Arcturus Mengsk - Game - StarCraft II

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STARCRAFT II GAME CAST OF CHARACTERS ARCTURUS MENGSK

Previous: Tychus Findlay Next: Kerrigan

CAST OF CHARACTERS

ARCTURUS
MENGSK

Arcturus Mengsk has been

called a rebel hero, a mass
murderer, and nearly everything
in between. One word that has
never been used to describe
him, however, is “ordinary.”

As a scion of the Confederacy’s elite Old

Families, Mengsk had an easy road ahead
of him: inherit his parents’ vast fortune and live a life of fame and power.
Yet following in the footsteps of his father, Angus, a Confederate senator

on Korhal IV, wasn’t for Arcturus. Even from a young age, he was
determined to make his own way in the galaxy.

Much to the chagrin of his parents, Mengsk’s ambitions led him to join
the Confederate Marine Corps. There he hoped to learn the finer points
of prospecting, a profession that had intrigued him for some time. As

tensions between the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine rose,

Mengsk found himself embroiled in the brutal Guild Wars. As a marine,

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Arcturus Mengsk - Game - StarCraft II

he became known for his brilliant tactics and innate leadership skills, but
a life in the military was never his goal. Before the Guild Wars ended,
Mengsk left the marines and began his prospecting career on the fringe

worlds.

After Mengsk hit pay dirt as a prospector, his world turned upside down.
Angus had declared Korhal’s independence from the Confederacy, which
responded by assassinating Arcturus’s entire family. Although intended to
decapitate Korhal’s budding revolution, the attack had an altogether

different effect: it transformed Mengsk into the uprising’s greatest leader.

Mengsk had never agreed with his father’s fiery anti-Confederate rhetoric
in the past, but his family’s deaths filled him with an unwavering desire
for vengeance.

As Mengsk waged a crippling guerilla war against the Confederacy, his

enemies responded by bombarding Korhal with one thousand Apocalypse-

class nuclear missiles. The attack annihilated all life on the planet.
Mengsk, who had been off world at the time, renamed his revolutionaries

the Sons of Korhal in honor of those who had died, and he continued his
uprising with increasingly ruthless tactics. Around the time when the zerg

and the protoss appeared in the Koprulu sector, Mengsk’s forces

infiltrated the top-secret Jacobs Installation on Mar Sara and acquired
plans for the psi emitter, a Confederate weapon capable of drawing zerg

to its location en masse.

The psi emitter was the final nail in the Confederacy’s coffin. Despite the

indiscriminate slaughter that using the device would lead to, Mengsk
deployed multiple psi emitters on Tarsonis, the capital world of the
Confederacy. Zerg soon arrived and overran the planet, dealing a

deathblow to the Confederacy in the process. With victory at hand,

Mengsk departed Tarsonis and abandoned Sarah Kerrigan, an ex–

Confederate ghost and his second-in-command, on the planet’s surface.

His disregard for his former ally, however, would carry disastrous
consequences. Rather than killing her, the zerg captured Kerrigan and

transformed her into the Queen of Blades, a merciless being who would
later become the savage aliens’ matriarch.

After the Confederacy’s downfall, Mengsk declared himself emperor of a

new government: the Terran Dominion. Yet as his empire began to take
shape, the United Earth Directorate arrived in the Koprulu sector and

seized control of the recently terraformed Dominion capital planet,

Korhal. Due to the circumstances, Mengsk’s only choice was to join
forces with Kerrigan and her zerg, as well as with freedom fighter Jim
Raynor, an ex–Sons of Korhal member who now leads an anti-Dominion
rebel group called Raynor’s Raiders. With his allies’ help, Mengsk

recaptured Korhal, only to be betrayed by Kerrigan afterward. Mengsk

retaliated against the zerg to disastrous consequences: most of his forces
were obliterated, and he retreated to Korhal.

