Old Complete Monster cleanup thread
Welcome to the Complete Monster proposal thread! This is the thread where new Complete Monster examples are vetted, approved, and written up. If you're looking for the general cleanup thread (for cuts, rewrites, expansions, and the like), please go here
Important: Before suggesting any new examples, please read the Frequently Asked Questions and Common Requests List; if you have any questions, the odds are high they are answered there. Additionally, please check here for the earliest date a work can be discussed (usually two weeks from the U.S. release date) and whether the work has already been reserved by another user.
Here is how the process works:
- If you have a candidate to propose, you can simply come right in and propose them! If the character's run is brief, such as a single issue of a comic book, then a simple summary of their actions and any potential redeeming qualities will be enough; for longer-running candidates, an effortpost (EP) might be helpful for organizing the proposal. An EP is not outright required, but please be mindful that if a post becomes too clunky and unorganized, it can be very hard for other people to follow.
- After the proposal, there will be a 72-hour discussion and voting period, where people may ask questions and vote on the candidate. The number of upvotes must outnumber the downvotes by at least five for the character to be considered "approved".
- Three days after the proposal has been made, if the character has been approved, you may post the writeup (the text to be posted on the trope page itself) on the thread and send it to the drafts page. Your candidate will soon be added to the CM subpage. If the work has a page, you should add your candidate to the relevant YMMV page. Voila! It's that simple!
Outside of this process, we do have a few ground rules:
- To keep the thread moving at a reasonable pace, there are some restrictions on when a proposal can be made. There should only be a maximum of four EPs posted both per page and per hour to ensure that nothing gets lost in the shuffle; additionally, each individual troper should only be proposing or writing up characters from a maximum of three works at a time (from initial proposals to end of their voting period). If your proposal would fall outside of either of these guidelines, we'd like to ask you to please wait until they would fit within; feel free to type them up on an outside document, and then when the time comes, you can just copy, paste, and post!
- No plagiarism of any kind. This is a very serious matter site-wide, as the website could get in actual legal trouble over this; as a result, this can very quickly lead to mod intervention. This can take many different forms:
- Direct plagiarism, i.e. wholesale copying. This is not only the easiest to find, but is also the most likely to warrant quick moderator intervention. To be clear, quoting in some places is perfectly acceptable, but it has to be very clear you're quoting from something else and it cannot be anything longer than a sentence or two - if you're quoting an entire work summary from Wikipedia, no one is going to believe you've actually consumed the work, so even if you cite your source, your candidate will be downvoted anyway.
- Self-plagiarism. Even if you can prove that you wrote the same text in both places, the site itself can't contain any of the duplicated text. If you already wrote something once before, it's not too hard to write it a second time.
- Using another site's work as a template for a proposal. Just because you don't copy and paste something directly doesn't mean it's any harder to detect if you're basing parts or all of your proposal on text someone else wrote. To be clear, this doesn't violate site rules and won't lead to mod intervention, but just like if you directly plagiarize, no one will believe you've consumed the work if you're clearly basing your proposal on something else. This thread largely operates on the honor system, and tweaking someone else's work to pass it off as your own is one of the fastest ways to lose trust.
- Votes must be for specific candidates, meaning no blanket voting (i.e. "yes to everyone I missed").
- If you are the first person to downvote a candidate, please provide an explanation of why when you do so. We're here for discussions above all, and a hit-and-run downvote doesn't facilitate anything.
- If a work is already reserved by another user, please don't comment on the work or any potential characters worth discussion before the discussion date. We know how exciting it is when a work has a keeper that you're waiting to talk about, but it's not fair to the person who reserved the work who is just as excited to lead the discussion to see the discussion getting spoiled before they get to do it. On the other hand, if the reservation only has one name attached, shoot them a PM - they may be down for a collaboration, which will get you in on the fun as well!
- Please keep the thread on-topic. While discussing the trope is fun and we encourage people to enjoy it, questions like "who's your favorite CM" are off-topic and can lead to thumps. That's the kind of question to take to people's PMs if they're willing. Similarly, while we encourage friendliness and familiarity with other users, posts should always have some kind of thread-relevant purpose; for instance, if you want to wish someone a happy birthday, feel free to, but if it's the only thing in the post, it's off-topic and needs something else alongside it. Again, though, while we strive for a friendly atmosphere, this is not Facebook; life updates are fun, but unless they have some kind of impact on your thread participation, please do not bring it here - we have Yack Fest for that.
- Please refrain from asking anything along the lines of "How Did We Miss This One?" In almost every case, the answer is simply "No one thought about it before". This Is a Wiki where everyone has different interests, and the fact that people missed a particular candidate, even one that seems like a textbook example of a trope or a character who is particularly iconic in pop culture, means absolutely nothing. The question is disruptive, has a simple and consistent answer, and provides nothing to any discussion.
- If you are suspended from parts of the website, it is still possible to participate!
- For users who are suspended from editing the wiki, you still have full access to this thread. You can propose candidates and write them up with no issues whatsoever; while you will have to ask someone else to post the entry to the relevant pages once it is done, all write-ups are considered thread-approved - as in, done by consensus - and thus doing so does not violate any rules regarding meatpuppeting.
- If you are suspended from the forums, your participation is limited but not impossible. It is still possible for a forum-suspended user to assist in creating the write-up for a character who has already been approved; as previously mentioned, write-ups are inherently considered a consensus-based edit and thus not tied to any one particular user. However, you can not assist in the proposal of a character; as a proposal is based around the forum rather than the wiki, doing so with a forum suspension qualifies as meatpuppeting.
- Please keep all discussions "in-house".
- What other wikis use for CM equivalents is irrelevant here.
- Please be wary of using other wikis, Fandom or otherwise, as sources of information. They are just as fallible as a site like Wikipedia in regards to accuracy because they can be edited by any user, just as this site can.
- Do not attempt to force a communication with an author in an attempt to gather evidence or settle a debate; besides the fact that this is a YMMV trope and thus author intent has variable weight depending on the circumstance, doing so may cross the line into drama exportation, which is prohibited site-wide.
