Don Paolo

Char Aznable has declared Don Paolo is to be renamed to
Don Paolo (Professor Layton)
for the following reason(s): Don Paolo D'Archangelo.
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"I told you I am not Casval, I am Char Aznable."

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Villain Overview

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“	Layton has been my archnemesis ever since that fateful day!	„
	~ Don Paolo explaining about his grudge against Layton.

Don Paul "Paolo" is the main antagonist in the original trilogy in the Professor Layton series.

In his characterisation, he is a criminal mastermind and a master of disguise who sees himself as the arch-nemesis of Hershel Layton; so much so that he spends most of the series plotting against Layton by hindering his progress in his investigations and generally causing trouble in the villages he winds up in.

He was voiced by Minoru Inaba in the original Japanese, Christopher Robin Miller who also voiced Layton and Chelmey in the English verison of the games, and by Jonathan Keeble in Eternal Diva.

Personality[]

Being the Moriarty to his Holmes, Don Paolo is the opposite of Layton in every way: While Layton is polite, composed, never raises his voice, and does his best to help others, Don Paolo is rude and abrasive, easily agitated, overly loud when he speaks, and antagonizes everyone he meets. He causes chaos pretty much everywhere he goes, and unabashedly revels in it. Despite this, he's renowned as a scientist of the highest order by those who know of him.

He despises Layton and company with a passion and is always plotting against them, stopping at nothing to put an end to them. There are times, however, where he helps Layton, though he claims he only does it for Flora, likely to repent for the many things he's put her through. According to his in-game profiles, he enjoys playing and listening to music, and does so when he is not scheming.

Appearance[]

Don Paolo is a fairly tall man with pale skin, a long nose, and black hair. His eyes are small with dark bags under them, and his eyelashes are long and jut out from the outer corners of his eyes. He's got both a mustache and a goatee. His most defining feature is the hair on his head; he's bald on top (and has been at least since his late 20s) but jutting out the sides is hair shaped like devil horns pointed upwards in the middle. He wears a purple coat with a red interior and the lapels upturned over a white dress shirt with a dark teal tie, orange pants, brown shoes, and black gloves.

His younger self wears a pink blazer over a blue sweater vest and a white dress shirt with brown buttons. His facial features were also much softer: His hair was down, he had no bags under his eyes, his eyebrows were thin and un-furrowed, his mustache drooped down at the ends, and his pupils were slightly elongated. The shock of witnessing Layton and Claire kiss, however, is what resulted in his facial features warping into how he currently looks.

Biography[]

Backstory[]

There is little information on Don Paolo's early life, most of which was revealed in Unwound Future. Professor Layton's sweetheart, Claire, was also loved by Don Paolo, then known as Paul. However, after seeing Claire choose Layton over him, he got into such a rage his hairstyle changed forever. He cried and ran away, running into the river. His hatred towards Layton worsened when Claire died at the time machine experiment. Paul swore that one day, he would have his revenge on him, but has been unsuccessful so far.

The World of Professor Layton artbook describes more of his history: "Don Paolo is a brilliant but unfortunately evil scientist. His dark ambitions got him exiled from the society of scholars. Don Paolo is a master of disguise, which he demonstrates when he infiltrates St. Mystere by way of impersonation. Don Paolo considers Professor Layton to be his greatest nemesis, and the reason for this rivalry can be traced back to a specific event in their shared history." The "specific event" mentioned relates back to his unrequited feelings for Claire.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village[]

“	The criminal mastermind who poses as Inspector Chelmey, Don Paolo is renowned as a scientist of the highest order and views himself as Layton's rival. When he's not plotting evil, Don Paolo also enjoys playing music.	„
	~ Don Paolo's profile in Curious Village.

While Professor Layton and Luke Triton were inside Reinhold Manor in St. Mystere, Don Paolo's flying machine crash-landed nearby. The impact of the landing was enough to frighten Lady Dahlia's cat, Claudia, and cause the feline to escape. He immediately set to work, breaking and entering into Reinhold Manor, but was horrified to discover the apparently dead body of Simon, a resident of the building. It was after some further inspection that Don Paolo realised that Simon was a robot, and decided to steal the non-functioning robot in order to examine it for himself.

Don Paolo also took this opportunity to infiltrate Reinhold Manor. He disguised himself as Inspector Chelmey, a well-respected police inspector at Scotland Yard, and claimed Simon's supposed death to be a murder. He began to "investigate" the murder, taking statements from everyone present during the incident, and initially "suspected" Professor Layton and Luke of the crime. However, due to their alibi and a lack of evidence, he let them go but rudely warned them not to interfere with his investigation.

