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Weight of the World's antagonists.
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Salem's Faction
Salem
- Adaptational Backstory Change: Instead of being humans and lovers in the past, Ozpin and Salem were never those things. Instead they were nonhuman disciples of the Gods of Light and Darkness respectively, who were planned to watch over humanity when the Gods left Remnant. Salem betrayed the Gods before they could leave and intended to replace them with herself and Ozpin if he agreed to assist her. He refused but did not warn the Gods of Salem's betrayal, resulting in him being cursed once her plan failed.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Salem and Ozpin were never lovers in this series. Instead she and Ozpin were disciples of the Gods of Darkness and Light respectively.
- Adaptation Species Change: Salem was never human in this series. She was created by the God of Darkness as a Grimm-like humanoid.
- Affably Evil: She is calm and polite, and shows an almost maternal personality towards Emerald, encouraging her in her goals.
- Animal Eye Spy: She can see through the eyes of her Grimm and people who have been infected with Grimm essence.
- The Beastmaster: She can directly control the Grimm to the extent that she can stop them from attacking distraught people as shown when she stopped a Beowolf from lunging for a crying Emerald. She can also see through the Grimm's eyes.
- Big Bad: Salem is the ultimate villain of the series. She's responsible for Vale's condition and everything that transpired afterward.
- Casting a Shadow: She can create constructs out of darkness like spears and chains.
- Clone by Conversion: Salem can overtake any of her Grimm and turn them into her form. She can do this only one Grimm at once and it is more like astral projection in that her real body is left behind and out of harm's way.
- Emotion Bomb: She can manipulate and enhance negative emotions to the point where her victims become paralyzed.
- Emotion Eater: Negative emotions increase her strength. She enjoys fear and despair the most.
- Fallen Angel: Salem was always inclined towards evil since she was a disciple of the God of Darkness but she served the Gods much like an angel would alongside Ozpin. Then she betrayed both Gods with the intent of replacing them and becoming a Goddess. She told Ozpin her plan and he refused to join her, but did not warn the Gods either. Her plan to usurp the God Brothers failed, she fled, and Ozpin was cursed to reincarnate until she dies.
- Hate Plague: Salem's Emotion Bomb powers allows her to manipulate and enhance her targets' anger and other negative emotions. She uses this to make the heroes act irrationally angry towards each other in order to draw America away from them.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Salem is ultimately defeated because she pettily decided to attack America's mansion to hurt him as retaliation for him fighting her off. This made Tony decide to make a bioweapon to kill all Grimm, which weakened Salem and led to her demise.
- Humanoid Abomination: Salem's default appearance is that of a humanoid woman. She can transform her body into that of any of her Grimm and take on their likeness. She also has a wide range of powers at her disposal including: emotion manipulation, Clone by Conversion, Voluntary Shapeshifting, darkness manipulation, controlling Grimm, immortality, and the ability to corrupt people with Grimm essence.
- I Lied: Salem told Hazel she would only use the Relics to kill Ozpin once and for all and would leave humanity alone. She lied. Hazel himself suspected this but refused to acknowledge it until he could no longer deny the truth. This revelation causes his Heel–Face Turn.
- Neck Lift: Salem is very fond of doing this, usually right before performing a Neck Snap. She lifts Uni, Ruby, and Canada like this.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: It takes a lot to damage her and if she is hurt, she heals instantly. Even Silver Eyes and the Relic of Destruction do not hurt her for long until Tony's bioweapon destroys the Grimm pools.
- The Pawns Go First: She stays back and lets her minions do the work until the end of The Atrocities of Atlas. Justified in that Ozpin is apparently a threat to her until she has the Relics of Knowledge and Destruction in hand.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: She has a kind, motherly voice and remains calm throughout most of the series. Most.
- The Soulless: Like her Grimm, she has no Aura or soul.
- Voice of the Legion: Her voice gains an echoing, demonic quality when she's angry, specifically when she talks about Ozpin.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: She can transform her body to take on the attributes of her Grimm like a Nevermore's wings and fletchettes, a Karkadann's poison, and a Nuckelavee's claws.
Cinder Fall
- Death by Adaptation: She is killed by Canada during the Fall of Beacon.
