Robin (Fire Emblem)

“	We're not pawns of some scripted fate. I believe we're more. Much more... There's something between us all. Something that keeps us together... Like...invisible ties, connecting us.	„
	~ The Avatar to Chrom in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Robin is a character from the Fire Emblem franchise. He made his debut as the main deuteragonist and player character in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Robin is his/her default name, but he/she is usually referred to as the Avatar, meaning any player can choose which name they want for this character. At the start of the game, the Avatar suffered from amnesia and was lying unconscious somewhere, and then was found by Chrom and his sister Lissa. In spite of his/her amnesia, Robin is a skilled fighter and serves as the main tactician in the army. Robin is also the eventual parent of Morgan and the child of Validar.

Bio

Prelude

In the original timeline, after the Avatar and Chrom defeat Validar at The Dragon's Table, the Avatar becomes possessed by Grima and kills Chrom. The Avatar's consciousness is completely taken over by Grima in this timeline, who uses their life force to reawaken his dragon form. When Lucina and the other children attempt to escape to the past, Grima follows her to stop her. Upon returning to the present, Grima tried to fill the present Avatar with his memories; however, the Avatar's Heart of Grima was not strong enough to retain the memories, weakening Grima's power. The Avatar developed amnesia as a result save their name and their skill with war tactics. Because Grima poured his memories into the Avatar, they occasionally are flashed with their future version's memories from time to time, resulting in migraines.

Ylisse-Plegia War

At the beginning of the game, the Avatar is lying unconscious on a field, when they are rescued by Chrom's Shepherds. Despite losing their memory, the Avatar has great knowledge of fighting battles and serves as the troop's tactician. Leading Chrom and the Shepherds through a long campaign to protect Ylisse from the Plegians, the Avatar becomes Chrom's trusted advisor for war and ultimately leads to Chrom's victory over Gangrel.

Conquest of Valm

Two years after Gangrel's defeat, Valm intends to invade Ylisse. Chrom and the Avatar decide to talk to the new king of Plegia who is none other than Validar, whom was slain in Emmeryn's assassination attempt. Validar also introduces his hierophant, who looks exactly like the Avatar, and even introduces themselves by the same name. Nevertheless, Validar gives Chrom and the Avatar the necessary provisions to go to war. Later that night, a voice calls to the Avatar. Validar appears and reveals that the Avatar is the descendant of a long line of Grimleal leaders and the first one who has a Heart of Grima strong enough to become his vessel. However, fearing for her child's life, the Avatar's mother took them from their crib and fled the cult and Plegia altogether to protect her child from their cruel destiny. Before Validar can further try to sway the Avatar into joining him, he is forced to flee when Chrom arrives. The Avatar shakes off this event as a Risen ambush attacks Chrom's army. After nearly fending off all the Risen, one manages to warp in behind Chrom, but Marth suddenly enters the battlefield and saves him. After Marth reveals that she is Lucina, she shares a moment with Chrom, the Avatar and Lissa where she tells them about the future which she came from: a future where everyone in the army dies. If Lucina is the daughter of the Avatar, Lucina will share a tender reunion with her. Despite this new development, Chrom and the Avatar prepare to travel across Valm to stop Walhart. Occasionally the Avatar is stricken with migraines, but they ignore these headaches and focus on their goal. After a long campaign, the Avatar leads Chrom's army to victory over Walhart and the Valmese forces.

Fate of the World

After taking down Walhart, Chrom and the Avatar receive news that Validar is going to give them the final gemstone for the Fire Emblem, but Validar betrays Chrom and tries to take the Fire Emblem from Chrom. The Avatar, Chrom, and Lucina attempt to flee the castle, but right when they are about to escape, Validar warps in and attacks Chrom. Validar orders the Avatar to take the Fire Emblem from Chrom, which they do against their will, and gives it to Validar, who disappears after taking the Emblem. Later, Lucina decides to talk to the Avatar privately. After watching Validar control the Avatar, she deduces that the Avatar killed Chrom against their will. Lucina reluctantly decides to kill the Avatar to prevent this from happening, though they have the choice to accept her judgement or try to stop her. However, just as she is about to do this, Chrom stops her and tells her to trust in the bonds of the army, which she complies. Alternatively, if Lucina is married to the male Avatar, regardless of his choice, she will not go through with it after he tells her to find someone to keep her happy when he's gone. If the Avatar is her mother, Lucina is conflicted and cannot bring herself to kill her own mother.

