History Characters / KingdomHeartsXehanort

'''Warning''': This page contains '''major''' unmarked spoilers for Kingdom Hearts [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI I]], [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII II]] and [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]].

Xehanort is [[BigBad the overall antagonist of the series]]. With the exceptions of ''Chain of Memories'' and ''coded'', a Xehanort is always the main enemy of the individual games. It is important to specify "a" Xehanort, because there are several Xehanorts in the series as well as various alternate incarnations of Xehanort that go by different names. However, they are ultimately all different aspects of the same being, and they all aspire to more or less the same goal: to claim the power of Kingdom Hearts and unravel the mysteries of the universe, even if they have to destroy that universe to find the answers they crave.

* [[XanatosGambit Xehanort Gambit]]: [[spoiler:If "Ansem" and Xemnas find the real Kingdom Hearts through their plans, they accomplish what he wants in the first place. If they're killed instead, Master Xehanort gets to come BackFromTheDead and finish the job himself.]]

-->'''Appearances''': ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep: Final Mix]]''

* {{Leitmotif}}: With the exception of the first game's final battle, any battle theme involving him opens with a series of six [[OminousPipeOrgan organ chords]].

-->'''Appearances''': ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded Re:Coded]] | [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]''

* TheSociopath: Began as WellIntentionedExtremist, but suffered MotiveDecay till he became only interested in acquiring knowledge and power by whatever means.

->''See Characters/KingdomHeartsOrganizationXIII''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Unknown]]
!The Unknown

* {{Flanderization}}: The first game presented Ansem as a misguided scientist that [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope Jumped Off the Slippery Slope]] when his curiosity went too far. His experiments, while horrifyingly amoral, were done in the name of genuine scientific curiosity, and lead him to believe that all beings are born from darkness and darkness is the source of all power and knowledge. He encouraged Riku and Sora to accept this and open their hearts to darkness to be stronger, and was disappointed when Sora refused to believe him, declaring him ignorant. However, with the {{Retcon}} that this Ansem is an impostor who delved into darkness knowingly and the kindly ruler of Hollow Bastion that Leon and Aerith spoke of was someone else, he is cast in a more villainous light, and subsequent appearances play him up as a CardCarryingVillain in contrast to Xemnas's TragicVillain and Master Xehanort's WellIntentionedExtremist.

Later on he reappears in ''Dream Drop Distance'' as the main antagonist and is described as a being travelling worlds that causes beings of darkness to manifest in his wake. He was revealed to be another incarnation of Master Xehanort, being him during his younger teenage years. He is working on another scheme to seize power. He is distinguished by somehow having the ability to manipulate time, which is a critical plot point.

* [[spoiler:GrandTheftMe]]: [[spoiler:He ends up getting possessed by his original incarnation, Master Xehanort, in his boss battle in ''3D''. Which in turn, grants him brief control over a variation of his standard Keyblade and to initially break free of Mickey's Stopza spell]].

Later on he reappears in ''Dream Drop Distance'' as the main antagonist and is described as a being travelling worlds that causes beings of darkness to manifest in his wake. He was revealed to be another incarnation of Master Xehanort, working on another scheme to seize power. He is distinguished by somehow having the ability to manipulate time, which is a critical plot point.

* YouCantFightFate: In a conversation with a young Eraqus in ''III', Xehanort says he believes that the future has "already been written", likely due to him subconsciously remembering his time travel in ''3D''.

Later on he reappears in ''Dream Drop Distance'' as the main antagonist and is described as a being travelling worlds that causes beings of darkness to manifest in his wake. He was revealed to be anotherr incarnation of Master Xehanort, working on another scheme to seize power. He is distinguished by somehow having the ability to manipulate time, which is a critical plot point.

* StartOfDarkness: ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts/BirthBySleep'' - though it's more detailed in the "Ansem Reports" of ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts1''.