- Didn't See That Coming: Cinder did not expect Alfred to have part of Vale's Aura. Nor did she expect Canada to walk through her flames to attack her. The latter instance is what ultimately led to her death.
- Disc-One Final Boss: While it is known that Cinder is not the Big Bad, her more-dangerous replacement comes as a shock. Cinder is responsible for Vale/Amber's condition and seeks to acquire the rest of Vale's Aura. She did all this on Salem's orders, and is killed at the end of Weight of the World, making way for much more dangerous opponents like Tyrian, Neo, and Emerald.
- In the Back: During the final stretch of her fight against Canada, Pyrrha, and Prussia, Pyrrha shoots Cinder in the back (just like she did to Amber).
- Killed Off for Real: She is beheaded by Canada. No Grimm replacements can fix that.
- Lack of Empathy: She can feel the pain and fear of Vale's people due to stealing part of Vale's Aura. While real personifications feel that pain with their people, Cinder feels nothing and finds it amusing.
- Off with Her Head!: Canada kills her this way.
Emerald Sustrai
- Adaptational Villainy: The Emerald of canon showed some regret during the Fall of Beacon. This Emerald may have felt the same offscreen, but she loses all empathy once Cinder is killed and becomes a remorseless follower of Salem who is willing to do anything to complete Cinder's mission.
- Avenging the Villain: She seeks to kill Pyrrha and Canada for killing Cinder. Once she believes they are dead, she wishes to finish Cinder's mission and willingly works for Salem.
- Body Horror: Watts implants Grimm vein-tendril... things into her body, which she uses in combat and to drain part of Sun/Vacuo's Aura.
- Death by Irony: Her entire motivation is to avenge Cinder by killing Canada. Canada kills her just like he killed Cinder: by cutting off her head.
- Lack of Empathy: She feels no remorse for her actions, which include making a child hallucinate and walk in front of a truck, attempting to murder Canada and Pyrrha, and torturing Neo/Mistral before leaving her to slowly die from her wounds.
- Madness Mantra: "You killed her. You killed her. You killed her."
- Off with Her Head!: Canada erases part of her memory to confuse her and instantly beheads her with the Relic of Destruction.
- Red Right Hand: She gains black Tainted Veins up her arms.
- Slasher Smile: She grins sadistically before torturing Canada with the Relic of Destruction.
- Tainted Veins: Emerald has prominent black Grimm-veins up her arms thanks to Watts's experiments.
- Would Hurt a Child: Emerald uses her Semblance to make a little girl walk in front of a truck to test if America is immune to her hallucinations.
Roman Torchwick
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: He will work with and betray anyone to watch out for Number One. That includes betraying Neo.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In canon, he is eaten by a Griffon during the Fall of Beacon. In The Charlatan of Choice, he is burned to ashes by America.
- Emotion Bomb: Roman's Semblance (called Cynicism) lets him force his view of the world onto other people, making them apathetic, selfish, and cynical.
- Evil Feels Good: Roman gets a perverse thrill out of torturing America and admits to enjoying it more than blowing up the Atlesian ships during the fall of Beacon.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Sports a nasty scar that stretches from his jaw up to his forehead and across his nose, courtesy of Alfred.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: The ability to force his cynical worldview onto others does not seem like a game-changer compared to the powerful abilities other characters have like metal manipulation, magic, and weather manipulation. Then he uses it to completely overwhelm all of the heroes to the point of near-catatonia. This prevents them from fighting back and allows Salem's forces to capture America.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Roman assists in the Fall of Beacon and gets away with his numerous crimes for a good while. He hurts America, betrays Neo, ruthlessly beats up Romano, and uses his power to get America captured by Salem's forces. In the end, his crimes and misdeeds catch up to him and America kills him in Beacon's Vault.
- Lack of Empathy: He does not care who gets hurt as long as he survives. Reflecting this, Roman's Semblance ("Cynicism") allows him to make people self-centered to the point where they will not "play the hero" and interfere if someone is screaming for help and shot in front of them.
- Man on Fire: America kills Roman by making him burst into flames and incinerating him.
- Never My Fault: He blames his scar, Neo's capture, and his forced servitude to Salem on America. This is despite America scarring him in self-defense and Roman ratting out Neo himself. He also blames his torture at Salem's hands, which was "motivation" to unlock his Semblance, on America since in his mind, he was only tracked down by Salem again because of Vale. America retorts that Salem was already after Mistral and hunted Roman down to find her.
