You can't define happiness with a single piece of glass. The only wall you're fighting is your doubt. So I say smash it into bits. Go wherever you want to go.
― Sol Badguy to Ramlethal Valentine[src]
Sol Badguy also known as Frederick Bulsara is the protagonist of the Guilty Gear series and Ky Kiske's rival. He is an aloof and brash bounty hunter of immense skill on a quest to find and eliminate all Gears and their creator, That Man. For a short time, Sol was also a member of the Sacred Order of Holy Knights during the Crusades, known as "Order-Sol".
Sol has an Awakened form, who is an unlockable boss character in Guilty Gear Isuka only.
Design[]
Sol has brown hair and eyes, which are sometimes depicted as reddish-brown or golden with slit pupils—the latter of which is to distinguish his true nature as a Gear. Wearing a red headband bearing the words "Rock You", Sol keeps his spiky, waist-length hair tied at all times. The headband conceals the red brand on his forehead that would expose him as a Gear. He has muscular physique, whether he is infused with Flame of Corruption or not. As Frederick, he is depicted with either brown or blue eyes; he sports a much shorter hair, a muscular physique and a white labcoat.
He wears a tight, black undershirt with the top half covered by a red sleeveless jacket, along with white jeans. His belt buckle has the word "FREE" scratched on it and a drape of red cloth hanging down beneath. Sol also wears a pair of black fingerless gloves, red shoes, and a multitude of belts, including a lone one on his left bicep. In later games, he is seen sporting long-sleeved, red leather jackets with handcuffs strapped in the sides of the sleeves and a single black accent at the back of his jackets as well.
Personality[]
In the past, as "Frederick", he seemed to be a simple-yet-aloof scientist, who was content with having only two friends, not bothering to compromise his own integrity to appeal to others around him;[16] however, upon becoming a "monster",[17] his prior unruly traits became much more pronounced.
Sullen and unrefined, Sol only speaks to others when absolutely necessary.[18] Consequently, he is not very good at expressing himself, and tends to compensate by bullying people into line or simply steamrolling them.[19] A lone wolf with a belligerent streak, Sol is actually an extremely intelligent individual who doesn't tolerate nonsense[16][20] and gets "grumpy" whenever he cannot explain something with logic.[21] He is also quite stubborn, never allowing the opinions of others to dissuade him once he has made up his mind. Sol is seen by most people as crude and self-centered, even those who might call him a friend.[19]
Conversely, Sol hates working any harder than he has to, rarely putting much effort into anything[19] that isn't related to his goals, and is often irritated by having to deal with opponents. This laziness is reflected in his fighting style—his moves are unrefined, but powerful so as to finish enemies with a single blow[22]—and extends to how he raised Sin, putting him through the most basic forms of education and rarely explaining concepts in detail.[23]
He may cynically mock Ky's "justice",[24] but Sol is utterly dedicated to averting further tragedy,[25] even as he refuses to acknowledge it,[26][27] and is quite compassionate in contrast to his tough, anti-social persona. He spares the lives of Solaria,[28] Testament[29] and Dizzy,[30] raises Sin at the behest of Ky and Dizzy,[31] swears to save Elphelt,[32] comforts Ramlethal,[33] and even offers a prayer for Justice's soul as she dies.[1]
Pre-Overture, Sol roamed the world alone and kept everyone at a distance. Bearing the guilt of working on the Gear Project,[1] humanity's near extinction,[34] Aria's death,[35] the burden of That Man's betrayal[1] and being a "monster",[26] Sol dedicated himself to eliminating all Gears and to exact his revenge on That Man.[1] However, his clashes with other characters slowly begin to change his outlook, as does reluctantly taking Sin as his ward and hearing their motivations. In Revelator, Sol admits to Ariels that the world where he kept himself distant to others is worth saving, and finally acknowledges that despite what he is and his fear of the future, he is no longer alone in the world as his own actions and others' affect each other within the world; he compares it to a "huge firework he can't miss".[4] In Strive, Sol is shown to be more at ease and friendly with those around him.[9][12]
Despite his often composed demeanor, Sol expresses a nervous attitude whenever his connection to Dizzy is discussed.[26] He is shown feeling embarrassment and is eager to avoid the issue, rather than acknowledge the possibility that he may be Dizzy's father.[11]
Story[]
Background[]
Sometime in the 20th century,[8] Sol was born as Frederick Bulsara (フレデリック=バルサラ, Furederikku Barusara?) and was a scientist who specialized in Magic Physics.[13] In his college years, he met Aria Hale, with whom he got romantically involved. That Man was also one of his closest friends. Upon graduation, the three friends found work in the core team of the Gear Project[36] founded by their professor, Vince MacDonell,[37] in the hopes of improving humanity itself.[8] At some point, he proposed to Aria; aware of her own fate, she offered to leave him something to remember her by, and Frederick picked her hat.[9]
