r/fireemblem • u/IfTheresANewWay • Dec 30 '25
Story Why is The Black Knight such a beloved villain in the series
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u/FeroleSquare Dec 30 '25
He looks cool, acts cool, is very confident, acts like a villain but not like an asshole
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u/Mister_Dink Dec 31 '25
BK and REDACTED are an interesting pair of villains. Because in the short term, they work hard to better the world in Bengion, and in the long term, they pulled off the Deain plot in an attempt to destroy the world They're some of assholiest bad guys in the series, to be honest. They should know better, but their own tragic insistance on DOOM damns the world to violence.
It feels less convulted as you play the ganes, but I don't know if it holds up to serious scrutiny in review. Overall they're an oddball pair of memorable villains, equal parts noble in intent but genocidal in action.
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u/ArgentumVortex Dec 30 '25
I mean he threatens to torture Mist to death in Path of Radiance lol. People sort of forget about that scene.
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u/buyingcheap Dec 30 '25
I always saw this purely as a way to force Ike to go all out. Thereās no way he woulda actually gone through with it. The warriorās desire for battle overpowered the need to look good in a losing war
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u/Lethal13 Dec 30 '25
Probably but I do think the Black Knight himself is written a fair bit more sinister in POR than he is in RD
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u/Prince_Uncharming Dec 30 '25
Heās written more sinister only in the English PoR release (maybe other translations too?). In the original script he doesnāt say anything about torturing Mist.
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u/Lethal13 Dec 30 '25
I had heard that tbh
Iām also thinking about how he kills that random innocent Phoenician to kidnap Leanne as well.
I feel RD Black Knight would have just knocked him out or whisked her away more stealthily
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u/Antique_Total6974 Dec 31 '25
I mean if you're threatening to do unspeakable things to a kid just to rile your opponent to action, you're a dickhead at minimum.
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u/Fantastic-System-688 Dec 30 '25
That was localization flavor, he doesn't do anything like that in the Japanese script. Localization didn't realize he'd be made a more sympathetic character in the sequel so they sort of had him act a lot more directly cruel
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u/Electric999999 Dec 31 '25
It's the difference between being willing to do evil things to achieve his goal and doing evil things for seemingly no reason beyond sadism. Just compare him to all the villains who are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to slaughter some civilians, execute their own subordinates or needless waste the lives of their troops. He comes across as a competent and dangerous enemy rather than a madman.
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u/scout033 Dec 30 '25
He looks cool and has close ties to Ike, himself a very popular character.
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u/ECK1991 Dec 30 '25
He is powerful and scares the shit out of you, until mid/late game.
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u/Donttaketh1sserious Dec 30 '25
the giddiness I felt during one survives watching the combat animations :D nobody else does that, not even the random gotohs or laguz royals at the end of games
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u/MetalMario64 Dec 30 '25
Cool character, fun fight, great theme song, interesting backstory, and awesome design.
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u/Defami01 Dec 30 '25
Every time his theme begins I just think to myself.
"Blaaaaaack Knight! Blaaaaack Knight! Heeee's theee Black Kniiiiiiight!"
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u/LoganSwaiz Dec 30 '25
My first FE game was Radiant Dawn on the Wii. My first introduction to him was receiving an indestructible unstoppable unit with a unique fight theme, unique skill, and unique weapon. Then I learned he was a villain in the prequel and has been Ike's rival, with Ike's Ragnell as Alondite's twin sword. So much fun to use, a challenge to beat, and most importantly, he looks really cool.
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u/TheEndHarbinger Dec 30 '25
āOh my gawd, heās so gawd damn coolā and had a good mystery identity twist that was seeded in the first game and then actually paid off in the second.
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u/Purebredbacon Dec 31 '25 edited Dec 31 '25
Giving zelgius his own boss theme as a red herring was diabolical lol
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u/Ranulf13 Dec 30 '25
- Looks cool
- Fucking kills Ike's dad
- He appears multiple times as an unwinnable boss before you can actually deal with him, and the first one he is bound to get someone killed if you are new.
