Count Bleck

Count Bleck

ノワール伯爵 Nowāru-Hakushaku

Count Bleck, as he appears in Super Paper Mario

GENERAL INFO FULL NAME Lord Blumiere GENDER ♂ Male ALIGNMENT Evil, Good by the end of the game

PERSONAL INFO RELATIONSHIPS Timpani (wife) Nastasia (minion) O'Chunks (minion) Mimi (minion) Dimentio (minion, formerly) Mr. L (minion, formerly) OCCUPATION(S) Member of the Tribe of Darkness ABILITIES Magic, teleportation

MISCELLANEOUS INFO CANON APPEARANCES Super Paper Mario NON-CANON APPEARANCES Super Smash Bros. Charged

Count Bleck, real name Lord Blumiere, is an evil count and initially the main antagonist of Super Paper Mario. While "bleck" is normally used as onomatopoeia for disgust, it could also be interpreted as a corruption of "black". His real name, Blumiere, is likely a combination of "blue", referencing his coloration, and "Lumière", the French term for light.

Count Bleck is responsible for bringing forth the Chaos Heart by forcing a marriage between Peach and Bowser, and uses it to open the Void, which would shortly destroy all worlds. He leads a troop of minions, consisting of himself, Nastasia, O'Chunks, Mimi, Dimentio, and Mr. L, who serve as the main villains of the game. Their motivations are foretold in the Dark Prognosticus, a prophecy that tells of the destruction of all worlds that Count Bleck uses to bring forth.

As revealed throughout the game via intermissions and flashbacks, Count Bleck was once a member of the Tribe of Darkness, who fell in love with a girl named Timpani. Before they could get married, she was banished from their dimension by his father, and fueled by sadness and loss, he uses the Dark Prognisticus to destroy his dimension, and wishes to do the same for every world.

History[]

Super Paper Mario[]

Prior to the events of the game, Count Bleck went by the name of Blumiere, and was a member of the Tribe of Darkness. The tribe had broken off of another tribe called the Ancients after stealing the Dark Prognosticus in an (ultimately misguided) attempt to prevent its powers from being abused. One day, Blumiere was found injured by a human girl named Timpani, who nursed him back to health. Despite Blumiere's father warning him to stay away from humans, he ultimately fell in love with her.

After fining out his father had threatened Timpani, Blumiere realized their relationship couldn't survive for long, and soon he proposed to her. Before they could get married though, Blumiere's father banished Timpani out of their dimension and wiped her memory, forcing her to wander alone until the day she died. She would later meet Merlon, a member of the Ancients that lived in Flipside, who reformed her into a Pixl named Tippi. Unknowing of this, Blumiere wandered through the dimensions in search of her to no avail. It is implied that he met Nastasia during this time; a bat that he rescued from a trap who transformed into a woman and swore her loyalty to him out of love.

Blumiere returned to his dimension, convinced that Timpani was gone for good. Out of sadness and loss, he stole the Dark Prognosticus, and used its prophetic powers to destroy his dimension, and wished to do the same for all other dimensions. After this, Blumiere took the name of Count Bleck, and with his new assistant and took residence in a new castle in a world of darkness. After this, he would acquire three more minions; the shapeshifter Mimi, the warrior O'Chunks, and the mysterious jester Dimentio.

Eventually, Count Bleck puts his plans into action, targeting the Mushroom Kingdom. He abducts Peach, and while Mario and Luigi storm Bowser's Castle under the impression he kindnapped her once again, Bleck shows himself and abducts everyone save for Mario. Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and the Koopa Troop then find themselves at a wedding, hosted by Count Bleck. With the prophecy's knowledge that a marriage of a princess and a monster could bring forth the Chaos Heart, he has Nastasia force Peach to comply, bringing the Chaos Heart forth. Luigi tries to stop it, but he only provokes it, and the Chaos Heart opens up the Void, a giant rip in the sky that has the power to destroy all dimensions. A disturbance during the wedding sends Luigi, Peach, Bowser, and his minions scattered across Castle Bleck; to confront this problem, he sends Nastasia to brainwash Bowser's minions to follow him, sending them to various dimensions to hinder Mario's progress collecting the Pure Hearts, which can foil his plans.