In 2015, the team managed to stabilize Gear cells infused with magic, and That Man handed over their research to the state.[20] In September 2016,[38] after ten years at each other's side,[39] Frederick learned about Aria's condition, and begged her to cryosleep until a cure was found; Aria refused as she'd rather spend her last moments with him.[38] At the same time, the military infiltrated the project.[40] Convincing Aria to cryosleep,[34] That Man restructured Frederick into a Gear by planting the Flame of Corruption within him, faking his death.[40] Frederick woke up some time later in the midst of an incident,[41] and confronted That Man, who denied ever being his friend and fled with Aria's capsule, seemingly working for the military.[17]
Vowing to get his revenge,[1] Frederick escaped the facility[17] and created his headband to hold his Gear cells at bay.[8] Around 2030 he became a bounty hunter,[25] and crushed many underground organizations in order to That Man's whereabouts to take his revenge; before long, the underworld began referring to him as the "Badguy".[42] Post-2065,[43] after the government restarted the Gear Project, Frederick made it his personal mission to destroy all Gears.[1] As he was reported dead in 2016 but somehow had survived,[43] Slayer[42] tracked him down to satiate his thirst for knowledge. Frederick's passion that "shone like the sun" illuminated Slayer's path; he thus bestowed upon Frederick the name "Sol".[43] Since then, Frederick adopted both names as his own.[42]
In 2073, Sol caught news of Justice's completion and created the Outrage in response.[5][8] As its power was far too cumbersome to control, he separated it into eight components, the "Sacred Treasures";[44] for unknown reasons, they all ended up in possession of the United Nations and the Sacred Order of Holy Knights. After Justice's declaration of war in 2074 started the Crusades, Sol continued his private war against the Gears. In 2103,[note 1] Sol saved a young Kliff Undersn from a Gear attack.[8]
In 2172,[45] Kliff Undersn heard rumors of Sol and spared no means in finding and recruiting him.[6] Sol was then assigned to a battalion under Ky Kiske's command;[46] however, Sol's unruly personality[46] and Ky's refusal to go all-out in their first duel[10] led to a growing tension between the two.[6] This came to a head in 2173 when Ky caught Sol while he was stealing the Fireseal, but Sol defeated him once again[47] and deserted the Order.[6] Although Kliff entrusted Sol with the Sacred Treasure,[47] Ky was left with a score to settle.[6]
In 2175, Sol faced Justice in battle for the second time after Kliff and Ky pushed her to retreat. Justice tried to control Sol after learning that he was a Gear, but he was unaffected and unleashed his flames, defeating her. Ky, who was on her trail, found Justice in a weakened state and ordered his men to seal her, ending the war.[48] Sol then slipped away and went back to his ways as a bounty hunter.[6]
Guilty Gear[]
In 2180, during a particularly lucrative bounty run, one of his marks begs to be spared, telling Sol about the Second Holy Order Selection Tournament before Sol ends his life.[6] Sensing an ulterior motive behind the tournament, Sol takes it upon himself to unravel the true intentions behind it and competes. Sol becomes its champion,[30] only to learn that Testament has used the blood shed during the matches to free Justice. During the battle, Sol manages to fatally wound Justice. When he reveals himself to be immune to her control due to being a prototype Gear, Justice finally remembers Sol as Frederick. In her dying words, she wishes that "the three of us" could talk one last time,[1] and Sol—unaware of her identity[49]—swears to kill That Man.[1]
Guilty Gear X[]
Around October,[note 2] less than a year after the tournament,[25] Sol hears news of a still-functioning Gear with a high bounty and sets out to investigate.[25] Sol finds Dizzy and overcomes Testament, her guardian. Sol then defeats her, but for some reason chooses to let her live.[30]
In one path, Sol defeats Dizzy but, instead of killing her, says he has made a mistake in thinking she or any Gears had no will to live, and leaves.[29] In another path, he loses once against her which forces him to resort to activating Dragon Install (with infinite Tension and HP regen even) to match her power (both of them are in Gold mode). Losing here results in Sol being soundly defeated but impressed at her will to still live on.[50] In his third path, Sol upon approaching Dizzy has a flashback of one of his encounters with Justice, who fires a Gamma Ray at him in their intro that he's forced to block entirely. Sol realizing that the feeling is the same, snaps back to the present to then have to guard against Dizzy's own Gamma Ray. Upon defeating her and all his other foes with no continues/retries, the ending reveals Raven being ordered to keep an eye on Dizzy by That Man, who realizes that she is yet another reason to be killed by Sol (who on his own later on has put two-and-two together on Dizzy's actual identity).[51]
Guilty Gear XX[]