Before confronting Validar at The Dragon's Table, the Avatar makes Chrom promise to be ready to kill them, in case Validar controls them yet again, which Chrom reluctantly agrees to. Upon reaching Validar in The Dragon's Table, Validar reveals that the Avatar was born to be the vessel for the Fell Dragon Grima, because the Avatar possesses the Heart of Grima. The Avatar bears the Mark of Grima on their right hand, a symbol of their role as Grima's vessel. However, the Avatar's mother, a former member of the Grimleal, feared for the destiny of her child. She took the Avatar and defected from the cult, raising them away from the Grimleal. After defeating Validar, it appears that the Avatar is "possessed" by Grima yet again and "kills" Chrom. However this is a ruse, revealing that due to a Premonition, they knew what was going to happen, so they prepared countermeasures to prevent this. The Avatar managed to hold back on their power, saving Chrom from any fatal injuries. In the continuing battle, the duo proceeds to cut Validar down.

After the battle, a mysterious black figure warps in and takes on the appearance of the Avatar. They explain that they are the Grima from Lucina's future. The Avatar refuses to become Grima's vessel, but Grima decides that it is not necessary, since they can perform the ritual again theirself, and proceeds to awaken his dragon-god form. As Chrom and Lucina flee the building, the Avatar quickly retrieves the Emblem themselves from Validar's corpse. With the Emblem in hand, the Shepherds depart to Mount Prism in order for Chrom to complete the Awakening Ritual to finish off Grima once and for all. Chrom completes the trial and unlocks the true power of the Falchion. Naga informs Chrom and the Avatar that the Falchion, even with her blessing, can only put him into a 1000 year slumber. The only way for Grima to die is for him to "be killed by his own hand." Naga points them to Origin Peak to confront Grima. Upon arriving at the peak, the Avatar realizes that, since they were meant to be Grima's vessel, they have the power to slay him. However, Naga warns them that if they do that, they will perish, too, since their heart is inexorably connected to Grima's. Chrom refuses to let the Avatar sacrifice themselves, but they still consider going through it.

The Shepherds get onto Grima's back, but are instantly struck by a spell that severely weakens the army. Grima gives the Avatar the choice to take the power of Grima or perish. Regardless of their choice, Grima pulls the Avatar into a dark void and tells them after merging that he will kill Chrom's army and severely weakens the Avatar. Out of ideas and hope, the Avatar lies in despair. However, a sound pierces the darkness: the voices of Chrom's army, telling them to stand back up and fight. To Grima's shock, the Avatar breaks free from the void and rejoins the Shepherds. After Naga fully heals the army from the fell dragon's magic, they proceed to face Grima.

For many years afterwards, many historians, poets, and bards did their best to recount the Avatar's deeds, though their history and personality was generally inconsistent in these stories. However, if the Avatar is married, the only thing these stories will agree on is their love for their spouse.

Fates

The male Avatar, under his default name Robin, makes an appearance in Fire Emblem: Fates and like Lucina, requires his amiibo to be playable. His appearance has him waking up in My Castle, wondering what happened to him. He thanks the Fates Avatar for waking him and introduces himself to them. He nods about his experiences in Super Smash Bros., wondering if he was "blowing people away" or if he was being "blown away" but is unable to remember. He expresses his embarrassment for being found lying unconscious for the second time and asks for the Avatar's name, afterwards stating it's a name he wouldn't forget. To express his gratitude, he offers the Avatar two accessories; his own Bookself which Robin likes to use for formulating strategies and a Fell Dragon Feather, which he does not remember owning. After the player chooses one, Robin wonder if the two of them lead similar existences, then he says that he wishes to leave to study various strategies and new things about the world he found himself in.

