Isaac (animated series)

is a major character in the Castlevania animated series. Initially, appearing as an antagonist, serving as one of Dracula's two human generals in his army (the other being Hector), he later plays a more protagonistic role.
He was voiced by Adetokumboh M'Cormack in the English version of the show.
==History==
===Background===
Isaac is a Forgemaster under Dracula's orders.
Years ago, as a slave, he was viciously lashed by his master, who discovered him going through his books, despite Isaac doing so in an attempt to help him. This drove Isaac to his breaking point, where, in a fit of rage, he killed the man. This left Isaac with a grudge against all humans, including brigand magicians who wanted to sell his body parts and whom Dracula rescued him from. He joins Dracula in his revenge campaign against mankind. While Isaac had a very difficult childhood and was severely mistreated, he managed to travel across much of Africa and the Middle East as a child and learned magic from a renegade occultist's books.Adetokumboh M'Cormack: The Frederator Interview
===At Dracula's castle===
Isaac is present as Dracula meets with his generals over his war to destroy Humanity. As his loyal ally, he senses that some members of the court might try to betray him. When confronted by Godbrand, who he believed was one of the traitors, Isaac took the opportunity to attack and kill him.
Hector convinces Isaac to agree with Carmilla's idea to attack Braila, who in turn convinces Dracula to move the castle. There, he and his master suffered betrayal at Carmilla's hand, then the castle was forcibly teleported above the Belmont library. A few moments later, when Trevor, Sypha and Alucard stormed into Dracula's castle, Isaac offered to stay and defend Dracula, but the latter sent him through a magic portal to protect him. Isaac was stranded in the Sahara desert, unable to defend his master, who was killed by the trio of adventurers. He swore to get his revenge and started to raise an army himself from a group of bandits who attacked him.
===Seeking revenge===
Isaac travels the world with a small army of monsters, eventually reaching a port in Tunis. He there met a shopkeeper who offered him a mirror with magical properties, allowing him to see his desires. When heading to the docks, guards stopped Isaac and eventually ordered his minions to kill and eat them when they refused to let him pass.
Isaac later met a captain, who offered him access to his ship and safe travel to Genoa. He and the captain discussed Isaac's current path and became friends. He suggests to Isaac to live his own story rather than keep following Dracula and after taking revenge in Styria, become ruler of their land. In Genoa, Isaac was forced to kill more stubborn guards after they refuse to let him pass through the city, converting their corpses to be part of his army.
A few days later, he met an old woman named Miranda who was living in a mountain pass. She explained to him that a powerful magician was living in a city farther in the mountains and that he mentally enslaved an entire town. Isaac stormed into the city and fought the magician's slaves alongside his own creatures, eventually encountering the old wizard in his tower. There, he tried to control Isaac, but failed and was killed at his hands, dispelling the magic around the enslaved. After discovering the transmission mirror, Isaac commands his beasts to kill the people to convert their corpses, but leave the city standing.
===Future plans===
Afterward, Isaac has his night hordes repair the buildings and bury the corpses that were too ruined to convert, with the hope that others might occupy this city. He reflects on his new status in life, that when he killed the Magician, be described the feeling as repairing the world a little, and liked that feeling. Isaac realizes that he has only reacted to things his whole life and was content to be the knife for others to wield, and remarks that he has changed. He discovers that he has agency in this world and can create futures.
Once Isaac has prepared his night horde army, he begins his long-awaited invasion of Carmilla's castle in Styria, intending to leave Hector for him alone. His monsters kill every vampire and opposing night creature they see, and Isaac reaches Hector and Lenore, who happens to be trapped in a magic cage. To Hector's surprise, he spares them both, especially after Hector cuts off his own finger to remove the binding ring.
Then, they activate a barrier using stones Hector placed around the castle to trap Carmilla inside her throne room, currently being overwhelmed by night creatures. Carmilla and Isaac then fight to the death. Isaac, with his army of night creatures, gets the upper hand and fatally wounds her. Carmilla commits suicide by stabbing herself to trigger an explosion rather than fall to her enemies.
When the battle is over, Isaac returns to Hector. They discuss how they were used as tools for leverage their whole lives, how they both changed since Dracula's death, and how they can and should move forward. They should let Dracula have his rest and do nothing to disturb it. While Hector wants to live in peace with Lenore, Isaac becomes interested in building a way to live. He decides to become king of Styria and, from this conquered nation, build a land where people can have a future.
==Appearance==
Isaac's appearance greatly differs from his Curse of Darkness design, where the character was originally introduced. He appears as a tall, bald man with dark-colored skin. He wears the Forgemaster uniform, the same outfit as Hector. He has the outward appearance and quiet, peaceful demeanor of a Sufi aesthetic, but having a great intellect and hiding his deepest emotions. He is a Sufi and doesn't drink liquor.
