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Was the plan to revive Nemesis just a retcon?

Doji - Going after L-Drago… and Dr. Ziggurat creating Spiral Force. So then, everything that we did before was all part of our ultimate goal, of reviving the God of Destruction, Nemesis. Pluto - And the one controlling Hades Inc. from behind the scenes was I, the descendant of King Hades himself! Kyoya - What’s going on? Madoka - So everything that has happened has all been connected to revive... Gingka - ...the God of Destruction. Episode 134

Introduction

If you watched the Metal Saga, you might think that this exchange is relatively strange and makes little sense, as it appears the two events (L-Drago and Spiral Force) have very little connection to the revival of Nemesis. Not only that, but the goals of Doji and Ziggurat seem to be different from the one stated in this conversation: Doji wanted to power up and use Ryuga and L-Drago to control the world, and Ziggurat wished to sell Spiral Force and influence the world through his inventions.

Now, does that mean this is a retcon? Not necessarily. I wanted to analyze what we know about the Hades cult members, the prophecy of Nemesis, and the different events of MFB, and then propose hypotheses and explanations that might make more sense of the claim that “everything is connected” to the revival of Nemesis.

Facts:

Doji and Ziggurat are corrupt men who want to use the power of Beys for their own benefit.

Doji is a liar, a manipulator, and likes to please his master (whoever they are).

Doji was sent to retrieve L-Drago by Ziggurat and Pluto: in episode 87, Ziggurat refers to "us" when talking about the L-Drago plan and "I" when he speaks about his personal goals, hinting that another person was involved.

Doji and Ziggurat had their own personal goals that came into conflict with another purpose (possibly the revival of Nemesis). Still in episode 87, Ziggurat said that Doji "lost sight of the true goal" and then goes on to describe his ambitions of taking control of society using Beyblade.

We don’t know what they intended to do with L-Drago: Ryo theorizes that Hades Inc. wanted to use it as an energy source.

Pluto is obsessed with King Hades’s prophecy and wants it to be accomplished.

The Hades cult knows how the legendary Blader will be chosen (four seasons and solar system).

Hades’s prophecy is: "A new light will become a new pit of darkness. When that time comes the true destruction will begin." Dynamis said that: "When a dazzling glow lights up the earth from the heavens, a new star fragment will arrive and awaken a great power."

Dynamis is able to more or less read the future by looking at the sky. He was able to predict/calculate the date of the arrival of the star fragment.

Pluto seems to have supernatural powers as well and often looks at the sky.

Pluto thinks King Hades wanted the destruction of the world:

"I don’t know how you define good and evil… but my excitable young friend, we only want to correct the history that Zeus changed. [...] King Hades tried to use the power of the Black Sun, hidden within Nemesis to guide the entire world toward the proper future. [...] If being destroyed by the God of Destruction was to be the world's fate, then that was what King Hades desired." — Pluto, episode 134

Nemesis has absorbed the power of corrupt people using the power of Beys:

"Gingka - So people who want to use the power of the star fragment for evil, like Doji and Ziggurat, have always existed, am I right? Dynamis - And each time the battle between good and evil is fought again, Nemesis has been secretly absorbing the power of those evildoers and preparing for its own revival." — Episode 123

Hypothesis 1: Translation mistake

I originally thought it could be the result of a bad translation. Maybe the true translation actually says something that doesn’t impact the show continuity as much. However, I quickly found out it wasn’t the case. In most dubs I watched, Doji said the same thing that he did in the English dub:

Spanish (original and translated):

"La búsqueda de L-Drago y la fuerza espiral creada por el doctor Ziggurat. En resumen, todo lo que hicimos antes era parte de nuestro objetivo final: el renacimiento del dios de la destrucción, Némesis."

"The search for L-Drago and the Spiral Force created by Dr. Ziggurat. In summary, everything we did before was part of our ultimate goal: the revival of the God of Destruction, Nemesis."

French (original and translated):

"Quand nous recherchions L-Drago, et lorsque le docteur Ziggurat a créé l'énergie spirale, tout ça, tout ce que nous avons fait auparavant faisait partie d’un même plan qui nous permettra de ressusciter le dieu de la destruction, Nemesis."

"When we were searching for L-Drago, and when Dr. Ziggurat created the Spiral Force, all of that, everything we did before, was part of the same plan that will allow us to resurrect the God of Destruction, Nemesis."

Japanese (translation, take it with a grain of salt):

"Back when we were trying to get our hands on L-Drago… when Dr. Ziggurat created the Spiral Energy... Yes, all our objectives were focused on reviving the God of Destruction."

All versions clearly connect previous actions—searching for L-Drago and Spiral Force creation—as parts of a single overarching goal: reviving Nemesis.

Hypothesis 2: L-Drago and Tempo were substitute

The idea is that instead of reviving Nemesis, to fulfill what Pluto perceived as King Hades's wish of destroying the world he wanted to use a another bey.

Strengths: It ties all three events together without impacting the goals of Doji and Ziggurat. Considering their corrupt nature, they could have simply double-crossed Pluto and the cult to get what they wanted. Doji said to Ryuga that he was a "fool to believe that you [Ryuga] could [...] have been any sort of replacement for [...] Rago."

