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ladygriffith · 4 months

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REVEALED! The real villain of Berserk: The Skull Knight

(The Skull Knight) (Thulsa Doom)

Kentaro Miura has mentioned that Berserk was inspired by Conan The Barbarian (Robert E. Howard).

Conan the Great is a fantasy novel by American writer Leonard Carpenter, featuring Robert E. Howard's sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Tor Books in April 1990.

In Conan you have the kingdom of Aquilonia (Latin Aquilae means eagle, like Falconia means Falcon).

Conan rescues the dwarf Delvyn, jester to Balt. Delvyn, however, is not the fool he appears, but the secret instigator of the invasion and servant to Kthantos, an evil demon.

Delvyn feeds on Conan's anxieties about his advancing age, while heightening his concern over the amoral and ruthless Prince Armiro.

Concerned by rumors Armiro has imprisoned his former lover, Queen Yasmala of Khoraja, he decides to liberate her and so gain intelligence on his foe.

He rides disguised across Koth to the Tarnhold, Khoraja's infamous prison fortress. Gaining entry through an underwater passage guarded by a giant water spider, he finds Yasmala indeed present, but in voluntary retirement. Armiro and some of his retainers, who had secretly followed Conan, burst in on the two; in the incursion, Yasmala's maid, Vateesa, is critically injured. The enemies renew their combat, but Conan falters when Yasmala begs him to spare Armiro, now revealed as her son.

The demon god Kthantos, playing both sides, visits Yasmala, who is nursing the comatose Vateesa in their new prison. The demon attempts to possess Yasmala, a fate she evades only to fall to her death.

News of her demise reaches Conan he assumes Armiro responsible and guilty of matricide, kindling his wrath against the prince all the more. Kthantos then appears in a dream to Armiro with an offer of power; the prince is skeptical, but reports the dream to his subordinates as a holy visitation.

Delvyn encourages him to envision himself emperor of the world with the godhood such a role implies, a notion previously implanted. After a disturbing dream in which Conan imagines himself drawn to his doom, he awakens to word that an army equal to his in size has entered the plateau from the Kothian side—Armiro and his host, guided by the prince's dream.

The antagonists face each other at the temple, which proves the lair of Kthantos. As the demon god hails them, Delvyn and Amlunia incite the two rulers to personal combat, the prize being mastery of their combined armies and the world under Kthantos's patronage. Both monarchs, realizing they've been used, are suspicious of the god but otherwise game, as each believes the other the instigator of Yasmala's death. Their confrontation is interrupted by Queen Zenobia, driven by chariot in relays all the way from Aquilonia. With her is the partially recovered Vateesa, now revealed as the queen's mysterious visitor. They reveal Conan that Armiro is not just Yasmala's son, but his own as well.

This balks Conan while inflaming Armiro to new fury as he vents on Conan the distress over abandonment that has afflicted him his whole life. The fight is on, and Kthantos manifests in triumph. Vateesa recognizes and denounces the demon as Yasmala's murderer, uncovering its machinations. At this the two kings put aside their quarrel and turn on Kthantos, toppling a shattered pillar into the well from which it issues. The dwarf Delvyn remains, released from his patron's spell, and is revealed in his true form—a giant twice the size of Conan. Shunned by humanity, he had studied ancient lore to achieve vengeance, which had led him to Kthantos. In his diminished guise he had played the fool, enticing kings to the demon's service until, in the troubled Conan, he had found what he deemed the perfect tool, to be first used and then supplanted. Now unmasked and thwarted, he challenges the king. Conan has his soldiers dispatch him.

Under truce, and still uncertain of their feelings for each other, Conan and Armiro resort to their advisers and diplomacy. A modus vivendi is envisioned in which both monarchs will pull back from Ophir and respect each other's spheres of influence, abandoning pretensions to sole mastery of the Hyborian world.

(Conan the Swordsman)

Kull of Atlantis or Kull the Conqueror is a fictional character created by writer Robert E. Howard. The character was more introspective than Howard's subsequent creation, Conan the Barbarian, whose first appearance was in a re-write of a rejected Kull story. Kull's mortal enemy is the sorcerer Thulsa Doom.

Thulsa Doom is described by Howard in "The Cat and the Skull" as having a face "like a bare white skull, in whose eye sockets flamed livid fire". He is seemingly invulnerable, boasting after being trampled by one of Kull's comrades that he feels "only a slight coldness" when being injured and will only "pass to some other sphere when his time comes". Thulsa Doom is the most authoritative and powerful sorcerer. One of his most notable abilities is shapeshifting, allowing him to claim various identities. Often impersonating someone else. He was able to hold his own in a sword fight against Conan or Kull.

Thulsa Doom is also seen as controlling the elements and being able to call up a storm out of a calm sea. While Thulsa Doom cannot be killed – even when pierced by a sword or thrown from a great height – he's vulnerable to steel being driven through his body, such steel acting to imprison him and prevent Doom from getting away.

Thulsa Doom is the prototype for many of the future undead evil wizards in Howard's stories. he is also called the 'Skull face' and he has foresight of the most possibilities.

He appeared when he and his legions invade the lands of Cimmerians for the first time, leading to a massacre of the people there including the young Conan's parents (the father was killed by Doom's dogs while the mother was decapitated by Doom with the father's sword). As the young Conan became a gladiator after years of slavery, Conan swore to avenge his people's tragedy by killing Doom.

Posing as the nobleman Ardyon, he forms an alliance with four rebels who actually dethroned the hero, and set him on a quest to regain his lost kingdom. Thulsa Doom sent members of his Black Legion to ambush Kull and Brule, though they won the fight. Thulsa observed the battle through a magic crystal. Kull and Brule's ship was later attacked by a sea serpent, with which Thulsa may or may not have had anything to do.

