History Characters / Bayonetta

* InTheHood: Initially, he keeps his hood up. He drops it in the first fight with the Masked Lumen.
* JerkassFacade: He's snarky and belittling as possible to Bayonetta when they first meet, not that she minds, giving it right back to him. However once he reveals [[AmnesiacHero he's lost his memories]] and Bayonetta relates her own history to him, we see a clear break in his facade. By the end of the game he proves himself quite noble and selfless, although still a bit snarky.

* AnimalMotifs: Butterflies. Her contract is with a demon called Madama Butterfly, she can sprout butterfly wings during a double jump, and her Pulley's Butterfly accessory allows her to summon butterflies to block attacks.

%%* {{Expy}}: Many fans have noted general similarities between her and [[Franchise/DevilMayCry Dante]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Killing Father Balder in the first game erased the Right Eye of Light and caused an imbalance in the Trinity of Realities, which causes her demonic summoning of Gomorrah to go wrong and results in Jeanne TakingTheBullet and being sent to Inferno. In other words, she is directly responsible for the events of the second game.]]

* OhCrap: Actually experiences a moment like this in the second game: she starts off her clash with the mysterious man in white as her normal snarky self. Then she gets a faceful of her ''own bullets'', courtesy of Light Speed...

* TheComicallySerious: He does try to tell a joke now and then, but it's mostly negated by his intimidating presence. What really qualifies him for this Trope are the odd things that happen to him sometimes, such as stuff falling onto his head, or the time he dressed up as Santa, complete with a beard.

* ShoutOut: Her quartet of guns are called [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers "All 4 One"]] altogether -- or "Porthos", "Atho", "Aramis" and "D'Artagnan" individually. In the second game, their feather tassels are replaced by [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140627085738/bayonetta/images/e/ea/All_4_One_concept_art_%28Bayo2%29.jpg cat plushies wearing musketeer hats]].

-> ''"You have any idea how much this is going to cost to fix? How the fuck do I always get wrapped up in this shit?"''

* FairytaleMotifs: She's compared herself to Alice of ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' in both games, whether through references or (in ''Bayonetta 2'') outright calling herself "lost in Wonderland," referencing how she frequently gets caught up in bizarre plots.

* MeaningfulName: You get "Bayonetta" by adding "[[MsFanservice T and A]]" to "bayonet," which is a melee weapon attached to a gun, which mirrors Bayonetta's fighting style nicely.

** On a (relatively) more mundane front; this the easiest explanation for how she uses the guns on her feet - held in place with magically-reinforced strands of hair while other strands work the triggers.

* ShoutOut: Her quartet of guns are called [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers "All 4 One"]] altogether – or "Porthos," "Athos," "Aramis" and "D'Artagnan" individually. In the second game, their feather tassels are replaced by [[http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140627085738/bayonetta/images/e/ea/All_4_One_concept_art_%28Bayo2%29.jpg cat plushies wearing musketeer hats]].

** He's being chased by a guard, presumably for [[IntrepidReporter being somewhere he's not supposed to be.]]
** He stops in the middle of the chase to hit on a girl [[HandsomeLech who seems rather intrigued by him]], but [[CasanovaWannabe falls on his ass while trying to be smooth.]]

* HandsomeLech: He rattles off the names of four Capcom ladies when he's trying to brag to Bayonetta. Dovetails into ButtMonkey when you realize one is "[[VideoGame/{{Okami}} Ammy]]," and gets worse when you see who these "ladies" ''[[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/4/44/Luka_and_His_Girls_-_Bayo1_Art.png actually are.]]''

* CatchPhrase: "Beautiful," said when Bayonetta is doing something particularly awesome.

* LightningBruiser: [[spoiler:In his boss forms, while his playable form is a MightyGlacier. Rodin has ridiculous amounts of health, insane damage output, unbelievable attack speed - all the criteria you'd tend to associate with the BonusBoss gets cranked UpToEleven here.]]

** Oddly, all of the character art for Rodin in the unlockable extras never uses that name, giving his name as "Mephisto," the name of a demon from German folklore, who is most prominently mentioned in the Faust legend and has occasionally been used as another name for the Devil himself. Appropriately, Rodin's role is broadly similar to the traditional devil: a fallen angel who is thwarted and punished for trying to conquer Heaven (and is feared by it) who rules his own "sub-basement" location after his punishment, and jokes about the "deals" he provides Bayonetta.

* ShockwaveStomp: One of his attacks when playable and [[spoiler: as a boss.]]

A supporting character in ''Bayonetta''. Cereza is a young girl that Bayonetta finds wandering in the ruins of the Umbran Proving Grounds, lost, terrified, and hunted by angels. She's rescued by Bayonetta, whom she immediately grows attached to and mistakes for her "mummy," much to the witch's chagrin. As the story progresses, however, Cereza becomes more brave and confident through imitating Bayonetta, and she drives a significant mystery relating to her being the "key to Bayonetta's future."

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Quickly and acrobatically eliminates an entire horde of Acceptance angels... and then makes a 'climax' joke in Bayonetta's direction. It sums up Loki nicely - he's quite capable, but also in ''way'' over his head.

* TimeMaster: His powers are the opposite of Loptr's, in that while he has power over both time and space, his strengths lie in controlling time. Specifically, he controls the "Remembrance of Time," meaning that he can control a given area in space by rewinding it to a state it previously held in the past.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Shuraba's Moonlight Massacre - Half-Moon Slash and Full-Moon Slash attacks. Bayonetta draws a magic circle in the air in front of her and fires either a SwordBeam or a full on laser beam depending on if the circle is half or fully drawn. It can deal decent to heavy damage to strong enemies, but given that they require Bayonetta to stand ''completely motionless'' during the charging period, odds are you won't be using this attack often.

** Lt. Col. Kilgore's name and backstory is a shout-out to the ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' character of the same name, and the LP used to unlock it, "Ride of the Valkyries," is a reference to one of the film's most famous scenes.

* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: After receiving an LP of "Bob-Omb Battlefield," Rodin uses a hellgate to travel to the ''Super Mario 64'' level of the same name and go after its Chain Chomp. The Chomp, as it turns out, is too much for him to handle.

* TokenEvilTeammate: Iustitia is described as "the virtue closest to Hell," due to the ambivalence of Justice. [[AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance His profile points out that he looks]] slightly less angelic and more EldritchAbomination-like than the other virtues due to this. Ironically, it is also the only Auditio to actually display any traits of its virtue.

* FantasticRacism: Clearly regards humanity as inferior - including the ''Lumen Sages'' -, though it bears a special disdain for Umbra Witches.

* MeaningfulEcho: After spending the first game calling Bayonetta, "My dear, sweet child," and telling her "Fear not, for I am always watching over you," in the most creepy way possible, [[spoiler:at the beginning of the second game, when he dies, he finally says those words the way a father should, foreshadowing his [[GoodAllAlong fundamental goodness]].]]

* OhCrap: He's too theatrical to say "oh crap," but he has this reaction after he realizes that [[spoiler:Jeanne's action of pulling Bayonetta from the Jubileus statue not only foiled his century-long plans, but would eventually unleash an insane deity on the universe]].

* PowerOfTheVoid: [[spoiler: The true power of the God of Chaos is "nothingness," or the ability to erase anything from existence. Loki uses it to outright destroy the Eyes, rendering Loptr-as-Aesir almost powerless.]]

-> ''"You have any idea how much this is going to cost to fix? How the fuck do I always get wrapped up in this shit!?"''

Enzo might be a feared, tough mobster in his day job, but in Bayonetta's world, he's a fish out of water. He (and his car) want nothing to do with the scenery-chewing angel fights that Bayonetta attracts, and heroes and villains alike seem to make a point of making his screentime miserable and humiliating. Still, Enzo seems to care about both of his "families," as much of his motivation for staying out of Bayonetta's business is so that he can come home to his beloved wife and children in one piece.

