Wander (ワンダ Wanda) is the main protagonist of the 2005 action-adventure video game Shadow of the Colossus and its 2018 remake of the same name.
He is a young warrior who risked his life to save his beloved Mono to enter the devastated Forbidden Land, seeking to resurrect her. For this he would have to kill before 16 giant colossus among the valley, but paying a heavy sacrifice: his life drained and being possessed by the evil essence of the colossus every victory.
He is voiced by Kenji Nojima.
History[]
Wander's story begins with his entry into the Forbidden Land, crossing the wide bridge at the entrance to it with his horse, Agro. According to Lord Emon later in the game, before they enter the Forbidden Lands, Wander stole a magical sword, probably from Emon himself, which is the only weapon capable of killing the colossus in the Forbidden Land.
Following the Great Temple of Worship in the center of the region, Wander carries with him a body covered by a mantle which he lays upon an altar in the temple. Removing the cloak, it is revealed to be the body of a maiden named "Mono". After that moment, various dark creatures with the appearance of shadowy humanoids prepare to attack Wander, but he easily repels them waving the "Ancient Sword", which emits strong beams of light. After suppressing the shadow creatures, the voice of a disembodied entity known as "Dormin" echoes from above, expressing surprise that Wander possesses such a sword. Wander requests that Dormin return Mono's soul to her body, which he says is possible if the sixteen idols lined up in the hall of the temple are destroyed. He explains that this task can be accomplished by using the sword to kill the sixteen colossus located in the region that are the embodiment of the idols. Each colossus contains a portion of Dormin's own essence, although this is not revealed until the final moments of the game.
Wander attacking the first colossus nailing the sword in the mark on his forehead
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Despite the warning from Dormin that Wander may have to pay a heavy sacrifice to revive Mono, Wander accepts the task and travels throughout the Forbidden Lands looking for the colossus to destroy them. With the death of each colossus, his physical appearance deteriorates: his skin gets paler, his hair darker, dark scars on his face, and an apparent growth of horns on his head. Meanwhile, the appearance of Mono progressively improves and her voice can be heard softly in every scene after the death of a colossus. After the death of the 12th colossus, is revealed to the player that Wander is being pursued by a group of warriors led by a shaman named "Lord Emon".
Rushed to finish his task by Dormin, Wander soon departs to defeat the 16th and final colossus. On the way, he travels with his horse on a long bridge, which begins to fall apart when they reach the halfway point. When Agro jumps over the last section of the bridge, the portion in which she falls begins to separate from the whole bridge, almost unbalancing. Sensing the impending fall, Agro throws Wander to safety on the other side, sacrificing herself as the bridge collapses and she falls into the river many feet below. Wander sadly meets the final colossus alone, and the group led by Lord Emon comes to the temple shortly before the last idol crumbles. Wander appears soon afterwards, his eyes now and totally pale skin and two horns coming out of his head. Declaring that Wander has been "possessed by the dead", Lord Emon orders his warriors to kill him. While he struggles to reach Mono, one warrior shoots an arrow in his leg with a crossbow, while another stabs him in the heart with a sword. Black blood spurts from the wound while his body is covered in darkness and falls to the ground - a similar death to that suffered by the colossus.
The tragic fate of Wander the end of the game.
Then the spirit of Dormin seizes Wander's body, transforming it into a shadowy giant with big horns. They explain that their body was fragmented into sixteen sides - the colossus - to seal their power, and that they now had taken the body of Wander and reborn with each component of the essence of Dormin being stored in the body of the protagonist. While the warriors flee, Lord Emon throws the Ancient Sword used to kill the colossus into a small pool at the bottom of the temple hall, creating a whirlwind that consumes Dormin and, consequently, Wander. Emon and his warriors flee the Forbidden Land as the bridge leading to the temple collapses behind them. When they arrive at the entrance to the security area, Emon expresses hope that if Wander survived, he can redeem his actions.
In the temple, Mono awakens, revived by Dormin in fulfillment of the agreement with Wander, and Agro comes limping in the temple with an injured hind leg. Mono follows her to the pool that Wander and Dormin were sucked into by Emon, finding a newborn with small horns on his head (a reborn Wander). She takes the child with him, following the horse to the upper floors of the temple and coming to a secret garden inside the temple.