Thulsa Doom/Ardyon learned of the curse of Torranna (essentially, if a scarred man wore the crown and sat on the throne, he would be unable to ever leave the throne), which he determined to bestow upon Kull. Thulsa Doom drew Kull into Torranna and had him undergo a series of trials to gain the crown of Torranna. Thulsa Doom revealed himself to Kull, challenging him to one final battle. Thulsa Doom pulled Kull into a pocket dimension for their final battle. Kull managed to slash Thulsa Doom's face with his sword, but was ultimately overpowered by the necromancer. Thulsa Doom returned them both to Torranna, but Kull rallied long enough to push Thulsa Doom onto the throne and place the crown on his head. His face scarred by Kull, Thulsa fulfilled the prophecy and fell victim to the curse himself. Thulsa's power were drained by his curse as the city of Torranna collapsed, seemingly crushing him. Kull, luckily, escaped, and then returned to Valusia to retake his own throne.

Set in the time of King Arthur (though Arthur himself doesn't appear onstage) Thulsa Doom comes back to life after 18,000 years on a sinister deserted island. Recognizing Cormac Mac Art – an Irish adventurer who joined a band of Danish Vikings – as a reincarnation of his old enemy King Kull, Thulsa Doom immediately resumes his ancient vendetta and relentlessly seeks to kill Mac Art.

The Riddle of Steel In the beginning, we see Conan's father explain the Cimmerian lore concerning the ancient Giant Kings of earth stealing the forging secrets from the god Crom. Conan's father tells him that he must learn by himself the riddle of steel. Giving him a hint, he tells him that you cannot trust anything in this world, except for one thing; and, showing him the sword of steel he just forged, he says: "This you can trust." What he does exactly mean by "this" is not clear.

Years later, Conan tracks down and confronts Doom and his raiders. Doom tells him that he has abandoned the pursuit of steel, because flesh is stronger. To prove his point, he beckons one of his cult followers on a cliff to come to him. Enthralled by her faith, she steps off the cliff and falls to her death. This, the ability to lead loyal followers who are willing to die for you, is real strength for Doom, and he reproaches Conan for not recognizing where his own strength is. Then, in his final confrontation with Doom, as he is subjugated by Doom's mind control, Conan looks at the damaged sword and somehow frees himself and kills his enemy with one thrust of the still sharp sword. It is implied that, in that instant, he figured the riddle and the true answer to the riddle. Which these are, however, we are never told Fans have come up with several explanations over the years. One is the Nietzschean idea that will is indomitable and stronger than both steel and flesh.

“In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control, even over his own will. Man takes up the sword in order to shield the small wound in his heart sustained in a far-off time beyond remembrance. Man wields the sword so that he may die smiling in some far-off time beyond perception.”

What about Griffith / Femto then

Antagonist Villain

Antagonist vs. Villain

Griffith is the Antagonist of Berserk:

Antagonists are plot devices that create obstructions and challenges for your protagonist, while villains are evil characters with malicious intent

A story’s villain is always an antagonist, but not every antagonist needs to be a villain

Often, antagonists are other characters who have their own goals and their own obsessions. Unlike the villain, they don’t necessarily take pleasure in causing the main character harm—they just happen to have desires that conflict with the protagonist’s desires.

Many antagonists are compelling characters in their own right, since they’re not necessarily bad people. They can even go through character development and grow throughout the course of the story.

Skull Knight is the Villain of Berserk:

The villain in your story is the character whose primary motivation is malicious destruction. They’re usually the main antagonist of the story, causing the biggest source of conflict for the hero. Many of them remain hidden until the finale or hide their true intentions to create a plot twist.

He gave Guts the cursed Berserker armor, feeding off of his life force for vengeance. His hatred and darkness is consuming his flesh and SK wanted to kill the moonlight boy, who had helped Guts not to lose himself and hurt his party.

His astral form prevented Guts from killing Casca and falling into madness. Skull Knight could foretell the future but didn't prevent the eclipse. He also tried to kill Femto to stop the birth of Falconia, the peaceful city for human race.

He started the cycle of revenge and sacrifice when he probably tortured the clergyman who transformed into Void who called the god hand upon him.

Clearly, Griffith was an innocent child before he was corrupted by the God Hand giving him a behelit.

Finale Skull Knight Theory

I think Skull Knight will be the End Boss of Berserk and Guts will have to fight him.

Using the power of the Yobimizu no Tsurugi (Sword of Resonance/Actuation), Skull Knight can cut through dimensions. Time is often referred to as the "fourth dimension"

Guts will win against him and take Skull Knight's Sword. He will cut through the dimension and time travel to Griffith's childhood.

When the clock struck notice the flashing purple light which opens a dimension and Guts appears before Griffith?

You have the same purple hue when SK visits him and Casca. Also The SK's eyes have the hue.

In Conan you have Doom who looks a lot like the Skull Knight. In Conan in the end he is revealed to be the main villain and Conan has to fight him!

Griffith is torn between his dream which is the castle and Guts. HE CHOOSES GUTS and runs towards him. Meaning they will see through the manipulation of those who forced his destiny and defeat the God Hand as well as Skull Knight.

Griffith's love for Guts is the only thing keeping him from losing his humanity, and Guts's too. Griffith is no narcissist. He is misunderstood and manipulated. As he grew up, he was corrupted. A tragic character, whose true will was taken from him.

Great foreshadowing there. Guts will save Griffith set it all right this time! They will beat their fake destiny.

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