Watch out while reading this, or don't at all, until you know what's coming. This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.
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- "Defenders of the Helghast Dream, NOW IS OUR TIME!"
- ―Scolar Visari[src]
Scolar Visari was the founder of the Helghan Empire, the Autarch of Helghan, and the main antagonist of the Killzone series. He was vicious and violent, uniting the Helghan Nation through his charismatic and compelling leadership to become a major power on the interstellar stage.
Biography
Rise to Power
Scolar Visari as a child.
Scolar Visari's early life remains mostly unknown, although he was born to a wealthy family of diehard Helghan nationalists and was rumored to be descended from one of the original Helghan Corporation Directors.[1] Like many third generation of indigenous Helghan, Visari had a higher adaptation to the environment of the planet and not requiring breathing assistant technology. His family owned the Visari Corporation, the second largest corporate entity in Helghan in competition with Stahl Arms. Later on in his life, Visari ventured into the world of politics, soon gaining much attention due to his superior oratory skills and charisma.
As he rose to power, Visari professed his belief that the people of Helghan had gone beyond mere humans, into what he termed "Helghast".[1] He claimed that they had become far superior to the corrupt human race that forced them to live in such a hellish world and robbed them of their birthrights. He also said that the filtration masks the people of Helghan wore should not be symbols of shame, but symbols of the pride of emerging successfully from years of struggle and hardships.[1] [2] His beliefs catch on to all segments of Helghan society, both rich and poor.[1]
Visari after giving a powerful speech to the Helghast.
During Helghan's economic crisis in the 2340s, Visari capitalized off the people's growing resentment towards the UCN, ISA, and even the Helghan Administration over their handling of the depression, in which he began to rally the masses around him. After staging an attempt on his own life in 2347 for the purpose of making it seem the 'elites' of the Helghan Administration wanted him dead, he launched a popular coup.[1] The Helghast masses successfully forced the Helghan Administration to give in to Visari's demands, including granting him the title of Autarch with unrestrained control over the entire government.[1]
The New Order
A painting of a slightly embellished Visari.
After taking over the Helghan government, Visari set out to restructure the society of Helghan. Pushing propaganda into overtime, he encouraged the oppressed Helghast to support his dictatorship, promising to remake their civilization into a true independent power.[1] In order to make the Helghast people feel truly unique, he abolished the use of written English in 2349, replacing it with an entirely different alphabet. He even made an attempt to create an entirely new language, but the sheer scope and size of such a feat prevented him from doing so.[1] Visari also heavily emphasized on the militarization of Helghan's society, as combat became glorified and the nation exalted military victory over most other things, with no price too high to secure Helghan dominance.[3]
Within ten years Helghan's economy began to pick up again once Visari created a black market route to suppliers on Vekta and later off-world agents. Eventually, Helghan secured a lucrative contract with the Independent Colonial Strategic Alliance, an independent alliance of colonies which had broken away from the UCN a century prior.[1] With the threat of mass starvation no longer a problem for his people, Visari began to concern himself with the quality of life for the ordinary citizen less and less, but rather the power of the military. Massive resources were poured into making the feeble Helghast security force into a fearsome army of conquest. Visari began to make plans to capture Vekta and, after a decade of rebuilding his homeworld and society, declared the creation of the Helghan Empire.
The Petrusite which had been used as a power source for a long time was also weaponized under Visari's rule. Visari preached about the sufferings of the Helghast at the profit of the Vektans, while at the same time nobody profited more than Visari himself.[4]
The Second Extrasolar War
Visari's plans to capture Vekta were eagerly received by the masses and the High Command promised to recognize Visari as Emperor of their empire if his plan succeeded.
His plan consisted of capturing Vekta by utilizing two traitors in the ISA's ranks and turning the planet's orbital defense system against the ISA and the eventual UCN reinforcements. With the immediate threat of invasion gone and the UCN on the back foot, Visari planned to reverse-engineer the destroyed UCN fleet and use the knowledge gained to construct an armada capable of fighting Earth's own forces on an equal footing. With the Alpha Centauri system under Helghast control and Earth cut off from colonial resources, the Helghast would hit Sol itself, destroying the UCN shipyards. Eventually, this would lead to a bold invasion of Earth and a blockade that would starve the planet's entire population, revenge for the suffering which had befallen the Helghans in the First Extrasolar War. The final phase of Visari's agenda was nothing less than the complete domination and conquest of every human colony; their subjugation and the destruction of the UCN would enable the Helghast to completely control the known galaxy, and ensure that no threat could ever harm them again.[1]
Visari vowing to defend Helghan from the ISA on UCBN.
