Medusa
| Medusa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 冥府女王メデューサ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Meifu Jo'ō Medyūsa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| “ | Hello there, Pit. And you, too, Palutena. Here to crash my homecoming party? | ” |
—Medusa greeting her rivals in Chapter 1 of Uprising. | ||
In the beginning, Medusa (メデューサ Medyūsa) co-ruled Angel Land with Palutena. Whereas Palutena fostered the growth of humanity, Medusa hated their kind, and took to drying up crops and petrifying people. Palutena, in a fit of anger, changed Medusa's form to a cyclopic, snake-haired monster and banished her to the Underworld. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Medusa vowed one day to overthrow Palutena and retake her position in the Palace in the Sky. Over time, Medusa gained the allegiance of Underworld monsters and, once her forces were strong enough, led an attack against the very gates of the Palace. The ensuing war did not go well for Palutena; the Three Sacred Treasures were lost, Centurions were turned to stone, and Palutena herself was captured and imprisoned in the Palace in the Sky, unable to help as her beloved Angel Land swarmed with the forces of evil. As a last resort, she called out to Pit, the former leader of her personal bodyguards, now kept prisoner in the lowest dungeons of the Underworld. Responding to the call, and armed with a Bow manifested by the goddess' waning strength, Pit set out to destroy the invaders and defeat Medusa.
Appearances
Kid Icarus
When Pit encounters Medusa in the Palace of the Sky, she has taken refuge in a large effigy of herself. Pit must dodge deadly rays and Tanatos snakes from her hair, all while attempting to hit her with Arrows of Light. By positioning himself just a little bit under eye-level, he can avoid the majority of her attacks easily. Once she's taken enough damage, the eye will disappear, revealing a crumpling Medusa. The Mirror Shield will block her eye beams, but only if the shield is up, i.e. Pit's not firing. Careful timing will prevent unnecessary damage.
| Hit Points | Damage | Hearts | Score (Experience) |
| 150 | 5 | 0 | 100 per hit |
Kid Icarus: Uprising
Medusa makes a reappearance as a major antagonist during the first part of the story. Her design is based more on her original sprite, rather than the boss form that Pit fought her in. However, she takes on a much more gothic look in contrast to Palutena's angelic appearance. Revived after her defeat in the first game, Medusa returns with her army, ready to attack the world and get her revenge on Pit and Palutena for her defeat twenty-five years prior.
During the beginning of Chapter 1, Medusa appears as an astral projection in the sky and greets Pit and Palutena by taunting them both. She reappears after Pit defeats Twinbellows, but only laughs at Pit's threat before retreating. Medusa later appears in Chapter 6, where she offers Dark Pit some help to defeat Pit, but he refuses the offer and desires no involvement with the Underworld Army whatsoever. The goddess of darkness doesn't appear to be too bothered, but rather amused as she watches the doppelganger angel engage in battle with his lighter twin. Medusa oddly only makes a single statement in the land mission of the chapter, where she says that "humans turn to the gods in times of need and forget them in the times of prosperity" and "they really are a fickle bunch". After delivering this piece of dialogue she does not make any further appearances in this chapter.
Medusa makes her second to last appearance in Chapter 9, where she finally faces against her arch-nemesis, Pit. She greets the angel again via astral projection when he arrives in front of her castle. After mocking Pit, Medusa summons the Underworld Gatekeeper as a last line of defense. The machine is fortunately destroyed by the help of Dark Pit. As Pit infiltrates deeper inside the castle, Medusa's anger begins to show as she accuses Palutena of being the evil one. However, Pit is quick to defend his goddess and blames Medusa for her own punishment while managing to question why she was revived in the first place. Medusa states that she does not remember and it doesn't matter because she is most importantly here to exact her revenge. After the small heated argument, Pit reaches the real Medusa in a final battle. As the fight continues, Medusa reveals her true monstrous form as seen in the original game as a last resort, but Pit equipped with the Three Sacred Treasures appears to be no match for the goddess and falls to the hero. After Medusa's defeat, her castle is shown crumbling away and the credits begin to roll. Pit and Palutena celebrate their victory, thinking they have defeated the final boss of the game, but shortly after Hades interrupts and reveals that he revived Medusa as a distraction.
