Cervantes de León is a antagonist from the video game saga Soul Calibur, he is a corsair of Spanish origin, Cervantes was part of a mission for the Spanish empire, but he reneged and became a pirate to get Soul Edge and become the most powerful in the world, so he faces his rival Siegfried Schtauffen with the same goal, he is also the father of Isabella Valentine/Ivy.
Appearance[]
Cervantes was designed to be something of a ghost pirate. Starting with Soul Edge, Cervantes had peach skin, long white hair with a violet tint and blue eyes and sported a full mustache. His attire consisted of a traditional pirate captain's uniform. When under the influence of Soul Edge, his skin gained an unnatural purple tint and his eyes turned yellow with the scelera turning black. He retained this appearance with very minute modifications into Soulcalibur. After returning from the dead as a specter, his skin even paler than before and his eyes purely white, although his mustache has grown past his cheeks and reaching his hairline. His attire had also changed to feature lighter colors and armor with the additions of gauntlets and greaves and wore a new jacket loosely on his back. In Soulcalibur III, his skin pigment became a light purple and his hair turned fully white and becoming spiky. His appearance showed off more skin to reveal impressive musculature with his facial hair now fully forming a long beard. His clothing was now similar to his earlier appearance but has also taken on a purple, more darker sheen, and his gloves are now the same color. In Soulcalibur IV, his appearance seems to have been even further corrupted than before, with claw-like shoulder pads with purple eye decorations with an additional one on his hat and his coat becoming wing-like with segmented metal linings. As of Soulcalibur V, Cervantes is mortal again and his look is similar to that of his original Soul Calibur appearance, his hair and skin's pigment returned to their natural color, although he keeps his facial hair and hair length. His clothing returns to a more traditional appearance but now features a red and black color scheme and a Jolly Roger emblem on his boots and belt. His coat opens up to reveal his bare chest, showing off chest hair. His bonus costume on the other hand, gives him a suit of armor but his physical body appears to give off a fiery glow and aura with his face seemingly internally consumed by fire, resembling Soul Edge to an extent.
Personality[]
Cervantes is a callous, evil man whose only goal in life is to satisfy his own ego. Before Soul Edge's corruption, he took all sorts of illegal jobs as a pirate, and he made a name for himself across the seven seas. Upon coming into contact with Soul Edge, however, Cervantes' own soul was stolen, and he became little more than a slave to Soul Edge's will, driven insane by its power. After being resurrected by Nightmare, Cervantes begins to seek Soul Edge once more, having become addicted to the power it grants him. He does not care whether it takes away his free will, so long as he can steal more souls. When Cervantes regains Soul Edge, his very life becomes linked to the sword's - if he does not maintain its desire for souls, or if it is destroyed, Cervantes will die with it. As such, Cervantes desperately seeks souls to sustain his existence. He eventually comes into contact with Ivy, his illegitimate daughter, and desires her soul to keep him alive. In the fifth game, he returns to his old personality, having finally broken free of Soul Edge's control. Judging by his quotes, it is safe to assume that Cervantes believes that because he defeated Soul Edge's influence, he has transcended the power of gods and supernatural forces, deciding to no longer rely on them in his quest for power and glory.