-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChikaoOhtsuka (Japanese), Creator/LeonardNimoy (English)

-->'''Appearances''': ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep: Final Mix''

* ForScience: The key trait of Xehanort is that he isn't interested in power and conquest just for the sake of power and conquest, he wants to understand the mysteries of life and the universe, even if his pursuit of these answers would cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The Ansem Reports in the first game particularly emphasize this, being written in the form of a researcher conducting experiments, jotting down observations, and then forming hypotheses based on those observations. Eraqus sums it up well in ''Birth By Sleep'':

* KnightOfCerebus: Whenever a Xehanort shows up, the current game tends to become much darker in tone. Master Xehanort naturally reigns as this within the Xehanorts, his arrival to the franchise in ''Birth By Sleep'' [[spoiler:beginning an ArcWelding that has tied the stories of the series together as a GambitRoulette of his to enact a plan more ambitious than any of his previous ones.]]

* BigBad: Of ''Birth By Sleep'', and as the original Xehanort (sharing this position with [[spoiler:Young Xehanort]]), the franchise itself.

* BlowYouAway: His StormOfBlades in the Keyblade Graveyard in ''Birth By Sleep'' seems to be through the use of wind and the Keyblades littering the battlefield.

* CainAndAbel: He mentions several times in his writings that he considers Eraqus a brother. [[spoiler:And yet he murders Eraqus in ''Birth By Sleep''.]]
* TheChessmaster: Plays everyone in ''Birth By Sleep'' to his own ends. [[spoiler:Everything Ansem and Xemnas did was also part of his plan to create 13 avatars of darkness, combine them with the 7 Princess of Hearts' light, and start a second [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Keyblade War]]]].

* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler:Transfers his heart and mind into Terra's body at the end of ''Birth By Sleep''.]]

* KarmaHoudini: As of ''3D'', he still hasn't paid for his ''Birth by Sleep'' deeds. ''III'' should fix this, though.

* MasterSwordsman: As shown when [[spoiler:he's a full-memory Terra-Xehanort in ''Birth By Sleep'', and when he performs a VillainOverride of his younger self in ''3D'']], he wasn't named a Keyblade Master on magical prowess alone.

* OldMaster: In ''Birth By Sleep'' he's a SquishyWizard who prefers to attack with magic from afar. However, it's only because he's just held back by his old and feeble body. As shown by [[spoiler:Terra-Xehanort and Young Xehanort]], when he's at his full physical potential he has as much power and skill as you'd expect from a Keyblade Master with decades of experience.

[[caption-width-right:230:Click [[labelnote:here]]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Terra-Xehanort_1343.png[[/labelnote]] to see Xehanort as he appears in Birth By Sleep (spoiler warning)]]

A young man that was found in Radiant Garden in the aftermath of a great battle between several Keyblade wielders, bearing no memories but his name. Ansem nursed him back to health and took him on as an apprentice, but he quickly became obsessed with TheHeartless and Kingdom Hearts, and cast Ansem into the Realm of Darkness and became a Heartless and Nobody to delve deeper into the powers of darkness than his human form would allow. His backstory was a mystery until ''Birth By Sleep'', which explains it in full, revealing his connection to Master Xehanort and his true role in the larger story of the series.

* MysteriousPast: His past is unclear till ''Birth by Sleep'' [[spoiler:where it's revealed he's [[FallenHero Terra]] after the original Xehanort [[GrandTheftMe took over his body]].]]
* NeckLift: Tries to choke Aqua to death at the end of ''Birth By Sleep''.

* OminousLatinChanting[=/=]OminousPipeOrgan: "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewhYdzHZ1Vo Dismiss]]", his second battle theme in ''Birth By Sleep''. It's also a BossRemix that samples assorted character themes.

* SuperStrength: As shown in ''Birth by Sleep'', he's strong enough to effortlessly [[NeckLift bodily lift Aqua off of the ground by the neck with one hand]].