==Personality==
Loyalty is central to Isaac's persona. Isaac believes in unconditional loyalty and love toward his master. In return, his master should reciprocate with appreciation. His first master, a human priest, proved himself unworthy of loyalty when he sadistically tortured Isaac. This experience created Isaac's desire for a world where love and loyalty are universal. He is fanatically loyal to Dracula, the only person who respected him and appreciated his service. Isaac views Dracula as both a master and the only true friend he ever had, and will kill any threats to him without a second thought. Dracula, in turn, acknowledged Isaac's pure loyalty, calling him the best of his species and saved his life when they were cornered. Just as loyalty is paramount to Isaac, he hates disloyalty more than anything. Isaac killed Godbrand the instant he revealed his intention to betray Dracula. After Dracula's death, Isaac made it his purpose to travel across the world to kill the remaining betrayers, Carmilla and Hector.
Isaac is an ardent misanthrope, hating humanity nearly as much as Dracula. Isaac routinely is exposed to the petty cruelties of man. Humans will often attack him when he just wants to pass by, further solidifying his hatred of men. Isaac first experienced these cruelties when his first master savagely whipped him, showing that humans were unworthy of his loyalty. Isaac whips himself in a masochistic way to remind him of this beating and purge corruption from his own body. However, Isaac does note the kind deeds of the humans who help him. Sadly, he comes to view them as distractions from the overwhelmingly negative experiences with men. Isaac largely ignores the cruelty of vampires because of his close friendship with Dracula.
Cold and ruthless, Isaac kills without mercy. This is exemplified when he and the Magician fought over who would exploit Legion, thousands of innocent humans who would serve as fodder for Isaac's army. Isaac is not without kindness, though; he genuinely respects those who treat him kindly, human and vampire alike.
Isaac was distraught when Dracula banished him to a desert to spare him from being slain by Trevor, Sypha and Alucard. After killing a gang of bandits, Isaac decides to wage a war against humanity on his own, reviving the corpses of his assailants to serve in his army. While Isaac initially made it his purpose to carry out Dracula's will and kill those who betrayed him, during his travels, Isaac begins to contemplate his new life and purpose. He starts stepping outside of Dracula's shadow after the Captain tells him: "If you don't have your own story, you become part of someone else's." Isaac is quickly becoming a man of self-agency and now commands a legion of night hordes to see his will done.
After killing the Magician, Issac unexpectedly finds himself at peace, having done something that he views as genuinely good and helpful to the world. He discovers that he enjoys doing good and concludes that his time is best spent trying to assure the future of others. He also begins to show more empathy toward others, such as burying those killed in his fight with the Magician, cleaning and repairing the city in the aftermath for potential settlers and forgiving Hector for his role in Dracula's death. Looking back on his actions, he concludes that he was childish to hate all of humanity and blindly follow Dracula, as well as seek revenge against Hector, as he was manipulated by Carmilla. When he moves to kill Carmilla, it is not for revenge, but to stop her mad ambitions. It is this new mindset that leads him to reject Varney's plan to resurrect Dracula. Since his journey across the world, Isaac better understands Dracula's pain and concludes that bringing him back would be a cruel fate and wouldn't lead to anything good.
==Powers and abilities==
===Magical skills===
*Magic channeling: With his dagger as his primary talisman, Isaac can manipulate the flow of magic; for instance, by cutting the fetters of the Magician's brainwashing magic and bending Hector's magic cage bars to pass through. Also, by channeling his magic through his dagger, Isaac can raise its temperature to be hot enough to cauterize open wounds and make undead targets burst in flames.
*Necromancy: Isaac can bring creatures back to life from the dead; unlike how Hector performs resurrections, the corpses he manipulates scream in pain while being revived and changed.
*Devil Forging: Isaac has the power to create night creatures from corpses that do his bidding, using a dagger rather than a hammer like Hector. Additionally, Isaac's creations have a red glow in their eyes, as opposed to Hector's blue.
===Other abilities===
*Expert combatant: Unlike his fellow Forgemaster, Hector, Issac has superb fighting skill, being able to kill a band of bandits effortlessly with his dual weapons. Issac also overpowered and slew Godbrand, who was an extremely strong vampire general. Isaac is also capable of fighting an enraged Carmilla without much difficulty, albeit with his legions of night creatures at his side to shield him from her killing blows.
**Knife mastery: Isaac has shown to have extreme skill in knife fighting, having shown to have fought and killed several vampires and night creatures with ease. He is extremely nimble, fast, and agile. He uses a fighting style that focuses on him overpowering his opponents by swiftly cutting them up in their blind spots by using his speed to his advantage. Isaac has also shown to have above-average physical strength, having been shown to easily sever head and limbs using his dagger.
*Strong willpower: Isaac had the strength of will to resist the Magician's mind control magic. He was loyal to Dracula and deflected all manipulations from the vampire generals. Isaac is self-sufficient, running a large army through his singular will.
