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Lumen Sages

Father Balder

"Rise, my child! Rise to realize your true potential! Unleash your power and awaken the Eyes of the World!"

Voiced by: Grant Albrecht (EN), Norio Wakamoto (JP)

The mysterious CEO of the Ithavoll Group, who is eventually revealed as both the Big Bad and as Bayonetta's father. His past version is in the sequel (see Masked Lumen).

Agent Peacock: He is an elderly sage who wears an ornamental gown along with the body of a white peacock draped around his shoulders, its feathers fanned out behind him. He proves himself a badass when, shortly after tossing Luka out of a window and stopping Bayonetta's bullets, he destroys two demons with little to no effort; he even combs his hair with a feather after killing the second one.
Animal Motifs: The peacock.
Anti-Villain: In Bloody Fate, where he is shown to have been driven mad from past experiences (namely losing Rosa) and is something of a Well-Intentioned Extremist, his reasons to basically cause omnicide being out of a misguided desire to make a better world. Notably, Bayonetta's opinion of him in the movie is more pity than disgust, unlike the game. Becomes full-on this in the second game, where we see his younger self. He's vehemently against the Witch Hunts and genuinely loves Rosa and Cereza. Sealing Loptr, the mad god, away inside himself drives him to insanity... and over the edge. It makes playing the first game a hell of a lot different.
Archnemesis Dad: He is later revealed to be Bayonetta's father.
Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: In the second game we see a flashback cutscene of the end of the first game where Balder is freed from Loptr's influence, but sacrifices himself to slay the god. As he dies, he promises to watch over Bayonetta from the afterlife. He Disappears into Light and accepts his fate.
Badass Finger Snap: When he commands his Kill Sat to fire.
Barrier Warrior: Uses one to defend himself during the boss fight, especially when Bayonetta uses her demon summons.
Biblical Motifs: Has elements of Lucifer (specially the Yezidi edition, Melek Taus; particularly ironic in the latter since Satan Is Good in that religion), and Enochian Angels (Babogel, Bornogo).
Big Bad: Of the first game.
Bilingual Bonus: His battle cries are in Enochian.
Bond One-Liner: After tossing Luka through a window:
It looks like my plans have gone right out the window.
Brainwashed and Crazy: As revealed in 2, he was actually a good person. The influence of Loptr's soul drove him into his madness and evil.
Catchphrase: He has a tendency of referring to Bayonetta as "My dear, sweet child" and other variations.
The Chessmaster: Naturally, being a Big Bad who only actually appears in a small segment of the game, Balder has been pulling the strings from behind the scenes since the very first chapter of the game, faking his own death in the process. Although he only appears in a small segment, his voice is present throughout the whole game, you just don't know who it is until you meet him.
Climax Boss: His fight is set up after several big reveals, rematches with clones of the Auditio, and is the end to Bayonetta's arc about restoring her memories in the first game.
Colony Drop: During the boss fight, he'll occasionally summon a large meteor to hit Bayonetta. Also, in the last leg of the fight, he'll pull the Kill Sat out of space and throw it at her, leading to a Tennis Boss moment.
Combat Sadomasochist: He does an awful lot of moaning throughout the fight.
Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Kamiya admitted that Father Balder's appearance was inspired by David Bowie, at least partially.
Cool Mask: He wears a golden mask that covers half of his face.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: He's the CEO of the Ithavoll Group and the first game's Big Bad.
Driven to Madness: Subverted in the case of Rosa's murder. His actual event of this happening was after his Heroic Sacrifice, which led to Loptr gradually driving him completely insane by the time of the first game.
Dying as Yourself: As he's dying, Loptr tries to escape his body. He regains his sanity and proves himself truly heroic by keeping Loptr sealed as he dies.
Early-Bird Cameo: He is The Lumen Sage from The Intro.
Elemental Powers: As a Lumen Sage, his powers are derived from the Sun, hence all of his attacks technically count as solar magic.
Energy Weapon: Can fire a beam of light from his hand.
Evil Counterpart: He is the Right Eye of the world while Bayonetta is the Left Eye of the world. As such, his powers of light contrast hers and he has the same Summon Magic she does.
Evil Gloating: All of the villains get into this to some extent, but Balder is incredibly long-winded; rather, he's one of the few characters who got away with monologuing to Bayonetta; it's not like she could shut him up in her normal fashion with him carrying Cereza.
Evil Is Hammy: As the Big Bad, he's one of the hammiest characters of all in the first game.
The Exile: As punishment for breaking their taboo, he was exiled to a far off land away from the rest of the Lumen.
Fashionable Asymmetry: He wears a black glove on one hand and a golden ring on the other.
Faux Affably Evil: In the first game, he is shown to be an incredibly horrible person and while he at first seems polite he is merely hiding how bad he actually is. The second game reveals that it was actually Loptr in control of him.
Fauxlosophic Narration: In substance, his exposition is very straightforward, but it's couched in terms so lofty and obscure that Bayonetta doesn't know what the hell he's talking about.
Feather Motif: Besides having a lot of feathers in his design, he also uses feathers as a makeshift hair comb.
Fluffy Fashion Feathers: His outfit is decorated with peacock feathers.
Glass Cannon: Played with. Balder has various, powerful attacks at his disposal, but he only has one bar of health unlike most bosses. Whenever Bayonetta performs a climax, Balder will kill the demon and replenish his health.
Gold and White Are Divine: His colors reflect his angelic powers.
Good All Along: The real Balder is actually rather benevolent as far as the Lumen Sages go. As revealed in 2, this version was Brainwashed and Crazy on account of Loptr's influence. See "Masked Lumen" for more on his prior self.
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: As soon as you beat him, he gets back up once Bayonetta returns from returning her younger self to her own time and knocks Bayonetta out.
Historical Villain Upgrade: The enemy profile for Balder in the first Bayonetta paints him as a remorseless, evil man driven purely by self-interest who started the Witch Hunts to further his plans, to the point of saying that he seduced Rosa and sired Bayonetta purely as a ruse to gain the Left Eye of Darkness. Bayonetta 2 reveals that this is only vaguely true: Balder was duped by the Cardinal Virtues into starting the Witch Hunts and he was properly mortified when he realized it, he loved Rosa and his daughter dearly, and his plan in the first game was to recreate the world so he could bring Rosa back, which had been twisted and distorted by Loptr, who was possessing and corrupting him from within, driving him to his evil actions.
I Was Quite a Looker: The Masked Lumen in 2 is him. And he was quite the Bishounen in his day.
Karmic Death: Balder's Evil Plan was to resurrect Jubileus and allow it to destroy the entire universe, and recreate it for the angels. He succeeds and is its first victim. Subverted in the sequel, as it turns out he lived through being absorbed by Jubileus, and all his evil deeds should be accredited to Loptr.
Kick the Dog: He's rather fond of this, to say the least. From trying to have Luka pulled apart by angels like he did with his father twenty years earlier before sending him out a window to mocking Jeanne after her death in front of Bayonetta and revealing he had her Brainwashed, you will have every reason to kick this bastard's smarmy ass by the time the battle starts. Reveals in the second game attribute these to Loptr instead.
Kill Sat: He tries to hit Bayonetta with a satellite laser cannon. When that doesn't work, he drops it on top of her. It doesn't help.
Knight of Cerebus: Barring a bad pun he throws out, the brief screen time he has is completely humorless. Bayonetta gets pissed enough at him that she quickly drops her Deadpan Snarker attitude.
Knight Templar: He is bound and determined to make sure that Paradiso is victorious in their struggle against Inferno, even if the entire world is destroyed in the process. Subverted in the second game where we learn that this is just the result of being tainted by Loptr's evil.
Kung-Shui: He destroys buildings and satellites throughout his fight with Bayonetta.
Large Ham: The guy chews the scenery into an extravagant paste.
Laser Blade: His main attack during the boss fight with him.
Last of His Kind: His doing, alongside the genocide of the Umbra Witches. Or rather it isn't, but rather it's Loptr's fault.
Light 'em Up: Primarily fights using the power of light.
Light Is Not Good: He is named after the god of light in Norse Mythology, has white hair, pale skin, wears a golden mask, is one commanding the angels, and wields The Power of the Sun. He orchestrated the genocide of both the Umbra Witches and all the other Lumen Sages, upsetting the balance of darkness and light in the universe in the process. He also killed Antonio Redgrave, the father of Luka and does not seem to care for his daughter beyond being a tool for the awakening of Jubileus, who he intends to use to destroy the current universe so that a prettier one can be created. Subverted with The Reveal in Bayonetta 2 that Light Is Good All Along, as his evil actions were because he was Brainwashed and Crazy on account of Loptr's soul within him.
Love Makes You Crazy: According to Bloody Fate, he was driven mad after being forced to separate from the woman he loved. Crazy enough that he ended up killing her so that he could remake the world. As revealed in 2, this alone wasn't enough. He was also corrupted from the inside out by the soul of Loptr in his body over time.
Luke, I Am Your Father: He's Bayonetta's father, with some shades of Pervert Dad as well. Bayonetta is understandably weirded out. Subverted as of 2, where he genuinely was a loving father and that all his negative traits were the result of Loptr's possession.
Meaningful Echo: 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, at the beginning of the second game, when he dies, he finally says those words the way a father should, foreshadowing his fundamental goodness.
Mind over Matter: Has powerful telekinesis and uses this to fling a building, fire a Kill Sat, then throw said Kill Sat at Bayonetta.
My Grandson, Myself: A variation - according to Antonio's notebook, the CEO of Ithavoll Group has claimed to be a descendant of the Lumen Sages. When Bayonetta finally meets him, it turns out he is in fact a Lumen Sage himself.
A Nazi by Any Other Name: After Balder makes his speech all about his Evil Plan and how he wants to destroy the universe Luka states that everything he says is "Diarrhea of the mouth" because there's been infamous genocidal figures just like him.
Neck Snap: How he kills Gomorrah.
No-Sell: All of your summons do literally no damage to so much as his clothing before he kills them. Even the finishing blow, a tube of lipstick shot like a bullet right into his head is proven afterwards to have done pretty much nothing.
Oh, Crap!: He's too theatrical to say "oh crap", but he has this reaction after he realizes that 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.
Omnicidal Maniac: His plan to reunite the three realms would end up killing everyone.
One-Winged Angel: When he prepares to fight Bayonetta, he sprouts twelve wings.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: He tells Bayonetta in 2 that she should be the one to kill him should he go evil.
Orgasmic Combat: Even your most powerful attacks does nothing more than make him groan or moan.
Path of Inspiration: He's been manipulating the people of Vigrid with the Lumen Sages' religion to expand the ranks of his army and destroy all traces of the Umbra Witches. Not to mention his ultimate goal of reviving Jubileus, which means the end of the world.
Playing with Fire: Uses fire in some of his attacks such as tossing fireballs or summoning pillars of flame from below.
Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: He's very polite towards Bayonetta. She considers him a horrible, irredeemable monster and treats him as such.
Power Gives You Wings: Twelve of them, in fact.
The Power of the Sun: As a Lumen Sage, he derives his power from the sun.
Purple Prose: Don't expect his speeches to be simple. His introduction monologue would be half as long if he expressed himself with simple words. It's even lampshaded by Bayonetta.
Bayonetta: Could you dispose with the riddles and tell me what these sodding Eyes actually are?
Really 700 Years Old: Over 600 years old. He was born October 25th, 1379.
Red Baron: Called the Tyrant Sage in the lore entries in Bayonetta 2, and Master of the Heavens in the achievement for beating his boss fight.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Bayonetta's red. Best seen in the cutscene before his boss battle, when his cold, calculating personality clashes with Bayonetta's showy, emotional, and furious comments.
Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: He is named after the god of light in Norse Mythology.
Satanic Archetype: The best and brightest of an angelic holy order that fell from grace and eventually destroyed them all. On top of that his boss form's design was based after Lucifer, and in 2 rebelled against God alongside one of the forces of hell. Ironically enough, he wasn't even evil.
Silver Fox: He might have gray hair, but he still possesses an air of sophistication.
Sinister Minister: He's the self-styled High Priest of Vigrid's pseudo-religion, but is also an Omnicidal Maniac responsible for the extermination of the Umbra Witches.
Sissy Villain: He certainly acts the part with his soft, preening voice, and his fashion sense is atrociously flamboyant (a dead albino peacock as a stole, a gold half-mask, and a monocle earring, among other things). Underneath it all, though, he's also a nigh godlike Lumen Sage.
Sphere of Destruction: Can trap Bayonetta in a ball of light, leaving her open to attack.
Star-Crossed Lovers: With Rosa, as the movie shows. The fact that the world drove them apart eventually drove him mad, causing him to try and destroy it and remake it anew. His final moments as Sheba kills Jubileus has him longingly calling out for Rosa.
The Stoic: He's calm throughout both chapters he appears in, but when Jeanne pulls Bayonetta from the statue of Jubileus he totally loses his shit (and for good reason):
Balder: Are you insane?! Light and dark! Unless both halves remain, the universe will lose its balance and face another Armageddon!
Taking You with Me: In the opening for 2, he appears to do this for an evil influence that has inhabited his body, apparently driving his madness, dying, but adamant that the influence and he will "perish together." As the ending of the same game reveals, that is Loptr, whom he imprisoned within his body.
This Is Gonna Suck: Of course, once Balder realizes that he's going to die for nothing, he accepts his fate, taking care to make his last words Meaningless Meaningful Words.
Time-Shifted Actor: He is voiced by Grant Albrecht and Norio Wakamoto as an old man and by Crispin Freeman and Takehito Koyasu as his younger self, the Masked Lumen.
Time Stands Still: Like all Lumen Sages, he can perform Light Speed to move at incredible speeds. Though he only uses it once during the cutscene before the fight, the difficulty of getting a slowdown off of his normal attacks suggests that he can counteract Witch Time as fast as it's triggered.
Tragic Villain: Bloody Fate explains his motivations as being driven to madness by being seperated from Rosa as well as from the "injustices" of the world. 2 further explains he was not only tricked by the Cardinal Virtues into starting the Witch Hunts (something he's horrified by when he realizes it), but his evil was caused by being Brainwashed and Crazy due to a Heroic Sacrifice earlier in his life.
Trauma Conga Line: This poor bastard goes through the absolute wringer: he's ousted from his clan for his forbidden love with Rosa, tricked into starting the Witch Hunts, his beloved wife dies in his arms, he's manipulated into trying to kill his own daughter, he goes through his wife dying in his arms a second time, he's possessed by a God of Evil and goes insane, gets killed by his daughter, and if the lore is anything to go by, when he ultimately died saving the world from Loptr's influence, his soul was taken to Paradiso and mutated into another angel for his daughter to kill. WHOOF.
Two Aliases, One Character: He and the Masked Lumen are the same person.
Villain with Good Publicity: He credits the visible opulence of Isla Del Sol to his leadership skills. He's probably right in that regard, though of course he doesn't make it publicly known that his ultimate goal is to destroy everything.

