(Josie
Sayz: This is part of a mini-series that I’m working on, pondering over various
theories surrounding the characters and events that may be revealed in ‘Kingdom
Hearts III’ when it is released at the end of January next year. These theories
are meant to be just light, fun and speculation – none of this if fact nor is
it meant to be taken seriously. Today I am going to explore the character:
Master of Masters, from ‘Kingdom Hearts Back Cover’ to try and figure out who
his is and see if there is a connection between him and ‘Kingdom Hearts III’.)
When watching the cut-scenes from ‘Kingdom Hearts Back Cover’ I (like many) could not help but be intrigued by the figure in the back coat known as Master of Masters. His eccentric personality and bizarre mannerisms seems so out of place in this supposed ancient time. Characters seem confused by his colloquialisms and sarcasm, as these traits do not appear to fit in with the people of this world or time. Maybe it’s just his cocky attitude from knowing all of the events that are about to transpire, but if that was simply it, wouldn’t he stick around to watch his predictions unfold? Wouldn’t he want to know if he/his gazing eye (which is embedded in his keyblade, the No Name) was correct? There must be more to him than just being able to predict the future. That’s when I got thinking… what if ‘Master of Masters is actually a character whom we are already familiar with? Today I am going to delve into the possibilities.
Is Master Xehanort the Master of Masters? My connections between Master Xehanort and the Master of Masters sprang from thinking that Master Xehanort must have travelled to a part of this world somehow. Just after the Keyblade War ends, the Dandelions take control. It has been revealed in ‘Union X’ that Ventus is one of the Dandelions. We know that Master Xehanort met Ventus somehow and attempted to train him before the events that transpire in ‘Birth by Sleep’. So, if Master Xehanort has travelled back in time this far, what is preventing him from travelling further back in time, watch over the Keyblade War (like he so desires) then re-travel back in time to before any of the events begin and control everything by giving Ira, Aced, Invo, Gula, Ava and Luxu their own specific roles to makes sure that the events transpire exactly as he so wishes? It may seem confusing and almost impossible, but so are half of the crazy things that occur in the ‘Kingdom Hearts’ universe. However, I feel as though Master Xehanort is a very strict and serious character. I do not feel as though he has it in him to be this quirky, eccentric character. After writing this, I went back and skimmed through ‘Back Cover’ and did notice one particular point where Master of Masters did something that I feel Master Xehanort would do: When Luxu asks the Master of Masters what is inside the locked box/chest, the master whispers the contents to Luxu. Luxu then asks why, to which the Master of Masters replies, “You’ll see,” and curls his fingers in a way which I feel as though we have seen Master Xehanort do several times – I get a slight Christopher Lloyd bad-guy feeling from Master Xehanort – a sort of Judge Doom (from ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’) meets the animated Mr. Clipboard Dickens (from ‘Foodfight’). [I felt the need to add: It has also been brought to my attention that Master Xehanort may have been able to locate Ventus and access his world (despite the events of the Dandelions happening just after the ancient Keyblade War) because the world of the Dandelions is now a Sleeping World].
The next character who came to mind when wondering who the Master of Masters might be is Braig/Xigbar. Oh my goodness, the similarities between the two characters are so close. They both have a laid-back, care-free attitude and share a similar sense of humour. The whole only-having-one-eye thing did draw my attention to Braig/Xigbar too. With the Master of Masters using one of his eyes in the keyblade, No Name, it did make me think of how Braig/Xigbar only has one eye. I know that Braig lost his eye during his fight with Terra (in ‘Birth by Sleep’), but what if he kept it. What if, somehow, his eye could continue seeing on its own? What if a magic spell granted his eye all seeing power (and changed its appearance, as I know Braig had brown eyes before he was norted)? It is a possibility, right? Crazier things have probably happened in the ‘Kingdom Universe’, such as Ventus and Roxas looking alike. One of the things that does intrigue me about Braig/Xigbar’s character is that although he is norted and follows orders from Master Xehanort and Lord Xemnas, he has a mysterious side to him. Braig/Xigbar has plans of his own – but what are they? Is he working for someone else? Is he working for the Master of Masters? – do they have similar traits because they are related or close friends? Or is Braig/Xigbar the Master of Masters? He is so care-free about it all, because he knows what is coming. Will Braig/Xigbar create a plot twist by turning against/over throwing Master Xehanort, as he has had the power to see into the future all along? Will Braig/Xigbar be the final boss in the saga? Or is Braig/Xigbar’s laid back attitude just because he is just lazy?