With Helghast nationalism at a fever pitch and their forces now capable of meeting their ambitions, Visari's forces invaded Vekta and started the Second Extrasolar War. Visari was confident in his victory, but the tide turned against him when a small squad of ISA soldiers led by Captain Jan Templar thwarted his plans; they caused the death of his prized general, Joseph Lente, and stopping the Helghast collaborator General Stuart Adams from obliterating the UCA relief force with the Vektan SD Defense Network. Within two months, Visari withdrew his forces from Vekta after suffering the loss of another prized commander, General Armin Metrac. However, his forces managed to secure a nuclear device codenamed Red Dust which gives him leverage against his enemies.
Autarch Visari, with Admiral Orlock and his daughter Hera beside him, broadcasting his final address to the people of Helghan.
Visari later rallied the people of Helghan as the ISA prepared to stage a retaliatory invasion of the planet, ordering his people to fiercely resist the invasion.[5] The ISA fleet quickly blockaded the planet and sending the bulk of their ground forces concentrating on the Helghast capital city of Pyhrrus in order to capture Visari and bring a swift end to the war. Visari coordinated a defense plan with Colonel Mael Radec utilizing Arc Towers to hold back the invaders. The ISA ships hovering over the capital were ambushed and destroyed with a makeshift force of Leech Pods and dropships, the brainchild of Colonel Radec. Following the suicide crash of the New Sun on the Petrusite grid powering the city's defenses, Visari gave the order for Red Dust to be detonated in Pyhrrus, wiping out the ISA invasion forces, along with many of his own soldiers, still in the city.[6]
Death
Scolar Visari's death.
Despite inflicting significant losses against the ISA, a sizeable number of surviving ISA Marines led by Captain Jason Narville stormed Visari Palace following the nuclear detonation. Alpha Squad members Sergeants Rico Velasquez and Tomas Sevchenko fought through Colonel Radec's troops, ultimately killing the Colonel to get to Visari. The Autarch confronted the two in his chambers, gloating them that he has still won as the ISA had sacrificed many of their comrades to capture him; further stating that the ISA needed him as it was the only way to control his people, as killing or removing him from power will make him a martyr to the Helghast who will be more determined to destroy the ISA. He continues ranting them until Velasquez impulsively guns him down, leaving him to bleed to death on the floor. Before he died he uttered his last words, "The madness... begins."[7]
Visari's death ruined the ISA's mission and they were forced to make an unorganized retreat from Helghan while the Helghast were hellbent to avenge their Autarch. Furthermore, the Empire's leadership was left in vacancy in which it was fiercely competed between Admiral Orlock and Jorhan Stahl of Stahl Arms. Their violent political power struggle ultimately led to the planet-wide devastation of Helghan in the Terracide, thus fulfilling Visari's last words of the Helghast's future.
Legacy
Decades after the end of the Second Extrasolar War, Visari's legacy continues to live on in the nation of New Helghan, the Empire's successor state, and led by his daughter Hera Visari. While contemptuously viewed by Vektans as a brutal tyrant, Visari is still venerated by the Helghast and his legacy is memorialized in New Helghan's statues and monuments, recognizing him as the Helghast's "eternally loving father whose name shall never be erased."[8][9]
Speeches and conversations
Scolar Visari speaking to the people of Helghan.
Scolar Visari never appeared in gameplay of the Killzone games, though he was present in the introductions to each game and cutscenes (except Killzone: Liberation). His background propaganda can be heard during some missions and during the "Capture and Hold" mission in multiplayer of Killzone 2. His voice is present in several Killzone trailers.
