Necrid

Necrid is a character in the Soul series of fighting games. He only appears in the console versions of Soulcalibur II, although he is also included in both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 online HD ports. He was created for the Soul series by Todd McFarlane, the creator of Spawn, as well as former illustrator for Marvel Comics (having famously revamped Spider-Man in the late 1980s) and co-founder of Image Comics (where Spawn comics are published).

Biography
Necrid was once one of many warriors who managed to reach Soul Edge after beating its former owner. But as he approached the sword, the evil spirit of the sword, Inferno, raised from inside it and beckoned him. Upon seeing the apparition, the fear he felt was so great that he, despite thinking it was a dishonor for a warrior, escaped. He managed to avoid the confrontation, but ended trapped in the vortex of Chaos that Inferno brought. Trapped there, his mind and body were warped and contaminated by the strong evil aura of that realm, eventually turning him into an abomination.

During Kilik and Xianghua's battle against Nightmare, Necrid sensed that the spirit sword's existence harmed him, so he jumped through the open void and escaped Chaos just as it was collapsing. Now on the world once again, he soon discovered that he needed the evil influence of the void to keep himself alive. Out of instinct, and in constant pain, he attacked many travelers thinking they were "enemies", until one happened to carry a fragment of Soul Edge. The familiar aura softened his pain, and a "purpose" born in Necrid's mind: find the rest of the fragments so he can stop the pain. Necrid soon left on a journey to find other fragments.

Soulcalibur II Ending
His soul yearning for repose, Necrid sought the pieces of Soul Edge. At long last, Inferno appeared before him. A warrior's blood and his honor... long forgotten memories and reason reawakened within him. Victorious against the heinous Inferno, Necrid solemnly closed the opening to the void. And thus he disappeared into that darkness, taking with him the Soul Edge.

Stages

 * Lakeside Coliseum (SCII)

Weapons

 * Maleficus
 * Lemures
 * Morphos
 * Orcus Claw
 * Ignis Fatuus
 * Lambent Viper
 * Hex Luminae
 * Infernal Edge
 * Soul Edge (Complete)
 * Chaos
 * Ethereal Edge

Reception
Critical response to Necrid varied. GameNOW called the visual design "silly", comparing the character to an "old-school He-Man character", but added that Necrid's gameplay was decent. GMR described him as an example of "bad American comic book design" IGN's Kaiser Hwang called Necrid a "disappointment", questioning the character's design in comparison to others in the series, and felt Necrid was "filler" rather than a complete character.[5] GameSpot made similar comments in their review of the game, as did GameSpy. Describing the character's inclusion as an unnecessary marketing ploy, IGN's Xbox article editor would have preferred new characters made without McFarlane's involvement, and stated Necrid did not "vibe" with the rest of the game. Other reviewers praised the character's gameplay and design. GameZone stated his attacks compensated for his appearance, describing him as "cool" and praising both his weapon and fighting style. X-Play stated that, while Necrid did not seem to fit the aesthetic, the character did have some appeal. The Manila Bulletin praised the character's design, with the reporter noting a personal preference for playing as Necrid and praising the appearance and effects of Necrid's weapon. UGO's Doug Trueman stated Necrid's weapon had to be "seen to be believed", and described him among other new characters as "[adding] something spectacular to the Soul Calibur pantheon" Insert Credit's Tim Rogers called Necrid "a work of digital art both in form and function", adding, "as far as console-only characters go—everybody wins with Necrid."

Trivia

 * Necrid's destined battle in Soulcalibur II is Talim.
 * Necrid's moves are mostly a collection from other character's. Players found some of his moves are the same as Nightmare, Maxi, Ivy, Cervantes, Talim, Voldo, Taki and Astaroth.
 * Although Necrid's various spoken lines are unintelligible gibberish, in the sound test it can be seen that they are named after various emotions, such as "Determination" and "Pride".
 * He's one of the only four characters from the Soul series that has a demonic arm. The others being Nightmare, Siegfried (When he was the host for Nightmare) and Pyrrha Ω.
 * His backstory appears to be similar to that of Aeon.
 * Necrid's status as a canon character was debated for years. He was finally confirmed canon in New Legends of Project Soul. According to the book, tales from Northern Europe mention a warrior named "Necrid" who fought a sword believed to be Soul Edge before disappearing in another dimension. However, any actual role he may have played during the events of Soulcalibur II is currently unknown.
 * Necrid's voice recordings, when reversed, reveal that his lines are the same as Mitsurugi's, but pitched down and distorted.
 * A possible reference to Necrid is made in Soulcalibur V, where Viola is able to wield a weapon named Ignis Fatuus- a selectable weapon for Necrid which is aesthetically similar; both weapons have a red colouration.
 * The primary reason why Necrid has never appeared in any subsequent installment in the series was due to the rights of the character being split between Namco and Todd McFarlane. Thus, there are copyright issues that make the prospect of his return difficult.