- No Honor Among Thieves: Despite Neo being his "Number Two" he gives her to Salem to save his own skin.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: At first, Roman is small fry compared to the likes of Cinder, Salem, Atlas, and Emerald. His Cynicism Semblance is what allows the villains to successfully capture America. Roman himself also becomes more twisted and vile after Salem tortures him. Come The Charlatan of Choice, he is much more sadistic and froths at the mouth for the opportunity to pay America back for scarring him.
- Pride: He is extremely vain, particularly about his looks. He utterly loathes America for scarring him and marring his "charming good looks".
- Spared by the Adaptation: He survives the Battle of Beacon. He dies at the hands of America in The Charlatan of Choice.
- The Cynic: He believes the world is a cruel, heartless place and that people are selfish by nature and will only look out for themselves.
- Unstoppable Rage: He flies into this when he is cut across the face by Alfred.
Tyrian Callows
- Blood Knight: The only thing he loves more than fighting and spilling his enemies' blood is his Goddess. He squeals in delight when he's outnumbered in Kuroyuri.
- Death by Adaptation: France kills him in the woods of Vale during The Charlatan of Choice.
- Giggling Villain: His giggles are described as high-pitched and insane. He giggles madly when Salem orders him to bring Alfred to her and again when fighting the heroes in Kuroyuri.
- The Hyena: He laughs more than he doesn't, particularly while fighting. He stops laughing when France trounces him in their fight.
- No Sense of Personal Space: He likes to lean into his preys' faces and gets very touchy-feely with Alfred when he has captured him.
- Sadist: He relishes in the pain and fear he inflicts on his victims. He squeals happily when Salem orders him to hunt Alfred and pouts when she orders him to bring him in alive and mostly unharmed.
Arthur Watts
- And I Must Scream: His Semblance in a nutshell. He can paralyze his victims with a gesture, and this paralysis includes the ability to target and paralyze their internal organs, all while they are aware. He uses this ability to freeze England and make his lungs stop working, nearly suffocating him.
- Composite Character: He is canon's Watts with the addition of Dr. Merlot's fascination with Grimm. This fascination urges him to attach robotic and Grimm parts onto people.
- Mad Doctor: He's much more calm and level-headed than many examples but hopes that once America is captured, Salem will let him have America for a few days so Watts can see how he ticks.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: He used to be an Atlas scientist until he experimented on abducted people in an attempt to attach Grimm and robotic parts onto their bodies.
- The Paralyzer: His Semblance lets him completely paralyze his target, leaving them aware but unable to move.
- Torso with a View: Penny's Aura attack shoots a beam straight through his chest which vaporizes his heart.
Hazel Rainart
- Anti-Villain: He deplores violence and is the kindest and most moral of Salem's henchmen. He hates having to kill and shows regret when he drugs America to paralyze him. He only works with Salem to kill Ozpin so he cannot continue to sacrifice thousands more lives in his war.
- The Atoner: After the final battle, it is implied he hunts the remaining Grimm to atone for what he did while working under Salem. No one knows his name (though Ruby and friends can guess it is him) and call him "the Wandering Huntsman".
- The Brute: He is the largest of Salem's henchmen, though he is not the typical brute. He prefers to settle things peacefully rather than through violence. He fights barehanded, is capable of delivering powerful blows, and snaps a person's neck with one hand.
- Heel–Face Turn: Hazel lets America go to get the Relic of Choice while he holds off Salem, Roman, and Emerald after he finds out Salem lied to him about only destroying Ozpin with the Relics and she intends to massacre humanity with their power.
- Gravity Master: He injects himself with Gravity Dust and uses it to pin Salem, Emerald, and Roman to a wall.
- Noble Demon: Hazel follows a strict moral code and philosophy. He only uses violence when there are no other options, prefers to try to convince people to do what he wants rather than threaten them, and refuses to allow his companions to torture or kill prisoners and the defenseless. He is disgusted when Emerald needlessly attacks an Atlas airship and kills countless men that did not need to die. He later saves Italy from the rampaging Silver Eyes Ruby because he believes no one deserves to die like that. He also keeps America at his side to ensure his companions do not have the opportunity to harm their prisoner, and treats him with genuine compassion and kindness when he is injured. If not for his goal to kill Ozpin permanently so he cannot continue to sacrifice people in his war, Hazel would not be working for Salem.
