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Let me start by stating the obvious, most people who become villains do not start out evil, it is very rare for a villain to start out evil.
So one has to wonder why the hell is Xehanort evil? Well after examining Xehanort through out the series I may have the answer to this.
Let us go all the way back to Master Xehanort's days growing up on Destiny Islands. When he is first introduced as a young man standing on the shores of Destiny Islands he states clearly he wants to get off of his simple world.
Think about this folks, Destiny Islands is a tiny world and for the most part the people on the island seem content with their secluded lives. Xehanort on the other hand was born with a curiousity and determination for knowledge that would make it difficult for him to relate with anyone of his fellow islanders. With such a difference between him and the other islanders we could assume he may have been very lonely as he grew up. People on the island may have thought he was odd for expressing such theories as the existence of other worlds. Is it anyone wonder then, that he refers to Destiny Islands as a prison? To someone like him it surely would be.
Of course we know that at some point he was chosen by a Keyblade Master to train in the way of the Keyblade. Xehanort would certainly have jumped at the chance to ditch his little world. I can imagine Xehanort full of pride that he was right and the other islanders were wrong. So one would think that Xehanort probably left Destiny Islands with feelings of disgust toward the other islanders.
Once he became a Keyblade Apprentice he seemed content with his life for a short amount of time. However a curiosity such as Xehanort's could never be satisfied for long. That combined with his incredible determination was bound to lead to his next major step in life, defying his master.
Xehanort would often sneak off to visit other worlds without is master's knowing. The more Xehanort traveled the more he began to gain an interest in a new subject, darkness. I'm sure that Xehanort was warned by his master that darkness was dangerous and should be destroyed. However Xehanort, being the determined man he is, would have sought to prove himself above what he would consider the petty and ignorant fears of his fellow Keyblade wielders. So he discared his armor and embraced the power of darkness, eventually learning to control it.
As the years passed on and Xehanort and Eraqus' masters presumably passed away, Xehanort became more and more interested in the worlds, the heart, the realms, Kingdom Hearts, and of course as we know from BBS The Keyblade War. I think by this point since Xehanort has proven both his fellow islanders and his fellow Keyblade Wielders wrong, he thinks himself above everyone else and sees them as frightened fools contempt to live in their own blissful ignorance. I think it is this view of others that causes him to become detatched from compassion for other people and their well being.
Xehanort decides to spend his life seeking out knowledge and power to constantly prove himself better, and all others wrong. Going so far to even push the limits of what could be dangerous such as starting a second Keyblade War. Everytime someone like Eraqus tells him he can't do something, Xehanort in his attempt to prove them wrong only becomes more determined to accomplish the very thing he was told not to do.
By the time he becomes an elderly man Xehanort is still not satisfied with the amount of knowledge he has gained though it far surpasses even some Keyblade Masters. Not having realized all there is to know, the thought of dying at this point would mean the ultimate failure and so he becomes to determined to prolong his life by possesing another soley to continue his quest for knowledge.
Once he posseses Terra and becomes Ansem's apprentice, despite supposedly losing his memories, we still see the aspects of Master Xehanort's personality shine through. Ansem the Wise is too afraid to continue with the research on Kingdom Hearts, the worlds, and the heartless. So Xehanort is faced once again with the same situation he has faced his whole life. Someone is too afraid to seek knowledge and even forbiding Xehanort from seeking it, so to prove that person wrong Xehanort once again pushes forward and as we know the results were catastrophic. But let us also remember by this point Xehanort is far attached from compassion or concern for others, all he cares about at this point is being at the top, above everyone else, and being proved right and seen by everyone (Who he considers frightened and ignorant) for his glory of being right and them being wrong.
We even see this further down the line in KH2 when Xemnas is talking to Ansem. Xemnas says he is continuing what Ansem started and that all Ansem ever did was hold him back. To me this is a clear example of what i'm trying to describe in this thread.
So in conclusion Xehanort's obsession with being right, having all the answers, and reaching a level he would consider perfect, has warped his mind to the point where he believes that if he is right and all others are wrong, that it gives him the right to rule over all and that he is above all those people who in his mind are ignorant and cowardly. All of this spawned from a mix of curiosity, anger, and resentment.
