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| “ | It doesn't matter how brutal the world is. If you kill enough, it hollows you out. Guess I wanted to see if I could make myself whole again, and find some kind of redemption. | „ |
| ~ Nathaniel Moon |
Nathaniel Moon, also known as Silver Moon, is a major character in the AMC series Into the Badlands.
He was once the most feared Clipper in all of the Badlands, retiring after his 999th kill. He eventually faced Sunny, believing he was the one worthy of being his 1000th kill. After being denied an honorable death by Sunny and losing his hand, Nathaniel rejoins the war for the Badlands as the Widow's Regent, seeking revenge against Sunny for destroying his honor.
He was portrayed by Sherman Augustus, who also played Lt. Colonel Sullivan in Stranger Things and Benjamin Caffrey in Dexter.
Personality[]
As one of the most seasoned Clippers in all of the Badlands, Nathaniel has a high capacity for violence, and even describes himself as once enjoying killing people for his Baron, but a lifetime of killing left him emotionless and hollow. After losing his family, Nathaniel wished to find someone worthy enough of either being his 1000th kill or giving him a warriors death, displaying a high sense of honor. After Sunny refused to kill him and letting his friend Bajie cut off his hand, Nathaniel became consumed with revenge against Sunny, believing he had taken his honor away from him. Once the Widow found Nathaniel and offered him a chance to return to the Badlands and serve as her Regent, Nathaniel agreed to do so but only because he wanted vengeance on Sunny, not because he had a personal stake in the Widow's war.
Despite his life as a killer, Nathaniel harbored the desire to start a family, having started one after retiring from being a Clipper, and falling into a deep depression after losing them. He later rekindled a old romance with Lydia once he became the Widow's Regent, and intended to stay in the Badlands after getting revenge on Sunny so that he could be with her. Overtime, Nathaniel did begin to agree with the Widow's cause, wanting to help her in ending the Cog slave trade. He eventually gives up on his quest for vengeance after Sunny saves his life, and after learning Sunny has a newborn son. After Lydia is killed by Cressida, he embarks on a quest to get revenge on her, however he makes it clear that this has nothing to do with honor, but rather justice instead, showing he no longer lets his sense of honor control his actions.
Biography[]
Early life[]
As a child, Nathaniel was trained to become a Colt, and slowly raised through the ranks of the Clipper force until he became the Regent for the Baron of the Butterfly Territory. He would become the most feared Clipper in the Badlands, and was considered unbeatable in combat. Nathaniel would have romantic tension with Lydia, the wife of Baron Quinn, leading to rumors that the two of them had an affair, although it is left unclear whether or not the two of them ever actually were involved beyond mutual attraction. Eventually, Nathaniel acquired 999 kills, thus giving him the highest kill count of any Clipper in the Badlands. Nathaniel would decide to retire, leaving to live in the Outlands and starting a family. One day the brother of a nomad scavenger he had killed for his Baron years ago tracked him down and killed his wife and child. According to Nathaniel, the brother left his wife and child's head on his kitchen table as a surprise for him when he got home. Devastated at the loss of his family, Nathaniel ultimately decided to become a bounty hunter until he could find an opponent that he considered to be worthy of his 1000th kill or that could defeat him and give him an honorable death.
Losing his honor[]
Nathaniel took refuge in a storage house near a bridge, where he would aid travelers coming through should they be attacked by scavengers. One day, a man named Sunny and his traveling companion Bajie cross the bridge while being pursued by a group of attackers, only for Nathaniel to intervene and helps them to kill the attackers. Nathaniel explains that after they escaped from the Bordeaux Mines that the Engineer, the leader of the mines, put out a bounty for their heads and has bounty hunters searching for them all over the Outlands. They initially assume that Nathaniel wants their heads as well to deliver to the Engineer and collect the bounty, but he makes it clear that he does not want that, and respects Sunny due to them both being former Clippers. Nathaniel takes them to his home, where he gives them shelter for the night. Sunny recognizes Nathaniel from his time as a Regent, and the two share stories of both being considered the most feared Clippers in the Badlands at some point. Sunny and Bajie stay in Nathaniel's shelter overnight, but in the morning Nathaniel informs Sunny he wishes for them to fight so that Sunny can either be his 1000th kill or give him an honorable death. Sunny does not wish to fight, as he is trying to put his Clipper life behind him so he can get back to his girlfriend and newborn child. Nathaniel tells Sunny that they are better off without him, but Sunny is not swayed, and the two fight. Despite his immense skill, Sunny ultimately outclasses Nathaniel and is victorious, to which Nathaniel thanks him for giving him a worthy final battle, saying he is ready to die. Sunny refuses to kill Nathaniel, dropping his sword and saying he will not be his executioner before walking away. Enraged at Sunny's refusal to grant him the honorable death has waited for all this time, Nathaniel charges at Sunny with his back turned, demanding he kill him. Bajie saves Sunny by throwing his pickaxe at Nathaniel, cutting off his hand. Bajie then takes Nathaniel's signature Clipper sword to trade with a smuggler named Nos for him and Sunny to get back into the Badlands. As they leave, Nathaniel shouts at Sunny that he will not be able to save his family, at which point Sunny and Bajie leave him to presumably bleed to death.
