 ✓
| ||
|
This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves! | „ |
| ~ Poseidon's motto, and his most famous quote. |
| “ | ♫I've got a reputation. I've got a name to uphold. So I can't go letting you walk, or else the world forgets I'm cold.♫ | „ |
| ~ Poseidon expressing his true motivation and fury in "Get in the Water" |
Poseidon is the main antagonist of the 2022-2024 musical/concept album, EPIC: The Musical, by Jorge Rivera-Herrans that serves as an adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey.
He is the Olympian god of tides, the brother of Zeus and father of Polyphemus, who takes pride in being cold and ruthless, He would then become Odysseus’s archenemy after the latter chooses to spare his son and simply left him wounded. Poseidon becomes the biggest threat he faces on his journey back to Ithaca as he strives to take revenge, outraged at the disrespect given to him.
He is voiced by Steven Rodriguez.
Personality[]
Poseidon prides himself on being a cold and ruthless god. He considers ruthlessness a form of mercy toward oneself, believing that a true man must be a killer to survive in a dark and unforgiving world. Most of his disgust toward Odysseus does not stem from the attack on his son, Polyphemus. In fact, Poseidon would have been satisfied if Odysseus had simply killed Polyphemus outright. Instead, his wrath is kindled by Odysseus' self-righteousness and his decision to spare Polyphemus even after wounding him. To Poseidon, this act of mercy signifies that Odysseus considers his son unworthy of being finished off—a direct insult to Poseidon’s pride and property.
However, the sea god’s ideology has its flaws, particularly his inability to separate his pride from his principles. This flaw leads to his undoing. Poseidon spares Odysseus’ life, instead choosing to let him watch as nearly his entire fleet (except for the ship he is aboard) is destroyed. This decision gives Odysseus the opportunity to use Aeolus’ bag of winds to escape Poseidon when the god finally attempts to kill him outright. In the end, Odysseus outsmarts Poseidon, reducing the gloating god to begging for mercy. Odysseus exploits Poseidon’s immortality to torture him, forcing him to relent and allow Odysseus to return to Ithaca and leave him in peace.
Despite his divine status, Poseidon is not without fear. Even he avoids venturing into Scylla’s domain, demonstrating that even gods have beings they dread.
Biography[]
Poseidon is the brother of Zeus and one of the Gods of Olympus. Charged with maintaining the tides, he eventually fathered the cyclops such as Polyphemus. Eventually King Odysseus of Ithaca ended up stumbling onto Polyphemus' cave and killed his favorite sheep, having assumed the cave was uninhabited and the flock was wild than domesticated. This eventually led to a fierce battle that saw many of Odysseus' men such as his best friend Polites and then him blinding Polyphemus and leaving him behind.
The Ocean Saga[]
Disgusted at Odysseus' decision to leave Polyphemus alive but blinded than daring to finish the job, Poseidon sends a storm in the fleet's path. After a long series of events involving the wind god Aeolus offering to help Odysseus for her own amusement by trapping the winds of the storm in a bag, and that bag getting opened, Poseidon confronts them at the land of the giants.
Voicing his disgust at his self-righteousness and stupid decision and how Polyphemus was Poseidon's son, he surrounds the fleet, preventing them from escaping, and then rants about how he hates how he claims to fight for lives but doesn't kill or get the job done and he would've been fine had Polyphemus simply died. Intending to teach Odysseus the value of ruthlessness, he gives Odysseus a final chance to apologize. While Odysseus tries to reason with Poseidon and how he only harmed Polyphemus to disarm him and took no pleasure, just wanting to escape, Poseidon is not amused on Odysseus naively not getting the idea.
He promptly talks about how the world is dark and the line between naivety and hopefulness is invisible, and then, he sadistically forces Odysseus to watch while he drowns all but one boat in his entire fleet, later informing him how from 600 men he now only has 43 men left under his command. After throwing Odysseus' words on being his darkest moment against him, he attempts to kill the latter. However, Odysseus slices open Aeolus' bag of winds, using the remaining air inside to provide a gust powerful enough to escape Poseidon, much to his surprise. After the boat lands on the shores of Circe's Island, the sea god's sends one final message to Odysseus, wanting him to remember him for the rest of his life.
The Vengeance Saga[]
Ten years later, when Odysseus was freed from his exile on Calypso's Island, Poseidon once again calls in another storm to block Odysseus' way to Ithaca, which was eventually captured and sealed in a bag by Hermes. Undeterred, he still allows Odysseus to reach the shores of Ithaca for a final confrontation. Emerging from the water, Poseidon talks about he has waited for the moment when he rips Odysseus' hope from his face, demanding him to get in the water and drown as retribution for Odysseus' crimes against Poseidon, musing about how he has a reputation as a ruthless god to keep and does not want the world to forget he's cold. If he doesn't, Poseidon will unleash a great flood that will kill everybody in Ithaca, making special notice to Odysseus' wife and son and will gouge the latter's eyes out before his death, clarifying such threats are not bluffs if he refuses to die.
With no other choice left, Odysseus makes a final desperate plea to stop their feud, as it has led them to still hurt from losses inflicted by each other. Though it seemed to work at first, Poseidon, naturally, is offended by this notion and uses his ultimate attack, "Shatter the Ocean", to knock him off of his raft and push him down to the bottom of the ocean. But before Odysseus can lose consciousness, he once more opens the wind containing Poseidon's storm to escape the clutches of death, this time attaching it to his back and facing off against Poseidon in a battle for the fate of Ithaca.
Odysseus eventually manages to break the sound barrier and strikes the god six hundred times-one for each of his men that died during his journey, momentarily defeating him. Down, but not out, Poseidon taunts his enemy on how unleashing the storm from the bag blocked his way home. Odysseus is unfazed, however, and threatens him to call off the storm, taking advantage of the sea god's immortality by using Poseidon's own trident to torture him, wanting Poseidon to feel how helpless he was and feel how much he suffered. The once ruthless god is now reduced to a writing, screaming mess as can do nothing but beg Odysseus for mercy; mercy that he shunned all those years ago, but he refuses to stop, tossing Poseidon's philosophy back against him, to which the latter finally agrees to call off the storm. Horrified by Odysseus' actions, he asks how he can sleep at night as he leaves for Ithaca, to which Odysseus responds he will, right next to the wife he loves.
As gods cannot die, it is implied Poseidon will eventually heal from his wounds but will likely never try to harm nor kill Odysseus or anyone associated with him ever again.
Quotes[]
| “ | There you are.. Coward! | „ |
| ~ Poseidon’s taunting reunion towards Odysseus after Ten Years of avoiding his wrath. |
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- Poseidon was based on Sephiroth as part of the many inspirations Jorge has taken from video games, the most notable being the chorus chanting Poseidon's name repeatedly as he reveals himself to Odysseus and his fleet is what he told was inspired by a similar motif used in Sephiroth's boss battle.
- In accordance to the general pattern of using more electronic instruments the more mystical the situation gets across the musical, Poseidon's motif in EPIC is represented with trumpets and brass that get more electronic and distorted the more angry he gets. Said motif is also used as a representation of 'Ruthlessness' whenever it is utilized by other characters.
- According to Jorge, his canon design is meant to evoke a resemblance to sharks to symbolize himself as a terrifying sea creature.
External Links[]
- Poseidon on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Poseidon on the EPIC: The Musical Wiki