Weeks later, I-No starts wreaking havoc to get Sol's attention, laying a trap[52] to kill him before he gets in That Man's way.[53] Alerted by Axl Low, Sol tracks her down.[54] In one ending, defeating I-No leads to a direct confrontation with That Man; he casually deflects all of Sol's attacks, and warns of a conflict that will make the Crusades seem like a dim memory.[55] In another ending, Slayer informs him that the Post-War Administration Bureau has started to move.[56] In his third ending, Sol knocks Dizzy out of Necro's possession, brought about by I-No's actions. Sol leaves just before Dizzy wakes up; unaware that Sol helped her, Dizzy nevertheless feels "warm" (April thinks her nostalgic dream may be about her father[57]), and Sol silently bids Dizzy farewell from afar as she rejoins the Jellyfish Pirates.[58]
Having stopped I-No's rampage after she decides to encounter him in a long while, Sol decides to investigate and get rid of the P.W.A.B. and crosses paths with Ky, who wants to take care of them on behalf of his own duties. Sol either refuses to leave Ky to his devices and fights with him ("Don't tell me what to do, boy."), telling Ky that he's tired of his tantrums,[24] or acquiesces to continue searching for I-No instead ("Do whatever you want...").[59] After an eventual encounter with Crow and his Justice copy, I-No through usage of a time warp forces Sol to battle his past self, and then she slyly kills his Order-Sol.[24][59] In one ending, Sol is fading away from existence by I-No's trickery even as That Man implores him to live on while Sol as usual rages at him in anguish.[59] In the other, he is returned to the present, and Ky finds him to settle their score once and for all. Sol wins again, and Ky decides he will no longer pursue Sol but makes Sol promise they will meet again before going their separate ways.[59]
Material Collection[]
Years later,[note 3] close to New Year's Eve, Dizzy—accompanied by her son, Sin—asked Sol to help Ky out, who had reached a breaking point due to his appointment as puppet king of the newly-formed United Kingdoms of Illyria. Sol found a deteriorated Ky praying at the church and provoked him. The fight dragged on and Ky was losing as usual, but light returned to his eyes. They fought until a frightened Sin grabbed Sol's leg and demanded him to stop. Ky then asked Sol to take care of Sin, and Sol accepted.[31]
To restrain Sin's restless curiosity as they traveled the world, Sol kept him on a leash and told him not to use his considerable power without a reason. When Sin was one year old, on a visit to Zepp, Sol left Sin alone for a bit to go collect a bounty. He returned to find that Sin had lost control and wounded some bullies, so Sol disciplined him and the bullies.[60]
Guilty Gear 2[]
In 2186,[30] at the Village of Witches, Sol and Sin find a bounty poster of Sol, which is Ky's call for help, but they are soon attacked by the Vizuel, whom they are able to repel thanks to Izuna's guidance. He informs them that the Vizuel are destroying Gears, with their focus on the Illyrian capitol.[61] At the capital they meet Valentine, and Sol is shocked by her resemblance to Aria, but she soon leaves to find a "key" after measuring their abilities.[62]
Within the castle, the trio find the guards defeated and Ky caught in a seal, and Raven briefly appears to let Sol know that his master is involved.[63] After another encounter with Valentine, Sin remains behind to protect Ky,[64] while Sol and Izuna go retrieve Dr. Paradigm from Ganymede. Upon learning that Sol was once Frederick, Paradigm agrees to unseal Ky.[65] After retrieving his scores from Underworld Hill,[66] he dispels Ky's seal. Sol immediately asks about Dizzy, but Ky's lack of response makes Sin angry. After he storms out,[67] Ky shows them Dizzy's sealed state to them. Paradigm thus realizes that the "key" Valentine is searching for is Justice's Gear cells, which Sin also carries.[68]
Leaving Dizzy's protection to Ky and Paradigm,[68] Sol and Izuna fight a brainwashed Sin at Bel Canto Valley while Valentine leaves for the gate. After Sin comes to his senses, they follow after Valentine,[69] but the Vizuel stand in their way. Ky leads his men into battle against them so that Sol's group can reach her, and Sol punches Sin to stay with Ky.[70] Sol, Izuna and Paradigm find the gate to the Backyard closed, but it is opened by That Man, whom Sol almost immediately attacks with his Dragon Install. That Man—unharmed—enchants the three so that they can temporarily withstand the Backyard's pressure.[71]
The three enter the Backyard and catch up with Valentine. The Cube's key is already in motion, so Sol stops the process while Izuna, Paradigm and the late-arriving Sin hold back Valentine.[72] Once he breaks the key, Sol stays behind to fight Valentine's final form while the others escape and the gate closes. Sol manages to kill her, with the last thing she says being "Frederick".[73] As Sol resigns himself to remain trapped, That Man reappears. He warns Sol this isn't the end of the "merciless apocalypse" and urges him to live on. Sol inquires if Valentine was really Aria, but That Man says they already killed that girl. Weakened, Sol vows to kill That Man, who will wait for him, before he is reunited with the others.[35]
Guilty Gear Vastedge[]
To prepare for the second coming of Valentine's forces, Sol decides to build the Junkyard Dog, which requires the Flashing Fang. Sol discovers that the Fang is held under tight security inside Harden Fort.[30] Around July 2187,[note 4] Sol and Sin fight their way into the facility, where they run into Baldias and learn that the governments of the world are actually under the control of the Conclave. After a tremendous battle, Sol is able to defeat Baldias and regain possession of the Fang.[30]
Guilty Gear Xrd[]
