Blaine's True Identity (THEORY)

[Not Ienzo]

So it seems that a lot of people think that Blaine is Ienzo, and now that Lauriam (Marly's Somebody) is in KHUX, it's possible that Blaine could indeed be a previously existing character. I don't think it's Ienzo though...I personally think it's Braig.

To explain why I think this, I'll split it into two parts, why I think it could potentially be Braig, why I don't think he's Ienzo, and how this could tie in to Lauriam and Marluxia.

...

1) Why I think it's Braig.

So we know that Braig wants the Keyblade. So much so that he joined Xehanort and even became one of his pawns to achieve that. I'm thinking that in UX he could potentially lose his Keyblade, since it's possible to do that in this universe, or at least could be. Riku was denied the power to wield a Keyblade in KH1 because Sora's heart was stronger, and then there's Ansem SoD who doesn't have one, even though Terranort used to.

Also, I think there is a bit of a resemblance to the two. They have a similar hair color for one thing, even if the style is different. I feel like Blaine is really young, 10-11 ish, but that might be just because of the chibi art style. So I think that he could potentially be a younger Braig, since Braig seems to be in his 20's or 30's. And Blaine's face is mostly concealed so you can't really tell what he looks like.

If he lost his Keyblade in UX, then that would be pretty good reasoning to explain why he wants one again so badly. What he actually wants the Keyblade for is anyone's guess though.

This is just a minor reason but their names do sound kinda similar. Blaine, and Braig.

2) Why I think it's not Ienzo.

Expanding on what was said previously, him and Ienzo just...don't look that similar to me. Different hair colour, different hairstyle, his clothes don't seem like something Ienzo would wear. And their personalities just don't align to me. They seem too different. Blaine just seems more like Braig to me than Ienzo does.

Not to mention that Blaine seems to be older than Ienzo is in BBS. Maybe age reversal could be a thing though...?

And unlike Braig who desires the Keyblade, Ienzo doesn't seem to have any interest in it at all. Him and the other apprentices were like mad scientists in a sense, obsessed with studying the heart and darkness and stuff. Braig was the same, but his main goal at that time was aiding Terra-Xehanort. And Zexion seemed to be one of the people who didn't know of Xehanort's grand plan and simply wanted his heart back, unlike Braig.

Maybe Zexion could be given a greater meaning in the plot later, which I would honestly like, but do I think he's Blaine? Not really.

There's one more reason why I think Blaine is Braig, and this ties into Lauriam/Marluxia...

3) Braig and Marluxia's connection.

In KH2FM, it's confirmed that Braig/Xigbar was the one who found Marluxia. We never know how, or why, it's just something that's brought up.

Now that we know that Lauriam is in the UX era...and if Braig was also in the UX era...then that would give the whole thing a deeper meaning. I find it funny too that Xigbar was talking about it to Zexion.

Both Braig and Marluxia actually have similar goals, to gain the power of the Keyblade. They went about it in different ways though, with Braig working for Xehanort and Marluxia betraying him and trying to control Sora.

So yeah, like I said earlier, prehaps the two lose their Keyblade in UX and thus, they both want it back, but they both go their separate ways to find it with Braig being loyal to Xehanort while Marluxia betrays him. Maybe Xigbar sought to find Lauriam since they both knew each other (with Braig as Blaine and Marluxia as Lauriam) from the UX era, with both being Union Leaders and all. And with Braig being from the UX era, that could probably help Xehanort...somehow, I guess.

...

So yeah, that's my theory! Feel free to tell me what you think, whether you agree or disagree. Also if I made any mistakes here regarding the KH lore as a whole then let me know.

EDIT: Lol I probably should have stated this previously, but I would prefer having Blaine be an original character with no connections to anyone. Like, I don't really want Blaine to be Braig. I was just speculating why Blaine is more likely to be Braig than Ienzo (in my opinion).

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I'd vouch to disagree... Give young Ienzo some boots and a cowboy hat and he should be the same height as the other Dandelion Union leaders. Plus, there's also this scene that you have to re-evaluate. Now that Marluxia's somebody is confirmed to be a Dandelion, this scene may have a deeper meaning now.

[video=youtube;5SnjJfTejiM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SnjJfTejiM[/video]

No point in telling Zexion any of his if Braig didn't see any value in him in correlation with "The Keyblade War".

