Angeal Hewley Angeal Hewley is a First Class SOLDIER in " Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - " . He is Zack Fair ' s mentor and passes down the Buster Sword to him . He is stoic and serious , but with a playful side , giving Zack the nickname " Zack the Puppy . " Angeal is friends with fellow SOLDIERs First Class Sephiroth and Genesis and has a fan club dedicated to him called the Keepers of Honor . Profile . Appearance . Angeal is a tall man with a broad and muscular structure . He has black hair slicked back except for two bangs on each side , in a style similar to that of his mother Gillian Hewley . Angeal wears a standard SOLDIER First Class uniform and carries a standard SOLDIER sword , along with his iconic Buster Sword , the latter of which he only uses on special occasions . Later , Angeal grows two white wings on his right side ( one large wing on top and a small one underneath ) ; their appearance troubles him , as he considers them traits of a monster . He is approximately 25 years old . Personality . Angeal is moral and dedicated and takes pride in his membership in SOLDIER . He is honor - bound to protect as many people as he can , and nothing can stand between him and his honor and pride . He views the sword gifted to him by his family as a symbol of his dreams and honor , and therefore , to damage it would represent damage to his honor , and he refrains from using it . He has a sense of humor , calling Zack a puppy and calling himself cheap at times . According to emails from his fan club , Angeal ' s hobbies include gardening and cooking , and he has a soft spot for dogs . Angeal is an influential member of SOLDIER and many members revere him as a mentor and idol , the ideal SOLDIER operative and the organization ' s spiritual leader . His influence passes on to Zack . When he learns of the circumstances of his birth Angeal comes to resent his existence , feeling himself a monster unworthy of dignity or honor . He exiles himself from SOLDIER , but even through his self - deprecating talk , he still considers himself a SOLDIER at heart . Angeal has a stronger sense of justice than he lets on , wanting to help the entire planet and save the world from monsters , like the one he believed himself to have become . Abilities . As a product of Project G and a member of SOLDIER , Angeal has superhuman strength , speed , stamina , agility and reflexes . Though he bears the Buster Sword , Angeal rarely uses it in combat , and instead fights barehanded or with a standard SOLDIER sword . Angeal , as an accomplished swordsman , wields even large blades with ease . As a Project G SOLDIER , Angeal can use his cells as a conduit to imbue other beings with his abilities by implanting them with his cells . Angeal ' s ability at this is superior to Genesis ' s and thus he can take on the abilities of those imbued with his cells in return , and can pass his traits on to both humans and monsters . Angeal does not suffer degradation , but his copies do . Angeal can sprout wings use for flight . He rarely , if ever , uses magic , from Materia or otherwise , so his magical aptitude is unknown . Story . Many years ago Gillian Hewley worked with Dr . Hollander in the experiment of her namesake , Project Gillian , a branch of the Jenova Project to create a Cetra - human - hybrid . Gillian was injected with Jenova cells ( whom Hollander mistook for a Cetra ) and her cells were injected into other subjects . Gillian ' s son , Angeal Hewley , gained her cells naturally , and during his childhood , he lived in Banora Village with his mother and a stepfather . His family was poor in comparison to his best friend , the adopted son of the village ' s landlord , Genesis Rhapsodos . Unknown to both , Genesis was also a test subject in Project G , having gained Gillian ' s cells via injection rather than naturally like Angeal had . Angeal joined SOLDIER and was promoted to First Class , becoming a mentor and role model for many lower class SOLDIER members , in particular Zack Fair . He wields the enormous Buster Sword , a gift from his stepfather when he joined Shinra , though he rarely uses it for the fear of it gathering " wear , tear , and rust , " as he approximates it to a representation of his family ' s pride and honor . During a training session in the Virtual Reality Training Room taking on the image of Junon ' s Mako Cannon , Angeal and Genesis faced the confident Sephiroth . Genesis wanted to battle Sephiroth alone , claiming he , too , wants to become a hero . The duel escalated and Angeal intervened . Genesis sustained an injury and Angeal donated blood for a transfusion after Sephiroth was told his blood is not compatible with Genesis ' s . During an attempt to recover a hi - jacked Shinra train in Midgar , Angeal tells Zack to be careful before allowing him to recover the train alone . When Sephiroth takes Zack down Angeal pulls out his cellphone and aborts the mission and the train station , Midgar , and Sephiroth fade away as it was only a virtual training exercise . Later , Angeal tells Zack to