| “ | Aren't hearts great? Steer us wrong every time. | „ |
| ~ Xigbar |
Xigbar, the Freeshooter, is the second member of Organization XIII and a major antagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series.
He is voiced by James Patrick Stuart.
Though his history with Sora was short, Xigbar had a much longer history with Master Xehanort and Keyblades in general as he saw Sora to be nothing compared to three Keyblade users he encountered through his original self Braig ages ago.
History
Before Xigbar
Braig, before his injuries caused by Terra.
Meeting Master Xehanort in Radiant Garden, Braig is offered the ability to use a Keyblade in return for his help in convincing Terra to use the powers of darkness. However, using a staged kidnapping to their advantage, Braig ends up being scarred in the resulting fight with his left eye permanently damaged. After Terra left, a furious Braig attempts to shoot Xehanort from behind for his injuries. But Braig is put in his place as Xehanort tells him they need to make Terra succumb to the darkness while performing his end of their pact. After fighting Aqua in the Keyblade Graveyard to give Xehanort time for his plan to come together, receiving a venomous flare from Ventus he never forgot, Braig fled back to Radiant Garden where he brought Ansem the Wise to Xehanort, now within the vessel that was originally Terra's body.
However, Braig later approaches the new Xehanort, now an apprentice under Ansem, and is dismayed to find that he does not recognize him, and Braig's attempts to help Xehanort remember prove only to annoy him. Braig nevertheless says in a friendly manner that he's got Xehanort's back, having been entrusted with Master Xehanort's back-up plan to use Ansem's research to devise a means of mind control. But in the process, they end up introducing Heartless to the Realm of Light. Sometime soon after, finding Xehanort with his previous incarnation's Keyblade, Braig asked if he is truly Master Xehanort before his heart was removed from his body. However, having a strong will, Braig's Nobody Xigbar came into being and became Xemnas's number II in the newly formed Organization XIII.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Xigbar appears for the first time chronologically in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Present when Xion joins the Organization, he is shocked when his seemingly good friend, Demyx, reveals the annihilations that took place at Castle Oblivion. Later joining Roxas on a recon mission to Agrabah, they overhear Aladdin and Jasmine discussing the rebuilding of their city after many sandstorms strike. The Freeshooter later challenges Roxas at Olympus Coliseum when he first enters the Games, claiming to "care about his future" after the defeat of a Guard Armor at Roxas' hand. Xigbar later discussed the defaulting Xion with Xemnas and Saïx in Where Nothing Gathers, later challenging "Poppet" himself in Wonderland. Xigbar then sees Xion as Ventus, and Xion is able to quickly strike Xigbar down with the power she was unknowingly sapping from Roxas.
Kingdom Hearts II
Appearance at Hollow Bastion
Not long after arriving in Hollow Bastion and reuniting with Aerith, Leon and Yuffie, Sora engaged a number of Dusk Nobodies in battle around the city. After being led away from the main town, Sora, Goofy and Donald heard voices mocking them, but could find no source for them. After Sora demands that they show themselves, the remaining Organization members (having lost five members due to deaths and two others due to desertion) materialize, laughing. Though they are hooded, they are recognizable as the Organization from the description given to Sora and his companions by Yen Sid. The Organization eventually departs, but Xigbar, still cloaked and hooded, stays behind to taunt Sora further, making them feel anxious about the power of the Organization. He also openly compares the similarities between a look Sora gives him and one given to him by Ventus; Sora dismisses this as random banter meant to confuse him. Xigbar then leaves, staying out of Sora's way for a very long time.
The Land of Dragons
Sora encounters Xigbar again in at the gates to the Emperor's throne room in the Land of Dragons. Having encountered another hooded man and suspected him to be his missing friend Riku, Sora inquires if he is the same person. Xigbar removes his hood, revealing otherwise and remarking that he had never heard of anyone named Riku. Xigbar summons his Snipers to distract Sora while he escapes. The diversion works, although the Nobodies were defeated, and Xigbar is able to continue his mission of summoning an enormous Heartless to harvest hearts for the Organization's plans. He manages to set the Storm Rider on the city, but it is soon destroyed by Sora, Mulan, Donald and Goofy.