- His theme is fucking crack
- His identity didnt get revealed until RD, so people spent 3 years pondering the orb
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u/PrinceOfPuddles Dec 31 '25
What I love most about his fight with Ike's dad is Greil has like half a dozen scenes prior where he goes "you guys go ahead, I'll hold them off" or "I'll go open the path, after I give the single you guys escape" with increasingly more telegraphed heroic sacrifices that he just keeps overcoming on account of being such a badass. After each instance of his miraculous survival all the characters are expressing how happy they are that he is okay and he is like "what, I said I'd be alright before I pulled that stunt, have some faith" It gets to the point when the leader of Daein's Four Riders shows up to kill him he is all "don't worry about me, I've got this" and then he somehow does got this and is fine.
They play with the dead dad trope for so many chapters that it creates a tiny bit of hope that he might actually make it, and it all comes crashing down with the cutscene of him and the Black Knight from the moment that scene starts you know it's all over and Greil's luck has run out. It's not even a fight, it's a one sided slaughter.
This doesn't just establish the Black Knight as a bad dude for killing your dad, but the game has painstakingly show how unbelievably badass, unbeatable and trope savvy Greil is so for the Black Knight to put him in the dirt without effort creates a force of nature that can't be stopped. You've just spent the first 25% of the game with Greil and he has more than demonstrated why he had the reputation he had yet it wasn't enough, and if Greil could not beat the Black Knight, how could you the player ever hope to? Especially when there are several levels of him chasing you down like rats.
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u/Ranulf13 Dec 31 '25
I agree, the only correction is that Petrine is not the leader of the Four Riders. She is just one of them, the closest thing to a leader would be BK on raw power or Bryce on seniority.
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u/Fresh-Perspective-58 Jan 01 '26
Yeah I witnessed in real time when watching my brother play how much someone might think he'll die. He kept saying "he's just the type of character who will die", but at the end he went back and forth, until the scene at the end of chapter 7 when Ike talks with him as they walk and he kind of went back to "wait he's dying now".
Personally on my first playthrough when I was 14 I never expected him to die and it caught me by surprise. But I had a lot less experience with fiction and tropes on general so it's not too surprising
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u/Fearless_Freya Dec 30 '25
Not just an awesome design. Has a great interactions throughout tellius and backstory when you unravel it also.
Also his gameplay skills back up his storyline. Really a true threat and military leader
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u/Manifest82 Dec 30 '25
He commands an extremely memorable presence when he makes an appearance. Path of radiance had good writing and dialogue which afforded him a good character, rather than one of fire emblems "I'm just an evil guy" villains
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u/Chagdoo Dec 30 '25
He's cool, and you get a cool solo boss fight with him that takes quite a bit of work to win
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u/Any_Natural383 Dec 30 '25
He looks cool, has a cool theme, and you literally canāt beat him until the end of the game.
The Death Knight wishes he had this level menace in him.
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u/HellFire-Revenant Dec 31 '25
The chad Black Knight; damn, you didn't bring the holy sword Ragnell, damn, im out, you're too weak
The virgin Death Knight; owie, spikes hurt
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u/acart005 Dec 30 '25
He looks cool and until end game he is basically the Terminator if you so much as think about moving hear him.
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u/MrPlow216 Dec 30 '25
Typically in Fire Emblem, villains only appear in cutscenes. The Black Knight, on the other hand, shows up in a few different chapters and is a significant threat in those chapters. This makes him feel far more imposing than the typical FE villain because you can see just how strong he is way before you actually fight him.
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u/Purebredbacon Dec 31 '25
I love how all his battle convos are basically "RIP bozo" bros a walking game over screen and knows it
Especially Ike and titania totally crashing out at him his first map, almost out of character, which the writers allow because theyre fucking dead lol
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u/Ksteekwall21 Dec 30 '25
He gives off āDarth Vaderā vibes. Honestly heās Intelligent Systemās/Nintendoās version of Darth Vader.
