Mercury Black

==Summary==
Mercury Black is an antagonist in RWBY.
He is a former associate of Cinder Fall and the former partner of Emerald Sustrai. Mercury is shown to be rather carefree and jokes around when in the company of Emerald, who he makes an effort to annoy. However, when it comes to matters at hand, he displays a sense of seriousness and levelheadedness, though he derives personal enjoyment from the pain of others, showing no qualms about intimidating and killing his quarry, even light-heartedly joking about it afterward. 
Mercury carries an immense bitterness within him due to his abusive upbringing by his assassin father, Marcus Black. Because of the physical and emotional abuse he suffered from him, which he called "training", Mercury feels as though he has had to work harder than anyone else, especially after his Semblance was taken by him. In Volume 8, he becomes a member of Salem's Inner Circle.
==Powers and Stats==
Tier: | 
Keys: Beacon Arc | Post-Haven/Atlas Arc
Name: Mercury Black
Origin: RWBY
Gender: Male
Age: Early 20's
Classification: Human, Assassin, Former Associate of Cinder's Faction, Member of Salem's Inner Circle
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Aura (Able to use his Aura for numerous purposes), Forcefield Creation (Aura can be used as a full-body forcefield), Statistics Amplification (Can use Aura to enhance his striking power), Enhanced Senses (Can use his Aura to sharpen his senses), Regeneration (Low), Extrasensory Perception (His Aura allows him to sense things around him), Martial Arts (Expert Martial Artist), Weapon Mastery (Skilled marksman), Acrobatics, Accelerated Development (Training [Physical Statistics and Abilities; Even Huntsmen in Training are able to rapidly develop in short periods of time, becoming significantly stronger and faster and evolving their abilities through short periods of training]), Energy Projection, Smoke Manipulation, and Homing Attack (Via Talaria), Air Manipulation (Via Prosthetic Legs), Resistance to Extreme Heat and Cold (Aura protects the user from sub-zero temperatures, allowing them to be encased in ice without being cold, walk through a blizzard in casual clothingRWBY Volume 6 Episode 5, and traverse the kingdom of Atlas, which resides in Remnant's North Pole,RWBY: World of Remnant, Episode 11: Atlas without wearing any protective gear, as well as extreme heat up to and including the heat of flames,RWBY Volume 2 Episode 11, being blasted with steamRWBY Volume 3 Episode 4 being struck by lighting for an extended period of time,RWBY Volume 3 Episode 2RWBY Volume 5 Episode 13RWBY Volume 8 Episode 3 and being submerged in lava without being burnedRWBY Volume 3 Episode 5)
Attack Potency: Large Building level+ (Casually defeated Yatsuhashi Daichi. Was able to injure Base Amber with his attacks) | Multi-City Block level+ (Fought evenly with Post-Haven Yang)
Speed: Massively Hypersonic Reactions and Combat Speed (Dodged natural lightning.RWBY Volume 3 Chapter 7; "Beginning of the End" Casually intercepted Ruby while she was amplified by her Semblance) | FTL Reactions and Combat Speed
Lifting Strength: At least Class M, likely higher (Comparable to Lie Ren and Post-Beacon Sun) | At least Class G (Stronger than before. Should be comparable to Emerald)
Striking Strength: Large Building level+ | Multi-City Block level+
Durability: Large Building level+ (Casually blocked an attack From Yatsuhashi, and could block hits from Base Amber), higher with Aura (Aura functions as a forcefield with a cumulative durability, depicted as a 'health bar', that allows him to take dozens of hits from opponents as strong as himself without any significant injury. His aura protected him from Maiden Amber's attacks as well as a withstood multiple hits from fully Semblance-amped Yang) | Multi-City Block level+, higher with Aura
Stamina: Superhuman
Range: Standard melee range, Hundreds of meters with Talaria and Prosthetic Legs
Standard Equipment: Talaria, Prosthetic Legs
Intelligence: Gifted (Mercury is a veritable master of close combat, having spent his entire life training in pure martial combat to make up for his Semblance being stolen by his father. He is shown to be a very acrobatic and agile fighter who relies upon quickly overpowering his opponent with complex kicks that imply a near-mastery of martial arts that resemble Tae-Kwon-Do. He is also capable of a break-dancing style, similar to Capoeira, and makes use of Muay Thai as well. Despite his focus on kicks, Mercury also uses his hands to grapple, block or redirect enemy attacks. His experience and skill are aggressive and effective enough to drive even fighters of a high caliber, like Pyrrha, into a defensive position. Due to his fighting style, Mercury relies on his swift and quick reflexes to counter and block his opponent's attacks as first demonstrated during his fight with Yang Xiao Long, altering the course of her punches and using his footwork to raise her fists and kick underneath or around her attacks. 
