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“Nonsense! I may be getting on in years, but I'm still more than a match for the youth!”
—Marcus in a support conversation with Roy in The Binding Blade.

Marcus is a playable character in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade and Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He is a senior knight of Pherae. In both of these installments he fills the part of the Jagen type character, beginning powerful but ultimately being outclassed by other units, along with taking an early advisory role to both Roy and Eliwood in their respective titles.

He makes a brief cameo appearances in Chapter 17 and 18 of the Hasha no Tsurugi manga.

Profile

Born in a household of Knights who have served Pherae for generations, he served during Marquess Elbert’s time, and watched after Eliwood ever since his disappearance, personally teaching the nobility in the ways of war and as a martial arts instructor.

In the same way, he taught Roy the ways of fencing by the time of The Binding Blade, as well as the young vassals Alan, Lance, and Wolt. Serving within Roy’s army of gathered individuals of many talents as his primary advisor, he retired after the end of the war with Bern, but serves Pherae as a loyal retainer with his life.

Personality

Serving over three generations of parents and children of the Pherae household, Marcus acts as one would expect from being a knight, and has earned the trust of all his subordinates. Having been with Eliwood ever since he was born, he gave a lot of honest advice to him in his youth that, while it may seem a little like nagging at times, has him appreciating Marcus’s sincerity.

Thanks to his guidance, the young knights grown to be strong men, but because he strictly abides by tradition and organizational structure, Marcus often chides his subordinates, which from his standpoint, it seems inevitable. However, all the knights follow him regardless of his disposition.

An unexpected aspect of Marcus is that he is a gourmand, as shown through a support conversation with Merlinus.

In-Game

Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade

Description: A veteran paladin serving Pherae. Roy's instructor in combat.

Base Stats

Starting ClassAffinity
FE8 Paladin Map Sprite PaladinGBAIce Ice
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
132914111098118
WeaponStarting Items
Sword Sword - D
Lance Lance - A
Axe Axe - E
IronswordIron Sword
SilverLanceSilver Lance

Growth Rates

HP S/M Skl Spd Lck Def Res
60% 25% 20% 25% 20% 15% 20%

Supports

See also: Marcus/Supports#The Binding Blade

Overall

Marcus is a pre-promoted paladin and is available from the beginning, and thus is one of the most useful characters in the game, particularly on Hard Mode. While his base stats are low at first glance and his growths are almost non-existent, Marcus is effectively mandatory in the early maps of Hard Mode as he's one of the only units who starts off with enough bulk to take a few hits, and will one-round in return with his Silver Lance. If he has his Iron Sword equipped instead, he will leave the enemies at low enough health for your weaker units to kill them and gain experience. His high Lance rank, versatile weapon selection, and mobility means that he can keep fighting even as he stops doubling enemies and other characters surpass him in stats. That said, unlike his younger counterpart, Marcus tends to find himself in trouble by the late game, due to most enemies being strong and well-equipped enough to overpower him. He is mainly usable after that point for his ability to ferry units around, which he does acceptably.

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

Description: A paladin serving House Pherae. A skilled veteran.

Base Stats

Starting ClassAffinity
FE8 Paladin Map Sprite PaladinGBAIce Ice
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
1311515118108118
WeaponStarting Items
Sword Sword - A
Lance Lance - A
Axe Axe - B
SteelswordSteel Sword*
SteelLanceSteel Lance*
IronswordIron Sword**
SilverLanceSilver Lance**

* Eliwood's Story

** Hector's Story

Growth Rates

HP S/M Skl Spd Lck Def Res
65% 30% 50% 25% 30% 15% 35%

Supports

See also: Marcus/Supports#The Blazing Blade

Overall

Marcus retains his power in The Blazing Blade, and is in fact even stronger than his previous incarnation, although arguably not as vital as he was before due to the generally lower difficulty of the game. Even still, The Blazing Blade's units are quite slow, and his bases are quite good. His main selling point, however, is his extremely high bases and weapon ranks upon joining. Even with minimal investment, he can easily destroy the majority of enemies for most of the game even without a single level up.

Even if the player is reluctant to use early promoted units, the fact remains that his 8 movement makes chapters a lot faster, and he can easily destroy the early bosses that others have issues with one-rounding. While his growth rates are not amazing, they're still completely fine, and he'll gain enough stats to keep going throughout the game, and his bases in Strength and Speed easily make up for it. His main selling point, much like his The Binding Blade's incarnation, however, is just the simple fact that he will be there for the entire game (excluding Lyn's story and the first map of Hector mode) and as a result will always be there either as a fall back if needed, or on the front lines for the entirety of the adventure.

Quotes

The Binding Blade

“Argh... I've come so far... Lord Roy...please...take care...”
—Marcus's death quote
“Please be careful, Lord Roy.”
—Marcus's final battle quote

The Blazing Blade

  • Marcus: Urgh..no...
  • Eliwood: Marcus? MARCUS!!!

After the battle:

  • Eliwood: Marcus, how are your wounds?
  • Marcus: To be done in by such as these... It's a dishonor... If only I was ten years younger...
  • Eliwood: You should rest for a while. You can still help me as my advisor...
  • Marcus: I understand. I accept this new duty.
“I'll show you the strength of a knight of Pherae.”
—Marcus's final battle quote

Possible Endings

The Binding Blade

Marcus - Loyal Paladin (忠実なる聖騎士 Chūjitsunaru Seikishi)
"Marcus finally retired upon returning to Pherae. Although he tried to live in peace, he could never get rid of the endless stream of aspiring knights begging for his direction. He left his name in history as a great knight who fought with Roy and also as an outstanding teacher to the next generation."

The Blazing Blade

Marcus - Knight of Pherae
"Marcus returned to Pherae with Eliwood and, as the head of the knights of Pherae, dedicated his life to training young squires."
Marcus and Merlinus
"The merchant Merlinus began working for Eliwood. He and Marcus were fast friends, and when Marcus became the head of military training, Merlinus used his business acumen to deal with all matters financial."

Non-Canon Apperances

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Marcus is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

Etymology

Trivia

  • According to a Japanese gaming news website, Marcus landed 38th place out of 80 in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
  • In The Blazing Blade, if he loses all his HP, he will stay out of further battles, instead of actually 'dying'. This is due to his appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.

Gallery

See main article: Marcus/Gallery.
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