- “I am the greatest swordsman that ever lived.”
- ―Madmartigan to Willow Ufgood
Madmartigan is the deuteragonist of the 1988 Lucasfilm production, Willow. He is a friend and companion of Willow Ufgood and love interest and husband of Sorsha, The father of Princess Kit and Prince Airk, and one of the caretakers of Elora Danan.
He was portrayed by after Val Kilmer, who also portrayed Bruce Wayne in Batman Returns and voiced Moses in DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt
Background[]
Madmartigan is a warrior and fallen-from-grace Knight of Galladoorn, trained by the swordsman Roniro. He briefly had a romance with the Princess of Cashmere, but because she was convinced that Madmartigan cheated on her, the Princess broke up with him. Madmartigan lost all his grace among friends and family. He abandoned his friends at Land's End and was imprisoned in a cage at the Daikini Crossroads where he was left to die of thirst before being freed by Willow Ufgood.
Personality[]
Madmartigan has a personality similar to that of Han Solo from another character from a Lucasfilm production, Star Wars. He is noted for being a womanizer, arrogant and completely full of himself. Willow is initially suspicious of Madmartigan, based on the fact that when they first met, Madmartigan had been imprisoned and left to die. However, the Daikini man continued helping Willow protect baby Elora, even swearing that his loyalty lied with the Nelwyn in front of what remained of the Knights of Galladoorn.
Madmartigan was also very attracted to Princess Sorsha when he first met her. However, he refused to admit his feelings for her, even expressing that he hated her for kicking him in the face. Under the influence of the Dust of the Broken Hearted, he displayed a vast notion of romance when confessing how he felt towards Sorsha. They finally committed a romance at the climax of hte film, finally falling in love during the battle of Tir Asleen.
He had a strong, fatherly instinct towards Elora, taking an immediate liking to her when he first saw her. She also liked him when he first met her. Madmartigan had also helped protect Willow.
Physical Appearance[]
Madmartigan was a tall, male Daikini, with long, brown hair and blue eyes. Many women were attracted to him, which is the reason why he had a string of female lovers and knew many women who could be adoptive mother's for Elora.
Abilities[]
A former Knight of Galladoorn and trained by an expert swordsman, Madmartigan became as skilled as his mentor. He claimed to be the greatest swordsman ever, but he was possibly being arrogant. However, he does prove to be an expert swordsman, even Willow admitting he was a great swordsman when he saw Madmartigan fight
Appearances[]
Willow[]
Madmartigan first appears in the film when the company of Nelwyns that consists of Willow Ufgood, Elora Danan and at least four others. While the Nelwyn prefect wishes to get rid of Elora and hand her to the first Daikini they see (as per their instructions), Willow refuses to hand the baby over to Madmartigan based on the fact there is a reason why he is locked in that giblet. This causes the warriors and Burglekutt to abandon them at the crossroads and ignore Madmartigan's protest of thirst. The next morning, Madmartigan introduces his name to Meegosh and Willow, who remains wary of the Daikini. At that moment, Madmartigan's former friend, Airk Thaughbaer, and his army approach the campsite, where the imprisoned human begs for Airk to release him to help fight the battle. However, Airk instead leaves Madmartigan in the cage and with refusal from Willow and Meegosh in taking care of baby Elora. Madmartigan takes a rather liking to Elora when Willow agrees to let him take her to one of his female companions. However, Franjean steals baby Elora from Madmartigan when he least expects it.
A few days later, Willow finds Madmartigan has been hiding in an inn with another female companion. Nockmaar Soldiers arrive where Elora and the company are hiding, where Madmartigan meets Sorsha, who notices he is not a woman but a man in disguise. Both Madmartigan and Willow escape with Elora on a cart with the assistance of Rool and Franjean, two Brownies that Willow had brought along after meeting with Cherlindrea. After their escape, Madmartigan accompanies Willow up to the lake before they both depart. However, he is captured by Nockmaar Soldiers, who attempt to force him to find the baby Elora and her allies but they manage to find the company on their own, capturing the baby, Willow and a transformed Fin Raziel. They are unaware that the Brownies are left behind, who go to rescue the company (mostly because they thought this was more fun than going home).