In October 22, 2187,[74] Sol and Sin are still in the process of chasing down the other Sacred Treasures[30] when they receive a message from Ky. He tells Sol that Ramlethal Valentine has declared war on the world, and Sol agrees to hunt her down for a W$ 1 million bounty in return. They meet up four days later in Neo New York and fly over to her location. On October 28, they defeat Ramlethal but she is only a distraction: the Cradle activates over Babylon, and she moves in to kill Sol by self-destructing.[74]
Sol survives thanks to Ky releasing Elphelt Valentine, who renders her sister powerless. Sol is about to kill Ramlethal, but Ky suggests that they take her into custody instead.[16][23] Sol is distrustful of Elphelt, telling her to drop the human act,[20] and admonishes Sin for his attempts at befriending the Valentines but Sin rejects Sol's lonely worldview, and Sol second-guesses himself.[38] On November 1,[26] en route to Zepp per Leo Whitefang's suggestion,[21] Ky privately asks Sol if he doesn't care about the world and what will happen once he has taken his revenge. Sol doesn't know, but Ky insists that Sol face the truth—tomorrow always comes—, adding that he, Dizzy and Sin will wait for Sol to "come home".[26] The duo meets with Gabriel and Zato-ONE, who reveals the Conclave wants to resurrect Justice.[75]
As per Paradigm's plan, they attempt an ambush on the Cradle, but That Man is imprisoned by Bedman and Sol has to be saved by Elphelt.[76] They learn then from Ramlethal that the Conclave intends to harness St. Elmo's Fire to activate Justice on November 4.[77] During the operation, Sol removes Chronus from inside of Justice.[78] In the aftermath of the Conclave's defeat, an apparently-emotionless Elphelt reveals that she accomplished her true mission—Justice's awakening—and attacks. However, Sol forces Elphelt's true emotions to surface, and she and Justice are abducted. Tired of losing people, Sol swears to save Elphelt.[32]
On November 9, after finding no leads on Elphelt's whereabouts, Raven asks Sol's help—accompanied by Sin and Ramlethal—in catching Jack-O' Valentine. On November 17, they catch her, and Sol finally learns that Aria was Justice all along, but Raven and Jack-O' leave.[49] As a last hunch, Sol asks Axl to find clues of Elphelt's location in the past,[79] but Axl refuses, fearing the effect his power could have on their timeline. On the way back to the capitol, Sol is almost killed by a massive Gear.[80] Upon his return, Sol and Ky reflect upon their past rivalry, as Sol when thinking about sharing his past is rather bewildered at Ky not even being interested in instigating a fight with him like how he often used to. Ky however, states that while he he is indeed interested in the past of "Fredrick", he claims the future of "Sol Badguy" has higher priority as he pours him a drink, acknowledging Sol as a friend who should be put at ease like everyone else under Ky's rule should be. Later, and somewhat drunk, Sol lectures Ramlethal about "what true happiness should be to oneself" and needing to sometimes seize it through overcoming various "walls" by force, then takes her and Sin to Danny Missile.[33]
After a group meeting regarding the Information Flares,[81] Leo orders Sol—treating him as a human, not a god, out of concern—to save the world. Sol again claims he doesn't care about the world, but vows to save Elphelt, and Leo is satisfied at taking his own resolve into account.[27] After Ramlethal is seemingly killed at Scandiva,[82] Sol, Ky, Paradigm and Leo meet with That Man and Jack-O', who explain about Universal Will being Ariels, the Absolute World, and his reasons for converting Sol and Aria. Sol lays bare his guilt over mankind's state and killing Aria, only to be shocked by the revelation that Jack-O' merging with Justice will reconstitute Aria. Ky removes the frustrated Sol from the meeting so the latter can calm himself,[34] and Sol sets aside his grudge to aid in stopping Ariels.[83] Once they locate her thanks to Zappa and Randy, Sol's group leaves Illyria's defense to Dizzy and their allies.[11]
During the journey, Sin brings up if Dizzy may somehow be related to Sol, who tries to avoid the subject but Ky pieces it together to both their mutual horror.[11] Upon arrival, Sol, Ky, and Sin hold Ariels at bay while Jack-O' is to receive the Saint Oratorio to fuse with Justice and free Elphelt. Thanks to Raven and Ramlethal's arrival, Sol defeats Ariels after a bit of dialogue exchange on Sol's overall opinion of the world, the people around him and his own place within it having changed throughout, and Jack-O' receives the energy. However, Justice resists the fusion. Daryl then arrives to destroy Justice (and Sol and Jack-O' with her, after transporting everyone else to safety), and Jack-O' remarks that Sol kept his promise as they face death. Fortunately, Axl compresses time to delay Daryl's onslaught, giving Sol and Jack-O' time to complete the merge, and protected by Ariels, who asks Sol look after her daughters before passing out.[4]
