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[[WMG:[[center: [- ''LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Markiplier}} Main Character Index]]'''\\
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[[WMG:[[center: [- ''LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}'' ''WebVideo/{{Markiplier}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Markiplier}} Main Character Index]]'''\\
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* AmbiguouslyBi: Although not confirmed if he actually has feelings for the viewer or not, It’s strongly believed to be the case. (The viewer is gender-neutral.)
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* AmbiguouslyBi: Although not confirmed if he actually has feelings for the viewer or not, It’s it's strongly believed to be the case. (The viewer is gender-neutral.)
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[[/folder]]
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Fixed a redirect (the last one on the wiki!), hopefully I didn't wade into the bi vs pan debate by doing this.
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* AmbiguouslyPan: He’s been in relationships with women before, but a lot of his interactions with Abe in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache" have some ShipTease, including Wilford, confused by a metaphor, asking Abe if they dated at some point. He’s also often framed with colors of the pansexual flag behind him.
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* AmbiguouslyPan: [[AmbiguouslyBi Ambiguously Pan]]: He’s been in relationships with women before, but a lot of his interactions with Abe in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache" have some ShipTease, including Wilford, confused by a metaphor, asking Abe if they dated at some point. He’s also often framed with colors of the pansexual flag behind him.
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* SplitPersonalityMerge: [[spoiler: Darkiplier consists of the worst parts of Damien and Celine (alongside Markiplier Manor's evil presence), and it certainly shows. Namely, his cold ManipulativeBastard tendencies and calm demeanor come from Damien, while his spiteful rage and hatred for Mark are characteristic of Celine.]]
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* VillainRespect: WordOfGod states the reason Darkiplier looks exactly like Markiplier is that he respects what Youtuber!Markiplier has accomplished and is seeking to emulate him so that he can [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate people]].[[invoked]]
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* VillainRespect: WordOfGod states the reason Darkiplier looks exactly like Markiplier is that he respects what Youtuber!Markiplier has accomplished and is seeking to emulate him so that he can [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate people]].[[invoked]][[invoked]] ''Series/WhoKilledMarkiplier'' later reveals that his soul is partially made up from the remains of Damien, [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals a man who happens to resemble Mark very much]], further justifying his appearance looking like his ArchEnemy.
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* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler: And a woman. "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals that Darkiplier is the result of two mortal people- a man named Damien and a woman named Celine -merging with a dark entity haunting Markiplier Manor, turning them into something far more monstrous.]]
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* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler: And [[spoiler:And a woman. "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals that Darkiplier is the result of two mortal people- a man named Damien and a woman named Celine -merging with a dark entity haunting Markiplier Manor, turning them into something far more monstrous.]]
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** In ''WebVideo/InSpaceWithMarkiplier'' Part 2, [[spoiler: he is able to control the portals to other realities and even dispels one of two choices in a portal he himself summons.]]
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The DA uses they/them
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* CharacterTic: Cracking his neck by tilting it sideways to the left. [[spoiler:It gains greater meaning with the reveal that his host body died as a result of falling over a railing and breaking his neck.]]
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* CharacterTic: Cracking his neck by tilting it sideways to the left. [[spoiler:It gains greater meaning with the reveal that his host body died as a result of falling over a railing and breaking his their neck.]]
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* CharacterTic: Cracking his neck by tilting it sideways to the left.
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* CharacterTic: Cracking his neck by tilting it sideways to the left. [[spoiler:It gains greater meaning with the reveal that his host body died as a result of falling over a railing and breaking his neck.]]
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* LethalJokeCharacter: An absolute nut though he may be, it's implied that his RealityWarper abilities are actually stronger than Darkiplier's, as he can cause reality to just disappear outright without warning whenever he appears. What seems to keep him from fully manifesting these abilities towards any actual purpose is his fractured psyche convincing him that life in general has no meaning and therefore no goal to even achieve.
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* LethalJokeCharacter: An absolute nut though he may be, it's implied that his RealityWarper abilities are actually stronger than Darkiplier's, as he can cause the rules of reality to just disappear outright without warning whenever he appears.having to manifest a separate dimension like Darkiplier does. What seems to keep him from fully manifesting these abilities towards any actual purpose is his fractured psyche convincing him that life in general has no meaning and therefore no goal to even achieve.
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* LethalJokeCharacter: An absolute nut though he may be, it's implied that his RealityWarper abilities are actually stronger than Darkiplier's, as he can cause reality to just disappear outright without warning whenever he appears. What seems to keep him from fully manifesting these abilities towards any actual purpose is his fractured psyche convincing him that life in general has no meaning and therefore no goal to even achieve.
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* DeathIsCheap: Believes this as a result of witnessing the District Attorney come back to life. It's why he has generally no problems randomly killing people, because he doesn't think it'll be permanent.
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-->'''Appears in:''' Don't blink, Don't move, relax, A Date With Markiplier, Don't Play This Game, Markiplier TV, DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE (non-canon), [[spoiler: Who Killed Markiplier?]], A Heist With Markiplier
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-->'''Appears in:''' Don't blink, Don't move, relax, A Date With Markiplier, Don't Play This Game, Markiplier TV, DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE (non-canon), [[spoiler: Who Killed Markiplier?]], A Heist With Markiplier
Markiplier, [[spoiler: In Space With Markiplier]]
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-->'''Appears in:''' The Fall of Slenderman, The Warfstache Affair, Warfstache Plays: Slender, The Ned Affair, Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Interview, Warfstache Interviews Markiplier, A Date With Markiplier, Markiplier TV, Who Killed Markiplier?, Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache, A Heist With Markiplier
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-->'''Appears in:''' The Fall of Slenderman, The Warfstache Affair, Warfstache Plays: Slender, The Ned Affair, Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Interview, Warfstache Interviews Markiplier, A Date With Markiplier, Markiplier TV, Who Killed Markiplier?, Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache, A Heist With Markiplier, In Space With Markiplier
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dewicking You Gotte Have Blue Hair per trs
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* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: PlayedWith. As the Colonel, his mustache started off black, but after going insane it slowly and naturally turned pink. In 'Wilford 'MOTHERLOVIN'' Warfstache', he wore a pink afro wig, and in 'Warfstache Interviews Markiplier', the hair on his head is dyed bright pink.
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* AmbiguouslyGay: A lot of his interactions with Abe in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache" have some ShipTease, including Wilford, confused by a metaphor, asking Abe if they dated at some point.
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* AmbiguouslyPan: He’s been in relationships with women before, but a lot of his interactions with Abe in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache" have some ShipTease, including Wilford, confused by a metaphor, asking Abe if they dated at some point. He’s also often framed with colors of the pansexual flag behind him.
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'''Major Characters''' | ''[[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Who Killed Markiplier?]]'' [[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Characters]] | ''Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier'' [[Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier Characters]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierMinorAlterEgos Minor Alter Egos]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierOther Other]]]]-]]]
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'''Major Characters''' | ''[[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Who Killed Markiplier?]]'' [[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Characters]] | ''Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier'' [[Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier Characters]] | ''[[Characters/InSpaceWithMarkiplier In Space with Markiplier]]'' [[Characters/InSpaceWithMarkiplier Characters]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierMinorAlterEgos Minor Alter Egos]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierOther Other]]]]-]]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_4.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as Colonel William.]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_4.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as Colonel William.William J. Barnum.]]
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[[WMG:[[center: [- ''LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Markiplier}} Main Character Index]]'''\\
'''Major Characters''' | ''[[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Who Killed Markiplier?]]'' [[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Characters]] | ''Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier'' [[Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier Characters]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierMinorAlterEgos Minor Alter Egos]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierOther Other]]]]-]]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Darkiplier]]
-->'''Appears in:''' Don't blink, Don't move, relax, A Date With Markiplier, Don't Play This Game, Markiplier TV, DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE (non-canon), [[spoiler: Who Killed Markiplier?]], A Heist With Markiplier
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darkiplier.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I've been waiting a [[PunctuatedForEmphasis long. Time.]] To get some... [[AbhorrentAdmirer personal time... between us.]]"]]
An evil counterpart of Markiplier. Often pops up in fan games as antagonist, whether he's the BigBad or a distraction. There have been many different interpretations of Darkiplier, by the fandom, and Mark himself.
It was revealed in "Who Killed Markiplier?" that [[spoiler: Darkiplier was created by the souls of two people (a seer named Celine and a mayor named Damien who resembled Mark) being merged by an evil force that resided in Markiplier Manor.]]
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* AbhorrentAdmirer: What he's ''supposed'' to be in "A Date With Markiplier”, with him being creepily controlling towards the audience. [[SubvertedTrope However]], due to DracoInLeatherPants...
* AmbiguousGender: While he's referred to by male pronouns and has an unmistakably male body, his nature as [[spoiler:a fusion of a male soul and a female soul puts his actual gender in a somewhat gray area.]]
* AmbiguouslyBi: Although not confirmed if he actually has feelings for the viewer or not, It’s strongly believed to be the case. (The viewer is gender-neutral.)
* TheBadGuyWins: In the "Chocolate" ending of "A Date With Markiplier", which is [[spoiler: achieved by the audience choosing to kill the real Mark, and thus Dark takes his place at the table]].
* BadassInANiceSuit: This HumanoidAbomination is consistently portrayed as wearing formal attire as of "A Date With Markiplier", and serves as a legitimate threat.
* BaddieFlattery: He's apparently a fan of Mark himself.
* BigBad: Possibly of Mark's channel as a whole. His apparent goal is to conduct a HostileShowTakeover along with a BigBadEnsemble of [[KillerRobot Googleplier]] and [[LaughablyEvil Wilford Warfstache]] in “Markiplier TV”, having gathered the other egos together in a brainstorming session.
* CharacterTic: Cracking his neck by tilting it sideways to the left.
* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Damien is a good-hearted man and while Celine is a bit more careless of others, she isn't a bad person. However, due to the corruption from the house entity,]] they came back to the world of the living as an evil amalgamation made up from the worst parts of themselves.
* CastsNoShadow: He doesn't have a shadow. It's not easy to notice if you don't know to look for it, but this is one of the ways to tell which Mark is real in Dark's "A Date With Markiplier" appearance. Maybe because [[GeniusBonus he's supposed to be the shadow of Mark himself]].
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: [[http://markiplier.tumblr.com/post/67180534777/re-darkiplier If Mark's Tumblr post is to be believed]]. [[FridgeHorror Just let that sink in]].
* ColdBloodedTorture: Subjects Mark to this in "relax" where he shoves marshmallows, cinnamon and jalapenos into Mark's mouth.
* ColdHam[=/=]LargeHam: He shifts between the two. Depending on which is [[DissonantSerenity more]] [[VillainousBreakdown disturbing]] in the given situation.
* ControlFreak: He shows hints of this in "A Date With Markiplier", where he gives the audience the illusion of choice: when picking the next part of the story, he proceeds to give them only one real path (all the other ones are links to videos he’s been featured in) despite telling them earlier that he could give them anything they wanted. He also traps the audience in a loop in the “EXIT” ending when they try to escape the chef’s dungeon with Mark.
* CostumeEvolution: Throughout the course of time between his first and latest appearance, Darkiplier has gone through three looks; He started off looking more or less like Markiplier, just with a black and white filter placed on top of him and [[RadioVoice a staticy voice]], then he went on to have his own [[BadassInANiceSuit suit and tie]] complete with ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow, and in his latest appearance he took on a [[VillainInAWhiteSuit brighter suit]] and removed the eyeshadow entirely.
* DarkIsEvil: [[StealthPun Pun aside]], darkness tends to accompany Darkiplier whenever he shows up. This is especially evident in "A Date With Markiplier".
* DealWithTheDevil: In “A Date With Markiplier”, he wants the audience to “let him in” so they can get whatever they want from him. It’s not particularly clear what “letting him in” entails- it could be in [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes a]] [[UnholyMatrimony romantic]] [[{{Yandere}} sense]] or a [[DemonicPossession demonic possession sense]] or both- but either way he wants something from us in order for us to have [[YourHeartsDesire whatever we want]].
** If he was telling the truth when he said that Mark promised to let him in again - which, considering his [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative nature]], is hard to tell whether he was being truthful or not, then it seems as though Mark has also made some sort of deal with Dark.
** In "Who Killed Markiplier?", [[spoiler:when Damien's soul asks permission from the District Attorney,]] his "let me in" turns out to be [[spoiler:DemonicPossession due to the [[SapientHouse influence of evil force of Markiplier Manor.]]]]
* DepravedBisexual: Implied in "A Date With Markiplier", considering the audience whom he romances could be [[AmbiguousGender of any gender]].
* DeathGlare: Capable of imposing a very menacing one, most notably [[spoiler: [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/32ff1fb40bc4e7aeea9516ec36d30595/tumblr_oxs06w5fmN1vs985po3_500.gif to the District Attorney at the end of ''Who Killed Markiplier'']]]]
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Claims this is one of his motives in "A Date With Markiplier".
* EldritchLocation: He can apparently drag people into a darker realm parallel to this one.
* EvilCounterpart:
** To Mark. WordOfGod states that Darkiplier is the complete opposite of himself. Mark has a genuine desire to get to know his fans more, Darkiplier's that but [[FauxAffablyEvil twisted into something wrong]].[[invoked]]
** Downplayed example to Wilford Warfstache. Both of them are evil, but Wilford is more [[LaughablyEvil laughable]] whereas for Darkiplier, [[KnightOfCerebus all comedic moments cease when he's on screen]].
* EvilPlan: Apparently, he and Wilford Warfstache plan on doing a HostileShowTakeover, if "Markiplier TV" is anything to go off of.
* EvilSoundsDeep: His voice is noticeably deeper than Mark's.
* EvilVersusEvil: He and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent AntiSepticEye]] have obvious beef with each other. PlayedForLaughs in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slWT2N3NIKM “DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE”]] when the dark egos of other [=YouTubers=] butt into their fight.
* {{Expy}}: WordOfGod states that the character of Darkiplier is inspired by [[{{VideoGame/HalfLife}} G-Man]]. They share certain traits such as being an creepy ManipulativeBastard RealityWarper who dresses in a nice suit.[[invoked]]
* FaceMonsterTurn: It was revealed that Darkiplier is the amalgamation of [[spoiler:a mayor named Damien and Markiplier's ex-wife, Celine. While neither of them were necessarily morally upstanding people, they were by no means bad until The Dark Entity merged with Damien and Celine.]]
* FallenHero: [[spoiler:Damien was a kind and well-meaning mayor until the dark forces of Markiplier Manor merged him and Celine's souls together, corrupting the two and worsening Damien's newfound hatred for Markiplier due to the latter stealing his body and therefore betraying him and Celine]] - turning [[spoiler:their merged soul]] into a bitter, vengeful and malevolent force.
* FauxAffablyEvil: [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Right in his first appearance]], he tells the viewers "Welcome to Raspy Hill". You know, the place with murderous mannequins.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: WordOfGod states Darkiplier isn't a character that he plays...[[invoked]]
* GroundhogDayLoop:
** He puts Mark and the audience through this in "A Date With Markiplier" if they decide to escape the prison, ensuring that he will never leave.
** In "A Heist With Markiplier" he implies the audience is/has been going through one for a very long time, even referencing the fact that this isn't the first time they've met him and possibly not even the first time they've heard him say these exact words. He then gives the audience a cryptic hint about codes he claims to have hidden in the heist and proceeds to send the audience back to the museum's entrance, seemingly before the whole thing even started.
* HughMann: Dark isn't human, but something that looks like a human. But his disguise isn't well put together, as seen by him randomly glitching in the videos.
* HumanoidAbomination: WordOfGod confirms in a livestream that he isn't human despite looking like one, comes from another dimension entirely, and doesn't obey the laws of physics. Explicitly this in "A Date With Markiplier", though he's had a few eldritch traits prior to the video.[[invoked]]
* HostileShowTakeOver: Sometimes he'll abruptly take over a video and [[KnightOfCerebus have it go south]]. One could suspect [[FridgeHorror they've been running the channel since Raspy Hill]]...
* KarmaHoudini: PlayedForDrama, unlike Wilford Warfstache. He usually gets away with doing horrible things to Mark, such as attempting to drown or poison him. Averted in “A Date With Markiplier” in the [[spoiler:"Vanilla" ending, where the audience manages to shoot him]].
* KnightOfCerebus: Things go ''south'' whenever he's on screen.
* LaughablyEvil: There was a time where Mark didn't take Darkiplier seriously, which led to some silly canon depictions of him like in “relax”, where he’s wearing heavy black eyeshadow and explicitly AxCrazy. As of "A Date With Markiplier", this has been averted, with Dark being shown as deadly serious and (mostly) calm even while interacting with sillier entities like Wilford Warfstache.
* {{Leitmotif}}: White noise plays anytime he's on screen.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ipt76UqkxM This]] plays during the ending scene of “Who Killed Markiplier” [[spoiler:during his creation]].
* LoveMakesYouEvil: In "A Date With Markiplier" towards the audience. [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in that he's ''already'' evil, he just happened to have fallen in love.
* MadeOfGood: Played with, and ultimately subverted. The [[spoiler:house entity from “Who Killed Markiplier?” operates by taking bad thoughts, actions, and/or feelings and manipulating whoever stays in the house into believing that those bad things are actually good. Celine and Damien were good people, but the entity’s influence corrupted and manipulated them. When they were in the other world with the District Attorney, they honestly thought they were doing the right thing by sending the District Attorney back and occupying their body. But once they were in the District Attorney’s body, all the goodness was stripped away and only the worst parts of Celine and Damien remained, which is why the District Attorney was pushed out of their body.]]
---> '''Mark''': Whatever good intentions went into this amalgamation were washed away when only the worst sides of either coin would fit into the slot. [[spoiler:The Damien and Celine you know are gone. And when all the light has gone away, all that’s left is [[BlackComedy Dark]]. You weren’t pushed out to be saved.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Shown in “A Date With Markiplier”. He says that [[YourHeartsDesire he can give the audience whatever we want]], but then makes it very clear that he a) [[ControlFreak wants to control all the decisions we make]], and b) [[{{Yandere}} intend to keep us around forever regardless of whether we want to or not]]. He tell the audience that he'll give us more choices than Mark ever could, [[ButThouMust but then proceeds to only give us one real choice]]. When both Mark and Dark try to convince us to shoot the other, Dark’s comments are much more persuasive than Mark’s (compare [[TheNeedsOfTheMany “they do bad things to good people”]] to [[FelonyMisdemeanor “their eyes are weird”]]). And if you shoot Mark, Dark [[FauxAffablyEvil pretends to be concerned about your emotional welfare before revealing his true nature]].
* MaskOfSanity: WordOfGod states every time [[SuddenlyShouting he suddenly starts screaming and getting angry]] is a sign of his DissonantSerenity shell cracking.[[invoked]]
* MasterOfIllusion: Implied several times that his RealityWarping powers are almost nothing but illusions, what with his being a living OminousVisualGlitch, and how his [[ShatteringTheIllusion "reality warping" skills have managed to dissolve via outside influence, such as how Markiplier tackled Darkiplier, turning the monochromatic-area around him back to normal]].
* MergerOfSouls: [[spoiler:The final chapter of "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals that he's the result of Celine and Damien (who resembles Mark) merging their souls while being corrupted by the Manor when entering the District Attorney’s body. Darkiplier then stole the body of the District Attorney by pushing their soul out of their body. The District Attorney’s body was subsequently transformed altogether into the HumanoidAbomination Darkiplier, whose physical appearance therefore looks like Damien.]]