During his second appearance, he tells the Fates Avatar that everyone in their army speaks highly of them as a master strategist, not only as a tactician but as royalty too. He then challenges them to fight him in a battle of tactics and tells them not to rush until they come up with a good plan. Before the battle, Robin states that he has thought of numerous strategies for their fight and has become very excited in the process. He recalls the world of Super Smash Bros., a world where physical strength triumphed over tactics, and he is looking forward to the tactics the Avatar will use on him. If Owain, Inigo and Severa have been recruited, a special dialogue between Robin and the three can occur whenever each of the children face him in battle. The three children will recognize Robin based on his face and clothing, but are suspicious as they aren't sure if it really is him or not, while Robin will also have a vague idea of who they are.

After the battle, Robin remarks on the Avatar's skills and as he wonders if the two of them lead similar experiences, he also says that they have surpassed him as well. As a result, he requests to join the Avatar's party, stating that he wishes for the two of them to learn from each other and that he is also a capable fighter as well. The Avatar agrees and wishes for everyone to fight together alongside Robin. Robin thanks them as he recalls a distant, happy memory of him fighting alongside his own group of allies, hinting at his role in Awakening. Robin is then made into a playable character and joins the Avatar's army for the duration of the story.

Personality

The Avatar's history is shrouded in mystery, making him the greatest enigma of the Shepherds. Despite this, the Avatar's skill in war tactics is unparalleled, allowing them to guide Chrom's army to victory over opposing forces greater in number and possibly even experience. He is highly ingenious, creating strategies on the fly and even whipping up "crazy" plans or new war tactics out of pure inspiration. Because of his strategic mindset, the Avatar is highly perceptive to the others' feelings, and can figure out the source of most people's inner turmoils in a matter of a few important conversations. Tiki notes that the Avatar is surprisingly similar to Marth, due to their charismatic nature and ability to befriend everyone they meet. Robin firmly believes in the concept of forming bonds within the army, believing that these bonds make him stronger than if he were to fight separately.

Outside of battle though, the Avatar is actually very self-conscious. Robin often feels insecure about his cooking skills, some of the romances have him feel inadequate compared to other love interests, and even in Paralogue 22, after having guided the Shepherds through three wars, potentially with zero casualties for his friends and family depending on the player's skill, he still reflect on whether he belongs with Chrom and his fellow Shepherds.

It is later learned that the Avatar was born and bred to become the manifestation of Grima. When he finds this out, Robin becomes incredibly conflicted and lost. However, after he receives reassurance from his friend Chrom, Robin steels himself and manages to find ways to avert the tragic fate of the world. It is from this that Grima meets his fate.

Other parts of his personality though are dependent on the player: Robin can either be incredibly self-sacrificing or someone who strives to stay alive for others' sakes depending on choices at key points in the story.

Super Smash Bros.

The Avatar, using the default name Robin, is playable in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Robin is playable in both male and female form and uses the default Awakening designs for both. He fights using magic tomes and a Levin Sword. However, like in Fire Emblem, both tomes and the Levin Sword are of limited use. When the Levin Sword breaks, Robin fights using a Bronze Sword until the Levin Sword regenerates. He gets special gauges that show when Robin can use the broken tomes and Levin Sword again in Ultimate.

When he uses his Standard Special move, Robin uses the Thunder Tome. This is a chargeable move that resembles Samus Aran's charged shot. His Up Special Move involves shooting Elwind downard, and Robin uses the recoil to recover. His Side Special move is a blast of Arcfire, while his Down Special is a grappling Nosferatu that drains an enemy's energy. His Final Smash is a Pair Up manoeuvre with Chrom, even after Chrom becomes a playable character in his own right when he is introduced in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

During their trailer, Robin and Lucina team up versus Captain Falcon, who was fighting Lucina at the time, as Robin's Splash Screen, with his caption "Robin brings the thunder!", pops up. Robin then shows his moveset. The duo then meets Marth the Hero King, and Ike the Radiant Hero of Legend.

Marth, Ike, Lucina, and Robin later appear fighting in Roy's trailer, before the latter butts in and announces his return. All five later appear in Corrin's trailer as the latter abandons his family to enter Smash.