Masked Lumen

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/546be9109f8ad804917a8bcab29cbb4d.png

"Very well then, Bayonetta: you shall be the first Umbra Witch to die at my hands!"

Voiced by: Crispin Freeman (EN), Takehito Koyasu (JP)

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 was brought forth by Aesir.

Animorphism: Can transform into a white wolf during combat.
Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: There is a flashback cutscene of the end of the first game where Balder is freed from Loptr's influence, but sacrifices himself to slay the god. As he dies, he promises to watch over Bayonetta from the afterlife. He Disappears into Light and accepts his fate.
Badass Boast: Prior to the final battle:
"Humans need not be told what their will shall be. We can create our world with our own eyes! ... We may not see our next step. We may stumble. We may fall off the path. But we always move forward. That is the power of man."
Call-Back:
- The entire last battle against him is basically a Father Balder rematch with Bayo 2's combat system. He sprouts a huge set of wings shaped like peacock feathers, he fights like he did in the first game, and the exact same music plays.
- Because only the Umbra Witches are playable in story mode, the other characters have custom animations for victory poses in Tag Climax. Balder's has him imitating the 'feather as a hair comb' animation from his anti-Scolopendra cutscene.
Colour Coded Time Stop: Starting with his second boss fight, he will perform an attack where he shoots out a deceptively fast beam of symbols shaped like clocks. If it hits Bayonetta, she will be left defenseless, turning everything greyscale.
Combat Stilettos: Fittingly given he's a Mirror Boss, he has high heels much like Bayonetta's, making him a Rare Male Example.
Crusading Widower: He spends most of the game hunting down who he believes to be Rosa's murderer.
Determinator: He is determined to kill Loki, and come hell or high water he will make sure of it.
Masked Lumen: He will not be forgiven! He will never be forgiven! On my soul as a Lumen, he will draw his last breath before me!
Difficult, but Awesome: Pulling off combos with him is a good deal more difficult than with any other character (save Rodin) because he doesn't have kick/strong attacks, but rather powerful long-range elemental spells. Unlike Rodin, he still can play as a proper rush-down character, but simply requires a bit more work as his spells are better suited as either setups/launchers and finishers, with his punch/weak combos doing most of the heavy lifting. The end result is that his combos aren't as impressive and require more work to pull them off, but as tradeoff, he's an excellent support character, with his spells being the strongest ranged attacks in the game, being able to dish out consistent damage at a safe distance. As a bonus, his Light Speed is also a marked improvement over Witch Time, outright freezing time as opposed to slowing it down, and lasting a fraction longer.
Double Weapon: His weapon of choice, the Holy Glaive, is a golden double-bladed halberd. It can be split apart to serve as two swords.
Feather Flechettes: Uses this to deflect Loki's cards when he first encounters him. The final battle with him has him firing a barrage of these. He also throws them as projectiles instead of shooting a gun when he's playable during Tag Climax.
Fire, Ice, Lightning: When playable in Tag Climax, he casts a variety of elemental spells when the kick button is pressed, mostly fire and lightning. His boss fights take it further.
Good All Along: He is an uncorrupted version of Balder who just wants to have peace between the two clans. Unfortunately, he became an Unwitting Pawn of Loptr in the process.
Good is Not Nice: He's a good man, but extremely stoic and prickly when he's not consumed with rage. He still proves his chops as a hero however, and a man driven by love for his family.
Guest-Star Party Member: He joins Bayonetta as a party member in the last two chapters.
Heroes Prefer Swords: His Holy Glaive straddles the line between being a sword and a spear, and he turns out to be Good All Along.
Heroic Sacrifice: He chose to seal Loptr away inside of himself, knowing that he will eventually be corrupted. As such, his final words to Bayonetta are to ask her to strike him down when the time comes.
High-Class Glass: Unmasked, he wears a monocle with stylized rays of light around the side of it.
Humans Are Special: He's an ardent believer in this as the quote above will tell you. When Loptr claims that human free will is a joke, the Sage pretty much tells him to shut the hell up and launches into a Patrick Stewart Speech boasting about how free will means that humanity's outgrown him and has no need for Aesir's Eyes of the World. He ends up being right. And to top his speech off:
Lumen: Bayonetta! Shall we illustrate?
Bayonetta: Let's rock!
I Am Not Left-Handed: In the final fight with him, he completely cuts loose and makes full use of his Lumen Sage powers, fighting exactly like he does in the first game.
Irony: In the Records of Time, Bayonetta praises him for being "the silent type", comparing him to how Balder "spent 20 minutes rambling on and on". Unbeknowst to her, he is Balder, from before he was possessed by Loptr and became that rambler.
Knight in Shining Armor: The Masked Lumen behaves with remarkable chivalry and honor in a series full of underhandedness and combat pragmatists. He repeatedly says that he has no interest in fighting Bayonetta, only Loki, and gives her the option to step aside in the first two fights. Each time, she doesn't, so he engages her in combat, but makes a clear effort to hold back. It's only after Bayonetta interferes a third time that he declares that he's going to kill her and fights at full power.
Knight of Cerebus: Like his future counterpart, things get very serious when he makes an appearance.
Light 'em Up: As a Lumen Sage, he fights using light magic.
Light Is Not Good: He's a Bishōnen under his golden Cool Mask, has platinum blonde hair, pale skin, wears immaculate white robes, has sun motifs, summons angels to fight for him, and wields both fire and lightning powers. Anybody's who's played the first game knows this fellow is trouble. Subverted in that he's just misguided. He actually falls under Light Is Good.
Limit Break: As a boss, he only uses his strongest attack once he has a Cardinal Virtue out on the battlefield. He'll force Bayonetta away with a Combo Breaker and start channeling light over his head as he focuses; as he does so, the Virtue in question will suddenly gain the upper hand in its brawl with Bayonetta's summoned demon and turn its focus on her. Unless Bayonetta can stagger the Masked Lumen in time, the Virtue will hit her with a powerful attack.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: He has waist-length hair.
Magic Knight: While every major character in the setting is this to some degree, he fits the classic description the best: in Tag Climax, the kick button is used to cast various elemental spells instead and he doesn't use his feet in combat at all.
Malevolent Masked Man: His face is hidden behind an ornate golden mask styled to look like both a sun and an eye.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: He's the only playable character who doesn't have kick attacks, rather they're replaced with powerful elemental spells.
Mirror Boss: He uses Lumen Sage versions of Bayonetta's moves.
Misplaced Retribution: He's a little blinded by his desire for revenge and isn't too keen on making sure he's killing the person who's actually responsible.
Noble Wolf: He uses a wolf as his Beast Within transformation, and his entire reason for clashing with Bayonetta is that he thinks Loki killed his wife. When the truth comes to light, he's all too willing to ally with Bayonetta to see Loptr destroyed, even if he has to become the villain of the first game in the process.
No Fair Cheating: If you use an item during the first two battles with him, he will actually stop what he's doing just to shame you for it.
Masked Lumen: ...you have disappointed me.
Nominal Villain: He relentlessly pursues Loki, clashing with Bayonetta as a side effect, out of vengeance not knowing that Loptr has deceived him by painting Loki as Rosa's murderer, but relents once everything is sorted out. It is also revealed that Balder imprisoned Aesir within himself, suggesting that his evil actions in the first game were a result of Aesir corrupting him.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: Compared to the previous bosses in the series and their tendency to devour the scenery with relish, the Masked Lumen seems to find little use for Trash Talk. The first time he is fought he does not utter a single word to Bayonetta before engaging her in combat.
One-Hit Kill: Deals out a headshot to Labolas with his glaive once the hellhound succeeds in finishing off Fortitudo. Judging by the demon's reaction, he picked the right head.
Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions: Invoked, at the climax of the second game he goes into a lengthy diatribe about how mankind can make up for its own past misgivings without courtship from an all powerful jackass sitting on high, that whatever's been made wrong can be righted again by humanity's own hand.
Power Gives You Wings: Can fly through the air with peacock wings similar to the ones used by Father Balder. Fitting, as he is him, and so has the same pacts.
The Power of the Sun: His weapon, clothing, and mask all have sun motifs and he has sun magic. Kind of part-and-parcel of the whole Lumen Sage thing.
Recurring Boss: He's fought three times over the course of the second game. Having also been fought in the first game's penultimate chapter, he qualifies as a series-wide version as well. Tag Climax adds another randomly-unlocked battle with him tag-teaming with Rosa.
Revenge: Against Loki for killing Rosa. But in reality, it was actually Loptr disguising himself as Loki to manipulate him.
Summon Bigger Fish: Just as our heroine can call forth demons, the Masked Lumen can call forth angels. In his case, he brings out the Cardinal Virtues from the previous game. Temperantia mirrors Bayonetta's use best, being summoned after Bayo calls in Madama Butterfly.
Time Stands Still: Using his Light Speed, the Lumen Sage can easily keep up with Bayonetta's Witch Time ability. Best seen immediately before the first boss fight, where he casually grabs a handful of bullets shot at him from almost point-blank range and drops them to the ground. Also, one of his attacks is to fire a set of clock-shaped magical blasts that will slow Bayonetta down if it connects.
Two Aliases, One Character: He and Balder are the same person.
Unwitting Pawn: Of Loptr.
Vancian Magic: Implied. Whereas Bayonetta summons her infernal demons by speaking incantation and doing a ritual dance, the Masked Lumen merely speaks the incantation and throws a few feathers to summon his Auditio, and never summons the same Auditio twice this way. However, when summoning Omne with Bayonetta, even he performs a ritual dance, suggesting that for that particular summon he has not brought appropriate summoning feathers.
Villainous Vow: A given when taking his honorable nature into account. Before his last fight with Bayonetta, he specifically calls her by name, asking if he can do so beforehand, and declares that she will be the first Umbra Witch to die at his hands. When he pins Bayonetta with his light beam and begins to gain the upper hand, he vows that Loki will die before him, never to be forgiven.
Would Hurt a Child: Attempts to strike down Loki without an ounce of remorse or hesitation. Had Bayonetta not interfered, he would have killed him then and there. Then again, he does believe that said child killed his lover...
You Killed My Father: His reason for trying to kill Loki; he's mistaking him for Loptr, who he saw kill Rosa.

Hierarchy of Laguna

Angels of Paradiso

Spiritual beings from the celestial world of Paradiso and the primary antagonists and enemies of the series. They were allied with the Lumen Sages.

In General

Hierarchy of Laguna's Symbol

Angels that are the soldiers of Paradiso that Bayonetta hunts, collectively known as "Laguna" and are worshiped by the people of Vigrid.

Angelic Abomination: The angels of Paradiso are anything but friendly-looking. Angels are depicted in all manner of shapes and sizes; human-sized winged soldiers, giant hulking baby-faced brutes, angelic automobiles, horrific abominations with writhing tentacles with multiple heads and upside down faces. Almost all of them are depicted with angelic white wings and a Gold and White Are Divine motif. The developers actually used the depictions of angels from The Bible as inspiration for how they should look.
Bargain with Heaven: Much like how the Umbra Witches make pacts with the demons of Inferno, their light counterparts, the Lumen Sages, make pacts with the Hierarchy of Laguna, granting them enhanced physical prowess and light magic on par with the Umbra Witches. When they die, their souls ascend to Paradiso where they are reincarnated as high-ranking angels in the Hierarchy. It's more pleasant than the fate of the Witches on the surface, but is implied to end with them Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul and eventually becoming an Empty Shell that is transformed into a lobotomized angel.
Beast with a Human Face: Many Angels have marble, statuesque human faces, which is often the sole human feature on them. For example, Fortitudo is a gigantic two-headed dragon which has an upside-down face on its torso, and Sapientia is a colossal lizard with human faces on the joints of its legs.
Butt-Monkey: The lower ranks are treated like this by the Witches.
Demoted to Extra: In Bayonetta 3, the Homunculi's presence has sealed off Paradiso from Earth. Small packs of Angels can still be found and fought in out-of-the-way locations (as well as bonus challenges like the Witch Trials), but it's clear that they're nowhere near the power they were in past games.
God and Satan Are Both Jerks: The angels basically want to turn humanity into a conformist fascist authoritarian theocracy. Their rivals the Demons are a bunch of chaotic opportunists who love fighting each other to see who is strongest as much as their angel enemies.
Holy Halo: The angels, of course. The number of layers and elaboration of the design depends on the sphere of the angel in question. Jubileus, naturally, sports the most impressive one of all.
Lawful Stupid: Especially the lower ranked angels.
Light Is Not Good: They're the light counterparts to demons, but just as, if not more, evil.
Mistaken for Granite: Some levels have stone statues in the shape of various angels. You can smash them if you want, but some of them contain actual angels inside.
Our Angels Are Different: The angels and demons are less about "Good" and "Evil" factions and more about "Light" and "Dark" and the unspoken agreement to try and not kill each other and mortals enough to cause an imbalance. Beyond that, it can be inferred that the angels are as much liars and tricksters as the demons, under all that polite, self-righteous veneer. At first glance, they have all the marble skin, gilded armor, and glowing halos of light (and choral accompaniment). Beat them up, and all that falls off, leaving horrible monsters with dripping juices, exposed muscle tissue and eyes where they probably shouldn't be. An interesting side note here - angels are described in great detail in The Bible, and Bayonetta's development team has Shown Their Work. Each category of angels looks the way it's described in the Bible, and the different types are helpfully and correctly identified the first time they show up.
Sculpted Physique: The angels have this, at least to begin with. Specifically, note what Temperantia looks like at the end of the fight.
Shown Their Work: The game's angels look pretty bizarre when placed next to their counterparts from other media (for one thing, under their porcelain armor, they're studded with eyes), but the Bible states that angels spent a lot of their time trying to calm down the people they appeared to. Also, there's one enemy that looks like a locust with a scorpion tail, a sort of creature which is supposed to appear just before Christ's return and sting unbelievers to death. Of course, depending on whether you're drawing from the Bible or from later sources/artists, the accuracy will vary as the modern image of angels (people with wings) came out long after the Bible was written.
Too Dumb to Live: They daily send troops to attack any living Umbra Witches. The thing is, Umbra Witches are killed by the Demons of Inferno if they don't kill the Laguna often enough. The most efficient way to kill them would be for all the angels to hide until the Infernals come to collect. As may be surmised, angels are not that bright.
Turned Against Their Masters: All of them betrayed the Lumen Sages during the Lumen-Umbra war, which is why the Lumens lost. The Witches held on longer because only some of the demons joined with the Angels to betray the witches.
Villain with Good Publicity: Considering they are angels, all of the Angels of Paradiso have this, judging from how their journal entries all talk about their kindness, mercy, and neglect to mention such things as human sacrifice or the likelihood of the annihilation of creation. The Angels are generally treated as a bigger threat to humanity than the Demons of Inferno because even though they're much stupider, they're better organized and more prone to meddling.
Was Once a Man: Angels, as revealed in a very early cutscene, were once religious zealots who committed Seppuku.
Would Hit a Girl: The angels will attack anyone, especially Bayonetta and other Umbra Witches. Not that Bayonetta doesn't welcome the chance to fight them.

