Scarlet (Final Fantasy VII)

Scarlet is a supporting antagonist in the Final Fantasy VII series. She is a minor supporting antagonist in Final Fantasy VII, with an expanded role in Final Fantasy VII Remake, "Episode INTERmission", and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. She also appears in other entries of the extended universe, including Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.
Scarlet is the executive director of the Shinra Electric Power Company's Advanced Weaponry division. She is responsible for the development and manufacturing of the company's weapons, mechs, and materia. Scarlet comes across as refined and elegant, but is actually haughty, cruel-hearted, and ruthlessly ambitious.
Scarlet is a recurring boss throughout the series. She competes with Tifa Lockhart in a slapping minigame and later fights Cloud Strife's party while piloting the Proud Clod with Heidegger in Final Fantasy VII. She fights Yuffie Kisaragi and Sonon Kusakabe in The Crimson Mare during "Episode INTERmission" of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade. Scarlet also battles Tifa, Aerith Gainsborough, and Yuffie in the Crimson Mare Mk. II at the Gongaga reactor in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
==History==
===Before Final Fantasy VII===
Scarlet was born in 1967. During the Wutai War, she developed innovative and effective weapons for Shinra's Advanced Weaponry division, earning high profits for the company and securing a promotion to executive director.
====Wutai War and Avalanche Insurgency====
During 0003, as depicted in flashbacks during "Barret's Past" in Final Fantasy VII and "Those Left Behind in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Scarlet informed Corel about mako and the planned construction of a mako reactor on Mt. Corel. She promised the preservation of the community, assured concerned villagers that a portion of the funds would be returned to the village, and their lifestyle would ultimately improve. 
Sometime after the Mt. Corel mako reactor was completed in 0003, during "The Muddy Course of Inexorable Fate" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, remaining Avalanche members seized it and President Shinra sent Scarlet to investigate. Sometime later, she coordinated the massacre of Corel, remorselessly burning the village and gunning down the villagers, notably including Myrna Wallace and Eleanor, and severely injuring Barret Wallace and Dyne.
During "The Choices We Made in the Beginning and the End" in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Scarlet informed President Shinra about the insubordinate Turks aiding Verdot, proposing and insisting on leading the manhunt herself. During "The Consequences of Our Choices", President Shinra granted her full authority to eliminate every Turk using any means necessary. During "Veering Wildly Towards an Unstoppable End", Scarlet located Verdot, unleashed armored troops and mechs on him and another Turk, and personally fired at him using her cannon, injuring and capturing him as ordered by the president. Scarlet later attended a board meeting about disbanding the Turks and laughed at their impending punishment.
During the epilogue of Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Scarlet attended a council meeting after Zirconiade's defeat to discuss the Turks. She informed President Shinra that the Turks showed loyalty by executing Verdot. Scarlet was surprised by Rufus Shinra vouching for the Turks and questioned his sudden return.
===Original continuity===
====Jenova War====
During "Storming the Shinra Building" in Final Fantasy VII, Scarlet attended a board meeting following the destruction of Sector 7 and later remarked that something was "stinking" afterward.
During "Gongaga, the Village of Sadness", Scarlet and Tseng searched for huge materia in the ruined reactor in Gongaga to build an "ultimate weapon". She expressed satisfaction at Advance Weaponry receiving more funds since Professor Hojo was gone, insultingly doubted Heidegger's ability to pilot her new weapon, and insincerely apologized to Tseng for her remark about his boss. During "That Which Waits in the Northernmost Reaches", Scarlet joined Rufus Shinra on an airship to the North Crater, expressed amazement at the abundant materia formations, and was startled by the emergence of a Weapon. She had a bad feeling about the Northern Cave, was surprised to encounter Cloud Strife's party there, and arrested most of them. 
During "In a World Approaching Its End", Scarlet traveled to Junon after Sephiroth summoned the Meteor. She planned to broadcast the live execution of Tifa Lockhart and Barret. She had Tifa taken to a gas chamber, insulted her, and prepared to punish Barret next, but a warning alarm about approaching Weapons sounded. Cait Sith knocked Scarlet out who soon activated sleeping gas throughout the facility. Scarlet encountered Tifa again at the end of the mako cannon, the two engaged in an intense slap fight, and a furious Scarlet lost.