So that is basically my observation of the main villain of this beloved series. I'm interested in seeing what others think of this.
So one has to wonder why the hell is Xehanort evil? Well after examining Xehanort through out the series I may have the answer to this.
Let us go all the way back to Master Xehanort's days growing up on Destiny Islands. When he is first introduced as a young man standing on the shores of Destiny Islands he states clearly he wants to get off of his simple world.
Think about this folks, Destiny Islands is a tiny world and for the most part the people on the island seem content with their secluded lives. Xehanort on the other hand was born with a curiousity and determination for knowledge that would make it difficult for him to relate with anyone of his fellow islanders. With such a difference between him and the other islanders we could assume he may have been very lonely as he grew up. People on the island may have thought he was odd for expressing such theories as the existence of other worlds. Is it anyone wonder then, that he refers to Destiny Islands as a prison? To someone like him it surely would be.
Of course we know that at some point he was chosen by a Keyblade Master to train in the way of the Keyblade. Xehanort would certainly have jumped at the chance to ditch his little world. I can imagine Xehanort full of pride that he was right and the other islanders were wrong. So one would think that Xehanort probably left Destiny Islands with feelings of disgust toward the other islanders.
Once he became a Keyblade Apprentice he seemed content with his life for a short amount of time. However a curiosity such as Xehanort's could never be satisfied for long. That combined with his incredible determination was bound to lead to his next major step in life, defying his master.
Xehanort would often sneak off to visit other worlds without is master's knowing. The more Xehanort traveled the more he began to gain an interest in a new subject, darkness. I'm sure that Xehanort was warned by his master that darkness was dangerous and should be destroyed. However Xehanort, being the determined man he is, would have sought to prove himself above what he would consider the petty and ignorant fears of his fellow Keyblade wielders. So he discared his armor and embraced the power of darkness, eventually learning to control it.
As the years passed on and Xehanort and Eraqus' masters presumably passed away, Xehanort became more and more interested in the worlds, the heart, the realms, Kingdom Hearts, and of course as we know from BBS The Keyblade War. I think by this point since Xehanort has proven both his fellow islanders and his fellow Keyblade Wielders wrong, he thinks himself above everyone else and sees them as frightened fools contempt to live in their own blissful ignorance. I think it is this view of others that causes him to become detatched from compassion for other people and their well being.
Xehanort decides to spend his life seeking out knowledge and power to constantly prove himself better, and all others wrong. Going so far to even push the limits of what could be dangerous such as starting a second Keyblade War. Everytime someone like Eraqus tells him he can't do something, Xehanort in his attempt to prove them wrong only becomes more determined to accomplish the very thing he was told not to do.
By the time he becomes an elderly man Xehanort is still not satisfied with the amount of knowledge he has gained though it far surpasses even some Keyblade Masters. Not having realized all there is to know, the thought of dying at this point would mean the ultimate failure and so he becomes to determined to prolong his life by possesing another soley to continue his quest for knowledge.
Once he posseses Terra and becomes Ansem's apprentice, despite supposedly losing his memories, we still see the aspects of Master Xehanort's personality shine through. Ansem the Wise is too afraid to continue with the research on Kingdom Hearts, the worlds, and the heartless. So Xehanort is faced once again with the same situation he has faced his whole life. Someone is too afraid to seek knowledge and even forbiding Xehanort from seeking it, so to prove that person wrong Xehanort once again pushes forward and as we know the results were catastrophic. But let us also remember by this point Xehanort is far attached from compassion or concern for others, all he cares about at this point is being at the top, above everyone else, and being proved right and seen by everyone (Who he considers frightened and ignorant) for his glory of being right and them being wrong.
We even see this further down the line in KH2 when Xemnas is talking to Ansem. Xemnas says he is continuing what Ansem started and that all Ansem ever did was hold him back. To me this is a clear example of what i'm trying to describe in this thread.
So in conclusion Xehanort's obsession with being right, having all the answers, and reaching a level he would consider perfect, has warped his mind to the point where he believes that if he is right and all others are wrong, that it gives him the right to rule over all and that he is above all those people who in his mind are ignorant and cowardly. All of this spawned from a mix of curiosity, anger, and resentment.
So that is basically my observation of the main villain of this beloved series. I'm interested in seeing what others think of this.