Craig Marduk

• Character name: Craig Marduk
• Also Known as: Brutal Vale Tudo Fighter
• Fighting Style: Vale Tudo
• Origin: Australia
• Eyes: Brown
• Hair: None, Light Brown (facial hair)
• Likes: His parents, Hurting people, Fighting, Taking shots, Attractive women
• Dislikes: Annoying people, Armor King II
• Species: Human
• Gender: Male with he/him pronouns
• Age: 28
• Date of birth: May 9th
• Occupation: Professional Vale Tudo fighter (formerly), Inmate, Pro Wrestler
• Biography: Craig Marduk was an undefeated Vale Tudo champion. However, one day he was caught up in a scandal and ejected by the Vale Tudo fighting committee. Consumed with bitterness and anger at his circumstances and the world around him, Marduk ended up starting a bar fight in Arizona. A mediator stepped in to try and deescalate the fight, but Marduk ended up killing him. The man Marduk killed was Armor King, a professional wrestler who wore a black jaguar mask in the ring. The case was taken to court, where the killing was ruled as second-degree manslaughter, meaning that Marduk was found not guilty of intentionally causing death. He was, however, sentenced to ten years in prison.

Two years into his sentence, Marduk was released early. Judiciaries had been bribed to let him go, and Marduk was handed a plane ticket and a newspaper article about the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4. He later discovered that this had been set up by King II, a luchador who was Armor King's student. Enraged by the lost of the man he considered both a mentor and a foster father, King had decided he wanted revenge on Marduk. As he could not kill him in prison, King arranged for them to fight one another in a tournament.

King beat Marduk in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 in a match so brutal that Marduk was hospitalized. King approached the hospital room, intending to kill Marduk, but had a change of heart. He decided his search for vengeance was foolish, and walked away. Marduk, however, was enraged by his loss to King. He set to honing himself into an even greater fighter. He entered a Vale Tudo tournament wearing a replica of Armor King's black jaguar mask and beat all the competition bloody. He then turned to the camera and taunted King, telling him he would be next. Enraged by the disgrace to his mentor's name, King accepted the challenge.

Marduk and King fought one another again in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, and Marduk was again beaten. This time, however, the two exchanged a handshake of respect after the match. As Marduk was returning to the tournament waiting room, the lights went out and he was suddenly attacked. As the lights came back on, he was able to catch a glimpse of his attacker. It appeared to be the man he had killed, Armor King. In his likely canonical Tekken 6 ending, Marduk is shown hurrying to Armor King's grave. He dug Armor King up to check he was still dead and found the body intact. In the graveyard, however, he again met his attacker, who explained that Armor King was two people, not one, and that the man Marduk had killed was in fact his older brother. This new Armor King told Marduk he could never forgive him for killing his brother.

Marduk and Armor King fought one another and both ended up unconscious and critically injured in hospital. Marduk awoke in hospital covered in strange injection marks. He did not feel any adverse effects however, and immediately sought out Armor King to finish him. King intervened, telling him Armor King was still unconscious and pleaded with Marduk to wait until Armor King had recovered before challenging him to a rematch. Marduk heeded this, but was uninterested in just another rematch. This time, he wanted Armor King removed for good. He thus left a challenge for Armor King for when he awoke - a match where the loser would bow out of professional wrestling forever. If Armor King won, Marduk would retire, and if Marduk won, Armor King would be de-masked and give up the name and mask of Armor King. Marduk then left to go and prepare for the match.

• Personality: Marduk is an extremely violent and short-tempered individual. He is very brash and tends to be quite unkind to others around him. He is also incredibly cocky and has a huge ego. Marduk's mannerisms usually border on mental instability, as he is often seen before or after a fight screaming and acting like a vicious wild animal, breathing heavily, and acting violently. His short temper and penchant for violence led him to start a bar brawl in Arizona, which resulted in the death of professional wrestler, Armor King.

Although Armor King's death was ruled as unpremeditated, Marduk shows little regret for his actions. He later dons Armor King's mask in order to mock him and taunt his pupil, King II, and, after being attacked by someone who strongly resembles Armor King, even digs up Armor King's remains to check he is still dead.

Marduk's only redeeming qualities seem to be a presumed affection he has for his parents, who's photograph remains by his bedside when he has been hospitalized, and the gradual friendship he has fostered with King II. It should be noted however, that this friendship largely seems to arise from acts of forgiveness on King's part. Marduk does however insist to King that he has changed, and wants to take him down in a fair and square fight.

Armor King II is less forgiving, however, and, as such, he and Marduk now have a bitter rivalry. Marduk shows he has no qualms about killing an unconscious Armor King, and is only stalled from doing so by pleas from King to wait for a fair match once Armor King has recovered. Whilst Marduk agreed to this, he is still intent on both beating and disgracing Armor King.

• Appearance: Marduk is a light-tanned skinned man, who has a big body and large limbs. He is bald and only sports a full beard, light brown in color. Marduk also sports prominent body hair, namely on his chest, lower arms and legs. he wears gloves, shorts and kneecaps. He has large tattoos on both his upper arms - the design of these varies sometimes, but is usually a black tribal tattoo design on Marduk's biceps.
• Attire: Marduk wears bright green MMA shorts with a purple trim and has matching kneepads with his name imprinted on them and fights barefoot. He also wears a long, loose purple necklace with a green pendant and two white feathers on it, and gloves with dark purple palms, lighter purple guards on the back, and a white wrap around the wrist.