If you would like to use an EP for your candidate, here's the general format. This format does not have to be followed exactly, but these are the main topics that need to be covered:
What is the work?
This is a brief summary of the work you're going to discuss. We don't need a full plot summary here, just however much we need to understand going into the discussion — it can even be as simple as quoting the summary on the work's page.
Who is the candidate and what have they done?
This is essentially the character's biography — who they are, their story, the crimes they commit, and, preferably (though not required), what happens to the candidate at the end. It does not have to include every single thing they ever do — for some villains, we'd be here all day if that was the case — but it should include the highlights of their journey.
Any redeeming qualities? Freudian Excuse?
This is where any potential redeeming characteristics or tragic backstory should be discussed. Do they have a tragic past? Do they show that Even Evil Has Standards or Even Evil Has Loved Ones? Maybe a Pet the Dog moment or two? This is where these should be discussed in full. Not every potential redeeming moment is a clear-cut disqualifier, but we should hear of any potential issues to ensure the character is discussed in full.
Are they bad enough?
A Complete Monster has to be particularly vile by the standard of the work they appear in. Therefore, you should look at what the character does compared to similar characters in the same work. This takes into account things like:
- Their resource level (a human Serial Killer can't stand up to an alien Omnicidal Maniac, but they can be bad by the standard of other human serial killers)
- The amount of time they have to work with (such as a one-shot character versus long-running antagonists)
- The quantity vs. quality of their crimes compared to others (someone with a lower victim count but far more visceral and personal crimes could be considered as equally bad overall as someone with a higher body count but less horror involved)
Essentially, this section is an analysis of the kinds of villainy shown in the work and an explanation of why this particular character's villainy stands out within it.
Final verdict?
This is where you post your final conclusion on the character in question. You can continue elaborating on your reasons or even just say a simple "yes" or "no"; at this point, we've heard everything we need to hear.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: This thread tackles very serious and dark matters on a daily basis. We will be discussing things like murder, rape, torture, human trafficking, crimes against children, and in particularly dark cases, several of these issues at the same time. We keep a lighthearted air, but all candidates carry the general assumption that these are awful individuals committing disgusting crimes. We ask that if you participate, you do so with the requisite seriousness such dark topics require; exclamations of how gross something is, whether serious or sarcastic, are disrespectful to the topics at hand, and if you cannot handle such topics, please do not participate.
And that's everything you need to know. Welcome to the thread!
Edited by Twiddler on Jan 17th 2024 at 5:42:49 AM
Yes to God No. 2
So Princess Snow Kaguya will be Sailor Moon’s 6th CM (I forgot about Doctor Tomoe lmao)
Not enough for a page, but 1 or 2 more might be enough for one.
Only ones left I can see counting are Manga Wiseman/Death Phantom (who is currently being looked at by…Lighty? Iirc.), Anime Metallia, Crystal Metallia if the Chaos Spawn stuff is Adapted Out of Cosmos, and maaaaaaayyybeeee Anime Mistress Nine. Queen Badiane was too Ambiguous in my opinion.
As much as I’m sure some of us would like them to count, Anime Kaolinite and Anime Rubeus are just Hate Sinks and nothing more.
Edited by SailorVenus372 on Feb 12th 2023 at 10:36:21 AM
I’m plotting my schemes wherever I go! They’re perfect in every way…
Ultimate Moral Compass
![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
God #dos
Edited by therealjackieboy on Feb 12th 2023 at 11:24:15 AM
"No running in the halls!"
Also, there were some things in the 90’s Anime Queen Beryl proposal I screwed up on. Namely potential mitigating qualities. Personally I don’t think it hurts her but If she’s ruled a cut, that’s fine. I could personally go either way. What say you?
During the final episode of the Dark Kingdom arc, Beryl acts like she loves Endymion, but this rings bullshit for several reasons. Namely that she straight up tried to murder him when he broke free from her Mind Control, the fact that she Mind Controlled him to begin with (and him breaking free ended up KILLING HIM, indicating the Mind Control was fatal, which might’ve been intentional to spite Sailor Moon if he did get free) and the fact that she waited until she was face to face with Usagi to say these things, indicating she was only saying these things to try and get under Usagi’s skin, including a Kick Them While They Are Down when Usagi was getting her ass handed to her by Endymion. Having the brainwashed Endymion kiss her hand when Usagi arrived was also clearly her trying to get under her skin as well. In the past, Beryl while always evil did despise the union between Endymion and Serenity, but not out of jealousy like in the Manga and Crystal. She just hated Serenity and wanted her to suffer for no fucking reason.
I honestly feel ashamed that I failed to address this in the EP for her.
Edited by SailorVenus372 on Feb 12th 2023 at 11:41:34 AM
I’m plotting my schemes wherever I go! They’re perfect in every way…
Not the Eye
Yeah I think Anime Beryl is good. Thought in future Venus you should bring cases like that in cleanup thread.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Noted.
Write up for the Magistrate, since this is the first ever Korean folklore villain to be Proposed. We should add a Myth/KoreanMythology page in Monster/MythologyAndReligion.
- The Six Brothers: The Magistrate is the governor of the village of the Six Brothers, and a Corrupt Official which would cause the national policy to feed the civilians during an village Famine to be cut in the town he reigns while he shows no desire to share the food in his storage, causing mass civilian deaths. After the brothers are seen conspiring to steal the food in order to feed the dying, the Magistrate orders the brothers to be tortured, and later killed.
I thought ol Stronghart would be proposed one day. I'm... actually going to ![[tdown]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_down_emoticon_3571.png "[thumb down]"){kind=small}
Stronghart. As nasty and as power hungry as he is, he makes it clear through the game that he does actually have genuine greiviences about how Britan is dealing with crime, with him especially with how they are dragging their feet with Forensic Science. I'm sorry, but you can't make a character cite of 12 arguments and 223 reasons why it would be a good ideas about Himself establishing a proper Forensic division, without him genuinely thinking it would be a good thing.
