the Pharaoh's fault. Although he and his Rare Hunters uncovered "The Winged Dragon of Ra" and "Slifer the Sky Dragon" from where Maximillion Pegasus had hidden them, they were unable to uncover "Obelisk the Tormentor", which was taken by Ishizu and given to Seto Kaiba.

Battle City

During Battle City, Marik and his Rare Hunters hacked into Battle City's computer system and entered themselves in the tournament. After the Pharaoh defeated the weakest Rare Hunter, Marik used the Millennium Rod to take over the Rare Hunter's body to introduce himself to the Pharaoh. After the Pharaoh defeated Arkana, Marik used the Millennium Rod to take over Arkana's body to introduce himself to Yugi Muto. While arriving at Domino City, Marik used the Millennium Rod to have a Rare Hunter use Slifer against the Pharaoh to win the Millennium Puzzle from him. Marik has a huge advantage up his sleeve, with the Egyptian God Card "Slifer the Sky Dragon". Using a five card combo involving "Slifer", "Revival Jam", "Infinite Cards", "Jam Defender", and "Card of Safe Return", Strings puts Yami in a tight situation. Every time he attacks, Strings can redirect the attack to "Revival Jam", which regenerates itself after being destroyed (this is neither an automatic nor immediate effect in the OCG/TCG) and thanks to "Card of Safe Return", he draws three cards from his Deck whenever this happens and because of "Infinite Cards", he can hold as many cards as he wants. With Slifer's ATK and DEF proportional to the number of cards its controller holds, and with "Revival Jam" able to absorb and reform from any attack Yugi is able to make with the aid of "Jam Defender", Marik boasts the strategy is unbeatable.

Yami is just about to give up until Kaiba arrives and encourages him to fight on. The two manage to figure out the weakness of this combo and turn it against Marik. Yami attacks "Revival Jam" with "Buster Blader", and then uses "Brain Control" to take control of "Revival Jam" as it regenerates so it regenerates under his control, forcing "Slifer" to attack it with its second mouth. Then "Revival Jam" is destroyed and regenerates, forcing Strings to draw three more cards due to "Card of Safe Return". Then "Slifer" must attack "Revival Jam" again, since it reformed under Yami's control, destroying it and allowing it to regenerate again, and forcing Strings to continue drawing due to "Card of Safe Return". This continues in a never-ending loop until Strings' Deck is empty, and thus he loses the Duel through a Deck Out. Yami gets "Slifer the Sky Dragon" for his victory. When he was getting ready to brainwash Joey, Yami Bakura stood in his way, telling him to hand over the Rod. Instead, they made a deal where if Bakura obtains Slifer for him and defeat Yami Yugi, he would give him the Millennium Rod. Yami Bakura then stabbed himself in the arm and gave control back to his host, Bakura Ryou. He showed the injured Bakura to Joey, Solomon, and Téa, gaining their trust and taking the guise of Namu. While Kaiba and the Pharaoh Dueled Lumis and Umbra, Marik used his Millennium Rod to brainwash Joey Wheeler and Téa Gardner. After Kaiba used Obelisk to defeat Umbra, Marik used the Millennium Rod to take over Lumis's body and brag about having Yugi's friends. Having a Rare Hunter hold Tea hostage, the deadly Duel between the Pharaoh and Joey went through much to Kaiba's horror. In the midst of the Duel, Yugi took over for the Pharaoh much to Marik's anger as he wanted to see the Pharaoh's demise not his teenage vessel's. When Marik forced Joey with the Millennium Rod's full power, Joey was able break free with his willpower.

Marik, Bakura and Odion took places in the quarter-finals. Marik took the guise of Namu while Odion pretended to be "Marik" as nobody had actually met him in person and known his true name (sans Yami Bakura, since although Téa, Joey, and Bakura Ryou technically met him, he pretended to be a boy named Namu). After Bakura was defeated by the Pharaoh in the first quarter-final match, Marik had Odion use a counterfeit Ra card in his quarter-final against Joey. When Joey suspected that he was not Dueling the real Marik, as Odion had been Dueling with honor while Marik was cruel, sadistic and as by far as Joey was concerned, a dirty cheater; Marik ordered Odion to use the counterfeit Ra to "show" he's Marik but Ra was angered by this and wrathfully struck both Duelists with lightning, ultimately rendering Odion and Joey unconscious. After Joey defeated Odion, the latter reveals to the Pharaoh and Joey that he is really Marik's servant while Marik began to suffer sudden headaches. After Odion was further rendered unconscious, Marik revealed himself to the Pharaoh, Joey, Kaiba, Téa, Tristan Taylor, Duke Devlin, Mokuba Kaiba, Serenity Wheeler and Mai Valentine. Suddenly, Marik cried out in pain as his darker personality gained control of his body. While Ishizu Dueled Kaiba in the fourth quarter-final match, Marik tried to call out to Ishizu but his dark personality trapped Marik in a "prison" built out of his own fear and pity. During his sister's Duel with Kaiba, the Millennium Rod began activating on its own, causing Yami Marik to wonder why; although Yami Marik had already taken control of him, there is a large possibility that Marik, by somehow knowing what was happening through his alter ego, wondered as well why Kaiba had a connection to his Rod. In the manga, one of Marik's goals before his darker personality awakened was to discover why the figure on the mural looked like Kaiba holding his Millennium Rod. Through Tea's mind, Marik listened to Ishizu's story of how he became evil and created his darker side, thus beginning to reform himself. After the quarter-finals, his reformed soul confronted his other self, claiming that he would make up for everything he had done and apologizing to his father, before a Duel with him. In this Duel, Marik teamed up with Yami Bakura to stop him, but failed when Yami Marik used Ra's other abilities, which were unknown to Marik. However, Marik (through Téa) warned Ishizu to hide Odion from Yami Marik in order to save his life.

