Ike (Fire Emblem)

Ike is the protagonist in two games of the Fire Emblem series, debuting in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, the series' ninth installment. He wields Ragnell, a sacred sword, in one hand.

He appears as a playable fighter in the Nintendo-crossover fighting game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and returned for its sequel Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. Ike is the third Fire Emblem character to appear in the Super Smash Bros. series, after Marth and Roy. Ike is a very powerful fighter - one of the strongest, but as a downside, he is quite heavy and slow.

The Subspace Emissary
Ike makes his debut in the Subspace Emissary near the end of The Battlefield Fortress. During the story, both Marth and Meta Knight fail to stop the Ancient Minister from carrying another Subspace Bomb to another location in the trophy world. Hope seems lost for the two, until, out of nowhere, the Ragnell sword begins hovering behind the Ancient Minister, and Ike continues to use Aether on the Subspace Bomb, breaking it and deactivating it, making the Ancient Minister flee. The three warriors continue through the wasteland, finally reaching the Ancient Minister, but are unable to do anything as he floated over a cliff. The three continue to dash onwards through The Wilds, after seeing Galleom in its tank form. Galleom transforms into its main form after meeting the swordsmen. Ike, Marth, and Meta Knight face off against Galleom afterwords, and then continue into The Canyon. After Meta Knight had left the group after Galleom was defeated a second time, Ike, alongside Pokémon Trainer, Lucas, and Marth, are seen fighting many Primids, now with the Ice Climbers. The five "warriors" are then seen (Mario, Pit, Kirby, Link, and Yoshi) in the background, jumping off from a bluff to help fight off the army. After awhile, Ike, alongside many others, are flown into Subspace, where he and all others are turned into trophies. However, King Dedede, Ness, and Luigi recover him, and others (Kirby also helps afterwards). He and the others are then pitted against The Great Maze, and then the creature whom turned the heroes into trophies, Tabuu.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Ike returns as a veteran fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. His design has changed to reflect his appearance as a Hero in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

Eruption


Eruption is a special move used by Ike in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is his Standard special move. It works a bit similarly to Marth's Shield Breaker or Roy's Flare Blade. When used, Ike grips his sword, Ragnell, above his head. If the player holds the button, Ike will charge up Ragnell. When the button is released, Ike will plant Ragnell in the ground, and will blast the foe with fire from the ground. This attack can also be used in mid-air. If the special move button is released after fully charging and the foe is close, it will be an instant KO. That is extremely difficult to pull off, as it takes roughly 5 seconds to reach maximum charging time. If the attack is fully charged when Ike uses it, he does ten percent damage to himself. Although the force of the attack surrounds Ike, the fire appears farther in front of him. If Kirby copies Ike's powers, he will also be able to use Eruption.

Quick Draw


Quick Draw is Ike's side special move that appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. If the player keeps the side input while attacking, Ike slices across the stage with his sword, in a similar fashion to Fox's Fox Illusion. If the player does not, however, he will stay stationary, and slice. This move can also be charged up by holding the attack button. The move has rather good knockback, and can also be used to recover to the stage. However, if he attempts to slash across the stage, he will stop if anyone is in the way, posing as a problem when trying to recover.

Aether


Aether is a special skill that can be used by Ike from the Fire Emblem series in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It is his Up special move; he first tosses Ragnell (his sword) in the air, spinning, then quickly jumps up to grab Ragnell, hitting anyone in the way. He then swipes down with Ragnell, in a similar fashion to Kirby's Final Cutter move. He is resistant to attacks as he performs this move; he will still take damage, but he will not flinch. However, it is possible to interrupt this attack just by grabbing Ike.

Counter


Counter is Ike's down special move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The attack is performed by tilting downwards, and then pressing. Ike will crouch down, and hold his sword at the side of his head. Once an opponent comes to attack, they will miss, and Ike will automatically attack the foe. The attack must be used quickly, as it will not work if it is kept out for too long. This is the main reason the attack is hard to master, let alone use. However, the attack is very useful once done right.

Ike's Counter has a longer lag time for it to work properly, compared to Marth's and Roy's Counter. The damage that this attack does is 1.2x the damage that he would have taken from the blocked attack.

Lucario's move, Double Team, is very similar to this move, the difference being the damage dealt is affected by Lucario's damage percentage.

Great Aether


Great Aether is, as its name suggests, a more powerful version of Aether which acts as Ike's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. It takes attributes from Aether, as well as a few attributes from Link's Final Smash, Triforce Slash. When Ike smashes open the Smash Ball, he starts to glow, and holds the power, until the special move button is pressed. As soon as this happens, Ike will slash upwards with his sword, but has to make sure he hits a player (or multiple players) in order for it to work.

If he hits any players on the way up, no matter where the players was blasted, he will then fly directly at them, and start slashing fiercely, similar to Triforce Slash. He continues hitting the players for a few seconds, until finally, he swipes downwards along with the opponents, eventually causing an explosion once he hits the ground. The range of the explosion is very large, and Ike is invincible while using it, so as long as he hits a foe with his sword at the start of the move, Great Aether will work very efficiently. It is possible to launch more than two players into the air at once, but as for any players not flung in the air, they can be safe, as long as they do not get blasted by the final drop. It is also possible for opposing players to attack a foe caught in Ike's attack while he is coming down. If there is no ground below the middle of the stage on his final drop, however, Ike will keep falling until he, and any players caught in the attack, self-destruct.

Quotes
All quotations are from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * ''"Prepare yourself!"
 * ''"I fight for my friends."
 * ''"Great... AETHER!"
 * ''"You'll get no sympathy from me."

Trivia

 * The symbol that appears on the ground when Ike enters a battle indicates use of warp magic. Warp magic uses a compound known as "warp powder" or a special staff to transport users from one place to another. The player never accesses either of those in Ike's series.
 * When Ike uses Aether to attack the Ancient Minister, he shouts "Great Aether" instead.
 * Ike's Great Aether move is exclusive to the Super Smash Bros. series, and it doesn't appear in the Fire Emblem canon.
 * Ike is the first Fire Emblem character to speak English in the Super Smash Bros. series. He is also the first Fire Emblem character to appear as a starter.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the name IKE pops up as one of the random names that players can get. However, this is just a coincidence as Ike first appeared four years after Super Smash Bros. Melee's release.
 * If Ike grabs someone while he is a giant and does a pummel, the grabbed opponent will break free from the grab, regardless of his or her damage. This also happens if Ike grabs someone while tiny.
 * Ironically, in the English version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ike will sometimes say "I fight for my friends" after winning. In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, before fighting (and possibly killing) any of his old comrades, he says that "... [he] won't have any mercy on [his] enemies. That goes for former allies, too!".