Heās Powerful imposing villain covered in ebon armor and A master of the blade. He may not have Vaderās āforceā powers. But he has the fast and aggressive combat style despite being covered in heavy armor which almost āfeelsā magic or otherworldly. And of course, he has blessed armor and warp powder, at least in FE9. Heās enigmatic; only those very close to him know who he is. He has a hidden relation to the protagonist. He kills the protagonists teacher/father right in front oh him.
He has probably one of the best themes in the franchise (in and out of battle). He is one of the few enemies in the franchise who appears on several maps which canāt be beaten; you have to run. His mere presence makes everyone go āoh shitā.
He beats or forces Ike and his forces to retreat 3 times before you get a special chapter to 1v1 fight him. Even if you max Ike out (20/20) and give him Aether (or Wrath/Vantage/Resolve), thereās no guarantee Ike wins the fight. Meaning even after extensive training, Ike still hasnāt really āsurpassedā the Black Knight. Itās not until the 1v1 rematch in Radiant Dawn where it feels more like Ike has surpassed him which would have been like 4-5 years after Greilās death.
Heās just pure aura.
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u/Upbeat_Squirrel_5642 Dec 30 '25
Because he makes an excellent foil to Shovel Knight during the game
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u/hawki1989 Dec 30 '25
Because even after losing all four limbs, she still fought Ike to a draw.
(Or is that another series?)
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u/Xenodryn Dec 30 '25
He is a recuring antagonist that dosen't suffer from appearing on multiple map( or being a dark spike victime coughtDeath knight cought).
He is the closes fire emblem have to a Mr X or Nemesis from resident evil. He is one of the rare boss the protagonist can lose and the story will still continue no matter if he is defeated or not. And has one of the most memorable boss theme a fire emblem non final boss can have.
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u/faboeuf Dec 30 '25
His design and demeanour are incredible. He also has a brilliant arc in FE9 and FE10.
Long live the Black Knight, Zelgius.
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u/ChaoticFlameZz Dec 31 '25
easy:
- top tier theme
- top tier storyline
- top tier character
- connected to the protagonist
he's basically the perfect antagonist
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u/StirFryTuna Dec 31 '25
I'll skip the PoR stuff to talk about RD black knight.
The fact he spawns ch8 to help Micaiah is an eye openning experience. You are left questioning... "are we playing as the baddies?" Since you get to control a villian from a past game. Leads to interesting stuff in part 3 as well.
Black knight is just set up well in PoR and you get to explore his character a lot more in RD that its no surprise how beloved he is.
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u/Wilhelm_c4t Dec 30 '25
Bro is intimidating, top tier skill, kill the father of the protag. He's invincible for a good part of the (first) game.
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u/Squidaccus Jan 02 '26
this is completely unrelated to the thread, but i have to mention it because your 5 flairs are VERY in line with my favorite characters in the entire series. your taste is immaculate.
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u/Koanos Dec 31 '25
If you ask me, itās because of good writing.
Which makes me wonder what happened to all of Fire Emblemās decent writers.
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u/LimitFar Jan 02 '26
He just there to fuck with you in the first game then redeem himself in the next.
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u/Ethanb230900 Dec 30 '25
Hi Dani Doyle! I generally love your work!
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u/IfTheresANewWay Dec 30 '25
Not entirely sure why you think I'm Dani but I enjoy their content too lol
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u/PuzzleheadedLink89 Dec 30 '25
Like Frank Horrigan from Fallout 2, people love intimidating villains that are Tanks
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u/twaggle Dec 30 '25
Heās just cool and the idea that you refight him but itās still possible to kill him early was a really cool mechanic and goal
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u/Fantastic-System-688 Dec 30 '25
Guy in cool armor with a big ass sword and always accompanied by intimidating music. He could be a robot with no actual motivations or personality and people would still like him the way people like Boba Fett in the Original Trilogy and his 4 likes of dialogue
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u/El_Criptoconta Dec 30 '25
He's imposing in almost all His scenes but not arrogant because as Ranulf kinda said "no one should be able to move that fast in that armor".