During "Struggle for the Huge Materia", Scarlet attended a board meeting about destroying the Meteor and defeating Sephiroth. She proposed gathering all the huge materia to create a weapon to ram the Meteor, assuring Rufus they had the necessary technology. During "Mako Cannon Rampage", Scarlet attended another meeting about firing the Sister Ray at Sephiroth hiding in the Northern Cave. After approving the launch with Heidegger, Rufus initiated it. She called out Reeve Tuesti's dialect change as they frantically tried to shut off the overpowered Sister Ray. Afterward, Scarlet and Heidegger cheered about Rufus's assumed death as the top floor of the Shinra Building, which was destroyed by the Diamond Weapon, declared the use of a new weapon, caught Reeve aiding Cloud's party, and arrested him for treason. Scarlet and Heidegger piloted the Proud Clod and confronted Cloud's party in Sector 8, but were defeated and the mech exploded, presumably killing both Scarlet and Heidegger.
During "Showdown in the Wastes" in Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-, Reeve revealed that Scarlet had been one of the few Shinra executives aware of Deepground's existence. He also found information about Deepground in her old files.
===Remake continuity===
====Avalanche–Wutai conflict and the pursuit of Sephiroth====
During "Budding Bodyguard" in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Scarlet bluntly addressed concerns about Mako Reactor 5's status on the news, issuing a warning to Avalanche while assuring Shinra's commitment to Midgar's safety.
During "Covert Ops" in "Episode INTERmission", Scarlet encountered Wutaian intruders, Yuffie and Sonon, on an elevator in the Shinra Building. She spoke rudely about their nation to provoke them before locking the door behind them and using them to test her weaponized mechs. Scarlet allowed Yuffie and Sonon to progress further, impressed by their resilience as ninjas. She talked to them via a hologram and learned they sought materia. Scarlet personally met with them, sarcastically praised their efforts, and piloted the Crimson Mare in a battle against them, but was defeated. She was restrained and called the mech useless, intending to overhaul it.
As Yuffie and Sonon interrogated Scarlet, she secretly released Nero and Deepground SOLDIERs while continuing to belittle the duo. She realized there was a Wutai mole in Shinra and admitted that development of the ultimate materia was incomplete, stating the company had other priorities like dropping the Sector 7 plate. Scarlet sarcastically warned Yuffie that Sonon was in trouble and escaped as she rushed to his aid. She set the combat simulator prototype to the maximum pain level, wanting the two to suffer.
During "The Belly of the Beast" in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Scarlet observed the development of a failed materia and was using a soldier as a footstool before annoyedly leaving for a board meeting. During the meeting, she shushed Reeve by mentioning Neo Midgar and showed no opposition to Hojo's use of torture, but was disgusted by his comments about breeding Aerith Gainsborough, the Cetra member the Turks had just caught.
During "Those Left Behind", Scarlet attended a board meeting about the Magnus Materia Project and the newly-emerged Weapons, expressing interest in studying and securing their materia. During "The Planet Stirs", she embarked via Relnikha to the Gongaga Reactor with a squadron of Heidegger's finest men, and aimed to extract the sighted Weapon's materia core. She spotted Cloud's party there, dispatched research specimen, personally piloted Crimson Mare Mk. II, and fired missiles at them. Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie diverted her attention and defeated her, weakening the mech. Scarlet was stunned by the Weapon's beauty before Tifa and Cloud forced her retreat.
During "The Long Shadow of Shinra", Scarlet attended a meeting about Glenn Lodbrok's broadcast from Wutai declaring war on Shinra. She was curious about Viceroy Sarruf's identity, was annoyed by Tseng and the Turks' lack of intel, and shared what was known about Lodbrok.