Similar to Braig/Xigbar, another character who fitted some of the eccentric qualities of the master of Masters is Lea/Axel. Some of Axel’s quirky phrases and his light-hearted sense of humour do link very well with the Master of Masters. However, the more I think about it the less sense that it makes. Yes, Axel does act a lot like the Master of Masters and I originally intended to write a lengthy paragraph, but the more I think about it, once you scrape past the first glances of Master of Masters shell it doesn’t feel too much like him. You never know events that transpire during ‘Kingdom Hearts III’ could change Axel’s ideologies and make him want to mess with the past – for what purpose I don’t know. For some reason I don’t get the feeling that the Master of Masters is a good guy. I get very strong bad-guy vibes from him. Despite things that happened in Axel’s past, Lea is, to me, is definitely a good guy.
Although I do not really see any similar characteristics between the Master of Masters and Vanitas, I have spotted a few threads online where people have begun speculating that the two may be the same person. The theories tend to look at the Foretellers and the seven deadly sins. Invi represents envy, Gula is gluttony, Ava is greed, Aced is Sloth, Ira is Wrath, Luxu is luxury and the Master of Masters represents pride. When looking into the meaning of Vanitas’ name, another word for ‘vanitas’ is ‘superbia’, which translates to ‘pride’ (and the inscription on the Master of Masters box says, “X-Super”). From a writer’s perspective, I can see why people would start to connect Vanitas with the Master of Masters, as authors will often hide clues in their characters’ names that map out the events of the story. I also found a kind of weird and slightly twisted theory as to not only why Vanitas is Master of Masters, but also why he looks like Sora. It seemed very complex and strange, but the longer I thought about it and let it sink in, the more sense it actually makes. Rather than explain it I will link the page in which I found it (http://kh13.com/forum/topic/99011-kingdom-hearts-theory-the-master-of-masters-is-vanitas/) and Ha Zweiokopf is the person who came up with the theory, back in July 2016.
When watching the cut-scenes from ‘Kingdom Hearts Back Cover’ I (like many) could not help but be intrigued by the figure in the back coat known as Master of Masters. His eccentric personality and bizarre mannerisms seems so out of place in this supposed ancient time. Characters seem confused by his colloquialisms and sarcasm, as these traits do not appear to fit in with the people of this world or time. Maybe it’s just his cocky attitude from knowing all of the events that are about to transpire, but if that was simply it, wouldn’t he stick around to watch his predictions unfold? Wouldn’t he want to know if he/his gazing eye (which is embedded in his keyblade, the No Name) was correct? There must be more to him than just being able to predict the future. That’s when I got thinking… what if ‘Master of Masters is actually a character whom we are already familiar with? Today I am going to delve into the possibilities.
Is Master Xehanort the Master of Masters? My connections between Master Xehanort and the Master of Masters sprang from thinking that Master Xehanort must have travelled to a part of this world somehow. Just after the Keyblade War ends, the Dandelions take control. It has been revealed in ‘Union X’ that Ventus is one of the Dandelions. We know that Master Xehanort met Ventus somehow and attempted to train him before the events that transpire in ‘Birth by Sleep’. So, if Master Xehanort has travelled back in time this far, what is preventing him from travelling further back in time, watch over the Keyblade War (like he so desires) then re-travel back in time to before any of the events begin and control everything by giving Ira, Aced, Invo, Gula, Ava and Luxu their own specific roles to makes sure that the events transpire exactly as he so wishes? It may seem confusing and almost impossible, but so are half of the crazy things that occur in the ‘Kingdom Hearts’ universe. However, I feel as though Master Xehanort is a very strict and serious character. I do not feel as though he has it in him to be this quirky, eccentric character. After writing this, I went back and skimmed through ‘Back Cover’ and did notice one particular point where Master of Masters did something that I feel Master Xehanort would do: When Luxu asks the Master of Masters what is inside the locked box/chest, the master whispers the contents to Luxu. Luxu then asks why, to which the Master of Masters replies, “You’ll see,” and curls his fingers in a way which I feel as though we have seen Master Xehanort do several times – I get a slight Christopher Lloyd bad-guy feeling from Master Xehanort – a sort of Judge Doom (from ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’) meets the animated Mr. Clipboard Dickens (from ‘Foodfight’). [I felt the need to add: It has also been brought to my attention that Master Xehanort may have been able to locate Ventus and access his world (despite the events of the Dandelions happening just after the ancient Keyblade War) because the world of the Dandelions is now a Sleeping World].