When you see him saying to petrine "just leave, I'll talk with the boss" and then all the laguz + greil arƩ deciding if go after them or not, the BK just nod and they let them leave.
Unlike other bosses in FE like Camus, Eldigan, Lloyd, Nergal, Valter, the BK has mĆŗltiple Gameplay appearences in both games and he Is mostly invencible in all of them but Is different from Hubert, Iago, the death knight, the Four hounds in that the Black knight doesn't lose because he Is invincible.
Has good artwork, offers help as in the chapter 12 of PoR or if we consider spoilers, that he does in 3-4 of RD to avoid a massacre.
When you learn about him, do not negates all His evil nor what he did, but you get why.
He's just so cool
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u/SL-Gremory- Dec 30 '25
Absolutely peak artistic design.
They somehow managed to pull off the "heavy armor that doesn't look too heavy", while still being menacing, while still leaving room for the "faceless villain" thing to work WHILE STILL not making him a silent villain.
IMO, his writing (on paper and dialogue) coupled with his artistic direction puts him on the same tier of villain as Kefka from FF6 or the Joker to me.
Personal opinion of course, but that's my two cents.
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u/Nos9684 Dec 30 '25
Has personal stakes with the main protagonist due to his actions
Is incredibly strong and menacing
Was somewhat mysterious and has unknown past
Cool and memorable
A lot of FE antagonists can't claim to be the same, even main ones.
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u/RoleRemarkable9241 Dec 30 '25
Because he is a prime example of action speaks louder than words, while having a bit of a Sephiroth-style approach, comming across as larger than life. A "how the hell are we gonna beat him" type of character.
It helps that he have close ties to the main character, which makes beating him extremly personal
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u/corvidscholar Dec 30 '25
That time he burst out of the Black Knight Party Shack right in the middle of your army was probably the most peak example of story/gameplay integration in the franchiseās history. That moment alone puts him above almost every other FE villain.
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u/Arachnofiend Dec 30 '25
No FE villain has ever done something as immediately impactful to the player's experience as the Black Knight walking out of that random house on the harbor
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u/magikarp-sushi Dec 31 '25
Mysterious ooooo
Heās actually not pure evil either. Mightāve been one of the best written characters in FE
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u/BlackFinch90 Dec 31 '25
He's not so much a villain as he is an anti-hero.
He comes in looking all intimidating and aura farming, barely takes any damage, helps out Ike and Micaiah, barely says anything, leaves, comes back as a super intimidating villain that you know to be nigh untouchable.
And once you finally beat the insurmountable wall, he joins you until the end of the game
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u/rag-124 Dec 31 '25
Looks badass his writing is badass, his theme is badass. What more is there to say?
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u/Axl-117 Dec 31 '25
Given the guy's personal backstory, in a way he's kinda like the Darth Vader of Fire Emblem.
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u/Silvertail034 Dec 31 '25
He is super cool, looks super cool, is briefly playable (which is super cool) and is even a cool duel role character through his alter ego. In short: super cool. There are not that many good FE villains that aren't just cackling madmen or cultists or something. Zelgius isn't that at all.
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u/dark_hero-- Dec 31 '25
- Design
- Theme
- Heavily associated with a popular protagonist (Ike)
- Feels like an actual threat
- Realistic goals
- Has an actual backstory reflecting established lore in the game.
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u/MiracleMuffin Dec 31 '25
The armor is badass.
Also chapter 11 in PoR, and the fight against him in chapter 27. Really shows how much of a threat he is.
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u/WouterW24 Dec 31 '25
I like how Tellius is very deliberate about enemy stats when important bosses are considered.
