Black Iron Tarkus

Black Iron Tarkus, also referred to as Iron Tarkus, is a phantom in Dark Souls. He can be summoned by the player in the fight against the Iron Golem boss in Sen's Fortress.

Location

In a tower structure at the end of the walkway to the right from where the fog door to the Iron Golem is located. Like other summon signs, Tarkus' summon sign is only visible if the player has not put down a summon sign and is in human form.

Plot

Tarkus aids the player in taking on the Iron Golem as a white phantom. He is notoriously tough and can serve as a distraction during the battle. In fact, Tarkus can defeat the boss all by himself in the first playthrough and stands a break-even chance of doing so on future playthroughs with minimal support from the player.

His Greatsword, Black Iron Greatshield and Black Iron Set are found on his corpse in Anor Londo, next to the entrance to the Painted World of Ariamis. A Painting Guardian stands next to his corpse, possibly removing it from the room since the body is so far away from the entrance.

Lore

Black Iron Tarkus is most likely a knight of Berenike, and is renowned even among his fellow knights for his great strength. This makes him one of the longest surviving knights to attempt at curing undeath and fulfilling the prophecy. He defeated the Iron Golem and, as the only one to prevail, carved his summon sign so others who would eventually come as far as him would be assisted by his phantom.

According to the Crestfallen Merchant, Black Iron Tarkus met his doom while attempting to visit Anor Londo. This proves true, as his body can be found in the hall of the Painting Guardians.

Character information

Health and souls

Health		Souls
NG	NG+	NG	NG+
1467	2684	???	???

Defenses

Physical Defenses				Elemental Defenses			Resistances
???	???	???	???	???	???	???	???	???	???

These stats are sourced from FuturePress's Official Dark Souls Strategy Guide.

Equipment

• Weapons
• Armor
• Rings

Right Hand	Left Hand
Greatsword +10	Black Iron Greatshield +10

Head	Chest	Hands	Legs
Black Iron Helm +5	Black Iron Armor +5	Black Iron Gauntlets +5	Black Iron Leggings +5

Rings

Havel's Ring

Trivia

• Many players favor Black Iron Tarkus due to his immense strength, his reliability in PvP and his ability to fight the Iron Golem with minimal support.
• Tarkus is also the Estonian word for "wisdom".
• Even though it says that Tarkus's armor was unwieldy to all but Tarkus himself, when summoned for the fight against the Iron Golem, he "fat rolls" due to not having enough endurance. 
• Tarkus was seen sitting in Firelink Shrine in the debut trailer as a non-playable character, but in the game he is simply a white phantom. 
• Black Iron Tarkus is likely a reference to the antagonist knight Tarkus from the 1986 manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Both characters are massive knights with enormous, seemingly unwieldy weapons and thick armor. The way Black Iron Tarkus dies is also similar to how Tarkus from the manga falls off a cliff and into a barrack.

Gallery

Black Iron Tarkus

Black Iron Tarkus without his helm

Black Iron Tarkus standing next to the Chosen Undead