Invictus Maneo/Schoolmaster

**“**STAND STILL, LADDIE!**”**
— Invictus Maneo selection quip
The **Schoolmaster** is a largely apathetic man who begrudgingly spends much of his time as an instructor, taking his aggressions out on his students. He never sympathizes with any of the children he teaches, instead flaying them into shape and going berserk when they make even simple mistakes. The reason why he picks on the children so much is because of his horrible home life, which has inspired him to take his anger out on the children, not helped by his trauma from World War II. We don't know why he's here, but maybe this is healthier for him.

The Schoolmaster originates from the 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall, and his home stage is Pink's Trial.

## Basics

The Schoolmaster is a middleweight character who relies largely on precision, wielding a cane that utilizes its sour spots for combos and sweet spots for finishing blows. The rest of the Schoolmaster's attributes are good all around, excelling at being a ground-based fighter above all else.

For much of his moveset, the Schoolmaster wields a massive cane that he swings around with great fervor, which has pretty good range and has a sweet spot on the tip that inflicts a lot of damage and launches foes back far. Its sour spots may seem useless initially, but they keep the target close enough to the Schoolmaster and he can chain many of these weaker attacks together to decimate whoever he's up against. He does have some additional noteworthy moves however, including a guard that basically serves as a counter and a textbook that he hurls in his neutral air attack. Maybe most disturbingly, his down throw has him throw his target into a meat grinder, where he squeezes them through the contraption until they've come out the other end. The Schoolmaster isn't one of the game's more complex characters, but he's plenty capable.

The Schoolmaster isn't one of the game's better characters defensively, having a large frame and thus making for an easy target. He also lacks approaching tools, having no projectile or wide-ranged attack to wreak havoc with.

## Specials

* **Special A: Hammer Time**
The Schoolmaster transforms his body into a massive hammer, spinning around recklessly. Though the move has a bit of start-up lag and a lot of ending lag, the move is capable of launching his targets far, guarding ledges pretty well, and ending certain combos. He can be reflected, however, pushing him away.
* **Special B: Grade Call**
The Schoolmaster will summon a number ranging from 1 to 10, which will appear physically in front of him. The move is used to grade his enemy's skill, although the number chosen is actually random. Lower numbers will cause him to hit his enemy much harder, and they appear more often against Intimidated targets.
* **Special C: Copter Lift**
The Schoolmaster blows a whistle, summoning a helicopter and riding inside it. He has free mobility while inside the copter and he will not be ejected from it unless the player desires to return him to his feet. Inside the copter, he can fire missiles, but if the copter blows up, the Schoolmaster is launched out of bounds.
* **Special D: Intimidate**
The Schoolmaster strikes his cane down, screaming “STAND STILL, LADDIE!” and paralyzing his target if they're in his eyesight. If they're far away, he'll say the same thing, but proceeded by “YOU! YES YOU!” This move can gimp recovery attempts, although the enemy regains control sooner if they're healthy.
* **Showstopper: The Happiest Days of Their Lives**
The Schoolmaster transforms himself to massive size, jumping in the background into a grassy plain with a schoolhouse/meat-grinder mix. He will try to grab anyone on the battlefield then put them through the meat grinder where they'll take a lot of damage. The Schoolmaster laughs hysterically for each catch.