Count Bleck
| Count Bleck | |
|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Paper Mario | |
| Full name | Lord Blumiere |
| First appearance | Super Paper Mario (2007) |
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (trophy cameo) (2014) |
- “Bleh heh heh heh heh heh... The man known as Blumiere died long ago. Now there is only Bleck! The Dark Prognosticus's choice to fulfill the prophecy. Nothing more!”
- —Count Bleck, Super Paper Mario
Count Bleck, also known by his real name, Lord Blumiere, is an evil count and the central antagonist of Super Paper Mario. During the game, he summons the Chaos Heart by arranging a forced marriage between Princess Peach and Bowser for the main purpose of opening The Void, which has the power to destroy all dimensions. He also leads a troop of minions, with its primary members being Nastasia, O'Chunks, Mimi, Mr. L, and Dimentio.
His name, "Bleck", is normally used as onomatopoeia for disgust, but can also be interpreted as a corruption of "Black", referring to darkness (his Japanese name is a play on the French word for "black", noir.) His real name is likely a portmanteau of blue, referring to his color, and lumière, the French term for light and a reference to his status as a member of the Tribe of Darkness.
History[edit]
Background[edit]
Prior to the events of the game, Count Bleck went by the name Blumiere and was a member of the Tribe of Darkness, a group that broke off from the Tribe of Ancients after stealing the Dark Prognosticus in a misguided attempt to prevent its powers from being abused. One day, Blumiere was found injured at the base of a cliff by a human girl known as Timpani and was nursed back to health by her. Despite his father's warnings to stay away from humans, Blumiere became captured by her kindness, and he frequently snuck out of his castle to meet with her, and they eventually fell in love.
He later learned that his father threatened Timpani. Blumiere learned that they could not be in love here, so he proposed to her. Though before they could be married, his father abducted and banished Timpani from their dimension, wiped her memory, and cursed her to wander through worlds until the day she died. Upon learning of Timpani's disappearance, Blumiere traveled through dimensions to search for her, unaware that she had been found barely alive by Merlon, and was turned into a Pixl known as Tippi in order to save her. It is implied by one of Carson's stories that he met Nastasia at some point during his search.
Blumiere eventually returned home after thinking that Timpani was gone forever. He believed that life and existence are meaningless without her, so he stole the Dark Prognosticus and used its power to destroy his dimension, and he decided to do the same to every world. Blumiere took the alias of Count Bleck, and along with his new assistant Nastasia, he moved to a new castle in a world of darkness and is eventually joined by Mimi, O'Chunks, and Dimentio. He also intends to create a new perfect world once the original is destroyed, but Dimentio claimed that he never actually intended to keep his promise.
Super Paper Mario[edit]
Count Bleck eventually decides to target the Mushroom Kingdom. He learned from the prophecy that the wedding of a princess and a monster will call forth the Chaos Heart. Due to this, he abducts Princess Peach, Bowser, Luigi, and the entire Koopa Troop, and forcibly weds the former two, forming the Chaos Heart. Count Bleck then uses the Chaos Heart to rip open the Void. Due to a disturbance during the wedding ceremony, Luigi, Bowser, the Koopa Troop, and Peach are scattered across the castle. To confront this problem, Bleck sends Nastasia to brainwash members of the Koopa Troop into joining him. He also sends his other minions to various dimensions in an attempt to prevent Mario's from collecting the Pure Hearts.
After his minions are defeated and Mario reunites with Peach and Bowser, Count Bleck stops treating Mario as a "mere annoyance". Bleck turns to the Dark Prognosticus and learns that a "man in green" is the main factor of determining whether the prophecy of destruction will pass. He orders Nastasia to brainwash Luigi into Mr. L and attempts to stop Mario with him. However, Mr. L is defeated like his other minions. Bleck becomes angered after his attempts to stop Mario failed, and he confronts them in person in Sammer's Kingdom. He argues with Tippi over his motives and the value of all worlds, and begins to suspect that Tippi may be Timpani.
