Jorhan Stahl

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This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.

"The time has come for some new fucking management."

―Jorhan Stahl^[src]

Jorhan Brimve Stahl (2306 - July 7, 2390) was the Chairman and CEO of Stahl Arms, the Autarch of the Helghan Empire, and one of the primary antagonists in Killzone 3 and Killzone: Shadow Fall. Stahl is voiced by Malcolm McDowell in Killzone 3 and by voice actor Gideon Emery in Killzone: Shadow Fall.

Biography

Jorhan Stahl is the son of Khage Stahl, the founder of Stahl Arms, the primary weapons manufacturer for the Helghast military. Khage worked as a pipeline engineer in the petrusite mines prior to founding Stahl Arms. He saw firsthand how Visari and his associates profited from the suffering of the Helghan people while publicly and rightfully blaming the Vektans for all their ills, and how Visari consolidated power amongst a chosen few selected solely based on their loyalty to him.

As a result, he developed a strong contempt for Visari's hypocrisy while publicly serving as a major collaborator of the Autarch. Khage ultimately made a failed attempt to seize control of the Helghast State for himself which was thwarted by Admiral Orlock and other associates of Visari, and ended up dying in obscurity. Jorhan Stahl inherited his father's ambition, and his secret contempt for Visari and his chosen elites, but didn't share the more noble intentions of his father's.

Despite his secret ambitions, Stahl served as a strong collaborator of Visari, but not his cause. He was involved in the plot to detonate an ISA nuclear weapon over the Helghast capital of Pyrrhus to destroy the ISA forces in the city and ostensibly rally the Helghast people against the ISA. He secretly wished for the ISA to make a successful escape after Visari's death to prove Orlock incompetent.

Killzone 3

At various points in Killzone 3, he is seen in the Helghast senate having heated discussions with Admiral Orlock over who should be Emperor Visari's successor. Stahl sends his personal army to capture Sev and the remaining survivors of Battle Group Mandrake, who are successful in doing so.

Stahl quickly loses them, however, as he broadcasts a message on an open channel, allowing ISA survivor Jammer and ISA Master Sergeant Rico Velasquez to pinpoint his location and rescue the captives. As Sev and his rescuers proceed to extract Captain Jason Narville, they discover a devastating new weapon built using the irradiated substance Petrusite. Stahl plans to use this weapon to destroy Earth. Stahl then escapes to his cruiser when Narville is rescued, along with some ISA prisoners of war.

While Stahl is uploading his war plans to his cruiser, he is contacted by Orlock and the Helghast Counsel. They express their anger towards Stahl for not only failing to kill the ISA prisoners, but also for humiliating himself in front of the entire nation. It is at that moment that they reveal that they have elected Orlock as the new Autarch, to Stahl's outrage, who orders him to turn over all his weapons to him. He threatens to name him an enemy of the state and immediately execute him if he fails to comply. Stahl reluctantly agrees.

At the orbital elevator where Orlock has arranged to meet Stahl, Sev and his squad turn up with sixty ISA troops. Stahl orders Orlock to submit to him after surrounding him with his personal troops. When Orlock refuses, Stahl has his cruiser open fire on the Helghast Fleet, destroying most of their ships.

Orlock is surprised when his ships' return fire splash harmlessly against Stahl's experimental energy shield. After a fight between them, Stahl kills Orlock and enters his cruiser, preparing to attack Earth. He was stabbed in the stomach by Orlock however, who, before he was killed, pleaded with Stahl to stop and look around him on the destruction he was causing on the Helghan Nation.

However, Sev and the squad hijack two of Stahl's fighters, both outfitted with nuclear warheads, and engage Stahl's cruiser in combat. After an intense fight, Stahl's cruiser is destroyed, violently irradiating the majority of life on Helghan, with Stahl presumably killed in the resulting explosion.

However, in a post-credits scene, two HAZMAT soldiers find an escape pod. An occupant steps out but it is unknown if it is Stahl. The events of Killzone: Shadow Fall, prove the assumption that Stahl survived the destruction of his cruiser.

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Stahl is first seen conversing with Vladko Tyran, whom he scolds him for acting too soon and informs Tyran that he will be needed to deliver the weapon to Helghan. He then calls out the Shadow Marshal, Lucas Kellan, who was listening, and states that Dr. Hillary Massar is aiding him in his effort to exterminate all non-Helghast and half-breeds.

During the invasion of Helghan, it is revealed that Stahl had gathered the Helghast who remained on Helghan and spent the last 30 years rebuilding the Helghast military and armada under the cover of mining operations. It is shown that he has created hundreds of Helghast cruisers and MAWLR's, which he then sends to engage the ISA ships orbiting Helghan. Afterwards, he activates his weapon, which then destroys dozens of ISA cruisers.