---> '''Mark''': [[spoiler: The being inhabiting your body at that point is no longer purely Damien nor purely Celine . . . two fractured halves of a picture that was stuffed into a broken frame they were never meant for . . . only the worst sides of either coin would fit into the slot. The Damien and Celine you know are gone. And when all the light has gone away, all that’s left is Dark.]]
* MisplacedRetribution: Focuses all of his rage at Markiplier the youtuber when [[spoiler:[[Characters/WhoKilledMarkiplier Actor!Mark]], who is a completely different person, is the one who betrayed him. Although the situation is ambiguous - is youtuber!Mark related to Actor!Mark somehow? Is he a version of Actor!Mark from another dimension that Dark is targeting because he can't get to Actor!Mark right now? Is the Mark we interact with in in series like "A Date With Markiplier" and "A Heist With Markiplier" normal youtuber!Mark, or Actor!Mark taking on different "roles"?]]
* MotiveRant: Featured in "A Date With Markiplier".
---> Did you miss me? [[FauxAffablyEvil I missed you]]...''very much.'' I've been waiting a ''long'' time to see you again. I've been pushed aside...replaced...''mocked''...and then ''he'' had the gall to not invite me to his little adventure with you. No more. Never again. ''[[HostileShowTakeOver It's my turn now]]''. I've been waiting ''patiently''. '''[[SuddenlyShouting HE PROMISED HE WOULD LET ME IN AGAIN]]!''' I'm ''tired'' of giving people a ''choice.''
* OhCrap: Has a minor one when [[spoiler:Mark pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment in "A Date With Markiplier"]].
---> '''Darkiplier''': [[EvilGloating You're never going to escape me. Not now. Not-]] [[spoiler:-Mark tackles him-]] What the hell?! Where did you come from?!
%%* OneWingedAngel: Implied to have this form by Mark.
* PsychoticSmirk[=/=]KubrickStare: Pulls one in his debut video, where he grins creepily at the camera without saying anything.
* RealAfterAll: The idea of Darkiplier was made popular with the fans, and it was ambiguous for years if he actually existed in canon outside of vague references. 2017's "A Date With Markiplier" finally established that he was all too real.
* RealityWarper: Confirmed by Mark himself. Darkiplier is shown to teleport and drag others into his shadowy dimension (so far).
* Really700YearsOld: [[spoiler:Darkiplier was created sometime in the 1920s, when WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier takes place. That means that Dark is almost 100 years old, despite looking 29]].
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:The Dark Entity inhabiting Markiplier Manor was originally restricted to that location, until it possessed Celine's body and trapped both her and Damien’s souls in Markiplier's body in a dark dimension (nicknamed the "Upside Down" by [[WordOfGod Markiplier]]). Therefore, influenced by the evil of the Upside Down, the worst sides of her and Damien's souls were merged together when they entered the District Attorney's body, creating Darkiplier, who can teleport and drag others into the Upside Down. Darkiplier then stole the District Attorney's body by pushing their soul out and trapping them in the house. It is unclear if Darkiplier is made of Damien and Celine along with the ''original'' Entity or simply an extension of it, but]] he is now free to roam around as he pleases, eager to get revenge on Markiplier.[[invoked]]
* StepfordSmiler: He puts on an air of calmness, but in fact has deep-seated rage [[spoiler:stemming from Damien’s anger from Markiplier’s betrayal and Celine’s pre-existing temper]] within him. In "A Date With Markiplier" and "A Heist With Markiplier", this is shown through various glitches/cuts between him speaking normally and screaming.
* VillainousBreakdown: During his MotiveRant in "A Date With Markiplier”, it's evident that he's starting to lose it.
---> I've been waiting ''patiently''. '''HE PROMISED HE WOULD LET ME IN AGAIN!'''
---> '''''[[YourHeartsDesire I. CAN GIVE YOU. ANYTHING!]]'''''
---> '''THERE IS NOTHING YOU OR HE CAN DO TO STOP ME!'''
---> -Enraged screaming-
** PlayedForLaughs in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slWT2N3NIKM DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE]], when he gets fed up with everyone butting into his and [=AntiSepticEye=]'s argument.
--> '''Darkiplier''': [[BigShutUp Shut up! Just shut up!]] No one cares!
* VillainousFriendship: He possibly has one with [[LaughablyEvil Wilford Warfstache]] and [[KillerRobot Google]]. Especially the former, since [[spoiler:the Colonel was friends with Damien and Celine, before their transformation into Darkiplier]].
* VillainRespect: WordOfGod states the reason Darkiplier looks exactly like Markiplier is that he respects what Youtuber!Markiplier has accomplished and is seeking to emulate him so that he can [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate people]].[[invoked]]
* VillainTeleportation:
** Utilized this twice in "A Date With Markiplier". Once to teleport inside Mark’s house and the other to transport the audience from his dark realm to the outside of the theater.
** In Ending 31 in "A Heist With Markiplier" he uses it quite excessively, changing position multiple times while talking to the audience and to throw them out of his dark dimension and back to the beginning.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Starting from "A Date With Markiplier", his voice has a distinct reverb distortion to it.
* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler: And a woman. "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals that Darkiplier is the result of two mortal people- a man named Damien and a woman named Celine -merging with a dark entity haunting Markiplier Manor, turning them into something far more monstrous.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness: Apparently, bullets can kill him. So much for being a [[RealityWarper reality warping]] HumanoidAbomination. [[spoiler: Though considering that we can still see distortion when we choose Mark over him, it's very much possible that Darkiplier [[NotQuiteDead is still alive]]. This still counts as a WeaksauceWeakness however, due to the fact that an eldritch abomination was seemingly beaten into submission by a gun]].
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He as [[spoiler:Damien went through a TraumaCongaLine after the death of his [[EvilFormerFriend best friend]], upon realizing his friends death was a ThanatosGambit designed to put him and Celine through a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
* {{Yandere}}: A possible romantic example towards [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the audience]] in "A Date With Markiplier".
* YourHeartsDesire: He invokes this in "A Date With Markiplier" [[spoiler:to the audience, in an attempt to convince them that he's a better date than Mark]].
--> ''“I CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING"''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Wilford Warfstache]]
-->'''Appears in:''' The Fall of Slenderman, The Warfstache Affair, Warfstache Plays: Slender, The Ned Affair, Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Interview, Warfstache Interviews Markiplier, A Date With Markiplier, Markiplier TV, Who Killed Markiplier?, Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache, A Heist With Markiplier
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilfordwarfstache2015.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:'''''WARFSTACHE DON'T TAKE NO SHIT FROM NOBODY''''']]
[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_4.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as Colonel William.]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5byjdmnduzmmqtyzgzni00ntliltgxywetyjc3zdjiymflyjvjxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvyotu2njgymdg_v1.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see him in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVIN'' Warfstache".]]
He is currently a senior reporter for AFC News. He quickly became a rising star for his hard-hitting journalism after he interviewed [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]], and went on to interview [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Phone Guy]], and Markiplier himself. While he was a senior reporter, he went on to host his own show ''Warfstache Tonight!'' which would later become a talk show. He also pitched an idea for "Markiplier TV" (in which he hosted the game show ''Disc of Riches'' in place of Bim Trimmer), but was turned down.
“Who Killed' Markiplier” reveals his backstory: he is a former Colonel whose real name was William J. Barnum, until he tragically suffered a complete mental breakdown that led to him eventually changing his identity. After this event, he traveled across the world using many pseudonyms while hunted by Abe the Detective, and encountered him during what seems to be the 70's while under the name "Wilford Motherloving Warfstache". It is unclear how much later Wilford became a journalist.
----
* AccidentalMurder: When he was the Colonel, he shot the District Attorney while trying to grab his gun from them. He also supposedly shot Mark during a game of RussianRoulette, though that was purposely [[ThanatosGambit set up to kill]].
* AlliterativeName: '''W'''ilford''W''arfstache. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], since that’s not his real name.
* AmbiguouslyGay: A lot of his interactions with Abe in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache" have some ShipTease, including Wilford, confused by a metaphor, asking Abe if they dated at some point.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: From his pink mustache to his "humble abode" which consists of a bizarre, psychedelic-looking pink-and-white vortex of clocks - Warfstache is ''definitely'' no normal person.
** Even back when he was Col. Barnum, he seemed to have otherworldly abilities, though they were apparently limited to just teleportation and quick-change acts. IRL Mark also explained that in "Who Killed Markiplier?", Markiplier's plan to hijack the Colonel's body [[NighInvulnerability was not going to work]], so the Manor manipulated him to hijack Damien and Celine's bodies instead.
* BerserkButton: Wilford loses his temper twice in ''Five Nights At Freddy's: The Interview'' whenever "Phone Guy" dicks around and repeats the word "hello?".
** The first time:
--->'''Phone Guy''': (after a long pause) Hellooo??\\
'''Warfstache''': [[CurseCutShort MOTHERFU--!]]\\
(cue a "please stand by" screen)
** The second time:
--->(after the studio lights are mysteriously cut out)\\
'''Warfstache''': Oh, what the bloody hell now?!\\
(eerie creaking sounds are heard in the distance. Wilford sits there uneasily in silence)\\
'''Phone Guy''': Hello?\\
'''Warfstache''': ''SHUT THE FUCK UP, MOTHERFUCKER!!''
* BackstoryHorror: His murder sprees and serial adultery were PlayedForLaughs for a long time, until the events of "Who Killed Markiplier, where it's revealed that his zaniness is due to [[TraumaCongaLine rather traumatic events in a haunted house that had to do with the loss of his friends and the]] AccidentalMurder [[TraumaCongaLine of the District Attorney (by his hands)]], though it isn't the fact that he killed the District Attorney that sends him off the deep end. [[GoMadFromTheRevelation It's the fact that they]] ''[[BackFromTheDead get back up]]''. [[FridgeHorror His serial adultery might stem from the fact that he, back when he was William, ran off with Mark's wife]].