Despite the presumed awkwardness of his weapon's ranged capabilities, he is a skilled marksman, able to shoot a phone out of a person's hand from a good distance away and is proficient at using the many different forms of projectiles at his disposal to keep his opponents off balance. Mercury is also known to be observant, tactical, and analytical, able to notice and deduce the capabilities and limits of Pyrrha's Polarity Semblance after she uses it once during their brief fight, despite Pyrrha using it extremely subtly in combat and having spent her entire life honing her ability to hide her Semblance and its mechanics from her opponents and the general public. Among Mercury's skills, his talents at information gathering and subterfuge would appear to stem from his training as an assassin. While undercover at Beacon Academy, he strategically sparred with Pyrrha Nikos in order to gather information on students' Semblances to aid in the initiation of the Fall of Beacon, being able to put on the convincing facade of a well-meaning - if somewhat cocky - student of Haven Academy.)
Weaknesses: Continual damage to his Aura will cause it to decay to the point where he can be left open to more significant damage. Aura's durability is cumulative; it will deplete with each attack he takes and can be brought down by characters of similar strength. Constant exposure to extreme temperature can drain the user's aura.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
*Talaria: Mercury Black's weapons of choice, a large pair of boots with firing mechanisms built into them, similar to Ember Celica wielded by Yang Xiao Long. In addition to normal bullets, they are shown to be able to fire a variety of different projectiles. Some of the projectiles are shown to have guided or target-seeking properties, taking spiraling paths towards their target. By using a fighting style akin to breakdancing or Capoeira, Mercury can fire a veritable storm of these projectiles that can overwhelm an enemy with sheer volume. Some projectiles also appear to create a smoke or steam effect that can be used to distract enemies. During the assault on Atlas, Mercury has included sharp, metal wings to Talaria.
*Prosthetic Legs: Mercury has a pair of robotic legs which he acquired at some currently unknown point in time. His prosthetics make-up over most of his leg, including a portion of his thigh and everything below the knee. He usually keeps them concealed under his pants. His prosthetics are capable of firing projectiles like his Talaria, and are responsible for the air blasts that he fires, as well as allowing him to jump in midair.
==Notable Matchups==
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
==References==
Category:Characters
Category:RWBY
Category:Cartoon Characters
Category:Internet Characters
Category:Game Characters
Category:Manga Characters
Category:Antagonists
Category:Evil Characters
Category:Villains
Category:Adults
Category:Humans
Category:Assassins
Category:Cyborgs
Category:Martial Artists
Category:Weapon Masters
Category:Acrobats
Category:Gun Users
Category:Aura Users
Category:Forcefield Users
Category:Statistics Amplification Users
Category:Enhanced Senses Users
Category:Extrasensory Perception Users
Category:Non-Physical Interaction Users
Category:Accelerated Development Users
Category:Regeneration Users
Category:Homing Attack Users
Category:Smoke Users
Category:Air Users
Category:Energy Users
Category:Energy Projection Users
Category:Kick-based Fighters
Category:Shoe Users