The Problem with the Master of Masters' Identity Theories

[EighteenEighty]

Okay, so we all know many people have been focusing on finding out who is the Master of Master's right? Some people say that he's Sora (future version or alternate version) or Demyx because they both share a charismatic personality, considering we never find out what happened to him. However, after finishing the story of KHUX, am I the only one who thinks that this guy is now a different character? He finally shared some contents of his origins and plans, how the 13 Darknesses ruined his life, he's the one who caused the Keyblade War to lure out the 13 Darknesses so that these Darknesses will possess his 6 apprentices including himself.

Look, I’ll keep it real, I think the years of fighting the darkness since his childhood and watching his comrades fall probably caused him to go somewhat insane which I think is represented by how chaotic his theme is. I think he’s probably just shut himself from feeling anything for anyone and is desperate to destroy darkness no matter the cost. I'm gonna be honest here, before the finale of KHUX, I'm one of the people who believe that he's Sora from an alternate universe. However, like I said his character has changed when he revealed some contents of his past and he also revealed some contents of his plan. So, let me ask you guys a question.

Do you really think him being Sora or any character that we already know would actually make sense if he ends up as one? Or him being a brand new character would make far more sense since he did reveal anything about him in KHUX Finale. Let me know your comments below.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

I don't think he's a version of Sora. There's a chance that he's Demyx but I doubt that as well. I agree with you that he's most likely a brand new original character.

 

[AmaryllisMoth]

I think the reason people are so attached to the idea of "X is secretly X!" theories is because the series as a whole has never shied away from hiding people inside other people, having a whole half a cast of characters be essentially clones (of sorts) and most if not all characters have a somewhat unclear past which allows them all the potential to be yoinked out for a shocking "aha" twist when its convenient.

I am not a big fan of the fact that Nomura seems to like keeping our characters' backstories on retainer in case he needs to work them into the story in the future, but considering this is a rather long narrative (or at least its intended to be) I generally like to give the benefit of the doubt that he tries to plan something interesting with them all eventually.

That being said, I think it makes sense why people theory-craft the way that they do (since all we can do is really guess based off what we know currently), but at the same time I think it is far more likely that MoM is simply a new character. Considering things from a narrative perspective, having the MoM be Sora through some sort of dimension shift or alternate reality or some such would require a LOT of explaining to do. Opening any of those doors would fundamentally alter what is possible for other characters to potentially do down the line. (See Xehanort's time travel and the implications that brought with it).

It means from a writing perspective you have to think very hard to come up with rules around how/why it was possible and be very strict to adhere to them or you risk getting major plot holes where an audience could look into a future situation and say "well hang on, why couldnt X do Y then and solve the whole problem? It worked for so-and-so!"

I could see Demyx working out easily enough, but the Sora theory is...a headache. I've read the theories posted about how "Sora is the MoM because its a Sora from a different dimension where the darkness won who world hopped over and etc..." and all I can think of is alright well...where are the other versions of everyone else from that dimension then, too? Conveniently all died somehow? Why did only this one event cause a 'dark' timeline and not any other events in past history? Sure, all of those questions could be theorized away or given proper explanation. It can be done for sure--but it gets messy. And it is a mess that follows you forever forward after you have established its canon in your universe for that to happen. This is why, I assume, that Nomura set up specific rules around his time travel concept--it isn't just free time travel or everything would just...break. Now if events happen we can't simply as an audience say "why couldn't we have so-and-so time travel to avoid it?!" because we know exactly how and why that wouldn't work.

I'm not saying Nomura WON'T go the messy and hard to explain route, since we all know he loves making things overly complicated sometimes--I just think it is a LOT of work to go through to fundamentally alter a world truth just to have one little "aha" moment when MoM takes his hood off. Far, far easier to simply dream up a new character.

Also, far more interesting (for me, anyway). A new character means a unique past, unique new background and worldviews that can be used to foil against already established ones. Having MoM be "Sora, but a future twisted version" is much less interesting to me as an antagonist because all that can really be delved into is "what made him that way?" and doesn't really mean much in terms of developing OUR Sora's character since this game has made it very clear that everyone and everything should be treated as their own unique person. So any thoughts and development MoMSora! has would be his own, meaning he might as well be a new character anyway. I think people just want to see Sora be evil for some reason because quite a lot of people seem to be under the impression that in order to have character depth you need to have some sort of emo moment.

My main reason for thinking its a new character though? Nomura LOVES designing characters. Why on earth would he NOT want to create a fun unique new character design for someone who is quite possibly going to be a major antagonist (if not THE antagonist) for the next saga? I'll be kind of disappointed if he throws away that golden opportunity just for a brief face reveal.