I'm... honestly reminded Damon Gant, (Whom Stronghart clearly was drawn inspiration from). When it's discovered just what he does in rise of the ashes, (which was really cruel to Lana Skye), I kind of began wondering if he was also a Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist... right until he makes it clear when talking to Edgeworth that he legitimately despises criminals.
I kind of get that with Stronghart. The problem is that this factoid comes before we figure out what he did, not after, so unlike Gant, it kind of gets utterly buried under all the revelations of what he did during the final trial.
Edited by crankers on Feb 13th 2023 at 2:33:25 AM
Goku Black
God.
Yes to another God
Unofficial Wiki Curator for Complete Monster
Yes to Hoi and God.
Mael...okay, see, there's gotta be a way to summarize him that doesn't take nearly 2,700 words. Though I'm not sure how easily we can dismiss a Pet the Dog moment.
Venus, those two are at Animated Films.
CM Dates; CM Pending; CM Drafts
Not the Eye
Okay, I have DB villain of my own to propose. Another version of relatively recent, but no less iconic prick.
What is the work?
Dragon Ball Super is, well manga version of dragon ball super. While basic plot of series up to after universe survival saga is the same, there is lot of comphresion and other differences in execution.
What has Zamasu done here?
Apprentice of Gowasu, the Supreme Kai of universe 10. Learning about Goku and his strength after sparing Match with Kibito Kai, Zamasu refuses to believe that Mortal who rivals the power of gods could exist. Learning more about Goku and Super Dragon Balls thanks to Godtube (youtube for the gods), Zamasu is taken by Gowasu on little time adventure on planet Babaria. Zamasu is disgusted with Babarians, well barbarisam, slicing one who attempts to attack them with the smile on his face.
Zamasu travels to Universe 7 and threathens The Omnicient sage Zuno for information about dragon balls. He kills Gowasu and gathers super dragon balls and after intially switching bodies with Monaka, switches bodies with Goku. Zamasu then travels into future trunks timeline (where Beerus is dead thanks to life bond beetwen Supreme Kai and God of Destruction) and kills future Gowasu, recruiting future Zamasu in process.
While Present Zamasu (Goku Black) kills all Supreme Kais of future timeline to ensure no gods can stand in their way and scourges entire future multiverse to exterminate Mortal life, Future Zamasu inspects other paralel timelines for when they spread the Zero Mortal Plan in them as well. After future trunks brings Goku and Vegeta to Future (in this version time ring cannot travel to the past and present Zamasu never even met Goku until now), evil duo engages them. With brief stelmate during which Goku Black and Zamasu wipe out all remaining mortals on the planet, battle continues with Shin bringing present Gowasu into the future. After brief talk Goku Black stabs and almost kills Gowasu while Trunks uses Mafuba to seal Future Zamasu.
But Goku brought wrong seal, after intense moment two Zamasu’s fuse. Battle seemingly end after their Fusion ends, but because they are the Same person Goku Black is now immortall as well. Also every cell they lose becomes it’s own body. Goku remembers the button to summon the Omni King and uses it, much to Zamasu army’s horror. Omni king wipes out the timeline and Zamasu with it.
Redeming qualities?
Nope, he is even worse than in Anime. Here he is already dead set on his hatred of mortals and goes in omnicide mode after only hearing about Goku. Even his relathioship with his future self is more strained.
Heinous standard?
He plans to wipe out all life across multiple multiverses.
Conclusion?
Lot more bland than his Anime version, but BIG
Edited by EmperorGeode on Feb 13th 2023 at 3:45:08 AM
to bibidi, dub paragus, hoi, love, devilman god, and Laura
Unofficial Wiki Curator for Complete Monster
Sure to Manga!Zamasu.
CM Dates; CM Pending; CM Drafts
to Zamasu and god
Lol, So many Dragon Ball CMs
Easy to Manga!Zamasu. I had thought about proposing him myself.
God
Edited by Snowy66 on Feb 13th 2023 at 5:13:51 AM
Manga!Zamasu.
The Emperor of Evil!
to Manga Zamasu.
The Draftsman of Doom
Yes to Zamasu.
Rawr.
Showtime!
Well, it's been a week, and what a week it's been. There's only one Soul series antagonist left that I feel is worth doing an EP for, and I've done my best to compile all the information I can on him based on the sources available to me, which I have listed as part of the effortpost for anyone who wants to check them out.
Soul Series — Transcending history and the world, a tale of souls and swords, eternally retold.
The Soul series has surprisingly dense and complex lore for a story-light fighting game series and is composed of two continuities set in alternate but intersecting timelines — while being strongly implied to take place in the same fictional universe as the Tekken series (and also being kinda-sorta-maybe-somewhat canon to the Assassin's Creed, Spawn, and Mortal Kombat series via multiversal shenanigans and a glitch in the Animus). Rather than take up fifty-plus paragraphs explaining the minute details, though, I'll post a link to the New Legends of Project Soul artbook's chronology of the original timeline
◊ for anyone who's interested and/or confused to check out.
The original timeline consists of Soul Edge/Blade (set in 1583), SoulCalibur (set in 1586), SoulCalibur II (set in 1590), SoulCalibur III (set in 1590), SoulCalibur IV (set in 1590), & Soulcalibur V (set in 1607). As of this writing the rebooted timeline consists solely of Soulcalibur VI, and spans the years 1583 to 1590. Soulcalibur Legends is a spinoff hack-and-slash game set in 1583, but is non-canon... or at least mostly non-canon, as some of its events are referenced in the rebooted timeline.
Unfortunately, the only game set in the original timeline to have a canon story mode is SoulCalibur V... but the characters' canon backstories are detailed and expanded upon in the character profiles/Museum Modes of each game. The New Legends of Project Soul artbook also expands heavily upon the original timeline's lore and reveals what happened to the various characters between the events of SoulCalibur IV and SoulCalibur V.
Conversely, SoulCalibur VI has a full-fledged story mode that covers more or less the same events and plot points as the canon storyline of the original games from the end of Soul Edge/Blade up to the beginning of SoulCalibur II, fleshing things out and expanding upon many elements — including some details that are supposed to be canon to both timelines but went unrevealed. While some events and characters are exactly the same as they were in the original timeline, other details in the rebooted timeline are altered the point of almost being completely different, and things begin to diverge even more due to Zasalamel and Cassandra Alexandra gaining knowledge of the events of the original timeline.
