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| “ | Those barbarians, those, those… WITCHES! It doesn't matter. I just need to live long enough to see this through. And you're going to help me, Collector. | „ |
| ~ Philip Wittebane's true feelings on the witches - including his true intentions 400 years ago. |
| “ | Luz: But why? Why go through all this? Belos: I'll do anything to save humanity from evil. Luz: No... Eda: Luz! We're gonna start the countdown! Are you ready? Luz: You're evil! Belos: Can't reason with crazy. |
„ |
| ~ Belos on his motives to Luz, before attempting to kill her. |
| “ | Don't just stand there! You'll be just as bad, just as conniving, just as evil, and just as unforgivable as those witches! We're human. We're better than this! | „ |
| ~ Belos' last words as he begs Luz to save him before Eda, King, and Raine come in to finish him off. |
Philip Wittebane, later known as Emperor Belos, is the main antagonist of the Disney Channel animated series The Owl House.
He is a human witch-hunter from the 17th century who traveled to the Demon Realm from Gravesfield, Connecticut during the Deadwardian Era (Which would be the mid 1600s in the human realm/world) to find his older brother Caleb. While studying the Boiling Isles' nature and working on a portal back to the Human Realm, Philip discovered that Caleb fell in love with a witch named Evelyn and killed him for this, before deciding to eliminate all life on the Isles so he would be rewarded and hailed as a hero back in the Human Realm.
With help from the Collector, Philip assumed the new identity of Belos and became the Emperor of the Isles, lying to his subjects that he can speak to the Titan and thus knows how to cast magic properly, while hiding the fact his Coven System was created to kill them all with the Draining Spell. He is also the arch-nemesis of both Luz Noceda and his creation Hunter, and the former master of Lilith Clawthorne, Kikimora, the Coven Heads and numerous others.
He was voiced by Matthew Rhys, who also played the Conductor in Infinity Train, Grimes in Seal Team, and Riley Greene in Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai. In his youth, he was voiced by Alex Lawther, who also played Kenny in Black Mirror. As a child, he was voiced by Fryda Wolff, who also voiced Collector in the same series.
While possessing Hunter, his voice is mixed with Zeno Robinson, who also voiced SentiNino and Sentibubbler in Miraculous Ladybug.
Appearance[]
| “ | Gus: You know, I think he does it 'cause he's shy. He's just evil and shy. It happens! Willow: I heard there's just a mirror underneath. The real emperor was society all along. Gus: Maybe he's so handsome, people have a hard time focusing on what he says. I get it! I can relate. Luz, you've seen Belos up close! What's he like under... all that? Luz: Oh, I never got a good look... Amity: I heard he's scarred from wild magic! |
„ |
| ~ Gus, Willow, Luz, and Amity discussing the then-publicly unrevealed appearance of Belos. |
Belos is an elderly human with a fair complexion, cornflower-blue eyes and long, rough-looking, ash-blond hair reaching past his shoulders. He has wrinkly lips and a notch on his left ear similar to his nephew Hunter. Most prominently though, he has a large, basil-green scar, running across his face and down his neck with holes that seem to be eroding it, an indication of how severely his unknown illness is affecting him. "Hollow Mind" implies that he sliced his own ears so they could resemble ears that belonged to a witch.
He wears a mask with two long upward-facing horns. His eyes are hollow through the mask, thus creating the appearance of empty eye sockets. He wears a large white and brown cape with gold trim. His eyes can glow light blue, as shown when Luz Noceda cracks the right side of his mask and exposes one of them. Under his cape, he wears a gray imperial jacket with puffy sleeves, a dark gray belt or sash across his waist, black pants, and high-heeled brown boots. As a preacher, he wore a wooden version of his signature mask, and a robe similar to his present-day one, but with more black on the sleeves and bottom. His hair is also loose.
Back when he was still Philip, his hair was light brown and held back in a ponytail with several strands loose on his scalp, with a matching beard gained during his time in the Demon Realm. He wore a dark blue, long-sleeved coat with an upward-facing collar and studded tail, beige-colored gloves, a white frilly undershirt, brown breaches, and short, brown boots with high heels. In the present day, when he planned to resume his real identity, he dons this outfit once more, along with the boots he wore as "Emperor."
As revealed in the episode "Hollow Mind", his beast form is that of a skeletal figure made out of green sludge with dark patches. His eyes are sunken in and glow blue, his nose is nothing but a hole, and his mouth is shaped in a toothy gape and often glows blue. Two horns resembling those on his mask are attached to his head, as is a long mane of completely grey hair. All over his body are at least eight blue eyes with light irises. He can also briefly morph his face into his normal one.
Personality[]
| “ | Well, you assume Belos' goal comes from a genuine place. But that man doesn't care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion. And because of that, he fears what he can't control. | „ |
| ~ Papa Titan explaining to Luz how she differs from Belos, while highlighting his true nature as a delusional narcissist. |
As the ruling body of the Boiling Isles, Belos initially appears to be a calm and collected man but is intolerant of failure as evidenced by Lilith's consistent failures at capturing the Owl Lady. He also threatens her with harsh punishment, reminding her about what happens to witches who were without a coven. As a demonstration of his authority, Belos petrified several witches and demons. Belos is a charismatic manipulator who ingratiates himself to the populace.
