| “ | Huh? That monster's name is Claus? Its name was Claus?! That almost sounds like a person's name! But now it's my robot. Not even a fragment of life remains inside it. | „ |
| ~ Porky Minch after realizing the monster he controlled was Claus. |
| “ | I'm sorry it turned out like this. I'm really happy you could be with me until the end... Thanks. Dad, I'm really sorry I didn't listen to you. I'm going to where Mom is now. Lucas, I hope we meet again someday. Bye. Thank you. I'm sorry. I'm sure we'll meet again... | „ |
| ~ Claus' last words to his father Flint and brother Lucas. |
The Masked Man is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Fassad) of Mother 3.
He is one of the top commanders of the Pigmask Army, controlled by Porky Minch to be his strongest servant. Since he uses PK Love, he is the only one who can pull the seven needles aside from the game's protagonist, Lucas.
At the end of Chapter 8, it is revealed the Masked Man is actually Claus, the son of Flint and Hinawa, and the older twin brother of Lucas. After he reveals his true identity, Claus commits suicide to join his mother, Hinawa.
Personality[]
Claus is shown to be more energetic and braver than Lucas. He was kind and loved his family deeply, until the death of his mother Hinawa caused him to fill his heart with hatred. He left Tazmily Village to kill the Mecha Drago, the one that killed his mother.
When he becomes the Masked Man, he loses his sense of self and memories and refuses to let anyone defeat Porky. He becomes soulless and almost speechless.
During the final battle, the Masked Man realizes his true identity as Claus, and ultimately kills himself.
Appearance[]
As a twin, Claus looks identical to Lucas; Before being brainwashed, Claus wore clothes that are similar to his brother's, but with opposite colors; cyan and yellow. Unlike Lucas (who has blond hair), Claus has red hair in a similar style to Lucas'. He wears orange pants, white socks, cyan-white shoes.
After he was brainwashed by Porky, Claus appears to have become paler and wears an entirely different uniform. He wears a black-gray coat resembling a fur collar bomber jacket with a belt around his waist, orange trousers, a pair of white gloves and black-gray boots. He wears a large gray helmet which obscures his eyes, with a shadow from the helmet hiding his left eye, while a gray eye-piece covers up his right. Due to his cyborg transformation, Claus uses a jetpack in the shape of wings which he can simply turn on at his own will, while his right arm frequently uses an arm cannon with tubing attached to either the jetpack or his own back itself. Whether the arm cannon is detachable or if Claus' right arm is actually cybernetic, in which it can transform into an arm cannon, is unclear.
Biography[]
Mother 3[]
Chapter 1[]
Claus was a more courageous and energetic child than his twin Lucas, but shared his brother's kindness. After Claus' mother, Hinawa, was killed by a Mechanical Drago constructed by Porky Minch and his army, he leaves Tazmilly Village and ventures into the canyons to find and kill the beast to avenge his mother's death. Claus' father, Flint, hears of this and leaves the village to look for Claus. Flint encounters and defeats the mechanically reconstructed Drago that killed his wife, but Claus is nowhere to be found. He is presumed dead by the rest of Tazmily Village, but Flint never gives up hope and continues searching for his son routinely for the next three years.
Claus, barely alive and unconscious.
In actuality, Claus was beaten within an inch of his life by the Drago when he was found and captured by Porky and his Pigmask Army. Porky's ultimate goal was to have the seven Needles pulled to have the world "reborn" in his own image, but he did not possess the power to pull them. Porky saw the potential in Claus and had him killed and reconstructed with robotic attachments, burying his memories deep inside of him. Breaking his will and his mind, Porky turned Claus into the commander of the Pigmask Army: The Masked Man.
Chapter 5[]
The Masked Man is hinted towards throughout chapter five. The first major sign of his existence is when Pigmasks mistaken Lucas for him and suit the protagonists up in Pigmask uniforms. In actuality, it's implied he was accompanied by Fassad when this happened as noticed by Pigmask troops. At the end of the chapter, once Fassad falls off of Thunder Tower, Lucas and Co. try to latch onto the Mother Porkship intended to save him so they can escape, but the Masked Man catches them trying to ride it with Duster's Rope Snake, and presumably orders the pilot to move the ship around and shake them off until the Rope Snake's jaw gives out.
Chapter 7[]
In chapter seven, Lucas finds Ionia tied up. He decides to help her, and she takes him to see Aeolia who is the guard of Osohe Castle's needle. Yet, unsettlingly, Aeolia begins to disappear much to her surprise. She is shocked, not expecting that someone would begin pulling the needles so soon and sends Lucas and Ionia off to find out who did it. While it's not initially realized, it's the Masked Man who did this and the very same person Aeolia taught PK Love three years ago.