- Playing with Fire: He uses Fire Dust to cover himself with a layer of flames while fighting Oscar.
- The Quiet One: He observes and listens more than he speaks.
- Redemption Earns Life: He turns against Salem, helps America and Penny, and is the only one of Salem's henchmen to survive the final battle. He is the only antagonist to survive, period.note
- Super-Strength: He is strong enough to kill an armored soldier via Neck Snap simply by clenching his fingers.
- Token Good Teammate: Unlike his sadistic teammates, Hazel prefers to settle things peacefully and only turns to violence as a last resort. This outlook extends even to America, his master's prime target. When Hazel meets America, he asks him to surrender peacefully and only attacks after he refuses. During the fight he is reluctant to harm his opponent and continues to offer to bring him in peacefully. He also berates Emerald for attacking the Atlas military airship and killing dozens of soldiers.
Mercury Black
- Deadpan Snarker: He often has a sarcastic response to any given situation.
- Devoured by the Horde: He is torn apart by a pack of Grimm in the maze in Beacon's Vault.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He is confident the Grimm in the Vault's maze will make quick work of England and the others. England uses his Semblance on Mercury and the Grimm immediately tear Mercury to shreds.
- Villain Team-Up: He hates Roman but is willing to work with him in order to survive.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: From an outsider's perspective, he appears to be this with Roman. He isn't.
Warden Grimm
- Body Horror: It is a seven-armed monstrosity that can split its torso open from its jaw to its stomach. Its "cloak" ends with shadowy tendrils that are sharp enough to stab through metal.
- Caged Inside a Monster: Its purpose. Its torso is an empty, cage-like space that it traps people in.
- Cast from Lifespan: Its teleportation ability causes its body to rapidly decay. It dies as soon as it teleports back to Salem with Canada in tow.
- Eldritch Abomination: It is a gigantic hovering Dementor-like monstrosity with seven arms, an exposed cage-like ribcage, and dagger-tipped tendrils that form a tattered "cloak".
- Hero Killer: It kills Blake by impaling her through the chest, cutting her heart in two.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: It has seven arms, easily fights all of the heroes stationed on Remnant at once, captures Canada, and kills Blake.
Other Antagonists
Neopolitan (Mistral)
- Cute and Psycho: Neo, Neo, Neo. She makes Alfred give her an impromptu piggyback ride, tracing pictures on his shoulder and considers slashing his throat to watch him bleed out in front of her.
- Death by Adaptation: She dies in Mistral's Vault during the Battle of Haven.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Part of the reason she betrayed Vale is that she was jealous of Vale's stability, while Mistral had to deal with constant Grimm and bandit attacks. She lured Vale into a bandit ambush to show her "how it felt." Unluckily for her, Vale easily fought her attackers off.
- It's All About Me: She betrayed Vale partially because she did not help Mistral's unstable situation improve. As Vale points out, it is not her responsibility to take care of Mistral's Kingdom.
- Karmic Death: Neo/Mistral betrays America, beats him up, and leaves him to slowly die alone in the woods. He survives. Later, Roman betrays Neo and gives her to Salem's forces. Emerald then tortures Neo and forces her to open the Vault and unlock the Relic before fatally wounding her and leaving her to slowly die alone in the Vault. Both instances involve nasty and agonizing stomach wounds to boot.
- Never My Fault: Neo/Mistral was the one who tricked the bandits into attacking Vale yet she blames Vale for her capture at the bandits' hands.
- The Resenter: She envies Vale's stability, peace, and power, which eventually drives her to try to get Vale killed by bandits.
Atlas (Ciel Soleil)
- Adaptational Villainy: This version of Ciel is much worse than her canon counterpart. She's a tyrannical monster that will do anything to be Remnant's "savior", including kidnapping, experimentation, murder, and brainwashing her own people.
- An Arm and a Leg: Ruby disintegrates Atlas's right arm and ear with Silver Eyes. She intends to use the Relic of Creation to bring it back, but is killed before she can try.
- Antagonist Title: Her name serves as part of the title for The Atrocities of Atlas, where she is the main villain.