Weaknesses: This theory contradicts the idea of the events actually happening for the sake of Nemesis’s revival. It would only have accomplished part of the prophecy (the destruction of the world). The Spiral Force was stable and didn't immediately threaten to destroy the world until Ryuga blasted Hades City. Doji's words to Ryuga could be only about Doji who, in Fusion, personally wanted to replace Ryuga with Rago in order to have a less destructive version of Nemesis. It could also have been provocation.

Hypothesis 3: Pluto can see the future

This hypothesis is based on the fact that Pluto would be able to predict the steps needed to revive Nemesis, which would explain why those events are linked together—they were, after all, necessary to lead to the revival of Nemesis.

Strengths: Pluto is the descendant of King Hades, who made a prophecy that almost happened. Pluto seems to have supernatural powers, and Dynamis also has some foresight abilities, so why not him as well? It justifies the fact that Pluto would be behind Hades Inc. as the mastermind. If you think about it, the events of Fusion and Masters lead to Nemesis’s resurrection: L-Drago was revived, and this led to Battle Bladers, which itself laid the ground for the World Championship, which allowed Ziggurat to create Tempo and the Spiral Force. The light of the Spiral Force that Pegasus brought into space gave the light of the prophecy. In addition, by keeping Doji by his side, Pluto had a way to influence Ryuga (one of the Legendary Bladers of the Four Seasons that can make Zeus’s Barrier) to complete Nemesis.

Weaknesses: It has never been confirmed that Pluto indeed had such power. The only time he shows supernatural abilities is because Dynamis wears the collar of his ancestor. In addition, building a master plan on foresight alone seems like narrative convenience, and it alone doesn't erase the fact that Doji and Ziggurat's plans have little in common with each other. They seemingly betray the cult, and those plans have a somewhat loose connection and impact on Nemesis’s revival. If Pluto has foresight, then it must be really precise and convenient.

Hypothesis 4: Pluto is a fanatic and let Doji and Ziggurat do what they wanted.

The idea is that the events aren't actually connected, but Pluto, being delusional and obsessed with the prophecy, sees them as such—because that's how a religious fanatic works, seeing meaning where there may be none. Pluto had a specific, unknown goal for L-Drago, but Doji, being corrupt, did what he did in Fusion for his own benefit. The same goes for Ziggurat in Masters. Pluto saw these plans as necessary steps for the revival of Nemesis because his whole life is dedicated to King Hades’s prophecy. So, he believes everything he does will lead to this outcome—and he isn’t entirely wrong, because Nemesis absorbs power from evildoers, so at least it becomes stronger. This is probably why he uses corrupted men like Ziggurat and Doji: he knows they will feed Nemesis power. He probably knows they could betray him, but it will be meaningless since the prophecy is absolute and will become true.

The idea of Pluto being a fanatic and obsessed about the prophecy is shown in how he reacts after Kenta beats him, and also in how he deified his ancestor—when in reality, Hades was more or less a prehistoric Ziggurat.

Then why would Doji say that “everything is connected”? Probably because Pluto told him that’s how he sees things, and Doji, being a yes-man, took this reality as his own and told it to Gingka to destabilize them. In addition, it is solely Doji, and not Pluto, who says everything is connected; Doji could very well be lying at the moment just to please Pluto.

Strengths: It doesn't contradict any previous events. It is actually a theory that fits well with the personality of each character. Furthermore, the plan and explanation don't rely on supernatural explanations but on corruption and fanaticism, which seems more interesting.

Weaknesses: This theory relies heavily on Pluto being delusional and on the personality of his associates. In addition, events like L-Drago’s retrieval and the Spiral Force’s creation don't really fit so neatly into Nemesis’s revival, making it feel like a convenient excuse rather than a solid plan. It also doesn't specify what the original use of L-Drago would have been.

Hypothesis 5: Pluto used Doji and Ziggurat to empower Nemesis

The theory is based almost entirely on the revelation Dynamis makes in Episode 123. Each time a corrupt person tries to use a bey for their benefit, a battle ensues and Nemesis can absorb energy to grow stronger. I believe that Pluto and his cult, perhaps even before the start of the story, used corrupted individuals similar to Ziggurat and Doji, giving them the tools to realize their ambitions so they could feed Nemesis energy. This would not directly help the God of Destruction revive, but it would make it stronger once its revival was complete (at least this is how I understood it). And, as I said, for Pluto, the prophecy is fated to happen. Finally, Pluto could obviously have revealed all this to Doji.

Strengths: This doesn’t contradict the timeline. It gives a good subtext of evil being nurtured by evil people. It helps to connect the two plans. The sense of the sentence is preserved because giving energy to Nemesis would be part of the plan, not the entire plan itself.

Weakness: It overrelies on what Dynamis said in one episode.

Conclusion

The plan to revive Nemesis can seem like a retcon, and in some ways, it does appear to be one. Though with some mental gymnastics, you can identify some possibilities that could justify Doji's claim of everything being connected. Maybe he is lying, maybe Pluto can see the future, or maybe it was all part of a plan to give Nemesis more power. The problem is not so much the claim that everything is connected; it’s that the villains never really explain how, and the protagonists never question it, even when there are obvious continuity problems.

#i love metal fury mental gymnastics #ur posts r always a fun read yayy #metal fight beyblade #mfb #beyblade metal fury

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