| Show: Killzone "Flag" Trailer |
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"I tell you today... All of humanity will kneel before us!" |
| Show: Killzone TV Trailer |
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"I have rebuilt our nation, I have rebuilt our pride! Our enemies been re-educated. On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us will hear our voice! On this day, they will know our victory is imminent!" |
Killzone
| Show: Intro Speech |
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"My people... Sons and Daughters of Helghan... For many years, we have been a broken nation: shunned, oppressed, and conquered by those we sought to escape. Ten years ago, I asked for time, and that time was granted by you. You: the strength in my arm, the holders of my dreams... Our forefathers embarked on the greatest exodus in the history of all mankind. An exodus for freedom, Helghan became that freedom. Our new world changed our bodies. At first, it weakened us, but in fact, we were growing... stronger. In the time you have given me, I have rebuilt our nation, I have rebuilt our strength, and I have rebuilt our pride! Our enemies at home have been re-educated; we have given them new insights into our cause. On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us will hear our voice! On this day, we shall act as one, and we shall be ignored NO MORE! Defenders of the Helghast dream, NOW IS OUR TIME!" |
Killzone 2
| Show: Intro Speech |
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"My people... Sons and Daughters of Helghan. This much I vow: The history of these days will be written in blood. By crushing the armies of our enemy, by seizing the weapons they thought to turn against us, we were fighting for our very existence. But if there are those who would deny us peace; refuse us our rightful place in the universe, then we will unleash such terrible vengeance that generations yet unborn will cry out in anguish![...]The enemy may shatter our bodies, but they cannot break our spirit. Even now they advance on our home world, to seize by force what they cannot claim by right. They cannot imagine what awaits them. WE WILL SMITE THE INVADERS FROM OUR SKIES! Though they sweep over our lands like the sands of winter, never again will we bow before them; never again endure their oppression; never again endure their tyranny. We will strike without warning and without mercy, fighting as one hand, one heart, one soul. We will shatter their dreams and haunt their nightmares, drenching our ancestors' graves with their blood. And as our last breath tears at their lungs; as we rise again from the ruins of our cities... they will know: Helghan belongs to the Helghast." |
Salamun District
| Show: Convoy Ambush |
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Visari: "Colonel Radec, report. What are their losses? I want this day to be a day of mourning for the ISA." |
Visari's Palace
| Show: Visari's Arrest |
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Rico: "Visari!" |
| Show: Visari's Propaganda |
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Killzone 3
| Show: Killzone 3 "Beta Reveal Trailer" Speech (also heard during the campaign of Killzone 2) |
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"It is not enough that they fear to be beaten by us. They must learn to fear the very sight, that sound of us! We have survived exile. We have survived isolation. We will survive this." |
| Show: Killzone 3 Intro |
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Orlock: "My Autarch, All preparations have been made." |
Influences
Visari's appearance and ideals are clearly modeled after fascism and totalitarianism, particularly the regimes of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. His fiery rhetoric is most closely modeled after the fascist leaders Benito Mussolini (whom he also physically resembles) and Adolf Hitler. His emphasis on Helghast superiority and their need to reclaim their rightful place mainly lends itself to Mussolini's ultranationalist ideals and Hitler's ideology of Lebensraum. The Helghast salute is similar to the Nazi salute.
In the Killzone cinematic intro, Visari mentions having asked the Helghan people for ten years, in which he promised to consolidate the nation. This expression echoes one made by Adolf Hitler during his first speech as Chancellor of Germany on February 1, 1933, in which he asks the German people for four years, during which time he would make the country "rise again".[10]
North Korean founder and dictator Kim ll Sung was also a likely influence. Much of Helghan propaganda is in a similar stylized form as propaganda posters and bill boards used by the Workers' Party of Korea to build an entire personality cult surrounding the leader. The Helghan alphabet bears a striking similarity to the stylized Hangul used by the North Korean regime in their media. Another example of North Korean influence is the Helghan Symbols the player has to destroy. They bear a striking similarity to badges used by North Korean Army officers. Visari's militaristic military-centered society, with Helghan's scarce resources being prioritized for the military is similar to the Songun (선군) policy implemented by Kim-Jong Il after his ascension to power in the late 1990s which prioritizes food (which is scarce in North Korea, a country with poor agriculture) and resources to the military.
The uniforms worn by the Helghast "flag officers" are similar to the uniforms used by fascist and communist governments. They are ornate, decorated with multiple medals, decorations, orders, sashes, and are designed to convey a sense of power.
Another possible influence is that of Saddam Hussein, the Baathist dictator of Iraq. Both Saddam and Visari are executed after an invasion by another force, the USA and ISA respectively, and their deaths trigger instability and a power vacuum while trapping the invaders in a war with the domestic populace.
Perhaps the most subtle reference to his influence, however, is his name: Visari is extremely similar to Vissarionovich, Joseph Stalin's middle name.
Gallery
Killzone 2
Trivia
Scolar Visari appears as a DLC Minion in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
- Scolar's name may be inspired by the word "scholar".
- In the novel Killzone: Ascendancy, Sev (when he was in school) thought Visari looked like "a little demon kid" when he saw pictures of a young Visari in a textbook.
- There is a Killzone Shadow Fall multiplayer player icon of Scolar Visari, entitling him as "The Scolar".
- Scolar Visari appears in the crossover fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale as a DLC Minion and as a icon.
- He is the first antagonist to be killed by the deuteragonist instead of the protagonist. The second being Echo killing Thomas Sinclair in Shadow Fall.
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Timeline retrieved from the official Killzone website
- ↑ Killzone: Ascendancy Part 1, Chapter 2, p. 41-42
- ↑ Ibid., Part 1, Chapter 7, p. 76
- ↑ Ibid., Chapter 13, p. 131
- ↑ Killzone 2 cinematic intro
- ↑ Killzone 2, campaign level Maelstra Barrens
- ↑ Killzone 2, campaign level Visari Palace
- ↑ Helghast Daily News, "Visari Tribute Triumphant!"
- ↑ Vektan Daily, Visari Toppled!
- ↑ Facing History and Ourselves, "Hitler's First Radio Address"