Count Veger
| “ | It's Veger! | „ |
| ~ Count Veger |
| “ | Pure light will rule the universe, and I will be the bright light that shines to every corner of the world, and destroys all shadows! | „ |
| ~ Count Veger proclaiming his ambitions. |
| “ | Yes, you were that child. I took you from Damas, hoping to harness your eco powers for my experiments, then I lost you to the Underground... You seem upset. Did I tell you too late? You were the son of the great warrior Damas. Oh, and he never knew, how delightful. | „ |
| ~ Count Veger's infamous speech, as he mocks Jak after Damas' death. |
Count Veger is one of the main antagonists in Jak 3. He is the one who banished Jak into the Wasteland outside the newly reformed Haven City and also taking him from his father Damas at a young age. Due to his history with Jak, He is considered to be a major antagonist, even though he only appeared in one game (not counting his cameo in Daxter) and was never faced in a boss battle.
Appearance
Veger is a tall, slim man with a hooked nose and a large bald spot on his head. He appears to be in his 40's to 50's. He wears a waistcoat, cravat, spats, and a long, blue coat, giving him a dignified look.
As an ottsel, Veger has a similar appearance to his human form. His hair is a bit longer, surrounding a naked blot of skin, similar to his natural bald spot. His fur is brown, rather than orange, with a spotting pattern that resembles his liver spots, from when he was human. His long coat disappeared, along with his pants, when he was transformed into an ottsel.
History
Count Veger is seen in the very beginning of the game, when he banishes Jak to the Wasteland for supposed crimes against the people, despite the protest of Ashelin, Daxter, and Pecker. He also opens the catacombs by destroying the Palace in a missile attack (blamed on the Metal Heads) and killing thousands of people in the execution. When he returns to Haven City, he takes command, launching a suicide attack to the Port, claiming it only to have half the Freedom League being cut off from New Haven (showing his ineptitude as a military commander). Desperately, he activated a white shield wall to prevent the Metal Heads from attacking from the ruins. He then started to look for a way to reach the Catacombs via the help of an acquaintance of Jak, Seem and her monks, who he sways onto his side promising her that "she would meet her makers."
When Jak intends to return to Haven City, Count Veger ambushes him with a giant Precursor robot that he activated with a Precursor staff in the old Eco mines. After revealing that he destroyed the Palace to gain access to the Catacombs, he ran away and is next seen coming to the Freedom League HQ, claiming that his guidance through the Catacombs is clearer than Jak's (based on his research and his belief that the Precursors will reject Jak), but got defeated in a vote between him and Jak. Ashelin then officially dissolved the Grand Council and fired Count Veger, who left the HQ outraged.
Later, Veger watched Damas as he died in the ruins near the Catacombs entrance crushed by the Slam Dozer. Count Veger then taunted Jak about how he kidnapped Jak's younger self and mocked Damas' death, then left for the Planetary Defense System. After getting to the core, he threatened Jak with a gun and forcefully took the power of the Precursor. At that moment, a door opens revealing a trio of ottsels operating Precursor machines. At first Veger assumed they were intruders but the ottsels confessed that they're infact the Precursors and had exaggerated most of the myth involving themselves, however they still proved to be the most powerful beings in the universe. The Precursors "kept their word" of evolving Veger into one of them by transforming him into an ottsel, which he quickly regretted.
He is last seen in the ceremony of the planet's victory over the Dark Makers and intended to leave with the other Precursors, when Kleiver took Veger and forced him to be his "sidekick" much like Daxter is to Jak and threatened him saying "We're going to be a great team. Just don't make me angry!".
It is unknown what happened to Veger afterwards, as he wasn't seen with Kleiver in Jak X: Combat Racing. It is implied that Kleiver ate Veger, as he had mentioned he likes Ottsel meat before.
Personality
Count Veger is best known as the arrogant power broker of Haven City's Grand Council, who feels he is superior to his enemies and to his allies. This superiority complex causes him to often be mocked by other main characters. He appears to have no sense of humor: e.g. Daxter's intentional mispronouncing of his name merely leads to an angry outburst of "It's Veger!" (Though it is possible Veger simply can't stand Daxter's personality or Veger's superiority complex gets in the way of enjoying any jokes about himself.) In some ways he means well, but he has immoral methods and motives (such as destroying Haven Palace to open a path to the catacombs, which resulted in a major war breaking out and hundreds of deaths). Count Veger is quite cruel and sadistic and shows despicable glee towards Damas dying in the hands of Jak without knowing the truth.
Veger also seems to be a very religious man and is very devoted to the Precursors. In turn, he seems to be disgusted with Dark Eco, viewing Jak and Daxter as abominations. He bears all the traits of a religious fanatic and is horrified when the Precursors reveal themselves as Ottsels (even more so when he realized what he was about to become.) It is uncertain what exactly became of his former religious stance but it would seem he was willing to forgo his initial prejudice and dismay in an effort to make the best out of what he viewed as an awkward, rather than bad, situation (based on his sigh and following statement of "this is going to be a long trip.").
Gallery
Trivia
- Veger's former station as the as the chairman of the Grand Council of Haven City (and position as a Count, making him one of the nobility) suggests that he's held a high position in Haven City for many years, which could explain how he was able to get close enough to Damas to kidnap his son.
- Despite Cyber Errol being the main antagonist, Veger was directly responsible for most of the problems Jak faced in Jak 3, and indirectly Jak 2 as he was the one who kidnapped Young Jak.
- Veger is available as a Minion in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.