Rumplestiltskin (Once Upon a Time)

"All magic comes at a price."

- Rumplestiltskin's catchphrase

"Evil isn't born dearie, it's made."

- Rumplestiltskin

Rumplestiltskin is a major character on Once Upon A Time. He debuts in the first episode of the first season. He is played by starring cast member Robert Carlyle, and is the fairytale identity of Mr. Gold. Rumplestiltskin is one of the most feared beings in Fairytale Land and is notorious for his deals. He is the supporting protagonist/anti-hero in Seasons 1-3 (he becomes the secondary antagonist in the second half of season three while under Zelena's control), but gradually becomes the secondary antagonist in the first half of the fourth season after reverting to his dark and power-hungry nature, and the main antagonist in the second half, being the leader of the other primary villains and the one who orchestrated the plot. However, in the 5th season, he reverts back to a redeemed supporting protagonist (although the memories of his former self, actually the Darkness in disguise, serve as the Bigger Bad), until he absorbs the ultimate power of the Darkness once again in the Winter Finale and becomes an anti-hero again, although still a protagonistic one. In the second half of the fifth season, he forcibly becomes an antagonist once again, as he is forced to work for Hades as per a deal he made in the past, but betrayed him and aligned with Peter Pan against him by kidnapping his love, Zelena.

Rumplestiltskin is based on the titular character from the fairytale Rumpelstiltskin and takes the place of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and the Crocodile from Peter Pan.

Relatives

 * Peter Pan (father) †
 * Milah (ex-wife) †
 * Belle (current wife)
 * Baelfire/Neal Cassidy (son) †
 * Henry Mills (grandson)
 * Unborn child with Belle (son or daughter)
 * Maurice/Moe French (father-in-law)
 * Colette (mother-in-law) †
 * Cora (ex-girlfriend/apprentice) †

Allies

 * Cinderella (briefly)
 * Jiminy Cricket
 * Mad Hatter
 * Victor Frankenstein
 * Pongo
 * Wicked Witch of the West (turned enemy)
 * Cora Mills (formerly) †
 * Ingrid †
 * Cruella De Vil †
 * Maleficent
 * Belle

Enemies

 * Emma Swan
 * Evil Queen
 * Snow White
 * Prince Charming
 * Blue Fairy
 * Sheriff of Nottingham
 * Wicked Witch of the West
 * Cinderella
 * Prince Thomas
 * Captain Hook
 * Greg and Tamara
 * Cora
 * Hordor
 * Sir Maurice/Moe French (formerly)
 * Mr. Smee
 * Gaston
 * Fairy Godmother
 * Maleficent
 * Hades

Species
Human (formerly the Dark One)

Powers and Abilities

 * Immortality: As the Dark One, Rumple does not age, and can only be killed by the Dark One's Dagger.
 * Knowledge of Magic: Rumpelstiltskin has been shown to be more knowledgeable on the topic of magic than any other known character.
 * Magic: Due to his status as the Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin is the most powerful wizard in any known realm, wielding powers including but not limited to teleporting(himself, others, and object to and from locations), shape-shifting, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, transmutation of straw into gold, and the casting of many spells.
 * Resurrection: If a Dark One kills himself, there is no successor, so the power has nowhere to go. To avoid dissipating, the magic transports the Dark One to the Vault of the Dark One, where he can be resurrected with the sacrifice of another life.

Weaknesses

 * The Dark One's Dagger: The Dark One is magically bound to obey the commands of whosoever holds the Dark One's Dagger, and, it is the only weapon capable of killing them, however, whosoever kills the Dark One, becomes the new Dark One, with all the immortality, magic, and being bound to the Dagger that that entails.
 * Lack of Magic: Both the Dagger's and the Dark One's powers are useless in an area with no magic in it, rendering the Dagger a worthless knife, and the most powerful wizard a mortal man. During the first half of season four, Rumple attempted to cast a spell that would allow him to keep his powers and immortality, and lose the weakness of the Dagger in such a place, but his plan was stopped by Belle.
 * Magic: Despite being the most powerful wizard in any known world, if he's caught off guard, the magic of others can be used upon Rumpelstiltskin to, among other things, stop him from using his powers, however, it cannot kill him.
 * The Price of Magic: Even the Dark One is subject to the Price of Magic, one of its most fundamental laws.
 * Limits of Magic: Rumple cannot change the past, revive the dead, or make someone fall in True Love.
 * Limited Power: Despite being the most powerful wizard in the world, even the Dark One has a limited amount of power, though it is a god-like amount.
 * Squid Ink: It can paralyze any being even him.

