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| “ | I am the creator of the Akuma, the Earl of the Millennium! I am the one who will exorcise the filthy "gods", and with the Akuma lead the world to its end! ♥ The Order's priests, the exorcists... you can struggle all you want, but you won't be able to save the world! ♥ Never! ♥ HAHAHAHA! ♥ | „ |
| ~ The Millennium Earl |
| “ | Losing a collaborator here and there isn't much of a setback. There's always someone out there, willing to help the cause. | „ |
| ~ The Millennium Earl, upon losing a human taking bribes to set up victims to turn into Akuma |
| “ | Let's get your loved one back from your detestable God. | „ |
| ~ The Millennium Earl sweet talking a victim into creating an Akuma |
The Millennium Earl is the first apostle who's real name is Adam is the patriarch of the Noah Family and the main antagonist of the anime/manga series D.Gray-man.
The Earl is the creator of Akuma and the player of the Noah's Ark. His ultimate plan is to 'cast god into outer darkness' and cause another three days of darkness.
He is voiced by the late Junpei Takiguchi in the Japanese version of the anime and Jason Liebrecht in the English version. In the Japanese version of D.Gray-man Hallow, he is voiced by Yutaka Aoyama.
Appearance[]
In his initial form, the Earl resembles a grotesque caricature of a Victorian gentleman, and appears much more similar in appearance to an Akuma upon initial introduction than the rest of the Noah Clan. He has a large, almost cartoonish, rotund figure, easily towering over everyone else. The Earl has a goblin-like face, with long pointed ears, and perhaps his most notable characteristic, is his large rectangular-shaped mouth that appears stuck in a perpetual grin. Like the rest of the Noah Clan, he has gray skin and, on the rare occasion they can be seen behind his glasses, golden eyes. This gives him an overall demonic and otherworldly appearance. Unlike other members of the Noah family we are introduced to, he initially lacks the usual stigmata on the forehead. Instead, on the rare occasion he is shown without his signature top hat, he is shown to have two devilish horns on his head.
In his human form he appears as a typical Victorian gentleman in a suit and top hat, and a monocle over his left eye. His face was rarely seen and when it was, it was often hidden, though this changed in later chapters. When his human form is shown in full, he resembles a tall, handsome, middle-aged man with beard and mustache stubble, or a five-o-clock shadow. He has medium length dark hair, and wears a human sized version of his usual attire. There are 6 buttons on his jacket, and a stripped green and black shirt underneath. He also carries Lero in a cane form rather than as an umbrella.
Personality[]
Despite his evil intentions to end humanity, the Earl always seems to act as a cheerful, friendly and carefree character, almost like a friendly old uncle. As well in the manga he always ends his sentences with a heart. The Earl has also shown to be rather eccentric, an example of this would be how he pulled out a rooster costume out of nowhere when trying to wake up Alma Karma.
However when in the presence of the fellow Noah members he has shown concern and happiness towards them and became extremely furious after the destruction of the Ark, although whether that was due to the 14th's return or due to him destroying the original home of humanity and the Noah family is unknown. The Earl cares a great deal to his fellow Noah, especially Road and at one point even aiding her in her homework. A majority of the time, he is rather lax and cordial, and occasionally affectionate towards them. However, there has been at least one instance in which he has shown anger and strictness towards his fellow Noah, namely while in Japan, he ordered Jasdevi and Skinn Bolic to complete the tasks assigned to them (which they made little progress in) in a rather threatening manner (similar to how he acts towards enemies) which left them greatly intimidated. Despite all that Road states that the Earl would never be truly angry with them.
He has also displayed a manipulative side, capable of acting out of sheer, sadistic malice, and happily plays with people's lives. During Sheril Kamelot's dinner party, the Earl in his human form appeared far more stern, addressing the issue of the Akuma Egg and the Heart in a serious manner; in this moment of seriousness he didn't end any of his sentences with a heart. When appearing (fully) in his human form again later on, he is shown to be much more calm and quiet, but also somewhat more tired and melancholic in contrast to the jovial and eccentric persona of his suit form. He does not display the same eccentricities as he does in his "suit" form. He also appears to be prone to getting comically depressed rather easily, specifically when the topic of Nea is brought up, where at one point, he crumbled into a ball and cried, while lamenting the 14th's betrayal. Road states that he can be such a "crybaby" in his human form.