Kunpaetku first appears in SoulCalibur and is an important NPC in the series as a whole, playing a major role in the backstories of the various incarnations of Astaroth and Lizardman, and several other playable characters, and pulling strings behind the scenes.
Kunpaetku is one of the eight Planetary Priests of Fygul Cestemus, an ancient cult spanning the globe that worships the evil snake-god Palgaea — known in Greece as the god of war, Ares — in secret underground temples. Established over 2000 years in the past, Fygul Cestemus believes that Palgaea will one day bring about a "Great Cleansing" as part of a cycle of destruction and rebirth — though none of the priests can agree on whether the members of Fygul Cestemus will or should be spared from Great Cleansing, leading to frequent infighting and power struggles — and attempts to bring this about through acts of destruction.
At some point in the 16th century, Kunpaetku is appointed the Priest of Earth — the High Priest of Fygul Cestemus — but is not content with the power and authority this position gives him. Unlike the other cultists, who are fanatically loyal to Palgaea and eagerly await the Great Cleansing, Kunpaetku's loyalty to the dark god is feigned and he intends to use the cult as a stepping stone to attain his ambitions of godhood. To this end, he secretly constructs the "Kunpaetku Shrine" — a self-dedicated temple/laboratory wherein he and his loyal acolytes carry out twisted experiments to create new forms of life loyal to him alone.
- 1583 — Events of Soul Edge take place — Kunpaetku receives an oracle from Palgaea ordering Fygul Cestemus to retrieve Soul Edge so that the dark god can use it to perform the Great Cleansing, and is bestowed a heart-like divine core. However, Kunpaetku plots to take Soul Edge for himself and use it to usurp Palgaea's status as a god of destruction.
Hearing of the Malfested Spartan soldier Aeon Calcos (one of the holy warriors chosen by Palgaea/Ares' nemesis Hephaestus to destroy Soul Edge), Kunpaetku has him captured and used as a test subject. Aeon is mutated into a feral reptilian humanoid with no memories of his past as a human, and is brainwashed into being loyal to Kunpaetku. Pleased by these results, Kunpaetku has his cultists abduct more test subjects — particularly those who display above-average combat skills — and transform them into lizardmen as well.
Learning of the axe-wielding warrior Nathanial "Rock" Adams, Kunpaetku sends Aeon and a squad of lizardmen to abduct Rock's adopted son Bangoo, intending to use the child as bait to capture Rock and then sacrifice him to Palgaea, though Rock is able to rescue Bangoo.
At the Palgaea Shrine, Kunpaetku utilizes the divine core to create the golem Astaroth, using Rock's towering physique and fighting style as a template. Believing Astaroth to be a mere puppet to his will, Kunpaetku sends him to search for Soul Edge — accompanied by Aeon and a horde of lizardman soldiers. Unbeknownst to Kunpaetku, Astaroth had gained self-awareness and free will as a side effect of Palgaea indwelling him with a dark spirit (or spirits) called Keres, but decided to play along until the high priest had outlived his usefulness. - 1586 — Events of SoulCalibur take place — While Astaroth and Aeon search for Soul Edge and join Nightmare's Malfested army for three years in order to help restore it to full power, Kunpaetku continues his twisted experiments to create an army of lizardmen and golems.
- 1590 — Events of SoulCalibur II take place — With Aeon freed from Fygul Cestemus' control and Astaroth KIA after Nightmare's defeat, Kunpaetku has the cult improve the remaining lizardmen's brainwashing to prevent them from going AWOL, sending some out to collect shards of Soul Edge while keeping others as loyal slaves.
- 1590 — Events of SoulCalibur III take place — After Astaroth is resurrected by Palgaea and absorbs some of Soul Edge's shards, Kunpaetku realizes that the golem isn't under his control and places a curse on him in an attempt to bring him to heel. Astaroth is able to resist it due to the Keres and Soul Edge's power, and deems the cult to have become an obstacle to his true mission — delivering Soul Edge to Palgaea. Astaroth lays waste to Fygul Cestemus — killing most of the Planetary Priests in the process. Kunpaetku mockingly informs Astaroth that he'd been made in the image of a human before escaping, but promptly encounters Maxi — whose pirate crew had been slaughtered by Astaroth — and is seemingly killed.
- 1590 — Events of SoulCalibur IV take place — Kunpaetku survives by transforming himself into a human/golem hybrid, and for a time allows the surviving remnants of Fygul Cestemus to believe he had perished. In the ensuing power struggle, Priest of Mars Kalnypalk and Priest of Venus Kalnypolok seize control of the cult and begin purging those they deem heretics.
Ashlotte Maedel — an automaton created by Kalnypalk and Kalnypolok — is sent to kill Astaroth and eventually finds him already slain by Maxi, claiming his divine core for her masters. Kunpaetku steals the core back, resumes command of the cult, and appoints new Planetary Priests to replace those KIA. While Kalnypalk and Kalnypolok still resent his leadership, Kunpaetku uses the threat of assassination at the hands of spymaster Priest of the Moon Alzbylz or being turned into a test subject by Priest of Saturn Elamulnyt to keep would-be dissenters in-line. - 1607 — Events of SoulCalibur V take place — Eager to regain the knowledge and technology lost during Astaroth's rampage, Kunpaetku establishes the Shrine of the Snake God Palgaea — a new temple/laboratory on the coast of the Black Sea — and resumes his research and experiments. Studying Astaroth's divine core, Kunpaetku uses it to create mass-produced "Astaroth units" — sacrificing an unknown number of animals and humans (including Fygul Cestemus cultists) — to do so. Ensuring that the mass-produced Astaroths are completely devoid of the pesky free will that had led to the original going AWOL, Kunpaetku sends them out into the world to fight and kill, intending to have them ascend to godhood through combat and then use them to evolve himself into a "supergod".