As revealed in "Hollow Mind", Belos staged attacks on villages to manipulate the witches and demons to join his coven systems, uncaring that it could have led to dozens of deaths. Despite him being a controlling force who ruled the Isles with an iron fist, it at first appeared that Belos had a soft spot for his nephew Hunter, the current Golden Guard. However, as the series would progress, it is revealed that Belos actually sees him as nothing more than a useful tool that he had kept in line by claiming the Titan had big plans for him. He is also known to be quite deceptive, as he wrote lies in his diary about what happened to those who helped him during his missions to make himself look better, and also falsely promised the coven heads and Odalia Blight they would be spared from the draining spell and become royalty in his new "paradise", but in reality, he was actually going to leave them behind to die with everyone else.
From the events displayed in "Hollow Mind", Belos killed his own brother when he fell in love with a witch in a fit of rage. As such, it can be speculated that he created a series of Grimwalkers in his likeness as a way of getting him back. However, Belos' "love" can be seen as toxic, since he was completely repulsed by his brother's likeness to witches and his own beliefs and killed him when Belos was unable to control him, who likely opposed his plans. Whenever a Grimwalker had expressed signs of rebellion, he would kill them and nonchalantly create another one, while having had no intention of keeping them alive during the Day of Unity. The Collector himself takes note of this and accuses Belos of taking enjoyment out of creating Grimwalkers only to destroy them. Belos initially denies it, but his brief grin explicitly affirms the Collector's suspicions. And in "For the Future", Belos shows explicit hatred against the real deal when confronted by a hallucination of Caleb as he buries all guilt and rationalizes it as just "saving his soul", even telling him to "shut up" to keep his own self-delusions as a hero.
His most defining trait by far is his narcissism and messiah complex. When he was Philip Wittebane, he was a witch hunter who was the byproduct of an overly zealous society during the Colonial Era. As such, Belos has a holier-than-thou mentality and is fully convinced that his genocidal crusade against witches is a righteous task that would free humanity from evil. It could also be the reason as to why he murdered his brother: when his brother fell for a witch, Belos disavowed him as a sibling and had no qualms about killing him in a violent rage. Because of his narcissism, he can never perceive that his actions could be monstrous, best exemplified when he blows off Luz calling him "evil" by retorting that he couldn't reason with crazy. His prejudicial view of witches, seeing them as creatures incapable of independent thought or feelings and being around them for centuries, has likely warped him into a psychopath, thinking that the beings around him are beneath him.
Based on the events of "Thanks to Them", it seems that Belos' hatred toward magic and witches has blinded him to the fact that humanity has changed their views of witches and magic seeing as how even after his time back on Earth, he still fails to realize that modern humans now have great fascination toward magic and even dress as demons and witches during Halloween instead of prosecuting them like back in his time. Consequently, this fact shows that Belos is unable to comprehend that his genocidal goal had become pointless by now, ironically much like how the Collector warned him that humanity has changed in the episode "King's Tide". His messiah complex reaches its peak when he possesses the Titan's heart, posing in a way that makes him look crucified, showing he is completely deluded and genuinely believes himself to be the savior of humanity on par with Jesus himself.
Belos is also a hypocrite. In spite of deeming magic as evil, he used magic to keep himself alive for centuries, which he learned through studies and pacts with the Collector, making him a pitch-perfect example of what a witch was seen as in the 1600s. Even though he claims his actions are for the good of humanity, he sees no issue with killing humans the second they disagree with him, whether that be his own brother for falling in love with a witch and abandoning his witch hunter views or even a young child like Luz, who openly called out Belos for his hypocrisy and also criticized him for his lack of humanity and/or remorse for his depraved actions.
Despite his immense power, Belos is not incapable of fear, as he was genuinely scared of the Collector's power and didn't want him to be free to share his knowledge with anybody else when his plan was finished. After the Day of Unity begins, he betrays the Collector by dropping him down a pit. When King frees him, Belos was shocked by this and absurdly tries to tell him that he kept his word on freeing him, only for the Collector to destroy his physical body. This is all taken to further extremes after he is separated from the Titan's heart in the finale and his plan to destroy the Boiling Isles is thwarted, after which he pretends to have been "controlled by a dark curse" in a last-ditch effort to claim innocence, and begs Luz for her mercy, and when she refuses, he begins to rant about how they are human and "better than this" compared to the evil witches, showing how powerless and pathetic he really was in the end.
In conclusion, Emperor Belos can best be defined as a cunning, ruthless, extremely manipulative, narcissistic, hypocritical, essentially heartless, sadistic and genocidal individual who will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals and get what he wants, even if that means killing fellow humans such as his own brother or Luz. Despite always claiming that what he does is for the greater good and protection of the human race and always justifying what he does as such, he is truly a delusional, deceitful monster who refuses to let go of his own hate and prejudice against witch and demon kind, in spite of living among them and personally viewing their true nature and similarities to humanity, and chooses to only see the darker side of magical creatures as he has no true understanding or comprehension of the demon realm. All he does is for his own selfish desire to be seen as and praised as a heroic "Witch Hunter General". While he may have once had love for his brother in the past and good qualities prior to the shows beginning, by the time it begins, all such positive or redemptive qualities have vanished, leaving only a cruel, loathsome zealot who ultimately becomes so much worse than the "monsters" he wished to exterminate.