 

[Not Ienzo]

I'd vouch to disagree...

Give young Ienzo some boots and a cowboy hat and he should be the same height as the other Dandelion Union leaders. Plus, there's also this scene that you have to consider. Now that Marluxia's somebody is confirmed to be a Dandelion, this scene may have a deeper meaning now.

[video=youtube;5SnjJfTejiM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SnjJfTejiM[/video]

No point in telling Zexion any of his if Braig didn't see any value in him in correlation with "The Keyblade War".

I figured that that scene was Braig keeping track of Xemnas's actions, afraid that Terra might be gaining influence somehow, since he remembers his "friends" (Aqua and Ventus). It's more related to Xehanort than what happens in UX. Maybe since Zexion was close to Xemnas and/or Xehanort, Braig thought he might know something.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I personally don't think that Blaine is Braig. Blaine's here seems to be a darker shade of silver; Braig has always had black hair, and those silver lines that suggest aging I think have more to do with Xehanort's influence. Plus his hair is straight and it'd be kinda hard to style it like Blaine's. Like Alpha provided, it'd be easier for someone like Ienzo to be stylized as Blaine. Granted, it's a stretch to apply real world hair logic here, haha, but it's just my assessment as to why Blaine is more likely Ienzo than Braig. There's also a theory that suggests that an even similar to what happened to Terranort that sent him blasted to Radiant Garden, could have happened after the Keyblade War and sent everyone to different times with no memories.

 

[Sorami_Eclipse]

I might just be the first person who actually agrees that Ienzo is not Blaine (I feel like Blaine was more likely to be Braig)
Their personalities just seem too different, and not to mention in BBS Even says something about how Ienzo is an orphan or something and he took him under his wing, which I feel would imply something more along the lines of "This boy has been in Radiant Garden his whole life" but who knows, maybe he's just reincarnated.
I find it easier to believe that Braig is Blaine due to their personalities, how I can see Braig wearing something like what Blaine has on, and how I find Blaine to be reaaalll shady.

 

[yuyayuzu]

I think blaine is actually Mom from his speech pattern

 

[Ballad of Caius]

I think blaine is actually Mom from his speech pattern

There's also this possibility. But with how things are looking, pretty much everyone from KHx or present day KH could be Blaine.

 

[Hirokey123]

I mean this in the nicest way but if we are going by hair color Blaine's is literally nothing like Ienzo's. Ienzo's has always been very blatantly blue specifically it was a pale blue as a teenager and it got a bit darker as he got older. Concept art is a little misleading because it's concept art the actual model hair is unmistakably blue. In fact Blaine's hair is the reverse of Ienzo's as blaine's hair is actually lighter on the tips and gets darker (it's not just a shadow cast by the hat either as even the tips in the hat's shadow are still notably brighter.

Braig's hair IS a closer color as his hair is only a slightly darker color than Blaine's and as many characters have shown hair tends to get lighter or darker as one ages, just like in real life. With Blaine and Braig the hair is just changing shades as opposed to Hues.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net...g_KHBBS.png/revision/latest?cb=20101209062331

Here is something more interesting is the side that Blaine has his hair cover is the side that Braig will eventually lose an eye from and forever where an eye patch will be. So the hair covering Blaine's eye could be a connector to Ienzo or it could be a connector to how Braig for most of his screen time in the series has had that eye covered up by bandages or an eye-patch. As said Blaine's personality seems very similar to Braig's and in reality Braig and Blaine are only one character off from one another as the R and L are the same character in japanese. Ventus and Marluxia didn't get drastically different names so it be very odd if Ienzo did.

Granted it also be odd in general if Blaine was EITHER of these two and I so desperately hope they aren't.

 

[Not Ienzo]

I mean this in the nicest way but if we are going by hair color Blaine's is literally nothing like Ienzo's. Ienzo's has always been very blatantly blue specifically it was a pale blue as a teenager and it got a bit darker as he got older. Concept art is a little misleading because it's concept art the actual model hair is unmistakably blue. In fact Blaine's hair is the reverse of Ienzo's as blaine's hair is actually lighter on the tips and gets darker (it's not just a shadow cast by the hat either as even the tips in the hat's shadow are still notably brighter.

