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“All shall fear and obey me! I am THE DARKNESS!”
    —The Darkness

The Darkness is the overarching antagonist of the Skylanders franchise, debuting in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. It is the ultimate force behind most of the evil in the series, depicted as a large mass of ominous storm clouds or as a swirling clump of darkness. The Darkness later returns in Skylanders: SuperChargers as the main antagonist, where it gains a gigantic physical body.

Personality

Between its original appearance in Skylands and its first defeat by the Core of Light, the Darkness appeared to possess a destructive and violent personality, though it is unknown if it used to have the same quirks as when its form was restored.

In Spyro's Adventure, the Darkness was a force of evil without defining features or personality. Its only goal appeared to be centered upon serving Kaos and consuming Skylands.

In SuperChargers, the Darkness is willful and manipulative, and as its power grows, it begins to develop a charismatic personality and concrete form. The Darkness speaks with a deep, masculine, and somewhat sultry voice, first appearing to only want to satisfy Kaos' desire for power, satisfied as The Sky Eater fed the Darkness more magic. In the end, however, the Darkness proved to be more ruthless than Kaos himself: Although it did desire the subjugation of the Skylands, The Darkness had its sight set on commanding the entire universe, therefore consuming the magic of Skylands and annihilating its world as a gateway to other realms. When Kaos began to stray from its designs, the Darkness employed blackmail, threats, and aggression to secure his loyalty. Despite its ruthless behavior, the Darkness still appears to have a slight sense of humor when taunting Kaos about his mother, and was willing to face the Skylander in a duel without resorting to cheating to prove its superiority.

Abilities

As a primal force of evil, the Darkness and its sinister magic can be harnessed by Dark Portal Masters, imbuing them with power. Spyro is the only known Skylander able to channel the Darkness and combine its power with his own to become Dark Spyro. Although he can alone control his power and use this dark magic for good, other Skylanders can indirectly use its power after coming into contact with with Petrified Darkness or Dark Traptanium.

In the Trap Team 3DS version of Midnight Museum, the Darkness can damage creatures that come in contact with it, and produce Shadow Chompies to attack those attempting to traverse with lights through it.

In SuperChargers, before the Darkness was first damaged by the Core of Light, the only device capable of destroying it, the Darkness' power was said to be beyond comprehension. It was able to "shatter mountains and entire islands with casual disdain," having lived for untold millennia. At the height of its power, the Darkness demonstrated the ability to summon spiky vines, create Creeping Dark, fire large laser beams from its mouth, and wield dark tentacles created from its own body that burned its targets. When it is at partial strength, feeding on Skylands's Magic in the present day, the Darkness exhibits a telekinetic ability to interact with control panels near it and immobilize its foes. The Darkness can also create objects for its subjects, such as a brittle, crystalline runic sword for Kaos, in addition to illusions, as demonstrated when it projected itself and pictures of the rest of the universe into mirrors.

It was the Darkness that granted Kaos and other Dark Portal Masters their powers, and the Darkness has the ability to take those powers away at will. Upon its defeat, those whom the Darkness had granted power (including Kaos) were stripped of their abilities.

Drawing strength from the Sky Eater's energy and structure, the Darkness' powers increased greatly, transforming it into a giant humanoid form. This form possessed the power to manipulate the interiors of a Rift, summon laser-shooting crystals, and create Shadow Guardians. As that form exploded when it was thrown back into its own dimension, however, one can assume it no longer has these powers.

Story

History

The Darkness history

The Darkness emerging from the Spell Punk Keep.

Centuries ago, when the Ancients explored the universe using the Rift Engines, they accidentally created a sinister rift engine that opened a portal to a forbidden world. From this portal emerged the Darkness, which proceeded to wreak havoc by unleashing dark forces across Skylands. The heroes and Portal Masters of old held back the minions of the Darkness until a solution was made known. The Ancients created the Core of Light, banishing the Darkness to the dark corners of Skylands.

Despite being driven away, the Darkness remained a looming threat on the horizon, lending its assistance to Dark Portal Masters whom it corrupted. The Darkness played a role in wiping out Voodood's entire tribe when they marched against the it, with Voodood being the only survivor. When the Darkness attempted to corrupt the Core of Light, its influence nearly consumed Spyro, and it Master Eon's timely spells saved the young dragon from a horrible fate. The Darkness also destroyed Boom Jet's homeland, but the Air Skylander managed to rescue the citizens just in time. Elves who chose to embrace the effects of the Darkness are called Drow, though they retain some of their former traits, such as their love for nature.

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

For generations, the Core of Light repelled the Darkness until Kaos returned from his exile and destroyed the Core, allowing him to spread the Darkness for his own gain, conquering Skylands as its emperor. After the Core of Light was restored by the new Portal Master and their Skylanders, the Darkness was repelled once more.

In the Nintendo 3DS version of Spyro's Adventure, the Darkness came to the Radiant Isles and brought with it Hektore, who proceeded to capture the Mystic Seekers and force them to create the Dark Mirror that shrouded the Radiant Isles from the rest of Skylands. After Hektore was destroyed, the Darkness was driven away.

Skylanders: Trap Team (3DS)

Although the Darkness did not appear in the main story, it took over the Midnight Museum, attempting to engulf its relics in "eternal forgottenness." The Darkness could only be repelled for small amounts of time with the museum's light spheres, giving the Skylanders just enough time to retrieve the relics before it engulfed the building.