Powers and Abilities[]
| “ | Luz: So, Willow... would you say this Belos guy is, like, powerful? Willow: (giggles) No offense to Eda, but the Emperor is the most skilled witch that's ever lived. He can even talk to the Titan. |
„ |
| ~ Luz and Willow discussing Belos's strength and abilities. |
Prior to becoming Belos, Philip was just a normal human being with no supernatural powers. However, he learned to sketch and design glyphs from his natural environment. These glyphs are likewise inscribed on his right arm. However, this had a negative impact on his physiology, causing his arm to pulsate and swell whenever the glyphs attempted to activate, exacerbating his physical problems. He learned glyph magic with the Collector's assistance, executing intricate spells without the aid of a palisman.
He started using artificial magic after he adopted the persona of Belos. Belos uses an instrument, such as his mechanical staff or other tools, to conduct magic instead of using simple spells like the spell circle. Despite this, Belos has mastered the craft and is regarded as the most powerful and talented witch that has ever lived due to his immense knowledge, strength, and proficiency with artificial magic. Luz's cloak, which is made of witch's wool and is said to be able to block all magic, doesn't seem to have any effect on this magic, which suggests artificial magic is distinct from the kind created by glyphs or witches. His proficiency with magic was so great that during his second battle with Luz, he claimed it would take decades of learning magic for someone to defeat him.
Because of his palisman-based ailment, he transformed into sludge or a sludge-like creature. In his first appearance, he was fatigued, indicating that the conditions were affecting his health. More severe consequences were seen early on in Season 2, with him deforming into a hideous monstrosity, although palisman essence assisted him in maintaining his normal form. In the final season, it was revealed that he could influence another living being by infusing his sludge-like essence into other creatures and induce hallucinations that lead his victim to see and hear him as if he is present. If enough time has elapsed, Belos can take control of the host and have them display his sludge forms traits onto their bodies. The different corpses and bones left in the sludge's trail, as well as the scars left on Hunter and Raine when Belos possessed them, suggest that the organism is eaten by the essence while they are possessed. He still feels agony from the physical distortions his body experiences, but his viscous body can heal and reshape itself from any physical harm he suffers. The precise degree of Belos' regeneration is unclear, but after the Collector threw him into a wall, enough of him survived to pursue Luz and her companions into the Human Realm. Hunter and numerous animals would later fall victim to it, and as it grew more powerful, Belos eventually recovered his corporeal form.
He obtained a draconic form and the power to breathe a volatile flame-like gas that could infect and spread his mold to everything it touched after connecting himself to the Titan's heart. This allows him to swiftly spread himself over the Isles, assisting in his efforts to terraform it into a dead wasteland. It may also demolish any living creature that comes into contact with the flames, causing them to become overwhelmed by the sludgy growths and evaporate into light, as shown with Luz.
His intellect proved to be more dangerous than the powers he gained from learning artificial magic or his sludge form. The greatest example of this is how he was able to fool everyone on the Boiling Isles into thinking he was a witch despite not being able to perform magic in the same manner as them. He also deceived everyone into thinking he could talk to the Titan with no one being able to disprove it, having claimed to be a "humble messenger for the Titan". He was a master of deception having tricked everyone, whether they were his ally or enemy, with his charm, through fear-mongering, or by manipulating them into doing exactly what he wanted them to do. He also managed to come up with a contingency plan for dealing with the BATT's plan to prevent the Draining Spell from happening.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Unknown parents (deceased)
- Caleb Wittebane (older brother; deceased)
- Evelyn Clawthorne (sister-in-law; deceased)
- Golden Guards (creations; deceased)
- Hunter (last creation/"nephew")
- The entire Clawthorne bloodline (nephews and nieces)
Allies (All Formerly/Betrayed)[]
- Emperor's Coven:
- Lilith Clawthorne
- Hunter (former right hand)
- Previous Golden Guards
- Kikimora
- Warden Wrath
- Coven Captains
- Coven Guards
- Coven Scouts
- Steve
- Severine
- Flora D'splora
- Coven Heads:
- Raine Whispers
- Darius Deamonne
- Eberwolf
- Terra Snapdragon
- Adrian Graye Vernworth
- Hettie Cutburn
- Osran
- Vitimir
- Mason
- Abomatons Soldiers
- Odalia Blight
- Luz Noceda
- Caleb Wittebane
- The Collector
- Blue Fang
- Numerous unnamed "companions"
Enemies[]
- The Owl House:
- Luz Noceda (archenemy/temporary victim/co-killer)
- Eda Clawthorne (co-killer)
- King Clawthorne (co-killer)
- Hooty
- Lilith Clawthorne
- Owlbert
- Willow Park
- Gus Porter
- Amity Blight
- Hunter (former host)
- Flapjack (victim)
- Previous Golden Guards (victims)
- Caleb Wittebane (victim)
- Evelyn
- Basilisks
- Covens Against the Throne:
- Raine Whispers (former host/co-killer)
- Amber
- Katya
- Derwin
- Darius Deamonne
- Eberwolf
- Steve
- Clover
- Emmiline
- Ghost
- Stringbean
- Alador Blight
- The Collector
- Kikimora
- Coven Heads
- Members of the Emperor's Coven
- Odalia Blight
- Dozens of unnamed Palismen
- Everyone else on the Boiling Isles
- Camila Noceda
- The Titan (former host/indirect victim/indirect killer)
Victims[]
Direct[]
- Caleb Wittebane - Stabbed in the chest with a dagger.
- At least 33 Grimwalkers of Caleb - All killed in different ways like being blasted, petrified, burned alive, etc.