In the aftermath, That Man entrusts Aria to Sol while issuing a challenge to settle things between them. Seeing his resolve, Sol accepts while calling him by his real name, Asuka.[4] Sometime later, Sol shows up at Ky and Dizzy's estate to pick a "serious" fight with the former on the notion that Ky always held back in their past battles due to seeing Ky slay multiple Gears with relative ease back then. Yet when it came time for their first duel, Sol was at first truly scared that he was to be destroyed by Ky the same way, yet all they did was cross swords continuously which left Sol aggravated for years to come. Ky insisted that back then, he never saw Sol as a monster to slay and merely as an opponent to overcome in a fair duel as he refuses to follow through with Sol's words. Sol however then provokes him by reminding him of his past as a Gear slayer and calling Dizzy a "monster". Ky, angered enough to use his "dirty" battlefield tactics, utterly defeats Sol. After the match, Sol admits that he wanted to learn how humans can face monsters in preparation for his final showdown with Asuka, with Ky accepting to help him with his cause.[10]
Guilty Gear -Strive-[]
Three weeks later,[39] Sol and Jack-O'—from inside whom Aria's consciousness has yet to manifest[84]—are working together as bounty hunters, when Ky summons Sol back to the castle.[39] Upon obtaining from Ky the permit he requested,[9] Ky tells Sol about the U.S. request that he be at the G4 Summit and tries to hire him to catch I-No, but Sol decides to go on vacation with Jack-O' to Iseo first, despite Ariels' warnings. Their journey is cut short when they get a warning from Axl about an incident in L'oro Di Illyria and later, when I-No lets herself be captured by Illyrian soldiers. Suspecting I-No to be working with someone else, they have a highway encounter with Happy Chaos involving Nagoriyuki, Chipp Zanuff and Anji Mito.[85] Sol (rattled by Chaos' ability to harm him) and Jack-O' immediately return to the castle, and Sol and Ky interrogate I-No.[86]
Though the interrogation proves fruitless, Jack-O' privately tells Sol and Ky about I-No's origins and being incomplete. Thinking I-No may be after Asuka's Tome of Origin, Sol decides to take up the G4 offer and travels to the White House. After a short exchange with Asuka via screen,[86] the summit starts, but before Chaos brainwashes the entire security staff and takes everyone hostage. Sol rescues Vernon—the only one with access to Asuka's room—, however,[87] and they contact Gabriel, who connects them to the Pentagon and Illyria War Room. Sol and Vernon then try to escape, but Chaos activates the White House's Tír na nÓg aircraft mode. Alerted by Asuka that Chaos is The Original,[88] Sol and Vernon avoid the guards and Nagoriyuki, who is onboard as well.[89]
Before the White House is shot down for crossing international borders, thanks to Giovanna, Potemkin, Asuka, Leo, Daryl and even Nagoriyuki, Sol and Vernon reach Asuka's room—which serves as an escape pod—to evacuate, and Asuka tricks Chaos into being ejected inside it. The crisis seemingly averted, Asuka says he will use Tír na nÓg to travel to the moon to keep the Tome safe, but will settle his score with Sol beforehand. He then gives Sol a choice: to let him correct his mistake (planting the Flame of Corruption in him), or kill him. Sol chooses to let Asuka remove the seed, restoring his 'humanity'.[90] Yet, unbeknownst to them, a disguised Chaos is still onboard. He gets a hold of the Tome, fused to Asuka, and restores I-No to godhood at his own expense.[12]
Despite Asuka's warnings, Sol attacks her with the Outrage anyway, but is knocked unconscious, and she proceeds to grant humanity the powers she has, likely destroying the current world. Ky leaves to stop her, followed by Jack-O', who takes one last look at Sol. After waking up, Sol asks Vernon to bring his zeal stash, and then stops Jack-O' from sacrificing herself to save the world; Sol tells Jack-O' it doesn't matter if Aria doesn't return, but that he won't let Jack-O' go, even if it means the end of the world, for Jack-O' is Aria's "hat". Instead, while Ky and Axl distract I-No, Sol hits her weak point—thanks to Nagoriyuki—with his zeal pod-powered Outrage, seemingly killing her. Although the Outrage takes its toll on his body, Sol survives.[12]
After a state funeral is arranged for "Sol Badguy" the hero, he goes back to being Frederick, and moves in with Jack-O' to Iseo. Having opened a junk garage, he starts working on a rocket to travel to visit Asuka,[12] as a means to surprise him. He is living a life in which he enjoys his free time and hobbies, making devices while listening to Jack-O' and the radio at nighttime, and leads a sedentary life doing housework.[91]
Despite losing his Flame of Corruption, Sol is still capable to continue his life as a bounty hunter, having to protect both his life and Sin's while trying to fight against a mysterious girl who is attempting to annihilate all kind of Gears.[source needed]
Abilities[]
Despite his general lazy approach to life, Sol is often noted to be one of the most powerful characters in the series. Given his past as a researcher,[8][13] he is also an advanced practitioner of Magic outside of his Fire spells,[81] being able to grasp the mechanics behind spells extremely quickly.[61][64] An excellent scientist,[42] his intellectual feats regarding magic and engineering include his involvement with the Saint Oratorio spell, and the creation of the Gear Cell Suppressor, the Outrage, and the Firewheel Mk.2. Thanks to Izuna's modifications to his magic during the Baptisma 13 incident, he is also able to manifest a masterghost of his own and create servants;[61] given the risks involved, he does not use it often. Even then, his only issue is being able to explain it to those who need any explanation of it at all to begin with.