The next morning, Don Paolo left his room at the inn without paying or cleaning up after himself, leaving behind food wrappers and the smell of cigarette smoke. Posing as Chelmey, he called Beatrice at the inn, requesting Layton and Luke visit Reinhold Manor. When Layton and Luke arrived, they found Chelmey yelling at Matthew, the butler at the manor, for bringing him cakes. He claimed to detest all sweets, and ordered Layton and Luke to stop involving themselves in his "investigation" and instead continue their search for the Golden Apple.

In the meantime, Don Paolo stole a vase from the room in which Simon was found dead and handed it to Giuseppe, a butcher at the market, telling him that Layton had left it behind. This way, when Giuseppe briefly handed the vase to Layton, Layton's fingerprints were left on the surface. Don Paolo also stalked Layton and Luke throughout the village as he searched for the Golden Apple himself. When Layton and Luke decided to investigate the abandoned amusement park, Don Paolo rigged up the Ferris wheel with a remote control, and shortly later used it in an attempt to crush them by unhinging the wheel itself and rolling it towards them. This attempt failed, and the Ferris wheel instead destroyed a small building and crashed into the pond. He was quite upset that this failed after being so close, but nonetheless he put his control away and walked off before they could see him.

Back at Reinhold Manor, Layton exposed Don Paolo through a series of mistakes that he'd made while disguised as Chelmey. This included his unawareness of Chelmey's love of sweets, and Chelmey's wife, Amelie, as well as other pieces of his supposed timeline that didn't make sense. Another crucial factor was the fact that Chelmey, according to his own statement, was called after the crime. Since the drawbridge was the only access point, which was missing its crank to open it, this statement was a lie. Furthermore, Chelmey reveals to Matthew that he doesn't like sweets—a contradiction to his fondness for his wife's pastries. Caught in the act, Don Paolo revealed his true identity, made some scathing remarks towards Layton, and escaped by leaping through the window of the parlour. While climbing the village's tower, Layton and Luke deduced Don Paolo checking into the inn and his motives for kidnapping Simon.

After this, Don Paolo didn't return until later that evening, when he made one last desperate attempt to win the Reinhold fortune. Using his flying machine, he started to demolish the tower while Layton, Luke, and Flora, the baron’s daughter, were still inside. His machine was ultimately damaged by Layton’s improvised glider, and a sack containing Simon’s body fell out of his flying machine. He swore his revenge on Layton as he crash-landed.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box[]

“	A brilliant scientist who believes himself to be Layton's archnemesis, Don Paolo disguises himself as Flora to gain access to information and to wreak general havoc. Unbeknownst to Layton, Don Paolo also studied under Dr. Schrader.	„
	~ Don Paolo's profile in Diabolical Box.

Don Paolo was the first to steal the Elysian Box. With the knowledge that Dr. Schrader was in possession of the box, he broke into his flat in London, but instead found the man unconscious on the floor. Regardless, he stole the box from him, locked the door to the flat, and escaped by tearing off a piece of the curtain and using it to leave through the window.

Don Paolo was first seen again, as a shadowy figure, at Dropstone. He had arrived there on the Molentary Express, following the Professor and his companions. At Dropstone, he ambushed Flora to take over her role. When Flora was briefly separated from the others, she was attacked, but no one knew what had happened, as "Flora" rejoined Luke and Layton shortly afterwards. Since she didn't mention the incident at all, suspicion arose, but not among the two, who had no idea what had happened.

When they arrived at Folsense, "Flora" pretends to feel tired, but in reality Don Paolo was probably trying to find information himself in the background. Don Paolo kept a low profile, but also looked around on his own, something Flora wouldn't have dared to do. Some time later, Inspector Chelmey gathered up all suspects of Dr. Schrader’s murder, including Don Paolo disguised as Flora in the hotel. At first, Chelmey falsely accuses Sammy Thunder for the doctor's murder, Layton once again exposed Don Paolo, who had stood by and watched. He was exposed as the thief of the Elysian Box because, apart from Layton and Luke, only he could have known that the decoration on it looked like a goat. The middle piece was missing from the torn photo, which meant that the actual goat's head now looked like a frog to everyone, including Chelmey. "Flora", on the other hand, saw it as a "cute" goat's head.

Presumably, he hoped his disguise would allow him to learn more about the box, which must have been a disappointment for him. It turned out that he had broken into Dr. Schrader's apartment in London to steal it. The doctor was already lying unconscious on the floor. Then, instead of calling for help, he escaped out the window with some tied-up cloths. He further explained that he had drugged Flora at Dropstone and locked her in a barn. During a subsequent attempt to arrest Don Paolo, he fled from Chelmey and Barton, dropping the Elysian Box in the process.