- 9 unnamed witches - Froze to death in the Knee after being weakened by the prototype Draining Spell.
- At least 94 Palismen - Souls absorbed, before destroying them in his mindscape.
- At least 3 Human Realm animals - Flesh absorbed while possessing them.
- Flapjack - Fatally stabbed with his claws, later sacrificed his life to heal Hunter.
- Luz Noceda (later resurrected) - Disintegrated into light after being consumed by mold from his blast.
Indirect[]
- Unknown number of witches and demons - Some sacrificed during his expeditions, others petrified on his orders.
- Blue Fang - Implied to have been killed during his attempt to meet the Collector.
- The Titan - Corpse possessed through a still-beating heart, later passed away after giving the last of his power to help Luz defeat Belos.
Quotes[]
Season 1[]
| “ | I'm getting bored of your excuses, Lilith. Don't worry, I'll give you the time you need. Bring the Owl Lady to me by twilight. She'll join the Emperor's Coven and in return, I'll heal her little curse. But, if you fail... you will be stripped of your rank and banished from my coven. You do know what happens to covenless witches, don't you? | „ |
| ~ Belos blackmailing Lilith, forcing her to bring Eda to him. |
| “ | I will know. | „ |
| ~ Belos telepathically reveals to Luz, Willow, and Gus that he is aware of them. |
| “ | Edalyn Clawthorne, the infamous Owl Lady, the wild witch of Bonesborough. Mentor of Luz the Human. | „ |
| ~ Belos taunts Eda. |
| “ | Don't be so naïve, Lilith. This is the Titan's will. All wild witches must be dealt with before the Day of Unity. You understand, don't you? | „ |
| ~ Belos reveals to Lilith that he will be petrifying Eda instead of healing her. |
| “ | Ah, Lilith. You chose the wrong side. | „ |
| ~ Belos sends Lilith to be petrified for betraying him. |
| “ | Ah puh-puh. I'd actually like to have a word with you, human.. | „ |
| ~ Belos traps Luz Noceda to "talk" to her. |
| “ | Okay. I'll play. | „ |
| ~ Belos before dueling Luz Noceda. |
| “ | What's wrong, human? I thought you wanted to fight. | „ |
| ~ Belos taunts Luz. |
| “ | I like your spirit, but try that again and things won't end well for you. Now, I'm just a humble messenger for the Titan. In the grand scheme of things, the Owl Lady's life is inconsequential... But then you showed up. If you want to save your mentor, give me the portal to the Human Realm. | „ |
| ~ Belos threatens Luz. |
| “ | Children of the Isles! The Titan has told me to spare the Owl Lady's life, but in return, her curse will strip away all her powers. Let her monstrous form be a lesson about the dangers of wild magic! | „ |
| ~ Belos exonerating Eda and her allies of their crimes. |
| “ | Worry not, Kiki. We'll be keeping an eye on the inhabitants of the Owl House. In the meantime, the Day of Unity is almost upon us... and we have much work to do.. | „ |
| ~ Belos introduces The Golden Guard. |
Season 2[]
| “ | Knock, knock, human. | „ |
| ~ Belos revealing that he had already completed the door. |
| “ | The larger your covens grow, the more power we have to unite our realms, where the worthy shall inherit a utopia free of wild magic. | „ |
| ~ Belos explaining the Day of Unity to the Coven Heads. |
| “ | These outbursts are painful...and so is watching you fail. | „ |
| ~ Belos belittling Hunter for his failures. |
| “ | Thank you, everyone. Together we are perfecting the Coven System as the Titan intended. The Day of Unity will be in exactly one month, when the tile is at it’s lowest and the moon obscures the sun. At that time, we will journey to the head of the Isles. And there, the worthy shall inherit a utopia free of wild magic. | „ |
| ~ Belos announcing the Day of Unity to the Boiling Isles. |
| “ | How to describe you? Oval? Oblong? A round boy? | „ |
| ~ Philip Wittebane inspecting the Collector's mirror after arriving at the Boiling Isles. |
| “ | Put on a bigger show. | „ |
| ~ Belos orders a Golden Guard to bomb and destroy an entire town. |
| “ | Belos: What can I do for you, Collector? Collector: I'm bored! Is the Draining Spell ready yet? I wanna play and see everything go all… (Imitates screams) Belos: You'll have your fun on the Day of Unity. Collector: Betrayed, beguiled! Alone, deceived! We'll have our revenge on… ugh, "unity" is so hard to rhyme. |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Belos and the Collector. |
| “ | Collector: Ooooh, you were maaaad! I thought you were gonna go all… (imitates screams) …on that kid. Belos: Not as long as he stays in the right path. I say, "The Titan has big plans for you", and he does what he's told. Unlike the previous attempts. Collector: I'm starting to think you make those things just to destroy them. You have fun with it. Admit it! (laughs) |
„ |
| ~ Belos and the Collector on the Golden Guard and the previous Golden Guards. |
| “ | What a shame. Out of all the Grimwalkers, you looked the most like him. | „ |
| ~ Belos after discovering that the Golden Guard found out about his predecessors' fates. |
| “ | Luz: I'm gonna tell everyone about the Day of Unity! That you've been lying about the Titan for years! Belos: Yes, this has gone on longer that I'd have liked, but... no one ever said being a witch hunter was easy. Luz: Witch... hunter? So all this time people have been mindlessly helping A WITCH HUNTER!? How could they be tricked so easily?! Belos: I wouldn't be so judgemental, if I were you. |
„ |
| ~ Belos reveals his true intentions to Luz, before revealing himself as Philip Wittebane. |
