DAY 16: RODIN (BAYONETTA)
When PlatinumGames first hit the scene, they made two games alongside Sega: Bayonetta & Vanquish. The former of which ended up being a recurring franchise with the help of Nintendo directly funding later two games in the franchise (we're still waiting for the third game as of when I wrote this, which we haven't seen since its initial reveal back in 2017). Bayonetta came roaring into the spotlight with fun combat & even more fun characters. One of them was Rodin, the fallen angel turned merchant/bartender/weapon smith in the Gates of Hell. You see him quite a bit across the two Bayonetta games that are out, but you can actually get to fight him if you amass enough cash. Full disclosure, this was probably the hardest section I had to write due to the circumstances. As for when this was written, there was an internet outage for both my home & mobile (Sprint) internet. To circumvent this, I had to use my dad's phone (Verizon is still working despite the cold snap-induced outage) to do the research I couldn't do in Bayonetta 1 & 2. But fortunately, my internet is back now, so no delays to worry about. So let's get to Rodin's story.....or at least what we know of it.
Behold, this is boss fight Rodin! The last thing you will ever see......at least it was for me within the context of Bayonetta 2.
To many who may not know any better, Rodin is just a powerful demon who can freely walk between the human & demon realms and is really damn good at making weapons, using his Gates of Hell bar as a front for his actual job as a weapon smith. And while the most of that is very much true (he did create most of Bayonetta's weapons, after all), the part about Rodin being a demon isn't entirely accurate (he has a demonic form, but there's a reason behind it). In truth, Rodin is actually a fallen angel who used to be in charge of a sizable portion of Paradiso & was in charge of creation. The ironic part of this job is something that is instrumental to his current job as a weapon smith with regards to how Rodin creates weapons in the first place, that being that Rodin had to destroy in order to create. That said, the weapons he did create even at the time allowed for outnumbered soldiers to mow through the demonic forces they faced. Rodin was & still is a master class in his craft. But he eventually turned his back on Paradiso when he joined an insurgency against the very realm he held power over. And before you ask, no, I couldn't find anything on what the insurrection was about, how it came to be, or any of the other specifics about it. What we do know is that the insurgency failed, with Rodin being stripped of his power (ruing power, not necessarily his strength power) & cast out of Paradiso. From there, Rodin would roam Inferno for a while before going to the human world to set up shop (I.E. his Gates of Hell bar/weapons store), leading to the Rodin we know today. Not much else is known about Rodin beyond this, as the information that's already known is pieced together from excerpts that can be obtained throughout the Bayonetta series. But it does give a decent amount of insight as to how Rodin got to where he is now. Going into Rodin's personality, he's actually a very chill individual, as not much actually phases him. Though given how long-lived & powerful Rodin is, that's not unjustified at all. That said, he's very much passionate about his work (both bartending & creating weapons), & gets motivated when he finally gets to flex his muscles on any front. Yes, this extends to when you actually fight him in Bayonetta 2. Rodin doesn't really act too extravagantly, often letting things happen as they will & generally does only what he has to get the job done to the best of his ability. This approach also extends to his fighting style, as he just prefers to keep things straightforward. This is actually a nice change of pace from black guys in games being overly bombastic (which is a common stereotype in media), even if the aloof black guy archetype also isn't rare. And like I said, it all makes sense within the context of Rodin's story (or however much we know about it, anyway).
Rodin has had a ton of designs over the years. I wonder if he'll get a new one for Bayonetta 3.
Rodin has a number of designs from his canon appearances (plus his famous Santa outfit he wears at the beginning of Bayonetta 2), putting aside his appearance in The Wonderful 101. Those designs are his Bayo 1 & 2 looks as well as his Father Rodin & Infinite One forms (basically his fallen angel forms). Rodin's Bayonetta 1 design has a lot more going on than the outfit he would eventually wear in the sequel. His human appearance is that of a black man with tattoos all around his body (more on that later) & sunglasses that hide his glowing red eyes. Clothing-wise, he rocks long light brown leather jacket lined with black fur that also has the collar popped up & sleeves rolled up (can't have your movement be inhibited while making weapons, after all). This is paired with a similarly-colored pair of leather pants, with the red scarf & light gray shirt (featuring diamond patterns) to break up all the light brown. His Father Rodin look isn't too far removed from Father Balder, with just a bit more black & red to let you know that it's Rodin. Otherwise, lots of individual feathers, as well as white & yellow dominating the palette. Both designs are solid & do what they set out to do, but I feel like his base form design in Bayo 2 ended up sticking with me more. Speaking of which, his Bayo 2 design is much more simplified in its look due to the more Japanese-inspired outfit. Not to mention that it was actually the one used for his assist trophy appearance in Smash Ultimate. Funny enough, it's thanks to Smash Ultimate's spirits that I got to write this section first as a result of the internet being out where I am (damn you, Texas cold snap). Anyway, Rodin has 2 main colors for his Bayo 2 design, black & gold. He wears what appears to be a vest with a jacked draped over it, paired with gold pants (including black knee padding within the pants) & black boxing shoes. He's also decked out with bling, be it his gold chain necklace or his bracelets. But what draws your attention the most are the tattoos across his body. And since he's bald to begin with, there's nothing on his skin that takes your attention away from them, beyond him wearing his sunglasses. It's weird, it kinda looks like he has a mustache & goatee from a distance, but it's actually just his tattoos. There's a reason for these patterns, as they actually correlate with his Infinite One form (the optional boss fight in Bayonetta 2). The once-black tattoos turn red, as do a good chunk of his body, as an accent color to the dark gray skin. The jacket carries over from the base form, but in a more demonic style. But the main things that sell the fallen angel look are the huge wings, the tail, the arms having extra spikes coming out near the elbow area, his bird-like feet (which line up with the angels of Bayonetta), & his single horn. The horn in particular was actually outlined in his base form's tattoos, which is a neat touch. And while the Infinite One form is more "fallen" than angel, Father Rodin is more "angel" than fallen (even though he still has the demonic red parts of his design going for him. As I mentioned earlier, I prefer his outfit from Bayonetta 2 of the two base form looks. It's generally easier on the eyes & has a more clear silhouette. But that's not to say that his Bayo 1 design is bad by any means. No matter how you slice it, the man has style to spare.
Damn right, Rodin. Damn right.
Ultimately, I don't really have any complaints about how Rodin is handled. If anything, they did a good job in going against the typical "overly hyped black guy" stereotype, as I brought up earlier. I guess Rodin being a fallen angel would open up a whole other can of worms regarding his blackness, but it's not like they pulled an Elma with Rodin (god, that situation sucked). Plus his English voice actor (Dave Fennoy) did a fantastic job conveying Rodin's personality perfectly, from his aloof lows to his motivated highs. And he only got better with each appearance: gaining a more iconic silhouette, a wild boss fight in Bayonetta 2, & even playable status in Bayo 2's multiplayer mode. If anything, it makes me sad that he only got in Smash as an assist trophy. He'd be great as fully playable character. Maybe next time. But all the same, great job PlatinumGames.
Thanks for taking the time to read today's post. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the next character in the Action Section of Black Characters of Gaming Celebration. As for tomorrow, let's just say this character certainly knows how to follow their own music rather than that of her family.