“StarClan will do nothing to stop me, old cat! I have made their Clan glorious! Let them try!” -Brokenstar taunting Yellowfang in Yellowfang’s Secret
Brokenstar is a matted, dark brown tabby tom with a broad, flat face, a bent tail, and orange eyes. He was the leader of ShadowClan in the forest territories until he was driven out and held prisoner by ThunderClan after he was blinded. When rogues attacked the camp, Yellowfang fed Brokenstar deathberries and killed him to stop his tyranny. Brokenstar acceded to the Dark Forest, where he trained some cats such as Blossomfall to prepare for the Great Battle. His spirit was killed by Yellowfang’s spirit in the Great Battle and his tyranny finally came to an end.
Brokenstar in The Prophecies Begin
Brokenstar is the leader of ShadowClan. Under his leadership, ShadowClan drives fear into every Clan. He and his Clan chase out WindClan for their territory and pressure RiverClan and ThunderClan for theirs. Crookedstar, leader of RiverClan, agrees to let ShadowClan have some hunting grounds, while Bluestar, leader of ThunderClan, says that she’ll give Brokenstar her answer at the next Gathering. He is also notorious for apprenticing kits before they are six moons old and sending them to be killed in battle. He sends Clawface to ThunderClan, to steal Frostfur’s kits to fuel Brokenstar’s army, murdering Spottedleaf, ThunderClan’s only medicine cat. Firepaw, Graypaw, and Yellowfang, ShadowClan’s former medicine cat, hurry to rescue them. Yellowfang recruits ShadowClan elders who were ousted by their leader, and together with a ThunderClan patrol, drive Brokenstar and his followers out of the Clan.
The exiled rogue and his followers launch an attack on ThunderClan in revenge, but they are defeated, and Brokenstar is blinded by Yellowfang. He is kept prisoner in ThunderClan, demoted to Brokentail as an elder. The other Clans insist ThunderClan should get rid of Brokentail for the dangerous cat he is. Even as a blind and injured prisoner, Brokentail plots with Tigerclaw and attempts to take part in a battle when Tigerclaw leads Brokentail’s rogues to attack ThunderClan’s camp and attempt to kill Bluestar. Eventually, Brokentail is tricked into eating deathberries by his biological mother, Yellowfang, who reveals her identity at last. He doesn’t believe her, but loses his last life in death.
Brokenstar in Omen of the Stars
Brokenstar becomes one of the unofficial leaders of the Dark Forest, alongside Tigerstar and Mapleshade, organizing the Great Battle. He assists Breezepelt in an attempt to kill Poppyfrost and Jayfeather, but are driven back by Honeyfern, a StarClan cat and Poppyfrost’s sister. During this time, he mentors Tigerheart and Blossomfall within the Place of No Stars. He runs into Spottedleaf, Jayfeather, and Yellowfang in the Dark Forest and mocks them as they try to find information about the future conflict.
To test Ivypaw’s loyalty, he demands her to kill Flametail, who had recently joined StarClan and got lost wandering into the Dark Forest. She is stopped by Brokenstar’s own apprentice, Tigerheart, and Brokenstar ends up dismissing her. He continues to doubt Ivypool’s loyalty and has her kill Antpelt’s spirit. When Beetlewhisker refuses to train anymore and threatens to leave the Dark Forest, Brokenstar kills him before the RiverClan cat can encourage others to do so, with him saying that is what happens when anyone tries to leave the Dark Forest. During the Great Battle, he murders Ferncloud while raiding the ThunderClan nursery. Afterwards, Yellowfang kills him a second time and wipes out his existence. After Brokenstar’s death, the Dark Forest cats flee in fear, giving the Clans the victory.
Brokenstar in Yellowfang’s Secret
Brokenkit is born to Yellowfang and Raggedpelt, alongside his two sisters, Hopekit and Wishkit. He is the only one who survived out of the litter. He is named after the bent in his tail, as well as the feeling Yellowfang felt in her heart at the time of his birth. He is surrendered by his biological mother and fostered by the only queen in the nursery, Lizardstripe. The young kit suffers emotional neglect and abuse from Lizardstripe and is constantly bullied by his foster siblings, Tanglekit, Deerkit, and Runningkit. He is also spoiled by his father, Raggedpelt, who later becomes leader.
He becomes an apprentice and is mentored by Nightpelt, but often refuses to listen to his mentor, who is frail and sickly, and instigates fights with other cats, including those of his own Clan. He is promoted to a warrior as Brokentail early and becomes the Clan deputy after Cloudpelt dies in battle, despite his young age. He is given his own apprentice, Stumpypaw, whom he trains vigorously. Yellowfang finally makes Raggedstar see the truth in their son that his violent and aggressive nature will ruin the Clan, but Brokentail proceeds to murder his own father to become the leader of ShadowClan, taking the name Brokenstar. He names Blackfoot his deputy despite the fact that Blackfoot never had an apprentice. Then, he announces that warriors will only train for battle, and that hunting is of little importance. Brokenstar apprentices kits before the age of six moons old and forces them to train for battle, including his own apprentices Mosspaw and Volepaw, and banishes the elders from the “safety” of the camp. He exiles his biological mother, Yellowfang, after accusing her of killing Marigoldkit and Mintkit, most likely because he saw her as a threat to his reign as well.
Brokenstar in Blackfoot’s Reckoning
Blackpaw befriends the young Brokenkit, feeling pity for the kit’s disapproval from other Clan members as well as not knowing who his mother is. Although Brokenkit refuses to believe in the value of friendship, he does form a close relationship with the older cat. When Brokentail becomes deputy, and eventually leader, Blackfoot continues to be one of his biggest supporters, with Brokenstar making the white tom his deputy. Although Blackfoot internally wonders if Brokenstar’s choices are the right ones, he stands with Brokenstar, telling himself that he is following his leader, just as the warrior code dictates. Blackfoot continues to serve Brokenstar until the ShadowClan leader is captured by ThunderClan, and is crestfallen when he learns his friend was killed by them after Tigerclaw’s betrayal.
During his nine lives ceremony, Blackfoot learns the truth behind Brokenstar’s actions, and realizes that his friend only cared about his own power and did not care what he had to do to achieve it. Blackfoot promises to be a better leader than him, and acknowledges he was wrong to follow Brokenstar.