Dea

Dea Halo

Highest-ranking and most powerful angel of the Hierarchy of Laguna.

Jubileus

Jubileus, the Creator

Dea of the Hierarchy of Laguna, creator of the the world, the ruler of Paradiso, and the embodiment of the Divine Will. The Angels of Paradiso seek to revive her in the first game in order to reunite the Trinity of Realities, which would result in the complete destruction of the world.

Abnormal Ammo: One of her attacks has her firing what appears to be small, spiraling galaxies at Bayonetta. Getting hit by them turns her into a child.
Adaptational Badass: While still a powerful goddess, Bayonetta escaping as the ritual was underway made her significantly less powerful, letting her be easily curb-stomped by Queen Sheba. In Bloody Fate she is depicted as Queen Sheba's equal and fights her on relatively equal terms.
Almighty Idiot: Due to her resurrection being incomplete, she is revived as a mindless, uncontrollable force of nature.
Came Back Wrong: Revived at fifty percent, communicates entirely through shrieks and screams, fights sloppily and predictably, and is significantly less powerful than her counterpart, Sheba.
Celestial Body: Unlike the rest of Paradiso angels, once you break her marble skin, it shows expanse of outer space complete with stars instead of visceral organs.
Combat Tentacles: It uses its "hair" to impale Bayonetta. The hair ribbons also have mouths that fire various blasts of elemental magic. They also serve as her weak points and damaging them causes them to lose their golden feathers.
Clipped-Wing Angel: A near-literal example. While still a God with god-like reserves of power, she wasn't nearly as powerful as she should have been since Jean removed Bayonetta (the Left Eye) before her resurrection could be completed, hence why she was unable to annihilate one Umbra Witch and her infernal-counterpart Queen Sheba was so much more impressive by comparison.
Deader than Dead: Her soul burns up in the sun, though for her, it seems it's just a cleansing rather than actual death.
Distaff Counterpart: Fanon says she is this to either Mundus or The Savior.
Dimension Lord: Theoretically, the ruler of Paradiso. She was sealed away when the Trinity of Realities split though, so she doesn't do a lot of ruling.
Drama-Preserving Handicap: Jeanne retrieves the title character from Jubileus' left eye, allowing the goddess to only use half of her full power.
Earth-Shattering Kaboom: As a testament to her power, even after being battered by Bayonetta and Queen Sheba, her soul and her badly-mangled physical vessel each still contains enough power to utterly destroy any planet she collides head-on with. You have to steer her soul into the sun, the only celestial body strong enough to withstand her, and Bayonetta has to tear apart her physical body into more manageable debris.
Elemental Powers: Possesses control over many elements.
Even More Omnipotent: It is believed that Jubileus was put to sleep when the Trinity of Worlds was formed to prevent the universe from becoming undone in her image, her existence as Necessarily Evil to keep the Light aspect of this trinity going and that she could undo the Trinity on a whim. 2 elaborates that all three realms have their own god (presumably of equal might), Jubileus being the god of Paradiso and the Angels, Queen Sheba the god of Inferno and the Demons and Aesir over Earth, Purgatorio and Humanity.
Final Boss: Of the first game.
Finger Poke of Doom: It uses this when summoning lightning.
Fire, Ice, Lightning: Among other attacks, when her "hairs" hook in to the battlefield's "ground," she can either shoot out a bird made of fire, unleash ice balls, or create strikes of lightning. Midway through the fight, she even changes the arena to reflect those three elements: a sphere of lava, a sphere of ice, and a tornado with lightning being shot everywhere.
Fountain of Youth: One of her attacks can turn Bayonetta into a child.
Gender-Blender Name: Reverse of the Virtues, Jubileus is an explicitly masculine name yet the holder is visibly female and holds the title Dea, meaning goddess.
God: The most powerful angel of all and is referred to as The Creator by just about all the other bosses. Her Boss Subtitle is Dea, which is Latin for Goddess. Of the three rulers, she's the only one to predate the Trinity of Realities.
God Is Evil: This god is not benevolent at all.
Good Old Fisticuffs: Attacks by punching you.
Greater-Scope Villain: Of the first game. Subverted, in that it's really Loptr who's the Greater-Scope Villain, but Jubileus takes the credit through Lumen Sage mythology.
Have You Seen My God?: She was forced into sleep in order to form the Trinity of Realities, but her mere presence is required to keep the world in balance. Her destruction at the end of the first game has serious repercussions in the sequel.
An Ice Person: Can turn the battlefield into a wintry void, complete with nasty freezing effects.
Identical Stranger: Like Queen Sheba, she resembles Bayonetta. According to Word of God, this is deliberate. invoked
Karmic Death: The insane goddess of light and ruler of a realm aligned with the sun is killed by throwing her soul on the sun.
Light 'em Up: She is the god of light after all.
Light Is Not Good: She's the most powerful being in Paradiso, and the first game's final boss.
Macross Missile Massacre: Can summon missiles.
Mighty Glacier: Hits like a tank and moves as fast as one.
Mother Goddess: The Angels worship Jubileus as the creator of the world - and as the only god to predate the First Armageddon she might actually be the Creator they hail her as.
The Older Immortal: Sheba and Aesir were born when the First Armageddon split the Trinity of Realities to rule over Inferno and the World of Chaos. Jubileus was sealed away by the Armageddon, and forced into dominion over just Paradiso.
Playing with Fire: She'll turn the floor into lava while doing this.
Rasputinian Death: She has her powers beaten out of her several times, the ruler of Inferno is summoned to punch her out, her soul fries in the Sun, and Bayonetta and Jeanne destroy the statue that formed her body until there's not enough of it to punch through the atmosphere. And this, at half power.
Reality Warper: Being a goddess, it is capable of warping reality at a whim. As the fight rages on, it changes the arena several times, from a lava-filled field to a winter wonderland to a stormy backdrop.
Shock and Awe: Has some electric attacks and can turn the battlefield into a stormy backdrop.
Shows Damage: As Jubileus takes damage, her porcelain skin begins to crack, revealing a black void in place. Also, as you damage her hair, it begins to lose its golden feathers.
Teens Are Monsters: Kamiya himself stated that Jubileus's true personality is like "those of a typical, self-absorbed 16-year old girl". Being a God of Paradiso of all things, it can't be anything good.
Time Abyss: While the other gods were born when the Trinity of Realities split, Jubileus predates the Trinity, making her older than current universe.
Troubled Fetal Position: Her default pose throughout the fight.
The Unpronounceable: Her real name is composed of divine syllables that no human can speak. They just gave her the name "Jubileus" out of convenience.
Unrealistic Black Hole: One of her attacks is to punch a hole straight through the sphere they're fighting in, causing a vacuum effect that will suck Bayonetta into outer space. It's instant death if it's successful.
Your Size May Vary: She's around Sheba's size when we first see her, then during the boss fight with her she's more around the size of the Cardinal virtues.

Auditio

In General

Auditio Halo

"Jubileus qaal ovof vomsarg!"^note

- Repeated line

Also known as The Cardinal Virtues, they make up the second highest-ranking and most powerful angels of the Hierarchy of Laguna, are the embodiments of the Cardinal Virtues and serve as Paradiso's generals and effectual leaders in Jubileus's absence. Their main objective is to bring their beloved creator back at any cost, and aren't above making use of their nature-bending powers to do so.

Tropes common to all four of the Auditio:

Affably Evil: Outside of battle, they're very polite and respectful to Bayonetta, complimenting her strength while also providing exposition. They're certainly more polite and respectful than she is to them. While their speeches before battle aren't of much interest to her, the ones afterward tend to contain something Bayonetta's interested in.
Angelic Abomination: While angels, they do not look friendly or human.
Back for the Dead: Inverted. When Bayonetta gets transported back 500 years to the destruction of the Umbra Witches, she gets to fight the Virtues all over again as minibosses. They survive, of course, because Bayonetta has to kill them in the first game.
Bilingual Bonus: Their names mean Courage, Temperance, Justice, and Prudence in Latin.
Bilingual Dialogue: All their dialogue is in Enochian, with Bayonetta bantering back in English (or Japanese).
The Cardinal Virtues: Represent the four classical virtues in Greek philosophy and the catholic church: courage (Fortitudo), temperance (Temperantia), justice (Iustitia), and prudence (Sapientia, though his name means "wisdom").
Celestial Paragons and Archangels: Basically this setting's equivalent of the archangels.
Classical Elements Ensemble: Each embodies a different classical elementFortitudo, Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude and the Bringer of Flame is fire. Temperantia, Cardinal Virtue of Temperance and Manipulator of Wind is air. Sapientia, Cardinal Virtue of Prudence and Controller of Seas is water. And Iustitia, Cardinal Virtue of Justice and Giver of Life, who represents Earth.
Co-Dragons: As mentioned above, the four acted as the generals of Jubileus' army in Paradiso. They also play this role to the main antagonist, although they would prefer to think of themselves as part of a Big Bad Ensemble.
Dying Curse: The seemingly benevolent "May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you!" that all the Cardinal Virtues roar at Bayonetta as they die is actually this. Jubileus "gracing" anything will result in the utter destruction of everything in every universe and reality, so they're really just telling Bayonetta to die in screaming agony.
Elemental Powers: Each one commands a different element. Fortitudo can command fire, Temperantia controls wind, Iustitia can control plants, and Sapientia commands water.
Elite Four: The four make up the highest angelic hierarchy, right below Jubileus herself.
Embodiment of Virtue: Goes without saying.
Evil Sounds Deep: Played straight with all but Iustitia, who sounds child-like and high pitched in comparison to the others.
Irony:
- All of them display traits that are a stark contrast to the virtue they embody. Fortitudio repeatedly tries to discourage Bayonetta from confronting him, Temperantia has some rather suggestive dialogue with her, etc. According to their codex entries though, this happens because they're built to invoke and inspire these virtues onto people, and not practicing them.
- This extends to their boss themes: "Fortitudo: In Labors and Dangers" is a slow death march that is anything but encouraging, "Temperantia: In Foregoing Pleasures" has a rocking choir and heavy brass and percussion that hardly show restraint, "Iustitia: In Giving Every Man His Due" uses chaotic rhythms and overpowering instrumentation that suit indiscriminate terror more than fairness and justice, and "Sapientia: In the Choice Between Good and Evil" tries to juggle predictable, simple rhythms and a highly impulsive piano line instead of anything organized.
Karmic Death: They all die at Bayonetta's hands in increasingly fitting ways.
- Fortitudo led the charge in slaughtering the witches and civilians, and one of his signature moves is trying to impale Bayonetta with his tail. He's also the first Auditio to be beaten to death, impaled, and dragged to hell.
- Temperantia is The Brute whose signature move is his electrically charged punch, with his arms as his primary weapons. So it's only fair that a six-armed demon, with even more strength than he has, rips off his arms and punches him to death.
- Iustitia is introduced trying to strangle Bayonetta to death with its tentacles. Bayonetta returns the favor by summoning an even larger constrictor demon to crush the angel into a bloody mess.
- Sapientia's arrogant, bigoted, and spends most of his fight trying to eat Bayonetta or drag her underwater. Instead he dies when he's dragged into one of his own whirlpools and eaten by a group of demons.
Light Is Not Good: Being angels, they have holy halos and some light attacks. They've also committed genocide and are planning full on omnicide.
Omnicidal Maniac: All of them basically want everyone dead via resurrection of Jubileus.
Person of Mass Destruction: Being one seems to be a requirement to be one of the Auditio as all of them are this. Fortitudo can turn a battlefield into a death trap using his power over fire and lava, Temperantia can create storms and hurricanes by sheer will, Iustitia can create large pools of acidic poison, and Sapientia can create whirlpools and floods with his control over water.

Fortitudo, Bringer of Flame

Fortitudo, the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fortitudo.png

"The taint of the dark world is upon you. Yet you have made but a pact with the darkness in exchange for the powers of a witch. It was said that one such pitiful creature survived the annihilation. Tell me, my child. What is your name?"

Voiced by: George Ball

The first of the Audito, representing the virtue of Courage and Fortitude, as well as the element of Fire. A massive, two-headed, dragon-like creature, he played a large role in the Witch Hunts, and therefore is a key part of Bayonetta's lost memories. She encounters him the most during her journey.

According to the Hierarchy of Laguna, his terrifying appearance is meant to inspire courage in those that see it.

Bad Boss: Wanted the Lumen Sages wiped out along with the witches. Since the Sages worked for the angels, by definition he's this.
Beware My Stinger Tail: In the second phase of the fight, he attempts to impale Bayonetta with his tail. This actually backfires, as Bayonetta eventually grabs that tail and tosses him so she can summon Malphas.
Breath Weapon: Breathes fire from all of his mouths.
Colossus Climb: Bayonetta runs up his body on two separate occasions to grab one of his heads and flip him over before tearing it off.
Draconic Abomination: He is a powerful angel resembling a two-headed dragon with feathered wings and an upside-down marble head for a body.
Dragons Are Divine: He takes the form of a two headed dragon, and is only beneath God herself in the angels hierarchy.
Dirty Coward: Downplayed Trope. He doesn't run from his boss fights with Bayonetta, but he only ever challenges her with some kind of advantage. In the Witch Hunts he only attacked Bayonetta and Rosa while having an army of angels at his back. He was perfectly happy to kill two trainee Umbra Witches but the moment Bayonetta was capable of fighting back he fled. In his actual boss fight in the first game, he fights Bayonetta in a colosseum where he has a Homefield Advantage.
Early-Bird Cameo: Fortitudo appears in the short introductory fight and in subsequent flashbacks before confronting Bayonetta in the actual game's present.
Eaten Alive: Does this to several Umbra Witches in the first major fight with him.
Elemental Powers: Fire and magma.
Fantastic Racism: Doesn't think too highly of humans, as in Bayonetta 2 he brags about how easy it is to manipulate us since we "crave chaos."
Faux Affably Evil: Of all the Cardinal Virtues, he is the most polite, always speaking in a formal tone and actually apologizing for attacking Bayonetta earlier. He's also the one who started the Witch Hunts that resulted in her memory loss.
Hate Sink: Bayonetta 2 turns him into this. He was the one who tricked Balder into starting the Witch Hunts, and gloats about it to Balder's face as Rosa lays dying. By his own admission, he wanted the sages wiped out too. In the first game, one of the first things we see him do is take great pleasure in eating two Red Shirt Umbra Witches slowly and painfully. In another flashback, he has a crowd of innocent civilians cornered with his own angels preparing to kill them all.
Irony: He is supposed to be courage, and while he isn't outright cowardly, he prefers to avoid violence. In his first meeting with Bayonetta, he flees from her when she tries to shoot him and afterwards presumably sets Vigrid aflame with fire and lava while he's safe at the Colosseum. And when he does fight, he spends much of the battle off in the background, hucking fireballs at his foe from a safe distance away. He also enjoys preying on those smaller or weaker than he is, gloating as he has his angels attacking civilians during the Witch Hunts. According to his codex entry however, he's named after courage because his horrific appearance is intended to inspire courage unto others, and he doesn't need to practice these virtues himself.
Manipulative Bastard: It is revealed in Bayonetta 2 that he deceived Balder into initiating the witch hunts. He also brags about it before him and Rosa as the latter is dying.
Multiple Head Case: Subverted, Fortitudo has three heads (his two dragon heads and the face on his chest), but seems to be single-minded.
Optional Boss: In Bayonetta 3, he is fought as the boss of Phenominal Remnant 6 but is otherwise not encountered in the main story.
Our Dragons Are Different: He has two dragon heads.
Shockwave Stomp: Will attempt to crush Bayonetta under his feet.
Tail Slap: Will often employ this against Bayonetta.
A Twinkle in the Sky: In Bayonetta 2, Rosa and Bayonetta toss him clean into the sky.
You Talk Too Much!: The cutscene prior to the actual Boss Battle against him opens with him talking to himself about cryptic things and Bayonetta needing to draw his attention to her by shooting at him. Then she has to shoot him in the face to interrupt him again twice when he tries to go off on long involved rants about her before the boss battle can actually begin. While this would apply to all the Virtues as far as Bayonetta is concerned, he's definitely the worst of the lot in this regard.

Temperantia, Manipulator of Wind

Temperantia, the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/temperantia.png

"Ahh, the lovely Bayonetta. Such beautiful eyes... Despite the passing of time, you still hold the pride of an overseer, don't you?"

Voiced by: Yuri Lowenthal

The second of the Audito, Temperantia embodies the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance as well as the element of Air. He is a massive, castle-like giant with giant arms that look like gun turrets. He uses his power over wind to antagonize Bayonetta throughout her trek through Vigrid until he is defeated.

According to the Hierarchy of Laguna, Temperantia appears in the world as a mighty storm, meant to inspire temperance on the part of the faithful as they beg for the wind to spare their lives.

Barrier Warrior: In the third part of the fight, he protects his vulnerable face with a barrier.
Breath Weapon: Can fire gusts of wind from his mouth.
The Brute: All of the Auditio are bruisers, but his signature move in Bayonetta 2 is his Megaton Punch. Of all four of them he's the one to rely most heavily on his brute strength, only using his projectiles when necessary.
Colossus Climb: Three times. The first two serve the purpose of ripping his arms off, while the third batters his torso and face.
Combat Tentacles: His "fingers" are very flexible, allowing him to hold the debris Bayonetta stands on while shooting her all with one hand.
Elemental Powers: Wind and storm powers.
Elemental Punch: His most often used attack is an electrified punch.
Evil Laugh: Chuckles after seeing a trolley (apparently) crush Bayonetta.
Eye Beams: He starts spamming these as he loses his arms.
Gatling Good: Possibly overlapping with Pistol-Whipping; Temperantia's "fingers" double as guns, though he's perfectly happy to ball them up and take swings at Bayonetta.
Irony: He is supposed to be temperance, yet he has anger issues and possibly lust as well, since he makes remarks about how attractive Bayonetta is. Then there's also the fact that he's responsible for the storm occuring in the next few chapters until you face him, and he initially shows up as a massive tornado, which is befitting anything but the virtue of Temperance. Justified considering he apparently whips up massive tornadoes to inspire the masses to beg for it instead.
Rock Monster: His face, fingers, and neck are the only organic parts he has — everything else is either stone or metal.
Shock and Awe: Can fire lightning from his eyes and the jewel on his forehead.

Iustitia, Giver of Life

Iustitia, the Cardinal Virtue of Justice

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/justitia_boss_bayonetta_render_w_aura_by_shardraldevius_d9k8lee.png

"It was as the Lumen Sage foretold. Your power is indeed magnificent."

Voiced by: Grant Albrecht

The third of the Audito, Iustitia represents the Cardinal Virtue of Justice and the Element of Earth. It appears as an indecipherable mass of vaguely plant-like, demonic-looking tentacles, which serve to hinder Bayonetta's progress until she finally confronts their source.

