Saturday, April 27, 2024

Dune Villains: House Harkonnen Explained

house harkonnen

The other is House Harkonnen, who are told to stop mining on Arrakis and leave, so House Atreides can take over. Dune cast another Marvel veteran, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Dave Bautista, in the key role of the Harkonnens’ psychotic chief enforcer, Glossu “The Beast” Rabban. Through Beast Rabban, House Harkonnen has brutally suppressed Arrakis’ indigenous population, the Fremen, in their pursuit of the planet’s most valuable natural resource. One of the many rich yet complicated aspects of Dune is the vicious dynamic between the rival Great Houses that control politics, wealth, and power in the Galactic Padishah Empire.

Why do House Atreides and House Harkonnen hate each other?

As a leader of a Major House, Vladimir proved to be incredibly cruel, earning House Harkonnen its notorious reputation. He has been described as a seeker of thrills and pleasures and showed sadistic pedophilic tendencies. The cruelty also characterized the way House soldiers and administrators handle subordinates and prisoners. He was also known to exploit his cruel and ruthless reputation by doing executions perceived to be the result of extremely trivial matters as a way to subtly get rid of threats. And though he was generally cunning, his arrogance and intense hatred of House Atreides proved to be his undoing.

Comic Books

Created by visionary writer Frank Herbert, Dune debuted in 1965, has sold millions of copies and is arguably the most admired science fiction novel of all time. After winning the Hugo Award and inaugural Nebula Award, Dune inspired a best-selling novel series and led to multiple live-action adaptations, including the upcoming feature film from Legendary Pictures. The influence of Dune extends well beyond the world of entertainment, with an incalculable influence on modern scientific thinking about politics, religion, outer space, environmentalism, and more. Exactly how Harkonnen managed to avoid being killed by Leto's final act varied between sources. In the book, he merely fled the room and bolted the door shut behind upon sensing that Leto was going to use the tooth on him.

Dune: House Harkonnen Comics Win Dragon Award

It's implied that the Baron's weight was simply the result of his unchecked gluttony, but in the Expanded Dune universe, it's attributed to the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam purposely infecting him with a degenerative disease when he raped her. The suspensors also allowed for some levitation to a certain degree, as when he died, his corpse hung inches from the floor while lying sideways. The Baron recognized efficiency and talent in people, and he has shown remarkable insight in knowing people.

Alia fell victim to the Bene Gesserit prediction and initially shared control of her body with the Baron, gradually falling under his power. The vengeful desires of the residual Vladimir Harkonnen persona proved fruitless due to Alia's eventual success in overcoming her possession by suicide. In Hunters of Dune (2006), the continuation of the original series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the Baron is resurrected as a ghola (5,029 years after the death of Alia) by the Lost Tleilaxu Uxtal, acting on orders from the Face Dancer Khrone. Khrone intends to use the Baron ghola to manipulate a ghola of Paul Atreides, named Paolo.

house harkonnen

What is ancestral ethnicity of the House of Corrino?Are they from Balkans?

House Harkonnen as a political entity is left virtually defunct - permanently excluded from galactic power - though Harkonnen blood is technically ascendant since Imperial House Atreides is composed entirely of Vladimir Harkonnen's descendants. Born the son of a Harkonnen Baron, Vladimir showed an early interest in attaining power, and was trained to become the heir to House Harkonnen, ahead of his more mild-mannered half-brother Abulurd. During this time, his father served as head to the House Harkonnen and as Siridar and Baron of the planet Giedi Prime. On the Harkonnen homeworld of Giedi Prime, the Baron Harkonnen grows weaker and more corpulent due to a strange disease which, unbeknownst to him, was inflicted upon him by a vengeful Mohiam. After killing a slew of doctors who fail to diagnose or alleviate his condition, he hires Dr. Yueh for a massive price. In response, the Baron attempts to take revenge against the Bene Gesserit, but fails miserably.

Hunters of Dune

Thus, he secretly plotted against both House Atreides and House Corrino, hoping to destroy the former and overpower the latter through force and marriage. House Harkonnen had built its power on maximising production output, and minimising production expenses by ignoring economically ethical behaviour. Indeed, Harkonnen governing was based upon a simple foundation of fear and terror. They were used in governance, in the day-to-day running of the Harkonnen household, and in controlling the Harkonnen armies. With a social order based on treachery and punishment, soldiers rose through the ranks through deceit, trickery and, if necessary, assassination.