As the Prototype Gear,[1] Sol has been described as a "hybrid of Gear and human cells",[16] and is immune to the control Justice has over other Gears.[1] Like with all Gears, he possesses increased strength and resilience,[92] fast regenerative capabilities,[39][93] and has not aged since his conversion in 2016.[42] As the Flame of Corruption, Sol's Gear cells are pure (i.e. non-replicated),[94] and much stronger than those of an average Gear.[95] He maintains his human form thanks to his suppressor headband, but can use his latent Gear powers via Dragon Install to give himself a massive boost. Upon the removal of the 'divine seed', he remains a Gear, but his strength has been drastically reduced; he still retains his fighting ability, however.[91]
Sol's weapon of choice is a blunt sword called Fireseal,[6] an instrument[96] which concentrates and amplifies Fire magic—that he often fashions into ground-bound projectiles—, and is able to use as it were an extension of his own body.[97] Along with the Flashing Fang, it is part of the Junkyard Dog in Xrd, and later the Outrage MK II as of Strive. Of note is that Sol is officially left-handed.
Gameplay-wise, Sol is an aggressive, close-to-mid range character with a variety of odd moves that makes him deceptively tricky. His fighting style is well-known for being self-taught, without much form and with a huge focus on all-out brawling while wielding his sword in reverse grip. His attacks are often crude in nature, such as headbutts, wide-swinging strikes, slams, fierce punches and kicks, prioritizing practical application of his strength above elegance. Compared to his past self, the present Sol despite overall refining his style and control, arguably has toned down some aspects of his attacks and has become less inclined to put in extra effort. Even then, he's still summed up to someone as one who "hits something until it dies" whenever he gets the chance.
Music[]
- Keep Yourself Alive - Guilty Gear
- Keep Yourself Alive II - Guilty Gear X , Guilty Gear XX
- Starchaser - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean OST
- Sheep Will Sleep (If You Become Fatigued) - Guilty Gear Isuka
- Keep Yourself Alive III - Guilty Gear 2
- Give me a break - Guilty Gear Xrd
- Ride the Fire! - Guilty Gear Xrd (Dragon Install)
- Find Your One Way - Guilty Gear -Strive-
- Rivalry themes
- Conclusion (vs. Ky) - Guilty Gear
- No Mercy (vs. Ky) - Guilty Gear X
- Noontide (vs. Ky) - Guilty Gear XX
- Revelations (vs. Ky) - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean OST
- Faith Shall Save Thee (EX vs. EX Ky) - Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload Korean OST
- The Re-Coming (vs. Ky) - Guilty Gear 2
- Reunion (vs. Ky) - Guilty Gear Xrd
Quotes[]
Sol's quotes are usually abrupt, rude and taunting, reflecting his reticent nature and cocky attitude.
Allusions[]
- Series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari's favorite band is Queen, and he named Sol (real name Frederick Bulsara) after Freddie Mercury, whose nickname was 'Mr. Bad Guy'; Frederick is the long version of Freddie, while Bulsara comes from Mercury's birth name before he had it legally changed.
- Sol's "Queen" servant in Overture may also be a reference to the band.
- His traits of being an immortal man from the "normal modern day world" out of his time and world hearkens to the movies Highlander and Flash Gordon, both movies which Queen contributed and composed their main theme songs for.
- The special item that Johnny steals from Sol with his Treasure Hunt attack is a vinyl LP with a butterfly motif on the label, clearly meaning that he steals Sol's Sheer Heart Attack LP.
- Sol's first theme, "Keep Yourself Alive", has the same name as the first track in Queen's debut album. Several chords are lifted from another Queen song, "Stone Cold Crazy".
- Sol's headband is perhaps a reference to Queen's song "We Will Rock You".
- Sol's Napalm Death shares its name with a British grindcore band.
- In Norse mythology, Fafnir (also written as Fáfnir or Frænir) is a dwarf prince who, affected by the curse of Andvari's ring and gold, became a dragon and was slain by Sigurd.
- The "FREE" inscription on Sol's belt buckle may be a double reference—one to Queen's "I Want to Break Free" and the other to Iron Maiden's song "Revelations" given Ky's own "HOPE" belt buckle:
- Bind all of us together
- Ablaze with hope and free,
- No storm or heavy weather
- Will rock the boat you'll see.
- One of Sol's round win quotes is "Yare yare daze...", the same catchphrase of Jotaro Kujo from the manga/anime series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
- Sol's clothing in Xrd features the phrase "Fight Fire With Fire", a song by Metallica.
- His Volcanic Viper and Grand Viper moves might be an allusion to the heavy metal band Viper.
- Hunchback" is a disbanded Punk Rock band out of New Jersey.