Once Mario continually defeats his minions, gets more Pure Hearts, and reunites with Peach and Bowser, Count Bleck starts to see him as a legitimate threat. He consults the Dark Prognisticus, and reads that a "Man in Green" and who he affiliates with is the determining factor in weather or not the prophecy of destruction will come to pass. He sends Nastasia to find Luigi, the "Man in Green" spoken of, and brainwash him to join his minions, transforming him into Mr. L. After he is defeated as well, Count Bleck decides to confront them in person, visiting them in the Sammer's Kingdom. He starts arguing with Tippi about his motives, and begins to suspect that the Pixl may be Timpani. However, he convinces himself that the idea of her still being alive is impossible, and continues his plans.

After Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser find the last Pure Heart in the Overthere, Count Bleck orders O'Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio to take their positions around the castle and defeat the heroes when they arrive. Dimentio reveals to the count that Tippi mentioned the name "Blumiere", confirming to him that Tippi is in fact Timpani. Nastasia requests Count Bleck to call off the destruction now that they know Timpani is alive, but he says that it is far too late to stop the Chaos Heart's destruction. He awaits the heroes, and secretly hopes they will be able to stop him.

When Mario and Tippi reach the inner sanctum of Castle Bleck, Tippi and Bleck argue again over the value of all worlds and the count's motivations. The count orders Nastasia away and does battle with Mario, but he is seemingly invincible. Before he can finish Mario off, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser reunite with him to cheer him on after they narrowly survived battles with Bleck's minions. This event grants the Pure Hearts the strength to override the Chaos Heart, stripping Count Bleck of his invincibility. He still battles the heroes, not going down without a fight.

Count Bleck has 150 HP, and particularly uses his scepter to fight. His main attack involves conjuring up globs of dark magic and hurling them at the heroes to damage them. He can also create huge vortexes of energy that suck up the heroes, damaging them. Bleck can temporarily slow down time as well, causing the heroes to move slower and making it harder to dodge his attacks. Similarly, he can speed himself up, making him more difficult to hit. He will float around and teleport around the room, and the heroes must make use of the various platforms to navigate the area and hit Count Bleck with their attacks.

Ultimately, Count Bleck is defeated. He requests the heroes to kill him before the Void can destroy all worlds, much to the disapproval of Tippi. Before Mario and friends can grant his request though, Dimentio attacks him from behind. Nastasia takes the blow, and is mortally wounded as a result. The jester takes the Chaos Heart for himself, and tells his plans of making a new world in his image once the old ones are destroyed. He banishes Tippi, Count Bleck, and Nastasia to Dimension D, and brainwashes Luigi into becoming Mr. L again, and merges him with the Chaos Heart to create Super Dimentio.

In Dimension D, Count Bleck is reunited with O'Chunks and Mimi, who are still loyal to the count. Their shared love once again restores the power of the Pure Hearts, which weaken Super Dimentio and allow Mario, Peach, and Bowser to defeat him. Once he is destroyed, Luigi and the Chaos Heart are set free and Tippi, Count Bleck, and his minions return with the rest of the group. Before Dimentio is destroyed, he leaves behind a final "shadow" of his power, which will ensure the destruction of all worlds. Count Bleck, aware of the situation, brings everyone to the chapel the Chaos Heart was born, where Blumiere and Timpani exchange their vows. Their true love brings forth the Purity Heart, revises the destruction Blumiere has causes, and destroyed the Void.

The fate of Blumiere and Timpani is never directly stated. Blumiere states that he and Timpani using their love to stop the Void would erase them from existence, yet both Merlon and a revived Nastasia believe that the two are happily living together. This idea is supported by an image after the credits, showing silhouettes of a man and woman - implied to be Blumiere and Timpani in her human form - sitting in a paradise meadow together.

Description[]

Physical Appearance[]

Count Bleck wears a white top hat and coat, and is shrouded by a white cape that fades to blue at the bottom. Inside his cape is dark-blue and starry, and has seemingly no traces of body. Count Bleck also wears a red brooch, similar to Peach's blue brooch, and wears a monocle over his left eye. He also wears white gloves (with no traces of visible arms), and is often armed with a scepter, which has a brown rod and a blue, diamond-shaped jewel.

