Potemkin

"My fist is clenched for justice."

- Potemkin

Potemkin is a hero from Guilty Gear debuting in the first game. He was a former slave in the empire of Zepp, and was a supporter of the democratic revolution that took place. He is currently a member of Zepp's elite presidential guard.

Personality
Despite his appearence, Potemkin is actually a very intelligent calculating individual who dislikes fighting, only doing it when absolutely necessary. He is also generally kind to others, and is capable of keeping his patience even when the person he's speaking to isn't being necessarily friendly.

Stats

 * Origin:Zepp
 * Birthday: October 18th
 * Hobbies: Sketching
 * Likes: Indestructible pencil cases
 * Dislikes: Pencils that snap under four tons of weight

Guilty Gear
Potemkin is sent by his Zepp Military superior Sergeant Gabriel to participate in the tournament that Testament holds. In his ending, Potemkin has just defeated Justice and is exhausted from the fight, Gabriel suddenly appears and states Potemkin's mission has not yet been completed and that the tournement was simply his 'final test'. Seething with rage, Potemkin yells at Gabriel, but before he can do anything else to vent his anger, Gabriel explains how he too detests the corrupt Zepp regime and offers Potemkin to join his revolution. Surprised by this, Potemkin joins and takes off his slave neck collar, with Gabriel assuring it will not explode.

Guilty Gear X
Potemkin is sent, supposedly as a bounty hunter, to face Dizzy -- though rather than destroying her, his intention is to rescue her and bring her to Zepp in secret. In one ending, Johnny interferes, and Dizzy goes with him and May instead; in the other, Dizzy goes with him to Zepp, where she finds happiness. Events in subsequent games render the second ending impossible.

Guilty Gear XX
On a tip from Slayer, Potemkin goes to look for Dizzy, whom I-No had knocked off the May Ship, and subsequently becomes entangled in the affairs of the Post-War Administration Bureau. One of his endings ends with him bickering with Johnny over whether Dizzy should go back to the May Ship or to Zepp. In his second ending, he fights with Bridget, who mistook him for a bounty hunter chasing Dizzy. His third ending has Potemkin fighting against an army of Robo-Kys.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
Potemkin investigates the Post-War Administration Bureau because he considered them dangerous for the Zepp Nation. He dismantles Robo-Ky and Justice clone units before returning to his country. There, Bureau members sends a suicide bomb Robo-Ky to kill President Gabriel. Potemkin covers the explosion, resulting in his death, and he's remembered as a hero with a statue on the city square. (Path 2)

Depending on the player's choices, however, they may end up fighting Chipp Zanuff during his storyline where he still seeks the presidency. Should the player defeat Chipp with Potemkin's Instant Kill, he convinces Chipp to join the presidential bodyguard unit, similar to Chipp's Path 1 ending. (Path 1)

Musical Themes

 * In Slave's Glory - Guilty Gear
 * Burly Heart - Guilty Gear X
 * Burly Heart II - Guilty Gear XX
 * Megatona Furioso - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean OST
 * Riches in Me - Guilty Gear Isuka

References & Allusions

 * Maybe Potemkin's name comes from the Soviet Battleship Potemkin.
 * His attack "Hammer Fall" references Swedish power metal band HammerfFall.
 * His Instant Kill "Nuclear Hammer" may be a longshot reference to the song "Neutron Hammer" by Australian black metal band Spear of Longinus.

Trivia

 * If one listens closely to Potemkin's Guilty Gear XX stage theme and looks closely at his fighting stance, he is actually moving to the beat of his own theme.
 * In Potemkin's ending for Guilty Gear, when he removes his slave neck collar, his ponytail reaches down his back. In later artworks and sprites, his ponytail is cut so short that it doesn't reach the back of his neck.
 * In Guilty Gear X and XX, Potemkin's theme sounds very similar to Led Zeppelin's Kashmir for a few brief seconds. Midway through, it also sounds a bit like Toto's Hold the Line for another few seconds as well.
 * One of Faust's Special Moves (What's Next?) and its Overdrive version (Super What's Next?) involves Faust dropping small-sized dolls of some characters. Potemkin is one of these characters.