According to the Hierarchy of Laguna, Iustitia's appearance is not fixed, and it changes with principles of justice established by mankind. Because of the ambiguous nature of justice, Iustitia is said to be the closest of Audito to Inferno.^note

Colossus Climb: Bayonetta must run along Iustitia's tentacles to strike their roots.
Combat Tentacles: Two varieties; thinner, thorned ones ending in flowers, and thicker ones ending in vulnerable faces.
Covered in Gunge: Can spit out a substance that looks and functions like glue to briefly immobilize Bayonetta.
Death or Glory Attack: In Bayonetta 1, after depleting all of his health Iustitia will gather power for a charging attack. Failing to activate the Quick Time Event will result in an instant death.
Elemental Powers: Earth, poison, light^note, and plants.
Hard Light: Overlapping with Laser Blade. Trying to run down Iustitia's tentacles will make it summon some of these to slow you down.
Irony: The cardinal virtue of justice attempts to kill Bayonetta without a word, and doesn't care about plowing through the innocent child and mortal man nearby to get to her, and in Bayonetta 2, Iustitia does not care at all about all the innocent civilians Fortitudo's forces killed to get at the witches. Even despite being listed as the Cardinal Virtue who represents Justice and who's the closest to Inferno, he doesn't care about the iffy circumstances the angels and Sages used to start the Clan Wars, either. A Justified case considering his appearance "warps based on the concept of justice of mankind", which is rather twisted, to say the least.
One-Hit Kill: In Bayonetta 1, if you fall off one of the rock platforms and down towards the poison below, one of Iustitia's plant tentacles try to eat you. Failing the Quick Time Event results in instant death for the player.
Spell My Name With An S: Iustitia's name is spelled with a capital I, not a capital J or a lowercase L.
Token Evil Teammate: Iustitia is described as "the virtue closest to Hell", due to the ambivalence of Justice. His profile points out that he looks slightly less angelic and more Angelic Abomination-like than the other virtues due to this. Ironically, it is also the only Auditio to actually display any traits of its virtue.
The Unfavorite: Iustitia is the only Cardinal Virtue not to be summoned by the Masked Lumen at some point in the sequel; Fortitudo, Tempermantia, and Sapientia clash with Labolas, Madama Butterfly, and Hydra during his boss fights.
Wave-Motion Gun: Launches these at you during the fight in Bayonetta 2.
Vocal Dissonance: Iustitia's voice is noticeably higher than the other Virtues' voices.
You Talk Too Much!: Noticeably averted in that it's the only Cardinal Virtue that doesn't give a speech — or speak at all, for that matter — before its battle.

Sapientia, Controller of Seas

Sapientia, the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sapentia.png

"Stone...? ...You think this is all about some worthless rock? [laughs] May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you! [laughs]"

Voiced by: Dave Fennoy

The last of the Audito, Sapientia represents the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence and the element of Water. He appears with Jeanne during her second confrontation with Bayonetta and challenges the Umbra Witch almost immediately afterwards. He acts as the main villain's second in command, and displays a none-too-subtle contempt for humanity. His appearance somewhat resembles a cross between an alligator and a panther.

According to the Hierarchy of Laguna, Sapientia is a narcissist who treats the rising and falling of the tides as an expression of the divine will despite the fact that he's the one doing it. He is also said to be the one who split the seas for Moses during the Exodus.

Breath Weapon: He can spit out fireballs.
Climax Boss: He's the last of the four Cardinal Virtues to be fought, and the last major boss before Bayonetta arrives on Isla del Sol.
Combat Tentacles: Which can shoot lasers.
Elemental Powers: Water, though he doesn't use it as often as the others.
Energy Weapon: They pop up in the final phase of the fight.
Evil Laugh: After Bayonetta defeats him, she taunts him — "I have no idea why you would want this stone!" — thinking it's the Left Eye. Sapientia finds this hilarious.
Fantastic Racism: Clearly regards humanity as inferior — including the Lumen Sages — though it bears a special disdain for Umbra Witches.
Irony He's meant to represent wisdom and prudence, yet he is a reckless, boastful asshole that is bigoted against humans, which only makes Bayonetta want to kill him even more. He also tries downing the airplane Bayonetta, Cereza and Jeanne are on. The former two are highly integral to Balder's plans, which showcases a lack of foresight or care the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence is supposed to exhibit. Granted, people apparently named him after the seas he governs that actually does represent prudence; he himself doesn't need to represent his virtue.
Macross Missile Massacre: Can fire missiles from its back.
Oh, Crap!: He tries to run away after seeing Bayonetta summon Phantasmaranae — too bad she jumps on him and steers him back so the demon can munch on his face.
Palate Propping: On the receiving end when Bayonetta throws an airplane's mast right into his mouth after she tires of his blathers.
Sea Monster: It vaguely looks like a crocodile with a shark's mouth.
Video Game Historical Revisionism: Sapientia's profile states that he parted the Red Sea as reward to Moses' faith.
Walk on Water: Zig-zagged. Sapientia is capable of standing on top of water, but also swimming in it.
Waterfront Boss Battle: The boss battle against Sapientia has Bayonetta surfing on a piece of scrap metal in the middle of the ocean while Sapientia tries to attack from underneath her. During the last section of the fight, the battle is fought in a giant whirlpool.

Sequi

In General

Sequi Halo

The Sequi are mini bosses resembling The Cardinal Virtues, they make up the second highest-ranking angels of the Hierarchy of Laguna. Each of them have The Cardinal Virtues names in english.

Tropes common to all four of the Sequi:

Angelic Abomination: While angels, they do not look friendly or human.
The Cardinal Virtues: Their names represent the four classical virtues in Greek philosophy and the catholic church: Courage, Temperance, Justice, and Prudence.
Classical Elements Ensemble: Each embodies a different classical element just like the Virtues they are made to resemble—Courage copies Fortitudo and is fire, Temperance copies Temperantia and is air, Justice copies Iustitia and is earth, and Prudence copies Sapientia and is water.
Degraded Boss: The four Sequi are weaker minibosses that look and attack like The Cardinal Virtues
Elemental Powers: Each one commands a different element. Courage can command fire, Temperance controls wind, Justice can control plants, and Prudence commands water.
Embodiment of Virtue: Goes without saying.

Courage

Multiple Head Case: Subverted, Just like Fortitudo, Courage has three heads, his main face and two dragon heads.

Temperance

The second of the Sequi mini bosses. An Angel that resembles Temperantia with a green colour scheme. He attacks Bayonetta while she is riding a missile and later while she is using a turret. Unlike Temperantia he stays out of Bayonetta's range only using range attacks.

Gatling Good: He uses the fingers on his hands as guns to attack.

First Sphere

First Sphere Halo

Third highest-ranking and most powerful angels of the Hierarchy of Laguna, consisting of the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones.

Seraphim

Highest-ranking and strongest angels of the First Sphere. Divine messengers with a passion for doing God's good work.

Joy

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bayonetta_paradiso_joy.png

Humanoid, feminine angels that can shape-shift as a result of ascending past their physical form. They fight by forming weapons that mimic some of Bayonetta's own.

Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Some of the few angels that do not reappear in the second game during the three-chapter callback when Bayonetta is sent back in time 500 years.
Doppelgänger Attack: They can duplicate themselves, and their clones are at full health when made.
Elite Mooks: In-universe, as they are among the top angels of the First Sphere, and out-universe, as they are some of the quickest and hardest-hitting enemies in the game.
Groin Attack: If you use a Torture Attack on one of them, Bayonetta will summon a massive wooden horse with spikes along its spine. The Joy will attempt to run away in fear upon seeing it, but Bayonetta will capture her with a chain, pull her onto the horse and slam her crotch down onto the horse's spikes.
Ironic Name: This Angel is called "Joy" and they make rather...lustful poses like Bayonetta would. It would be far from heaven's standard depiction of Joy and go way over to being Lust, a cardinal sin instead.
Imposter Forgot One Detail: The first Joy encountered in the game disguises as Bayonetta to trick Cereza — but misses a few things:
- She does not or could not remove her halo.
- She is fully dressed when an infernal demon is currently out being summoned.
- She is missing Bayonetta's beauty mark.
Mirror Boss: More of a mirror enemy or miniboss, but they still reflect much of Bayonetta's moveset. They even resemble Bayonetta and seem to share her personality; Bayonetta's reaction to Joy challenging her to a Dance-Off is a small gasp of approval.
Morph Weapon: Their hands and feet are not solid appendages but instead detached and malleable constructs with which they create their weapons to attack Bayonetta.
Orbiting Particle Shield: One of their attacks is a knockoff of Bayonetta's Crow Within feather rings, although unlike Bayonetta's version, their feathers only do damage when they're launched.

Gracious & Glorious

Stronger versions of Grace and Glory, with humanoid faces, a black and white color scheme, and a complete immunity to getting Witch Time off of their attacks.

Lightning/Fire Juxtaposition: Just like their weaker cousins. Gracious wields fire, while Glorious wields electricity, and they're always in pairs.
Made of Iron: They're highly resistant to Torture Attacks. If you're sufficiently determined (or pissed off), you could smash one of them in a full-power Torture Attack twice and it'd still have enough health left to be finished with a third.
Mook Chivalry: They're based off of Grace and Glory, so they also have this. Unlike Grace and Glory, they're very quick to tag in and out of the fight, which makes things more difficult for players who are trying to kill them one at a time.
Time Stands Still: Averted with these two. Witch Time is impossible to achieve off of their attacks unless you land a perfect parry (with the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa) or get hit while wearing the Selene's Light accessory.

Glamor

"Sovereign one. You must flee no more. Accompany me. The Prophetic one is waiting."

Voiced by: Tara Platt

A Seraphim seen in Bayonetta 2, it is a massive dragon-like angel that is antagonizing Loki for some reason.