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva[]

In the film's prologue, set in the present day, the Professor unmasks Don Paolo on Tower Bridge. He announces that Don Paolo was the one who prevented the bell from ringing in the tower of the Houses of Parliament, pretending it had been stolen. Don Paolo, who had disguised himself as an elderly lady, then removed his disguise, jumped from the bridge, and fled across the Thames in a homemade mini-propeller disguised as an umbrella. He was pursued by Professor Layton, Luke, and several police officers, but apparently managed to escape.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future[]

“	A brilliant scientist who believes himself to be Layton's archnemesis, Don Paolo's appearance changed forever when he found out that the girl he loved, Claire, was seeing Hershel Layton. His skill as an inventor is matched only by his mastery of disguise.	„
	~ Don Paolo's profile in Unwound Future.

Don Paolo was employed by Dimitri Allen to ensure Layton and Luke made their way towards the Towering Pagoda in Future London. At first, he disguised himself as a elderly version of Dr. Andrew Schrader in the Green Hospital. He went as far as to build a withered and non-functioning replica of the Laytonmobile outside the hospital to ensure the "future" London was as convincing as possible. Later, he reappeared, posing as Dean Delmona at Hotel Duke. However, Layton was able to realize the truth behind both of these disguises — As Dr. Schrader, Don Paolo hadn't been surprised to see a younger version of Luke in what was supposedly the future, and Dean Delmona is actually bald, but Don Paolo had selected a white wig instead to show that he had aged.

Layton confronted Don Paolo in secret and filled him in on the investigation so far. They struck an agreement, which involved Don Paolo, disguised as the professor, entering the Towering Pagoda with Flora, Luke, and Future Luke, effectively posing as a decoy. He was to pretend to be the Professor and go to the Pagoda with Luke, Flora, and Future Luke, so that the real Layton could intervene in an emergency. Don Paolo copied the Professor perfectly, appearing just as polite and humble, despite his personality. The puzzles in the tower were also no problem for him (nevertheless, he couldn't resist a sharp remark when, looking at himself in the mirror, he asked who the well-dressed gentleman was).

As the group reaches the top of the Pagoda, "Layton" disbelieves that Future Layton is real and plan to proves him as a fraud through a single question about the color of the pen in his pocket. Turns out, Future Layton is not a mind-reader and refuses to guess blindly. When "Layton" said there was never a pen in his pocket to begin with, Future Layton reveals himself as Dimitri Allen and said he extract "Layton"'s memories from the time machine incident of 10 years ago. However, since Don Paolo poses as a decoy for Layton in the first place, Dimitri's plan likely never happens. This way, when the group were trapped and caged by Dimitri after he revealed that he taken Bill Hawks hostage, Don Paolo took off his Layton disguise as the real Layton was able to free them and assist in the group's escape from the building. Once they left the Pagoda, Don Paolo reluctantly explained himself and his motives for assisting in their plan. He explained the reason for his hatred of Layton, and his love for Claire, who had chosen Layton over himself. He too had found the circumstances surrounding Claire's death mysterious and wanted answers just as Layton did, hence his cooperation.

He then disappeared again to work on a “little project”, which involved him leaving a puzzle at the entrance to the research facility. After some bickering with Luke outside, he entered the facility with Layton, Luke, and Flora, only to join them in being cornered by the Family and being rescued by Celeste, a false alias used by Claire. Once the group were nearly caught for a second time, he escorted Celeste to safety himself, leaving Luke and Flora with Layton.

The group, including Don Paolo, reconvened again some time later in the Thames Arms, where Layton reveals that Future London is fake and Clive Dove’s identity. With Flora kidnapped by Clive, Don Paolo provided Layton with a fully functioning copy of his Laytonmobile which included some extra features, unlike the unusable replica outside the hospital, stating that he was “only doing this for Flora”. Once Layton and Luke had made it into Clive’s mobile fortress, he allowed Celeste to use his flying machine in order to join them by controlling it from the ground below after she reveals herself as Claire.

When the mobile fortress eventually fell and Layton's group successfully flew away from the wreckage in Layton's modified Laytonmobile, Don Paolo stood on the roof of a nearby building in the real version of London and watched the escape with a pair of binoculars, shouting, “Ha! Well done Layton!”. He doesn't appear during the epilogue, because he already knows the truth about Claire's identity long before Layton does.

Layton Mystery Detective Agency: Kat's Mystery-Solving Files[]

In the anime's sub-series, Professor Layton and the Relics Treasure, Don Paolo re-appears ten years later during the tenth episode, briefly involved in the mystery concerning Layton and Luke that takes place before Layton's later disappearance. In the episode, he is disguised as officer Donald Zachbarn, an employee of the British Museum. He had locked up Luke in a room in the museum's basement, because he was interested in the mystery of the Hidden Relics where Luke was working on. Layton saw through his disguise, however, and told him the police were waiting for him outside. Layton gave him the key to the door in the back alley, so he was able to leave the place scot-free.

