| “ | Salvation. Such a curious word. I marked the path to salvation with light. However, no matter how brilliant that light grows, the darkness within the human heart grows even darker. | „ |
| ~ Balder to Bayonetta |
| “ | Humans need not be told what their will shall be. We can create our world with our own eyes! | „ |
| ~ Balder before battling Aesir |
Summary
Father Balder is the main antagonist in Bayonetta and also Bayonetta's father. He, along with his lover Rosa, were responsible for the beginning of the Clan Wars, in which he was left as the only surviving Lumen Sage. He is hinted to have been the one that started the Witch Hunts before the truth of his corruption is explained in the second game. In the present day, Balder is the CEO of the Ithavoll Group and was responsible for the death of Antonio Redgrave, Luka's father. Balder possesses the Right Eye and is an overseer of history because of it.
Powers and Stats
Tier: At least 5-B, At least 5-B with summons | High 4-C | High 4-C | High 4-C | At least High 4-C, possibly far higher
Name: Father Balder, Corrupted Lumen Sage, The Masked Lumen
Origin: Bayonetta
Gender: Male
Age: Over 600 years old
Classification: Lumen Sage, Bearer of the Right Eye of the World
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Magic, Forcefield Creation, Fire Manipulation, Electricity Manipulation, Flight, Shapeshifting, Light Manipulation, Energy Manipulation, Skilled Hand-to-Hand Combatant, Skilled swordsman and glaive wielder, Immortality (Type 1), Regeneration (Low-Mid), Enhanced Senses, Telekinesis, Portal Creation, Can slow time to a near stop, as well as Time Travel, Mind Manipulation, Can absorb the life force of Infernal Demons to replenish his own, Afterimage Creation, Can summon various high-ranking angels, Can walk on walls, Can survive in space, Can harm and kill Non-Corporeal beings, Can see invisible beings, Can enter Purgatorio where she is invisible and intangible to beings outside the realm but can still effect the human realm, Resistance to Time Manipulation and Soul Manipulation
Attack Potency: At least Planet level (Casually broke Gomorrah’s neck and tore Scolopendra to pieces, on par with Bayonetta), At least Planet level with summons (Can summon the Four Cardinal Virtues, Temperantia fought on par with Madama Butterfly) | Large Star level (Destroyed the moon with a casual attack, Comparable to Bayonetta with the Left Eye, who fought on par with Jubileus) | Large Star level (Equal to Queen Sheba) | Large Star level (Can casually kill Labolas with a single attack, Fought Bayonetta to a standstill several times, Fought against Loptr) | At least Large Star level (More powerful than both Jubileus and Queen Sheba combined), possibly far higher
Speed: Massively Hypersonic+ (Can keep up Bayonetta) | Massively FTL (Far superior to the likes of Irenic, which can move at this speed) | Massively FTL (Comparable to Left Eye Bayonetta) | Massively FTL (Immensely superior to the Angels of Paradiso) | Massively FTL (Comparable to Base Loptr) | Massively FTL (Should be at least as fast as Jubileus and Queen Sheba if not superior to them)
Lifting Strength: Class T (Can casually throw around skyscrapers with his telekinesis, should be comparable to Bayonetta)
Striking Strength: At least Planet Class (Traded blows with Bayonetta), At least Planet Class with summons | Large Star Class | Large Star Class (Comparable to Queen Sheba) | Large Star Class | At least Large Star Class (Stronger than Jubileus and Queen Sheba combined), possibly far higher
Durability: At least Planet level (Took hits from Bayonetta), At least Planet level with summons | Large Star level (Comparable to Bayonetta, who took hits from Jubileus) | Large Star level | Large Star level | At least Large Star level (Stronger than both Jubileus and Queen Sheba), possibly far higher
Stamina: Very high
Range: Extended melee range with glaive. Hundreds of meters with feather darts, At least hundreds, likely thousands of kilometers with Light Speed and Summons
Standard Equipment:
- The Holy Glaive: The name of Balder's weapon which he uses in conjunction with powerful magic attacks. Wielded as a double bladed staff, the weapon can be split into two different blades at the user's whim. He's also shown the ability to throw it like a boomerang, returning to him should he miss his target.
- Feather Darts: Feather-like darts that Balder uses in place of a gun. They are comparable in power to Bayonetta's Love is Blue and Scarborough Fair handguns.