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's clearly not right in the head and thinks murder is just a big joke.
* ColorMotif: He's heavily associated with the color [[RealMenWearPink pink]]
* CompositeCharacter: WordOfGod states that he takes inspiration from [[{{Film/Jumanji}} Hunter Van Pelt]] and [[{{Film/Clue}} Colonel Mustard]] when he was the Colonel.[[invoked]]
* DastardlyWhiplash: An odd variant of this, considering he wears pink and lively clothes and he has a pink mustache.
* DecoyProtagonist: In ''Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstace''. Sure, he's the title character, but the video focuses on Abe and his realization of the world that's the main focus.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: He ''scares'' [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] away when he tries to kill him, screaming at him "WARFSTACHE DON'T TAKE NO SHIT FROM NOBODY". Justified in that Wilford is an equally powerful (if not even ''more'' powerful) RealityWarper.
* FallenHero: As revealed in “Who Killed Markiplier?”, he used to be an eccentric but somewhat sane person until all of his friends were killed and their bodies went missing, before finally witnessing the dead body of one of his friends, the District Attorney whom he accidentally murdered, coming back to life. This resulted in the trauma shattering his mind and leading him to no longer taking death seriously.
** While he was briefly a junior reporter, he took his job seriously by trying to find out the truth about Slenderman. However, he later got distracted from his job by killing people.
* FamilyOfChoice: As a child, he was raised with Markiplier in the Manor and they were as close as brothers. Subverted when they had a falling out over William having an affair with Markiplier’s wife Celine, causing both of them to develop bitter feelings towards each other.
* FormerFriendsPhoto: Shares one with Damien and Markiplier to further show their past relationship as childhood friends. A second photo showing the addition of Celine together with Markiplier notes her role in the timeline and progression of relationships
* FreakOut: He suffers through this in "Who Killed Markiplier", triggering his insanity that led him to take on the identity of Wilford Warfstache.
-->'''William''': I-I thought you were dead... I-I-I mean, of course you're not dead! You're not -- How could you be dead? I mean, [[FreudianSlip I-I wouldn't have killed you]]... I ''didn't'' kill you! I mean, of cour -- I-I...Of course! I didn't kill anybody! ([[LaughingMad through laughing]]) I didn't- [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint It was all a]] ''[[DramaticallyMissingThePoint joke]]''! Of course, it was all a joke! Were you in on this?!
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: He goes insane after witnessing the resurrective powers of Markiplier Manor firsthand, interpreting it as [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint all of his friends playing a cruel joke on him, causing him to believe that all deaths are jokes as well]].
* IdentityAmnesia: As "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals, Wilford used to be William Barnum before being [[PreInsanityReveal driven insane]] by [[GoMadFromTheRevelation witnessing the DA resurrected in front of him,]] even though he'd kept careful watch over them for ten hours. His previous TraumaCongaLine, losing his [[WeUsedToBeFriends former friend Mark]], his best friend Damien, his past lover Celine, and accidentally murdering both the Detective and DA coupled with his mental break when they [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]] caused him to adopt the identity of "Wilford Warfstache". This is quite possibly PlayedForDrama when certain phrases or hints pop up related to his past, hinting there are [[ReluctantPsycho some parts of William that carried over.]]
* IDidntMeanToKillHim: Wilford says this in “The Ned Affair” after instinctively shooting Ned. He first uses this phrase when he killed the District Attorney, which was indeed an AccidentalMurder.
---> [[TearJerker It was an accident! I swear]]!
* KarmaHoudini: He is wanted for murder after he was caught having an affair, and murdered an entire family, and [[KarmaHoudini murdered Markiplier with seemingly no repercussions]]. He still has his talk show and is able to become a game show host for “Disc of Riches”. Justified in that he's a RealityWarper, so who can really stop him?
* LadiesAndGerms: “... and other configurations of being”. Justified since he’s an AmbiguouslyHuman RealityWarper.
* LaughablyEvil: Explicitly this when he kills Markiplier on his TV show.
* LaughingMad: Breaks down and starts laughing when the District Attorney comes back to life in the final chapter of ''Who Killed Markiplier?''. He thinks he's been duped, and thus laughs at the cruel prank he thinks his friends played.
* LoonWithAHeartOfGold: When he was the Colonel, he was repeatedly stated and shown to be an eccentric, and he could be brash, but ultimately devoted to and loves his friends. Contrast him with the other characters in “Who Killed Markiplier” aside from Damien, and he's one of the genuinely kindest characters to the protagonist. And though he does shoot the District Attorney, it was an accident and he regrets it. The trope is {{lampshaded}} by both Celine and Damien.
--> '''Damien''': The Colonel is an eccentric, it's his best quality and his worst.
--> '''Celine''': (After the Colonel shoots the District Attorney): You can't blame him, honestly he's a good man.
* LunaticLoophole: An essential part of his origin story, and arguably what made him who he is. As Col. William he got caught up in Markiplier's [[FakingTheDead supposed murder]] and the chaos that followed. Other than Markiplier and possibly the Detective he is the only survivor, (and the only one that never died in the first place) however the events drove him insane. Though he didn't leave unharmed, he did get to live on and have his own adventures as the lunatic he now is. He also survived his own manhunt in "The Warfstache Affair" and "The Ned Affair" mostly by accident, and presumably escaped Freddy in "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Interview" simply by being crazy enough. Though slightly downplayed, because he's also a RealityWarper, but there's no doubting he's insane enough to find his way out of sticky situations anyway.
* MeaningfulName: His original name, 'William', means 'stalwart protector'. Deep, deep {{Irony}}.
* MurderMakesYouCrazy: Interestingly {{subverted}}. Killing the District Attorney and Markiplier isn't what drove the Colonel insane, it was seeing the DA’s dead body come back to life, since it simply defies reality.
* NighInvulnerability: Markiplier's original plan was to hijack Colonel's body, but the Manor knew it was impossible, so it manipulated Mark to hijack Damien and Celine's bodies instead.
* NoNameGiven: In “Who Killed Markiplier?”, he is only referred to as "the Colonel." WordOfGod and bonus material [[https://twitter.com/markiplier/status/918999999551242240 reveals his name is William]].[[invoked]]
** Averted in ''Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache'', his full name is revealed as William J. Barnum.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He might be silly and act stupid, but Wilford Warfstache has killed many people.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He doesn't seem to understand why people keep dying around him.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Heavily {{implied}} to have this ability, with his suddenly appearing in various rooms when the District Attorney is distracted or examining a picture. He's not the only one to do this, but is definitely the most prominent out of the cast, with WordOfGod supporting this idea. Furthermore the ability likely stems from the [[EldritchLocation supernatural nature]] of Markiplier Manor.[[invoked]]
** {{Played straight}} in ''Wilford [='MOTHERLOVIN''=] Warfstache'', where it's utilized to escape the chair Abe tied him to, even when Abe is ''staring directly at him''.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Possibly intentional. To begin with, (most notably when he used to be Col. William Barnum), Wilford spoke with a distinct, upper-class English accent. Since then, his accent has changed to a slurred, yet aristocratic-sounding American accent. This is most likely due to his {{Sanity Slippage}}.
* PreInsanityReveal: ''WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier'', chapter 4 especially, serves as one for him.
* RealityWarper: As seen in "A Date With Markiplier", he can shift reality to his whim. He ''may'' be even more powerful than [[HumanoidAbomination Darkiplier]] himself, considering Dark can only drag you into his world, and Wilford can make his world suddenly appear.
* Really700YearsOld: Warfstache was created in 1928, when WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier takes place. If we take Mark's age into account, William Barnum was born sometime in the year 1900. That means that he is nearly 120 years old, despite looking 29.
* RealMenWearPink: He has pink hair and wears pink suspenders
* ReluctantPsycho: Downplayed, since it’s difficult to understand exactly what’s going on in Wilford’s head, but the narration in the ''Bubbles!'' section of "Markiplier TV" seems to imply that Wilford doesn’t kill people because he’s bloodthirsty. It would seem that he tends to believe the murders he commits are outside of his control/just a misunderstanding... until reality or his conscience periodically catches up with him. This theory is confirmed following the events of "Who Killed Markiplier?".
-->Narrator: Are you constantly haunted by the ghosts of everyone you killed, and maybe you think it was you that was the problem, and maybe it wasn’t just a misunderstanding where you were trying to tickle them with a knife?
* RemovedFromThePicture: In "Who Killed Markiplier?", Markiplier breaks his framed photo of the Colonel after he runs away with his wife.
* RussianRoulette: He’s shown playing the game during the party with the Detective in '’WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier’’. He also played another game with Markiplier, causing the latter's (planned) death.
* SanitySlippage: Suffers one at the end of “Who Killed Markiplier” after seeing the District Attorney’s dead body, which he's been mourning for '''''ten hours''''' suddenly stand up. He's so messed up over it that he thinks his friends' deaths [[LaughingMad are all a joke]]. Thus, all deaths are just jokes. WordOfGod confirmed this to be the origin story of Wilford Warfstache.[[invoked]]
---> '''Mark''': (The Colonel) was standing over your body the '''''entire night''''' mourning his actions. That doesn't mean madness. Madness comes from seeing this body you've been staring at for '''''ten hours''''' suddenly just... '''''get back up'''''.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Defied in WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier. He adamantly refuses to leave the manor even when it becomes obvious something supernatural is going on, and is furious when Chef, George, and Benjamin depart the scene.
--> '''Colonel''': I won't let my friends die in this ''godforsaken house''!
