Weiss Schnee

Weiss Schnee (pronounced Why-ss Sh-nee) is one of the main protagonists of RWBY. Her weapon of choice is a Multi Action Dust Rapier (MADR) named Myrtenaster.

Former heiress of the vastly influential Schnee Dust Company, Weiss made her first appearance in the "White" Trailer. After enrolling in Beacon Academy against the wishes of her father, she becomes a member of Team RWBY alongside Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long.

Original (Volumes 1-3)
Weiss is a pale skinned young girl with pale blue eyes and long white hair pulled back into an off-center bun tail and pinned with an icicle shaped tiara. A crooked scar runs vertically down her left eye.

She wears a thigh-length strapless dress with faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem. A small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under the skirt. Over this she wears a bell sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar. On the back of the bolero is the Schnee Crest.

She also wears a small apple pendant in a silver chain and thin, rectangular silver earrings. Her boots are white, wedged heeled and higher at the back than the front. They have a small silver decoration across the top of the foot and are lined in red. A thin white sash is tied around her waist with a pouch attached to the back.

Pajamas
Weiss’s pajamas consist of a faded blue nightgown with short sleeves and white trim, and displays the Schnee Crest on the upper-right chest. She also wears her hair down.

Alternate Outfit (SnowPea)
During the events of "A Minor Hiccup" and "Painting the Town...", Weiss wears an alternate outfit codenamed “Snowpea”.

This outfit consists of a white, double breasted jacket with black piping, cuffs and buttons over a white, pleated full skirt with black lace trim. She also wears a pair of white, thigh high boots with black heels and lace-topped black stockings.

Dance
During the Beacon Dance, Weiss wears a short, white, sleeveless dress with cutouts on both sides of her waist. The yoke of the dress is translucent mesh, and she also wears white pumps.

Uniform
Weiss wears the same brown shoes, red tartan skirt, white blouse with maroon trim and thin red bow, brown vest with gold buttons, and maroon blazer with gold trim as every other girl attending Beacon Academy, alongside black socks reaching to mid-calf.

Post-Timeskip (Volume 4 - Current)
After the timeskip following the Fall of Beacon, her new design includes a short, glittering dress with a color gradation of blue to pale blue at the hem, a sweetheart neckline, and a white, tulle petticoat.

A white ribbon is wrapped multiple times around her waist, and over the outfit is worn a slightly sheer long-sleeved blue shrug fastened at the collar with a large sapphire broach that has three pendants dangling from it. Printed on the back of the shrug is the Schnee Crest. Completing her attire are dark blue wedge heels and sapphire drop earrings.

She also has an alternate/occasional outfit, which follows the same design as her standard attire except for the skirt, which is floor length and split to her thigh on one side, and she wears chunky heels instead. The white ribbon has been removed from her waist, and she wears her hair and earrings in the same style.

Personality
Monty Oum has said that everything has been decided for her in her life, and because of it, she is a bit of a rebel. It even manages to manifest itself in her physical appearance as she wears her ponytail to the side of her head, disrupting the symmetry of the rest of her outfit. Weiss talks little of her family, keeping that part of her life hidden. She also brushes off any mention of her family, as seen when she contacted her company's headquarters in Atlas, refusing to talk to her father and sister for reasons unknown. Still, she will defend if offended, including her company, as seen with Blake Belladonna during their first encounter.

Considering the lyrics of her leitmotif "Mirror Mirror", it is very likely that Weiss felt very lonely throughout her life. Her initially cold attitude toward Ruby and anyone she doesn't consider a close friend may be a sign that she's very unused to the concept of a true friend due to her difficult childhood. In "The Stray", it confirms at the very least that due to the constant attacks by the White Fang her life became much harder than it should have been, explaining her often difficult personality. When she does befriend somebody though, she can warm up to a surprising degree, placing a great deal of trust in her friends and opening up to them when she feels the need, though remaining her usual strict self most of the time.

According to her voice actress, Kara Eberle, Weiss is "nice but can also be a little bit bitchy". She is irritable and confident in her abilities, though also acknowledges her deficiencies and the need to hone her skills further. Her confidence in her skills and intellect often comes off as arrogance to others. This is also mentioned by Kara, who called her the "know-it-all" type of person who also can become best friends with her acquaintances.