After Mario and his team obtained the final Pure Heart from the Overthere, Bleck orders his minions to try and defeat them when they arrive at his castle. Dimentio later reveals to Bleck that Tippi mentioned the name "Blumiere", which confirms she is Timpani. Nastasia begins to urge Bleck to call off the void, but due to him being too far along in his plans to stop the Chaos Heart's destruction, he ignores her urges. However, Bleck secretly hopes that Mario and his team will be capable of defeating him and saving all worlds, feeling that he has come too far to back down.
When Mario and Tippi reached the inner sanctum of Castle Bleck, Bleck and Tippi once again argue before he sends Nastasia away and engages Mario in a battle. Bleck is initially immune to all attacks due to the Chaos Heart, but Bowser, Peach, and Luigi grant the Pure Hearts the power to negate the barrier. After Bleck is defeated, he insists that Mario end his game before the Void destroys all worlds, against Tippi's wishes.
Though before Mario and his allies ended his game, Dimentio appears and attacks the count, but the blow is taken by Nastasia, who is seemingly mortally wounded. Dimentio then takes control of the Chaos Heart, and plans to use it to create a new world in his own image once the old worlds are gone. He banishes Bleck, Tippi, and Nastasia to Dimension D, intending to deal with them later, and merges with Mr. L and the Chaos Heart to form a giant body called Super Dimentio. At Dimension D, Count Bleck is reunited with O'Chunks and Mimi, whose love for Bleck manages to restore the Pure Hearts to weaken Super Dimentio and allows Mario and his allies to defeat him. Before his death, Dimentio manages to leave behind a "shadow" of his power, which will ensure all worlds will end as revenge for his death. As he is aware of the urgency of the situation, Count Bleck returns everyone to the chapel where the Chaos Heart was born, and he and Tippi exchange vows and wed each other. The true love between them supercharges the Pure Hearts, uniting them into the Purity Heart that destroys the Chaos Heart and reverses the prophecy of destruction.
Bleck claims that using his and Tippi's love to stop the Void would cause both of them to "cease to exist", but both Merlon and Nastasia believe that he is living happily together with Timpani. Because Bleck is now gone, his minions decide to create the perfect world that he promised them. In a post-credits scene, the count's silhouette is standing near that of a woman in a meadow, which is implied to be Timpani (the latter having regained her human form), implying they survived.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
Count Bleck appears in volume 37 and volume 38 of Super Mario-kun, during the story arc based on Super Paper Mario. His role in Super Mario-kun mirrors his role in the game.
Dr. Mario-kun[edit]
Count Bleck appears in Episode 57, Episode 58, and Episode 59 of the Dr. Mario-kun manga. In the final story arc of the manga, Count Bleck creates the Dimensional Virus, which messes with alternate realities.
General information[edit]
Personality and traits[edit]
- “BLECK! Your princess has been taken...by Count Bleck! By me...Count Bleck! The chosen executor of the Dark Prognosticus...is Count Bleck! The fine fellow prophesied to come to this dimension...is also Count Bleck!”
- —Count Bleck, Super Paper Mario
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[edit]
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[edit]
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.