Braig's hair IS a closer color as his hair is only a slightly darker color than Blaine's and as many characters have shown hair tends to get lighter or darker as one ages, just like in real life. With Blaine and Braig the hair is just changing shades as opposed to Hues.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net...g_KHBBS.png/revision/latest?cb=20101209062331

Here is something more interesting is the side that Blaine has his hair cover is the side that Braig will eventually lose an eye from and forever where an eye patch will be. So the hair covering Blaine's eye could be a connector to Ienzo or it could be a connector to how Braig for most of his screen time in the series has had that eye covered up by bandages or an eye-patch. As said Blaine's personality seems very similar to Braig's and in reality Braig and Blaine are only one character off from one another as the R and L are the same character in japanese. Ventus and Marluxia didn't get drastically different names so it be very odd if Ienzo did.

Granted it also be odd in general if Blaine was EITHER of these two and I so desperately hope they aren't.

That's what I thought too. Ienzo's hair is blue, not black. And I never thought about Blaine's hair covering the same eye that Braig loses, nice observation!

I personally don't think that Blaine is Braig. Blaine's here seems to be a darker shade of silver; Braig has always had black hair, and those silver lines that suggest aging I think have more to do with Xehanort's influence. Plus his hair is straight and it'd be kinda hard to style it like Blaine's. Like Alpha provided, it'd be easier for someone like Ienzo to be stylized as Blaine. Granted, it's a stretch to apply real world hair logic here, haha, but it's just my assessment as to why Blaine is more likely Ienzo than Braig. There's also a theory that suggests that an even similar to what happened to Terranort that sent him blasted to Radiant Garden, could have happened after the Keyblade War and sent everyone to different times with no memories.

I imagined that Blaine's hair would become darker with age until it becomes more like Braig's. And I don't think it's too far fetched for Blaine (as Braig) to change his hairstyle into something straighter. Although Blaine does look more like Ienzo...as stated earlier, Ienzo's hair is blue.

I might just be the first person who actually agrees that Ienzo is not Blaine (I feel like Blaine was more likely to be Braig)
Their personalities just seem too different, and not to mention in BBS Even says something about how Ienzo is an orphan or something and he took him under his wing, which I feel would imply something more along the lines of "This boy has been in Radiant Garden his whole life" but who knows, maybe he's just reincarnated.
I find it easier to believe that Braig is Blaine due to their personalities, how I can see Braig wearing something like what Blaine has on, and how I find Blaine to be reaaalll shady.

That's exactly what I thought too. Who knows, maybe Blaine could be Ienzo due to whatever reason. I just...don't see any connection between him and Blaine at all, except for appearance (and even then it's not really enough for me to think he's Ienzo).

I think blaine is actually Mom from his speech pattern

That would mean that Blaine would only have one eye. And since his face is concealed, I guess that's possible. But like Caius said earlier, anyone could potentially be Blaine.

 

[Alja]

I mean this in the nicest way but if we are going by hair color Blaine's is literally nothing like Ienzo's. Ienzo's has always been very blatantly blue specifically it was a pale blue as a teenager and it got a bit darker as he got older. Concept art is a little misleading because it's concept art the actual model hair is unmistakably blue. In fact Blaine's hair is the reverse of Ienzo's as blaine's hair is actually lighter on the tips and gets darker (it's not just a shadow cast by the hat either as even the tips in the hat's shadow are still notably brighter.

Okay, but I really don't understand where exactly Blaine's hair is supposed to be like Braig's? Braig's hair is literally pitchblack, only graying from age. Blaine's hair is gray from the beginning, the only "black" parts are parts of his hair that are further back and thus have a shadow on them.
Also, the above video shows that Ienzo/Zexion's hair isn't blue, it's gray. It's a grayish-blue, I'll give you that, but if we're going for blue haired characters, we've got Isa/Saix and Aqua as a comparison.
This however is definitely gray-toned:

Here is something more interesting is the side that Blaine has his hair cover is the side that Braig will eventually lose an eye from and forever where an eye patch will be. So the hair covering Blaine's eye could be a connector to Ienzo or it could be a connector to how Braig for most of his screen time in the series has had that eye covered up by bandages or an eye-patch.

We'll have to wait for official art to say anything about that as the game tends to mirror the sprites whenever needed:

Right eye covered just like Ienzo/Braig with his eyepatch

Left eye covered

 

[Muke]

I honestly don't think Blaine is related to the Orgnization in any way… it's just totally different than Lauriam and Ventus, who have their original (somebody) names. Why would Blaine be any different? Why is he not called Braig - or Ienzo - then?

