Malladus is the main antagonist of Spirit Tracks.^[1] He is a powerful demon that once terrorized the land that would eventually be home to the new kingdom of Hyrule. He was locked away beneath the altar of the Tower of Spirits by the Spirits of Good of the land after a prolonged war between them.^[4][5][6] The Spirit Tracks and the Tower of Spirits act as the lock to Malladus's underground prison, and as long as they remained intact, Malladus would be safely bound within.^[7]

The kingdom's chancellor, Cole, seeks to release Malladus from his prison and help him return to his former strength.

Biography[]

Malladus is a very powerful demon that once terrorized the land and its first settlers. Over a century later, Hyrule's Chancellor Cole develops a scheme to free Malladus from his prison and unleash him upon the land once again. To do this, he causes large sections of the Spirit Tracks, which serve as the locks to his prison, to begin to vanish. This event causes alarm and suspicion with the land's monarch, Princess Zelda. Although she goes to investigate the reasoning behind the disappearance of the tracks with the help of Link and Alfonzo, before the three reach their destination, Chancellor Cole drops his guise and reveals himself to be a follower of Malladus.^[8] He commands Byrne to incapacitate Link and Alfonzo, stealing Zelda's body to use it as a vessel to restore the villain to full power.^[9][10] This marks the beginning of Link's quest to retrieve Zelda's body, restore the Tower of Spirits, and ultimately stop Malladus' return to power.

After Link defeats Byrne near the pinnacle of the Tower of Spirits, he rushes up to the altar, where Malladus has begun to take control of Zelda's body. Byrne then demands that Malladus give him power as a reward for his role in the recovery; however, Malladus only attacks him, knocking him out cold.^[11] As Malladus himself has not yet acclimated to his new body,^[12][13] this exertion is all that he can handle at the moment. He then escapes with Cole on the Demon Train, retreating to the Dark Realm.

Anjean tells Link and Zelda to travel to the fifth temple, the Sand Temple in the Sand Realm, and retrieve the Bow of Light, an ancient relic wielded by the Spirits of Good during their war against Malladus.^[14] According to the Lokomo, the ancient relic has the power to split the soul of one from their body.^[15] Upon obtaining the Bow of Light, Byrne, now working with the young hero, reveals that the only way to track down Cole and Malladus is to use the Compass of Light that is hidden beneath the altar atop the Tower of Spirits.^[16] After obtaining the compass, Link, Zelda, Byrne, and Anjean travel to the Dark Realm to confront Malladus and Cole. Link manages to damage the Demon Train, allowing himself and Zelda to climb on top of it. There, Malladus completes his resurrection, taking complete control of Princess Zelda's body.^[17] Link and Zelda then fight their way through Malladus and Cole's attacks to the front of the train, where the princess seizes Malladus; Link then uses the Bow of Light to banish Malladus from Zelda's body. In the ensuing chaos, the Demon Train is destroyed, and all of them are thrown out of the Dark Realm.

Amidst the wreckage of the destroyed Demon Train, Malladus is forced out of Zelda's body. Zelda tries to reclaim her physical form, but finds that, for some reason, she cannot;^[18] Malladus tries to repossess her,^[19] but he is stopped by Byrne, who gives Zelda the strength to re-enter her body.^[20] As revenge, Malladus kills Byrne, to Cole's applause.^[21] At this point, Malladus possesses Cole instead, transforming him into an immense beast. Malladus is unable to maintain his hold on Cole's body for long but still has enough time to reduce the world to ruin.^[22] After a tough battle, Malladus is finally defeated by Link and Princess Zelda thanks to their teamwork, and he and his vessel, Cole, are both ultimately destroyed, and Hyrule is at peace.

Characteristics[]

In the Final Boss battle, Link defends Princess Zelda from Malladus's fireball attacks, if Malladus's fireballs hit her, she'll have to restart channeling her powers. After which, she channels her powers with the Spirit Flute's, and Link and she create a duet with her voice and the flute. This reveals Malladus's true weak point which can only be harmed by the Bow of Light. Link must then distract Malladus and have Zelda aim at his back. If done correctly, Zelda will fire one Arrow into his back, causing damage. After three shots, a gem forms on Malladus's forehead, and Link must strike at it and Malladus' horns. After another three shots, Link must complete the same thing again, destroying the other horn. A final Arrow into Malladus' back will then force him down and Link must drive the Lokomo Sword clear through Malladus's skull for the final blow. Zelda then comes to his assistance, and together the two manage to shatter the ruby and impale the beast, defeating both Cole and Malladus.

Non-Canon Appearances[]

Trivia[]

• Malladus shares the distinction with Ganon and Demise to be known as a Demon King.
• The finishing blow on Malladus has some resemblance to the final blow onto Ganon and Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time 3D and The Wind Waker, respectively, as both cases have the Master Sword impaled into the villain's forehead.

Nomenclature[]

Malladus' name is derived from the 'LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard', holder of the world speed record for steam locomotives.

All language versions base his name on this, with the European Spanish, European French, and Italian versions outright calling him "Mallard".

It is to be noted that Malladus is the first character in The Legend of Zelda series to be called a Demon King outside of Japan. Although Ganon technically long predated him with the title, it was generally translated outside Japan as Great King of Evil,^[23] King of Darkness^[24], Prince of Darkness^[25] or Dark Lord.^[26]

Names in other regions
Language		Name	Meaning
	Japanese	マラドー (Maradō)[27]
	FrenchCA	Roi du mal[28] Malabuth[29]	King of evil
	FrenchEU	Roi démon[30] Mallard, le roi démon[31] Mallard[32]	Demon king Mallard, the demon king
	German	Marardo[33] Dämonenkönig[34] König Marardo[35]	Demon king King Marardo
	Italian	Re Demone[36] Re Demone Mallard[37] Mallard[38]	Demon King Demon King Mallard
	SpanishEU	Mallard[39]
	SpanishLA	Malhadus[40]
This table was generated using translation pages. To request an addition, please contact a staff member with a reference.

Gallery[]

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  Artwork from Hyrule Historia of Malladus with Cole as a host

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  Model of Malladus possessing Princess Zelda

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  Princess Zelda coming to assist Link to deliver the final blow onto Malladus

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  Malladus ultimately defeated by Link and Princess Zelda

References

v · d · eCharacters in The Legend of Zelda Major Protagonists Link · Princess Zelda · Ciela · Epona · Ezlo · Fi · King of Red Lions · Linebeck · Midna · Navi · Tatl · Tetra Minor Protagonists Anjean · Daruk  · Darunia  · Din · Farore  · Great Deku Tree · Groose · Impa · King Rauru  · Maku Tree · Marin · Medli · Makar · Mineru  · Mipha  · Nabooru  · Nayru  · Queen Sonia  · Ralph · Rauru · Ravio · Revali  · Riju  · Ruto · Saria · Sidon  · Tingle  · Tulin  · Urbosa  · Yunobo Major Antagonists Bellum · Demise · Ganon · Ghirahim · Lady Maud · Majora's Mask · Malladus · General Onox · Shadow Nightmares · Twinrova · Vaati · Veran · Yuga Minor Antagonists Agahnim  · Byrne · Chancellor Cole · Dark Link · King Bulblin · Master Kohga · Princess Hilda · Shadow Link · Skull Kid · Vire · Zant Characters by Game