Ike

"My swordfighting skills were given to me by my father. If I stay true to them, I cannot lose."

- Ike before fighting The Black Knight.

Ike (アイク Aiku) is the main character of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. As the fearless leader of the Greil Mercenaries, Ike is the first and only main character who is not of noble birth. He is the son of Greil and Elena, and the brother of Mist.

In Fire Emblem: Awakening, Ike makes yet another appearance as a DLC character, and is illustrated by Eiji Kaneda, the artist of Fire Emblem: Fūin no Tsurugi.

Voice Acting

 * English: Jason Adkins
 * Japanese: Hagi Michihiko (萩 道彦)

Path of Radiance
Ike is the son of Greil, and assumes leadership of the Greil Mercenaries after his father is killed by the Black Knight. For the most of the game, he is in the service of Princess Elincia, serving as her personal bodyguard.

Ike is introduced as the newest member of the Greil Mercenaries in this game. A number of the other members, including the likes of Boyd and Shinon, look down on him as a rookie, constantly mocking his inexperience and flouting their skills. As news of Daein's invasion eventually reaches Greil's ears, Ike is pushed into working twice as hard, all in order to ensure that he is well prepared to take over the reins of the company.

Following Greil's death, Ike takes over the leadership of the Greil Mercenaries, much to the disbelief of Gatrie and Shinon. The pair then proceed to leave the Greil Mercenaries, as their immense pride restricts them from serving under an individual whom they consider to be inferior to them.

After remaining in Gallia until Chapter 9, Ike comes to the realization that Caineghis is unable to help him. He then leaves the country, and is escorted to Port Toha by a squad of Laguz, comprising of Ranulf, Lethe and Mordecai. With the assistance of his growing band of mercenaries, Ike travels around the continent of Tellius, helping Elincia reclaim her home kingdom of Crimea. To this end, he eventually gains the support of Empress Sanaki of Begnion in overthrowing Daein, becoming the leader of the newly formed Crimean Liberation Army.

As the game nears its conclusion, Ike reveals the Divine Blade Ragnell, admitting that he has been keeping it ever since the night Greil was slain. With the blade in hand, Ike challenges the Black Knight to a duel in a tower of Nados Castle with the assistance of Mist. This battle later concludes with the tower being destroyed and the Black Knight declared dead.

Ike eventually succeeds in defeating the Mad King Ashnard of Daein, reclaiming Crimea from the Daein's grasp.

Radiant Dawn
Ike, now hailed as the hero of the Mad King's War, returns in this game as the main character of Part III. He is re-introduced into the game at the end of Part II, where he leads the Greil Mercenaries into interrupting Lucia's execution. Upon returning to the headquarters of the mercenaries, he is visited by Ranulf, who provides news of an oncoming war being waged by the newly formed Laguz Alliance and Begnion. It is then revealed that the flames of ire amongst the alliance are sparked as a result of the countries involved learning of Begnion ordering the extermination of the Herons in the distant past. Despite being reluctant to join the conflict at first, Ike eventually agrees to lend his mercenaries' military expertise to the alliance.

The conflict between the alliance and Begnion eventually escalates to breaking point, whereupon Ashera is interrupted from her thousand-year slumber. She then passes her judgment upon the continent of Tellius, turning practically everyone, save for the strongest warriors in both armies, to stone. The Goddess of Chaos, Yune, then breaks free of her shackles within Lehran's Medallion, and possesses Micaiah as a means to communicate with others, apart from Micaiah herself. This essentially leads to Ike forming a truce with Micaiah's forces, as they traverse towards the Tower of Guidance in Part IV.

While progressing through the levels of the Tower of Guidance, Ike encounters the Black Knight, and finally avenges his father's death by defeating him in a true one-on-one duel. Upon the Black Knight's defeat, Ike then takes possession of Alondite, the sister sword of Ragnell.

On the player's second play-through onwards, the game will reveal that Ike bore witness to Greil's accidental murder of Elena. In a bid to eliminate the immense trauma that Ike was forced to face as a result, Sephiran then proceeded to seal his memories of the scene.

The game will then conclude with Ike travelling to another land, leaving the continent of Tellius behind.

Awakening
Ike does not appear in the main story of this game, but a character named Paris claims to be the descendant of the "Hero of the Blue Flames", and possesses the Ragnell blade. When the Avatar questions the identity of the "Hero of the Blue Flames", Chrom will reply that this title belonged to a legendary hero who traveled from another world. This implies that Ike has probably travelled to Chrom's world some time after the events of Radiant Dawn.

Personality
Ike has little memory of his life in Gallia as a young child, and prior to joining the Greil Mercenaries, expresses an ignorance towards the existence of the Laguz race. This has had a positive effect on Ike's character, as he is portrayed to bear no prejudice against the Laguz race, whereupon he winds up gaining their trust with his actions, one of which include defending Ranulf from being assaulted by a group of Beorc.

