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Kor is the main antagonist of Jak II, and the leader of the Metal Head race. During Jak II he served as the opposing factor of Baron Praxis, and, while in disguise as an elderly human, an inside-man working for the Underground resistance movement, charged with watching over the Kid (young Jak, the heir to the throne of Haven City). He worked for the Underground in order to both sabotage the Baron's deal with him, and also get close to both Jak, set to destroy him, and the Kid, the only one pure enough to activate the Precursor Stone.

History[]

Before Jak II[]

Human Kor concept art

Kor as a human.

Kor was the ancient enemy of the Precursors and Mar for an unknown time (said to be eons)[1] together with his metal head legions. The history of the Metal Heads and Kor up until his first appearance in the opening sequence of Jak II remains largely unknown. After activating the last Rift Gate, Jak, Daxter, Samos Hagai, and Keira witnessed Kor at the mouth of the Gate, with swarms of metal jackets infesting Sandover Village. The Rift Gate, together in some type of rift dimension, allows for travel through time and space, so the Metal Heads' origin could be nearly anywhere or anytime (although, as noted before, it is known that Kor chased Mar, the legendary hero and founder of Haven City, through space and time for eons).

After Jak, Daxter, Samos, and Keira traveled through the Rift Gate, Kor and his Metal Head army presumably came through to battle Mar in some type of rat-chase through time only to destroy the last Precursor egg that Mar was trying to hide, until he eventually built Haven City as a means of finally keeping it safe. Kor began sieging the city from that point forward.

Daxter[]

Kor, though appearing only very briefly, played a role as the ruler of Kaeden and his army of Metal Bugs used to infiltrate Haven City's security walls. He is first seen threatening Kaeden through a holographic message that he would kill him if he failed to shut down Kridder Ridder (an extermination company that employed Daxter to kill metal bug infestations). He again made an appearance, revealing to Kaeden that he can, as a "plan B", shapeshift into a human to gain the trust of Jak.

Jak II[]

Kor gasping

Kor as a human, as he appears in Jak II.

Kor spent most of Jak II disguised as a human claiming to be a old wanderer, working for the Underground as young Jak's guardian so that he could keep the boy safe until the time came for him to activate last Precursor Stone while also looking for Jak's older self. Kor, with young Jak by his side, met Jak and Daxter in the Slums of Haven City just after Jak's prison break. In the first confrontation, Jak transformed into Dark Jak and saved Kor and the Kid from a squadron of guards from being arrested for suspicion of harboring Underground "fugitives". Kor, in return, informed Jak of the Underground movement, saying they could use warriors like him, and to ask for its leader Torn at a dead-end alley near the city wall. Aforementioned, the Baron of the city had a deal with Kor in that he would provide him with supplies of eco so that the metal heads would only attack the city enough to justify his unjust rule. Kor led Jak to the Underground, and throughout the game would use Jak to sabotage the Baron's search for the Tomb of Mar and for eco supplies to trade with the Metal Heads so that he could justify launching more attacks. He also found out from Daxter that Praxis was planning to double-cross the Metal Heads.

Don't You Recognize Him?

Young Jak in Kor's possession.

When the Tomb of Mar was first discovered, the Baron blackmailed Torn into giving the Underground members up (who were located at the Tomb). The Krimzon Guard then arrested Kor, the Shadow (young Samos) and Tess. However, Kor escaped imprisonment alone and seized the Kid. The Baron obtained the Precursor Stone from the Tomb, and hid it in a piercer bomb. Kor secretly tears down the city's shield wall to allow his kind to enter the city. Jak gets final word from a dying Vin in finding Kor is at to the construction site, where he's fighting Praxis & the Krimzon Guard, and subsequently revealed his true self as the Metal Head leader, behind the events. The Baron then sacrifices his life in an attempt to battle Kor to no surrender, where Kor then blasted him with dark eco, which blasted him into the construction site's scaffolding, killing him. He then flew off, stating that he would crush the city "one brick at a time" to find the Precursor Stone.

In his dying moments, Praxis revealed to Jak and Daxter the location of the Precursor Stone, whereby Jak and Daxter used it to activate Mar's gun and penetrate the Metal Head nest where Kor was located along with the Kid. Kor revealed to Jak and Daxter that he was hidden in the past in gaining to face him on that day, and that the Precursor Stone is actually one of the last Precursor eggs in the universe and planned to feed on it, though only the Kid was pure enough to activate the Stone, as his future self (Jak) was tainted with dark eco from the Baron's prior experiments. Kor then blasted away the platform on which Jak and Daxter were standing, and an epic battle ensued between them. Eventually, a weakened Kor attempted to fly into the Rift Gate, where he collided into the rim of the gate and exploded, his head falling to the ground. Afterwards, his head was hung as a trophy above the bar at the Naughty Ottsel.