However, Lucas Kellan fights his way to his headquarters and kills many of his guards. When the Shadow Marshal nears Stahl's sanctum, Stahl exclaims that killing him would make no difference, since others will simply take his place, and that the Helghast will never stop fighting, even if they must suffer constant defeats, and that one day, the Helghast will win.

When Kellan encounters Stahl, Stahl is shown as a frail old man on life support. Stahl states that the Terracide had a purpose: to purge the weak. Stahl then tells Lucas that Vekta will suffer the same fate. Moments after, Stahl is shot dead by Thomas Sinclair, who also shoots and executes Lucas for his betrayal to him.

Characteristics

"I know what this nation needs, and I will cut out this disease of compliance and subjugation."

―Jorhan Stahl^[src]

Jorhan Stahl is a slim, gaunt man, probably in his 40's or 50's, with white hair. He shares many common Helghast traits, such as warmongering and aggressive behavior. Stahl seems to favor the use of deception and advanced technology to achieve victory, and speaks contemptuously of the more traditional "brute force" approach espoused by the Helghast leadership.

He seems to hold a great deal of contempt towards the regular Helghast military, regarding them as "predictable idiots". Although-well spoken and intelligent, Stahl frequently uses vulgar words, which stands in contrast to the much more formal manner of speech used by all other Helghast. Extremely ambitious, Stahl has his own agenda separate from that of the rest of the Helghast leadership, with his ultimate goal being nothing less than complete galactic domination, as revealed in his final speech to Autarch Orlock in which he expresses his plans to subjugate the Helghast senate, kill everyone on Earth, and rule over Helghan and the human colonies through fear of his planet-destroying weaponry.

Gallery

Trivia

Jorhan Stahl is the second Helghan civilian ever displayed in-game after the Helghast Miners (the miners' status as civilians is debatable as they were conscripted into fighting and it is not known if they were officially recognized as members of the Helghan military or just an improvised civilian militia; the unarmed miner who stops the Suljeva minetrain, however, states that "[he is] not a soldier")
He may have been friends, or acquaintances, with Colonel Mael Radec, based on the Killzone 3 intro.
Jorhan Stahl seems to have different ideas as he sends most of his advanced weapons to his private military rather than the regular armed forces but still retains his loyalty to the people and culture of Helghan.
His ideals seem to be based on militarism more radical than even the normal Helghast ideology as he views the regular armed forces as "incompetent". This ideological divide is further reinforced by his having two Capture Troopers from his private army as bodyguards when meeting the rest of the Helghast military leadership.
Jorhan Stahl had a cruiser built as a weapons platform for his new petrusite weapon in addition to augmenting the cruiser with petrusite-based energy shielding, technology which he apparently kept from the Helghan Military.
Stahl seems to be partially inspired by Joseph Goebbels, one of the leaders of Nazi Germany, as both shares the similar physical characteristic of being very slim. Stahl also appeared to be a trusted member of Visari's inner circle of advisors, much like Goebbels was to Hitler's inner circle. Finally, both share the same cunning and cruelty that allowed them to gain important positions in their respective political administrations without partaking in military service or in the tenser moments of their political parties seizing power (such as any coups), as opposed to many members of both the Helghan Empire and Nazi Party.
Another Inspiration can be Ferdinand Porsche who helped Hitler with weapon's production. This parallel as he produces weapons for the Helghan empire.
Stahl is the voice for the propaganda speakers and capture and hold areas in Killzone 3's multiplayer "Warzone" mode (which is another reference to Goebbels as he was the secretary of propaganda).
He smokes a cigarette in several cutscenes.
His name is a wordplay on Joseph Stalin's name, in addition to Stalin and Stahl both meaning steel. Furthermore, both him and Stalin attempt to seize power after the death of a popular leader.
Stahl is German for "steel" which suits him perfectly as he owns the weapons company Stahl Arms
Jorhan Stahl looks similar to Austria's Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann, especially side-face.
Seeing that Jorhan Stahl is the Head of Stahl Arms, the first 3 letters of his surname start with Sta. Many of the weapons that are made from Stahl Arms start with Sta, like the Sta52 Assault Rifle or the Sta-18 Pistol.
His face characteristics was modelled after actor Ian Holm.
Stahl appears in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as a icon.
Killzone: Ascendancy, the novelization of Killzone 3, emphasizes that Stahl has a personal escape pod in his control room aboard his supercruiser, but does not explicitly state that he was able to use it to escape before his ship was hit by Sevchenko's nuke. His appearance in Killzone: Shadowfall however confirms that he did survive.
In Killzone: Mercenary Stahl is mentioned in one of the intel files.