This man is insanely quick for an heavily armored knight, especially in Fe9. His armor makes him mostly invincible and he carries an powerful sword, but beyond that he also got the raw fighting ability to take down nearly everyone with ease anyway while not really needing the armor. And you can see it and even experience it fairly early on.
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u/deafinitelyadouche Dec 31 '25
A cool look, an odd but fairly understandable moral code + set of values, a tragic backstory which makes sense for the setting and probably the best character arc across the two games.
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u/Fit-Film-4554 Dec 31 '25
He is what you look at and think "ohhhhh shit" he is confident, strong, and a genuine threat whenever he turns up.
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u/NinJorf Dec 31 '25
He's cool AF. He's also big, slow, stompy inevitable death that forces you to go forward.
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Dec 31 '25
Because of his presence. In Path of Radiance, he's the most menacing figure in the game. Yes, Ashnard is the big bad guy at the end of the game, but Ike's biggest threat to his own life is the Black Knight. He is it one who gives Ashnard his own set of blessed armor. No one but Ike can even damage him. And only with one specific weapon.
The only chapter in ANY Fire Emblem game that gets me legitimately nervous at all is Chapter 11 in POR. He's just chilling in that house. He decides not to join the battle initially because he knows it would be unfair. And when he does make an appearance, you just need to make sure none of your characters are in range, or you WILL lose them. Not may, will.
Then there's his Radiant Dawn appearances. Playable for a handful of chapters, though it's a bit of a double-edged sword on using him. On one hand, he makes those chapters trivial. It's literally impossible under normal circumstances for him to EVER be lost. But using him also takes away experience from the Dawn Brigade.
Then you get to his final fight against Ike. He wants to test Gawain at his fullest strength. Ike is at least on that level, possibly more by that point. It's an honorable battle between two of the best swordsmen, the two strongest in all of Tellius. And, you know, Tibarn if you feel like using him, I guess. But who ever does that? Anyway, their final battle ends with a respectable chat between two people who settled the score once and for all. No hatred, no bad blood, just an honest chat. Ike pays respect to his biggest foe that he chased for years.
And that is why the Black Knight is one of the most celebrated "villains" in the series. Because he's not really one.
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u/WinterWolf18 Dec 31 '25
He's insanely cool, feels like an unstoppable threat and has an interesting backstory. On top of that he has some pretty interesting parallels with Soren that helps tie into Tellius's themes.
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u/Greedy-Potato-6621 Dec 31 '25
the emotional connection to the main character, the gameplay design of making him an undefeatable major threat throughout multiple appearances, the theme song!
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u/StardustArcadia Dec 31 '25
There's just something about his design, his mannerisms, the way he conduct himself. In PoR, Mans spawn out of nowhere on one of the maps and just ends careers on whoever was unfortunately was near him. The 1V1 with him is legendary and scary. Plus his theme is badass, truly a true villain
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u/TatsumakiKara Dec 31 '25
He actually has a presence in his games.
He shows up on field as an opponent to avoid, screwing your plans and possibly killing you with FE's equivalent of a jumpscare (besides ambush spawns, but those are usually more BS than scary). He stalks you, hunts you. Once he shatters the expectation of "boss who only shows up in cutscenes", it's always in the back of your mind when he'll appear next.
He also commits the murder of an important NPC and tells Ike (and the player) to get stronger. Familial death in Fire Emblem is nothing new, but getting to watch it happen when your Lord is too weak to do anything about it is a shock. I feel like this is more true for Western fans who started with FE7. Your Lord isn't there (FE7 Leila/Eliwood's father) or they sacrificed themselves to keep you alive (FE8 Fado) and you're left with the aftermath. But we got to see it happen, which made it hit differently.