Count Bleck's face is blue, with his eyes and mouth glowing red. Interestingly, after being defeated by Mario and friends, his eyes and mouth become blue, and he remains that way until after the Pure Hearts revive his strength when Super Dimentio is defeated. It can be inferred that this was Count Bleck's previous appearance as Blumiere.

Personality and traits[]

Count Bleck is motivated in his destruction of worlds primarily by a sense of life and existence in general as cruel and meaningless in the wake of the loss of Timpani. He also holds a belief that it is impossible to avoid one's fate, with his own being outlined in the Dark Prognosticus as its executor and the destroyer of all worlds. As he is introduced, Count Bleck takes the persona of a remorseless villain who takes joy in destruction. However, as the story progresses, the context and motivations behind his actions are further explored, as are some of his more sympathetic traits.

Prior to becoming Count Bleck, Blumiere was described as a kind person, cherishing life and the universe itself. He was likely influenced by the xenophobic attitudes of the Tribe of Darkness, initially disgusted at being saved from death by a human and failing to understand why Timpani would do so, but grew beyond this mindset as he spent more time with Timpani. In time, he fell in love with her, so deeply that he ceased to care about the expectations on him as a member of the Tribe of Darkness or the taboo on relationships outside of the tribe. He became eager to run away with Timpani to a place where their love would not be forbidden and they could marry, for which Timpani chided him as stubborn and foolish, though she agreed to do so.

When Blumiere's father cursed Timpani to wander dimensions until death, Blumiere searched through many worlds to find her. When he could not find her, he returned home and sought the Dark Prognosticus. Upon opening and reading the book, Blumiere undergoes a stark change in identity and personality, proclaiming himself Count Bleck, committing himself to the completion of its prophecies, and destroying the Tribe of Darkness. Unable to see meaning in a life and a world in which Timpani no longer existed, and guided by the word of the Dark Prognosticus, Count Bleck set out to destroy all worlds, renouncing his value of love and resigning himself to his role in the prophecy of destruction.

Although he insists that Blumiere was dead and only Bleck remained, Count Bleck demonstrates much of the same warmth and kindness he once possessed, even as he is poised to end all worlds. Chiefly, he shows a deep respect and care for his minions, and they show the same for him. His minions happily accept their missions to stop Mario and his allies, and in the prologue, Mimi states that being with the Count is her idea of a perfect world. Count Bleck replies that he will make his minions' dreams come true. Though this appears to be false, and his intention had in fact been to leave all worlds in ruin, his minions believe after his disappearance that he truly did wish in his heart for a better world. He also allows his minions to leave his side at any time, even with his blessing, as shown with Nastasia in the post-Chapter 3 intermission.

Carson's stories show that his minions serve him wholly of their own volition. Nastasia and O' Chunks in particular serve him because he had saved their lives in the past. Notably, in the Japanese script, O' Chunks is described as having forced Count Bleck to make him one of his minions,^[1] with the English version instead claiming that Count Bleck manipulated him into joining. Despite claiming to view life as worthless, Count Bleck retains a compassion for those who are suffering that leads him to save the lives of others with no clear expectation of benefit or reward. He never appears truly upset with his minions when they fail him, and leaves what disciplining they do face to Nastasia, whose punishments are essentially harmless. He is horrified when Nastasia takes a blast from Dimentio meant for him, and is moved when his minions' show of love for him aids in restoring the Pure Hearts.

Count Bleck consistently refers to himself in third person, except when alone and after being defeated. This habit may be meant to evoke the narration of a story, much like how he follows the guidance of the Dark Prognosticus (though it is unlikely he is quoting it directly).

Appearance[]

Count Bleck wears a white top hat and coat, and is usually shrouded in a cape with a gradient of white at its top fading to blue at the bottom. The inside of the cape is dark blue and starry, and when he opens his cape during the cutscene in Bowser's Castle, a unique design is shown. This design is from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, and depicts the pattern used atop the pedestal in the room with The Thousand-Year Door when Mario presents a Crystal Star. He also wears a large red brooch, white gloves, and wields a brown scepter topped with a blue jewel. On his left eye is a monocle, and his eyes and mouth are both red and glowing. However, both his eyes and mouth become light blue when he is defeated, and remains like that until the Pure Hearts are restored.