| “ | It does feel good to hear another human say that name. I had to change it when "Philip" was run out of too many towns. I told you once before... "Luzura". Perhaps...we were destined to meet. | „ |
| ~ Belos after revealing himself as Philip Wittebane to Luz. |
| “ | Collector: Heh, heh, heh… you nervous? You haven't been home in like, how many hundreds of years? What if it's all changed? What if you changed? You got so used to eating Palismen, you can barely keep your human shape anymore! (Belos tries to attack the Collector and misses) Collector: I can't wait to get out of this prison! There are so many games I wanna play! If we need a third player, we can make another Grimwalker! Belos: No. Not until I've dealt with this one. Collector: Just free me already! You've proooomiiiised! Belos: The Draining Spell must work first, like you've promised. Collector: You need to have more faith in pinky swears. Belos: Don't worry, Collector. Your patience will be rewarded. The Day of Unity… is about to begin. |
„ |
| ~ Emperor Belos and the Collector having another conversation. |
| “ | Goodbye, Boiling Isles. | „ |
| ~ Belos saying goodbye to the Boiling Isles, before starting his genocide. |
| “ | Belos: Have you as my right-hand? I'd sooner cut off my whole arm. Kikimora: But-but... I just want to help! Belos: You want to help? Go find a hole, to wither away in. |
„ |
| ~ Belos betraying his long-time follower Kikomora. |
| “ | Belos: And you… Collector: I gave you the Draining Spell. I taught you magic stronger than anybody's! Belos: And that's why I won't release you. Can't have you giving that to anyone else. Goodbye. (Belos drops the mirror) Collector: WOOOOAAAAHHHH! You're a liar, liar, pants on fireeee! |
„ |
| ~ Belos and the Collector conversing following the former's betrayal, before dropping the latter into the same pit he keeps the bones and masks of the previous Golden Guards. |
| “ | Belos: Please. I don't want to see another human life destroyed by this place. Luz: You're such a hypocrite. You talk big about protecting humanity, but after everything you've done, you're barely human yourself. |
„ |
| ~ Belos trying to convice Luz to go to the Human Realm until she calls him out for his hypocrisy. |
| “ | We don't belong here! | „ |
| ~ Belos tells Luz that neither of them belong to the Demon Realm. |
| “ | Belos: Hunter, why are you hurting me? I only wanted to help you! Hunter: You're... you're lying! Belos: (notices Flapjack) CALEB?! |
„ |
| ~ Belos attempts to manipulate Hunter for the last time, only to recognise Flapjack as Caleb's palisman. |
| “ | Collector. You’re free! Just as promised... | „ |
| ~ Belos before the Collector throws him against the wall and turns him into a stain. |
Season 3[]
| “ | See, this is why you're so useful, Luz. You're so desperate to help people, you even helped me meet the Collector. | „ |
| ~ Belos revealing to Luz's friends and mother that she helped him meet the Collector. |
| “ | You did do something good. I thought this one was another lost cause. Because of you, we can finish our work as witch-hunters, starting with THEM! | „ |
| ~ Belos before attacking Luz's friends. |
| “ | That's right. You wouldn't want me harming your precious palisman, would you? Oh, but then again, I don't care what you want. Goodbye, Evelyn... | „ |
| ~ Belos before fatally wounding Flapjack, his most infamous quote. |
| “ | Belos: Caleb... you would stab me in the back?! Luz: You did it to him first. |
„ |
| ~ After Belos leaves Hunter's body he starts to accuse him of stabbing him until Luz reminds him that he did it to him first. |
| “ | This is for the good of your souls! You'll thank me later! | „ |
| ~ Belos before returning to the Demon Realm. |
| “ | Don’t… mock me! I tried to save your soul. It’s your fault this all HAPPENED! | „ |
| ~ Belos spitefully ranting at a hallucination/ghost of his brother Caleb, who he killed. |
| “ | I need...a new body. | „ |
| ~ Belos trying to find his lair. |
| “ | Oh, shut up... | „ |
| ~ Belos to the hallucinations/ghosts of Caleb among with the Grimwalkers aka Golden Guards he created and killed. |
| “ | There has to be one left... | „ |
| ~ Belos before finding an unfinished Grimwalker to possess. |
| “ | No. It isn’t ready. | „ |
| ~ Belos after possessing an unfinished Grimwalker which starts to melt away. |
| “ | Belos: Oh, yes, I'll think you'll prove to be quite useful. Odalia: Me? Belos: No. You! |
„ |
| ~ Belos to Odalia, before possessing puppetized Raine. |
| “ | The spell isn’t broken. See? You take such good care of us Coven heads, Collector, keeping us safe in the Archives. It was the uh… power of your kindness that brought me to life, so I could tell you-- [...] You're in danger, Collector. | „ |
| ~ Belos talking to the Collector while under the disguise of Raine. |
| “ | (chuckles) Well, if you insist. What if you played with those three yourself? Showed them just how much fun your games are in person? Then they'll all want to be your friend. | „ |
| ~ Belos manipulating the Collector into tormenting Luz, Eda and King by "playing" with them. |
| “ | Perhaps this will be easier than I thought. | „ |
| ~ Belos plans to use a flying star to ride back to the Emperor's Castle. |
| “ | (groans) Raine's always been annoyingly powerful. No, I think I'll keep you around a little longer. | „ |
| ~ Belos after he manages to regain control of Raine's body before leaving to the Emperor's Castle. |