Despite her destruction previously, Medusa makes a surprise final appearance in Chapter 25 during the true final boss battle against Hades, claiming that she was annoyed of being constantly revived by the Underworld god. She saves Pit from a powerful attack by decapitating Hades, only to be obliterated by Hades when he reforms his head.
Idol Descriptions
Medusa, Queen of the Underworld
The one-time Queen of the Underworld, exiled by Palutena long ago. Twenty-five years ago, Pit defeated her once and for all...or so it seemed. Now resurrected and thirsty for revenge, Medusa leads an army far more powerful than before.
Medusa (Battle)
The only comfort throughout Medusa's quarter century in exile was the thought of bloody retribution against Pit and Palutena. Now, facing the angel after all these years, Medusa's wrath is only matched by her fervor for revenge.
Medusa (Monster)
Long ago, Palutena cursed Medusa with this hideous form. Unable to face the monstrosity she had become, Medusa used her magic to maintain a mask of beauty - a face that falls when she's forced to put all her strength into defeating Pit.
Medusa vs. Hades
Spoiler alert: Medusa saves the day! Medusa's surviving spirit stops Hades before he can deliver the finishing blow to Pit. In her weakened state, she can't hold him off forever, but the goddess gets an A for vindictive tenacity.
Kid Icarus 3D Anime
Medusa only appears and plays the role of the main character in her eponymous short, Medusa's Revenge. The animated feature depicts Medusa 25 years ago when she started to attack humanity and 25 years later when she becomes revived.
Other Appearances
Captain N: The Game Master
Medusa made an appearance in the episode Mega Trouble for Megaland where she was guarding the Three Sacred Treasures on Mount Icarus. Her design is a mix between her human and monster forms, and she has a beautiful voice to trick her victims into a false sense of safety. This ability worked on the easily fooled Simon Belmont, although Medusa was ultimately defeated by accidentally looking into the Mirror Shield and turning herself into stone.
Gallery
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Medusa defeated releasing Palutena.
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Original sprite.
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Medusa in Captain N: The Game Master.
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Medusa's early design in Uprising.
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Medusa's finalized appearance in Uprising.
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Medusa's monster form.
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Medusa's CG appearance in the North American commercial for Uprising.
Trivia
- In Greek mythology, Medusa was once a beautiful woman, and sister to Euryale and Stheno. Though she was once a priestess of Athena (the inspiration for Palutena in the Kid Icarus series), the goddess changed her into a monster once she found out that Medusa and Poseidon had been making love in her temple. Medusa's monstrous form was so hideous that any one gazing upon her countenance would instantly be petrified. She was later beheaded by Perseus, wielding a Mirror Shield.
- Medusa's newest design was likely inspired by the prominent goth subculture, having ghostly white skin, dark eye shadow, and a tattoo around her left eye. One of the serpents that makes up her hair is even colored bright red to resemble a chunking highlight, which is popular in gothic fashion.
- In Uprising, Medusa appears to be left-handed.
| Classic Kid Icarus series enemies and bosses | |
|---|---|
| Kid Icarus | Collin • Commyloose • Daphne • EelEye • Eggplant Wizard • Erinus • Ganewmede • Girin • Hewdraw • Holer • Keepah • Keron • Kobil • Komayto • McGoo • Medusa • Mick • Minos • Moila • Monoeye • Monolith • Nettler • Octos • Pandora • Pluton • Pluton Fly • Reaper • Rokman • Shemum • Shulm • Snowman • Specknose • Syren • Tamambo • Tanatos • Totem • Tros • Twinbellows • Uranos • Zuree |
| Of Myths and Monsters | Bat • Big Toe • Busy Bee • Cyclops Hopper • Cyclops Skull • Eggplant Wizard • Fire Serpent • Fireball • Fuzz Ball • Globe • Gruff • Gubble • King Krab • Komayto • Lunus • Merc • Minotaur • Monolith • Octus • Orcos • Putt • Pythagoras • Reaper • Shadow Mask • Skullwing • Slime • Snake • Spitball Blob • Spunky • Sticky Talon • Stone Golem • Totem • Wormser |