Rift into Overdrive

The Skystones collected a small, remaining portion of the Darkness after its defeat by the Core of Light. This fragment of darkness was sealed inside a vial behind an elemental door within the Skylanders Academy, where no one could gain access to it. However, the Darkness fragment was able to transfer its power to Kaos, who was locked away in his Traptanium prison after the events of Skylanders: Trap Team. Thus, Kaos was able to leave his cell for short periods of time without the Skylanders knowing, and eventually managed to escape his prison. After planning his escape, Kaos and Glumshanks broke open the elemental door within the school, stealing the Darkness fragment to be used for their latest evil plan in ruling Skylands.

Skylanders: SuperChargers

The fragment of The Darkness grew into a large power source for Kaos' Sky Eater, consuming the magic of Skylands as the machine ravaged the skies. The Darkness eventually became sentient, gaining a voice, and apparently seeking to help Kaos rule not only Skylands, but the entire universe. However, the Darkness grew impatient with Kaos' negligence, warning the Portal Master that the Skylanders were weaponizing the Core of Light. Glumshanks soon pointed out that if the Darkness destroyed Skylands, there would be nothing left for Kaos to rule over. Even so, the Darkness manipulated Kaos into siding with its greater ambitions, driving the evil Portal Master to fire Glumshanks in the process.

Sky Eater Darkness

The sentient Darkness conversing with Kaos and Glumshanks

When Skylands was at its knees, the Core of Light having been destroyed by the Sky Eater, Kaos hesitated to destroy Skylands. The Darkness, having had enough of this delay, forced the evil Portal Master to cooperate by removing the dark powers it had given him. Threatened with the permanent loss of his abilities, Kaos begrudgingly initiated the destruction sequence of Skylands, satisfying the Darkness, who returned his' powers to him. After the Skylanders defeated Kaos within the Sky Eater, The Darkness subdued the heroes through telekinesis and commanded Kaos to destroy the Dark Rift Engine, forever crushing their hopes of saving Skylands. Instead, Kaos turned on the Rift Engine, initiating the Darkness's banishment. As it was being pulled into the portal from whence it came, the Darkness swore vengeance, but it seemed the day was saved once again. Then, the Darkness emerged from the dark portal, wearing remnants of The Sky Eater as armor in a final assault against the Skylanders. After a lengthy battle, the force behind all evil was defeated.

Secret Agent Secrets

Spyro mentioned that The Darkness was locked away, presumably back to its own dimension after its battle with the Skylanders.

Gallery

The Darkness/Gallery

Trivia

  • Although the Darkness plays a key role in Spyro's Adventure, its role in Skylanders: Giants is greatly reduced. Certain enemies who have been enhanced or created by the Darkness, such as Drow, appear, but otherwise, the Darkness isn't mentioned.
  • Glumshanks mentioned that the Darkness talks in its sleep.
  • Free Ranger was about to jump into the Darkness until Master Eon stopped him.
  • The Darkness's Skystone labels it as the Dark element. However, in the Nintendo 3DS version of Skylanders: Trap Team, the Darkness attempted to engulf the Midnight Museum's Dark relics in "eternal forgotteness," implying that it does not encompass the entire Element and seeks to corrupt it as well.
    • The official book Skylanders: A Portal Masters' Guide to Skylands contradicts this lore, however, stating that all Dark elemental creatures draw power from it and have to resist its destructive temptations, even after its final banishment.[2]
  • Though the Darkness' name appears to be a title, it is referred to in games as an actual name, as characters include 'The' when referring to it at all times, even going so far as to call it 'Mister The Darkness' when speaking to it directly.
  • Being the true final boss in Skylanders: SuperChargers, the Darkness is the first villain to serve as the final boss after Kaos.
  • The final, armored form of the Darkness resembles Spitfire.
    • Concept art also depicts the Darkness with a mass of tentacles as "hair" instead of crooked horns, resembling Nightfall's hair.
  • The Darkness has no enemy name introduction in its boss battle. It is announced, however, and an unfinished version of it can be found in the UI artist for SuperChargers' website, lacking the "The."
  • Though unused in the final game, the Clutch artbook for the game includes sketches for the Darkness with regular full-body form without the enhancements from the Sky Eater, with a cape-like shadowy torso, no legs and three arms. Additional concepts depict the Darkness wearing a high-collared coat, or alternately in a bestial, four-legged form with a long tail of mist. [3]

References

  1. Ike Amadi's Twitter. (Date Posted - Jan. 4, 2018). Twitter.
  2. Skylanders: A Portal Master's Guide to Skylands, page 12
  3. Clutch: The Art of Skylanders SuperChargers. (Date Posted: Feb. 19, 2024).
Non Playable Characters
Villains

Console
Kaos - Glumshanks - The Darkness - Arkeyan Conquertron - Arkeyan King - Noodles
Chompy Mage - Drill-X - Pipsqueak - Kaos' Mom - Baron von Shellshock - Mesmeralda
Lord Stratosfear - Spellslamzer - Dragon Hunter
3DS
Hektore - Captain Frightbeard - Rustbeard - Squidbeard - Count Moneybone - Dream Sheep
Adventure Pack
Captain Dreadbeard - Occulous - Vathek - Cluck - Sheep Mage - Evilon - Fake Crash

Bosses
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