- Satellite: Balder has access to satellite-based weaponry orbiting the planet, commandeering them using the power of his mind and either utilizing their particle beam cannon, producing a concentrated blast of energy to shoot down unsuspecting targets, or having it fall out of orbit landing atop of them.
Intelligence: Very high (Experienced fighter and magic user, head of the plot to resurrect Jubileus in the first game, which worked out perfectly until Jeanne returned to free Bayonetta from the statue of Jubileus)
Weaknesses: Requires the help of an Umbra Witch (Bayonetta) to summon Omne, can be short-sighted and easily manipulated in his earlier years, is somewhat arrogant in his later years
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
- Light Speed: A technique used by the Lumen Sages that mirrors the Umbra Witches' Witch Time. Light Speed is an ancient art used by powerful Lumen Sages to slow down time to a fraction of its normal pace, allowing them to bypass their opponent's defenses. Balder's mastery of this skill is so great that he catches Bayonetta off guard on numerous occasions despite the latter's skill with its dark counterpart, Witch Time.
- Beast Within: A series of transformational techniques that Balder can use to shape shift into different animals that grant her new abilities.
- Wolf Within: Balder transforms into a white wolf, granting him increased movement speed and longer jumps.
- Eagle Within: Balder transforms into a large eagle, giving him the ability to fly for a short period of time and shoot homing feathers.
- Lumen Climax: A technique that allows every attack performed to be powered up and strengthened for a short duration. During this time Balder can create giant manifestations of his Holy Glaive as finishers similar to Bayonetta's Wicked Weaves.
- Life Absorption: Using his own abilities, Balder is capable of destroying more than one of Bayonetta's Infernal Demons and using the dead demon to fully replenish his vitality.
- Climax Attacks (Summoning Angels): Balder chants a phrase and summons a Cardinal Virtue from Paradiso to finish off the enemy for good. When a sage reaches high enough level of spiritual energy, they can casually summon angels at the snap of the finger. The Auditio, also known as The Cardinal Virtues, are the third-highest angel class fought in the original Bayonetta. As physical manifestations of Divine Will, they are tasked by Father Balder to recover Bayonetta's Left Eye to revive Jubileus, The Creator. Each Audito has control of a certain element. While utilizing Lumen Climax his normal glaive finishers are replaced with him summoning the giant limbs of the Auditio to attack his opponents.
- Fortitudo: Personifying courage and fortitude, Fortitudo has been depicted as a terrifying being of sporting an enormous face and two dragon's heads. He is said to be capable of summoning magma flows at will.
- Temperantia: The true embodiment of the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance, it is often illustrated as a colossal giant. Its body rising like a castle, Temperantia possesses two massive arms; a composed figure said to illustrate the total reverence in which the Laguna are held by the faithful.
- Iustitia: The General of Father Balder and Cardinal Virtue of Justice and Giver of Life. Iustitia is known to take a particularly strange physical manifestation. A large mass covered with numerous faces, and extending outwards via countless tentacles, Iustitia could easily pass for a demon.
- Sapientia: The General of Father Balder and Cardinal Virtue of Prudence and Controller of Seas. It is also thought that Sapientia is responsible for natural phenomena such as tsunamis. The grand idea that the living seas could be nothing other than the Divine will at work is actually evidence of Sapientia's narcissism, even amongst Cardinal Virtues.
- Jubileus the Creator: The primordial, god-like being tasked with the role of the ruler of Paradiso. She is the opposite of Queen Sheba, though are both assumed to be in equal power. The true name of Jubileus, as recorded in myth, is actually constructed from unutterable syllables. This is because humans remain incapable of capturing her true glory, as she is the total embodiment of Divine Will.
- Omne: Also known as the Controller of Creation, she is a fusion of angel and demon and is the final summon used in Bayonetta 2. An omniscient being formed by a miraculous unison of the powers of Paradiso and Inferno. The past leaders of the Umbra and Lumen clans, though they were aware of Omne's existence, were unable to summon it to this realm. It took the combined power of light and darkness, united in the bond of father and daughter, to finally summon Omne successfully. Possessing the qualities of both darkness and light, it can defeat even the most dissonant of chaos.
Key: Base | Right Eye | Summoning Jubileus | Base (Bayonetta 2) | Summoning Omne
Gallery
Others
Notable Victories:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches: