The originalYu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monstersanime is known by many for being one of the best kids shows from the 2000s. Its colorful aesthetic, endearing characters, and entertaining card games helped it rapidly become one of the most beloved series both in Japan and abroad, a popularity that remains even to this day. Nonetheless,Yu-Gi-Oh!did contain dark moments and trends, which would often manifest when revealing the backstories of its antagonists.
Among themost powerful and skilled villains Yugifaced on his adventures, there is one whose origins are by far the most horrifying: Marik Ishtar’s evil half. Unlike Atem, this presence was not an ancient spirit controlling the tomb guard and forcing him to do his bidding. Instead, it was the manifestation of all the pain and suffering he went through as a child, making him the most tragic villain in the show.
Marik’s Past Is Beyond Traumatic
The Boy Suffered More Than Most Villains
After Pharaoh Atem sealed his soul inside the Millennium Puzzle to defeat Zorc,one of the most overpowered and evil creatures inYu-Gi-Oh!history, a prophecy foretold that his soul would come back to save the planet. His followers, wanting to maintain the legacy of their brave ruler, recruited a group of loyal servants who would guard the resting place of the pharaoh and would carry a message that would help him defeat evil in the future. They became the tomb guards, a proud but secretive order whose only purpose in life was to be prepared in case Atem returned.
Marik Ishtar, the main villain of the Battle City Tournament, was born as the heir of this secret organization, destined to continue the tradition and aid the pharaoh in his quest to stop evil. Due to his legacy, he never had a normal childhood, instead being forced to study and train in the arts of his people. His father was an extremist who believed that deviating from their purpose would be a dishonor to their family. Due to this, Marik was prohibited from interacting with the outside world and was punished drastically for any mistake.
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Although his entire childhood was suffering for him, it does not compare to the cruelest thing his father ever did to him. When he was deemed old enough to inherit the secret of the pharaoh’s tomb, he was taken to a ceremonial chamber. There, his father used a knife to carve the message on his back. After so many years of enduring pain and suffering, Marik’s mind snapped in two, creating a dark and cruel version of the boy whose only instinct was to survive. Yami Marik would go on to kill his father before running away.
Yami Marik’s Existence Is Proof of How Broken the Villain Was
His Other Half Was the Man’s Only Coping Mechanism
Yami Marik is, without a doubt, one of the cruelest villains theYu-Gi-Oh!franchise has to offer. After taking control over the original’s body, he became an agent of chaos, causing many innocent duelists to end up in the hospital or trapped inYu-Gi-Oh’sshockingly scary Shadow Realm. Unlike with his other half, attempting to reason with this villain was useless, as all he cared about was winning and killing his opponents. It could be easy to just attribute this behavior to him being an evil entity, but his origins prove this wrong.
Though there is a dark dimension in the original anime, The Shadow Realm is primarily an invention ofYu-Gi-Oh!‘sEnglish dub to avoid having to talk about characters potentially dying.
This version of Marik was not born from the man’s desire to control the world or an unstoppable urge to kill. Yami Marik was created as a way for the boy to survive the torture and pain his father inflicted on him. He is the embodiment of the villain’s desire to live a better life, free to make his own choices and without anyone causing him unnecessary harm. This was proven by Yami Marik’s first action after being born. Instead of attempting to kill everyone in his life immediately, he only attacked his father, the root of his problems.
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The main reason why this version of the tomb guard became more irrational and violent with time is because the scars that created him never healed.Marik never tried to let go of the pain his father caused him, instead of using it to fuel his goals. By doing so, he gave his dark half more power than ever but also reverted him into an animalistic individual. Yami Marik was a creature who ran only on instinct and who saw anyone who would get in his path as an enemy as dangerous as his father.
Bakura’s Story Is Nowhere Near as Dramatic
The King Thief Bakura has often been cited asYu-Gi-Oh!most tragic villain, and there are many valid reasons why fans have come to that conclusion over the years. When he was just a boy, he witnessed how his family and village were massacred by Aknadin, Atem’s uncle. They were killed to use their souls in a ritual that would create the Millennium Items. After seeing this, the boy swore vengeance against the royal family, blaming them for the death of his loved ones. This is, without a doubt, a traumatic story that justifies many of Bakura’s early crimes.
Yet, many of his most horrible actions in the series were not inspired by his desire for revenge, but rather the pleasure he felt when harming others. Worst of all, most of his memories about the massacre were erased when his soul fused with Zorc, meaning he did not remember the reason behind his anger. Marik, on the other hand, was forced to live with the memories of the torture his father inflicted on him. He also had a permanent physical reminder of the duty that caused him so much pain.
Marik Deserved a Better Ending
His Final Fate Disregarded All the Pain He Experienced
After his evil half was defeated by Atem inone of the best duels inYu-Gi-Oh!, it disappeared from existence, freeing Marik of the burden he had carried for almost a decade. Shortly after, the tomb guard spoke with the pharaoh, pledging loyalty to the ruler and promising he would help him regain his memories. He would not be seen until the ending of the series, working once again as the guardian to Atem’s resting place. This ending, while somewhat hopeful, did nothing to address the issues that turned Marik into a villain.
He was never given proper support to let go of his traumas, as they seemingly disappeared after losing his duel against Atem. Marik is by far one of the best villains the franchise has ever introduced, but his ending feels rather lackluster. Seeing him work with the help of his friends to overcome his traumas would have been a much better ending to his story and would have made him one ofYu-Gi-Oh!’s most complex and realistic characters.