* SerialKiller: From what we've seen so far, Wilford has murdered more than a few people. Detective Abe, the District Attorney, a husband and wife, their neighbour, a police officer, Markiplier himself, a contestant on ''Disc of Riches'' (and reportedly other contestants of the show in the past) and Septiplier.[[note]]Detective Abe and the District Attorney were by accident and both later came back to life courtesy of the dark entity. Wilford has also killed a dog.[[/note]]
* SmarmyHost: Of his own talk show. Even before that, Warfstache's speaking style, according to WordOfGod, was half based on this trope. The other half was his stiffing his upper lip to keep the pink mustache from falling off.[[invoked]]
* StartOfDarkness: His start of villainy (As Wilford Warfstache) came from [[AccidentalMurder accidentally shooting the DA]]. Though it isn't the DA's death that starts his villainy, but the fact the DA simply ''gets back up''.
* TooDumbToLive: He is seen during the party sequence in "Who Killed Markiplier?" aiming his gun at the Detective and at his own head. And yet, {{subverted}} as he is the last major character left alive at the end. He also willingly (though he was drunk and emotional) participated in a game of RussianRoulette, though he didn't get the short end of the stick in that situation.
* TookALevelInKindness: In ''Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache''. He genuinely sorry for what he's done and wants to help Abe when he's nit able to make sense of the world around him.
--->'''Abe''': Am I crazy?
--->'''Wilford''': No! No-no. No, no, no, no! My friend, you are NOT crazy. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you are crazy.
* TraumaButton: Largely downplayed, but the word "murderer", especially in reference to himself returns memories he lost and/or causes him to hesitate, cringe and nervously laugh. He reacts two times in "Wilford MOTHERLOVING Warfstache"
** Once when Abe says it:
--->'''Abe the Detective''': "Name after name after name just to distance yourself from the real name you should be called: Murderer!"
--->'''Wilford Warfstache''': (After pausing confusedly, suddenly remembering) "Abe... Abe! Abe, it's been years!"
** Once when he himself says it:
--->'''Wilford Warfstache''': "Just for tonight, let's forget about all the, th-the chasing and the killing, and the shooty-shooty bang bang, ''god you're a '''murderer'''!'' Ahuhuh…" (nervously chuckling and visibly disturbed, hesitating to continue)
*** This may have originated in "Who Killed Markiplier? - The Final Chapter". Abe accuses Colonel William of being a murderer before the Colonel denies it, [[AccidentalMurder murdering Abe.]] We see by Wilford's mental breakdown at the end of the video that he cannot understand or handle being responsible for death, so the word is likely attributed to the Detective and feelings of shame/madness.
---->'''Abe the Detective''': "Well, you're one to talk about friends, you '''MURDERER'''!"
----> '''Colonel William''': "I didn't kill anybody! This is MADNESS!"
* TwistingTheWords: When Slenderman confesses to him about wanting to teach children and visiting Jamaica, Wilford misconstrues it as Slenderman being a pedophile that is addicted to heroin.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Shares this with Celine. Everything that happened in ''Who Killed Markiplier?'' was a result of Celine cheating on Mark with him.
* UpThroughTheRanks: William was a private when he still lived in Markiplier Manor and the Chef worked for him, earning the rank of Colonel after he left during an undetermined amount of time later.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: PlayedWith. As the Colonel, his mustache started off black, but after going insane it slowly and naturally turned pink. In 'Wilford 'MOTHERLOVIN'' Warfstache', he wore a pink afro wig, and in 'Warfstache Interviews Markiplier', the hair on his head is dyed bright pink.
[[/folder]]
'''Major Characters''' | ''[[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Who Killed Markiplier?]]'' [[Characters/MarkiplierWhoKilledMarkiplier Characters]] | ''Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier'' [[Characters/AHeistWithMarkiplier Characters]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierMinorAlterEgos Minor Alter Egos]] | [[Characters/MarkiplierOther Other]]]]-]]]
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Darkiplier]]
-->'''Appears in:''' Don't blink, Don't move, relax, A Date With Markiplier, Don't Play This Game, Markiplier TV, DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE (non-canon), [[spoiler: Who Killed Markiplier?]], A Heist With Markiplier
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/darkiplier.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"I've been waiting a [[PunctuatedForEmphasis long. Time.]] To get some... [[AbhorrentAdmirer personal time... between us.]]"]]
An evil counterpart of Markiplier. Often pops up in fan games as antagonist, whether he's the BigBad or a distraction. There have been many different interpretations of Darkiplier, by the fandom, and Mark himself.
It was revealed in "Who Killed Markiplier?" that [[spoiler: Darkiplier was created by the souls of two people (a seer named Celine and a mayor named Damien who resembled Mark) being merged by an evil force that resided in Markiplier Manor.]]
----
* AbhorrentAdmirer: What he's ''supposed'' to be in "A Date With Markiplier”, with him being creepily controlling towards the audience. [[SubvertedTrope However]], due to DracoInLeatherPants...
* AmbiguousGender: While he's referred to by male pronouns and has an unmistakably male body, his nature as [[spoiler:a fusion of a male soul and a female soul puts his actual gender in a somewhat gray area.]]
* AmbiguouslyBi: Although not confirmed if he actually has feelings for the viewer or not, It’s strongly believed to be the case. (The viewer is gender-neutral.)
* TheBadGuyWins: In the "Chocolate" ending of "A Date With Markiplier", which is [[spoiler: achieved by the audience choosing to kill the real Mark, and thus Dark takes his place at the table]].
* BadassInANiceSuit: This HumanoidAbomination is consistently portrayed as wearing formal attire as of "A Date With Markiplier", and serves as a legitimate threat.
* BaddieFlattery: He's apparently a fan of Mark himself.
* BigBad: Possibly of Mark's channel as a whole. His apparent goal is to conduct a HostileShowTakeover along with a BigBadEnsemble of [[KillerRobot Googleplier]] and [[LaughablyEvil Wilford Warfstache]] in “Markiplier TV”, having gathered the other egos together in a brainstorming session.
* CharacterTic: Cracking his neck by tilting it sideways to the left.
* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Damien is a good-hearted man and while Celine is a bit more careless of others, she isn't a bad person. However, due to the corruption from the house entity,]] they came back to the world of the living as an evil amalgamation made up from the worst parts of themselves.
* CastsNoShadow: He doesn't have a shadow. It's not easy to notice if you don't know to look for it, but this is one of the ways to tell which Mark is real in Dark's "A Date With Markiplier" appearance. Maybe because [[GeniusBonus he's supposed to be the shadow of Mark himself]].
* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: [[http://markiplier.tumblr.com/post/67180534777/re-darkiplier If Mark's Tumblr post is to be believed]]. [[FridgeHorror Just let that sink in]].
* ColdBloodedTorture: Subjects Mark to this in "relax" where he shoves marshmallows, cinnamon and jalapenos into Mark's mouth.
* ColdHam[=/=]LargeHam: He shifts between the two. Depending on which is [[DissonantSerenity more]] [[VillainousBreakdown disturbing]] in the given situation.
* ControlFreak: He shows hints of this in "A Date With Markiplier", where he gives the audience the illusion of choice: when picking the next part of the story, he proceeds to give them only one real path (all the other ones are links to videos he’s been featured in) despite telling them earlier that he could give them anything they wanted. He also traps the audience in a loop in the “EXIT” ending when they try to escape the chef’s dungeon with Mark.
* CostumeEvolution: Throughout the course of time between his first and latest appearance, Darkiplier has gone through three looks; He started off looking more or less like Markiplier, just with a black and white filter placed on top of him and [[RadioVoice a staticy voice]], then he went on to have his own [[BadassInANiceSuit suit and tie]] complete with ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow, and in his latest appearance he took on a [[VillainInAWhiteSuit brighter suit]] and removed the eyeshadow entirely.
* DarkIsEvil: [[StealthPun Pun aside]], darkness tends to accompany Darkiplier whenever he shows up. This is especially evident in "A Date With Markiplier".
* DealWithTheDevil: In “A Date With Markiplier”, he wants the audience to “let him in” so they can get whatever they want from him. It’s not particularly clear what “letting him in” entails- it could be in [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes a]] [[UnholyMatrimony romantic]] [[{{Yandere}} sense]] or a [[DemonicPossession demonic possession sense]] or both- but either way he wants something from us in order for us to have [[YourHeartsDesire whatever we want]].
** If he was telling the truth when he said that Mark promised to let him in again - which, considering his [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative nature]], is hard to tell whether he was being truthful or not, then it seems as though Mark has also made some sort of deal with Dark.
** In "Who Killed Markiplier?", [[spoiler:when Damien's soul asks permission from the District Attorney,]] his "let me in" turns out to be [[spoiler:DemonicPossession due to the [[SapientHouse influence of evil force of Markiplier Manor.]]]]
* DepravedBisexual: Implied in "A Date With Markiplier", considering the audience whom he romances could be [[AmbiguousGender of any gender]].
* DeathGlare: Capable of imposing a very menacing one, most notably [[spoiler: [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/32ff1fb40bc4e7aeea9516ec36d30595/tumblr_oxs06w5fmN1vs985po3_500.gif to the District Attorney at the end of ''Who Killed Markiplier'']]]]
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Claims this is one of his motives in "A Date With Markiplier".
* EldritchLocation: He can apparently drag people into a darker realm parallel to this one.
* EvilCounterpart:
** To Mark. WordOfGod states that Darkiplier is the complete opposite of himself. Mark has a genuine desire to get to know his fans more, Darkiplier's that but [[FauxAffablyEvil twisted into something wrong]].[[invoked]]
** Downplayed example to Wilford Warfstache. Both of them are evil, but Wilford is more [[LaughablyEvil laughable]] whereas for Darkiplier, [[KnightOfCerebus all comedic moments cease when he's on screen]].