Original Dune

He also possesses some sort of implant on the middle finger of his right hand he uses to activate his personal force field, which enabled him to survive Leto's assassination attempt, though he nearly asphyxiated due to making his shield airtight. In the David Lynch movie, the baron is hefty, has blue eyes, but is much more unsightly. He has been experimenting with diseases and willingly infecting himself, causing pulsating boils and cysts to sprout all over his skin. He is also much less sane than the other versions of his character, often reduced to a near-psychotic state when overexcited.

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House Atreides wants to do so through working with the Fremen, the people of Arrakis, and exploring how that world can be bettered through cooperation and trade, whereas House Harkonnen does not. ​​In this era, advanced technology like computers and atomic weapons are strictly forbidden. Specially trained "Mentats" have conditioned themselves to operate as living computers. One such Mentat is the cunning and twisted Piter De Vries, who serves House Harkonnen. Where Beast Rabban offers Baron Harkonnen physical might, De Vries plays a game of psychic warfare between the warring Houses. He is played by The Suicide Squad’s David Dastmalchian, who previously worked with Dune director Denis Villeneuve on Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049.

Control of Giedi Prime was given the people of Caladan, and under the direction of Gurney Halleck, once a slave on that world, dismantled the machines of industry, changed its name and the names of its cities, and replanted forests and greenery there. However, the Harkonnen bloodline continued to exist through Bene Gesserit breeding programs for more than 1500 years thereafter. His brother, Xavier Harkonnen, was raised by adoptive parents of the Tantor family, Emil and Lucille, on the League capital world of Salusa Secundus. Xavier eventually became a Primero during the Butlerian Jihad, but was disgraced when he killed Grand Patriarch Iblis Ginjo, in the Thalim system. Vladimir's sheer weight required belt-mounted suspensors to retain mobility, which allowed him to float in midair from place to place, as he was unable to walk under his own power unassisted.

Khrone tries various torture techniques for three years to awaken the 12-year-old Baron's genetic memories; these methods fail due to the Baron's sadomasochistic nature. Khrone is successful when he imprisons the Baron in a sensory deprivation tank for a prolonged period; the Baron's memories of his former life return. The reincarnated Baron is soon haunted by the voice of Alia in his mind; the source of this inner Alia is never explained.

In a nutshell, Duke Leto’s House Atreides are the good guys and House Harkonnen -- led by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, played by MCU veteran Stellan Skarsgård -- are the bad guys. House Harkonnen comes from the bleak, heavily industrialized world of Giedi Prime. For director Denis Villeneuve, distilling such complex maneuvering down into an understandable subplot for Dune, Part One proved “a challenge,” but he cited one particular cast member as his “secret weapon” for making it work.

The long-running feud with the Atreides originated after Abulurd refused an order from Vorian Atreides, to kill the millions of humans enslaved by the thinking machines. Abulurd's disobedience was exposed by Vorian himself at the Battle of Corrin, the Jihad's last battle. He was banished from the League Worlds to the frosty planet of Lankiveil by his own brother, Faykan Corrino, who became the first Emperor. Abulurd's sons were told this story, and grew hate about the name Atreides, and all their descendants. Baron Harkonnen himself is poisoned with a gom jabbar by Paul's sister Alia Atreides, a two-year-old born as a fully aware Fremen Reverend Mother, who reveals that she is his granddaughter to him just before his death.

House Harkonnen (/ˈhɑːrkənən/) was a Great House during the time of the Padishah Emperors. Their capital was Giedi Prime, a heavily industrialised planet with a low photosynthetic potential. House Harkonnen was most famous for its underhanded and sinister political tactics, and for an ancient feud it maintained with another Great House, House Atreides. In addition, House Harkonnen had a reputation for ambition, malevolence, hatred and brutality.

After the emperor's arrival on Arrakis, both Corrino and Harkonnen are shocked to learn that rather than a native Fremen warlord, their opponent Muad'Dib is the still-living Paul Atreides, and the Emperor's intervention was part of his plan. The Imperial forces fall prey to a surprise attack by the Fremen, who let a sandstorm short out the force field shields of the transport ships and then disable them with projectile weapons, subsequently mounting a mass assault using sandworms as siege-breakers. Their enemies are left trapped on the planet, outnumbered by the many tribes and outgunned by the sandworms. The Harkonnens' past ruthlessness further causes the enraged Fremen to give them little to no quarter; over the course of the battle their entire army is exterminated. Matters are complicated further with the arrival of Jessica, a Bene Gesserit and the secret daughter of Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (though Jessica herself is unaware of her parentage). Jessica is presented to Leto as a gift from the Bene Gesserit, although the sisterhood has the ulterior motive of using the pair in their breeding program.

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