The next character who came to mind when wondering who the Master of Masters might be is Braig/Xigbar. Oh my goodness, the similarities between the two characters are so close. They both have a laid-back, care-free attitude and share a similar sense of humour. The whole only-having-one-eye thing did draw my attention to Braig/Xigbar too. With the Master of Masters using one of his eyes in the keyblade, No Name, it did make me think of how Braig/Xigbar only has one eye. I know that Braig lost his eye during his fight with Terra (in ‘Birth by Sleep’), but what if he kept it. What if, somehow, his eye could continue seeing on its own? What if a magic spell granted his eye all seeing power (and changed its appearance, as I know Braig had brown eyes before he was norted)? It is a possibility, right? Crazier things have probably happened in the ‘Kingdom Universe’, such as Ventus and Roxas looking alike. One of the things that does intrigue me about Braig/Xigbar’s character is that although he is norted and follows orders from Master Xehanort and Lord Xemnas, he has a mysterious side to him. Braig/Xigbar has plans of his own – but what are they? Is he working for someone else? Is he working for the Master of Masters? – do they have similar traits because they are related or close friends? Or is Braig/Xigbar the Master of Masters? He is so care-free about it all, because he knows what is coming. Will Braig/Xigbar create a plot twist by turning against/over throwing Master Xehanort, as he has had the power to see into the future all along? Will Braig/Xigbar be the final boss in the saga? Or is Braig/Xigbar’s laid back attitude just because he is just lazy?
Similar to Braig/Xigbar, another character who fitted some of the eccentric qualities of the master of Masters is Lea/Axel. Some of Axel’s quirky phrases and his light-hearted sense of humour do link very well with the Master of Masters. However, the more I think about it the less sense that it makes. Yes, Axel does act a lot like the Master of Masters and I originally intended to write a lengthy paragraph, but the more I think about it, once you scrape past the first glances of Master of Masters shell it doesn’t feel too much like him. You never know events that transpire during ‘Kingdom Hearts III’ could change Axel’s ideologies and make him want to mess with the past – for what purpose I don’t know. For some reason I don’t get the feeling that the Master of Masters is a good guy. I get very strong bad-guy vibes from him. Despite things that happened in Axel’s past, Lea is, to me, is definitely a good guy.
Although I do not really see any similar characteristics between the Master of Masters and Vanitas, I have spotted a few threads online where people have begun speculating that the two may be the same person. The theories tend to look at the Foretellers and the seven deadly sins. Invi represents envy, Gula is gluttony, Ava is greed, Aced is Sloth, Ira is Wrath, Luxu is luxury and the Master of Masters represents pride. When looking into the meaning of Vanitas’ name, another word for ‘vanitas’ is ‘superbia’, which translates to ‘pride’ (and the inscription on the Master of Masters box says, “X-Super”). From a writer’s perspective, I can see why people would start to connect Vanitas with the Master of Masters, as authors will often hide clues in their characters’ names that map out the events of the story. I also found a kind of weird and slightly twisted theory as to not only why Vanitas is Master of Masters, but also why he looks like Sora. It seemed very complex and strange, but the longer I thought about it and let it sink in, the more sense it actually makes. Rather than explain it I will link the page in which I found it (http://kh13.com/forum/topic/99011-kingdom-hearts-theory-the-master-of-masters-is-vanitas/) and Ha Zweiokopf is the person who came up with the theory, back in July 2016.
The
mentioning of Vanitas resembling Sora links nicely into the next possible
theory: Could the Master or Masters be Sora or Riku? I am aware that many
people have speculated this. However, I can’t seem to get my head around either
of these at the moment, as for the same reason that I stated with Axel/Lea. I
do believe (at the moment) that the Master of Masters is a bad guy or maybe
even the main bad guy of the whole
‘Kingdom Hearts’ universe – whomever that is. Given time and maybe after
reading a few theories and replaying the games, I may be swayed into seeing the
Master of Masters in a different light. If I do, that will be a post for
another day, but as it stands, I cannot picture Sora or Riku when they are
older travelling back in time hundreds of years to change the past, which could
alter everything that has happened during the ‘Kingdom Hearts’ games. Would
either of them want to risk ruining or changing the character development that
they have undergone, the friendships that they have made and the memories of
the adventures that they have been on? If one of them were to go back in time
and change things, Sora may never meet Donald and Goofy… Riku may never
overcome his urge to experiment with the darkness within him and he may never
befriend King Mickey.