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Super Paper Mario[edit]
| Super Paper Mario enemy | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count Bleck | |||||||||
|
Max HP | 150 | Role | Boss | Location(s) | Castle Bleck Inner Sanctum (8-4) | |||
| Attack | 8 | Card type | Rare | ||||||
| Defense | 0 | Items | Card location(s) | Card Shop; Map 48 | |||||
| Score | 8000 | ||||||||
| Card description | This top-hatted villain is bent on ending the world! Fun fact: he was once known as Count Blumiere. | ||||||||
| List of Catch Cards 187 188 189 |
Tattle | That's Count Bleck... This dark figure wants to destroy the universe. He was once Blumiere, a man that I loved... Max HP is 150, Attack is 8. He will use all the powers the Chaos Heart grants him. But you can beat him if you give it your all... And beat him you must... For the sake of all worlds... And to save the Blumiere I loved... | |||||||
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
| Sticker Count Bleck | ||
| ||
| Artwork from: Super Paper Mario | ||
| Effects in The Subspace Emissary: [Flame] - Resistance +5 | ||
| Usable by: Anyone | ||
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]
| Trophy Count Bleck | ||
| ||
| Category: Series Related | ||
( ) Appears in:Wii Super Paper Mario (04/2007) | ||
| () Trophy Box: 13: Paper Mario
| ||
| How to unlock: Random | ||
| Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser so many times, it seemed like a good idea to mix things up—instead she gets kidnapped by this guy, Count Bleck! He then obtains the Chaos Heart by forcing Peach and Bowser to marry. All of this was predicted by the Dark Prognosticus, which Count Bleck carries with him. (American English) | ||
| It's always nice to have a fresh face on the Peach-kidnapping scene, and that's where Count Bleck comes in. In order to obtain the Chaos Heart, he actually tries to marry Peach to Bowser! Apparently, the path to dimensional destruction is all foretold in the Dark Prognosticus – he's just following the instructions. (British English) | ||
Quotes[edit]
- "BLEH HEH HEH HEH! BLECK!"
- "Your princess has been taken... by Count Bleck!"
- "By me... Count Bleck! The chosen executer of the Dark Prognosticus... is Count Bleck! The fine fellow prophesied to come to this dimension... is also Count Bleck!"
- "Of all things, you defend the heart?! Nothing could be more worthless..."
- "Aside from Timpani, no treasure mattered in the least to me..."
- "But you are far too late to stop the Dark Prognosticus, and me... Count Bleck! All worlds will soon end. Come into grips for that now, for you cannot stop it. I suggest you make yourselves comfortable and enjoy this one, final spectacle!"
- "Count Bleck is the deleter of worlds! My fate is written in the Dark Prognosticus!"
- "ALL NOW ENDS!"
Gallery[edit]
Count Bleck's pedestal
Artwork of Count Bleck with his cape open
Sprite of Count Bleck with his cape open
Lady Timpani and Lord Blumiere's silhouettes from Super Mario-kun
Names in other languages[edit]
Count Bleck[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ノワール伯爵[?] Nowāru-Hakushaku |
Count Noir ("noir" is French for "black") | |
| French | Comte Niark[?] | "Comte" (count) + "niark" (onomatopoeia of an evil laughter) | |
| German | Graf Knickwitz[?] | "Graf" (count) + "knick" (kink) + "-witz" (a German name ending and also meaning "joke") | |
| Italian | Conte Cenere[?] | "Conte" (count) + "cenere" (ashen) | |
| Korean | 느와르 백작[?] Neuwareu Baekjak |
From the Japanese name | |
| Russian | Граф Блэк[?] Graf Blek |
"Граф" (count) + "Блэк" (a transcription of "Bleck") | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Conde Bleck[?] | Count Bleck | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Conde Cenizo[?] | "Conde" (count) + "cenizo" (ashen). "Cenizo" can also mean "jinx" or "killjoy" |
Lord Blumiere[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ルミエール[?] Rumiēru |
From "lumière" (a French word meaning "light"); may also be a pun on「スペール」(Supēru, Shaman) like other Ancient-descended characters | |
| French | Seigneur Nikolaï[?] | Lord Nikolaï | |
| German | Fürst Blumiere[?] | "Fürst" means "prince" or "ruler" | |
| Italian | Lord Blumiere[?] | - | |
| Conte Blumiere[?] | Count Blumiere | Capture Card only | |
| Korean | 르미에르[?] Reumiereu |
From French word "lumière" (which is, if read in Korean, pronounced as 뤼미에르, Rwimiereu), meaning "light" | |
| Russian | Лорд Бльюмьер[?] Lord Bl'yum'er |
"Бльюмьер" is a transcription of "Blumiere" and "лорд" means "lord" | |
| Spanish | Lord Blumière[?] | French modification of "blanco" (means white) with his Japanese name, Lumière. |
References[edit]
- ^ SomeUselessTranslations (March 7, 2023). Super Paper Mario: All Carson's Stories (Retranslated) (2:03). Retrieved August 11, 2024.