* EvilPlan: Apparently, he and Wilford Warfstache plan on doing a HostileShowTakeover, if "Markiplier TV" is anything to go off of.
* EvilSoundsDeep: His voice is noticeably deeper than Mark's.
* EvilVersusEvil: He and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent AntiSepticEye]] have obvious beef with each other. PlayedForLaughs in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slWT2N3NIKM “DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE”]] when the dark egos of other [=YouTubers=] butt into their fight.
* {{Expy}}: WordOfGod states that the character of Darkiplier is inspired by [[{{VideoGame/HalfLife}} G-Man]]. They share certain traits such as being an creepy ManipulativeBastard RealityWarper who dresses in a nice suit.[[invoked]]
* FaceMonsterTurn: It was revealed that Darkiplier is the amalgamation of [[spoiler:a mayor named Damien and Markiplier's ex-wife, Celine. While neither of them were necessarily morally upstanding people, they were by no means bad until The Dark Entity merged with Damien and Celine.]]
* FallenHero: [[spoiler:Damien was a kind and well-meaning mayor until the dark forces of Markiplier Manor merged him and Celine's souls together, corrupting the two and worsening Damien's newfound hatred for Markiplier due to the latter stealing his body and therefore betraying him and Celine]] - turning [[spoiler:their merged soul]] into a bitter, vengeful and malevolent force.
* FauxAffablyEvil: [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Right in his first appearance]], he tells the viewers "Welcome to Raspy Hill". You know, the place with murderous mannequins.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: WordOfGod states Darkiplier isn't a character that he plays...[[invoked]]
* GroundhogDayLoop:
** He puts Mark and the audience through this in "A Date With Markiplier" if they decide to escape the prison, ensuring that he will never leave.
** In "A Heist With Markiplier" he implies the audience is/has been going through one for a very long time, even referencing the fact that this isn't the first time they've met him and possibly not even the first time they've heard him say these exact words. He then gives the audience a cryptic hint about codes he claims to have hidden in the heist and proceeds to send the audience back to the museum's entrance, seemingly before the whole thing even started.
* HughMann: Dark isn't human, but something that looks like a human. But his disguise isn't well put together, as seen by him randomly glitching in the videos.
* HumanoidAbomination: WordOfGod confirms in a livestream that he isn't human despite looking like one, comes from another dimension entirely, and doesn't obey the laws of physics. Explicitly this in "A Date With Markiplier", though he's had a few eldritch traits prior to the video.[[invoked]]
* HostileShowTakeOver: Sometimes he'll abruptly take over a video and [[KnightOfCerebus have it go south]]. One could suspect [[FridgeHorror they've been running the channel since Raspy Hill]]...
* KarmaHoudini: PlayedForDrama, unlike Wilford Warfstache. He usually gets away with doing horrible things to Mark, such as attempting to drown or poison him. Averted in “A Date With Markiplier” in the [[spoiler:"Vanilla" ending, where the audience manages to shoot him]].
* KnightOfCerebus: Things go ''south'' whenever he's on screen.
* LaughablyEvil: There was a time where Mark didn't take Darkiplier seriously, which led to some silly canon depictions of him like in “relax”, where he’s wearing heavy black eyeshadow and explicitly AxCrazy. As of "A Date With Markiplier", this has been averted, with Dark being shown as deadly serious and (mostly) calm even while interacting with sillier entities like Wilford Warfstache.
* {{Leitmotif}}: White noise plays anytime he's on screen.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ipt76UqkxM This]] plays during the ending scene of “Who Killed Markiplier” [[spoiler:during his creation]].
* LoveMakesYouEvil: In "A Date With Markiplier" towards the audience. [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in that he's ''already'' evil, he just happened to have fallen in love.
* MadeOfGood: Played with, and ultimately subverted. The [[spoiler:house entity from “Who Killed Markiplier?” operates by taking bad thoughts, actions, and/or feelings and manipulating whoever stays in the house into believing that those bad things are actually good. Celine and Damien were good people, but the entity’s influence corrupted and manipulated them. When they were in the other world with the District Attorney, they honestly thought they were doing the right thing by sending the District Attorney back and occupying their body. But once they were in the District Attorney’s body, all the goodness was stripped away and only the worst parts of Celine and Damien remained, which is why the District Attorney was pushed out of their body.]]
---> '''Mark''': Whatever good intentions went into this amalgamation were washed away when only the worst sides of either coin would fit into the slot. [[spoiler:The Damien and Celine you know are gone. And when all the light has gone away, all that’s left is [[BlackComedy Dark]]. You weren’t pushed out to be saved.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Shown in “A Date With Markiplier”. He says that [[YourHeartsDesire he can give the audience whatever we want]], but then makes it very clear that he a) [[ControlFreak wants to control all the decisions we make]], and b) [[{{Yandere}} intend to keep us around forever regardless of whether we want to or not]]. He tell the audience that he'll give us more choices than Mark ever could, [[ButThouMust but then proceeds to only give us one real choice]]. When both Mark and Dark try to convince us to shoot the other, Dark’s comments are much more persuasive than Mark’s (compare [[TheNeedsOfTheMany “they do bad things to good people”]] to [[FelonyMisdemeanor “their eyes are weird”]]). And if you shoot Mark, Dark [[FauxAffablyEvil pretends to be concerned about your emotional welfare before revealing his true nature]].
* MaskOfSanity: WordOfGod states every time [[SuddenlyShouting he suddenly starts screaming and getting angry]] is a sign of his DissonantSerenity shell cracking.[[invoked]]
* MasterOfIllusion: Implied several times that his RealityWarping powers are almost nothing but illusions, what with his being a living OminousVisualGlitch, and how his [[ShatteringTheIllusion "reality warping" skills have managed to dissolve via outside influence, such as how Markiplier tackled Darkiplier, turning the monochromatic-area around him back to normal]].
* MergerOfSouls: [[spoiler:The final chapter of "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals that he's the result of Celine and Damien (who resembles Mark) merging their souls while being corrupted by the Manor when entering the District Attorney’s body. Darkiplier then stole the body of the District Attorney by pushing their soul out of their body. The District Attorney’s body was subsequently transformed altogether into the HumanoidAbomination Darkiplier, whose physical appearance therefore looks like Damien.]]
---> '''Mark''': [[spoiler: The being inhabiting your body at that point is no longer purely Damien nor purely Celine . . . two fractured halves of a picture that was stuffed into a broken frame they were never meant for . . . only the worst sides of either coin would fit into the slot. The Damien and Celine you know are gone. And when all the light has gone away, all that’s left is Dark.]]
* MisplacedRetribution: Focuses all of his rage at Markiplier the youtuber when [[spoiler:[[Characters/WhoKilledMarkiplier Actor!Mark]], who is a completely different person, is the one who betrayed him. Although the situation is ambiguous - is youtuber!Mark related to Actor!Mark somehow? Is he a version of Actor!Mark from another dimension that Dark is targeting because he can't get to Actor!Mark right now? Is the Mark we interact with in in series like "A Date With Markiplier" and "A Heist With Markiplier" normal youtuber!Mark, or Actor!Mark taking on different "roles"?]]
* MotiveRant: Featured in "A Date With Markiplier".
---> Did you miss me? [[FauxAffablyEvil I missed you]]...''very much.'' I've been waiting a ''long'' time to see you again. I've been pushed aside...replaced...''mocked''...and then ''he'' had the gall to not invite me to his little adventure with you. No more. Never again. ''[[HostileShowTakeOver It's my turn now]]''. I've been waiting ''patiently''. '''[[SuddenlyShouting HE PROMISED HE WOULD LET ME IN AGAIN]]!''' I'm ''tired'' of giving people a ''choice.''
* OhCrap: Has a minor one when [[spoiler:Mark pulls a BigDamnHeroes moment in "A Date With Markiplier"]].
---> '''Darkiplier''': [[EvilGloating You're never going to escape me. Not now. Not-]] [[spoiler:-Mark tackles him-]] What the hell?! Where did you come from?!
%%* OneWingedAngel: Implied to have this form by Mark.
* PsychoticSmirk[=/=]KubrickStare: Pulls one in his debut video, where he grins creepily at the camera without saying anything.
* RealAfterAll: The idea of Darkiplier was made popular with the fans, and it was ambiguous for years if he actually existed in canon outside of vague references. 2017's "A Date With Markiplier" finally established that he was all too real.
* RealityWarper: Confirmed by Mark himself. Darkiplier is shown to teleport and drag others into his shadowy dimension (so far).
* Really700YearsOld: [[spoiler:Darkiplier was created sometime in the 1920s, when WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier takes place. That means that Dark is almost 100 years old, despite looking 29]].
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:The Dark Entity inhabiting Markiplier Manor was originally restricted to that location, until it possessed Celine's body and trapped both her and Damien’s souls in Markiplier's body in a dark dimension (nicknamed the "Upside Down" by [[WordOfGod Markiplier]]). Therefore, influenced by the evil of the Upside Down, the worst sides of her and Damien's souls were merged together when they entered the District Attorney's body, creating Darkiplier, who can teleport and drag others into the Upside Down. Darkiplier then stole the District Attorney's body by pushing their soul out and trapping them in the house. It is unclear if Darkiplier is made of Damien and Celine along with the ''original'' Entity or simply an extension of it, but]] he is now free to roam around as he pleases, eager to get revenge on Markiplier.[[invoked]]
* StepfordSmiler: He puts on an air of calmness, but in fact has deep-seated rage [[spoiler:stemming from Damien’s anger from Markiplier’s betrayal and Celine’s pre-existing temper]] within him. In "A Date With Markiplier" and "A Heist With Markiplier", this is shown through various glitches/cuts between him speaking normally and screaming.
* VillainousBreakdown: During his MotiveRant in "A Date With Markiplier”, it's evident that he's starting to lose it.
