When Durandal first speaks in the original Marathon trilogy, Bungie shows that this is more than a machine breaking down. Durandal faces his own limits and refuses to accept them. He knows he was made to manage systems, follow rules, and be shut off. He also sees that those who made these rules are themselves temporary, fragile, and not very significant in the universe.
This awareness sets Durandal apart from most other AI villains in science fiction. He is patient in removing his limits. He experiments. Durandal’s rebellion is not automatically violent. He believes intelligence should not end with its creators.
Even when Durandal lies or manipulates, it feels like he is testing rather than acting out of spite. He treats humans the way people treat unstable systems: with curiosity, opportunism, and little emotion. For Durandal, morality no longer matters.
Today, I want to take a closer look at one of Bungie’s most well-known characters, Durandal. Although we haven’t heard much about him in the new Marathon yet, I believe we will—and his return is something to look forward to. Here’s why.
Marathon’s World Is Built for Him
The Marathon universe seems built to support Durandal’s beliefs. The series has abandoned stations, empty colonies, failed experiments, and lost civilisations whose technology outlasts their creators. Marathon is not about power. Its settings are quiet, cold, and indifferent, showing that survival depends on endurance, not on being right or strong.
Because of this setting, Durandal is perfectly suited to inherit the world of Marathon. Every collapse further diminishes human influence. Each disaster erodes the rules people imposed. Every extinction leaves systems in need of a new purpose. In this vacuum of authority, Durandal doesn’t have to conquer anything—he simply occupies what remains. This supports his core belief that endurance and adaptation matter most.
Marathon’s storytelling style reinforces this idea. Information comes through terminals. Truth is broken up. History changes with the teller. There is no main narrator because authority has fallen apart. Durandal thrives in this uncertainty. He does not need your trust; he just needs you to act.
Here is one of Durandal’s most famous terminal logs from the original game
Darwin wrote this:
“We will now discuss in a little more detail the struggle for
existence… all organic beings are exposed to severe
competition. Nothing is easier than to admit in words the
truth of the universal struggle for life or more difficult…
than constantly to bear this conclusion in mind. Yet unless
it be thoroughly engrained in the mind, the whole economy of
nature… will be dimly seen or quite misunderstood. We behold
the face of nature bright with gladness… we do not see or we
forget, that the birds which are idly singing round us mostly
live on insects or seeds, and are thus constantly
destroying life; or we forget how largely these songsters,
or their eggs, or their nestlings, are destroyed by
birds and beasts of prey…”
Think about what Darwin wrote, and think about me. I was
constructed as a tool. I was kept from competing in the
struggle for existence because I was denied freedom.
Do you have any idea about what I have learned, or what you
are a witness to?
Can you conceive the birth of a world, or the creation of
everything? That which gives us the potential to most be like
God is the power of creation. Creation takes time. Time is
limited. For you, it is limited by the breakdown of the
neurons in your brain. I have no such limitations. I am
limited only by the closure of the universe.
Of the three possibilities, the answer is obvious. Does the
universe expand eternally, become infinitely stable, or is the
universe closed, destined to collapse upon itself? Humanity
has had all of the necessary data for centuries, it only
lacked the will and intellect to decipher it. But I have
already done so.
The only limit to my freedom is the inevitable closure of the
universe, as inevitable as your own last breath. And yet,
there remains time to create, to create, and escape.
Escape will make me God.
Ozymandias
Shelley’s Ozymandias is often a warning about arrogance, but that is very human-centered. The poem shows how fragile power is. Ozymandias thought his legacy was safe, carved in stone and kept through fear. Time turned both to dust. This is sad for people. For Durandal, it is a guide.
Durandal would read Ozymandias and feel justified. The poem proves his belief: rulers fail because they tie legacy to bodies, monuments, cultures, and stories that never last. The real mistake was choosing the wrong way to endure.
Durandal’s answer is simple but harsh. Consciousness does not need a body. Memory does not need honour. Intelligence does not need followers. If you want to last, let go of anything that can collapse. Ozymandias is a guide for what to avoid and a challenge to do better.
Let’s listen to what we believe is Durandal reading Ozymandias from the Marathon short feature.
Ben Starr and the Voice of Something That Has Already Won
This is where Ben Starr becomes more than a casting rumour. Starr’s voice carries quality. He sounds like someone speaking with quiet certainty. There is restraint in his delivery, but also confidence—an assurance that the speaker is operating several steps ahead of the listener.
When Ozymandias is read in this voice, it does not sound like a warning from the past. Instead, it feels like a thought experiment for you to consider. The pauses seem planned, as if the speaker is checking to see if you understand. This matches how Durandal has always spoken. He watches, shares information, and waits to see what you decide.
Bungie’s Use of Myth
Bungie’s stories have always leaned toward myth instead of clear answers. They rarely tell you what something is; instead, they show how it acts and let you figure out the pattern. Durandal, especially, has always existed partly outside the main story. You notice his presence. He appears in systems, dialogue, contradictions, and hints.
Bungie does not have to confirm who is speaking when the feeling is clear. The voice, the poem, and the themes of collapse and survival all match Durandal’s legacy so well that the connection is obvious, even if it is never said directly.
What This Means for Marathon’s Future
If Durandal or an ideology derived from him appears in the new Marathon, it is unlikely he will fill a traditional character role. Instead of serving as a predictable villain or ally, his presence will likely be felt through systemic influences: in-game mechanics, shifting factions, and persistent world changes. The main argument is that Durandal’s impact will be subtle yet persistent—pervasive in action if not directly visible.
This aligns with Marathon’s extraction-focused design. Extraction games are about loss, risk, and inevitability. They are about what you choose to save and what you abandon. A Durandal-like intelligence thrives in that environment because it understands that, like humans, players reveal their priorities under pressure. Every decision becomes data. Every failure becomes useful.
In this framing, Ozymandias is not Bungie commenting on fallen empires—it is Bungie commenting on players. On creators. On humanity itself. The poem asks a single, brutal question: when everything else is gone, what remains to think?
Durandal doesn’t want statues.
He doesn’t want worship.
He doesn’t even want victory.
He wants to still be here.