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Arcturus Mengsk - Game - StarCraft II

In the four years since, Mengsk has continued rebuilding and expanding
the Dominion, ever wary that Kerrigan might strike again. He has also
reconnected with his son, Valerian, a child born of a brief relationship
with Juliana Pasteur during Mengsk’s days in the Marine Corps. Although

he was absent for nearly all of Valerian’s life, Mengsk has recently spent
a great deal of time grooming his son to one day inherit the Dominion.
To Mengsk’s delight, he sees a bit of himself in Valerian – a man guided
by his own will and no one else’s. Mengsk’s oppressive rule and powerful

position have also made him the target of various terran revolutionary
groups. Chief among them is Raynor’s Raiders, which has been a
constant thorn in Mengsk’s side ever since it broke away from the Sons
of Korhal. On top of simply trying to exterminate these rebels, Mengsk
has also used propaganda to turn public opinion against them and paint

their leader, Jim Raynor, as nothing more than a ruthless terrorist.

Mengsk’s sway over the public extends far beyond tarnishing the
reputations of his enemies. Through his oratorical mastery and firm
control over the media, he has kept his past – and present – atrocities

hidden from the public. Most of the Dominion populace accept Mengsk’s
rule, believing him to be the only leader capable of protecting them from

the alien threats in the Koprulu sector. Mengsk asserts that humanity’s
only chance to survive the dark days ahead is to be united under his

leadership, whether by choice or by force.

Comments (218)

ADD A REPLY

JetfirePrime 2/19/11 8:24 AM

I wonder what happens of Artanis, Kerrigan and the entire universe sees what he done in that evil Lab like experiment on the Zerg and

the Toss?

ArthurWhite 2/18/11 8:52 PM

they should make more missions for all races!

Kevin 2/16/11 2:38 AM

we should slap him and kick him in the wiener and give him purple nurple if we have the chance

Matthewalcen 2/9/11 9:49 PM

is teh story with raynor trieing to kill arcturus gonna continue or no? i want more terran misiions!

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OdinGuidesMe 2/6/11 9:22 AM

I miss the old way Mengsk looked. He still looked basically the same but in SC 1 he seemed a lot more clean now he seems like some

hillbilly. Same w/ Raynor. Raynor was balding and had a uni-brow and looked more on the chubby side. He had more a lot character to

him than he does now. Hes a little to cliche now. I'm amazed with with Blizz's job on the sequel to my childhood obsession. They did a

fantastic job and it still feels like SC, however the things I just mention are some of my few complaints. My only only other complaint is

the more artistic approach. SC 1 had a more literal art design especially. Other than that gj Blizz.

ElJaquio 2/6/11 3:30 AM

I whonder which month and day born this dictator, i guess that he is from November looks so creepy kinda Hallowen fetus or some

hahaha

Lexington 2/5/11 10:34 PM

KILL MEMGSK

TerranItUp 2/5/11 10:06 PM

he is a jerk that raynor should be like tassadar and crash the hyperion into his face!

Rooster 2/4/11 8:30 AM

power corrupts. period.

Tom 1/21/11 3:39 AM

You know, I'm kind of disappointed in Mengsk.In my opinion, his whole backstory makes him much less of a villain as he looked like in

Starcraft I. His family was assassinated by Kerrigan, which was his reason for abandoning her on Tarsonis rather than the fact she called

him out on using psi emitters. Also, while the butchering of innocent people on Tarsonis was monstrous, the Confederates had done the

same thing to Korhal. Also, the back stories written about Mengsk don't tell us when he went from being the rebel crusader he started as

to being the power-hungry monster he was in Starcraft I (or did I miss something).

Don't get me wrong, I still see him as the villain of the series. He's a tyrant who lowered himself to the Confederacy's level and ensured

the rise of the Queen of Blades. But in my opinion, the way the creators of Starcraft wrote his backstory screwed up his villanous image

by giving him a tragic past. Does anyone else agree?

Kevin 1/29/11 8:12 PM

@Tom: English please?

Darkness 1/30/11 7:41 AM

@Tom: well tom, the thing is, and i've noticed blizzard does this alot, their villians and heros arent just black and white,

good and evil, it all depends on whose perspective your getting. in the case of mengsk useing the zerg to take out tarsonis

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compared to the confederacy nuking korhal there is a difference. Mengsk used the zerg, which means the people would be

killed in horrific ways, and he did it for personal gain during a 4 sided war, the confederacy nuked a planet that was

uprising during a time of not war (not really peace either) and they were the official government when they nuked korhal,

whereas mengsk was a terrorist. as for when he became power hungry, i think he was really alawys power hungry, but

more in the ambitous motivated almost youthful fight for freedom, but over the course of his rise to power i beleive he

gradually, from about the time they found the psi emmiters, started to think about how he could help number one, and

maybe get soem reveneg as it says above. basiclly, mengsk, and all villians arent evil, they are just a dark shade of grey.