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

Defeat Metal Kor at nest screen

Kor at the nest.

Kor is a massive metal head beast, easily towering over any other metal head species. He has a large head, the forehead of which is connected to various tubular devices forbearing a large skull gem. He has eight large appendages, four on either side of his head, ending in glowing yellow pods. Near his mouth are four mandibular incisors and a set of multiple sharp teeth, giving his facial structure and head a very adverse and frightening appearance. He has a very long body, with two muscular arms, two pectoral feelers,[2] and six massive grappling-hooked legs. Along his large belly is an embryo sac,[2] with various tubes and cordage connecting to egg pods placed along his long back and tail.[2] On his back he has eight (four on either side) web spinners which he uses to suspend himself in his cave at the Metal Head nest.[2] He has various metal plating and sharp spines along his body, with a dark blue skin complexion. He also has four flimsy wings which, while small compared to his body, are strong enough to propel himself into the air.

In his human form, he takes on the appearance of an elderly man, the facial structure of whom could resemble the overall shape of his natural self. He wears a blue and white cloak touching the ground with brown shoes and a walking stick. He also bears a skullcap placed on his forehead, possibly covering his skull gem.

Personality[]

Kor is a short-tempered, brief, impatient, and unforgiving metal head. In his human form, he comes off as a wise, elderly man, with a patient and passive tone in his voice, though sometimes showing signs of his impatience, often alluding to other signs of his true nature. While posing as an Underground fighter, he shows signs of a fighting spirit, all in, supposedly, a cause against the rule of Baron Praxis.

Abilities[]

Kor is one of only two metal heads known to be able to shapeshift into a human. Accordingly, he can also speak the human language rather fluently without any trouble. When in his metal head form (seen in combat) he can fly, hang himself from flimsy, web-like beams, shoot blasts of dark eco, slam his body down to create a dark eco shockwave, and also spawn metal head stingers from his back.

Behavior and foreshadowing[]

Metal Kor concept art

Concept art.

Kor's behavior throughout Jak II could highly hint towards his true nature:

  • The most noticeable scene is before the entrance to the Tomb of Mar. He whispers his long coveted desire to wield the Precursor Stone.
  • In one scene, Daxter states to Kor that they (Jak and Daxter) saw a large metal head going through the Rift Gate (which was Kor in his true form). Daxter then truthfully remarks the creature was ugly, to which Kor replied with an angered grunt and an offended expression on his face for a second or so before resuming his act.
  • Before the Onin game, Pecker states how Kor's voice is familiar to Onin. The following second, Kor gives Onin a dark glare, which is reciprocated. It is unknown if Onin actually knew or was merely suspicious.
  • Similarly, during the cutscene after when Jak takes the Kid to Vin, Kor is growled at by the crocodog until it is calmed down by Jak. Later on in another cutscene, Kor's cloak somehow moves a little bit, either due to the wind or something underneath (most likely the latter as they were inside a building at the time, which hints at his shape-shifting nature). When Daxter asks him what's wrong, Kor merely dismisses it as "just his aching bones".
  • In the first cutscene of Act 2, when Daxter reports to Torn and Kor of Praxis' conversation with the Metal Head leader, Kor puts on a worried tone and asked if they saw him, and when Daxter states the Eco trade between him and the Baron, Kor scoffs and replies "it will never be enough". Then Daxter reveals Praxis's plan to double-cross Kor with their deal, and Kor himself appears to be very interested and curious for information, also bearing a slightly pleased tone when pointing out the fact that "Metal Head armies are on the move again".
  • When describing the Metal Heads, Kor states he "remembers" the killing and devouring the Metal Heads committed to the victims of the cities in the past with a seeming grin.
  • Kor describes wasteland metal heads as "awesome creatures" as he saw them during his "journeys".
  • Kor tells Onin that "[Jak] is no match for the Metal Head Leader", indulging himself. When he realizes Jak unintentionally overheard him, he reacts very awkwardly clearly wishing Jak hadn't heard him.
  • Kor's hair along the sides of his face resembles his true form's "appendages" on the side of his head, and the large yellowish skullcap on his forehead resembles a skull gem.
  • Kor sends Jak on several missions interfering with the Baron, such as taking down equipment at the dig site (which the Baron used to try to locate the Tomb of Mar), taking down a ship delivering Eco at the drill platform (which is the Metal Head's bribe from Praxis), and destroying the main control tower on the platform (which gathers Eco to power the city's shields). These missions may not have been authorized by the Underground, and were instead Kor's own means of sabotage. In addition, he never gave Jak any missions involving confrontation with the Metal Heads.

References[]

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