Ambiguous Gender: Its voice seems to have a feminine tone, but like with all angels it's distorted enough to not be certain.
Angelic Abomination: Even weirder than the Auditio.
Co-Dragons: With Valor.
Defiant to the End: Its final act is to fire one last attack to prevent Bayonetta from rescuing Loki, and it laughs triumphantly while being dragged off to Inferno.
The Dragon: To Loptr.
Elemental Powers: Can manipulate water and ice.
Evil Is Petty: Though to be fair, throwing ice shards at Loki as a final insult was probably a last ditch effort to fulfill its mission. It was still enjoying it a lot, though.
Evil Laugh: Gives one after throwing ice shards at Loki, as a final insult for being dragged to Inferno.
Feather Flechettes: Can fire off its feathers at Bayonetta.
Femme Fatalons: If female, the massive claws it uses to fight are certainly this.
"Get Back Here!" Boss: The first half of the fight is Bayonetta chasing it after it swallows Loki.
An Ice Person: Can fire ice shards from its mouth.
Light Is Not Good: It is very evil, in fact.
Lightning Bruiser: Surprisingly mobile for a giant serpent.
Our Dragons Are Different: Has a massive, serpentine body with many legs and flies with clear wings. Makes sense, since it's described as a seraphim, a type of angel usually described as draconic or at least related to fiery serpents in scripture.
Recurring Boss: Though unlike most examples, this one is justified in that there are multiple Glamors throughout the game.
Tail Slap: One of its attacks during the fight.

Cherubim

Second highest-ranking and second strongest angels of the First Sphere. They are the guardians of the Tree of Eden and the drivers of God's chariots, the Thrones.

Braves

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bayonetta_paradiso_brave.png

Trios of humanoid angel warriors. Extremely fast, plus they can combine to form a Beloved if not defeated quickly.

Fusion Dance: Can combine into a single, brutish Beloved.
Shout-Out: The pose that they make when combining is a reference to the Ginyu Force from Dragon Ball Z.

Valiance

A Cherubim in the form of an enchanted sword.

Absurdly Sharp Blade: Valiance's sword, the Valiantium Blade, is said to be able to cut anything on Earth, Paradiso or Inferno.
Company Cross References: The Valiantium Blade is named after Wonder Blue's sword from The Wonderful 101, another PlatinumGames title. Valiance's Hierarchy of Laguna entry also mentions a prophecy that says it will assist "a team of over one hundred heroes" in saving humanity from an invading evil.
Cranial Processing Unit: A non-robotic version — Valiance's head is on its sword's hilt and can be attacked like the main body.
Throw Down the Bomblet: One of Valiance's attacks leaves explosives on the ground.

Valor

"Sovereign one, you shall not be allowed to reach Fimbulventr!"

Voiced by: Fred Tatasciore

A Cherubim and appearing in Bayonetta 2, he, like Glamor, also chases after Loki.

The Ace: Zig-zagged. Valor is the last solitary angel that Loptr sends after Loki and Bayonetta, and afterward, he declares that his pawns can't serve his purposes any further. This, along with how Valor destroys the Bridge to the Heavens in seconds and renders the entire previous chapter a waste of time, suggests that he's the best Loptr has at his disposal, but in combat, Valor is weak, his attacks are easily telegraphed, and the player's main difficulty lies in his battle being aerial, which limits the combos and techniques they have to work with.
The Bad Guy Wins: Sort of, Valor still dies at the end of its fight with Bayonetta and she and Loki survive its Taking You with Me attempt, but Valor ultimately did cost the duo a LOT of progress and effectively sent them back to square one.
Battle Tops: Can ride his shield/face like one.
BFS: An impressive one that can extend to great lengths.
Co-Dragons: With Glamor.
The Brute: To Loptr.
Foil: To Glamor, being a humanoid angel with few ranged abilities that focuses on melee combat, instead of Glamor's inhuman, serpentine shape and habit of spamming icicles.
Knight Errant: Designed with this look in mind.
Light Is Not Good: Double points for looking like a medieval knight and having solar motifs.
No-Nonsense Nemesis: The first few seconds of Valor's appearance involve him slicing up half of the first part to the Bridge To The Heavens with his face/shield, briefly addressing Loki and Bayonetta, and then immediately extending his sword to OBLITERATE the entire remaining part of the beginning of the bridge with one swing, causing Bayonetta and Loki to fall all the way down the Cathedral of Cascades Tower, only to engage the witch mere moments afterwards.
Pimped-Out Cape: Sports a rather impressive one that's split into several strands and colored a deep crimson on the inside and white with gold patterns on the outside.
Smug Smiler: In a fast blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Valor briefly does this after its introduction before attacking.
Taking You with Me: After being beaten by Bayonetta, it uses the last of its strength to slash open a rift in the floor of the boss arena in an attempt to kill her and Loki.

Thrones

Lowest-ranking and weakest angels of the First Sphere. Thrones are the chariots that carry God, driven by Cherubim.

Inspired

Laguna's aerial border patrol, great winged serpents. Artists have depicted these beings as flaming wheels.

Breath Weapon: Launches fireballs.
Our Dragons Are Different: Appear as massive snakes with golden wings and helmets. Their description point to them being Ophanim, angels that served as living chariots, but their designs are closer to traditional depictions of Seraphim.
Palette Swap: Come in crimson, jade and golden variants.
Shout-Out: The Jade Inspired references a boss in Space Harrier.

Resplendence

Massive angelic airships. They cannot be fought directly, instead needing other enemies to be thrown at them.

Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Easily one of the biggest angels that appear, even bigger than Worship.
Background Boss: While not exactly a boss per se, it functions similar to one.
Breath Weapon: Can fire Frickin' Laser Beams from its mouth.
Cool Ship: Considering it only appears during the invasion of the Umbra Witches' sanctuary in Bayonetta 2, it's likely that the Resplendence is like the Insidious and Worship, holding troops on board.
Made of Iron: Getting Sapientia thrown at its face only scratches it.

Second Sphere

Second Sphere Halo

Second lowest-ranking and second weakest angels of the Hierarchy of Laguna, consisting of the Dominions, Virtues, and Powers.

Dominions

Highest-ranking and strongest angels of the Second Sphere. Dominions watch over the rulers of nations.

Fearless

Blue and gold angels that resemble sphinxes.

Beware My Stinger Tail: Its tail is bladed like an axe, allowing it to stab and swing.
Butt-Monkey: During Temperentia's fight, Bayonetta tosses it around. As a final insult to injury, it gets crushed by the gas tanker in the post-fight cutscene.
Shock and Awe: Has power over lightning. Can shoot it as a Breath Weapon.

Harmony

Angels that stand as symbols of peace. Humans see them as auroral light; if viewed from Purgatorio, one would see Harmony embracing humans with their wings.

Barehanded Blade Block: Their torture attack has them attempt to do this with Bayonetta's summoned chainsaw. It doesn't work.
Beware My Stinger Tail: Has a long pronged tail that is can electrify.
Half the Man He Used to Be: Its torture attack involves it getting chainsawed in half.
Oh, Crap!: They noticeably panic when Bayonetta revs up the chainsaw used in its torture attack.
Shock and Awe: They can either electrify their extremities when attacking, or summon electric balls.
Shout-Out: Resembles Sandalphon, the 8th angel, from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Shown Their Work: Its design resembles traditional depictions of Abaddon (also called Apollyon), the angel of destruction, and his subordinates. Said angels were depicted as locusts with long hair and scorpion tails, the latter used to punish unbelievers.
Zerg Rush: Usually comes in packs of five or six.

Gravitas

Gravitas, meaning "stern" or "severe", much like the ice it wields.

An Ice Person: An ice-elemental angel, with the power of frost infused into its cudgel hands.
Dual Boss: Can be fought along with its counterpart, Urbane.
Epic Flail: Has these in place of arms.
Top-Heavy Guy: Yusuke Hashimoto, the designer of the angels, describes it as having a hulking frame but stubby legs.
Underground Monkey: Is one to Urbane.

Virtues

Second highest-ranking and second strongest angels of the Second Sphere. Virtues see to maintaining order and the movements of heavenly bodies.

Fairness

Fiery, dog-like angels with massive mouths.

Lightning Bruiser: Don't let its slow walking pace fool you, when it attacks it attacks quickly.
Playing with Fire: Wreathed in flames and can spit lava.

Grace & Glory

A fire and lightning duo of angels that fight with large claws.

Choice of Two Weapons: You can only get one set of claws from these two, and it's from whichever angel you kill first.
Lightning/Fire Juxtaposition: Grace wields fire, Glory wields lightning, and they're always in pairs.
Mook Chivalry: Surprisingly enough, played straight. They were found to be so difficult to fight two-on-one during playtesting that the Bayonetta team specifically programmed them — and their stronger cousins, Gracious & Glorious — to be an exception to the game's rule of averting this trope.
No-Sell: Glory's electrified-floor attack can be ignored completely if Bayonetta wields Lightning Durga on her legs.
Spin Attack: One of Grace's attacks involves spinning like a top with its claws ignited. If Bayonetta takes Grace's claws for herself, she can perform it by pressing the kick button.
Tag Team Twins: A pair of twin angels who always fight in a pair. It's said that the increased spiritual power of twins is a blessing from Grace and Glory.

Urbane

Compared to other angels, Urbane is notably advanced. It is said to be shaped by the subconscious fears of humans.

Dual Boss: Can be fought along with its counterpart, Gravitas.
Epic Flail: Has these in place of arms.
Playing with Fire: A fire-elemental angel, which wields two giant flaming balls on chains.
Top-Heavy Guy: Yusuke Hashimoto, the designer of the angels, describes it as having a hulking frame but stubby legs.
Underground Monkey: Is this to Gravitas.

Powers

Lowest-ranking and weakest angels of the Second Sphere. They oversee the balance of powers among men, inspiring conscience among mortals and keeping the history of Heaven.

