Count Bleck
- “Bleh heh heh heh heh. Bleck!”
- —Count Bleck, Super Paper Mario
Count Bleck (real name Lord Blumiere) is the main antagonist in the game Super Paper Mario. Count Bleck is responsible for bringing forth the Chaos Heart by forcedly marrying Princess Peach to Bowser, which he uses to open The Void in order to engulf the universe. He leads a troop of minions to help move along his plans, including Nastasia, O'Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio.
Count Bleck's Plot
It is slowly revealed in vague flashbacks that Count Bleck (when he was only known as Blumiere) originally had a human girlfriend, Lady Timpani, whom he cherished and loved. Before the two lovers' plans for marriage were able to work, Timpani vanished, leaving Blumiere gravely heartbroken. Soon afterward, his father revealed that he had teleported Timpani out of their dimension, explaining that their kind could never mix with humans. Inconsolable, Blumiere turned to the pages of the Dark Prognosticus. He sought to destroy the world as it was meaningless to him without Timpani.
When Count Bleck learned about Tippi and her similar descriptions to Lady Timpani, he suddenly felt regretful for opening The Void, for he realized that he had found her. But still, Count Bleck couldn't close The Void for he was still in control of the Chaos Heart, which he believed would be destroyed only if its owner perished.
When Mario and Tippi confronted Count Bleck, the count attempted to destroy them using his magic. However, the power of the Chaos Heart was negated using the power of the Pure Hearts, allowing him to be defeated and left weak, frail, and hopeless. Wanting to die because of his evil deeds for opening The Void and putting his love in serious danger, he asked Mario and Tippi to finish him off. But Tippi forgave him for she still loved him, and couldn't do it. It was here that Dimentio took control of the Chaos Heart, imprisoned Tippi, Count Bleck, and Nastasia in Dimension D and tried to destroy the universe (in hopes of creating a new universe for him to rule) himself as Super Dimentio. Tippi and Count Bleck reestablished their love, and with the help of O'Chunks and Mimi, the Pure Hearts were restored and Dimentio was defeated. In order to banish the Chaos Heart and close The Void, Count Bleck and Tippi demonstrated the true love they possessed and married.
What exactly happened to Lord Blumiere and Lady Timpani afterwards is a mystery, although it is said that they are both alive and happy somewhere unknown. Indeed, the very final scene of Super Paper Mario (appearing even after the staff credits) depicts two figures standing on a green hill in the midst of a bright meadow; it is heavily implied that these two figures (who appear to be a man and a woman) are Lord Blumiere and Lady Timpani living out their lives in the unknown place. In a manner similar to how Tippi became human when she reverted back to Lady Timpani, the Lord Blumiere form of Count Bleck seen in this picture also appears to be slightly different; Blumiere looked almost identical to Count Bleck except that he was taller and his hat was noticeably larger.
Personality
The loss of Timpani made Bleck vengeful towards the world. Bleck wants to destroy the universe because he thinks that life is meaningless without Timpani. So, technically, it was his love towards Timpani what made Bleck evil. Despite this, Bleck has still one redeeming quality, his love for Timpani.
Even when seeking to plunge all that is to destruction, Bleck is not sadistic by nature. He is shown to be very upbeat and forgiving, never punishing his henchmen for their failures with any physical torture or insults. The form of punishment is writing papers or singing songs in which Bleck does not even issue, Nastasia issues these forms of punishments.
Bleck also seems to be very likable as all his henchmen have a strong bond with him. The exception of these bonds is Dimentio who is the only tuly evil minion and is far more evil than the Count himself. In the end, it was Timpani who made him realize the error of his ways and they both together saved the universe.
Count Bleck speaks about himself in the third person. He also has a tendency to narrate his own dialogue (for example, "Bleck, says Count Bleck!").
Trivia
- Count Bleck's name appears to be a portmanteau of "black" and "blech", the latter being an interjection of disgust. However, the "bleck" part of his name may actually be an alternate spelling of "blech", as may be indicated by the fact that previous Paper Mario games have used the word "bleck" in place of "blech". Even still, though, "black" may have had some sort of influence on his name, as his Japanese name (Count Noir) actually uses it indirectly (as "noir" is French for "black").
- The texture used for the shadowy inside of his cape is the exact same texture used for the background in Outer Space. Also, this could be a reference to the boss Nightmare from the Kirby series.
- According to The InterNed, the music that plays during the dialogue from Lord Blumiere's past are titled "Memory 1", "Memory 2", "Memory 3", and "Memory 4", the music that plays during Count Bleck and his lackeys' appearance between chapters is titled "Count Bleck's Plan," and the music during the opening wedding cinematic is titled "The Wedding Begins." The music for the final fight with Count Bleck is titled "Closing Battle".