Despite having his hand cut off, Nathaniel manages to survive and replaces it with a prosthetic. Months after his lost to Sunny, the Widow tracks him down in the Outlands and finds him still working as a Bounty Hunter. She explains that her former Regent Tilda has abandoned her, and she needs a new one. She remembers Nathaniel from his time as her husband's Regent, and she offers him to return and aid her in the war against Baron Chau. He at first refuses, and two fight to a standstill. Nathaniel explains that he wants revenge on Sunny for destroying his honor, to which the Widow promises him that if he serves as her Regent she will help him get the revenge that he desires, convincing him to join her. He returns to the Widow's territory with her, where she gives him a new more advanced prosthetic hand that has an extendable blade and launchable darts inside of it, which he thanks her for. He later spars with M.K., who the Widow is holding captive with the intention of harnessing his Gift, a supernatural power that has been locked inside of him. Nathaniel compliments M.K.'s fighting ability, but is clearly still superior to him, and asks who trained him to fight. M.K. reveals that it was Sunny who trained him, then mocking the fact that he has worked out that it was Sunny who took Nathaniel's hand, angering Nathaniel, who then knocks out M.K. to finishing their sparring match. The Widow commends him for still having his moves, and sends him out into the field as her Regent. Nathaniel aids the Widow in recruiting Lydia to become her Viceroy and rule the Armadillo Territory, with the two being please to see each other and seemingly still have feelings for each other all these years later. He is eventually sent out to find Tilda, who has taken on the mantle of "The Iron Rabbit" and is working against both the Widow and Chau at the same time. Tilda has been attacking the Widow's supply trucks, but the Widow has managed to find the location of her refugee camp. Nathaniel invades the camp, but an unknown individual warned Tilda of this attack, and she manages to escape. Nathaniel and his Clipper force are able to capture Odessa, Tilda's girlfriend, and bring her back to the Widow's fort as a hostage.
Nathaniel finds the note that was sent to warn Tilda, and recognizes it as Lydia's handwriting. Her confronts her on having warned Tilda, but she defends herself saying that while she supports the Widow trying to end to Cog slave trade, Tilda is helping refugees hurt in the war against Chau, and should not be a prisoner. Nathaniel ultimately agrees to not tell the Widow of Lydia's treachery. Some time later, a shipment from one of the Widow's Clippers arrives, saying it was sent by the Regent. Nathaniel is confused, as he is the new Regent, and asks the Clipper to describe them. The Clipper explains that they had a sword exactly like Nathaniel's signature Clipper sword, indicating it is Sunny posing as the new Regent. Nathaniel goes to the outpost where Sunny was last seen, where he questions Arthur, the Clipper in charge, on where he went. Arthur tells him that Sunny went north, to which Nathaniel promptly departs to track him. Nathaniel eventually encounters an old blind man during his traveling who offers him shelter for the night. In reality, the blind man is part of a tribe of cannibals who have taken Sunny, Bajie, and Sunny's newborn son Henry hostage by offering them shelter and drugging their food, which the blind man also does to Nathaniel. He wakes up in the blind cannibal assassins underground bunker, where he is being held captive alongside Sunny and Bajie. Sunny manages to knock over the cart which has their weapons on it, and uses Nathaniel's metal hand to kill the guards and steal the keys to set them free. Sunny and Bajie initially leave without Nathaniel, but after retrieving Henry and killing the assassins, they return and set him free as well. After all leaving the bunker, Nathaniel appears to still want revenge on Sunny, who explains that he has no quarrel with Nathaniel and only wants to protect his son, who is very sick and needs help. Nathaniel charges at Sunny appearing he is going to kill him, but stops himself at the last minute. Nathaniel explains that Sunny saving his life and the fact that he has a son he is protecting is enough to satisfy his honor, and the two part ways, their feud resolved.