Willow and Madmartigan are freed by the Brownies, who had distracted Willow from turning Raziel back into her human form. Under the influence of the Dust of the Broken Hearted (because Franjean had used it to smack at Madmartigan when he was dealing with the brownie's spear), Madmartigan goes to get Elora but when he sees Sorsha he starts flirting with her. Infuriated, Sorsha takes out her dagger and points it at Madmartigan, who continues sprouting poetry towards her. However, unknown to Madmartigan, Willow goes to get Elora, but is caught by Kael, who interrupts the confrontation. The trio escape via using a shield as a sled.
Despite their small arm of only three, Madmartigan sets up traps for Nockmaar Soldiers if they happen to find them and instructed Willow to arm the catapult up ahead. As Nockmaar Army entered Tir Asleen, Madmartigan fought them as much as he could, with Sorsha watching him from afar. During the battle, Madmartigan continued fighting his enemies and was pleased that the men apparently were afraid of him. He remained unaware that a two-headed dragon had been transformed by Cherlindrea's wand by Willow in a panic until he heard the beast from behind. Especially during the battle, Madmartigan was able to fight them off. However, he suddenly stopped when he saw a troll attacking Willow and Elora and goes to help them. After defending Willow from a troll, Madmartigan gives him a sword to use. He goes back onto the battlefield and uses his sword to stab the two-headed dragon. He is suddenly is cornered by Sorsha with her sword at him. However, she goes to kiss him, showing she is changing sides and has fallen in love with him. After the dragon is killed, Kael leaves with Elora after managing to overpower Willow. Madmartigan and Sorsha both run to him when they see Willow rush out of the tower. He was upset that he could not protect her. Madmartigan asks if he is still fit to ride, when the Nelwyn responds yes, Madmartigan promises to ride with him out to rescue Elora.
In the end of the film, he and Sorsha are happily married and have decided to raise Elora in the no-longer cursed Tir Asleen.
Willow: A Novel[]
Madmartigan's role in the novel is the same as it is in the film. His backstory is further revealed: he was descended from a family of nobility. His parents were very proud of him, especially when he was a Knight of Galladoorn. Though Madmartigan received an education, he was far too reckless as a child and often attempted to get away from his education. He was trained by the swordsman Roniro and had a strong companionship with Airk Thaughbaer, whom Madmartigan had thought of as his only friend. His fall from grace is also revealed; he had a romantic relationship with the Princess of Cashmere; however, she had been convinced that he was cheating on her. The scandal caused Madmartigan to lose respect from his peers and disappointment from his parents. Madmartigan later abandoned his allies at Land's End rather than receiving his honor again and was imprisoned in the giblet.
The novel also reveals that Sorsha fell in love with Madmartigan not only because she was impressed with his sword-fighting but because she had seen him in her father's armor and her father himself.
2022 Disney Plus series[]
Sometime in between the film and the television series, Madmartigan and Sorsha married and had two children: Kit and Airk. However he mysteriously disappeared. He is seen an archival footage drinks Sorsha's retelling of the story
Trivia[]
- Most of Madmartigan's lines were adlibbed by Kilmer.
- The characters of Sorsha and Madmartigan are married at the end of the film. In real life, Joanne Whalley and Val Kilmer were temporarily married before divorcing
- Though Madmartigan's backstory is omitted from the final film, it was included in the script and the novel adaptation.
- The "Blackroot" that Madmartigan was feeding Elora was actually vanilla.
- Madmartigan has been compared to Han Solo on IMDB, which is fitting because he is a charismatic individual who essentially is a conman does not get along with the protagonist of the film (Willow and Luke on this case).
- Sorsha and Madmartigan's relationship is a similar motif, as both cannot stand each other at first and eventually fall in love with one another.
- Madmartigan and Willow’s relationship is also similar to Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, as they both do not get along at first and eventually become rather trusting companions.
- Though Willow's the main protagonist, Madmartigan's actor Val Kilmer is actually listed before Warwick Davis. George Lucas regretted it and felt it was unfair.
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