Weiss remains calm and collected during an encounter and mentally coaches herself. She is thoughtful and fights with precision and coordination. She is analytical and tactical when in battle, waiting for the right moment to strike and retreating when circumstances are not favorable.

Weiss takes her time at Beacon more seriously than her teammates, being far more studious than them. She is often taking notes even when the topic is not very closely related to the knowledge she seeks, and is annoyed by people who don't take their classes seriously. Her lecturing Ruby when they first met about her being too young and them being there to fight monsters also demonstrates her more serious attitude about becoming a Huntress. She begins the year intent on becoming successful and a popular standout student at Beacon, which is the reason why she seeks out Pyrrha Nikos before the Beacon Academy Initiation in hopes of gaining her friendship.

In "The Badge and The Burden, Pt.2", Peter Port argues that Weiss has received everything she has ever wanted in her life. He suggests this is the reason for Weiss' hostile behavior toward Ruby's being chosen for Team Leader instead of herself. Weiss acknowledges that she has usually gotten her way, but indicates that this is not always the case.

After speaking with the Professor, Weiss' attitude appears to change, as she takes his suggestion to "be the best person [she] can be" to heart. As a result, she decides to become more friendly with Ruby and tells her she believes she can be a good leader. She even mentions to Ruby that she had always wanted bunk beds growing up, contrasting greatly with her original outward opinion of the beds. Despite warming up to Ruby, in "Forever Fall, Pt.2", Weiss still shows a tendency to insult Ruby when she makes mistakes.

Despite her personality, Weiss does not lack a whimsical or humorous side, as she joined her team in a food fight against Team JNPR, emerging victorious, and was later seen laughing with her team. She also joined her team in a board game, but grew to dislike it after losing to Yang Xiao Long, "crying" afterward with Ruby. In "Painting the Town...", Weiss makes an attempt at a joke, but fails, and is met with negative criticism from Yang and Blake. Weiss also enjoys participating in certain events, as seen in "Extracurricular", when she and Yang are in charge of preparing the Beacon Dance.

It can be inferred that Weiss' status as an heiress has been a burden that takes a toll on her personality. When contacting the Schnee Company World Headquarters, Weiss put on a feigned smile and declined to be connected to any of her family members. Her status also puts her under the impression that people would only date her due to her fame, which is the explanation she gives for rejecting Jaune Arc's advances. Being an heiress factors into her reasons for becoming a Huntress, mostly because she wants to live up to her family's legacy, but not before adding that there is more to it than that.

However, she seemed unsure of this when questioned by Bartholomew Oobleck prior to her conversation with Blake and Yang. In addition, Weiss states that as Huntresses they have to put what they want last and the lives of other people first, those being the ones they protect. Weiss continues that for her family, vowing that she would not allow her father to be the end of the Schnee family's honor despite the SDC's transition into a moral gray area beneath his command, indicating that she wants to make things right. Weiss then resolves to put her job as a Huntress first and her own desires second, inspiring the rest of the team to do so as well.

In "Lessons Learned", Weiss undergoes a major turning point in her character development. After Winter berates Weiss on doubting her own abilities, she reveals to Weiss that their father withheld her allowance so that she would call home. Winter then gives Weiss the option to let go of her bindings to the SDC, stating that it would allow her to discover more about herself. Later, heeding her sister's advice, Weiss rejects another call from her father, finalizing her decision to continue on her own path. This newfound motive is reflected in the lyrics of "Mirror Mirror Part II".

However, following the fall of Beacon, her team's disbandment, and her father's personal collection of her, Weiss has become a bit depressed. Her brother, Whitley Schnee, implies that Weiss has remained in her room ever since coming home.

In "Tipping Point", it is shown that Weiss has begun to detest the wealthy people of Atlas. She angrily tells Henry Marigold to leave due to his insensitive and ignorant attitude toward the charity event. Shortly after she completely lost her temper when a couple was talking condescendingly about the destruction of Vale. Weiss yells at everyone about their superficiality and ignorance. She becomes so emotionally shaken that she accidentally activates her Semblance which nearly causes a woman to be hurt.