- Ascended Extra: She went from a character who showed up for one minute in the show to the personification of Atlas.
- Asshole Victim: Looking at the other entries shows what type of person Atlas is. Before she dies to poison, she loses an arm, an ear, and an eye and Nora breaks her leg to stop her from fleeing. She completely had it coming.
- Bad Boss: She throws her own soldiers into the Institute or kills them if they question her. Those are the lucky ones.
- Believing Their Own Lies: She has a tendency to do this to create a facade of genuineness and gain sympathy or admiration from others, like when she claims she gave America and Canada souls. She truly believes the people of Earth are soulless.
- Can't Take Criticism: Any attempts to call Atlas out on her horrible actions will result in anger at best, vicious torture and death at worst.
- The Chooser of the One: A dark version. When faced with a dying Vale, she seeks out a replacement so Amber's Aura will not go into enemy hands. Atlas abducts and experiments on America and Canada (two nations from another world who are responsible for the well-being of millions) and forces Vale's Aura into America's body, thus making him the new guardian of the Relic of Choice.
- Consummate Liar: She is a talented liar who is good at warping her horrific view of the world into a facade that makes her appear to be a person who genuinely wants to save Remnant because that is the right thing to do.
- Deader than Dead: Years after the final battle, the continent of Solitas has been abandoned by most people since, without the Grimm and with a horrible civil war raging on, they have no reason to live in such inhospitable conditions. The land itself is in ruins so Atlas can never come back.
- Dehumanization: Atlas does not view Faunus or the nations and humans of Earth as people. In the latter case, it is to the point where she doesn't believe people of Earth are capable of having Aura, despite clear evidence to the contrary. (i.e. Many Earth personifications have their Auras activated.) In other words, Atlas doesn't believe people of Earth have souls.
- Disproportionate Retribution: America refuses to bow before her, admit she is Remnant's savior, and beg for her forgiveness so she stabs him through the abdomen and tries to kill Ruby.
- Eye Scream: Canada impales her eye with ice shrapnel.
- Fantastic Racist: She sees Faunus and the nations and people of Earth as inferior to herself and the humans of Remnant. Back when the White Fang was still a peaceful organization, she approached Adam/Menagerie with a fake promise of equality talks in order to lure him out and slaughter his men. If her rant at America is any indication, she believes the people of Earth don't have souls.
- Faux Affably Evil: She pretends to be pleasant, rational, and reasonable but it is a mask that hides her sadistic and unhinged personality.
- The Fundamentalist: Atlas/Ciel sees Earth, its personifications, and its people as inferior to Atlas, thus they can be sacrificed for "Remnant's" (aka her) survival. This trope is taken to the extreme with her idea for and approval of the Transformation Institute. If you think Atlas is wrong, you are taken to the Institute and killed or brainwashed into obedience.
- I Reject Your Reality: Despite knowing for a fact that people on Earth have souls, she claims they do not.
- It's All About Me: To the point of textbook narcissism. Everything she did was for her own benefit and image. She only wants to save Remnant so others will bow before their savior.
- It's Personal: Given how petty she is, it is no surprise she gains vendettas against America and Canada simply because they fought and defeated her.
- Knight Templar: She claims "imperfections" (which range from being a Faunus to thinking anti-Atlas things like how its wrong to arrest and kill civilians) are not to be tolerated and those who have them must be culled.
- Lack of Empathy: She feels no compassion or empathy for anyone.
- Manipulative Bitch: She attempts to brainwash France into thinking he's Vacuo and intends to use him as a decoy for Salem.
- Narcissist: Atlas doesn't care about Remnant. All her actions are done in self-interest, to the point where even her own people matter little to her. All she wants from them is their unwavering devotion and worship, and she will brainwash them to get it.
- Never My Fault: She pins America's injuries on Ironwood. That doesn't stop Canada from attacking her in a rage.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: She claims to be fighting for the good of Remnant, but all of her actions are done in self-interest, even the ones done to help Remnant as a whole. She only saves Vale in order to choose and "create" Amber's replacement. Essentially, she's playing God.
- Pride: Atlas sees herself as above everyone else. She's so arrogant and self-centered that she always believes she is right and her actions are just (no matter how horrid those actions are).
- Psychotic Smirk: She sports one as she tortures America, before he refuses to yield to her anyway. After that not so much.