---> I've been waiting ''patiently''. '''HE PROMISED HE WOULD LET ME IN AGAIN!'''
---> '''''[[YourHeartsDesire I. CAN GIVE YOU. ANYTHING!]]'''''
---> '''THERE IS NOTHING YOU OR HE CAN DO TO STOP ME!'''
---> -Enraged screaming-
** PlayedForLaughs in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slWT2N3NIKM DARKIPLIER vs ANTISEPTICEYE]], when he gets fed up with everyone butting into his and [=AntiSepticEye=]'s argument.
--> '''Darkiplier''': [[BigShutUp Shut up! Just shut up!]] No one cares!
* VillainousFriendship: He possibly has one with [[LaughablyEvil Wilford Warfstache]] and [[KillerRobot Google]]. Especially the former, since [[spoiler:the Colonel was friends with Damien and Celine, before their transformation into Darkiplier]].
* VillainRespect: WordOfGod states the reason Darkiplier looks exactly like Markiplier is that he respects what Youtuber!Markiplier has accomplished and is seeking to emulate him so that he can [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate people]].[[invoked]]
* VillainTeleportation:
** Utilized this twice in "A Date With Markiplier". Once to teleport inside Mark’s house and the other to transport the audience from his dark realm to the outside of the theater.
** In Ending 31 in "A Heist With Markiplier" he uses it quite excessively, changing position multiple times while talking to the audience and to throw them out of his dark dimension and back to the beginning.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Starting from "A Date With Markiplier", his voice has a distinct reverb distortion to it.
* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler: And a woman. "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals that Darkiplier is the result of two mortal people- a man named Damien and a woman named Celine -merging with a dark entity haunting Markiplier Manor, turning them into something far more monstrous.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness: Apparently, bullets can kill him. So much for being a [[RealityWarper reality warping]] HumanoidAbomination. [[spoiler: Though considering that we can still see distortion when we choose Mark over him, it's very much possible that Darkiplier [[NotQuiteDead is still alive]]. This still counts as a WeaksauceWeakness however, due to the fact that an eldritch abomination was seemingly beaten into submission by a gun]].
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He as [[spoiler:Damien went through a TraumaCongaLine after the death of his [[EvilFormerFriend best friend]], upon realizing his friends death was a ThanatosGambit designed to put him and Celine through a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
* {{Yandere}}: A possible romantic example towards [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the audience]] in "A Date With Markiplier".
* YourHeartsDesire: He invokes this in "A Date With Markiplier" [[spoiler:to the audience, in an attempt to convince them that he's a better date than Mark]].
--> ''“I CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING"''
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Wilford Warfstache]]
-->'''Appears in:''' The Fall of Slenderman, The Warfstache Affair, Warfstache Plays: Slender, The Ned Affair, Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Interview, Warfstache Interviews Markiplier, A Date With Markiplier, Markiplier TV, Who Killed Markiplier?, Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache, A Heist With Markiplier
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wilfordwarfstache2015.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:'''''WARFSTACHE DON'T TAKE NO SHIT FROM NOBODY''''']]
[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_4.png[[/labelnote]] to see him as Colonel William.]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5byjdmnduzmmqtyzgzni00ntliltgxywetyjc3zdjiymflyjvjxkeyxkfqcgdeqxvyotu2njgymdg_v1.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see him in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVIN'' Warfstache".]]
He is currently a senior reporter for AFC News. He quickly became a rising star for his hard-hitting journalism after he interviewed [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]], and went on to interview [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys Phone Guy]], and Markiplier himself. While he was a senior reporter, he went on to host his own show ''Warfstache Tonight!'' which would later become a talk show. He also pitched an idea for "Markiplier TV" (in which he hosted the game show ''Disc of Riches'' in place of Bim Trimmer), but was turned down.
“Who Killed' Markiplier” reveals his backstory: he is a former Colonel whose real name was William J. Barnum, until he tragically suffered a complete mental breakdown that led to him eventually changing his identity. After this event, he traveled across the world using many pseudonyms while hunted by Abe the Detective, and encountered him during what seems to be the 70's while under the name "Wilford Motherloving Warfstache". It is unclear how much later Wilford became a journalist.
----
* AccidentalMurder: When he was the Colonel, he shot the District Attorney while trying to grab his gun from them. He also supposedly shot Mark during a game of RussianRoulette, though that was purposely [[ThanatosGambit set up to kill]].
* AlliterativeName: '''W'''ilford''W''arfstache. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]], since that’s not his real name.
* AmbiguouslyGay: A lot of his interactions with Abe in "Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache" have some ShipTease, including Wilford, confused by a metaphor, asking Abe if they dated at some point.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: From his pink mustache to his "humble abode" which consists of a bizarre, psychedelic-looking pink-and-white vortex of clocks - Warfstache is ''definitely'' no normal person.
** Even back when he was Col. Barnum, he seemed to have otherworldly abilities, though they were apparently limited to just teleportation and quick-change acts. IRL Mark also explained that in "Who Killed Markiplier?", Markiplier's plan to hijack the Colonel's body [[NighInvulnerability was not going to work]], so the Manor manipulated him to hijack Damien and Celine's bodies instead.
* BerserkButton: Wilford loses his temper twice in ''Five Nights At Freddy's: The Interview'' whenever "Phone Guy" dicks around and repeats the word "hello?".
** The first time:
--->'''Phone Guy''': (after a long pause) Hellooo??\\
'''Warfstache''': [[CurseCutShort MOTHERFU--!]]\\
(cue a "please stand by" screen)
** The second time:
--->(after the studio lights are mysteriously cut out)\\
'''Warfstache''': Oh, what the bloody hell now?!\\
(eerie creaking sounds are heard in the distance. Wilford sits there uneasily in silence)\\
'''Phone Guy''': Hello?\\
'''Warfstache''': ''SHUT THE FUCK UP, MOTHERFUCKER!!''
* BackstoryHorror: His murder sprees and serial adultery were PlayedForLaughs for a long time, until the events of "Who Killed Markiplier, where it's revealed that his zaniness is due to [[TraumaCongaLine rather traumatic events in a haunted house that had to do with the loss of his friends and the]] AccidentalMurder [[TraumaCongaLine of the District Attorney (by his hands)]], though it isn't the fact that he killed the District Attorney that sends him off the deep end. [[GoMadFromTheRevelation It's the fact that they]] ''[[BackFromTheDead get back up]]''. [[FridgeHorror His serial adultery might stem from the fact that he, back when he was William, ran off with Mark's wife]].
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: He's clearly not right in the head and thinks murder is just a big joke.
* ColorMotif: He's heavily associated with the color [[RealMenWearPink pink]]
* CompositeCharacter: WordOfGod states that he takes inspiration from [[{{Film/Jumanji}} Hunter Van Pelt]] and [[{{Film/Clue}} Colonel Mustard]] when he was the Colonel.[[invoked]]
* DastardlyWhiplash: An odd variant of this, considering he wears pink and lively clothes and he has a pink mustache.
* DecoyProtagonist: In ''Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstace''. Sure, he's the title character, but the video focuses on Abe and his realization of the world that's the main focus.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: He ''scares'' [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] away when he tries to kill him, screaming at him "WARFSTACHE DON'T TAKE NO SHIT FROM NOBODY". Justified in that Wilford is an equally powerful (if not even ''more'' powerful) RealityWarper.
* FallenHero: As revealed in “Who Killed Markiplier?”, he used to be an eccentric but somewhat sane person until all of his friends were killed and their bodies went missing, before finally witnessing the dead body of one of his friends, the District Attorney whom he accidentally murdered, coming back to life. This resulted in the trauma shattering his mind and leading him to no longer taking death seriously.
** While he was briefly a junior reporter, he took his job seriously by trying to find out the truth about Slenderman. However, he later got distracted from his job by killing people.
* FamilyOfChoice: As a child, he was raised with Markiplier in the Manor and they were as close as brothers. Subverted when they had a falling out over William having an affair with Markiplier’s wife Celine, causing both of them to develop bitter feelings towards each other.
* FormerFriendsPhoto: Shares one with Damien and Markiplier to further show their past relationship as childhood friends. A second photo showing the addition of Celine together with Markiplier notes her role in the timeline and progression of relationships
* FreakOut: He suffers through this in "Who Killed Markiplier", triggering his insanity that led him to take on the identity of Wilford Warfstache.
-->'''William''': I-I thought you were dead... I-I-I mean, of course you're not dead! You're not -- How could you be dead? I mean, [[FreudianSlip I-I wouldn't have killed you]]... I ''didn't'' kill you! I mean, of cour -- I-I...Of course! I didn't kill anybody! ([[LaughingMad through laughing]]) I didn't- [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint It was all a]] ''[[DramaticallyMissingThePoint joke]]''! Of course, it was all a joke! Were you in on this?!
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: He goes insane after witnessing the resurrective powers of Markiplier Manor firsthand, interpreting it as [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint all of his friends playing a cruel joke on him, causing him to believe that all deaths are jokes as well]].
* IdentityAmnesia: As "Who Killed Markiplier" reveals, Wilford used to be William Barnum before being [[PreInsanityReveal driven insane]] by [[GoMadFromTheRevelation witnessing the DA resurrected in front of him,]] even though he'd kept careful watch over them for ten hours. His previous TraumaCongaLine, losing his [[WeUsedToBeFriends former friend Mark]], his best friend Damien, his past lover Celine, and accidentally murdering both the Detective and DA coupled with his mental break when they [[BackFromTheDead come back to life]] caused him to adopt the identity of "Wilford Warfstache". This is quite possibly PlayedForDrama when certain phrases or hints pop up related to his past, hinting there are [[ReluctantPsycho some parts of William that carried over.]]
* IDidntMeanToKillHim: Wilford says this in “The Ned Affair” after instinctively shooting Ned. He first uses this phrase when he killed the District Attorney, which was indeed an AccidentalMurder.