| “ | That's fine. Only one vessel is big enough to do what I need. | „ |
| ~ Belos after Raine expelled him from their body. |
| “ | You know what this is, don't you? It's the last of many, but it still beats... IT'S THE TITAN'S HEART! | „ |
| ~ Belos showing his intentions of possessing the Titan's heart in order to take control of the Titan. |
| “ | Poor Raine. You tried so hard, didn't you? | „ |
| ~ Belos taunting Raine for failing to stop him from possessing the Titan's heart. |
| “ | FINALLY! I CAN CLEANSE THIS PERDITION....MYSELF! | „ |
| ~ Belos after fusing into a giant monster to destroy the Boiling Isles. |
| “ | You can't... defeat me. | „ |
| ~ Belos telling Luz that even with her new power, she is still too late to stop him. |
| “ | [Morphs into Philip Wittebane from the 1600s] Luz. Luz, I'm- I'm free! Thank goodness you saved me from... from that horrible curse! [Luz stares in silence] Yes, I- I was- I was cursed with a terrible, terrible sickness by... by dark magic, just like your mentor! It forced me to do all those horrible things, but- but now I'm free! [boiling rain hits Belos, causing him to shout in pain and his body to melt] Quick- quickly now! Don't- don't you want to make peace, Luz?! | „ |
| ~ Belos trying to manipulate Luz into saving him. |
Journal Entries[]
| “ | My journey through the Demon Realm is far from over. But today I humbly donate my journal to the ages. Entry one: May 21st... I think. My name is Philip Wittebane, and I found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it. If only those at home could see what I have, and perhaps they shall. For the more I learn about this realm, the more I am certain I can harness its strange powers to return home. Today I begin recording my journey to create a portal back to the Human Realm. | „ |
| ~ Philip Wittebane's first journal entry. |
| “ | After five years, I have finally found it. A power source so potent it can pierce through realms... Titan's Blood. There are old tales of lakes reflecting green trees and blue skies. The Titan's vein runs through the land, and many believe that these wild portals are created when a little of its blood leaks into the water. That is how I came here, so that is the first place I shall look. I will journey back to... Eclipse Lake. | „ |
| ~ Philip explaining Titan's Blood and Eclipse Lake in his journal. |
| “ | My journey to Eclipse Lake has been a success, and yet a tragic failure. The tunnels were filled with a substance known as Fool's Blood. It signifies a decaying vein. I was lucky to get out alive, my companions... were not. | „ |
| ~ Philip detailing the outcome of his expedition for Titan's Blood in his journal. |
| “ | After careful analysis during this Deadwardian Era, I believe the current human year is 1660. Or is it '70? The years are flashing by, but it will all be worth it. I've gathered all the portal ingredients including Titan's Blood. All that's left is to seek out The Collector, and he will tell me what I need to complete my mission. But first, my companions and I must face- | „ |
| ~ Philip revealing his plans to find the Collector in his journal. |
| “ | I single handedly defeated the beast behind the door. Tragically, I could not save my companions. | „ |
| ~ Philip's diary entry as he sacrifices "Luzura" and "Dirtrude" to the Stonesleeper, the former of which reads the entry as he is writing it, alerting her to his true colors. |
Trivia[]
- The Emperor's name is misspelled as "Bellows" in the closed captioning.
- The name "Belos" is derived from Belus in Latin, which is typically a royal title or the name of a deity.
- "Belos" also means "beautiful" in several Iberian and Mediterranean languages, such as Portuguese, Galician, and Corsican. This is considered ironic, given his true face is revealed to be disfigured with an eroding scar running across his face.
- In "Agony of a Witch", it's revealed that whenever members of the Emperor's Coven don't succeed in things, they get expelled from the coven and possibly killed or petrified, as seen when he is talking to Lilith about Eda.
- Despite his evil nature, his voice actor Matthew Rhys considers him to just be misunderstood. [1]
- Though there is also a chance he might've been making a sarcastic joke, given the laconic wording of the post.
- That said, Matthew Rhys' claim foreshadowed the revelation of what shaped Belos into the person he eventually became; his prejudice toward witches was the byproduct of mindset of people during the era he lived in prior to his and Caleb's fateful departure to Boiling Isles. Unlike his more open-minded brother who able to see witches of Boiling Isles in positive light however, Belos let his prejudice consumed him.
- Before the events of "Elsewhere and Elsewhen", it was heavily theorized that Belos is actually a human who first came to the Boiling Isles, most commonly being theorized to either be Philip Wittebane or his brother.
- The strong element to support this is that his staff lacks a palisman. In the Season 2 episode "Keeping Up A-fear-ances", Gwendolyn Clawthorne relays a story to Luz about how there was a human that appeared in the Boiling Isles and left, leaving information behind about a substance called Titan's Blood. From there, it could be explained that the human in question was Belos.
- In the episode "Through the Looking Glass Ruins", it is highly theorized that Philip Wittebane, the human that first came to the Boiling Isles and creator of the portal to the Human Realm and Belos are the same person.