- "Drill" is a former alternative hard rock band formed in New York.
- Pencil Guy has an attack called "Running Wild" which is an allusion to the German Heavy Metal Band that formed out of Hamburg in 1976.
- Sol's servant "Blade" is an allusion to "The Blades" an Irish new wave band that formed in the 1970s-80s.
- Firewheel might be a reference to the song "This Wheel's on Fire" by Bob Dylan and Rick Danko of "Dylan and The Band".
- Sol's last name "Badguy" comes from the Freddie Mercury single "Mr. Badguy".
- Sol's theme is named after the Queen song "Keep Yourself Alive", Sol's version of the song seems to contain riffs from another Queen song "Stone Cold Crazy".
- Order-Sol's theme "Gettin' Down to Business" has a subtle riff reference to the Queen song "Great King Rat".
- "Engulfer" might be a reference to a song by the experimental music sound collage project created by James Leyland Kirby called "V/Vm" in the album "Brainwaves".
- The Belgian rock band Noordkaap did an album titled "Gigant".---One of Sol's elite servant summons is a Black Queen! (Dynamite with a laser-beam, guaranteed to blow your mind, anytime!)
- Sol's Volcanic Viper is named after Brazillian Metal band "Viper" (which later became known as "Angra").
- Sturm Viper might be a reference to Finland-Swedish metal band "Sturn und Drang".
- "Rock It (Prime Jive)" is a song by Queen.
- Blockhead Buster/Blockhead summon is a reference to the English rock group "Ian Dury & The Blockheads", "Blockheads" is also a French Grindcore band.
- Sol's buckle FREE is a reference to the Queen song "I want to break Free".---Sol's Headguard has the phrase "Rock You" etched on it, a reference to the song "We will Rock You!" also by Queen.
- Sol wears a brand name called RIOT, this is an allusion to the band "Quiet Riot".
- In some illustrations the phrase "Roses Never Die" can be seen etched on Sol's various outfits, while this is a direct allusion to Sol himself, it's a possible reference to the Rock/Pop album "Dreams Never Die" by long-time rock-singer idol Tiffany.
- The album (demo) "Fafnir" by Austrian band Siegfried formed in 1998.---The Band "Napalm Death"
- The song "All Guns Blazing" by the band Judas Priest.
- The song "Savage" also by Judas Priest.---The song "Tyrant" by the band Grave Digger.
- The split-up U.S. power metal band "Outrage" formed in 1989.
- The phrase "Heavy" comes from the movie trilogy "Back to the Future".
- Sol's laziness of solving his problems with his fists by banging on machinery is a reference to "The Fonze" character, from the old TV show "Happy Days" who used to bang on the Jukebox in the Soda shop to get it working, among other strange things, like saying "Hey, cool it!" to get birds to shut up.
- Alternately, being known as Badguy may be a reference to the short lived LA metal band Bad4Good, which was formed by Steve Vai and featured youth talent like Danny Cooksey and Thomas McRocklin, and whose only debut album, Refugee, featured songs with themes resonant with Guilty Gear (We're Gonna Fight is about environmentalism, Terminate is literally based on Terminator 2: Judgement Day, etc.)
- Sol's repair shop garage shown in the ending of Strive, "Jazz", is a reference to the Queen album of the same name.
Trivia[]
- Series creator Daisuke Ishiwatari designed Sol in many ways to reflect his alter-ego,[source needed] and also recorded Sol's battle quotes from Guilty Gear until Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus, although he originally wanted Kou'ichi Yamadera to voice Sol.[98]
- The word sol in Latin means "sun", and is also the name of a Norse goddess and a Roman god.
- Sol's exact age is unknown, but as of Guilty Gear X, he has spent the last 150 years living as a bounty hunter.[25] If he was aged 24 by 2016, that would make him 188 years old by the time of the original Guilty Gear.
- Sol's drink of choice is gin.[99]
- He is the guilty gear (quite literally)
- Official artwork, his Xrd intro, and the Digest Comics show that Sol enjoys smoking. He can arguably be heard lighting a cigarette in a drama CD.
- Sol's clothing brand of choice has always been "RIOT",[100] the same brand used by Sin and Bridget. According to text in artwork, RIOT was established in 2134. Sol is also shown to carry Fireseal in a red duffel bag purchased from RIOT.
- In Guilty Gear Begin, it is mentioned that Frederick would often play baseball in the gymnasium near the laboratory complex.
- Sol has created a portable phonograph so that he can listen to Queen records on the road.[101]
- A costume based on Sol's Xrd look appears in Border Break X Zero.
- Sol has made guest appearances in the following games: Lost Saga, Chaos Heroes Online, Lord of Vermilion III, Crusaders Quest, Seven Knights, #COMPASS, Brave Frontier, Chain Chronicle 3, Mabinogi Duel, Fantasy War Tactics, Last Period, Star Ocean: Anamnesis, Epic Seven, Elemental Story, Code Shifter, The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Online, Counter:Side, Tales of the Rays (As well as being a costume for Stahn Aileron),The King of Fighters All Star, River City Girls 2, and Destiny Child.