Beloved

Big, heavy angel brutes, burdened with destroying the enemies of Paradiso. A trio of Braves can fuse to become a Beloved.

Attack Its Weak Point: They have pulsing nodes on the back of their necks. Attacking these will stagger, then stun them.
Degraded Boss: Introduced as an early mini-boss, becomes a common enemy in later chapters.
Mighty Glacier: Very strong, with their axes allowing them surprising range, but very slow.
Shout-Out: One of the Beloveds fought resembles the rocket launcher enemies from Space Harrier.
Third Eye: Not immediately apparent but Beloveds do have a third eye that can be seen once their faces are damaged.

Kinship

Golden floating ships, complete with oars and claws.

Attack Its Weak Point: The front of the cabin has a red orb.
Cool Boat: It is based on Noah's Ark after all. Unlike Worship, it transports troops to the battle, not across it.
Macross Missile Massacre: Launches homing missiles from its side hatches.
Punny Name: It is a Kinship. Also, its golden decorations are another pun based off of the Japanese word for gold being "Kin".
Video Game Historical Revisionism: Its profiles states that it's thought to be "the angelic manifestation of the ark that saved a foolish human race from the devastating flood described in The Book of Creation within the scriptures of Ithavoll."

Belief

A monstrous, one-armed angel, so far having the title of being the first Bayonetta enemy to be asymmetrical.

Combat Tentacles: Its right and only arm is a big ol' tentacle, although it could also be a tail stuck to the shoulder. Its profile describes it as a whip for binding evil.
Covered in Gunge: Can spit out a substance that looks and functions like glue to briefly immobilize Bayonetta.
Degraded Boss: Introduced as an early mini-boss, becomes a common enemy in later chapters.
Impossibly Graceful Giant: As big as a Beloved but can keep pace with a bullet train on foot.
Lightning Bruiser: This thing is fast and difficult to stagger, meaning it'll still attack while being attacked. It takes the majority of the prologue to bring it down.
Starter Villain: It is the first major angel fought in the prologue of the second game.

Worship

A massive angelic warship.

Barrier Warrior: Creates an energy shield in front of its main face, forcing Bayonetta to destroy the smaller faces generating the shield first.
Beam-O-War: Uses energy bullets and laser beams.
Cool Ship: In contrast with Kinship, it is used to transport troops across the battlefield.
Macross Missile Massacre: Also uses the Cherubim missiles used by Sapientia.
Punny Name: Like Kinship, it is a Worship. It's also a letter away from being "warship".

Third Sphere

Third Sphere Halo

Lowest-ranking and weakest angels of the Hierarchy of Laguna, consisting of the Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.

Principalities

Highest-ranking and strongest angels of the Third Sphere. They take orders from the Dominions and bequeath blessings to mortals, inspiring art and science.

Ardor

Sword-and-shield-wielding warrior angles, wearing armor of proof, that protect the masses from evil spirits.

Lightning Bruiser: Faster, more durable and more powerful than the Applauds.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Will use its shield to block bullets or stagger Bayonetta.
Spin Attack: Will slash its sword in a wide circle, with surprising reach.
Turns Red: Once its shield is destroyed, it becomes more aggressive.

Irenic

An angel that, surprisingly, resembles a car. It travels throughout Paradiso to spread the message of Divine Will.

Cool Car: It has halos for hubcaps and its angelic face forms the hood ornament.
Fragile Speedster: It only has one attack and that's to drop obstacles. It has little in defense and can be defeated in a few hits. The only challenge is that some Irenics will have Joys as passengers.

Allegiance

The most common type of angel encountered in the physical realm, Allegiances appear during times of strife between the humans and Paradiso.

Bling-Bling-BANG!: While all angels have gold armor in some way, Allegiance is decked head to toe in it, on top of having a golden sword.
Elite Mooks: A tougher version of the Accolade.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Can use its shield to protect itself, or can fire off the segments as projectiles.
Playing with Fire: Can ignite its sword, which it can then use to create gouts of flame from the ground.
Whip Sword: Its sword can separate into segments and used like a whip. It can also ignite.

Archangels

Second highest-ranking and second strongest angels of the Third Sphere. Archangels act as intermediaries between the physical and spirit world, protecting and advising humans.

Applaud

Stronger versions of Affinities, they are usually accompanied by their lesser brethren.

Bifurcated Weapon: One type can combine its swords into a bow.
Elite Mooks: Basically tougher Affinities with better equipment. Still lower on the hierarchy, though, so they're only marginally more difficult to defeat.
Fertile Feet: The first encounter with one and its Affinity complement causes flowers to grow around Bayonetta.

Accolade

A centaur-like angel, tasked with commanding the lowest ranking angels.

Palette Swap: Come in crimson, jade and golden variants.
Weapon-Based Characterization: The red variant wields a lance, the green one a pair of greatswords, one gold one a warhammer and the last gold one a pair of shields.

Enrapture

Considered the oldest angel to ever exist, the Enrapture hardly appears alone, acting as an auxiliary spell caster.

Glass Cannon: Has little health but more than makes up for it with its range of spells.
Good Counterpart: Well, for a certain definition of good in this case, but Enraptures are functionally the same as the demonic Malicious.
Half the Man He Used to Be: Its torture attack has it being twisted until it snaps in two.
Last Ditch Move: At low health, it'll lunge and grab onto Bayonetta before exploding.
Mana Drain: Can steal and absorb Bayonetta's magic.
Power Floats: Hovers around the battlefield.
Practical Taunt: Actually weaponized against you, as the Enrapture can incite a taunt-like effect among its accompanying mooks as an offensive strategy. This can be disrupted by attacking it.

Fidelity

An angel of the oceans, where Earth is closest to Paradiso. They walk the lands to impart humanity with their primeval memories.

Bubble Gun: Can release a series of bubbles that act like floating mines.
Flying Seafood Special: An aquatic angel that can also "swim" through the air.
Frickin' Laser Beams: One of its attack is to pin Bayonetta down and attempt a point-blank laser strike.
Kill It with Fire: Its torture attack has it trapped in a cage and cooked like rotisserie over a fire.
Laser Blade: Some of its tentacles generate laser swords for hacking and slashing.
Shown Their Work: Fidelity has similarities with depictions of Rahab, a horrifying angel that takes the form of a gigantic sea creature.

Angels

Lowest-ranking and weakest angels of the Third Sphere. Angels are servants of God, and the protectors and guides of humans.

Affinity

Simple bird-like angels that serves as Paradiso's basic infantry. Weak and gullible, they are nevertheless able to pose a threat when encountered in large numbers.

Actually a Doombot: The "Affinities" that appear in Origins are actually illusions created by Púca, owing to the genuine Laguna being immune to the mind control he attempted to use on them.
Butt-Monkey: These angels take the brunt of the game's slapstick humor.
Cannon Fodder: The most numerous angels, they are weak when alone but able to abuse the game's lack of Mook Chivalry in groups.
Epic Flail: Some Affinities use flails that are swung in a wide arc.
Man on Fire: Occasionally, some Affinities will be covered in fire, making them impossible to hit unless you're wearing Durga Fire or use Witch Time or Wicked Weaves.
Musical Assassin: Some Affinities carry trumpets and tubas that can launch energy spheres.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: In Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, some illusions of them show up as a Wolfpack Boss. Each Affinity is on par with a Fairy Elite Mook.

Cachet & Compassion

Cachets are the larger, double-faced angels while Compassions are smaller and single-faced.

Beware My Stinger Tail: They have bladed tails. Compassions will try to stab with them while Cachets can sink theirs into the ground and drill upwards to catch Bayonetta unawares.
Elite Mooks: Cachets are larger and stronger Compassions.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: They replace the Dears and Decorations as basic enemies in the sequel.
Zerg Rush: Come in swarms.

Dear & Decorations

Dears are the larger, bearded heads while the Decorations are the cherubic faces that surround it.

Cupid's Arrow: Their bio states that their arrows can have such an effect.
Elite Mooks: Dears are basically larger and stronger Decorations.
Shown Their Work: Their designs resemble Putti, child angels found in Italian Renaissance, and Baroque art.
Zerg Rush: Decorations tend to come in groups and Dears tend to come with Decorations.

Enchant

An angel shaped like a wheel, designed to humanity to continue its struggle and feel no satisfaction at surpassing others. Enchant protects the field of God from human encroachment.

Elemental Powers: Playing with Fire and Shock and Awe, as they can either set Bayonetta on fire or electrocute her. They can also shoot electric balls.
Shown Their Work: Though the game classifies them as 'Angels', their design are based on Thrones, or Ophanim.

Acceptance

Angels that appear when a human is near death, arriving to take their souls to where they need to go.

Instrument of Murder: One type wields a harp that doubles as a bow.
Jousting Lance: Another type wields an ornate, white and gold one, mounted to its arm.
Psychopomp: They are tasked with collecting the souls of humans who pass away. Specifically, their name is "acceptance of death".

Characters / Bayonetta Paradiso

Edit Locked

This page contains some unmarked spoilers for Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2, and Bayonetta 3.

Lumen Sages

Hierarchy of Laguna

Dea

Jubileus, the Creator

Auditio

Fortitudo, the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude

Temperantia, the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance

Iustitia, the Cardinal Virtue of Justice

Sapientia, the Cardinal Virtue of Prudence

Sequi

First Sphere

Seraphim

Joy

Gracious & Glorious

Cherubim

Braves

Valiance

Thrones

Inspired

Resplendence

Second Sphere

Dominions

Fearless

Harmony

Gravitas

Virtues

Fairness

Grace & Glory

Urbane

Powers

Beloved

Kinship

Belief

Worship

Third Sphere

Principalities

Ardor

Irenic

Allegiance

Archangels

Applaud

Accolade

Enrapture

Fidelity

Angels

Affinity

Cachet & Compassion

Dear & Decorations

Enchant

Acceptance

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Index

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