 ✓
| ||
|
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 | ||
| “ | It's almost looking possible, isn't it? For the lot of you to have come this far... It looks like I just might lose our little game, this time. | „ |
| ~ Quercus Alba in Turnabout Ablaze. |
| “ | The arm of the law is powerless before me! | „ |
| ~ Quercus Alba |
Quercus Alba (カーネイジオンレッド Kāneiji Onreddo) is the main antagonist of Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, as well as being one of the two overarching antagonists of its sequel Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit (alongside Di-Jun Wang's body double).
He is a crime boss and the leader of the Cohdopian Smuggling Ring that was previously a war hero that protected the royal Cohdopian family several times and served his country proudly, but gave into corruption after being given a lot of political power by the family and decided to start his smuggling ring as a way for quick money. He would abuse the diplomatic immunity he was granted to be able to escape all consequences for his acts and caused chaos and economic unrest all over the world until he was eventually defeated by Miles Edgeworth and Shi-Long Lang and exposed as both the leader and a murderer.
He was voiced by John Airhart in the English localization.
Biography[]
Descent into corruption[]
Quercus Alba was a war veteran from the Principality of Cohdopia, and was soon elected to be the country's ambassador. However, power soon corrupted him and he became the leader of an international smuggling ring, taking the image of a frail old man while using his position as an alibi to prevent being sent to court or even being accused. Furthermore, he contracted the Amano Group's services to further expand his smuggling through the whole world.
KG-8 Incident[]
In 2009, Cece Yew, a member of the Amano Group appeared before court with incriminating evidence to accuse her superior, but Alba ordered his second-in-command Manny Coachen to silence her. He did so, but he was arrested shortly after. However, Coachen was freed after Ernest Amano sent one of his employees to steal the camera footage that incriminated Coachen, thus giving him a "not guilty" verdict. Also, Alba sent one of his agents to pose as Cece's sister, Calisto Yew, who managed to join detective Tyrell Badd and prosecutor Byrne Faraday in forming the Yatagarasu. Three years later, Alba ordered "Calisto" to assassinate Faraday and steal a piece of evidence called the "Yatagarasu's Key". But her crime was exposed by then newcomer Miles Edgeworth, forcing her to run away. In the next seven years, Alba acted behind the scenes, continuing the smuggling ring's activities, until the civil war and separation of Cohdopia. As a result, Alba became the ambassador of the Kingdom of Allebahst, while Coachen became the secretary of the Republic of Babahl's ambassador, Colias Palaeno.
Turnabout Ablaze[]
| “ | These "crimes" you all speak so seriously of... To me, this has all been nothing more than a game. You may chase me out of this embassy with your accusations... but it's no big deal. Allebahst has numerous other embassies in other countries around the world. All you would accomplish is you would change the backdrop of our little game! | „ |
| ~ Quercus Alba explains about his diplomatic immunity. |
In 2019, Coachen organized an event in the symmetrical Cohdopian Embassy in the USA to determinate which country had the legitimate Primidux Statue, to show which country had the most control for a possible reunification. Both Alba and Coachen knew that Allebahst's statue was the real one, as the fake would be used to store the plates to fabricate the fake counterfeit bills in Zheng Fa. But Coachen, seeking to usurp Alba, hired a thief, Ka-Shi Nou, to switch both statues so Palaeno (without his knowledge) could be the new ambassador of the reunited Cohdopia. Alba discovered the plot and organized a whole plan with his agent, now an Interpol agent called Shih-na, to murder Coachen and pin the blame on the Yatagarasu. Later, Alba confronted Coachen and murdered him, tricking the Steel Samurai into unknowingly taking his body to the Babahlese side of the embassy, where Shih-na dumped him into the secretariat's office and set it on fire, blaming the Yatagarasu while Alba killed the thief Coachen hired in self-defense. However, Miles Edgeworth and his team where also at the embassy and managed to expose Shih-na as an agent of the Cohdopian Smuggling Ring, getting her arrested. When Edgeworth confronted Alba, however, the evidence only helped to make him drops the "old man" IMAGE and revert to his true self, as his position as ambassador gave him extraterritorial rights, meaning that he could only be judged in Allebahst. However, Interpol agent Shi-Long Lang exposed the stolen camera footage to the Allebahstian Council, deposing Alba of his position and granting Edgeworth and his team and friends to expose Alba and apprehend him. He was later tried both in the USA court by Edgeworth, and the reunited Cohdopian court by Franziska von Karma, both granting him a "guilty" verdict.
