I say add him in as a second possibility. Jesus being the Black King is the most popular theory, and removing it would just cause others to tear down your alternative and put Jesus back. In addition, there's just as much evidence it's Jesus anyways: Baldwin IV wasn't executed via crucifixion, nor reputed to bear signs of Stigmata. The Black King does bear those markings, and the most popular figure in human history to have died in such a manner, is of course Jesus. One must remember that Kouta Hirano is not Christian, nor is Japan as a nation, so the whole social stigmata of making him a bad guy is not an impossibility.
Wait until the official reveal is made, before tearing down the most popular proposal. I've read a few ideas on 2chan that Amakusa Shiro Tokisada could be a candidate as well. There's a legend of him disfiguring his own hands and feet to have the Stigmata out of faith. Plus him being Japanese, would give him greater reason to know about the Japanese Drifters being such a threat (Shiro would have known about Toyohisa, Nobunaga, and Yoichi if he read a history book).
Edited by Nargrakhan
It's definitely not Balduin IV, he was shown as a "Drifters & Ends candidate" in the end of volume 5 where Hirano lists historical people he thinks would be cool to add to the manga but just can't find a way to: http://prntscr.com/d6boyt
(Balduin is No.3)
Hirano's commentary says that Balduin IV is strong as fuck, competent as fuck, he totally should have been the main character of Kingdom of Heaven, also his whole family is made up of dicks. Too bad that he (Hirano) can't think of material for him to do.
Edited by Barano
There are a number of traits about the Black King that suggest he isn't actually Jesus Christ, but rather a different historical badass by the name of Baldwin IV "The Leper King" of Jerusalem, which- given that Ends possess powers similar to the way in which the died, makes his regeneration abilities more believable in that regard. That being said, would it be alright to either do away with the spoilers listed after the Dark Messiah trope on this page, or at least put the suggestion that he could be Baldwin IV up there as another possibility?
Hide / Show Replies