Besides, we already got the "oh my god it was X all along!!!!" with the Luxu reveal, it would start to feel a bit repetitive if EVERY antagonist was like that.

 

[the red monster]

I want him to be new OC at this point. since the other option is another version of sora which nomura will consider it as huge twist but really boring one.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

I think people just want to see Sora be evil for some reason because quite a lot of people seem to be under the impression that in order to have character depth you need to have some sort of emo moment.

We also already had an Evil Sora reveal with Vanitas.

 

[the red monster]

Not to mention it will take away all the effect of sora being "special ordinary boy" that just want to save his friends.

 

[okhi12]

Not to mention it will take away all the effect of sora being "special ordinary boy" that just want to save his friends.

I get what you mean, but to be honest Birth by Sleep already took the effect away when we saw Sora join his heart with Ven's just after being born. That's not precisely ordinary... but maybe it is by KH standards.

Anyway, if MoM turns out to be Sora (either ''our'' Sora or an alternate version), I'd probably dislike it to the point of losing interest in both of them. I don't think such a revelation would benefit them in any way in terms of character development, it would be a cheap tactic for shock value.

 

[akupepe]

I don't think MoM will be Sora, or at least I hope so. It's kind of predictable if Sora is MoM and I'd like MoM to be a while new character.

Also I have trying to get my head around Demyx. His gestures looks like MoM's, but isn't that too obvious or simple to assume that Demyx is MoM just by looking at how they move? I think Nomura is doing this on purpose so we would think that MoM is someone we already know.

I think MoM is a new original character, just like his six apprentices and we get to know them better in 2nd phase at Quadratum (which I believe Demyx and Luxord are from).

 

[EighteenEighty]

I think the reason people are so attached to the idea of "X is secretly X!" theories is because the series as a whole has never shied away from hiding people inside other people, having a whole half a cast of characters be essentially clones (of sorts) and most if not all characters have a somewhat unclear past which allows them all the potential to be yoinked out for a shocking "aha" twist when its convenient.

I am not a big fan of the fact that Nomura seems to like keeping our characters' backstories on retainer in case he needs to work them into the story in the future, but considering this is a rather long narrative (or at least its intended to be) I generally like to give the benefit of the doubt that he tries to plan something interesting with them all eventually.

That being said, I think it makes sense why people theory-craft the way that they do (since all we can do is really guess based off what we know currently), but at the same time I think it is far more likely that MoM is simply a new character. Considering things from a narrative perspective, having the MoM be Sora through some sort of dimension shift or alternate reality or some such would require a LOT of explaining to do. Opening any of those doors would fundamentally alter what is possible for other characters to potentially do down the line. (See Xehanort's time travel and the implications that brought with it).

It means from a writing perspective you have to think very hard to come up with rules around how/why it was possible and be very strict to adhere to them or you risk getting major plot holes where an audience could look into a future situation and say "well hang on, why couldnt X do Y then and solve the whole problem? It worked for so-and-so!"

I could see Demyx working out easily enough, but the Sora theory is...a headache. I've read the theories posted about how "Sora is the MoM because its a Sora from a different dimension where the darkness won who world hopped over and etc..." and all I can think of is alright well...where are the other versions of everyone else from that dimension then, too? Conveniently all died somehow? Why did only this one event cause a 'dark' timeline and not any other events in past history? Sure, all of those questions could be theorized away or given proper explanation. It can be done for sure--but it gets messy. And it is a mess that follows you forever forward after you have established its canon in your universe for that to happen. This is why, I assume, that Nomura set up specific rules around his time travel concept--it isn't just free time travel or everything would just...break. Now if events happen we can't simply as an audience say "why couldn't we have so-and-so time travel to avoid it?!" because we know exactly how and why that wouldn't work.

I'm not saying Nomura WON'T go the messy and hard to explain route, since we all know he loves making things overly complicated sometimes--I just think it is a LOT of work to go through to fundamentally alter a world truth just to have one little "aha" moment when MoM takes his hood off. Far, far easier to simply dream up a new character.

Also, far more interesting (for me, anyway). A new character means a unique past, unique new background and worldviews that can be used to foil against already established ones. Having MoM be "Sora, but a future twisted version" is much less interesting to me as an antagonist because all that can really be delved into is "what made him that way?" and doesn't really mean much in terms of developing OUR Sora's character since this game has made it very clear that everyone and everything should be treated as their own unique person. So any thoughts and development MoMSora! has would be his own, meaning he might as well be a new character anyway. I think people just want to see Sora be evil for some reason because quite a lot of people seem to be under the impression that in order to have character depth you need to have some sort of emo moment.