==Characteristics==
===Appearance===
In Final Fantasy VII, Scarlet is a woman with a slender figure, fair skin, blue eyes, and tied up blonde hair resembling a French twist. She wears a long dark red satin dress with a plunging neckline and slits on both sides, black thigh-high stockings, dark red high-heels, a gold necklace, and ruby earrings. However, she wears indigo earrings and no necklace in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, Scarlet resembles her original design, but with additional details and accessories. She wears crystal earrings, a pendant, and ring on her right hand resembling the color of mako, dark eyeshadow, a silver bracelet on her right wrist, and dark red nail polish. The gems in her jewelry may be materia shards, seeing that Scarlet oversees production of new materia and appears enchanted by the process.
Scarlet-ffvii-field.png|Field model from Final Fantasy VII.
Scarlet-artwork.jpg|Concept art by Tetsuya Nomura for Final Fantasy VII.
BCVIIScarlet.jpg|Portrait from Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-.
Scarlet from Final Fantasy VII Remake artwork.png|Concept art by Roberto Ferrari for Final Fantasy VII Remake.
===Personality===
Scarlet is deceitfully cruel, exceedingly brutal, and extremely prideful, especially regarding her job and appearance. She is selfishly ambitious, sadistically committing atrocities, employing manipulation tactics for her personal gain, and has no regard for the dignity of others. Scarlet is egotistical and her words are laced with venom, talking down to her associates and voicing disdain toward Wutai. She displays traits of a dominatrix, using an infantryman as a footstool, and some SOLDIERs fantasize about her stepping on them. Like Heidegger, she has a characteristic laugh.
Scarlet thinks little of the other Shinra executives and sees them as a means to an end. She loathes Heidegger, ridiculing and bickering with him, but they get along well enough and often work together. She silences Reeve during meetings, disregards Palmer, and her division often collaborates with Hojo, but she is disgusted by his twisted scientific methods. She feigns respect to Rufus, pretending to show support, only to later cheer with Heidegger about Rufus's supposed death. Scarlet distrusts the Turks, once voting for their disbandment and execution, and reprimanding them for a lack of collected intel.
===Abilities===
Scarlet is highly capable at her job, developing profitable, innovative, and impressive weapons and vehicles for the company. She also personally oversees the development of new materia.
==Gameplay==
As a boss, Scarlet pilots a robot called the Crimson Mare in her fights. Scarlet first uses Crimson Mare in the DLC episode "Episode INTERmission" for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, testing it against Yuffie and Sonon when they try to steal powerful materia from Shinra.
In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Scarlet modified it into the flight-capable Crimson Mare Mk. II.
==Other appearances==
===Final Fantasy Brave Exvius===
==Musical themes==
In Final Fantasy VII Remake, "Scarlet's Theme", track 15 of disc 6 in the Final Fantasy VII Remake Original Soundtrack, is a soft jazz song composed by Tsuyoshi Sekito, Mitsuto Suzuki, and Nozomi Toki. The arrangement was done by Sekito, Suzuki, and Ayumu Murai features vocals from Al Copeland. It is also collectible and playable on the jukebox.
==Behind the scenes==
The scene in Final Fantasy VII Remake where Scarlet uses a Shinra infantryman for a footstool was added to show her sadistic personality and how she nor the Shinra directors as a whole care about abusing their positions of power over the ordinary workers.
Scarlets minigun artwork for FFVII Remake.png|Weapons artwork.
FFVIIR Scarlet Materia processing.png|Scarlet views materia processing in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
FFVIIR Scarlet admonishing.png|Scarlet admonishes a Shinra soldier.
Scarlets secret switch from FFVIIR INTERmission.png|Scarlet's secret switch.
Haughty Scarlet.png|Proud Scarlet.
Scarlet loading screen from FFVII Remake.jpg|Final Fantasy VII Remake loading screen.
===Voice===
In the Final Fantasy VII remake project, Scarlet is voiced by Masako Katsuki in the Japanese releases and Erin Cottrell in the English releases.
==Etymology==
==Citations==
== References == 
;Video games
*
*
*
*
;Movies and television
;Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
de:Scarlet
fr:Scarlet
es:Escarlata
pt-br:Scarlet
ru:Скарлет
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy VII
Category:Characters in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy VII Remake
Category:Characters in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Category:Antagonists