Medusa (Kid Icarus)

"So hurry to me, Pit. I'll strip you of your wings and sever you from the heavens forever!"

- Medusa to Pit.

Medusa, also known as the Goddess of Darkness, is an evil goddess and a villainess who has appeared in 2 Kid Icarus games, as the final boss of the original and a boss in the third game.

She was Hades' most powerful minion until she turned on him and redeemed herself.

Personality
She is shown to be Palutena's evil counterpart, being as cruel as Palutena is kind. Medusa is also show to have no respect for humanity, by committing actions such as drying their crops, plaguing them with monsters, and turning the people into stone.

Powers and Abilities
Medusa has been shown to have multiple abilities in the Kid Icarus games. One such ability is Medusa's staple, the ability to turn people to stone. Though she has not exhibited this as of yet, it is stated she can in Kid Icarus intro. She is shown to be able to shoot beams from her eyes as a primary attack. It is unknown if these beams can freeze people in stone. She may also send a snake from her hair to attack Pit if she so wishes. When weakened enough, Medusa can detach her head from her own body, gaining an ugly demonic face with sharp fangs and a single orange eye, and chase Pit around. Medusa may also vary in size, from the size of a human adult to a size where Pit is as big as her eye.

Reach
Medusa is shown to have very good control over the monsters of the Underworld.

Appearance
Medusa's appearance has varied as much as Pit's over the years. In her first appearance, she was green with a single eye and snakes for hair. This look was drastically altered for Kid Icarus: Uprising. In this appearance, she has pale white skin, instead of green. She also has two red, snake-like eyes, carries a staff with a blue serpent wrapped around it, and wears regal purple and red robes with a gold trim. She retains her snake-hair.

Kid Icarus
Angel Land was originally ruled by the Goddess of Light, Palutena, and the Goddess of Darkness, Medusa. Palutena bestowed the people with light to make them happy, but Medusa hated the humans, dried up their crops, and turned them to stone. Enraged by this, Palutena transformed Medusa into a monster, and banished her to the Underworld. Out of revenge, Medusa conspired with the monsters of the Underworld to take over Palutena's residence, the Sky Temple. She launched a surprise attack, and stole the 3 sacred treasures – the Mirror Shield, the Light Arrows, and the Wings of Pegasus – which deprived Palutena's army of its power. After her soldiers had been turned to stone by Medusa, Palutena was defeated in battle, and imprisoned deep inside the Sky Temple. With the last of her last power, she sent a bow and arrow to the young angel Pit. He escapes from his prison in the Underworld, and sets out to save Palutena and Angel Land. After finding the treasures, Pit is victorious in defeating Medusa.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
All that is known is that, Medusa is brought back to life by Hades in a process described as 'adding a pinch of memories to a ton of souls' and seeks to destroy mankind and have her revenge on the angel warrior Pit. After she is beaten once more, Hades finally reveals himself as the true antagonist. Medusa is resurrected once again, but instead of fighting for Hades, she redeems herself by punching him before he can kill Pit, exposing his true form and tells Pit, Palutena and Viridi that although Hades keeps reviving her, she will no longer play the puppet anymore. Hades says he will revive her as many times as he wants, but she had now outlived her usefulness. Hades then kills her permanently.

Captain N comics
In the Captain N comics, Medusa plays a similar role to the games but her appearance is altered.

TV appearance
Medusa made an appearance in the Captain N cartoon series.

Trivia

 * She is, naturally, based on the legendary Gorgon  known as Medusa (mythology) in Greek mythology with whom she shares a name.
 * Her English voice actress Cree Summer provided her talents for various villianesses like Blackarachina of Transformers: Animated.
 * WatchMojo.com listed Medusa among their honorable mentions on their Top 10 "Female Video Game Villains" list.