Breakdown[]
| “ | ..................E... EdgwoooooooooEAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAaAaaAaaaaAaaaaaaaa! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! | „ |
| ~ Quercus Alba during his breakdown. |
Alba has two set of breakdowns. First, he rises to his full height and breaks his staff into pieces. When finally caught, he screams Edgeworth's name while his face is cracked by a gust of wind, then he bends backwards, his medals flowing upwards while a falling tree is heard in the background. He then finally bends forward to reveal an almost mummified face.
Personality[]
| “ | Edgeworth: You...! Is not every life precious!? Alba: Heh heh heh... Do you really need me to answer that for you? |
„ |
| ~ Miles Edgeworth to Quercus Alba. |
When Edgeworth first encounter Alba, he projects an image of a frail, elderly, and harmless ambassador who is prone to self-deprecating apologies. This persona is a well-crafted deception designed to keep him above suspicion. His true personality is revealed to be the complete opposite: an arrogant, stubborn, and completely ruthless man who cares only for his wealth and influence. He views everyone else as a pawn to be used and discarded, including his accomplices in the smuggling ring.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Quercus Alba" is the scientific name for the White Oak tree, which explains his appearance, a log-shaped face, leaf-like hair and root-like beard.
- Oak trees are also known for being extremely resilient and strongly rooted. Alba is an extremely tough opponent to take down because of his roots in the Cohdopian embassy and the smuggling ring, as well as being very familiar with the legal system, causing him to put up an incredibly lengthy fight against Edgeworth.
- "Carnage Onred" (in Japanese: カーネイジオンレッド) might be a reference to the Red Carnation flower, which is the national symbol of Allebahst. It can also be a reference to "carnage on red", with "carnage" meaning "death", and "red" meaning "blood".
- Quercus Alba is one of several Ace Attorney villains to have more than one breakdown, like Kristoph Gavin. While the first breakdown is a set of rage, revealing their true selves, hidden from the others, the second one is desperate state when both villains are ultimately defeated, going mad beyond the borders.
- Alba is the first main antagonist who isn't compared to a devil or a demon at any point in the game.
- Alba is by far, the oldest main antagonist in the series at 72 years old. He is also the second oldest character in the Ace Attorney franchise, behind the 78 years old Bruto Cadaverini.
- All of the culprits in Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth have some connection to Alba's smuggling ring, and all except Lance Amano are directly employed by it.
- Alba has his own vocalized "Objection!" despite not being an attorney, which was the first time this had happened in the series.
- When Shi-Long Lang revokes Alba's diplomatic immunity, he remarks that "Your diplomatic immunity has just been revoked." This is similar to the famous exchange at the end of the action comedy film Lethal Weapon 2 between Roger Murtaugh and Arjen Rudd, where Rudd boasts of his diplomatic immunity only to get shot by Murtaugh, who then quips "It's just been revoked."
- When Alba is defeated he says, "And I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for you meddling prosecutors!" This is a paraphrase of the "I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for those meddling kids!" catchphrase commonly spoken by the culprit at the resolution of most Scooby-Doo cases.
- His wooden appearance and long nose may also be a reference to Pinocchio, known for his tendency to lie, which Alba does numerous times throughout the investigation.
External Links[]
- Quercus Alba on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Quercus Alba on the Ace Attorney Wiki