For Ienzo, there could be the argument "his parents died, so nobody knew his name -> Ansem, the Wise gave him a new name", but as for Braig?

 

[Not Ienzo]

I honestly don't think Blaine is related to the Orgnization in any way… it's just totally different than Lauriam and Ventus, who have their original (somebody) names. Why would Blaine be any different? Why is he not called Braig - or Ienzo - then?

For Ienzo, there could be the argument "his parents died, so nobody knew his name -> Ansem, the Wise gave him a new name", but as for Braig?

I'd actually prefer it if Blaine was an original character, to be honest.

Assuming that Blaine is Braig, I guess Blaine would change his name and slightly alter his appearance so that people wouldn't know who he was previously? Kinda like a disguise, if you will.

 

[Muke]

I'd actually prefer it if Blaine was an original character, to be honest.

Assuming that Blaine is Braig, I guess Blaine would change his name and slightly alter his appearance so that people wouldn't know who he was previously? Kinda like a disguise, if you will.

Okay, but why? He probably won't have any memories of the Keyblade War/of this era anyway, since neither do Ventus or Marluxia (as far as we know, anyway)

 

[Not Ienzo]

Okay, but why? He probably won't have any memories of the Keyblade War/of this era anyway, since neither do Ventus or Marluxia (as far as we know, anyway)

I thought that maybe Braig would have kept his memories of the UX era somehow, and that's how he knew his name and decided to change it in the present, probably so that no one could associate him with the events of that era. As for Marluxia, it's hard to tell. But both of them remembering their pasts of the UX era could be a part of them wanting the Keyblade, for whatever reason.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

Okay, but why? He probably won't have any memories of the Keyblade War/of this era anyway, since neither do Ventus or Marluxia (as far as we know, anyway)

I thought that maybe Braig would have kept his memories of the UX era somehow, and that's how he knew his name and decided to change it in the present, probably so that no one could associate him with the events of that era. As for Marluxia, it's hard to tell. But both of them remembering their pasts of the UX era could be a part of them wanting the Keyblade, for whatever reason.

I think there's a possibility they might have remembered. Master Xehanort regained his memories when he returned as a complete self, so it's possible that Braig and Lauriam regained their memories when they came back. Also, we need to take into consideration that not all of the Union Leaders may be from the KHx era. Maybe someone entered from outside the Unchained Realm in order to see what that is, or maybe someone wants to break the endless loop that is the Keyblade War.

 

[Alpha Baymax]

I mean this in the nicest way but if we are going by hair color Blaine's is literally nothing like Ienzo's. Ienzo's has always been very blatantly blue specifically it was a pale blue as a teenager and it got a bit darker as he got older. Concept art is a little misleading because it's concept art the actual model hair is unmistakably blue. In fact Blaine's hair is the reverse of Ienzo's as blaine's hair is actually lighter on the tips and gets darker (it's not just a shadow cast by the hat either as even the tips in the hat's shadow are still notably brighter.

Braig's hair IS a closer color as his hair is only a slightly darker color than Blaine's and as many characters have shown hair tends to get lighter or darker as one ages, just like in real life. With Blaine and Braig the hair is just changing shades as opposed to Hues.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdomhearts/images/4/4c/Braig_KHBBS.png/revision/latest?cb=20101209062331

All of that can be disproved because he’s wearing a Cowboy hat. The shade from the hat is intentionally concealing the true colouration of the hat and his eye. And Ienzo’s hair is silver and not blue, but regardless of Blaine’s true hair colour, his face is designed to be shadowed off so we can’t claim that his current hair colour definitive.

Here is something more interesting is the side that Blaine has his hair cover is the side that Braig will eventually lose an eye from and forever where an eye patch will be. So the hair covering Blaine's eye could be a connector to Ienzo or it could be a connector to how Braig for most of his screen time in the series has had that eye covered up by bandages or an eye-patch. As said Blaine's personality seems very similar to Braig's and in reality Braig and Blaine are only one character off from one another as the R and L are the same character in Japanese. Ventus and Marluxia didn't get drastically different names so it be very odd if Ienzo did.