There is one last theory that I want to add to my ever-growing list. This is something that has been mentioned too. While many people are busy building their own conspiracies as to who the Master of Masters is, what if he is his own person? Yes, he may seem rather eccentric and before his time, but if he has the ability to see into the future that would build his ego and create a huge amount of cockiness. Is it possible that this mysterious being is just a one-off character? – someone created solely for ‘Kingdom Hearts Back Cover’ with no real connection or ties to any of the main protagonists or antagonists to the current ‘Kingdom Hearts’ universe. Yes, he may have an important part to play, but maybe his events will lie after ‘Kingdom Hearts III’. Tetsuya Nomura stated that ‘Kingdom Hearts III’ is just the end of the Xehanort saga, so what is stopping the Master of Masters from cropping up in a future ‘Kingdom Hearts’ related game, but completely unrelated to any of these characters? Is it possible that the Master of Masters is simply a character who removed his all-seeing eye and merged it with a keyblade of his creation, making sure that it is passed down from generation to generation just so that he can witness the future from the past – and that is his sole purpose?
There is one last theory that I want to add to my ever-growing list. This is something that has been mentioned too. While many people are busy building their own conspiracies as to who the Master of Masters is, what if he is his own person? Yes, he may seem rather eccentric and before his time, but if he has the ability to see into the future that would build his ego and create a huge amount of cockiness. Is it possible that this mysterious being is just a one-off character? – someone created solely for ‘Kingdom Hearts Back Cover’ with no real connection or ties to any of the main protagonists or antagonists to the current ‘Kingdom Hearts’ universe. Yes, he may have an important part to play, but maybe his events will lie after ‘Kingdom Hearts III’. Tetsuya Nomura stated that ‘Kingdom Hearts III’ is just the end of the Xehanort saga, so what is stopping the Master of Masters from cropping up in a future ‘Kingdom Hearts’ related game, but completely unrelated to any of these characters? Is it possible that the Master of Masters is simply a character who removed his all-seeing eye and merged it with a keyblade of his creation, making sure that it is passed down from generation to generation just so that he can witness the future from the past – and that is his sole purpose?
Returning to my mention of characters time travelling in order to return to the events before the Keyblade War, I know that it has been said that a character can only travel back in time to a point where a version of them exists. The only two characters that I can think of that were around during the first Keybalde War, that are also present in the current games, are Ventus and Marluxia/Lauriam. So, could the Master of Masters be a future version of Ventus or Marluxia/Lauriam? Now, I know that it seems very out of character for the Master of Masters to be either of these two, but what if they were norted? If Master Xehanort turns Ventus or Marluxia into one of his vessels, would he have control over them to or make them want to share with him what happened during the Keyblade War and agree to travel back in time for him to alter the events of the war to make it so that things work out in Master Xehanort’s favour? – such as making sure that somehow down the lines the No Name keyblade gets handed down to Master Xehanort. And we have seen in one of the Japanese ‘Kingdom Hearts III’ trailers that Marluxia has Xehanort’s yellow eyes in the cutscene (he appears at 2:24-2:27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFKlDX4vzz8). We only get a glimpse of him, but when compared to Marluxia’s previous bright blue eyes, it is not easy to mistake that they have since turned to yellow. So, does this make Marluxia a possible candidate for the Master of Masters – maybe.
The whole time-travel thing to change the course of does make sense in time-travel paradox theory logic. If someone were to travel back in time to a point before their existence and change the course of events, they are running the risk of erasing themselves from existence and/or making a different chain of events in the future which will mean that they will not need to travel back in time. The creation of such paradox, in fiction, usually result in the time-travelling character fading away or disappearing from existence. There are numerous instances where Master of Masters refers to his departure from his apprentices as a time where he will dim or fade. So, is the Master of Masters a time travelling character which we are familiar with or is her just a crazy eccentric man that behaves years ahead of his time?
I would love to know what you think. Is the Master of Masters a character whom we have already met? Is he one of the main protagonists/antagonists? Is he is own character? Will he have any mention or purpose in ‘Kingdom Hearts III’ or will his significance not be revealed until future games? Do you agree with any of my theories? Do you have your own? I would love to hear your thought.
- Josie -
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