None. Kunpaetku doesn't have a sympathetic backstory, agency issues, Freudian excuses, or redeeming qualities. And unlike the other antagonists he isn't Made of Evil, Brainwashed and Crazy, or under Demonic Possession.
However, due to him being an NPC and the games lacking a canon story mode up until the fifth entry, Kunpaetku's activities during and between the canon events of each game are relayed exclusively through All There in the Manual via Astaroth and Lizardman's character profiles and stage descriptions, and the New Legends of Project Soul databook. The fruits of his research are shown off in-full, as Astaroth and the Lizardmen are playable characters, and his temple-laboratories are among the stages in SoulCalibur and SoulCalibur V.
Not gonna lie, Kunpaetku faces some stiff competition, even if we just look at the Soul series and exclude Tekken. To summarize the various other antagonists of the series:
- Soul Edge — Once an ordinary sword corrupted by hatred and bloodshed in an ancient age of constant war, Soul Edge developed a malicious will of its own (Inferno) that is dedicated to the corruption and annihilation of all life. It brainwashes or outright controls its wielders — shapeshifting to suit their fighting style, consumes the souls of its victims, and corrupts those exposed to its power into often-monstrous Malfested. Soul Edge is linked to the eldritch dimension of Astral Chaos, which exists outside of space and time, and withdraws into it when badly damaged — scattering its shards in the process. Subjugated by the Hero-King Algol, Soul Edge corrupted his son Arcturus — leading to Algol vengefully creating Soul Calibur to destroy it.
Its next known host was an Egyptian pharaoh who used it to bring about a "terrible catastrophe", a Germanic warlord who fought against King Arthur (who wielded Soul Calibur), and Zasalamel — who sought to use it to end his curse of immortality. Ending up in the hands of the Dread Pirate Cervantes de Léon, Soul Edge transformed into two swords — one of which was shattered by Sophitia Alexandra's divine sword. Inferno possessed Cervantes' corpse to test Siegfried Schtauffen when he tried to claim the remaining blade, and after being defeated offered to resurrect his father if he helped gather the shards scattered by its other half's destruction. Siegfried agreed and was Malfested into Nightmare, Inferno impersonating Siegfried's father to further manipulate him into embracing its corruption.
Breaking free from Soul Edge's control and stabbing it with Soul Calibur (sealing both swords in the Souls' Embrace), Siegfried set out to find a way to be rid of them for good. Unbeknownst to Siegfried, Inferno had escaped into Nightmare's discarded Azure Armor and was later given an artificial body by Zasalamel. Furious at Siegfried's rejection, Inferno sought to reclaim Soul Edge and retake Siegfried as its host — and later find a way to retain its favourite form with Graf Dumas — but discovered that it both needed a willing host and to accommodate its host's fighting style to unleash its full power. Taking the form of a short-sword and shield when claimed by Sophitia's daughter Pyrrha — eager to use the sword-fighting techniques that had once shattered it against Soul Calibur — Soul Edge gaslit her into willingly swearing fealty to it by telling her it would never leave her as long as she killed everyone she came across. Pyrrha's love for her brother Patroklos enabled her to break free of its control, and the two siblings sealed both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur into Astral Chaos. - Soul Calibur — A purportedly holy sword created from a "purified" shard of Soul Edge (sharing all its abilities and link to Astral Chaos), it contains a malicious will of its own (Elysium) that is dedicated to ruthlessly smiting those it deems evil, but was kept sealed away by the Guardians of the Spirit Sword. Stolen, it made its way to China alongside the energy-absorbing staff Kali-Yuga and the evil-cleansing holy mirror Dvapara-Yuga, eventually ending up in the hands of Chai Xianghua. After she defeated Nightmare (Siegfried) and shattered Soul Edge, Soul Calibur was sucked into Astral Chaos, where Inferno tried to corrupt and re-absorb it. When Raphael Sorel stabbed Soul Edge's eye, Siegfried fought back against Inferno, freed Soul Calibur, and impaled it through Soul Edge, sealing them in the Souls' Embrace.
When Zasalamel separated the Soul Swords, Siegfried's clash with Nightmare (Inferno) awakened Soul Calibur's dormant will and it claimed him as its host. It was able to shatter Soul Edge, going dormant for 17 years until Soul Edge returned. With Siegfried having become suspicious that it and Soul Edge were more alike than different, it claimed Patroklos Alexander as its new host and used his devotion to his late mother to gaslight and brainwash him into killing his sister Pyrrha — who had become Soul Edge's new host. When Patroklos broke free and went back in time, Soul Calibur attempted to forcefully seize control of his body but was thwarted and banished back to Astral Chaos by Pyrrha. - Cervantes de Léon — A ruthless pirate who terrorized the Atlantic Ocean for 28 years, attacking every ship he came across, before claiming Soul Edge. Malfested and enthralled, Cervantes slaughtered his crew and rampaged for 3 years — raping the daughter of the Black Tail Inn's owner — before disappearing for 25 more years. Slain by Sophitia (a baker turned holy warrior chosen by Hephaestus to destroy Soul Edge) and Taki (a demon-slaying ninja), he was reanimated by Soul Edge and spent seven more years slaughtering everyone he came across in the hopes of becoming strong enough to reclaim the sword without being enthralled again. After being killed by his daughter Ivy, he was reborn through Astral Chaos and resumed his ruthless pirate career for another 12 years while branching off into slave-trading and prostitution.
- Voldo — A blind and mute assassin employed as the right hand and bodyguard of the Italian weapon-merchant Vercci, a business associate of Cervantes who'd hired him to obtain Soul Edge. Ordered by his dying master to guard the boobytrapped vault containing his fortune, Voldo killed the workers who'd helped build it and anyone who sought it to steal the treasures within. Going insane, Voldo hallucinated hearing his master's voice ordering him to seek out Soul Edge (later revealed to actually be Inferno impersonating Vercci... somehow), and left the Money Pit to do just that — periodically returning to the Money Pit to ensure it remained undisturbed. Becoming malfested and joining Nightmare (Inferno)'s army under the delusion that Inferno was Vercci, Voldo was cleansed by Kilik using the sacred Kali-Yuga staff. Finding the Money Pit had been robbed in his absence, Voldo hunted down the thieves and reclaimed the stolen treasure before setting out to search for Soul Edge — having been thoroughly brainwashed into considering Soul Edge to be his master. Voldo eventually became a vassal of Nightmare (Graf Dumas), attempting to assassinate Patroklos when he turned on Nightmare.