- Sadist: She pretends otherwise, but is incredibly cruel and takes glee in tormenting everyone who so much as disagrees with her.
- She put forth the idea of the Transformation Institute and personally made sure it came to be for the sole purpose of imprisoning, torturing, and killing "undesirables".
- She tortures America and made him watch as she goes to kill Ruby.
- She gleefully mocks Canada with tales of America's torment just to hurt him. This backfires on her.
- Smug Snake: She’s arrogant, aloof, and mocking until America points out her flaws, how selfish she is, and that she is not a god. Cue Villainous Breakdown.
- The Sociopath: She feels no guilt for her actions, which include Cold-Blooded Torture, Brainwashing, abduction, inhumane experimentation, and ordering the massacre of an entire civilian village in another Kingdom.
- Swiss-Army Weapon: She wields a revolver-sword-bladed whip.
- Tautological Templar: She will do anything to achieve her goals and uphold her twisted ideals, including abduct, torture, experiment on, and brainwash personifications from another world and her own people. She sees nothing wrong with her actions.
- Time-Delayed Death: Variant. America jabs her with his Poison Ring. She goes on to fight Japan, loses an arm and ear to SE!Ruby, and runs off. Then she fights Canada and England, losing an eye and getting her leg broken before the cyanide in America's ring finally kills her. At first the heroes are confused how she died but Ren notices the needle-mark on her neck and guesses she was poisoned.
- Time Stands Still: Her Semblance allows her to freeze individual people in time, leaving them completely unaware of it passing. She can only use it in short bursts and at close range.
- To the Pain: Atlas describes to America what she will do to him when she captures him. She promises to break his bones, cut out his tongue, and have her men stab and kill him over and over until he begs her for death.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gets an epic one from England about how her actions will cause her people (the people responsible for her very existence) to turn against her. He rakes her over the coals for what she did to his brothers and concludes that she will fail to resurrect because of everything she did, and she only has herself to blame.
- Underestimating Badassery: She underestimates pretty much all of her enemies. She also underestimates her own people's moral compasses and overestimates their loyalty to a corrupt Kingdom.
- Utopia Justifies the Means: Is convinced even the most despicable of her actions are for the greater good of Remnant.
- Villainous Breakdown: Atlas loses it when America jabs her with his cyanide ring. Her stoic mask crumbles and she stabs him multiple times while ranting and demanding he beg for her forgiveness.
General James Ironwood
- Adaptational Heroism: Canon Ironwood grew militaristic and paranoid to the point where he will sacrifice everyone in Remnant to keep Atlas safe, culminating in him trying to murder one of his former allies. Meanwhile, this version went in the opposite direction, going from a man following immoral orders to someone who realized his Utopia Justifies the Means mindset was wrong and took steps to atone for his actions.
- Blind Obedience: Downplayed in that he is perfectly aware that what Atlas is doing is wrong. He obeys her and defends her actions anyway.
- Even Evil Has Standards: To him, abduction, dissection, brainwashing, and torture are acceptable evils that must be done the good of Atlas and Remnant. He draws the line as unnecessary Cold-Blooded Torture done for the torturer's enjoyment, as shown by his reaction to America's scars.
- Face–Heel Turn: It is hard to call Ironwood a "face" but he helped the twins in the lab and had his morals. Said morals are discarded when he attempts to shoot America to bring him to Atlas. He says that whether America survives the headshot or not, Atlas would benefit from keeping Vale out of Salem's hands. He also refuses to use his authority to close the Transformation Institute, insinuating he has chosen the will of Atlas over individuals' welfare.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He gains three thin burn scars over his left eye from America.
- Heel–Face Turn: After having a Heel Realization, Ironwood chooses to assist America in rescuing his friends by refraining from shooting him, telling him where his friends are, and giving him the passcodes to get through the Institute, thus turning his back on Atlas. However, he knows he has gone too far to be forgiven by the public and is resigned to go down in history as a villain.