report to the Briefing Room where Director Lazard Deusericus explains Zack ' s mission at a temple in Wutai to help bring an end to the Wutai War . Zack is surprised Angeal has recommended him to go on this mission and receive a promotion to SOLDIER First Class if he fares well . Once in the forest outside Wutai ' s Fort Tamblin , Angeal tells Zack of the " dumbapples , " apples that ripen randomly throughout the year . He used to steal them as his family was poor . The largest tree grew outside the house of the richest family in the village , but Angeal would never take an apple from that tree since the rich family ' s son was his best friend . When asked why he didn ' t ask his friend for apples , Angeal replies , " Honor can be quite a burden at times . " After Zack takes the fort and is knocked down by two monsters in a dojo , Angeal saves him and jokes that Zack ' s life is a little more important than his sword , if only a little . Heading back , Zack and Angeal meet up with Lazard and the three are attacked by Genesis Copies , copies of Angeal ' s friend who had defected the company some time earlier . Angeal agrees to handle them while Zack protects Lazard , and pretends to desert Shinra to try and regain Genesis ' s trust and bring him back . Two months later Zack and Tseng investigate Angeal and Genesis ' s hometown of Banora Village and find Genesis at the apple juice factory . As Zack prepares to fight him , Angeal intervenes and Genesis leaves . When Zack finds Gillian Hewley dead and Angeal staring at his mother ' s lifeless body , Zack attacks him . Angeal states his mother had no reason to live , and he , too , is guilty of the same crime . After Genesis returns , Angeal leaves . During the Genesis Copy raid in Midgar four months later , Zack and Sephiroth learn that Angeal can also produce copies . Zack chases after Dr . Hollander after searching through Hollander ' s records with Sephiroth and finding out about Project G . Within the Sector 5 Plate Interior Zack confronts Hollander , but is stopped by Angeal . Zack asks about Angeal ' s motives and he replies with " world domination " and " revenge . " Revealing his wings , he claims those are usually the objectives monsters focus on . Zack tells Angeal he is wrong and that his wings aren ' t the wings of a monster , but " angel ' s wings . " Angeal asks what angels should fight for and what they dream of . Zack is unable to reply , and Angeal claims angels dream of being human . Zack refuses to fight and Angeal sends him falling down towards the Midgar Slums . After a change of heart Angeal appears on the Sector 0 of Midgar Highway and confronts Zack outside the Shinra Headquarters asking him to join him , stating their enemy is all that creates suffering . At Shinra Headquarters they find Sephiroth dealing with Genesis copies . While Angeal handles things outside and Sephiroth holds the current floor , Zack heads to check on Professor Hojo , who is about to be captured by Genesis . Angeal appears in Hojo ' s laboratory and tells Genesis to stop . Hojo is surprised to see both Genesis and Angeal with wings . Angeal pursues Genesis , and once Genesis ' s attack on the headquarters has been quelled , Angeal meets Zack in the Sector 5 slums the next day and apologizes leaving him to fight alone . Angeal explains Genesis and Hollander have gone to Modeoheim . Zack asks if he plans to return to SOLDIER , but Angeal does not know , and flies off . Zack later finds Angeal in the Modeoheim Public Bathhouse after hearing from Tseng Angeal had attacked him and Cloud , a Shinra infantryman . Angeal tells Zack it should have been him to fight Genesis , but he intends to prepare Zack for his final battle . Dr . Hollander enters and tells Angeal it is time to take his revenge for their family , but Angeal says his father is dead . Bemused , Hollander tells him to take revenge on his mother ' s behalf , but Angeal says his mother was so ashamed of her past she took her own life . Dr . Hollander explains Jenova cells were injected into Gillian and her cells were injected into the fetal Genesis , but while Genesis was a failure , Angeal — having received her cells directly — was branded perfect . Hollander relishes on how Angeal has developed a two - way conduit , having received Jenova ' s ability to absorb other creatures ' traits and implant his into monsters . Angeal asks if Zack remembers their promise to fight anything that causes suffering in the world . Zack says Angeal does not cause suffering , but Angeal summons several copies , and though Dr . Hollander warns that he cannot assimilate a number of creatures at once , Angeal uses the monsters to turn into a chimera composite called Angeal Penance whom Zack is forced to destroy . Defeated , Angeal lies dying and tells Zack he is counting on him to do the rest . Angeal entrusts the Buster Sword to Zack and his life ends with the words , " Protect your honor , always . " More than a year after Angeal ' s death , a surviving Angeal copy ( a winged canine ) appears at Aerith ' s church and defends Zack