- Nightmare (Siegfried Schtauffen) — The son of a German knight who became the leader of a group of bandits called Schwarzwind. After accidentally murdering his father Frederick, Siegfried went insane, deluded himself that someone else had done it, and became obsessed with revenge. Hearing rumours of Soul Edge, the ultimate weapon, Siegfried began searching for it, swearing fealty to Sir Stefan of Ostrheinsburg Castle — believing his sword Grimblade/Gram to be Soul Edge — before betraying and murdering him to steal it.
Siegfried finally located Soul Edge in the Spanish city of Valencia, looting it from the corpse of Cervantes de Léon (though not without a fight). Malfested into Nightmare, he spent the next three years slaughtering everyone he came across — Inferno promising to resurrect his father if he restored Soul Edge, and impersonating Frederick to gaslight him. Nightmare claimed Ostrheinsburg as his base of operations, laid waste to the kingdom of Wolfkrone, and began building an army of Malfested (with Astaroth, Aeon Calcos, and Ivy Valentine as his lieutenants). Freed from Soul Edge's control when it was badly damaged by Xianghua — who was wielding Soul Calibur — Siegfried regained his sanity and was horrified by his actions, trying to hide Soul Edge away. Siegfried was slowly taken over again and rampaged for another few years as Nightmare before breaking free of Soul Edge's control with a little help from Raphael Sorel. Pulling Soul Calibur out of Astral Chaos, Siegfried stabbed Soul Edge with its opposite — sealing it and expelling Inferno from the cursed sword — before setting out to atone for his sins by finding a way to permanently destroy it. - Astaroth — A golem created by Kunpaetku to retrieve Soul Edge, but who went AWOL after being granted free will by the dark god Palgaea. Astaroth joined Nightmare's army and slaughtered hundreds — if not thousands — to harvest their souls, intending to betray Nightmare and take Soul Edge once it was restored. Slain by Maxi — a pirate whose crew he'd murdered — Astaroth was resurrected by Palgaea and imbued with Soul Edge's power, attempting to wipe out Fygul Cestemus when Kunpaetku tried to regain control of him. Turning on Palgaea as well, Astaroth set out to claim Soul Edge for himself but was once again killed by Maxi.
- Aeon Calcos — A Spartan soldier chosen by Hephaestus as one of 27 holy warriors to destroy Soul Edge. Malfested by the Evil Seed unleashed by Siegfried claiming Soul Edge, he was captured by Fygul Cestemus and mutated into a carnivorous reptilian humanoid by Kunpaetku. Joining Nightmare's army alongside Astaroth, Aeon was freed from Kunpaetku's brainwashing and regained his memories when Soul Edge was shattered by Xianghua, but succumbed to despair and became a feral monster once more. Years later, Palgaea gave him new powers in exchange for him hunting down and devouring the other holy warriors chosen by Hephaestus.
- Palgaea — An ancient god of destruction worshipped by Fygul Cestemus, and known in Greece as the god of war Ares. He seeks to claim Soul Edge for himself to obtain absolute power for an unknown purpose, and has sent the dark spirit Keres to ensure Astaroth delivers it to him. After Astaroth was destroyed, Palgaea set his sights on Aeon Calcos and gave him new powers in exchange for his fealty.
- Ivy Valentine — The daughter of Cervantes de Léon, Ivy was adopted by an English aristocrat and alchemist obsessed with Soul Edge — which he believed to be the secret to obtaining immortality. Becoming an alchemist herself, Ivy researched Soul Edge and learned of its true nature, deciding to destroy it. Using her knowledge, Ivy created a whip-sword with a soul of its own that was given life by Nightmare (Siegfried) in exchange for her swearing fealty to him. Not realizing Nightmare wielded Soul Edge, Ivy became one of his lieutenants until she discovered the truth about Nightmare and her own heritage. Almost driven insane, Ivy set out to destroy not only Soul Edge but all who'd been tainted by its power. She was contacted by Zasalamel, who informed her of Soul Calibur, and set out to claim it for herself. Learning of the sacred treasures associated with Soul Calibur and that she would be unable to wield the sword due to being Malfested, she sought to create a homunculus with an artificial soul to wield Soul Calibur in her stead but was killed by Cervantes. Resurrected by the artificial soul she had created, Ivy killed Cervantes to reclaim her soul and continued her research into Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, and Astral Chaos to find a way to destroy them once and for all.
- Raphael Sorel — A French noble who was cast out by his own family and became a wanted criminal for killing another noble in self-defence during the Evil Seed. Aided by a young orphan girl named Amy, Raphael adopted her as his daughter and obtained the mansion of Lord Dumas under dark pretences. Learning about Soul Edge from a mysterious scholar (read: Azwel)'s notes, Raphael decided to use it to wipe out the French nobility and create the perfect world for Amy. Finding Soul Edge in the hands of Nightmare (Siegfried), Raphael fought the Azure Knight but was easily defeated and badly wounded. Stabbing Soul Edge's eye in a last act of defiance, Raphael unwittingly freed Siegfried from its control. Raphael dragged himself back to his manor, where Amy tended to his wounds, but Soul Edge's cursed energy Malfested them both into vampires. Relocating to Vlad the Impaler's castle in Walachia, Raphael and Amy began preying on the townsfolk. Learning of Soul Calibur and that its power was even greater than Soul Edge's, Raphael set out to claim it but was captured by Nightmare (Inferno)'s forces.
- Charade — A shapeshifting entity formed from a collection of Soul Edge's shards that took on a humanoid form by assimilating the corpse of a would-be adventurer, seeking out more shards of Soul Edge to become whole. It was ultimately absorbed back into Soul Edge when Nightmare (Inferno) reclaimed it.