My main reason for thinking its a new character though? Nomura LOVES designing characters. Why on earth would he NOT want to create a fun unique new character design for someone who is quite possibly going to be a major antagonist (if not THE antagonist) for the next saga? I'll be kind of disappointed if he throws away that golden opportunity just for a brief face reveal.

Besides, we already got the "oh my god it was X all along!!!!" with the Luxu reveal, it would start to feel a bit repetitive if EVERY antagonist was like that.

The problem here is many people were so focused on trying to find his identity while many people didn't even ask what's this guy up to?

 

[Zetta slow]

I really don't want it to be Sora. It would interesting, sure, but it would also be really annoying. I like the idea of having a brand new character, someone we don't know. I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if the MoM was somehow connected to Sora or Demyx, like Demyx is his nobody or something, but it would definitely be much more fun if he was someone completely different that they could build a character around without being thought of as Sora's 60th doppelgänger, or Demyx's somebody.



That being said, I sorta maybe just a tiny bit want to see MoM be Noctis...just let Nomura unleash full pettiness! And came the nameless star Stella...hehehe

 

[EighteenEighty]

MoM be Noctis.

I think MoM is more similar to Ardyn.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

If MoM is a Final Fantasy character then he's most likely Cait Sith.

 

[Xblade13]

As someone who likes variety in character design, I hope the MoM is someone new.

And I kiiiinda hope either him or one of the Foretellers has green hair, it annoys me that nobody in the series has had that. The Organization even had a thing where their hair color was unique, up until KH2 had multiple brown haired members.

And don't give me a "natural hair color" bs, as Saix/Isa and Aqua have blue hair lol

 

[GO_is_GOD.MoM_is_dust]

I think MoM is more similar to Ardyn.

I feel the same way.

 

[RonaldPoe]

I still suspect that he's the KH equivalent of Lucifer. He seems like both a Light Bringer (translation of Lucifer) and a fallen hero/angel figure.

 

[Soldier]

Clearly he's Dr. Finklestein, who's only doing all of this to get with Sally.
(Props to you if you get the reference).

 

[EighteenEighty]

I still suspect that he's the KH equivalent of Lucifer. He seems like both a Light Bringer (translation of Lucifer) and a fallen hero/angel figure.

I think you're onto something here. When the Masters refer to himself as the Lost Master, I think it is also synonymous with the fallen angel.

 

[kirabook]

I remember a lot of people were hoping/assuming the """"new""" Organization 13 would be new OCs or characters we haven't seen before with a few returning members (Saix, Xigbar, AnsemSoD, Xemnas). As it turned out, it was all the exact same members as before minus a few.

I understand why the fandom theorist have strayed towards trying to make MoM and other unmasked characters related to the cast we already know. Because the only new characters I think of recently (as in years) is Brain (arguable for reasons), Ephemera, Skuld, Strelitzia, and the foretellers. Are we even sure the foretellers aren't somehow people we already know too?? It's hard to deny their similarities to existing characters.

I would like for MoM to be someone new. But I don't even know at this point with how things are going.

 

[GO_is_GOD.MoM_is_dust]

I think you're onto something here. When the Masters refer to himself as the Lost Master, I think it is also synonymous with the fallen angel.

I also suspect all the lost masters and darkness, including MoM, are the KH equivalent of fallen angels / archdevils.

Each has an aspect that makes you imagine the archangel and the seven deadly sins, the archdevil.

1. MoM : Humility ⇔ Pride = Lucifer (unchanged)
2. Ira : Patience ⇔ Wrath = Michael ⇔ Satan
3. Invi : Kindness ⇔ Envy = Gabriel ⇔ Leviathan
4. Aced : Diligence ⇔ Sloth = Uriel ⇔ Belphegor
5. Gula : Temperance ⇔ Gluttony = Raphael ⇔ Beelzebub
6. Ava : Charity ⇔ Greed = Sandalphon ⇔ Mammon
7. Luxu : Chastity ⇔ Lust = Metatron ⇔ Asmodeus

Then, Foretellers is taken over by the 7 darkness inside them, and completely dominated thier vessel.

Eventually, all members that will fight Sora, transform into a creature form that symbolizes the animals they control and the demons of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Please note that these are just my personal stupid imagination, and I'm not a devout catholic.

 

[Absent]

Mayhaps MoM is just MoM. Honestly I'd keep his face hidden forever, maybe add a cheeky the protagonist seeing his face before he dies, but not the player.