In addition, when confronting Allen during his run from Apocryphos, the Earl shows he is not always menacing and/or collected. During this part of the story due to high emotional strain he madly chants Nea's name, repeatedly asking him why he doesn't recognize him, all the while his body and face in suit form grow more deranged and aggressive. He then suddenly remembers Mana and starts expressing intense hatred towards him.
Like all Noah, the Earl has deep hatred towards Innocence and humanity, despite this he does have a soft spot for children as seen in one instance he bought flowers to a a little girl and bringing a little boy back to his mother. He also lets Allen live when he fails to turn him into an Akuma, despite later questioning why he did so, stating it was fate.
History[]
7,000 years prior to the start of the series, there were thirteen apostles of Noah: The Earl of Millennium was the first apostle known as Adam. After his defeat in a battle against an unnamed opponent wielding the "Heart", the remaining twelve apostles repopulated the Earth (after it had been wiped out by the Great Flood). As a result, they became the progenitors of the human race, which meant that the genes of the Noah lie dormant in every human. Once in an age, these genes awaken within twelve people who will then become the Earl's Apostles; they will protect him, as well aid him in his war against Innocence.
One time during those 7,000 years the Earl disappeared from this world. In a day as the Earl stood weeping next to the tree of Cornelia, he met Caterina Eve Campbell, when all of a sudden he vanished splitting himself into two babies. They were both adopted and raised by Caterina and given names; Mana and Nea, they were raised by her as twin brothers.
After 17 years have passed, the Mana half devoured the Nea half in order to fulfil his role as the Millennium Earl and destroy the "Heart". The Earl is then seen standing tearfully in front of a mirror, he cried out clawed at it while his complexion changed to that of a Noah. However the Mana reflection within the mirror remained the same as before, weeping and constantly apologizing for what he did. The Mana on the outside of the mirror then violently clawed out at his own face and blamed the tearful reflection of Mana for everything that had happened, and proclaimed himself as The Earl of Millennium. The Earl then declared that his identity as the Earl is more than enough and told Mana to disappear. With that, the reflection of Mana disappeared leaving only the Earl who proceeds to destroy his own face (as it reminded him too much of Mana and Nea).
35 years ago Nea betrayed his own family and killed his own family except for Road Kamelot and the Earl. Nea attempted to kill the Earl hoping to take his position, however his attempt failed and the Earl eventually killed Nea.
When Mana died, the Earl tricked his adopted son Allen Walker into turning Mana into an Akuma. However, much to the Earl's surprise, Allen had Innocence which activated of its own accord, allowing him to kill Mana's Akuma form. The Earl simply left after this happened instead of killing Allen, an act the Earl later came to question himself about.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Hoshino says she based the Earl of Millennium off a legendary alchemist/preacher (most likely the Count of St. Germain or Nicolas Flamel, though in many ways he's also reminiscent of Dorian Gray, possibly referenced in Dorian Grey man and thus D.Gray-Man, as adapted in the film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) whose tale even claims he still may be alive somewhere.
- The Earl, along with Apocryphos, is one of the two oldest known characters in the series, having been alive for 7,000 years.
- If the Earl original name is Adam then Caterina is Eve.
- Due to the fact that he has been seen crushing Innocence with his hands, the Earl can be seen as a Destroyer of Innocence literally as well as metaphorically.
- The Earl has several human contacts whom he pays in exchange for setting up mourning humans he can trick into becoming Akuma; he most likely uses the money from the Kamelot family to cover it.
- The usual appearance of the Earl is in fact a bodysuit Golem that forcibly makes Mana Walker do his job as Earl; manipulating his mind.
- In their review of the first volume, IGN compared the Earl to three Batman villains, saying 'The Millennium Earl looks like the Penguin, acts like the Joker and is as malicious as Two-Face.'
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 Villains
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Noah Family Disciples The Akuma Others | ||