- Heel Realization: Seeing America struggle to remain conscious and fight him off after Ironwood drugs him makes Ironwood realize how far he and his Kingdom have fallen.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He dies killing the Grimm Dragon by detonating a Dust-filled airship inside it.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Ironwood sees America and Canada's abduction and torment as necessary for the well-being of Remnant.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: Ironwood's goals are noble but his actions become more and more despicable as the series goes on. He starts by ordering in the twins' abduction. From there he allows America to be dissected and experimented on, threatens Canada to keep America in line, forces Mantle's Aura into Canada and part of Vale's into America, opens the Transformation Institute on Atlas' orders, and finally tries to shoot America to either capture him or permanently kill him to keep him out of Salem's hands.
- Stealth Mentor: His last attempt to capture America is actually a test to see if America is strong enough (both physically and mentally) to escape him. America passes his test and exceeds his expectations by fighting off both Ironwood and Hazel at once.
- The Unapologetic: Downplayed. He is sorry for the pain he caused the twins, but does not regret his actions in the slightest since he thinks the alternatives were worse options for Remnant.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: His goal is to keep Remnant and Atlas safe and secure. Too bad he takes part in and orders abductions, torture, experimentation, and brainwashing to do it.
- Zero-Approval Gambit: Played with. Ironwood approved of and took part in the Transformation Institute and Atlas's other atrocities, something which may soon become public knowledge. Although he has a Heel–Face Turn and works against Atlas/Ciel, he is aware the public does not know the nation-tan exists, thus everything bad will be pinned on him. He accepts this burden but asks America to undo his mistakes and free the people in the Institute, likely causing a rebellion. He attacks America so that America and his friends will be seen as the heroes who fought off and defeated the tyrannical General before saving the people he wrongfully imprisoned.
Doctor Polendina
"Penny's body was lost in the arena... I rebuilt her. I had a back-up of her memory drive, just in case. The body is here, and the mind, but the soul— the Aura— is gone. That is where you come in, my friend. You can revive her. You can bring her back."
Penny's father and creator. He goes mad from grief and kidnaps America to try to bring Penny back.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: He believes in science, not Relics created by so-called "Gods".
- Fatherly Scientist: Treats the twins with kindness and compassion while the rest of the Atlas scientists see them as creatures and subhuman.
- Face–Heel Turn: Doctor Polendina, once a Fatherly Scientist, Jumps Off the Slippery Slope and becomes a Mad Scientist after Penny died.
- Faux Affably Evil: He keeps his fatherly, amiable tone as he holds America captive, injects him with drugs, and threatens him and his friends. Except when he doesn't.
- Karmic Death: His entire motivation and reason for committing evil deeds is to bring Penny back. He is killed by Penny 2.0.
- Love Makes You Evil: Non-romantic example. He loves his daughter so much that he will lie, kidnap, threaten, coerce, manipulate, and drop all the morals he once had in order to get her back.
- Mask of Sanity: He keeps a kindly front while committing terrible acts and is obviously unhinged, rambling about how America's Semblance can resurrect his dead robotic daughter despite there being no evidence America could somehow bring back her Aura.
- Seeks Another's Resurrection: His goal is to bring back his daughter, Penny.
- They Called Me Mad!: Atlas was dismissive of his belief he could resurrect Penny, but "offered" to let him use the Relic of Creation if he gave her America. Polendina does not believe in the Relic's power and decides America is a better asset to invest in.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He will do whatever it takes to bring Penny back including kidnapping America and holding him hostage. America understands that he misses his daughter and wants her resurrected, but knows the doctor's methods are anything but moral or heroic. Not to mention his goal may be impossible.
The Soldier
"I know I didn't accomplish much with you. But what I did accomplish… It will mark you forever. How about we make sure it sticks, just in case?"
A sadistic Torture Technician hired by Atlas and later Polendina. He makes it his mission to make America's life hell, just because he can.
- Ax-Crazy: He is sadistic, cruel, psychotic, and tortures people just because he can.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: While torturing America, the soldier paralyzes America, slices his clothes, touches him, and even goes as far as to kiss the side of his neck.
- For the Evulz: His entire motivation for torturing America.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He spends his appearances torturing America. America blasts him to ashes while the soldier is attempting to torture him again.
- No Name Given: His name is never revealed. He is only referred to as "the soldier/guard" or "the sadistic soldier/guard".
- Original Character: One of the few in the series.
- Sadist: He clearly enjoys torturing and terrifying America, adding a psychological element to his cruelty by getting in America's personal space and unnecessarily touching him just to see his reactions.