==Appearances==
		
==Quotes==
*Hell is populated by humans who went against the will of God. But the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, says that one day Hell will be emptied and its doors will rattle in the wind. Through my hand, God lifts the damned from Hell in his mercy to enact their penance on the Earth as my soldiers. ("Investigators")
*No, no, no! Dracula will decide, not you. Threaten me all you like. I will die for him if I don't kill you first. ("Old Homes")
*No such thing as love in this world. ("Old Homes")
*Perhaps this is all loyalty buys in a world without love: pain in the night and death on your master's floor. Perhaps that's all that awaits me, too. But you didn't mind; you came home regardless. The lesson here is that I shouldn't care either. ("Old Homes")
*The body is sick. It must be purged. It must be focused. This is holy work. ("Broken Mast")
*Is this where we kiss like Benedictine monks from different monasteries? ("Last Spell")
*I simply don't have time to deal with *** like you every time I want to sit and take a drink. ("End Times")
*The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, once said, "One day there will be no human beings left in Hell." Perhaps I'm doing his work and there will come a time when my devotion is perfected. ("The Reparation of My Heart")
*I cannot believe this is happening again. It's absurd. I just can't. Why do I keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result? Isn't that the definition of insanity? Am I mad? You know, one day the last one of you will ask me "Why did you work with Dracula himself to murder all the people?" And you know what I'll say? "It's because you're all so *** rude!" ("I Have a Scheme")
*If I have to call you "Sir", I am going to give up and live in a ghost town with a mad magician woman who would probably eat my eyes while I sleep. ("Abandon All Hope")
*I may have been on my own too long. ("Abandon All Hope")
*You see, you can use a hammer to build a house or crack a skull. ("Walk Away")
:– Flyseyes: May I make an observation?
:– Isaac: You may.
:– Flyseyes: You are changing. There is still revenge in you, I think, but other things too.
:— ("Walk Away")
*He might have a point. What do you think? It took me a few weeks to transform the viable bodies in the city. Weeks more to effect repairs and bury those too destroyed to convert. Is it bad to take my time and think for a moment? Have I changed? Go on, say something. I killed you, old wizard. You must have an opinion on that. No? I have killed many people, old wizard, for many reasons. But killing you felt just. It felt like repairing the world a little. I liked that feeling. For a long time, I was content to be the knife that others wielded. But lately, old wizard, I have felt more like the hand than the knife. My whole life, I have reacted to things. Rarely acted. So, yes I have changed. I have agency in this world. I can create futures. And, happily I could create a future and end yours at the same time. God is good. I wonder what I will do next. ("Walk Away")
*When I began this journey, I had a very simple plan. That plan has evolved. The plan is now conquest. Kill everything you see! Except Hector the forgemaster. He is for me alone. Begin! ("Back in the World")
*I have recently begun to consider the future... which has been a novelty for me, because I never really thought I had one. This is how they get us, Hector. They convince us that there is no future. There's only an eternal now... and the best we can do is survive until dawn and then do it all again. That's no way to live. And I've discovered, to some surprise... that I am interested in living. I am interested in building a way to live. And I think I will start here. I have come to wonder that perhaps Dracula did not run things well. Even before his wife died. He lived in one long night, and never the future. I think perhaps he earned his rest... and that we should not disturb it. I will instead build something new on all these old bones. Something where people can live for a future. I'm going to live. ("You Don't Deserve My Blood")
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Isaac's outfit design in the animated series is based on his appearance in Akumajō Dracula: Yami no Juin - Fukushū no Jokyoku, a promotional Japanese comic booklet where he's seen wearing his full Devil Forgemaster uniform.
*Isaac and Hector initially weren't shown to be rivals in the animated series. In fact, Isaac mentioned that he had respect for him. However, as the story progressed and Hector joined Carmilla betraying Dracula, Isaac started plotting revenge against Hector.
*Despite their origins in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, in which they excelled in the art of summoning demons, the main occupation of both Forgemasters in the animated series is to perform rituals similar to necromancy to bring people and animals back from the dead (probably victims of previous raids) or transmogrify their corpses into creatures of the night to enlist them in Dracula's army.
*The scars Isaac has on his face were apparently made by himself due to his frequent self-inflicted punishments, implied to have been done with his own dagger due to their shape.
*Isaac's physical appearance seems to be based on his voice actor, Adetokumboh M'Cormack.
==See also==
*Devil Forgemaster (animated series)
*Hector (animated series)
*Isaac
*Night Creatures
==References==
==External links==
*Isaac (Netflix's Castlevania) at the Villains Wiki
Category:Antagonists
Category:Devil Forgemasters (animated series)
Category:Humans
Category:Male Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Castlevania (Animated Series) Season 2 Characters
Category:Castlevania (Animated Series) Season 3 Characters
Category:Castlevania (Animated Series) Season 4 Characters
Category:Castlevania (Animated Series) Characters