and his girlfriend Aerith from a Shinra attack robot . Injured and weak from the clash , the copy remains within the church . During the four years Zack lays imprisoned in the Shinra Manor in the aftermath of the Nibelheim Incident , sightings of Angeal are made across the world . One day Zack sees a physical manifestation of Angeal caused by a reaction to the concentration of Jenova cells and Mako energy . Angeal asks how Zack can call himself a member of SOLDIER . Zack ' s heightened emotions allow him to break free of his containment to try and reunite with his mentor . As he escapes Shinra ' s and Genesis ' s pursuit to Gongaga Village , Zack spots an Angeal figure who is revealed to be Director Lazard , and the source of the Angeal sightings . Lazard had received Angeal ' s cells and become an Angeal copy gifted not only with Angeal ' s physical appearance , but with his morals and sense of justice . Lazard did not receive Angeal ' s strength , nor his immunity from degradation , and has been deteriorating like Genesis . While Zack is away to finish Genesis off for good , Lazard and the canine Angeal copy use the last of their energy to defend Cloud Strife from Shinra , pass out and fade into the Lifestream . Later , after Zack is killed by Shinra and left lying on a precipice on the Midgar Wasteland , Angeal ' s spirit descends from the sky and helps Zack start his journey into the Lifestream . Gameplay . Boss . Angeal is fought as a boss in the form of Angeal Penance . Digital Mind Wave . Zack has Angeal in his Digital Mind Wave since the beginning of the game and can use Angeal ' s Limit Break , Rush Assault , if three of Angeal ' s icons line up during a modulating phase . Rush Assault has two sequences of seven physical attacks and a final diving attack . Each of the three sequences has different power and can hit a different enemy . It ignores Vitality , the final hit inflicts Stun , and it may grant Endure . Emotion Gauge increases by 1 for Level 5 attack . Creation and development . Angeal was designed by Tetsuya Nomura , using elements from Cloud ' s initial design for " Final Fantasy VII " . The " Crisis Core Complete Guide " includes a developer interview where the interviewer asks about the identity of Angeal ' s father , and if the relationship between Hollander and Gillian is comparable to the relationship between Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent . The developers state Gillian married after being sent to Banora with Angeal , and Angeal was raised never knowing his mother ' s husband was not his biological father . The developers say the idea of a marital relationship between Hollander and Gillian is a secret , leaving the possibility open that Angeal ' s unidentified biological father could be Hollander . Voice . Angeal is voiced by in Japanese , and Josh Gilman in English . Musical themes . Angeal ' s theme can be considered to be " CRISIS CORE Theme - Dreams and Pride , " which plays when he tells Zack about dumbapples in Wutai , and when Zack remembers Angeal in the Nibelheim Inn . It is a variation of the game ' s main theme , " CRISIS CORE Theme . " Other appearances . " Final Fantasy Record Keeper " . Angeal is a playable character who could be initially recruited during the Challenge Event In the Footsteps of Greatness as a First Time Reward for completing the event ' s Mt . Tamblin - Animal Trail on Classic difficulty . Angeal is a SOLDIER , whose combat role is Physical Attack . Angeal can use Spellblade abilities up to rarity rank 3 , Combat abilities up to rarity rank 5 , and Knight abilities up to rarity rank 5 . His default Soul Break is Defense of Lust , which at the expense of one Soul Gauge segment temporarily raises the Defense of all allies a small amount . Angeal can equip the following weapon types : daggers , swords , and spears . He can equip the following armor types : shields , hats , helms , light armor , heavy armor , and bracers . He can equip accessories . " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " . Angeal appears in " Final Fantasy Trading Card Game " with his official render . His card is Thunder - elemental . Etymology and symbolism . Angeal ' s name is most likely derived from the Irish word for " angel , " " aingeal " , tying into his white wings . Out of those born from the Jenova Project , Angeal was the first and only one to have more than one wing and have them be a color other than black . Angeal is the only product of the Jenova Project who does not wish harm to others , so the white wings may symbolize retaining his honor . This may also be done in contrast to Genesis and Sephiroth who both have a single black wing , symbolizing fallen angels / Satan , while Angeal has two white wings , making him more akin to one of Heaven ' s angels . Also tying into the Judeo - Christian traditions are Angeal Penance ' s special attacks , named after the Seven Deadly Sins : Unleashed Wrath , End of Gluttony , Wings of Pride , Charge of Greed , Thunder of Envy , Defense of Lust , and Rage of Sloth . Hewley derives from " hyle " .