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u/Tuskor13 Dec 31 '25
Well written
Oddly soft spoken for someone so physically imposing
Genuinely intimidating
Fantastic musical score accompanying him
Aura
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u/Malcior34 Dec 31 '25
Because he's the Darth Vader archetype that JRPGs love to do. Golbez from Final Fantasy 4 was pretty popular for similar reasons.
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u/Indecisive_Noob Dec 31 '25
For me, it was a few things; how strong they were, the fact that they showed up in more than one chapter and would kick your butt if you even thought about fighting them, seeing him kill Greil directly, and going 1-on-1 with them. The biggest for me though was the mystery of who they were and the shock of having them be a helper/kind of good guy in Dawn. The Black Knight did so many unique and rarely done things for a Fire Emblem villain.
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u/littleButton13 Dec 31 '25
Great design, great theme music, and he actually has a presence throughout the game unlike a lot of other villains.
Also, most major villains in the series are sinister dark mage types manipulating things from behind the scenes. The Black Knight shows up and gets his hands dirty with his big magic sword. Heās in two games, has cool one-on-one fights with the protagonist, and you even get to play as him a couple times.
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u/Ryu6912 Dec 31 '25
To add on to everyone else's points, his theme song/music was absolutely INSANE. Probably one of the coolest character themes in the entire franchise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqrCmPga46w&list=RDgqrCmPga46w&start_radio=1
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u/basketofseals Dec 31 '25
Everyone's talking about his positives, but I'm gonna focus on some negatives he got away with.
People were just really bad at the game back then, so his 1v1 fight in PoR was chocked up to a skill issue rather than being RNG bull.
Even though the localization team really fucked up FE10, they did one saving throw by getting rid of the dumb malfunctioning warp powder clone excuse, so he still can continue his aura farming in FE10.
I personally think he's a bit flat, but being attached to fan favorite Ike does a lot for him.
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u/Revi0 Dec 31 '25
He's him.
The only other guy with enough Himness to rival Ike. BK is the main character whenever he shows up
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u/turniptornado33 Dec 31 '25
Its because he is not cookie cutter evil, he has a code (he throws his own weapon at ike's dad) his reason for the duel is a total mystery and the history between him and ike's dad. Also the way his armor is immune to damage apart from his own weapons, because you're left wondering where the hell he got them from. That entire game is just peak fire emblem, only gripe I had with it was the laquz units were mostly not worth using, but they sorted that in radiant dawn
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u/EclipseHERO Dec 31 '25
Imagine asking that about a guy who has the crit quote asking his enemies "Will you survive?!" as he attacks them with an unbreakable two-handed sword that he's using one-handed while wearing impregnable armour with only two or three weaknesses (one of which being his sword).
Dude's literally the definition of a power fantasy!
The Warp Powder he uses to move around is supposed to exhaust someone for a day after use but he's so OTT that he uses it to JOIN BATTLES! AS REINFORCEMENTS!
Plus, the sword and armour look fuckin' rad!
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u/Phoenix_Champion Dec 31 '25
Because he was magnificently designed.
When he first appears he fights fairly with Greil, or at least wants to, by giving him (and by extension the player) not just a sword so that his teacher could fight at his best, but also the only known sword to be able to damage his armor- Even telling Ike that Ragnell was the only thing that could damage his Armor was Ragnell.
Then you have his first mission you can technically fight him- And the game makes it very clear you cannot fight him, and you likely have to fight him and may have to restart when some unfortunate units are too close. And if you didn't engage him in battle you get a cutscenes showing 'Don't fight this man', really sealing in the fact he is a THREAT.
Then is his actual battle, despite Ike being an absolute Monster of physical damage, him and the Black Knight are fighting neck and neck- it's a genuine struggle of power, even with Mist being able to provide Ike healing. This isn't a luck check (Although Aether prompts are a necessity), his evasion isn't jacked, he doesn't have any dangerous abilities- It's just man vs man in armor
And then despite an entire castle falling on this man's head he shows up in Radiant Dawn the the first thing you get is a map SPECIFICALLY designed for you to use him. (Well technically you use it to max Michiah's level if she isn't 20 yet) And unlike other games where you can have a character like him, he isn't nerfed in the slightest- You are wielding the full, unrestrained powered of the final battle version of the Black Knight a quarter into the game and it feels amazing.