Powers and abilities[]

In addition to being able to use the Dark Prognosticus, Count Bleck has many other magical powers granted by the Chaos Heart that can aid him. He can freely float without any hindrance to gravity, which is particularly important due to his lack of visible legs. He has the ability to teleport at will by "flipping", along with the Dark Prognosticus which always teleports at his side. He can also use the Chaos Heart's power to shield him from any harm.

In combat, Count Bleck uses his scepter to conjure globs of dark magic and hurls them at his foes. These globs cannot be blocked by anything, including Peach's parasol and Barry. The only way to avoid them is to use Slim, who causes the player to become invisible and intangible. He can also summon a huge vortex of dark energy that sucks up his enemies. Count Bleck can temporarily slow the flow of time as well, similar to the Slow status effect. Finally, he can speed himself up similar to the effect gained when using a Speed Flower and ram into his opponent, which damages them. His shadow blast attack does 3 damage, his Void attack does 8 damage and the player takes 2 damage when walking into the Count. Although he is incapable of flipping in 3D, his globs are in 3D and can still damage Mario even if he is in the third dimension.

Beyond his magical talents, Count Bleck demonstrates a high intelligence, a compelling physical and conversational presence and a quality of character that can earn loyalty from his followers and friends. Bleck is charismatic and can sway individuals into his service, as seen with Bowser at the beginning of the game, while his assistant Nastasia's mind control powers can help him cover all other cases.

The above text is from the Super Mario Wiki and is available under a Creative Commons license. Attribution must be provided through a list of authors or a link back to the original article. Source: https://www.mariowiki.com/Count_Bleck

Appearances[]

Super Paper[]

Count Bleck alongisde with Tippi appear in Super Paper Bros., They meet up with Mario & co. at Jibber Jabber City.

He later appears in "Super Paper Battalion" first at Honk Honk Port looking for Tippi. He is later revealed to be B, the primary antagonist of "Battalion." It later turns out that B is not actually him, but the remnants of the Dark Prognosticus energy that had formerly resided in his body. Merlon and Bleck use the Light Prognosticus to damage B, weakening him enough for Mario & co. to defeat him. B's defeat triggers a massive explosion in which Bleck and Merlon are lost.

Silver Spurs Trilogy[]

Super Mario Silver Spurs 2: Adventures Beyond[]

Count Bleck makes his Silver Spurs debut in this film. He uses the Dark Star to create clones of Mario and his friends and sends them to commit various crimes, which Mario and co. get accused of.

Super Mario Silver Spurs: Dimensional Duos[]

Count Bleck is one of the three main antagonists of this game, the other two being Mandy and Mephiles the Dark. He takes advantage of Gobblegut in the same way that Mandy and Mephiles take advantage of the Ender Dragon and the Dark Gaia, respectively.

Super Paper Mario 2: Craft Champion[]

Count Bleck does not make an appearance in this game, but his hologram is seen talking to his son, Sven, but the Puppetmaster cuts him off of communication.

Super Smash Bros. Charged[]

Count Bleck appears in Super Smash Bros. Charged as a playable newcomer. He represents the Super Mario RPG series, which collectively has characters and elements from Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the Paper Mario series, and the Mario & Luigi series.

Count Bleck's moveset is mostly based on his boss battle from Super Paper Mario retaining his abilities such as conjuring darkness projectiles from his scepter. He is a deceptively quick middleweight, with his attacks being powerful and long-ranged. Uniquely, his grab creates a small void which travels forward in a straight line. This can serve as the longest grab range in the game, and if it grabs an opponent in midair, his down throw is able to meteor smash them. His Final Smash, Purity Heart, summons the eight Pure Hearts which circle around him, creating a white beam of energy around him that deals heavy damage to opponents caught in it.

Gallery[]

The above text is from the Super Mario Wiki and is available under a Creative Commons license. Attribution must be provided through a list of authors or a link back to the original article. Source: https://www.mariowiki.com/Count_Bleck

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