Zexion’s powers is to create illusions. It wouldn’t surprise me if Zexion mastered this ever since he was Ienzo. After all, Master Ava was able to transform, so it’s a possibility for Ienzo to have learned that trick as a somebody. And we never knew young Ienzo’s personality because he was a mute in Birth by Sleep. Remember the days when people assumed that the Master of Masters was Braig because they shared the same carefree personality? This is that all over again. If young Ienzo did have speaking lines, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he spoke like Blaine. And I really don’t think that Nomura would create a young Braig to have Ienzo’s hairstyle, the former Organization XIII member’s stand out because their hairstyle is a part of their personality. If Blaine was Braig, his hairstyle would have definitely been more in line with his Birth by Sleep style.

Granted it also be odd in general if Blaine was EITHER of these two and I so desperately hope they aren't.

Kingdom Hearts as a franchise is over-saturated with characters as it is. If Blaine was an original character, I highly doubt that he’d get the appreciation and characterisation that Ephemer and Skuld had. Plus, why is he designed like a pre-existing character whilst concealing his face? When Ventus was revealed, his appearance was not a surprise reveal nor was it obscured. I genuinely feel that Blaine is a pre-existing character.

 

[Hakan Xatos]

I think Blaine is an original character just by his age. There are two characters we can compare with; Ventus and Lauriam.

Ventus looked quite a few years older than Ienzo in BBS. Especially looks like a young boy when he's seen holding Ansem's hand eating ice cream. If Ven is younger in KHUX than Ienzo would be too young to be Blaine, someone who is supposed to be close in age with Ven.

Now if Ven is younger in KHUX than the same can be said of Lauriam who is noticeably younger than Marluxia. Make Lauriam a bit older and I figure that he would've been maybe the same age or a year or two older than Lea and Saix during the time of BBS. Braig who was a full grown adult in BBS would have been noticeably to old to be Blaine in KHUX.

 

[VoidGear.]

I think Blaine is an original character just by his age. There are two characters we can compare with; Ventus and Lauriam.

Ventus looked quite a few years older than Ienzo in BBS. Especially looks like a young boy when he's seen holding Ansem's hand eating ice cream. If Ven is younger in KHUX than Ienzo would be too young to be Blaine, someone who is supposed to be close in age with Ven.

Now if Ven is younger in KHUX than the same can be said of Lauriam who is noticeably younger than Marluxia. Make Lauriam a bit older and I figure that he would've been maybe the same age or a year or two older than Lea and Saix during the time of BBS. Braig who was a full grown adult in BBS would have been noticeably to old to be Blaine in KHUX.

Hmm, all this "age-counting" doesn't add up for me.
What if - for example - Blaine somehow traveled through time and ended up in a time several years before the one Ventus came into, and then grew old to be Braig?

I'm not saying that's what happened, I don't even want Blaine to be Braig, but I don't think it's out of the question that anyone is anyone at this point.

 

[Hakan Xatos]

Hmm, all this "age-counting" doesn't add up for me.
What if - for example - Blaine somehow traveled through time and ended up in a time several years before the one Ventus came into, and then grew old to be Braig?

I'm not saying that's what happened, I don't even want Blaine to be Braig, but I don't think it's out of the question that anyone is anyone at this point.

Well anything theoretically is possible. You won't be able to run out with "what-if" scenarios if you look at it that way.

I'm basing my ideas on the concrete fact that both Ventus and Lauriam are younger in KHUX. So it's reasonable to believe that Ienzo and Braig would be younger in this game as well. What I theorized was that Ienzo was too young because he was already younger than Ven in BBS and that Braig was too old because simply he was an adult in BBS.

Your example is possible, but for that matter so is anything else.

 

[VoidGear.]

Well anything theoretically is possible. You won't be able to run out with "what-if" scenarios if you look at it that way.

I'm basing my ideas on the concrete fact that both Ventus and Lauriam are younger in KHUX. So it's reasonable to believe that Ienzo and Braig would be younger in this game as well. What I theorized was that Ienzo was too young because he was already younger than Ven in BBS and that Braig was too old because simply he was an adult in BBS.

Your example is possible, but for that matter so is anything else.

Is Ventus younger though?

At the start of BBS, he's supposed to be something around the lines of 10 or 11, even though they did (sadly) not give him another model for that time. That much is for sure because at that time, Sora, who is 4 years old in BBS, saved Ventus as a "new-born heart".
I strongly doubt that Ventus is even younger than 10 in KHUX.