- Small Role, Big Impact: He is only in three chapters but manages to leave America with permanent physical and mental scars.
- Soft-Spoken Sadist: He never raises his voice and speaks softly to America as he cuts his back and mocks him.
- Torture Technician: The soldier was hired by Atlas for such a reason. While working for Polendina, he enthusiastically cuts the word "Sacrifice" into America's back until his victim stops healing and the wounds scar.
Adam Taurus (Menagerie)
"You claim to fight for the Faunus, yet you side with our enemies. You called the human police here to persecute us, police who have wrongfully arrested, imprisoned, and killed Faunus for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or for simply existing. If you took one look around town, you'd see the signs on every other store refusing Faunus entry! And yet you defend this wretched school, a school which represents every injustice brought upon the Faunus in Mistral."
The leader of the White Fang and personification of Menagerie. Once a soul who believed Faunus and humans could live in peace, his worldview was irreparably altered when Atlas betrayed him. Now he seeks to keep the Faunus safe from humanity, even if that means humanity's extinction.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: His eyes are the same shade of violet as Yang's.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Unlike in canon, he is not a Yandere for Blake.
- Adaptational Heroism: In his backstory. He used to be a Wide-Eyed Idealist who truly believed that Faunus could achieve equality through peaceful means.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: He is still a radical but is much more mellow than his canon counterpart. He genuinely believes he is doing what is best for the Faunus. He is also not a psychotic Yandere for Blake. He's so level-headed in fact that he considers turning against Salem after Blake's death. He decides against it because he believes following Salem is the only way Faunus can be safe from humanity.
- Born-Again Immortality: Like all Remnant personifications. His reincarnation has recently approached Kali and Ghira Belladonna in the epilogue, which takes place twenty years after the final battle against Salem.
- Charm Person: His Semblance allows him to compel Faunus into fighting for him. It is unclear whether the hypnosis is extremely powerful and can turn even the most loyal Faunus against each other, or if it feeds on subconscious thoughts in order to take control.
- Create Your Own Villain: Atlas is far from heroic but her actions are what turned Adam into the ruthless terrorist leader he is today.
- Face Death with Dignity: After Yang stabs him with Gambol Shroud, he asks her to save the Faunus from Salem before quietly passing.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Downplayed. Atlas pretended to be interested in equality between humans and Faunus and agreed to meet with Adam. Instead she drew Adam and his men into a trap, slaughtering them with Adam as the only survivor. While Sun and Blake understand why the incident pushed him to became so extreme, they agree that it doesn't excuse his actions.
- In Spite of a Nail: Just like in canon, he is stabbed and killed by Yang, though Blake is not there.
- I've Come Too Far: He considers turning against Salem after Blake's death but decides he has gone too far to stop now, and needs to continue fighting as he has in order to save the Faunus.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In his final moments, he realizes his actions were wrong and would never save the Faunus since Salem will kill them all. He asks Yang to save Remnant and peacefully passes away once she assures him she will.
- Raise Him Right This Time: Discussed. Since he is Menagerie, Adam will reincarnate. Yang and Australia wonder if his next life will be kinder so he will be a better person next time. Their wish comes true since Menagerie's reincarnation revealed himself to Kali and Ghira in the final chapter.
- The Reveal: He is the personification of Menagerie.
- Slowly Slipping Into Evil: He gradually became more and more extreme in his methods after Atlas betrayed him and massacred his men.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Adam was a genuinely kind and idealistic person who believed Faunus and humans could achieve peace. He was also awkward and unsure of himself, and would go to Blake to confide in her about his worries.
- We Used to Be Friends: He used to be close friends with Blake, to the point where he confided in her when he was uncertain about his leadership skills. After Atlas attacked Adam and killed his men, he slowly became more extreme until he became the Well-Intentioned Extremist he is today. Despite some of his claims, he still cares for Blake and considers turning against Salem after Blake's death. He decides against it since he feels he must continue on the path he has chosen in order to save the Faunus.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He experienced Faunus discrimination first-hand and wants to save other Faunus from it. He is willing to work with Salem and destroy humanity to achieve that safety after Atlas betrayed him and made him believe peace between the two species is impossible.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: He used to wholeheartedly believe that humans and Faunus could live together in peace. Then Atlas betrayed him and slaughtered his men.