- Nightmare (Inferno) — The will of Soul Edge made manifest through Zasalamel's dark magic. Initially wielding a phantasmal copy of Soul Edge, Nightmare went on a rampage to regain his full strength and eventually reclaimed the cursed sword in a clash against Siegfried. Pulled through a portal into Astral Chaos and spat out in Ostrheinsburg, Nightmare's artificial body was destroyed but the cursed Azure Armour was corrupted into an extension of Soul Edge itself. Recalling almost all of its scattered fragments to itself and puppeteering the shattered armor, Soul Edge discovered it wasn't able to unleash its full power without a proper host. Destabilizing and deteriorating, Nightmare rebuilt his Malfested army and corrupted Ostrheinsburg into a veritable extension of Soul Edge before being vanquished by Siegfried.
- Zasalamel — A member of the Guardians of the Spirit Sword, the descendants of the sages chosen by Algol to purify and watch over Soul Calibur. Exiled for attempting to claim Soul Calibur for himself, Zasalamel became obsessed with immortality and cursed himself to be reincarnated each time he died. Coming to regret this decision, Zasalamel became obsessed with finding a way to permanently die — even willingly taking up Soul Edge in the hopes that it would destroy his soul. Hoping that Soul Calibur might be able to break his curse, he found his tribe had long-since disappeared — and Soul Calibur with them. Theorizing that absorbing the power of both Soul Swords would be enough to break his curse, Zasalamel used dark magic to create an artificial body for Inferno to inhabit. Once Siegfried and Nightmare were reunited, Zasalamel attempted to absorb the energy of both swords but had a vision of the 20th and 21st centuries that rekindled his desire to live forever so that he could bear witness to humanity's acomplisments. Desiring to claim both Soul Swords to gain true immortality, Zasalamel sensed Algol's awakening and grew concerned that the Hero-King would stand in the way of his ambition.
- Night Terror — A monstrous avatar of Soul Edge that flies around Astral Chaos mindlessly destroying everything it comes across, and is so powerful that even Algol is afraid of it.
- Tira — A sadistic assassin raised from birth to love mutilation and murder, going AWOL to become a serial killer before swearing fealty to Nightmare (Inferno), killing an unknown number of people in its name. Malfested by Soul Edge, she blackmailed Sophitia into serving Nightmare by threatening her daughter Pyrrha. After Soul Edge was shattered by Siegfried, she gathered its shards to repair it but refused to bend the knee to the new Nightmare (Graf Dumas), setting out to gaslight the now-adult Pyrrha into succumbing to her Malfestation and becoming Soul Edge's new host.
- Lord Geo Dampierre — A Venetian conman obsessed with obtaining wealth and status befitting a self-proclaimed noble, to the point there's nothing he won't do to make even a quick buck — including assassination, looting war-torn countries for national treasures to sell on the black market, and selling women and children into slavery.
- Algol — An ancient hero who became a god-emperor after subjugating the nascent Soul Edge and ending an age of war. When his jealous son Arcturus stole Soul Edge and was taken over by it, Algol was forced to kill him in self-defence. Overcome by grief and sorrow, Algol devoted the rest of his life to finding a way to destroy Soul Edge and ultimately sacrificed himself to create Soul Calibur. Algol's soul ended up in Astral Chaos, absorbing its energies to apotheosize into a Humanoid Abomination almost completely devoid of his former humanity. Awakened after untold millennia by the clash between Siegfried (wielding Soul Calibur) and Nightmare (wielding Soul Edge), Algol began conquering Astral Chaos — building the Tower of Glory — and is intent on reclaiming the Soul Swords and using them to conquer the mortal world.
- Nightmare (Graf Dumas) — After Soul Edge was repaired by Tira and its remaining Malfested servants, it decided to enact an experiment to see if it could possess a host while still retaining its preferred greatsword form. Choosing Raphael Sorel as its new host, Soul Edge rewrote chunks of his memories to circumvent his strong will, brainwashing him into being its willing servant, but found it was still unable to unleash its true power without changing form to suit. Disguising himself as a human under the alias Dumas, the new Nightmare gained the attention of Emperor Rudolf II through his unmatched combat prowess and knowledge of alchemy and sorcery. Dumas manipulated the Emperor into declaring war on the Ottoman Empire, and was made the Graf (Count) of Hungary and granted lordship of Castle Denevér. Further ingratiating himself through repeated victories against the Ottoman Empire's army, Dumas began secretly gathering shards of Soul Edge while rebuilding his Malfested army, orchestrating a Crusade against innocents (and anyone who opposed him) by accusing them of being Malfested. Dumas gaslit Patroklos Alexander to slaughter innocents, manipulating him with the promise of helping him avenge his mother and find his missing sister Pyrrha Alexandra. When Patroklos learned the truth, Dumas revealed himself as Nightmare and later attempted to kill Patroklos (who had claimed a weakened Soul Calibur) only to be driven off by the Malfested Pyrrha. With his power restored, Nightmare openly declared war on Central Europe, but was defeated and slain by Z.W.E.I.
- Pyrrha Ω — The Malfested form of Pyrrha Alexandra, who was born infused with Soul Edge's energy and had a shard implanted into her as a toddler by her mother. Timid and demure, Pyrrha dislikes fighting but was used as a pawn by Tira — who awakened the shard of Soul Edge within her, causing her to develop a bloodthirsty and vicious split personality. After being rejected by her long-lost brother Patroklos when her Malfestation became apparent, Pyrrha succumbed to despair and claimed Soul Edge, embracing her suppressed rage and slaughtering everyone she came across. However, her love for her brother enabled her to break free from Soul Edge's control and the two sent Soul Edge and Soul Calibur back to Astral Chaos.
That said, part of this section's stipulations is to keep the character's resource level in mind. Kunpaetku isn't a millennia-old cursed sword and he's not Malfested — though he very much wants to become one as a stepping-stone to godhood. Unlike the other fully-human antagonists, he wasn't raised from birth to be an assassin, he doesn't have dissociative identity disorder, and he wasn't cursed with reincarnation. That's not to sell him short, though. While he's fully human — at least prior to him turning himself into a human/golem hybrid — he's also the Mad Scientist leader of a globe-spanning cult, and a master of dark magic with ambitions of godhood and a penchant for mutating people who pique his interest into bloodthirsty monsters — making him responsible for all the deaths caused by the Astaroth golems (original and mass-produced) and the Lizardmen too.