The Masked Man meeting Lucas, Kumatora, and Boney.
Ionia reveals that were the seven Needles to be pulled, the sleeping dragon below the Nowhere Islands would awaken and destroy the world. The world would then be 'reborn' based on the heart of the person who pulled the Needles. If a person with good intentions pulled the Needles, the world would become a good place. Likewise, if an evil person pulled the Needles, the world would descend into chaos.
The Masked Man was set to work on pulling the Needles on Porky's behalf, but it would seem that the Masked Man had neither good nor evil intentions, as the Magypsies, guardians of the Needles, noted that the puller seemed to have no heart meaning that the Dark Dragon would destroy absolutely everything.
Lucas was the only other person capable of pulling the Needles. The Masked Man and Lucas engage in a race to pull the Needles. Lucas is initially unsure of who he's up against until he finally comes face to face with the Masked Man on Snowcap Mountain. Panic erupts when Lydia's needle is pulled during the time she meets Lucas. Lucas hastily investigates only to find out it was the same mysterious person he saw aboard the Mother Porkship after Thunder Tower's destruction. The Masked Man and Lucas stare into each other briefly before they are left to deal with a Steel Mechorilla.
They later meet again on Tanetane Island. After Lucas, Kumatora, Duster, and Boney defeat the Barrier Trio, the Masked Man accompanied by six Pigmask Majors and a Colonel enter the scene. The Masked Man takes on a flashy entrance, before easily defeating Lucas and Co. with a single lightning strike and pulling Missy's needle. Missy remarks how disappointing the outcome was before she vanishes. For the last time in the chapter, the Masked Man tries to break into Chupichupyoi temple. Impatient to a Clayman failing to break in, he explodes the Clayman and tries figuring out how to get in himself. However, a Mr. Saturn that took Lucas's rusty courage badge which was passed down by his father earlier gives it back as it has been fixed into a Franklin Badge. When Lucas meets the Masked Man this time, they defeat two of his Pigmask Majors along with his Colonel, and reflect his lightning strike right back at him. The Masked Man and Lucas then engage in a battle, until the Masked Man ultimately malfunctions. The Pigmasks, shocked that their commander they once presumed was unstoppable, make a retreat alongside the Masked Man.
Chapter 8[]
After defeating Porky, Flint tells Lucas the true identity of the Masked Man: his twin brother, Claus. Lucas encounters the Masked Man, who is about to pull the final Needle. Lucas and his friends confront the Masked Man before he fires a bolt of electricity, knocking everyone but Lucas unconscious due to his Franklin Badge, which possesses the power to deflect lightning.
Claus' death.
Throughout the battle, Lucas can't bring himself to attack his brother. The Masked Man unrelentingly assaults him with his sword and arm cannon.
Hinawa's voice calls out to the Masked Man, urging him to end the battle. His mother's voice initially does not faze him, and neither does his father Flint, who intervenes in the fight, but also fails to reach his son. As Hinawa's voice continues speaking throughout the fight, the Masked Man is eventually overcome by his buried memories and emotions. In the end, the Masked Man realizes his true identity as Claus, regains his humanity and removes his mask.
Claus looks at his brother before firing an intense bolt of lightning at him, fully knowing that the Franklin Badge would deflect it back at Claus. Though mortally wounded, he had enough strength to share his final moments with his brother. Claus apologizes and thanks his brother and father for freeing him. Before "going to that place where Mom is", Claus assures Lucas that they will meet again. Claus draws his final breath and dies in his brother's arms.
Other Media[]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
Claus appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as two primary spirits: his regular spirit, which is a legendary neutral type, and the Masked Man, which is an ace attack type. As Claus, his spirit battle is against Lucas on the Battlefield form of the Garden of Hope stage. When defeated, Metal Lucas, based on the Masked Man, appears wielding a Beam Sword with increased power. As the Masked Man, his spirit battle is a stamina battle against Lucas on the Ω form of the New Pork City stage with increased attack power and a fast Final Smash meter. When equipped, he increases sword-based attacks.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Claus' name is an intentional anagram of "Lucas".
- Claus' name is derived from the Greek word "Nikolaos". A name which means "victory of the people".
- Claus' name can also be derived from Nike, the Greek Goddess of victory and warfare.
- In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the artwork for the Masked Man spirit was mistakenly cropped from fan-art instead of a proper sprite from Mother 3. Both sprites are almost identical, but the fan-art sprite has a small light-gray pixel on the helmet, which the in-game sprite lacks. In the version 2.0.0 update, the Masked Man sprit sprite was replaced with a proper sprite from Mother 3.
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 Villains
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Giygas's Army Pigmask Army Minch Family Others | ||