Orion 3 days, 19 hours ago

@Kevin: His family slaughtered, his people massacred. He avenges his family by abandoning Kerrigan and avenges his

people by calling the Zerg to Tarsonis. Is he really born evil?

Paradox 12/25/10 5:51 PM

I think this guy is ordinary.... hehe

Indeo 12/24/10 9:24 PM

Such a great art and a solid background, yet very poor implementation in SC2. He's like some comic Star wars emperor rather than a

ruthless and smart tyrant...

Natman 12/21/10 2:50 PM

they need an antagonist for the story to work, there gonna keep him alive untill the end

OpaqueFuture 1/7/11 5:40 AM

@Natman: If he died. however, the antagonist would be all the damage he has already done in the universe.

XProSASX 12/15/10 4:53 AM

Mengsk is an idiot that invested most of the Dominion's resources on catching Raynor instead of focusing on building defenses against

the Zerg.

Eroldren 12/15/10 2:04 AM

Hail Mengsk! Ah, this old SC vet truly going to miss Arcturus when his chapter ends finally... Blizzard get your loremasters and McNeill

to milk out splendid stories for the old tyrant before then!

Ironspider 2/9/11 8:41 PM

@Eroldren: Go Mccneil!

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slaya 11/22/10 10:30 PM

yes that is rather odd...

slaya 11/22/10 10:29 PM

yes that is rather odd...

Holywarrior 11/16/10 8:34 PM

does anyone else find it a bit.....odd..... that he has a picture painted of him as a knight in the background?

Jbbeiser 11/17/10 2:49 AM

@Song: Um... actually no. that does not surprise me in the least.

Jbbeiser 11/17/10 2:49 AM

@Song: Um... actually no. that does not surprise me in the least.

Song 11/17/10 3:47 AM

@Holywarrior: He needs ride something better rather than a horse in his time(SC time).. and kill a zerg or some other

things

Polymer 12/5/10 5:04 AM

@Holywarrior: Hitler actually had some propaganda of him as a "knight in shining armor." It's probably a play on the idea

that Mengsk as a dictator wants people to believe that he will solve all their problems if they just trust him.

Dublin 11/16/10 5:10 AM

I guarentee that the Confederate Remnant will have to help take this guy down. Only fitting that they get final revenge.

Matthewalcen 2/9/11 9:51 PM

@Dublin: arcturus!

Fetor 11/14/10 7:06 AM

Kropulu's Hitler

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Fist 12/10/10 6:33 AM

@Fetor: no, actually Gerard DuGalle of the UED would better fit that description. Archturas is more like Stalin.

SuperAwesome 11/14/10 3:29 AM

Google Charles Z. Bratanina from code geass and ull see MAD WITH POWER

Fist 11/13/10 10:03 AM

Something dosn't seem to add up (at least to me). Before the raid on the Jacobs installation, how was Mengsk able to get his hands on

2 psi-emitters? I know that he used one on Mar Sara (see Starcraft: Speed of Darkness), and he most likely used one on Chau Sara in

the Precursor Campain. Otherwise the Zerg arriving on that planet at the same time as the Sons of Korhal beeing there seems a bit

too...convenient.

Starviper 11/22/10 8:23 PM

@Fist: 1. The Mar Sara emitter was found in a random Confederate warehouse, remember? 2. The Zerg were on Chau Sara

for some time, actually.

ApeCxEdNEdd 12/8/10 3:57 AM

@Fist: When General Warfield went rouge from the Confederacy he told Mensk where to find psi emitters. He mostly like

got the information from Warfield to steal them beforehand.

undyinglight 11/13/10 4:55 AM

His rise to power reminds me of Fidel Castro.

undyinglight 11/13/10 4:53 AM

Does anyone else find it odd that Arcturus Mengsk and James Raynor are tied as my favorite characters despite being in such opposition

to each other.

ThePhalanx 11/13/10 12:03 AM

I am Mengsk. Fear Me!!!

TallenX 12/1/10 10:20 PM

@ThePhalanx: Never !!!!!

DELTAFORCE 12/8/10 1:48 AM

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@ThePhalanx: I will take you down! haha!

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