- When his face is finally revealed in the episode "Eclipse Lake", his ears appear to be much rounder than a normal witch's, and they seem to resemble human ears to some extent. The common counterpoint to that comparison is the fact that his ears are smaller and less pronounced than other witches' ears, the implication being that Belos likely modified his ears to further blend in with the Boiling Isles. Much like Hunter, according to this theory, it would mean that he is incapable of performing natural magic. This is also strengthened by the fact that Belos's staff is very much like Hunter's artificial magic staff.
- In the episode "Yesterday's Lie", it is possible that Belos is also one of the brothers that found Gravesfield, Luz's hometown. Belos' face resembles the statue of Philip while the statue of Philip's brother resembles Hunter.
- Philip and Belos share a lot in common: both have the goals of wanting to return to the human realm, both have similar faces, both have similar voice accents, and because Philip is a human, he could not perform magic and Belos has only been seen performing magic with the help of his staff and hasn't yet used a spell circle.
- As of "Elsewhere and Elsewhen", this theory was seemingly confirmed with Philip being seen draining palismen quite similarly to how Belos does, not to mention he also seems to be cursed much like the emperor. It is also worth noting that Belos's voice begins to overlap Philip's at the end of the episode.
- The episode "Hollow Mind" officially confirms this theory.
- It's revealed in "Elsewhere and Elsewhen" that the Boiling Isles was a far more pleasant and friendlier place when Belos first arrived, implying that his manipulative and deceitful nature is what turned the isles into the Social Darwinist and more callous society it is today.
- It's also probable that he established anti-wild magic propaganda to make people believe that wild magic is bad so he could become emperor and created the Coven System to control the species he loathes so much. This fact is confirmed in the episode "Hollow Mind", but it is also revealed that the Coven System has far more sinister intentions as it's also a means for Belos to conduct a draining spell, which would eventually drain all magic from the entire Boiling Isles, killing all witches and demons in the process.
- According to the pictures in the background of his mind, it is highly hinted that he and his brother eventually come to blows over their different ideology regarding witches, to the point that Philip killed his own brother.
- In "Hollow Mind", there are a series of paintings within the background of Belos's mindscape that show glimpses of his past as Philip. In it, he was close with another boy who greatly resembles Hunter (implied to be his brother) and was given a hand carved mask that resembles his current one. The two were eventually brought to the Demon Realm by another witch after the boy showed an interest in magic. Despite being born in the 17th century where witchcraft and anything that closely resembled it was greatly hated and persecuted, the brother greatly adapted to the Demon Realm, whereas Philip had a hard time adjusting. It shows that the brother eventually fell in love with another witch and possibly impregnated her, much to Philip's disapproval and scorn. At some point, Philip began to mutate into his monstrous state and was still accepted by his brother. Philip and his brother ended up fighting for a yet unknown reason and Philip ends up killing his brother in cold blood, leading to Philip being cursed by the witch after attempting to flee.
- It's also implied that while he was a good kid and close with his brother, spending centuries with his prejudice against witches and demons and living a life being surrounded by them, along with the "betrayal" of his brother, has gradually developed the sociopathic narcissistic behavior he has today.
- It would be eventually confirmed that the boy really is Philip's older brother, Caleb, who was brought into the Demon Realm by a witch called Evelyn and killed by Philip for falling in love with her. Philip would then proceed to make Grimwalkers of Caleb, with Hunter being the latest one.
- Ironically, while fans originally speculated Luz would end up possessed by the Collector, Hunter would become possessed by Belos.
- The Belos-possessed Hunter would gain the nicknames "Helos" (a mix of Hunter and Belos) and "Witch Hunter" (a pun based on Belos' profession). Belos would also be paired up with Bill Cipher and the Core from Gravity Falls and Amphibia respectively, because all three are the main villains of a Disney Channel show that possess one of the main characters (Bill possessed Dipper Pines and became "Bipper", the Core possessed Marcy Wu and became "Darcy", and Belos possessed Hunter).
- Belos was seemingly aware of the time-loop that happened in "Elsewhere and Elsewhen" and that's why he spared the heroes in "Young Blood, Old Souls", as he still needed Luz to go back in time to teach him the light glyph and help him meet the Collector.
- This also may explain why Terra said to Luz in "Follies at the Coven Day Parade" that he looked forward to meeting her.
- This may also explain too why he chose Lilith to lead her coven and let her keep her palisman, as he recognized her as "Aunt Dirtrude".
- It is possible that this is why, at the beginning of the episode, he sent Flora D'splora to taunt Lilith, prompting her and Luz to look out for the time pools.
- This part of the theory was seemingly confirmed after one of the show's artists, Rebbeca Rose, tweeted high-quality versions of the paintings from "Hollow Mind", including one in which Belos is seen whispering something to a sinister-looking Flora.
- It is possible that this is why, at the beginning of the episode, he sent Flora D'splora to taunt Lilith, prompting her and Luz to look out for the time pools.
- One of Dana Terrace's art depicts Belos swapping Lilith's patrol shifts to the morning after seeing her gaining muscle mass from morning boxing classes, implying that he knew she would punch his younger self later on and thus forced her to cancel the classes so as to prevent further injury to his past self. However, the art's comedic nature leaves its canonicity uncertain.
- His self-proclaimed title of "Witch Hunter General" might be inspired by a title of the real-life witch hunter Matthew Hopkins who was known as the "Witchfinder General", being also a self-proclaimed title.