War for the Badlands[]
Nathaniel reports back to the Widow and tells her of his experience with Sunny, and makes it clear that he is no longer their enemy and is only trying to protect his son. The Widow is angered at this, as she is aware of how dangerous of a warrior Sunny is and was expecting Nathaniel to kill him, and tells Nathaniel that if Sunny comes to their territory, she will kill him herself. With his quest for revenge against Sunny over, Nathaniel returns to Lydia and tells her of what has happened, saying that he no longer has a desire to hunt down and kill Sunny, which was his original reason for returning to the Badlands. He then tells her that despite this, he will stay and continue fighting for the Widow as her Regent, but that he also wants to stay so he can be with her. They two finally rekindle their romance from long ago, both being satisfied with their current positions. Not long after this, the Widow mends fences with Tilda, asking her to work alongside her against Chau, which Tilda agrees to. After the Widow goes on a mission to meet with Pilgrim, a false messiah who has been recruiting on her land, she and Pilgrim are attacked by a group of assassins sent by Chau and led by her brother Gaius. The Widow takes Gaius hostage, but ultimately decides to let him live as he was being forced to serve Chau and has no true loyalty to her. Tilda then alerts the Widow that Chau's forces are raiding the refugee camps in order to deliver workers to Pilgrim due to a debt that Chau has to him, and the Widow orders Nathaniel to launch an immediate counterattack in order to stop the refugees from being taken. She also has Nathaniel free Gaius from his cell and give him a blade, as he is an exceptional warrior and can aid them in battle. Nathaniel leads the Widow's forces in stopping the abduction of refugees, and helps Gaius to fight Otto, Chau's Regent. Due to Otto being outnumbered and outmatched, he orders his Clippers to retreat with the people they have already managed to collect. During the battle, the Widow manages to capture Castor, a Dark One serving Pilgrim sent to oversee that Chau's mission was a success. Nathaniel and the Widow interrogate him but get no information, eventually returning him to Pilgrim so as to not start a war between the two of them.
While planning her next move against Chau, a coup from inside of the Widow's territory led by former Clippers Wren and Arthur takes place, who hold the Widow and Gaius hostage, forcing her to create an armistice with Chau in order to end the conflict immediately. Nathaniel finds an outpost to the Widow's territory with several dead and injured Clippers, and asks what happened to them. One of them explains that they weren't attacked by Chau's Clippers, but rather their own, causing Nathaniel to realize it was an inside job. Nathaniel allies with both Tilda and Lydia in raiding the Widow's compound in order to take down the treasonous Clippers and free her alongside Gaius. The Widow decides that she must end the war against Chau, and orders Nathaniel and Lydia to launch a direct invasion on her territory using their Clipper forces The Widow while she and Gaius invades Chau's mansion to fight her directly. Nathaniel goes out onto the front lines, with Lydia staying back to hold the line and not let Chau's forces get through to their side of the battlefield. Nathaniel kills dozens of Clippers but is eventually worn out and surrounded, about to be overpowered. However, Lydia saves him by shooting the Clippers with her crossbow and the two flee from the battlefield. They rejoice at their victory, as their Clippers successfully overpowered Chau's, but Lydia suddenly collapses, having been shot in the gut with a crossbow bolt. Nathaniel takes her back to a healer and watches over her while she recovers, seeing her as the last thing he has left to fight for. When Lydia wakes up, the two comfort each other over their victory, happy they finally have someone to fight for. Bajie arrives carrying Henry and informs them that Sunny is missing but he tasked Bajie with bringing Henry to Lydia since she has raised children before. Nathaniel and Lydia agree to watch over Henry, and the two of them talk about having both lost children in the past, but agree that they will raise Henry together like their own son if Sunny does not return. Sunny eventually does return, alongside the Widow and Bajie, who explain the rising threat of Pilgrim, who has gained the power to give and take the Gift from anyone that he wants, giving him the power to create an army of Dark Ones.
