“ | I will not be undermined by creatures bred in some laboratory! | „ |
~ Krell to Rex, after revealing his true colors. |
“ | A Jedi? [laughs] I am no longer naïve enough to be a Jedi. A new power's rising; I've foreseen it. The Jedi are going to lose this war and the Republic will be ripped apart from the inside. In its place is going to rise a new order, and I will rule as part of it. | „ |
~ Krell revealing his fall to the dark side and foretelling the outcome of the Clone Wars to Captain Rex. |
General Pong Krell is the main antagonist of the Umbara arc of Season 4 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. He was a very stern Besalisk fallen Jedi general during the Clone Wars who took a no-nonsense approach when it came to commanding a group of clone troopers. Having won many key Republic victories during the war, the Besalisk Jedi Master was recognized as a successful general among Jedi and clones alike but had the highest number of clone casualties under his belt.
At some point, Krell foresaw the rise of a 'new order' and decided to join the winning side. As a result, he secretly turned to the dark side of the Force and sought to sabotage the Republic from within to gain recognition from Count Dooku to become his new apprentice. He is the archenemy of Captain Rex.
He was voiced by Dave Fennoy, who also voiced Black Manta in Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
- He has an extremely prejudice towards clones, seeing them as inferior to normal organic beings. He used them as disposable cannon fodder and at one point called them 'creatures bred in a laboratory.'
- He also has the highest casualty rates out of any Jedi due to forcing them into suicide runs. It is further implied in the book The Queen's Hope that his hatred towards clones was there from the very beginning, as he was said to have shown discomfort at Yoda's request to treat them as people.
- After foreseeing that the Jedi would lose the Clone Wars, he planned on defecting to the Separatists and becoming Count Dooku's new apprentice in order to gain a position of power in the new order, betraying his fellow Jedi with no concern for their fates.
- While he wants to be Dooku's apprentice, it's only so he can join what he believes to be the winning side, not because he cares about him.
- Once he took the 501st clone unit, he forced them to follow him by walking for over 12 hours in a difficult path and refused to let them to take a break, threatening to punish those who disobey him.
- He has several clones killed in battle by forcing them into full-forward assaults against the enemy, refusing to allow Captain Rex to fall back, and reprimanding him when he does. When Fives criticizes Krell's strategy, he takes out his lightsaber and forces him to stand down, preparing to kill him if he refuses.
- Even then the strategy might have been more successful if Pong Krell used his combat skills to lead the assault from the front, but instead decided to watch from behind.
- After Captain Rex laments the loss of the many clones who died in battle, Krell callously dismisses his concern as "the price for victory."
- After Fives and Jesse disobey orders to secure a victory on Umbara, Krell orders their near-execution via firing squad without so much as a fair trial out of spite and to assert his authority over them.
- He tricks the 501st and 212th clone units into attacking each other by telling them that they will fight with the natives wearing clone uniforms.
- This results in several casualties before they finally catch on, Waxer being one of them.
- After he is revealed as a traitor, he is shown to be a sadist as he reveled in slaughtering dozens of clones after he gets exposed as a traitor, laughing and smiling at their deaths.
- He even chose not to use lightsabers during the fight and instead beats the clones with his bare hands, such as by breaking one of their backs. During the fight, he mocks Rex by saying he should've listened to Fives from the beginning and that Krell was simply using the clones all along.
- He mocks Dogma for being the most foolish clone due to his blind loyalty, which Krell used to his advantage.
- Then, when Rex prepares to execute him, he taunts Rex's inability to pull the trigger until he finally gets blasted by Dogma, making his death well-deserved for his treason against the Republic and the Jedi Order.
- Despite having a lower kill count than other Star Wars Pure Evils, Pong Krell manages to stand along with them due to having fewer resources than them and stands out for how personal his crimes are.
- He also has a higher kill count than Keeper Agruss, who stands out for how realistic his crimes are.
- His shameless bigotry, callous disregard for the lives of his soldiers, remorseless betrayal and jovial sadism also play a part in his unlikeability. Also aiding this is the fact that unlike other villains in the series who are usually acting on someone else's behalf, like Dooku or Grievous, Pong Krell acted completely of his own volition.
Trivia[]
- He's a heavily despised character within the Clone Wars fanbase for his actions throughout the Umbara arc, especially in "Carnage of Krell." Fans also hate him not only for being Pure Evil but also for being a racist jerk in general. He even has a subreddit dedicated to how much hate he has received, titled "r/f***pongkrell".
- On the other hand, there are still a fair amount of people who enjoy Krell as a villain for being the main antagonist of what many consider to be the best arc in the entire show, providing both an intriguing obstacle for the clones and a demonstration of how corrupt the Jedi Order is slowly becoming. And when push comes to shove, he's definitely not a coward; he's able to slaughter dozens of clones all by himself, even with his bare hands, before Tup stuns him, and when Rex holds him at gunpoint during his execution, he simply tells the good captain to get it over with. Being voiced by Dave Fennoy certainly helps, too.
- Ironically, he butts heads the most with Captain Rex, one of the show's Pure Goods.[1]
External Links[]
- Pong Krell on the Villains Wiki.
- Pong Krell on the Star Wars Wiki.
- Pong Krell on the Hate Sink Wiki.
[]
Pure Evils | ||
Disney Canon Legends Canon Other Continuities Unpublished works Fanfiction |
Pure Evils | ||
Live-Action Films Animated Television Live-Action Television Video Games See Also |