Maria Calavera

Maria Calavera, also known as The Grimm Reaper, is a character in RWBY. She first appeared in "Argus Limited".

Appearance
Maria is an elderly woman with dark skin and long silver hair worn in a single braid down her back. She is of small stature and appears to be hunched over, requiring the use of a walking stick.

She wears a full-length dress in the traditional Tabasco style, consisting of a dark blue top with full sleeves and skirt comprised of alternating light and dark blue layers. In addition to her dress, she wears thick brown gloves and a heavy blue cloak trimmed at the edges with a pattern of white, hollow triangles on a light blue background. Around the neck of the cloak is a similar white and blue trim. The cloak is secured to her shoulders with ornate white pauldrons.

Maria's eyes were slashed out by Tock, and she requires goggle-like prosthetic eyes to see. The prosthesis is dark gray with cyan colored lenses, each of which is equipped with a set of adjustable shutters capable of mimicking natural expressions. Four rectangular cyan lights create a partial ring on the outer bottom edge of the eyes, while a single cyan nodule on the top outer edge overlaps slightly with each lens. Two small antennae protrude vertically from the left side of the prosthesis.

Additionally, Maria carries a walking stick comprised of a natural wooden shaft terminating in a smooth, narrow section and metal foot with a purple band around its middle. Her walking stick is topped by an ornate blue skull connected by means of a thick metal band with a purple ring at its center. On the front of the connecting band is a large, blunt protrusion located directly below the skull's mouth.

As a young woman, Maria had shoulder-length black ash hair, silver eyes, and was taller. She wore an ornate skull mask that all but completely concealed her face, revealing only her lower jaw. She wore a similar outfit to Ruby's except hers is dark blue, longer skirt, collar light blue shirt, and dark brown boots. In addition, she wore a dark blue skull necklace.

Personality
She is rather energetic and nonchalant in spite of her advanced age, allowing the train's derailment to roll off her shoulders as if it were nothing. She greets the heroes with friendly banter but easily takes offense to those who call her "defenseless" and "old". However, she is well aware of her current limitations, berating herself for not realizing the threat of the Apathy sooner.

Maria is shown to be sound-minded when tension rises, as shown when everyone becomes discouraged after Ozpin ceases leading the group. This trait is further shown when Maria orders Team RWBY to flee without hesitation once the Apathy appear.

After her flashback in "The Grimm Reaper", Maria states her deep regret over not doing more for the world, even going so far as calling herself "a disappointment." She warns the group not to strive to become like her, a fallen hero who lost the will to fight after she lost her eyes.

Powers and Abilities
While her current combat abilities have not been shown, it is known that Maria had silver eyes, which are deadly to the Creatures of Grimm. She can also jump down a deep well without injury and even run at a considerable pace despite her advanced age, shown during "Alone in the Woods".

In "The Grimm Reaper" it was shown she was very skilled in her youth, easily destroying a Nevermore and taking on multiple opponents soon after. She had also mastered the use of her silver eyes.

Semblance
Maria's Semblance, which she nicknamed "Preflexes", allows her to sense everything better than most people and react to attacks almost before they happen.

Trivia

 * Maria is a Latin name, the meaning of which is highly debated. A possible translation comes from the Hebrew name, Miryam, which means God's Chosen One. Maria is Latin for the name Mary, mother of Jesus who was chosen by God to give birth to his child in Christianity.
 * Calavera is the Spanish word for "skull" and is the name for the decorative skulls made of clay or sugar which are used as part of Día de los Muertos celebrations, which the skull on Maria's walking stick is modeled after.
 * In fellow Rooster Teeth show, Nomad of Nowhere, Melissa Sternenberg also voiced the Y'dala Elder, another elderly dark-skinned woman, as well as the role of the elderly Mrs. Campwell in Camp Camp. She has jokingly stated that "my previous two old lady roles didn't hurt my [audition] chances".
 * Melissa Sternenberg was pregnant with her daughter while recording most of Maria's lines, and declared that the voice is inspired by Cologne from Ranma 1/2 and Malory Archer from Archer.