Cressida, a blood witch who serves as Pilgrim's right hand, arrives at the Widow's fort to inform them they must agree to work with Pilgrim or be destroyed. The group ultimately takes Cressida hostage as her abilities as a blood witch give her the ability to see into the future, therefore making her a highly valuable asset to Pilgrim. The Widow tells Lydia that when Pilgrim is defeated she will make her the new ruler of the Badlands, with Nathaniel being her Regent, a piece of news that the two rejoice over, realizing they are extremely close to getting everything they ever wanted. However, when Pilgrim learns that Cressida has been captured, he leads an army of Dark Ones to attack the Widow's fortress and rescue her. During the attack, Nathaniel helps to fight off Pilgrim's army and faces a Dark One named Eli, but despite his fighting ability being superior to Eli's, he is outmatched by the sheer power of his Gift and has to retreat. Lydia decides to execute Cressida, but she is overpowered by the witch's blood magic and fatally stabbed. Nathaniel finds her dying and says that he will get her to a healer, but she tells him not to bother saying that it is already to late. She tells him that she loves him once last time before dying in his arms. Nathaniel holds a funeral for her and decides to only stay in the fight so that he may kill Cressida, but after that he is done being a Clipper for good. When he learns the Widow is pregnant, he tells her it would be smarter to end the pregnancy now, saying it will hurt, but not as much as losing the kid a few years down the line, citing the fact that he would know, as he lost everything twice. He aids the group in the final battle against Pilgrim, where he personally tracks down Cressida and chases her to the docks where she is attempting to escape on a boat. Cressida claims killing her this way is not honorable, in comparison to Lydia who died fighting rather than being defenseless, but Nathaniel says he doesn't care about honor anymore. Before he can kill her, a Dark One serving Pilgrim attacks him, giving Cressida a chance to flee on a nearby boat. Nathaniel kills the Dark One and calls out to Cressida that she better never stop running, because he will pursue her forever. He is last seen cheering after seeing that Pilgrim has been defeated.
Powers & Abilities[]
- Martial Arts/Swordsmanship: Nathaniel was one of the most skilled and dangerous warriors in all of the Badlands, second only to Sunny. He fought the Widow to a standstill even with one of his hands missing, and was capable of holding his own against those who possessed the Gift, despite their extreme supernatural strength and agility. On the battlefield, he was capable of taking on dozens of Clippers at once with only minor injuries.
- Prosthetic Hand: After becoming the Widow's Regent, Nathaniel is given a metal hand that not only has an extendable blade but also two small darts in the knuckles.
- Leadership: As the Widow's Regent, Nathaniel is put in charge of a Clipper force that leads a successful invasion into Baron Chau's territory, breaking through her Clipper army and destroying her fortress.
Quotes[]
| “ | Sunny: Maybe all I've known is killing, but I know that's not all there is. Nathaniel: That's because you still believe you can have an ordinary life. Which means, you're headed for an ugly reckoning, too. |
„ |
| ~ Nathaniel's nihilistic worldview. |
| “ | The moment I saw you fight, I knew you were that 1000th tattoo. | „ |
| ~ Nathaniel challenging Sunny to a duel. |
| “ | Nathaniel: I guess this is what I've been searching for, an honorable death. Sunny: I'm not going to be your executioner. |
„ |
| ~ Nathaniel being denied an honorable death by Sunny. |
| “ | You'll leave a trail of bodies before you make it back to your family, and theirs will be the last ones. Theirs will be the last ones, Sunny! | „ |
| ~ Nathaniel lambasting Sunny. |
| “ | You better never stop running! No matter where you go, I will find you! Do you hear me Cressida? CRESSIDA! | „ |
| ~ Nathaniel's final words to Cressida. |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Nathaniel alludes to Sha Wujing from the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, of which Into the Badlands is loosely based on.
- Nathaniel's original signature Clipper sword is a Five-Ring Chinese Broadsword. The purpose of these rings is to disarm people using knives or Sai, as seen when Sunny uses it to disarm Baron Quinn.
- The sword is eventually returned to Nathaniel by Sunny, but it is destroyed by Eli using the strength of his Gift to overpower Nathaniel during the assault on the Widow's fortress.
- Nathaniel states that he has some familiarity with serving under Baron Chau, suggesting he may have been a Clipper for her or her parents at some point.
- Nathaniel is the only character outside of the Chau family to actually have a last name. This is likely due to him living outside of the Badlands, as the culture of the Badlands only gives people a first name.
External Links[]
- Nathaniel Moon on the Heroes Wiki
- Nathaniel Moon on the Into the Badlands Wiki
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 Villains
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Armadillo Territory Butterfly Territory Fox Territory Pickaxe Territory Other Territories Dark Ones The Black Lotus Other | ||