Manga[]

In the manga series, Professor Layton and the Cheerful Mystery, where Don Paolo acts as the Big Bad, he is often depicted as an incompetent On & Off villain and a Scapegoat, rather than an actual threat.

He appears in almost every story, often building machines like giant robots (which always have a self-destruction button) to threaten Layton and Luke, however, in some cases he helps them, sometimes even to stop his own doings (For example: after creating a killer robot or when he ate one of his own poisoned mushrooms and mutated, so that Luke had to find the antidote). In general, however, he doesn't redeems himself completely, like he does in the games.

A recurring joke is that Layton tends to forget about him.

Powers and Abilities[]

Don Paolo has the admirable ability to disguise himself as absolutely everyone, even people much thinner or smaller than himself. Furthermore, he's able to completely copies their personality, voice and even the way they move, making it almost impossible to expose him.

Being a scientific genius, he is very talented at inventing and building all sorts of useful and dangerous contraptions, especially flying machines. These are often concealed, for example as umbrellas or cars. He is also an escape artist, being able to flee from the police at every single one of his appearances.

Relationships[]

Hershel Layton (former "arch-nemesis", brief partners, and impersonation victim)
Luke Triton (mutual annoyance)
Andrew Schrader (former teacher, impersonation victim, victim of larceny)
Claire Foley (crush) †
Dimitri Allen (former partners)
Inspector Chelmey (impersonation victim)
Flora Reinhold (kidnapping victim, impersonation victim)
Dean Delmona (impersonation victim)

Quotes[]

“	Layton! You! You will pay for this someday! I won't forget this!	„
	~ Paul

“	Here I come! Ready or not!	„
	~ Don Paolo

“	It isn't over yet, Layton! Just you wait! One day I will have my revenge on you!	„
	~ Don Paolo, after his defeat.

“	Nyeh heh heh! Well played, Layton! I'm sure you're very proud of yourself for seeing through my disguise again.	„
	~ Don Paolo at his return.

“	Layton, you'll pay for this!	„
	~ Don Paolo in the movie.

“	What?! Don't act so surprised! I have... feelings too, you know!	„
	~ Don Paolo, after Luke found out about Claire.

“	Ugh. Spare me your sappy sympathy. And my name is Don Paolo. Address me as such, boy!	„
	~ Don Paolo to Luke.

“	Ha! Well done, Layton!	„
	~ Don Paolo

Trivia[]

Don Paolo has a cameo appearance in one of the Weekly Puzzles in Professor Layton and the Last Specter.
His name of choice regarding his alias may imply that he is of Spanish descent, as 'Don' is a title given to nobility in Spanish culture, meaning the name 'Don Paolo' basically means 'Lord Paul' in Spanish. In Hispanic and Mexican cultures, however, "Don" is reserved for older men as a different way of saying "señor" (Mister), so his name would mean Mr. Paul in that case.
Don Paolo is one of the very few characters to not have a British accent or European accent in general in the English dub of the games.
Don Paolo despises sweets to the point that even looking at them makes him feel sick, which is one of the clues that gives him away while posing as Chelmey in Professor Layton and the Curious Village.
In Professor Layton and the Curious Village, due to strong stink of smoke coming from him, it is first assumed that Don Paolo smokes; however, it is later revealed, that said stink was due to the crash-land he experienced while arriving at the village.
- That being said, in the original Japanese release of Curious Village, when visiting Don Paolo's Inn's room, Luke finds on the table an ashtray chock-full of sigarette butts, even commenting on the smoke stink lingering in the room, alongside what appears to be a bottle and tipped over glass of liquor; in the international release, while everything else was kept unchanged, the ashtray was substituted with a dirty plate of messily eaten food.
  - In Unwound Future, it is shown yet again that Don Paolo, at least occasionally, drinks liquor.
In Diabolical Box, he disguises as Flora and matches everything, even her height. The ability to do this and match the character's voice is unknown.
- He does something similar in Eternal Diva, by disguising himself as an old woman much smaller than he was.
In Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, when Don Paolo upgrades the Laytonmobile so that Layton and Luke can enter the Mobile Fortress, he claims he was "only doing it for Flora".
- In a similar fashion, before Layton and the others split up in order to leave the Towering Pagoda, he tells Layton that he wants to be the one to escort Flora. And later on when exploring the time machine facility, one of the text boxes that shows up when tapping around is a statement from him saying, "I'll make sure Flora's safe, no matter what happens here." This can be interpreted as quite a surprising character development, considering his actions towards her in the previous two games before it.

External Links[]

Don Paolo on the Professor Layton Wiki

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