* TrueFinalBoss: In ''Birth By Sleep'', he's the boss of the Final Episode after the three character stories are completed. Averted in ''Final Mix'' though, where the story continues after the fight and there's another boss waiting.
* VillainousBreakdown: The only time he loses his cool in ''Birth By Sleep'' is when [[spoiler:the Lingering Will forms]], prompting a snarl of protest. In the subsequent battle he begins by walking towards you slowly, taking the time to block and counter your attacks and attacking back carefully. As the battle continues he starts teleporting rapidly, attacks more aggressively, and breaks out Meteor as his DesperationAttack. Best summed up by this quote:

* WalkingSpoiler: Talking about his presence in ''Birth By Sleep'' spoils TheReveal that [[spoiler:he's Terra under the control of Master Xehanort's heart.]]

-->'''Appearances''': ''Birth By Sleep: Final Mix''

* VocalEvolution: Richard Epcar's voice acting improved a lot between ''[=KH2=]'' and ''Re:[=COM=]'', although it's more like the vocal director gave him some breathing room instead of forcing him to try and out-ham Billy Zane with unsuccessful results. [[spoiler:He's also significantly better in ''Birth By Sleep'']]. Also, Akio Ohtsuka himself was actually over-the-top hammy to an annoying level in the original Japanese version of ''Kingdom Hearts'', but also sounded a lot better in ''Re: [=COM=]''.

-->'''Voiced by''': Takanori Okuda (Japanese), David Gallagher (English, ''Birth By Sleep'') / BenDiskin (English, ''Dream Drop Distance'')

As the Unknown, this enigmatic figure first appeared in ''Birth By Sleep'' to challenge the heroes in the Land of Departure as a BonusBoss. Why he had shown up is also [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin completely unknown]] -- [[TheQuietOne he doesn't say a word]]; even the Keyblade he drops upon defeat is simply named "No Name". Despite the seemingly [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment random]] encounter, WordOfGod confirms that the battle with one of the trio is canon.

* BerserkButton: In his ''Birth by Sleep fight'', trying to attack him while he's in the middle of his BeamSpam is a ''bad'' idea. He usually stands there and lets his beams do the work, but try and attack him and he decides to start attacking you again while the beams are still firing, and this will likely get you killed.

* BlowYouAway: In ''Birth By Sleep'' he can use Whirlwind to the Void and knock away your commands.
* BonusBoss: In ''Birth by Sleep''.
* BroughtDownToBadass: The ''Final Mix'' version of ''Birth By Sleep'' (and by extension the ''2.5 HD'' port) allows players to escape from his Collision Magnet attack by dashing away in midair, and as it's his most infamous and deadly attack, it's a welcome relief. He's at full power everywhere else, however, and is still a very powerful opponent.
* CallBack: In ''[=3D=]'', as he attempts to rewind time, you will be bombarded with attacks from his ''Birth by Sleep'' battle.
* ChekhovsGunman: First appears as a BonusBoss in ''Birth by Sleep''; his next appearance in ''Dream Drop Distance'' sees him as TheHeavy.

* DoppelgangerAttack: Summons four copies of himself in ''Birth By Sleep'' to attack you all at once. The clones vanish in one attack, if you can manage to get one in, because they're all going to attack at once and will not let up. The second phase of the fight in ''3D'' is a Doppelganger ''Battle'' -- [[spoiler:you can't actually damage Young Xehanort himself, you have to attack the clock emblem, which is producing a constant stream of clones to attack]].

* PlayingWithFire: Can use Mega Flare and Raging Storm in ''Birth By Sleep'', and in ''3D'' he can use a fiery variation of Whirlwind to the Void in the second phase of his battle.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: It's not much of a spoiler listing him here in the Xehanort section, since the trailers for ''Dream Drop Distance'' spoiled his status as yet another Xehanort by simply showing [[SupernaturalGoldEyes what]] [[WhiteHairBlackHeart he]] [[BlackCloak looks]] [[LegacyCharacter like]] -- it's just a matter of figuring out in what way. [[WordOfGod Tetsuya Nomura]] also spoiled a major plot twist near the end of the game by confirming outright that the white-haired figure in the black cloak was the ''Birth By Sleep'' BonusBoss.