Ike is rather naive when he is introduced, often taking things at face value. He is characterized by a kind and brave personality, and is very protective of his friends and family.

Despite having played a major role in liberating Crimea from Daein, Ike is shown to be rather humble, and seeks no reward for his actions, save for the fees he charges as a mercenary.

Recruitment

 * Prologue: Automatically from the start.

Base Stats
Ranger
 * FE9 Ike Ranger Sprite.png
 * FE9Earth.gif
 * 1
 * 19
 * 5
 * 1
 * 6
 * 7
 * 6
 * 5
 * 0
 * 9
 * 9
 * 6
 * FE9 Sword.png - D
 * FE9IronSword.gif Sword
 * }
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 75%
 * 50%
 * 20%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 35%
 * 40%
 * 40%
 * }

Support Conversations
See: Ike/supports
 * Soren
 * Lethe
 * Titania
 * Reyson
 * Oscar
 * Elincia
 * Ranulf

Bond Support

 * Mist: 10%

Promotional Gains
Promotion to Lord  *: Only if Sword mastery level is at D.
 * HP: +4
 * Strength: +3
 * Magic: +2
 * Skill: +2
 * Speed: +2
 * Defense: +3
 * Resistance: +2
 * Con: +1
 * Move: +1
 * Cap: +5
 * C FE9 Sword.png Rank*

Overall
Ike is characterized by competent growths and skills in this game. As he has the potential to cap practically every stat, save for Magic and Luck, Ike is thus a unit that can be consistently relied on by the player.

Availability

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◎=Forced

Base Stats

 * FE10 Ike Hero Sprite.png Hero
 * FE10Earth.png
 * 11
 * 44
 * 24
 * 2
 * 28
 * 23
 * 14
 * 21
 * 7
 * 12
 * 13
 * 7
 * FE10 Sword.gif - B
 * Shove.png
 * Ettard.pngd FE10ironsword.png Sword
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 65%
 * 55%
 * 10%
 * 60%
 * 35%
 * 30%
 * 40%
 * 15%
 * }

Bond Support

 * Mist: 10%
 * Soren: 5%
 * Titania: 5%
 * Ranulf: 5%

Promotional Gains
Promotion to Vanguard
 * HP: +4
 * Strength: +2
 * Magic: +4
 * Skill: +2
 * Speed: +2
 * Defense: +2
 * Resistance: +4
 * Con: +0
 * Move: +0
 * A FE10 Axe.gif Rank
 * Aether.pngr Skill

Overall
In this game, Ike has significantly lower growth rates, especially so in terms of his Speed and Resistance. Despite this flaw, however, he joins with solid base stats, allowing him to remain fairly competent throughout the battles he participates in. Ike's poor Resistance and Luck are offset by his high Strength, Skill and HP. While his Magic may be low, he will not be significantly impacted, as the damage dealt by magic-based swords are no longer calculated by means of this particular stat in this game.

As the player is forced to bring him into every battle he participates in, it is thus of the utmost importance for him/her to train him over the course of the game. His importance to the game is further accentuated by the fact that he is the only character who is capable of performing the finishing blow to Ashera.

As Enemy Unit

 * Mercenary
 * 15
 * 33
 * 15
 * 1
 * 12
 * 11
 * 7
 * 10+5
 * 2
 * LateInitiative.png Initiative
 * SwordIconFE13.png - A
 * Ragnell
 * }
 * }

Path of Radiance
Ike: Damn... I... After all this... Forgive me, Elincia... Elincia: This can't happen...Ike! I won't accept this... No... I-I won't! Don't do this, Ike. Don't leave me...
 * Endgame

Radiant Dawn
Ike: This... This is it for me... Everyone... You must... Yune: Ike! Please! No! If you can't do it...who can? Ike!
 * Part 4, Endgame Area 5

Epilogue
Once he saw stability returned, Ike left on a journey to lands still unknown. He was never seen again.
 * Hero of the Blue Flames (蒼炎の勇者 Sōen no yūsha)

Super Smash Bros.
The Nintendo Wii game Super Smash Bros. Brawl features Ike as a playable character. He appears in his Ranger class but he wields the divine sword, Ragnell, and can use Aether. He is a strong, heavy, and slow character with control over fire, unlike the fast brawler of average weight from Path of Radiance. His special moves are:


 * Aether: His master skill. A move in which he throws Ragnell into the air and launches himself upwards, seizes the sword, and plunges it into the ground, cleaving through the target as they land. However, Ike's sword does damage at every stage of the attack, and the second strike is omitted. Has super armor during the moment before he flies up to his sword.


 * Eruption: A chargeable Earth-smashing move that sends flames bursting from the ground where Ike stabs the ground to cause a geyser of flame to erupt, hence its name. If held too long, it will automatically release and cause an explosion, damaging Ike as well as any enemies in range. Has super armor at the moment Ike is about to stab the sword into the ground, and similar to Roy's Flare Blade, it can cause recoil damage to Ike at full charge.