Battle City Finals

Marik's carving/tattoo of the Pharaoh's memory.

In the final Duel between Yami Marik and the Pharaoh, their weaker selves were the victims of the Shadow Game being played. As the Duel went on, Yami Marik became the dominant host of Marik's body while the real Marik's soul slowly faded out of existence. This Shadow Game gave him a clear edge, for when the Pharaoh lost Life Points, Yugi's body would fade away, and when Yami Marik lost Life Points, the original Marik would fade away. As Marik realizes his mistakes of making people suffer, he speaks out through Téa, begging the Pharaoh for his forgiveness and asks him to defeat Yami Marik, even if it meant he would go to the Shadow Realm. While they Dueled, Odion woke up and made Marik realize he had to accept his responsibility for being a Tombkeeper. With this confidence, Marik overpowered his evil self and made him the victim of the Shadow Game, and then forfeited, destroying Yami Marik. Marik gave the Pharaoh the Millennium Rod and the Ra card.

Marik then revealed the Tombkeeper's initiation. The carving of the pharaoh's memory onto the back of a tomb guardian (using either a hot dagger in the manga and the Japanese version of the second series anime, or a tattoo in the English second series anime although the dagger was still seen in the flashback) on his back. Fulfilling his duty as a Tombkeeper, Marik returned to Egypt to start a new life with his sister and Odion.

Pharaoh's Memories

Marik's appearance in Dawn of the Duel

In the Pharaoh's Memories arc, Marik, Ishizu, and Odion lead Yugi and his friends to the Tablet of Memories, so Yami Yugi may enter the Memory World and regain his memory.

Ceremonial Battle

Marik, Ishizu, and Odion lead Yugi and his friends to the tomb of the Pharaoh in order for Yugi and Atem to have a final Duel in order to determine whether Atem will move on to the afterlife or remain in the present. Atem loses, allowing him to pass on to the afterlife. After he left, the Millennium Items sank into the ground and the tomb collapsed. Marik and the others managed to escape and Marik and his family end up staying in Egypt.

Other appearances

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  Marik Ishtar (Millennium Duels)

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  Marik Ishtar (The Dawn of Destiny)

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  Marik Ishtar (Nightmare Troubadour)

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  Marik Ishtar (Duel Links)

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  Marik Ishtar (manga)

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  Marik Ishtar (World Championship 2004)

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  Marik Ishtar (Duel Generation)

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  Marik Ishtar (Tag Force)

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  Marik Ishtar (The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction)

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  Marik Ishtar (Dark Duel Stories)

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  Marik Ishtar (BAM)

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  Marik Ishtar (Capsule Monster Coliseum)

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  Marik Ishtar (Duel Monsters 4)

• Marik-LOD.png

  Marik Ishtar (Legacy of the Duelist)

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  Marik Ishtar (Saikyo Card Battle)

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  Marik Ishtar (EDS)

Decks

Marik's own Deck is only shown once in a Duel, before Yami Marik modifies it prior to his second Duel. Marik himself uses several Decks while controlling the bodies of others through his Millennium Rod.

Through Keith

While controlling Bandit Keith, he utilizes Keith's Machine Deck, albeit modified to include powerful cards obtained by his Rare Hunters, such as "Zera the Mant", "Seiyaryu" and "Graceful Charity".

Through Strings

While controlling the body of Strings, Marik uses a Slifer/Slime Deck tooled to Summoning and powering up the Egyptian God Card "Slifer the Sky Dragon" using a five-card combo known as the "God Five":

• "Slifer the Sky Dragon": The main attack force with near infinite attack power.
• "Revivial Jam": The ultimate defense, to defend "Slifer" if necessary.
• "Jam Defender": To allow "Revival Jam" to automatically defend "Slifer".
• "Card of Safe Return": Every time "Revival Jam" is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, Strings must draw three cards, and "Slifer" gains 3000 ATK.
• "Infinite Cards": Removes hand limit, allowing the ATK of "Slifer" to climb virtually infinite.

The sheer draw power of this deck ended up being its downfall, as Yami Yugi was able to create an infinite loop causing Strings to Deck Out.

Slifer Deck
Main Deck Monster Cards Normal Monsters Humanoid Slime x2 Slime King Worm Drake x2 Effect Monsters Revival Jam Slifer the Sky Dragon Magic Cards Card of Safe Return x2 Infinite Cards Jam Breeding Machine x2 Nightmare's Steelcage Polymerization Pot of Greed Quick Attack Trap Cards Jam Defender Fusion Deck Fusion Monsters Humanoid Worm Drake

Through Joey

While controlling Joey Wheeler, Marik plays a modified version of Joey's own Deck, which includes cards that are banned by Battle City Rules, such as "Hinotama", "Raigeki" and "Meteor of Destruction".

As Yami Marik

Main article: Yami Marik § Deck

Yami Marik runs an Immortality-Torture Deck, which focuses on slowly torturing his opponents and him watching them squirm. His Deck's signature card is "The Winged Dragon of Ra".

Duels

Opponent(s)	Episode(s)	Outcome
Yugi Muto	50-51	No result (possessing Bandit Keith)
Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi	65-67	Lose (possessing Strings)
Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi	75-78	DRAW (taken over by Joey Wheeler)
Yugi Muto/Yami Yugi	142	Lose (taken over from Yami Marik)