The World That Never Was
Xigbar's final appearance in the game is in The World That Never Was, inside Organization XIII's stronghold. After Riku and Naminé helped Kairi to escape from the Organization, they head for the Hall of Empty Melodies, a large, open-air room leading further up into the castle. Sora and his party arrive there, but are stopped by Saïx, who calls out swarms of Shadows and a few Armored Knight Heartless to attack the intruders. Maleficent and Pete also arrive, expressing interest in taking the Organization's castle for themselves. Eventually, Maleficent and Pete leave to formulate a plan for taking the castle, and Saïx heads up to rejoin Xemnas. Sora and Kairi remain separated as Riku and Kairi remain above Sora on a balcony, fighting off the Heartless gathered there. Many Heartless attack Sora as well, but they are all dispatched in a sudden rain of arrows from a hidden Xigbar. He walks into view, and asks if Sora has been a good boy mockingly, echoing the words from his first encounter with Sora. He states how Sora put the Organization in a "pickle", and he supposes that was the reason the Keyblade chose him. He also makes a very cryptic remark on how he wasn't "half the hero the others were". Sora simply takes it as an attempt to throw him off. Xigbar then engages Sora in battle, referring to him as "Roxas" and expressing anger at him for betraying the Organization. Ultimately, he is defeated and begins to fade into the darkness. Before he disappears, Sora asks him why he called him "Roxas", to which Xigbar merely responds, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix contains several additional cutscenes of Organization XIII's activity. One shows a conversation at an unknown time between Xigbar and Zexion, with Xigbar having recently returned from finding new members for the Organization (including Marluxia, whom he mentions as a new recruit) while Zexion and Vexen were discussing Xemnas' visit to the Chamber of Repose. Xigbar expressed his knowledge about the events of Keyblade warriors that appeared before they found Xehanort. He also talked about his eavesdropping on Xemnas during his visits to the Chamber of Repose, and how he seemed to be conversing with someone that wasn't really there.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Summoned by Young Xehanort, due to being "half-Xehanort", Xigbar is made a member of the True Organization XIII and aided in baiting Sora into their trap.
Appearance
Prior to becoming Xigbar, Braig wore a guard's uniform with a dark slate grey jacket with pointed shoulders, silver highlights, and two rows of gold buttons on the front. He wears a black belt and white gloves adorned with a silver, curled heart symbol. He also wears black, knee-high boots and a tattered, red scarf. In terms of facial features, Braig sports brown eyes, though they turn gold upon his acceptance of the darkness, upturned eyebrows, and dark, shoulder-length hair that he wears slicked back. After his fight against Terra, he loses his right eye and receives a jagged scar over his left cheek. Once he is able to take the bandages off, infused with a piece of Master Xehanort's heart, Braig becomes to resemble his benefactor more with his remaining eye become golden-pupiled and having pointed, elf-like ears.
After losing his heart, Xigbar's dark hair gains several grey streaks and is tied into a long ponytail. Xigbar wears the usual Organization garb of the Black Coat, black boots, and black gloves, though his cloak is distinguishable by more pointed shoulders and the fact that it sags at his shoulders. The sleeves of his cloak are also somewhat closer-fitting than normal, though not as close as Axel's.
Personality
Like his original self, Xigbar has a laid-back and taunting attitude, and likes to annoy Sora to put him off-guard, though with limited success. When not on missions, he occasionally enjoys eavesdropping on his fellow Organization members. He relies heavily on instinct rather than on intelligence for both decision-making and fighting, making him adaptable and unpredictable in battle. He also has a habit of saying, "As if". Along with Axel, Larxene, and Demyx, he acts as the Organization's comic relief due to his frequent sarcasm and wise cracks. Xigbar is probably the most wise-cracking of them all as unlike Axel and Larxene who know when to be serious (Demyx having his comic relief due to his klutzy persona), Xigbar never breaks character and even during battle he still makes sarcastic comments. He also uses nicknames for the other members on occasions, calling Roxas "kiddo" or "tiger" in the Grey Area and on various missions, calling Xion "Poppet" in the Grey Area, and once calling Axel "Flamesilocks" near the end of 358/2 days, when he talks to Roxas about the outcome of the "Ven incident". Despite his high rank, he is not given high authority like Saïx or Marluxia but instead is sent on missions and confrontations with Sora. Considering his personality, it may be simply that Xigbar prefers field work to a more administrative position. Along with most of the Organization, he considers Roxas to be a traitor. He seems to support this view more than any other Organization member as he's the only one who states it in his battle quotes. In fact when the battle begins he remarks, "You really shouldn't have betrayed us!"
Trivia
- Due to Xigbar having the ability to distort space, a lot people relate him to Palkia, the Pokémon of space.
- Xigbar, along with Xaldin, was the member who found and brought Marluxia into the Organization.
Photos
Videos
