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This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
| “ | When you get to my level, you don't uncover the truth. You make it, little by little. | „ |
| ~ Excelsius Winner |
| “ | Ahh... Really takes me back to the days of my youth. Back when I would wrangle with a certain detective... He... disappeared, you know... *sniffle* I hope he's out there somewhere... living his best life... | „ |
| ~ Excelsius's fake sorrow. |
Excelsius Winner (Japanese: Bansai Ichiyanagi) is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Manfred von Karma) of the Ace Attorney franchise.
He is the overarching antagonist of the 2001 visual novel Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, as well as of the Investigations duology, being the overarching antagonist of the 2009 visual novel Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and the secondary antagonist of its 2011 sequel, Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit.
He is the one responsible for driving Manfred von Karma into causing DL-6 by framing him for forgery and tainting his perfect record with a penalty. His actions have far-reaching consequences across the Ace Attorney universe, including setting into motion what would lead to several murders and drastically affecting the lives of many.
Winner served as Chief Prosecutor and Head of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee. He frequently abused his power as Chief Prosecutor, holding black market auctions of evidence and disposing of those who got in his way. He is also emotionally abusive towards his son, rookie prosecutor Eustace Winner.
Winner also set up and instigated the assassination of president Di-Jun Wang of Zheng Fa. Replacing him with a corrupt and spineless body double that destabilized the country, causing the Cohdopian Smuggling Ring to rise into power, setting in motion the events of the Investigation Duology.
Personality[]
| “ | I was just thinking back over the defendants I've made plea deals with over the years. People who poured their hearts out to me. Who trusted me with every detail of their crimes. And then, when it came to their sentencing... *sob* I recommended life in prison every time... For every... single... one! Ho-ho... Ohhh-ho-ho-ho... Oh, if only you could see them... *sniffle* The stupid, dumbfounded looks on their faces! | „ |
| ~ Excelsius reminiscing about all the lives he ruined. |
Excelsius Winner is an extremely selfish, arrogant, egocentric, manipulative, and controlling man who loves to use and abuse his power to destroy anyone who challenges or defies him. He uses his influence to manipulate cases and cause people to "disappear", including his own wife and a rival detective. At least, some of these "disappearances" involved being jailed permanently for made-up crimes. He also deceived Manfred von Karma by giving him falsified evidence and then stripped him of his quintessential record when he was caught using a forced confession. Exerting control over everyone else is almost an irresistible need for him, and he is hot-tempered and excitable when he loses control.
His corruption is matched only by his sheer arrogance. He takes every opportunity to gloat and humiliate other people. For example, he greets Franziska von Karma in front of everyone else during a murder investigation in a very embarrassing and ignominious manner by talking about how she used to sit on his lap as a child. Excelsius will even treat his own son this way, persistently hurling insults at him, though Eustace seems to be used to it. When revealed to be an argumentative and murderous criminal, Excelsius cruelly tells his son that he had only received every good grade and award that he was so proud of thanks to his personal connections and influence.
He also has a tendency to play with his lighter, which flares up when he becomes quite overwrought and nervous. When it accidentally sets his fake beard on fire, he uses the tears trapped in his goggles to put the fire out. His goggles are often filled with tears, as he often cries to make himself appear temperamental, obstreperous, and sensitive. Excelsius also tends to tug on his beard when anxious.
Biography[]
Evidence Auctions[]
Even when serving as chief prosecutor, Excelsius Winner held secret auctions with evidence of past cases. He used masks and voice-changers to hide the true identities of the participants, including his own; he also took off his wig and fake beard to ensure that he would be unrecognized. However, doing so revealed the burn mark on his chin, though not so many people knew of it anyway. Winner's black market auctions drew the attention of photojournalist Alf Aldown, who conducted a secret investigation.
IS-7 Incident[]
During Winner's time as chief prosecutor, he was reported to about the IS-7 Incident by police detective Ian Sideman, specifically about the disappearance of the victim's body. Winner neglected to tell this fact to the prosecutor in charge, the legendary Manfred von Karma, and it was too late for von Karma to back out by the time he discovered that the body was missing. Winner coerced coroner Hilda Hertz into forging an autopsy report, allowing von Karma to take a fabricated case to court. Eventually, the disappearance of the body was discovered by the defense attorney in charge, Gregory Edgeworth, who attempted to prove that the autopsy report was forged, but Von Karma's connections with the police force allowed him to discredit the accusations; Gregory was, however, able to prove that the defendant had been coerced into confessing by Sideman on von Karma's instruction. While von Karma still won the case, Winner gave him his first and only penalty for the coerced confession, while Sideman took the rest of the blame and was fired.
IS-7 Aftermath[]
Winner's penalty to von Karma would prove to have long-reaching consequences. Immediately following the trial, an earthquake struck, causing a blackout at the courthouse and trapping Gregory, his son Miles and bailiff Yanni Yogi in an elevator. As oxygen levels reached an unbearable low, Yogi panicked and attacked Gregory, his pistol falling from its holster during the struggle. Desperate to prevent Yogi from hurting his father, Miles picked up the gun and threw it towards the bailiff, causing the weapon to discharge before all three fell unconscious. The bullet from the pistol passed through the elevator window and struck von Karma, who was standing outside, in the shoulder. When power returned to the building and the elevator doors reopened, von Karma took Yogi's gun and shot unconscious Gregory in the heart as revenge for sullying his perfect record before fleeing the scene. Yogi was subsequently accused of the murder, and the police called upon spirit medium Misty Fey to channel Gregory's spirit; having been unconscious at the time of his death, Gregory was unaware of von Karma's involvement and erroneously identified Yogi as his murderer. Due to this damning testimony, Yogi's attorney, Robert Hammond, convinced his client to plead temporary insanity and fake brain damage from oxygen deprivation; while Yogi was declared not criminally responsible for Gregory's death, he subsequently lost his job and social standing, while his fiance, Polly Jenkins, committed suicide. Blackmailer Redd White discovered Misty Fey's involvement from Marvin Grossberg and released the information to the press, labeling Misty as a fraud, destroying the Fey clan's reputation and causing her to leave Kurain Village in shame. Meanwhile, von Karma adopts Miles and trains him to become a prosecutor to enact further revenge against Gregory. Miles was haunted by his father's death for years to come, believing himself to have accidentally shot Gregory when he threw Yogi's pistol, and developed a deep fear of earthquakes as a result.
Victims[]
| List of Victims Affected by Excelsius Winner's actions |
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Though he's male, in the first game (specifically Manfred von Karma's flashback in "Turnabout Goodbyes" when he was penalized) a high-pitched beep text sound is used for him, the same one used for females. This was fixed in the game that he appears in (namely, GK2), where he uses the much lower-pitched beep designed for males.
- Excelsius Winner and Manfred von Karma share many similarities, being extremely corrupt prosecutors who abuse their power to ruin the lives of countless people. They are both extremely abusive parents. The main difference between them is Manfred was a perfectionist who saw his children as continuations of his legacy, Winner was okay with losing cases as long as he reaped an advantage and took pleasure in abusing his son.
- While Manfred von Karma is the closest thing the franchise has to a Big Bad, Winner is the closest thing the franchise has to a Bigger Bad, as shown by the list of atrocities he indirectly influenced.
External Links[]
- Excelsius Winner on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Excelsius Winner on the Ace Attorney Wiki