---> [[TearJerker It was an accident! I swear]]!
* KarmaHoudini: He is wanted for murder after he was caught having an affair, and murdered an entire family, and [[KarmaHoudini murdered Markiplier with seemingly no repercussions]]. He still has his talk show and is able to become a game show host for “Disc of Riches”. Justified in that he's a RealityWarper, so who can really stop him?
* LadiesAndGerms: “... and other configurations of being”. Justified since he’s an AmbiguouslyHuman RealityWarper.
* LaughablyEvil: Explicitly this when he kills Markiplier on his TV show.
* LaughingMad: Breaks down and starts laughing when the District Attorney comes back to life in the final chapter of ''Who Killed Markiplier?''. He thinks he's been duped, and thus laughs at the cruel prank he thinks his friends played.
* LoonWithAHeartOfGold: When he was the Colonel, he was repeatedly stated and shown to be an eccentric, and he could be brash, but ultimately devoted to and loves his friends. Contrast him with the other characters in “Who Killed Markiplier” aside from Damien, and he's one of the genuinely kindest characters to the protagonist. And though he does shoot the District Attorney, it was an accident and he regrets it. The trope is {{lampshaded}} by both Celine and Damien.
--> '''Damien''': The Colonel is an eccentric, it's his best quality and his worst.
--> '''Celine''': (After the Colonel shoots the District Attorney): You can't blame him, honestly he's a good man.
* LunaticLoophole: An essential part of his origin story, and arguably what made him who he is. As Col. William he got caught up in Markiplier's [[FakingTheDead supposed murder]] and the chaos that followed. Other than Markiplier and possibly the Detective he is the only survivor, (and the only one that never died in the first place) however the events drove him insane. Though he didn't leave unharmed, he did get to live on and have his own adventures as the lunatic he now is. He also survived his own manhunt in "The Warfstache Affair" and "The Ned Affair" mostly by accident, and presumably escaped Freddy in "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Interview" simply by being crazy enough. Though slightly downplayed, because he's also a RealityWarper, but there's no doubting he's insane enough to find his way out of sticky situations anyway.
* MeaningfulName: His original name, 'William', means 'stalwart protector'. Deep, deep {{Irony}}.
* MurderMakesYouCrazy: Interestingly {{subverted}}. Killing the District Attorney and Markiplier isn't what drove the Colonel insane, it was seeing the DA’s dead body come back to life, since it simply defies reality.
* NighInvulnerability: Markiplier's original plan was to hijack Colonel's body, but the Manor knew it was impossible, so it manipulated Mark to hijack Damien and Celine's bodies instead.
* NoNameGiven: In “Who Killed Markiplier?”, he is only referred to as "the Colonel." WordOfGod and bonus material [[https://twitter.com/markiplier/status/918999999551242240 reveals his name is William]].[[invoked]]
** Averted in ''Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache'', his full name is revealed as William J. Barnum.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He might be silly and act stupid, but Wilford Warfstache has killed many people.
* ObliviouslyEvil: He doesn't seem to understand why people keep dying around him.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Heavily {{implied}} to have this ability, with his suddenly appearing in various rooms when the District Attorney is distracted or examining a picture. He's not the only one to do this, but is definitely the most prominent out of the cast, with WordOfGod supporting this idea. Furthermore the ability likely stems from the [[EldritchLocation supernatural nature]] of Markiplier Manor.[[invoked]]
** {{Played straight}} in ''Wilford [='MOTHERLOVIN''=] Warfstache'', where it's utilized to escape the chair Abe tied him to, even when Abe is ''staring directly at him''.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Possibly intentional. To begin with, (most notably when he used to be Col. William Barnum), Wilford spoke with a distinct, upper-class English accent. Since then, his accent has changed to a slurred, yet aristocratic-sounding American accent. This is most likely due to his {{Sanity Slippage}}.
* PreInsanityReveal: ''WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier'', chapter 4 especially, serves as one for him.
* RealityWarper: As seen in "A Date With Markiplier", he can shift reality to his whim. He ''may'' be even more powerful than [[HumanoidAbomination Darkiplier]] himself, considering Dark can only drag you into his world, and Wilford can make his world suddenly appear.
* Really700YearsOld: Warfstache was created in 1928, when WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier takes place. If we take Mark's age into account, William Barnum was born sometime in the year 1900. That means that he is nearly 120 years old, despite looking 29.
* RealMenWearPink: He has pink hair and wears pink suspenders
* ReluctantPsycho: Downplayed, since it’s difficult to understand exactly what’s going on in Wilford’s head, but the narration in the ''Bubbles!'' section of "Markiplier TV" seems to imply that Wilford doesn’t kill people because he’s bloodthirsty. It would seem that he tends to believe the murders he commits are outside of his control/just a misunderstanding... until reality or his conscience periodically catches up with him. This theory is confirmed following the events of "Who Killed Markiplier?".
-->Narrator: Are you constantly haunted by the ghosts of everyone you killed, and maybe you think it was you that was the problem, and maybe it wasn’t just a misunderstanding where you were trying to tickle them with a knife?
* RemovedFromThePicture: In "Who Killed Markiplier?", Markiplier breaks his framed photo of the Colonel after he runs away with his wife.
* RussianRoulette: He’s shown playing the game during the party with the Detective in '’WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier’’. He also played another game with Markiplier, causing the latter's (planned) death.
* SanitySlippage: Suffers one at the end of “Who Killed Markiplier” after seeing the District Attorney’s dead body, which he's been mourning for '''''ten hours''''' suddenly stand up. He's so messed up over it that he thinks his friends' deaths [[LaughingMad are all a joke]]. Thus, all deaths are just jokes. WordOfGod confirmed this to be the origin story of Wilford Warfstache.[[invoked]]
---> '''Mark''': (The Colonel) was standing over your body the '''''entire night''''' mourning his actions. That doesn't mean madness. Madness comes from seeing this body you've been staring at for '''''ten hours''''' suddenly just... '''''get back up'''''.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Defied in WebVideo/WhoKilledMarkiplier. He adamantly refuses to leave the manor even when it becomes obvious something supernatural is going on, and is furious when Chef, George, and Benjamin depart the scene.
--> '''Colonel''': I won't let my friends die in this ''godforsaken house''!
* SerialKiller: From what we've seen so far, Wilford has murdered more than a few people. Detective Abe, the District Attorney, a husband and wife, their neighbour, a police officer, Markiplier himself, a contestant on ''Disc of Riches'' (and reportedly other contestants of the show in the past) and Septiplier.[[note]]Detective Abe and the District Attorney were by accident and both later came back to life courtesy of the dark entity. Wilford has also killed a dog.[[/note]]
* SmarmyHost: Of his own talk show. Even before that, Warfstache's speaking style, according to WordOfGod, was half based on this trope. The other half was his stiffing his upper lip to keep the pink mustache from falling off.[[invoked]]
* StartOfDarkness: His start of villainy (As Wilford Warfstache) came from [[AccidentalMurder accidentally shooting the DA]]. Though it isn't the DA's death that starts his villainy, but the fact the DA simply ''gets back up''.
* TooDumbToLive: He is seen during the party sequence in "Who Killed Markiplier?" aiming his gun at the Detective and at his own head. And yet, {{subverted}} as he is the last major character left alive at the end. He also willingly (though he was drunk and emotional) participated in a game of RussianRoulette, though he didn't get the short end of the stick in that situation.
* TookALevelInKindness: In ''Wilford 'MOTHERLOVING' Warfstache''. He genuinely sorry for what he's done and wants to help Abe when he's nit able to make sense of the world around him.
--->'''Abe''': Am I crazy?
--->'''Wilford''': No! No-no. No, no, no, no! My friend, you are NOT crazy. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you are crazy.
* TraumaButton: Largely downplayed, but the word "murderer", especially in reference to himself returns memories he lost and/or causes him to hesitate, cringe and nervously laugh. He reacts two times in "Wilford MOTHERLOVING Warfstache"
** Once when Abe says it:
--->'''Abe the Detective''': "Name after name after name just to distance yourself from the real name you should be called: Murderer!"
--->'''Wilford Warfstache''': (After pausing confusedly, suddenly remembering) "Abe... Abe! Abe, it's been years!"
** Once when he himself says it:
--->'''Wilford Warfstache''': "Just for tonight, let's forget about all the, th-the chasing and the killing, and the shooty-shooty bang bang, ''god you're a '''murderer'''!'' Ahuhuh…" (nervously chuckling and visibly disturbed, hesitating to continue)
*** This may have originated in "Who Killed Markiplier? - The Final Chapter". Abe accuses Colonel William of being a murderer before the Colonel denies it, [[AccidentalMurder murdering Abe.]] We see by Wilford's mental breakdown at the end of the video that he cannot understand or handle being responsible for death, so the word is likely attributed to the Detective and feelings of shame/madness.
---->'''Abe the Detective''': "Well, you're one to talk about friends, you '''MURDERER'''!"
----> '''Colonel William''': "I didn't kill anybody! This is MADNESS!"
* TwistingTheWords: When Slenderman confesses to him about wanting to teach children and visiting Jamaica, Wilford misconstrues it as Slenderman being a pedophile that is addicted to heroin.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Shares this with Celine. Everything that happened in ''Who Killed Markiplier?'' was a result of Celine cheating on Mark with him.
* UpThroughTheRanks: William was a private when he still lived in Markiplier Manor and the Chef worked for him, earning the rank of Colonel after he left during an undetermined amount of time later.
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: PlayedWith. As the Colonel, his mustache started off black, but after going insane it slowly and naturally turned pink. In 'Wilford 'MOTHERLOVIN'' Warfstache', he wore a pink afro wig, and in 'Warfstache Interviews Markiplier', the hair on his head is dyed bright pink.
[[/folder]]