- Belos/Philip Wittebane acts as a dark reflection of Luz. Both were humans who ended up in the Boiling Isles by accident, receiving mistreatment from its residents, unable to return home and began studying magic in order to make a gateway back to their dimension. But while Luz was exposed to a book portraying witches and magic in a positive way, Philip was exposed to a barbaric moral panic causing him to believe that witches and magic were inherently evil and had no good qualities. Luz also loves the Boiling Isles more than she does Earth and forms strong relationships with those living there and throughout her time there, matures significantly and becomes better to fit into the Human Realm. Belos, meanwhile, hates the Boiling Isles and its residents so much that he killed his own brother for falling in love with a witch, and his goal is to facilitate the genocide of all witches without ever showing remorse for his actions or changing his views on witchkind and magic. If Luz saw magic in a negative light, hated the Boiling Isles, refused to ever take responsibility for her actions and letting her mistreatment on both Gravesfield and Boiling Isles consumed her, she would've ended up just like Belos.
- Emperor Belos has numerous parallels to the Archivists. Both are horrible siblings (Belos killing Caleb, the Archivists trying to get rid of the Collector) who followed their siblings into the Demon Realm, before trying to wipe out all life on it due to being scared of its citizens, despite claiming it's for the good (Belos thinking he's saving humanity from evil, the Archivists thinking they're just doing what's needed to continue preserving life). The main difference is that the Archivists were the ones who sent the Collector into the Demon Realm, succeeded in their genocide and presumably weren't punished, even if that's not confirmed. By comparison, Belos didn't want Caleb to be in the Demon Realm, failed in his witch genocide and died for his crimes.
- It's heavily implied Evelyn was a Clawthorne and thus an ancestor of Eda and Lilith, meaning Belos has been trying to kill his own nieces of several generations. It's unknown if either side was aware of this.
- This was eventually confirmed by series creator Dana Terrace. Hunter and the Clawthornes are unaware of their relation, but it was never specified if Belos was.
- Belos' monstrous form bares some similarities to the Wendigo, a mythological creature from Native American folklore, sometimes depicted as a hideous horned creature with human-like characteristics.
- Though likely a coincidence, Belos' deformed state which made him appear as a skeletal horned creature with a rotting body brought in mind to an iteration of Loki from Apsulov: End of Gods'.
- Ironically, Belos bears many similarities to Satan, the Antichrist, and the Beast as depicted in the Book of Revelation of the Christian Bible. Through signs, Belos deceived the whole Boiling Isles into serving him as a false prophet (Rev. 16:13-14). He then made everyone wear a "mark of the beast" in the form of Coven Sigils that would mark them as doomed (Rev. 13:16-18; 14:11) on the Day of Unity. Lastly, he assumed the form of a giant dragon (Rev. 12:9) during his final battle with the heroes. This further displays how despite believing himself to be a force of good, Belos was simply a delusional, wicked man who became worse than anyone he had opposed before.
- While Belos undeniably started out human, it is heavily implied that he is no longer one during the events of the series. The Collector's wording, his human form constantly falling apart and him being fully stuck in his monster form in Season 3 imply that he, both literally and figuratively, is no longer human, but a monster. This further enhances the irony of his last words as while Luz at least bears some resemblance to a human despite being half-titan at this time, Belos has completely transformed into a disgusting sludge-like beast that bears almost no resemblance to his human self, making his claim that they're both human a futile plea.
- Ironically, Belos's demise by being melted by the boiling rain bears great resemblance to the Wicked Witch of the West's death, showing that he was no better and even worse than the witches he deemed monsters.
- Drawing in more references to The Wizard of Oz, Belos's story overall resembles that of the titular wizard as well, both being humans who unintentionally wound up in their respective magical worlds, became rulers of kingdoms, adopt new identities as rulers and use deceit and trickery to get their people to continue living under their rule. However, unlike Belos Oz bears no ill will to his people, became ruler completely out of his subjects' will, and after giving up his position would go on to help his people via magical inventions while Belos was a genocidal maniac who used fear and terror to rise to power and, even after seeing humanity's mindset change on witches, refused to give up his ways and proceeded to try and kill off everything on the Isles.
- One of the pages of Belos's diary shows a series of complicated diagrams and equations relating to quantum theory and relativity. As this page was likely written sometime in the 1600s, 3 centuries before said fields of physics would be discovered in the human realm (and a century before symbols used in said equations would exist), it's unknown how Belos knows about these types of physics though it's possible that the Collector taught him or that researchers in the Boiling Isles independently created these theories before humans did.
- Alternatively, a book on such physics could have entered a time pool and been transported to Philip's time, where he read it and learnt quantum theory and relativity.
- Belos's ability to spread, assimilate and feed off others may be representative of cancer, with him latching onto the Titan's heart causing him to resemble a tumor as well. This, coupled with the fact that Luz's late father Manny encouraged her weird and quirky aspects and is presumed to have died of cancer, provides a direct contrast to Belos as the latter is an oppressive tyrant who forces those under him to adopt cold and rigid personas while also being parasitic and disease-like himself.
- Furthermore, Belos's parasitic behaviour could represent his tendency of manipulating others into helping him while hardly putting in any work himself, essentially feeding off the effort of others.
References[]
External Links[]
- Emperor Belos on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Emperor Belos on the Disney Wiki
- Emperor Belos on the The Owl House Wiki
[]
 Villains
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Emperor's Coven Collectors Titan Trappers Others | ||