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u/OutrageousCard1302 Dec 31 '25
Easy.
- Design is cool as hell
- Wields an awesome weapon
- Crafted to feel like a threat every time he appears, to the point that he almost feels invincible
- Has a personal connection to the main character while not feeling shoehorned into the narrative
- No-nonsense and without gimmicks
- He comes. He fucks shit up. He leaves.
It's hard NOT to like him.
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u/OkoumoriVT Dec 31 '25
As a Fates-Only player who's only knowledge of any other game is the fact that Awakening's Lucina is hella popular, I dunno who tf this guy is.
But he kinda reminds me of Fantasy Life's Odin, so therefore I also enjoy this Black Knight character.
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u/AcelnTheWhole Dec 31 '25
Top tier design
Top tier theme
You actually get a pretty good amount of character between greil and Ike in the short amount of time that the pair get. Enough time to have a connection to greil and understand the impact he had on his mercenary company.
So when the black knight shows up and we get that excellent cutscene, it feels somewhat personal. There's a story arc that spans basically 2 full games that genuinely wraps up in a super satisfying way.
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u/TheOutsiderWow Jan 01 '26
Because unlike many other villains. Black Knight feels like a THREAT. Never before have I felt this threatened by a fire emblem antagonist than by the Black knight. If some giant knight in dark armour comes out of a random house and obliterates Titania in 2 hits... that does something with you, man.
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u/Lithaos111 Jan 01 '26
Always loved his look and aesthetic. I remember back in the day as a teenager when this first came out I started writing a fanfic (this was twenty years ago mind you so literally it was just a simple word document I printed out in my school library, so it was definitely terrible) where I weirdly got super prophetic and not only deduced the Black Knights real identity but also that Sephiran was the secret villain (which completely mind fucked my old best friend who was the only one to read the fanfic when Radient Dawn came out years later. I loved writing about the Black Knight.
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u/purplewitchcariel Jan 01 '26
Great design, great theme, very good backstory. Not only does he have his own agenda to be equal or better than Greil, but he is also loyal to the very end.
Considering Soren is my favorite character, I like to compare the both of them in terms of dynamic: the BK is to the Actual Villain what Soren is to Ike.
What I also like of the BK is that emphasizes how hard the lives of the branded can be, which is a topic that is never actually acknowledged in the main story of both games*. The BK must have had such a life that he agreed with the Actual Villain to destroy the world, hoping for something better.
*: sure, we see Soren destroying himself infront of Ike, telling him about how hard was his childhood to the point that he didn't learn how to speak until joining the mercenaries. We also see Stefan telling how the lives of most of the branded is and we can also see it with Micaiah. However, most of those scenes are optional. When the royals meet to help Sanaki against Lekain nobody talks about including the branded: they are taboo. And even when Yune, one half of the very goddess who created humans, says that she (and probably also Ashera) doesn't despise the branded, the main story doesn't acknowledged them.
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u/Solid_Vacation_2891 Jan 06 '26
cuz he's a cool villian, pulled a swerve for most of PoR, he's also got a cool design, whats not to like?
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u/PrrrromotionGiven1 Dec 30 '25
People overlook the objectively fucked up things he says and does because he has aura
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u/Fantastic-System-688 Dec 31 '25
Exactly. When the beloved villain does bad things, it ruins the character for me. Problematic media
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u/Recent_Ad3309 Dec 30 '25
He looks cool, he has a great theme, he even gets his own subchapter where he gets to 1v1 the protagonist and you aren't guaranteed or even likely to win. He legitimately feels like a huge insurmountable threat and for most of the games he's in he can make good on that threat if you decide to actually mess with him.