Really wasn't expecting any redeeming qualities for a guy who ripped the head off a teenager but here we are
My first PE Removal. With later books shedding more light on his relationships, it's time for Irish Morgoth to get cut. Thank you Valkerone for permission.
What's the work?[]
Skulduggery Pleasant follows the titular detective, who happens to be a reanimated skeleton, and his partner, Valkyrie Cain, as they solve mysteries that inevitably lead to another attempt at either world domination, the end of the world or the return of a race of Eldritch Gods. The series takes place in what can best be described as Irish Harry Potter, a world where mages live among us, and was once ruled by horrifying creatures known as the Faceless Ones. They enslaved humanity, but were eventually banished to another dimension by the very first mages.
Who is He?/What He Has Done?[]
Mevolent is the leader of a group of fanatics who sought to bring back the Faceless Ones and enslave mortals, those with no magic. Initially the student of one of the Faceless Ones' descendants, the Unnamed, he later betrayed and attempted to kill his master by stabbing him with a knife that erased him from existence (he survived that somehow). Thus he took over the Church of the Faceless, married a woman named Serafina Dey, and waged war against the Sanctuaries, the magic governments of each country. At some point in time, he unknowingly fathered a son with one of his warriors named Abyssinia, who was also the daughter of the Unnamed. She was later seemingly killed by Lord Vile in front of Mevolent and his supporters at a banquet, to which he didn't even raise his head as she was impaled and thrown out a window to her supposed death. She would survive and was later captured, while her son, Caisson, was raised by one of Mevolent's own followers. However, he believed Lord Vile was his father and that Mevolent had made him try to kill his mother, so Caisson stabbed him to death.
However, in an alternate dimension, Mevolent won the war, capturing and killing his enemies, keeping their bodies in tanks for display, nuking America to the point not even insects could exist there and committing a genocide against mortals, enslaving the survivors. He'd also made it a hobby to kill himself every morning so he could go jumpscare death to the point then when he died for real, death wouldn't take him. He learned of the existence of an alternate world, our main universe, when Valkyrie was transported their via the magic technique of shunting. He conspired with the main universe's Serafina, hoping to invade it. When his world was overrun by the zombie like Draugar, secretly the work of his Lord Vile (oh boy we'll get to him later) he set his sights on invading all universes, conquering them all and enslaving all who stood in his way. However, Lord Vile betrayed and killed him during the invasion process, but his agents managed to ferry his body through the portal and, having made death terrified of him or something, he came back to life. He and his followers rampaged through the city of Roarhaven, until he confronted by his brother-in-law, Damocles Creed. Creed presented the Eternity Gate, a special prison that had been cooked up a few books back that stretches a single second in their to practically infinity, requesting Mevolent get in, revealing they had captured this world's Serafina and would kill her if he didn't. Mevolent agreed, but Serafine instead stabbed herself with Creed's knife so Mevolent wouldn't have to surrender. Enraged, Mevolent pushed Creed away and caught her as she fell. She told him that deserved a chance at life and wished to measure up to the deceased alternate Serafine, to which Mevolent responded that she was pure and perfect regardless of which reality she was in, taking her into the Eternity Gate with him so they could spend her last moments together for eternity.
Why Doesn't He Qualify?[]
While never depicted as such earlier, the later books make it, well, rather evident that he genuinely loves his wife, a lot. Not only does he clearly miss his wife from his universe, he was willing to abandon his conquest of the next universe, even though he was completely slaughtering his enemies, to avoid an alternate version of his wife, not even the Serafina he actually married, from dying. Even when she was on death's door, he still allowed himself to be captured so he could spend more time with her. As the only difference between the two universes is whether or not Lord Vile redeemed, there's nothing to suggest the main universe counterpart didn't love his wife, especially seeing as how much she clearly loved him. He also shows a degree honour towards Valkyrie in their final encounter, telling her that it's ok to be defeated and die, laughing with her when she jokes if she can hug him after a failed attempt to stab and kill him, helping her stand up so she can die standing and agreeing to not damaging her face so her family will recognise her corpse.
Verdict[]
A pretty clear cut.