While the other Fygul Cestemus cultists are responsible for their share dark deeds, the buck stops at Kunpaetku and he's responsible for a lot of suffering and bloodshed not only through the cult he commands, but through his grotesque experiments and the monsters they create — which are brainwashed to obey his will. Furthermore, while the others cultists are fanatically loyal to their individual interpretations of what they believe the dark god Palgaea's will to be (making them Palgaea's unwitting pawns) most of them were born within the ranks of Fygul Cestemus and raised as fanatics. Conversely, Kunpaetku's dedication to the cult is a ruse and he sees them all (even Palgaea himself) as disposable pawns in his mission to become a god — first by usurping Palgaea using Soul Edge and later through the mass-produced Astaroth units.
The only other high-ranking Fygul Cestemus cultists to be given any degree of on-screen canonical importance to the story are Kalnypalk/Kalnipahlk and her half-brother Kalnypolok/Kalnipohlk, who specialize in the creation of automatons and cyborgs & in alchemy and black magic respectively. Unlike Kunpaetku, neither of them directly appear in the series, but in the original timeline they are responsible for assassinating the Priest of Saturn Azpaelku and several other lesser priests they deemed heretical, as well as the creation of Ashlotte. They play a slightly bigger role in the reboot timeline, where they are behind the creation of the Automaton player-creation race and unsuccessfully try to carry out a coup attempt against Kunpaetku after deeming his bioweapon experiments heretical. However, they were born into the cult and raised as fanatics, which I would think undermines their agency, and Kunpaetku also does similar things on a larger scale and in a crueller manner.
However, given the series' track record, his status as an NPC in a story-light fighting game series (he only directly appears in Astaroth's non-canon ending in SoulCalibur, where he's killed by the Soul Edge-possessed Astaroth), and that he never actually achieves his goals... I won't get my hopes up.
- Kunpaetku
- Fygul Cestemus
- Lizardman -- Aeon Calcos
- Lizardman -- Generic
- Astaroth -- Original
- Astaroth -- Mass-Produced
- Astaroth -- Reboot
- Ares
- Palagaea Shrine
- Kunpaetku Shrine
- Shrine of the Snake God Palgaea
- New Legends of Project Soul pages 88◊, 89◊, 90◊, 91◊, 114◊, 119◊, and 136◊
Edited by Arawn999 on Feb 13th 2023 at 11:24:28 AM
Yes to Manga Zamasu. I'm checking the Xenoverse one and manga Sailor Moon's Wiseman. Just give me a bit to get to all this. Leaning to a sad nay to Kunpaeku there, for heinousness.
One I want to do now, one I'd strayed on a while from my joint on this series: Mason Verget from Hannibal.
Who is Mason Verger?
The heir of the Verger financial meat-packing dynasty. Mason is a devious sadist who delights in the pain of others. Especially his twin sister Margot, for whom he possesses a special level of cruelty and loathing. Mason has abused Margot for years in all capacity, knowing she is financially dependent upon him since their father cut her off for being a lesbian....when Margot snaps and tries to kill him, Mason sends her to Hannibal as a patient as a power move, making it clear the only way to stay in the fmaily is to have a child, with a strong implication he intends to rape her to procure one. Margot sleeps with protagonist Will Graham, so he arranges a car accident, aborts the child and sterilizes her so she can't have another.
If this wasn't bad enough, Mason is known to horribly abuse foster children and the kids at the summer camp his father founded so he can collect their tears. It's indicated he sexually abuses the kids, being a cruel pedophile. Upon his conflict with Hannibal, Mason reveals he uses pigs he's trained to devour human flesh to try to kill the good doctor (With Hannibal escaping, as others have not) and proceeds to drug Mason and has him carve off his own face before snapping his neck before Will to leave Mason paralyzed and in the care of Margot.
Returning, Mason intends to bring Hannibal to, uh, "justice" and sends out his minions to find him no matter who dies in the process. As an added note of absolute cruelty, Mason uses his own sperm and Margot's uterus to conceive a baby, but has it nurtured and implanted in a pig so it will die painfully.
With Hannibal captured, Mason intends to have him and will tortured to death, deciding to have his psycho servant Cordell make Hannibal into a gourmet meal one piece at a time (with Hannibal cheerily approving). But Alana, Margot's lover, frees Hannibal who proceeds to help them "milk" and take and preserve Mason's sperm while he's unconscious so they can have their child. margot is PISSED about the pig thing (and, y'know, the lifetime of horrible psychological and sexual abuse). her reaction is to stuff Mason's head into his eel tank, one of his own creatures crawling down his throat and suffocating him.
Mitigating issues?
He has no good qualities, absolutely zilch. Mason is hands down the most loathsome and despicable character in the entire show.
That said...now, heinousness I've waffled on. Mass murder, serial killing and cannibalism aren't exactly unusual. But Mason earns props by the sheer, ridiculous, petty ends to his cruelty. Nobody else condemns a baby to that sort of agonizing, horrific fate. I don't tihnk we have any other pedophiles on the show (it's subtle enough, but Mason makes it clear with a metaphor of a chocolate bar tha the also uses for Margot)...the guy is a sadistic, twisted rapist and monster who's killed plenty of people with his flesh-eating pigs, plots to torture Hannibal and Will to death, condemned his own baby to die in agony in a sow's womb and heaps abuse after abuse on his sister.
Conclusion?
Pass.
Xeno Zammy doesn't seem quite as fanatical about the Zero Mortals Plan, IMO, given that he's willing to train the protagonist instead of smiting them on the spot.
Yes to Mason Verger and Zamasu
Edited by VeryVileVillian on Feb 13th 2023 at 6:27:44 PM
Yes to Stronghart and our second God today.
My writeup.
Thoughts?
Edited by EmperorGeode on Feb 12th 2023 at 10:25:02 AM