Trivia

 * His true love is Belle and he takes the place of the Beast from the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast" and the Crocodile from "Peter Pan".
 * He is the fourth known (and most prominent) Dark One; his predecessors were Nimue, the first Dark One, Gorgon the Invincible, and Zoso, whom he killed to become the Dark One.
 * He is also the first person to be abandoned by the Darkness without having to be killed, the second being Emma Swan.
 * Both he and his counterpart have been captured and locked in prison cells.
 * Rumplestiltskin is given a deadline of three days to save his son from becoming a soldier in the Duke's army. In the original fairy tale, Rumplestiltskin gives a girl a deadline of three days to guess his true name, or else she must forfeit her firstborn child.
 * He is seen spinning gold out of straw in various episodes. However, gold is worthless to him; he does it to forget what he has lost.
 * Like most curses, Rumplestiltskin's can be broken with a kiss of true love.
 * He is a potion-maker, and once claimed to have a potion for every magic in existence, except for true love--a potion that he later crafted from intertwined strands of hair from Snow White and Prince Charming.
 * While still human Rumplestiltskin looked normal. During his time making deals, his voice become higher-pitched and his skin became more gray and reptilian-like.
 * In the traditional fairytale, Rumplestiltskin was an imp, who spun straw into gold for a girl in return for her firstborn child. The girl was told she could keep her child if she could guess his name. When she finally did, Rumplestiltskin destroyed himself. In this series, he spun straw into gold for Cora and then taught her how to do it herself in exchange for the custody of any child they have together (which never happened).
 * He has the habit of calling people "dearie."
 * In the Season Three episode It's Not Easy Being Green it is revealed that Rumplestiltskin has the ability to shapeshift, as in one scene he took the form of Regina to test her half-sister Zelena. In the Season 4 episode Enter the Dragon, he takes the form of Hook.
 * Being under Zelena's control in season 3b spurred his goals for season 4a.
 * In the overall story of Season 4, Rumplestiltskin is the main antagonist, which would make Ingrid the secondary antagonist in the 1st half, Cruella, Maleficent and Ursula the secondary antagonists in the 2nd half (although Maleficent is probably the main antagonist alongside him), Isaac the tertiary turned true main antagonist in the 2nd half, and Zelena the quaternary antagonist in the 2nd half. Rumple is the main villain of the entirety of Season 4 because he had bigger plans than anyone else, although Maleficent becomes his partner in the 2nd half.
 * Rumple's goals in season 4 are similar to those of Prince Charming: They both want their happy endings and enlist a group of fairy tale villains to get it.
 * Replica of the Dark One's dagger can be bought here.
 * According to his portrayer Robert Carlyle, Rumplestiltskin was 300 years old by the time the Dark Curse was cast.
 * However, dialogue from the series would suggest his age is closer to two hundred, and the creators have stated that age to be more accurate.
 * He shares his role as main antagonist in season 4b with four other people. Maleficent joined him in "Unforgiven" and they worked as a Big Bad Duumvirate until "Lily", when she leaves his side after sensing betrayal. They are joined by Cruella De Vil, who starts in "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and lasts until "Sympathy for the De Vil", and Ursula, who starts in "Heroes and Villains" and lasts until "Poor Unfortunate Soul". After the three villainesses leave, he is joined by Isaac Heller, who becomes his right-hand man.
 * Rumple is the most recurring antagonist/antihero in the entire series, being present in all five seasons.