A mysterious Lumen Sage that appears as an antagonist in the second game. Not much is known about him other than his grudge against Loki, and, by extension, Bayonetta, whom he clashes with several times as she tries to defend the boy. He is a young version of Balder, brought forth by [[{{God}} Aesir]].

Rosa was an Umbra Witch and Bayonetta's mother. She conceived Bayonetta when she fell in love with a Lumen Sage called Balder. When Bayonetta was born, Rosa and Balder were punished greatly by their respective clans. This was because a child born of darkness and light would ultimately undo the age-old pact between the overseers. Rosa was imprisoned for the rest of her life.

* MoralityPet: Not to the extent of Cereza, but Bayonetta does not like to see him seriously hurt. That, and she finds his antics amusing.

* ParentalSubsitute: For Cereza. [[spoiler:Which is why Bayonetta likes him.]]

* ParentelSubsitute: For Cereza. [[spoiler:Which is why Bayonetta likes him.]]

* HiddenDepths: He might be foul-mouthed and temperamental, but Bayonetta notes in ''2'' that he's quite the family man. In ''1'', he may be VirtiolicBestBuds with Bayo, but he really does care about her.

* HiddenDepths: He might be foul-mouthed and temperamental, but Bayonetta notes in ''2'' that he's quite the family man.

* LastDisrespects: Enzo's first act in game is pissing on someone's grave, establishing him as something of a {{Jerkass}}.

* JeanneDArchetype: When the Witch Hunts began, she was the most adamant to defend her clan – and still is, 500 years later. On the more obvious side of things, Jeanne shares both her first name ''and'' birthdate with the actual [[JoanOfArc Jeanne D'Arc]] – and her jumpsuit in the first game is "D'Arc" brand; an Italian couturier.

[[Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland Alice]].

* LightningBruiser: Rakshasa in ''Bayonetta 2'' certainly qualifies. It has the same damage per hit as Shuraba, except it's a hell of a lot faster and better at staggering, and its charge attacks take almost no time to charge up and have better range. [[UpToEleven And then there's its Umbran Climax, which adds the most damaging Wicked Weave in the game to the quickest attacks in the game...]]

* VertebrateWithExtraLimbs: It has eight legs like [[NorseMythology Sleipnir]].

* CoolPlane: After taking some damage, he summons Valkyrie Military Transport planes to carpet bomb the arena.

* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:Of the second game, or more accurately Loptr after completely dominating his reborn form.]]
* GiantHandsOfDoom: Can create projections of his arms to attack.
* GodIsGood: [[spoiler: Before splitting in to his good and evil halves, he took actions that gave humanity its free will.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: As the creator of the Eyes of the World, he is this to the first game. [[spoiler: Except subverted. He isn't actually a bad guy, but his evil half steals his name and most of his powers. The Eyes weren't intended to be artifacts of doom, but tools of knowledge.]]

* LightIsNotGood: Played with. [[spoiler: Aseir himself is not evil, but his evil half, Loptr, regaining the Eyes of the World allows him to reform into Aseir with Loptr in control.]]
* LiteralSplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Upon his creation of the Eyes of the World, he split into a good half and an evil half: [[KidSidekick Loki]] and [[InTheHood Loptr]]. Regaining the Eyes leads to him re-forming into Aesir at the expense of both sides.]]
* MacrossMissileMassacre: summons a swarm of Gjallarhorn surface-to-air missiles to attack Bayonetta.

* TheresNoKillLikeOverkill: When you try to finish off your opponent by ''throwing a giant particle cannon at them'', that's beyond overkill.

* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Named after a French sculptor, Auguste Rodin. One of his popular works is called "The Gates of Hell."

* {{God}}: The most powerful angel of all and is referred to as The Creator by just about all the other bosses. Subverted in the second game, where she's just the head of the light. [[TopGod Aesir]] is the head of everything. Her [[BossSubtitles Boss Subtitle]] is Dea, which is Latin for Goddess.