Darth Nihilus's Past

[DarthSion101]

Hey everyone, I was bored this morning, and got thinking about various characters from the KOTOR series. Nihilus popped into mind. He is so mysterious, the game developers left so much information about him out of the game. I was speculating where he might have come from, what he was before learning the power to feed on life.

 

My thoughts are, that he was probably someone unimportant who fought during the Mandalorian wars, which side is irrelevant. He probably crashed or got placed on Malachor V after the detonation of the Mass shadow generator.

He most likely discovered the academy, and learned his powers and made an alliance with Sion.

 

Just curious to know everyone else's thoughts.

[Emperor Devon]

I don't think so. Kreia says "several Sith Lords escaped Korriban, fleeing to remote sections of the galaxy." I imagine Nihilus fought with the Jedi during the Mandalorian War, and followed Revan and Malak during the Jedi Civil War. After the war on Korriban, he fled to Malachor V with Sion and met Kreia. It was there that he learned his power, and became enslaved by it.

[TheGreenGoblin]

^^^

 

Are you sure about that? I thought I remember hearing that Sion and Nihilus were made the way they are now by what happened at Malachor. I always pictured them crawling across the surface, barely coherent, until Kreia finally found them.

[lukeiamyourdad]

I believe Kreia calls him one of the horros that spawned from the Mandalorian War.

She also says he's similar to the Exile. Nihilus probably suffered a similar trauma.

[The_Maker]

I wish the devs gave us just a little more info about him. I mean we don't even know if he is human or not! Kreia says he isn't, Visas says he is... its just too confusing to make out which pov is right and which makes the most sense.

[TheGreenGoblin]

Kreia said he wasn't human anymore, implying that his journey down the Dark Side had twisted him.

[Vibro]

It would have been interesting to learn more about him through the game.

[90SK]

There have been plenty of theories about Nihilus. My favorite is one is that he is a physical manifestation of the dark side; a living mirror to the exile who was re-forged by the intense force-echo at Malachor.

 

...or something like that.

 

Anyway, the description in his mask said that he was the beast who died and was reborn in the shattered world of Malachor V. That gives us a clue.

[The_Maker]

Makes you wonder what is in the physical sense <.<

[RedHawke]

Anyway, the description in his mask said that he was the beast who died and was reborn in the shattered world of Malachor V. That gives us a clue.

Yup, but if you ask Visas what she saw when she took his mask she says Nihilus was "just a man"...

[The_Maker]

Argh, ....too...many...theories...

[YertyL]

I believe Nihilus in the beginning was simply a man strong in the Force and like the Exile with a natral ability to form bonds easily. He seems to have somehow been altered by or to have learned from Malachor and the Exile's fate (the jedi masters mention something similar).

I guess that the Nihilus we see in the game still has the outer appearance of a man, but is so twisted by his hunger that he, instead of living normally, feeds upon the Force and the destructions of worlds. I always viewed him as a sort of "undead" - not unlike his minions you encounter onboard the "Ravager"

 

And about the "Just a man" thing ... IMO this simply symbolizes Nihilus' ultimate defeat by downgrading him from the ultimate menace to ... well ... "just a man"

[Venom750]

I know its along shot but could Nihilus be the Mandalore that was killed in the final battle and have been reforged by the DarkSide as Nihlus

[TheGreenGoblin]

I sincerely doubt that, Canderous indicates that Mandalore was directly killed by Revan which points them away from being in direct orbit over Malachor, since Revan would probably wish to be as far away from the planet as feasible so as not to get sucked into it along with the other Republic and Mandalorian ships.

[Vladimir-Vlada]

I have read a thread a long time ago where it is said what Nilhus says. He says (when played backwards) things like:

 

"Have you found the essence?"

"I didn't come here to just destroy this planet, I came for you."

 

These words he said imply that Nilhus is, possibly, a reincarnation of the Exile's Force that he had rejected in order to save himself. Nilhus possibly wanted to be the only one that can control thorugh the Force.

 

That's what I think.

[Venom750]

I think Mandalore said Revan was in a different part of the galaxy when the battle at malachor took places so my theroys out the window.

[lukeiamyourdad]

I have read a thread a long time ago where it is said what Nilhus says. He says (when played backwards) things like:

 

 

That was proven false. People tried playing it backwards and they didn't come up with anything. It's only a rumor some kid with too much time started to spread.

[Kensai]

There have been plenty of theories about Nihilus. My favorite is one is that he is a physical manifestation of the dark side; a living mirror to the exile who was re-forged by the intense force-echo at Malachor.

 

...or something like that.

 

Anyway, the description in his mask said that he was the beast who died and was reborn in the shattered world of Malachor V. That gives us a clue.

 

This is something I would prefer to believe...We'll never know though...

[The Doctor]

He's probably just a Jedi or Sith who fought in the Jedi Civil War, was left for dead somewhere by his allies, and decided to get revenge on them. The simplest answer is usually the correct one.

[90SK]

^^^

That's impossible: Nihilus was created before the Jedi Civil War, at Malachor.

[Nanda Keon]

Maybe Nihilus is like Atris describes the exile "a shell" or something like that and the force is all that is keeping himself alive

[90SK]

^^^

Yeah, that's what a lot of people think. Kreia gives a description that is reminiscent of that theory, anyway.

[Axe Windu]

I think CaptainSkye was on the rigth track. I didnt give it much thought I mostly thought wow I wish the people who made this game wouldve explaned everything better but based on what we have I think Nihlis was a Sith who fought at Malachor... when the mass shadow generator went off he was effected just like the exile. Howeve the exile is one of a kind.. so its not the same... he was altered and became like a void in the force. Twisted by the dark side at Malchor and the deaths and the Acedemy. Kinda like a doppelganger of the exile but not really. I think he physically was like a force vacume... he needed to consume the force and this gave him his immense power but it didnt matter because he was a void in it. I think like the exile he coudlve brought the destruction of the force itself.

[Robb Stark]

My impression of Nihilus is similar to CaptainSkye's. Basically, the Jedi/Sith who was Nihilus experienced a death of the body at Malachor V, and with his dying breath, his most desperate moment, his will to survive leads him to accept the Dark Side literally _into_ his being because he believed it would save him. But not only does the Dark Side consume what remains of the Jedi/Sith Nihilus's being, it's insatiable thirst turns Nihilus into a vacuum for power. So he had a human body, which is what Visas _sees_ when she removes his mask, but there is nothing else human left about him. His actions are direct manifestations of the will of the Dark Side, unaltered by human faults or inhibitions.

[90SK]

Just a side note: we gain some insight as to the relationship between Nihilus and Visas in the 6 page comic "Unseen, Unheard". I haven't read it, but I saw some pictures of Visas on the Star Wars wiki entry that were taken from the comic, and they're quite good.