User blog:Emeraldblade95/Pure Good Proposal: Siegfried (Soul Calibur)



I'm pretty sure he'll get rejected, but I'd thought I give it a try anyhow. Anyway, here's Siegfried from the Soulcalibur Series.

What is the Work?
Soulcalibur is a series of seven fighting games that tell the story about two legendary swords:

One sword is called Soul Edge, a powerful red sword well-known by international legend in the in-game universe that according to legend, can fulfill the desires of whoever wields it. It is later revealed that this is only partially true, as while the sword is indeed powerful, it has a terrible power; anyone who wields the cursed sword (as it becomes called later in the series) becomes insane and omnicidal. The sword can also manifest as a dark, misanthropic knight called Nightmare, whose only wish is to devour the souls of innocents to become god-like in nature. Many of the series characters come forward to seek the sword in order to obtain much needed power and be able to fulfill a life-long goal, unaware of the swords true colors, however several characters such as Sophitia, Taki, and the Edge Master are aware that the sword is in fact evil.

The other sword is Soul Calibur, which was introduced later on, it is blue and crystalline in appearance, suggesting it is "pure". According to a lesser legend, this sword is the bane to Soul Edge, and is able to destroy the cursed sword with ease, which occurs twice in the series, under the hand of Chai Xianghua, and Siegfried respectively. Like Soul Edge, Soul Calibur (also known as the Spirit Sword) contains a spirit, one that is female in personification called Elysium. Soul Calibur initially acts as a true heroine in the early games, but in the six installment, the sword reveals its true intentions: it wants to purify the world of Soul Edge's influence by destroying everyone and everything associated with it (including those who are in fact not villains such as Pyrrha).

The primary plot surrounds one or more of the main characters attempting to destroy Soul Edge in order to save the world from imminent destruction. This is done by four of the series' heroes: Sophitia, Kilik, Sophitia's son Patroklos, and of course Siegfried himself.

Who is He? What Has He Done?
Siegfried is essentially the overall main protagonist of the series, and alongside Mitsurugi, is one of the only characters that has appeared in every single installment as a playable character in some form.

Initially, Siegfried was the Leader of the Schwarzwind Knight, group of then highwaymen-like mercenaries that would raid groups of passersby. One job however leads to tragedy when one of the members of passersby happens to be Siegfried's father Fredrick, whom Siegfried unintentionally kills unaware of who is.

Siegfried falls into a deep depression afterwards and leaves the group after realizing the mistake he made. After hearing rumors about a legendary sword that can grant wishes to those who wield it, Siegfried sets out to find the fabled sword, unaware that it is in fact Soul Edge.

Siegfried finds the sword at a port town in Spain (following the aftermath of the pirate Cervantes' death at the hands of Sophitia and Taki. Siegfried obtains the sword, before suddenly transforming into the Azure Knight himself Nightmare.

Siegfried, under the control of Nightmare, forms an army of lizard-like humanoids and malfested to do his bidding, and hires several henchmen to carry on his tasks of collecting souls in order to unleash the Evil Seed, an event that could potentially destroy the Earth. He is however stopped by Kilik and Xianghua, the latter of which uses Soul Calibur to free Siegfried's soul from Soul Edge's influence and destroy the cursed sword in the real-world (but not the Astral Chaos, where it was sealed away).

For the next few games, Siegfried becomes reclusive, pessimistic, and sucidial, feeling that he has no purpose to live after what he has done as Nightmare, but after an encounter with Sophitia, his mood becomes more determined, after he realizes that the best way to repent for his sins is to destroy the source of all evil: Soul Edge itself, by obtaining the sword Xianghua wielded and uses it to destroy Soul Edge for good.

Eventually, Siegfried encounters another incarnation of Nightmare called Inferno, and clashes against the misanthropic entity. Despite the fact that they were neck and neck, Siegfried eventually prevails and kill Inferno and destroys Soul Edge using Soul Calibur in the form of a greatsword. Believing that his goal has finally been fulfilled, Siegfried returns to a life of peace, free from Soul Edge's influence.

Seventeen years later however, Siegfried notices Soul Calibur transform into a one-handed sword, indicating that Soul Edge has return, alongside a third incarnation of Nightmare. He willingly trains Sophitia's son Patroklos to carry out the task of destroying Soul Edge (as he is too old to do so), but after the boy hestitates when he learns that his sister Pyrrha has fallen under Soul Edge's influence, Siegfried tries to confiscate the sword, deeming Patroklos unfit to carry out the task, he however changes his mind when he witnesses Soul Calibur transform once again into an Iai/Umbrella Sword, and witnesses Patroklos best Z.W.E.I with it.

In Soulcalibur VI, the timeline is reset, and Siegfried relives the events from the first three games once more in a nearly identical manner.

As of the present, Siegfried has obtained the spirit sword Soul Calibur in an attempt to destroy Soul Edge in a TBD future installment.

Goodness Zone/Corrupting Factors
One thing that makes Siegfried stand out from most of the series' main characters is that he was once evil, then turn good after learning the mistakes he made in life.

He is no doubt a perfect example of a Tragic Hero, having a gruesome beginning considering that he killed his father by mistake, and tried to resurrect him to make up for his mistake (he later came to the conclusion that was impossible, and that he had to face the fact that his father was truly gone).

Initially, Siegfried was a criminal to an extent, and raided bypassers on a local road for personal gain. He however stopped doing after acciendently killing his father.

Of course one could say that he became Nightmare when he obtain Soul Edge, of course this was because he was brainwashed/possessed by Soul Edge's influence, and that he wasn't himself during this time. We've discussed in the past that being brainwashed/possessed is not a disqualifying factor (as mentioned on Kimberly Ann Hart's proposal).

Overall, I think the main corrupting factor would be the fact that he was (but no longer is) lethal, especially when he was Nightmare.

Admirable Standards
Siegfried stands out among most of the primary protagonists, as he was been evil at one point before becoming good. Most of the other protagonists and heroes are either outright good, in the grey zone, or have been good before and after being possessed by Soul Edge.

After Siegfried was freed from Soul Edge's control. Siegfried has been shown to be merciful to his opponents, even if they are hostile to him for what he has done in the past, sometimes even stating "Forgive Me", although he disproven to be a loner during this time and mistrusting of assistance.

Final Verdict
For once, I actually think this nomination will be rejected, but I will respect that, and the main purpose of this is to hear you guys and gals' opinions.