Gallery[]
External links[]
- ギルティギア イグゼクス アクセントコア【キャラクター】|ソル=バッドガイ
- ソル=バッドガイ | キャラクター | GUILTY GEAR Xrd REV 2 AC版公式サイト
- SOL | CHARACTER | Guilty Gear -Strive- | ARC SYSTEM WORKS
- GGML/ - GGACR/ - GGXRD-R2/ - GGST/Sol Badguy at Dustloop Wiki
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The date was originally listed as 2099 in the Complete Bible, but the timeline was revised in Xrd games, changing it to 2103.
- ↑ Endings and May's backstory involve Johnny's birthday, which falls on October 24.
- ↑ See Sin Kiske's Trivia section.
- ↑ Sol mentions that this fight occurred "about three months ago" in -Sign- Chapter 4B, which takes place on November 1.
Citations[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Guilty Gear script § "Sol"
- ↑ Guilty Gear X Drama CD Vol.1 script § "???"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Noise"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Fireworks"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Guilty Gear Complete Bible, pg.6-7,96-99
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 Guilty Gear manual, pg.??, pg.5-7
- ↑ ソル=バッドガイ | キャラクター | GUILTY GEAR Xrd REV 2 AC版公式サイト
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 [GGWorld - "Sol Badguy"]
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Chaos"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 script § "After Story A"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Wall B"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Strive"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- Material Collection, pg.?? - "Isotope & Isolation"
- ↑ [GGWorld - Chronology]
- ↑ SOL | CHARACTER | Guilty Gear -Strive- | ARC SYSTEM WORKS
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Devastation A"
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Guilty Gear Begin § "Betrayal"
- ↑ GuiltyGearX.com
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Guilty Gear Xrd Visual Book, pg.15
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Struggle A"
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Kaleidoscope A"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- manual, pg.??, pg.48
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Devastation B"
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus script § "Don't tell me path"
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Guilty Gear X manual, pg.??, pg.4,24
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Kaleidoscope B"
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Identify A"
- ↑ Guilty Gear X Lightning the Argent § "???"
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Guilty Gear X Plus script § "Sol Path 1"
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- manual, pg.??, pg.3-4
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- Material Collection, pg.?? - "Unparalleled Confession"
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Resolution B"
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Sense A"
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Cause A"
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Curtain Call"
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Aria"]
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Vince"]
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Struggle B"
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Prologue"
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 Guilty Gear Begin § "Suspicion"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Begin § "Incident"
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 42.3 42.4 [GGWorld - "Frederick"]
- ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Philosopher B"
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Outrage"]
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Kliff Undersn"]
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Guilty Gear XX Drama CD Red script § "Humanity's Last Hope"
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus script § "Stolen treasure"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Last battle"
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Sol"
- ↑ Guilty Gear X Plus script § "Sol Path 2"
- ↑ Guilty Gear X Plus script § "Sol Path 3"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Axl Path 1"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "I-No Path 2"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Crimson target"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Sol Path 1"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Sol Path 2"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Dizzy Path 2"
- ↑ Guilty Gear XX script § "Sol Path 3"
- ↑ 59.0 59.1 59.2 59.3 Guilty Gear XX Λ Core Plus script § "Whatever path"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- Material Collection, pg.?? - "To Greater Heights!"
- ↑ 61.0 61.1 61.2 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "The Alarm Always Rings Unexpectedly"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Aware, but Unable to See"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Gaze of the Chronicle"
- ↑ 64.0 64.1 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Budding Keyhole"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Cynical Wise Man"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Underworld Hill"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "For Whom Do I Wield the Sword"
- ↑ 68.0 68.1 Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Glaring Self-Interest"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Roaring Compass"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Light on a Peaceful Night"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Demon"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "The Birth of a Girl"
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- script § "Overture"
- ↑ 74.0 74.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Sol"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Sign A"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Showdown B"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Hope A"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Sign- script § "Resolution A"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Contact A"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Contact B"
- ↑ 81.0 81.1 Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Sense B"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Face B"
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Thesis A"
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Jack-O'"]
- ↑ Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Encounter"
- ↑ 86.0 86.1 Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Omen"
- ↑ Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Intruder"
- ↑ Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Myth"
- ↑ Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Confrontation"
- ↑ Guilty Gear -Strive- script § "Conclusion"
- ↑ 91.0 91.1 【ネタバレ注意】『ギルティギア ストライヴ』インタビュー。カイのドライン、イノの目的、ファウストの変貌……などなど、気になることを聞いてきました | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Gear"]
- ↑ Guilty Gear X Drama CD Vol.2 script § "???"
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Gear Cell"]
- ↑ Guilty Gear Xrd -Revelator- script § "Revelator A"
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Components of Magic Production"]
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Fireseal"]
- ↑ Guilty Gear – 1998 Designer Interview (pre-release)
- ↑ [GGWorld - "Gin"]
- ↑ Guilty Gear Complete Bible, pg.??
- ↑ Guilty Gear 2 -Overture- Material Collection, pg.??