 * Quick Draw: Another chargeable move in which Ike lunges forward and strikes his enemy (based on his critical hit animation in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance before he promotes to a Lord). Can also be used in midair, but Ike will be in a helpless state if it manages to connect in midair.


 * Counter: Takes any attacks that hit Ike during the move's animation (he holds his sword pointed downward with both hands like a broom) and deals back damage of the original attack multiplied by 1.2. with a minimum of 10% damage (slashes at the foe with a right-handed inward slash in reverse grip). Marth can also use this move. Ike's counter has less active frames compared to Marth's, similar to Roy's, and thus is much harder to time.


 * Final Smash: Great Aether, which is a more powerful version of Aether. Since Ike has never used Great Aether in any of the Fire Emblem games in which he's appeared in, some interpret that it may be a manifestation of Ike's final blow against Ashera, when Yune lends him her power in Radiant Dawn. When executed, Ike delivers several flaming blows in the middle of the air, before finishing with a devastating downward slice that sends the opponent flying, usually to their demise.

In Story Mode: Subspace Emissary, Ike helps Marth and Meta Knight through their journey. He appears using Aether on the Supspace Bomb that the Ancient Minister, a R.O.B. and commander of the Subspace Army, was carrying. In the U.S., Australian and European versions, he yells 'Great Aether' instead of 'Aether'.

Snake's Conversation on Ike's Abilities
A fellow Super Smash Bros. Brawl character, Snake, can call upon one of his trusted partners for information on any character he fights. This is what is discussed about Ike:

Snake: This swordsman's gonna be tough to beat. Colonel: Fighting Ike, eh, Snake? Ike is the leader of the Greil Mercenaries. He may looked too refined to be a fighter... But he has one heck of a sword arm. Snake: Yeah, he's swinging that two-handed sword around with only one hand. I don't even want to get near him. Colonel: That's the holy blade of Ragnell. It's an extremely powerful sword. But don't forget, Snake, you're armed to the teeth yourself. To your opponents, you might just be their worst nightmare. The distance between you and your enemy is a crucial element in battle. Using that distance can give you an advantage against some enemies. Snake: Yeah, I've got the same feeling...

Etymology
'Ike' is short for 'Isaac,' a Biblical patriarch whose name means 'he laughs.' His father, Abraham, prayed for a son and was finally given Isaac although he and his wife, Sarah, were too old to bear children. In this way, then, the name 'Ike' would be a reference to an important son and heir. Ike's birth name suits him well, as he is the son of a legendary mercenary Greil/Gawain and Ike eventually inherited the Greil Mercenaries succeeding his father in his place.

Ike's name in the original drafts of the game, Paris, is from the Iliad. Paris was the prince of Troy whom Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife--this woman, Helen, was already married, and when she and Paris ran off, Helen's husband Menelaus chased them to Troy and began the ten-year-long Trojan War. There, Achilles killed Paris' brother Hector and Paris killed Achilles by shooting an arrow at his famous weak heel. Then the Greek Philoctetes killed Paris by shooting him with a poisoned arrow; a dying Paris called for his former lover, the nymph Oenone, to save him, but she refused, Paris died, and Helen was taken back to Sparta. Perhaps the name 'Paris' alluded to a more developed romance with Elincia in earlier drafts of the game that was removed in later versions.

'Ike' can also refer to Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose nickname was Ike. Eisenhower was both a World War Two general and a U.S President, which may be an allusion to Ike's high rank. Eisenhower was also loved by his men and commonly ranked amongst the best presidents.

Trivia

 * In an info conversation between Titania and Ike, it is revealed that Ike has a great appetite, which is compared to that of a Beast Tribe Laguz. Titania also reveals that he enjoys ribs and steaks tremendously. This voracious appetite of Ike is further revealed in a base conversation from Path of Radiance, where Soren informs Aimee that Ike is fond of spicy food.
 * Interestingly enough, although Ike considers himself to be a Crimean, he has neither blood nor birth ties to the country, as both his parents were Daeins and he was born in Gallia.
 * His cheer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, "We like Ike!", is the same cheer of former United States President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower.
 * In Super Smash Bros Brawl, Ike wields the Ragnell blade, despite his appearance being that of his Ranger class.
 * In Super Smash Bros Brawl, Ike warps into the level in a similar fashion to that of the Black Knight in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.
 * Ike appears to be clad in leather shoulder pads in his portraits and artwork. However, these shoulder pads appear to be made of metal in cutscenes.
 * If Ranulf and Ike share an A rank support, it is revealed that Ranulf goes on a journey, with no mention of Ike. However, if they do not support each other, such a journey will not be mentioned.
 * Ike has seven different portraits: One as a Ranger, one as a Lord, one as a Hero, one as a Vanguard, two for the endings in both games, and one exclusive to his first fight with the Black Knight.

Gallery
Ike