* TurnsRed: When low on health in ''Birth by Sleep'' he'll turn invisible and will begin using multiple attacks at once. And then in ''3D'', he gets faster, teleports more often, and his attacks are harder to avoid.

* EvilMentor: Toward [[spoiler: Ventus]] in the backstory, and toward Terra during the course of ''BirthBySleep''.

* EvilSoundsRaspy: In both the Japanese and English versions of ''KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' and ''KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance'', where he is voiced by Creator/ChikaoOhtsuka and Creator/LeonardNimoy, respectively.

* TookALevelInBadass: Ansem was not a terribly difficult final boss in ''Kingdom Hearts''. For his return in [[KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]], on the other hand, he becomes ''far'' more powerful, both as a boss and in a case of CutscenePowerToTheMax, where he effortlessly subdues Riku, who not ten minutes before beat the snot out of him.
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Gets a rather subdued one in [[KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance KH3D]] when Riku [[WeCanRuleTogether rejects his offer]] to embrace [[TheDarkSide the darkness]]. This is what triggers the boss battle.]]

* AmbiguouslyEvil: His moral standing is [[AmbiguousSituation rather unclear]] - mostly because he doesn't fully understand what he's doing, and he believes he wouldn't have any control over his actions even if he did. Creator/BenDiskin [[http://www.khinsider.com/news/Exclusive-KHInsider-Interviews-Ben-Diskin-3022 has mentioned that]] he was deliberately instructed to ''not'' make the character sound stereotypically evil. See the "Destiny" cutscene from the 2.5 remix:
-->'''Braig:''' I wonder if even you know what's going on inside your own head.\\
'''Young Xehanort:''' I will be led...wherever it is I am destined to go.

* AmbiguouslyEvil: His moral standing is [[AmbiguousSituation quite difficult to understand]]. Though he's certainly an antagonist, he acts in a way that makes it questionable if he's actually a villain, mostly because he doesn't fully understand what he's doing, and he believes he wouldn't have any control over his actions even if he did. The storywriters clearly have ''something'' in mind with this, as Creator/BenDiskin [[http://www.khinsider.com/news/Exclusive-KHInsider-Interviews-Ben-Diskin-3022 has mentioned that]] he was deliberately instructed to ''not'' make the character sound stereotypically evil.

A suit of AnimatedArmor, apparently Master Xehanort's Keyblade Armor that he cast off. It is the final challenge of the Mirage Arena once the player has completed all other challenges to achieve an arena rank of 30 so they can challenge it.

* AmbiguouslyEvil: His moral standing is [[AmbiguousSituation quite difficult to understand]]. Though he's certainly an antagonist, he acts in a way that makes it questionable if he's actually a villain, mostly due to he doesn't fully understand what he's doing, and he believes he wouldn't have any control over his own actions even if he did. The storywriters clearly have ''something'' in mind with this, as Creator/BenDiskin [[http://www.khinsider.com/news/Exclusive-KHInsider-Interviews-Ben-Diskin-3022 has mentioned that]] he was deliberately instructed to ''not'' make the character sound stereotypically evil.

* HeelFaceTurn: Appears to pull one in KH II, assisting Sora and co. the whole game. Contrast with the merciless and cruel DiZ, he's merciful and kind. [[spoiler: Subverted, as it's Riku taking on his appearance.]]

* PetTheDog: Loads in KH II. He spares Naminé and Axel, assists Sora on several occasions, disobeys the harsher orders of DiZ, and appears remorseful of his previous actions. [[spoiler: Subverted as it isn't him at all, but rather Riku.]]

* BadassLongcoat: Variably wears a white, red and black trenchcoat, or a BlackRobe. Both look very cool on him.