Views on the White Fang and Faunus
Due to the ongoing violence between the SDC and the White Fang terrorist group, Weiss despises the White Fang and shows a noticeable distrust of the Faunus. The White Fang's activities seem to have contributed to a difficult childhood for Weiss, as she had close ties with numerous people who were either killed by or disappeared because of the White Fang.

The fact that the White Fang have been consistently disrupting the SDC's activities has also led to Weiss' father being frequently angry, further worsening her childhood. She cites these events as having colored her views on both the White Fang and Faunus. This is first shown when she begins talking about the White Fang in "The Stray", ranting about them in occasionally hyperbolic terms to the consternation of her teammate Blake, unaware that she was a former member of the group.

Weiss' past experiences are shown to affect how she views Faunus in general when she makes many derogatory comments about Sun Wukong because of his minor criminal acts. Furthermore, when Blake defends him, Weiss suggests he would likely just end up joining with the White Fang. However, shortly after the fight with Roman Torchwick, Weiss no longer cares about her argument with Blake, stating they are teammates and it changes nothing. However, she states that she's still not sure how she feels about Sun, although they are on friendlier terms as time passes. Weiss and the rest of her team keep the fact that Blake is a Faunus a secret.

Weiss' hostility toward the Faunus downgraded considerably since arriving at Beacon, as seen when she showed concern for Velvet Scarlatina and the rest of Team CFVY. She may be on friendly terms with the latter. She is even friendlier with Blake, having placed trust in her as well.

Abilities and Powers
As the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss was raised from youth to strive to be the best in all she did, and combat was no exception. As a testament to her skills, Weiss was on the top ranking of the sparring class during the events of the Vytal Festival. Weiss can move quickly and is creative on the battlefield, particularly with Ice Dust.

Like many Huntsmen and Huntresses before her, Weiss has had her Aura unlocked, coating her body with a shield powered by her soul. As long as that shield remains, she cannot be wounded, although she can still feel pain when struck.

Weapon


Weiss' weapon of choice is Myrtenaster, a Multi-Action Dust Rapier. The rapier has a revolving chamber inside the guard, which has six slots in total, each of which contains a vial of Dust. The revolving chamber is constantly stocked with red, cyan, violet, white, yellow, and blue Dust.

Weiss utilizes the Dust in combat, either in raw form or in conjunction with her Semblance to create various effects that suit the situation. When not using Myrtenaster as a Dust supplier, Weiss utilizes her speed to dodge attacks and her sword to deliver damage through quick thrusts that leave little room for counters.

Semblance


One of Weiss' most notable abilities is her Semblance, which allows her to create glyphs that can be used in a variety of ways: create a slippery platform to skate on at high speed, generate midair platforms to manipulate her trajectory in the air and perform limited time dilation that can speed up actions, to name a few.

With mastery, a Schnee also has the ability to summon avatars of the foes that they've defeated. In the episode "Heroes and Monsters", Weiss exhibits this ability once, as she unintentionally summons the arm of the Giant Armor she defeated in "White Trailer" to protect Velvet Scarlatina. Nevertheless, she struggles to demonstrate this ability, and she says "it's the only thing [she's] been having trouble with" to her sister. While her summoning power has gotten stronger since the Fall of Beacon, her control has not, as demonstrated when she involuntarily summons a Boarbatusk to attack a party guest who offended her in "Tipping Point". After being grounded following the incident, Weiss devotes her time to mastering the ability, eventually learning to fully Summon the Giant Armor in "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back".

In the series, Weiss' glyphs have appeared in a variety of colors for unknown reasons. So far, blue, black, white, and red normal glyphs have been shown, as well as a yellow "haste" glyph with a clock motif.

Dust


Weiss frequently demonstrates the ability to combine Dust with her Semblance, in order to direct the movement and manifestation of it, such as in "Players and Pieces", where she does this to create a curved wall of ice between Ruby and the Death Stalker's stinger.

Weiss has shown a preference for Ice Dust, only switching types if it provides her with an advantage, such as using Wind Dust against sonic based attacks. She's trapped enemies, created a trail to push enemies from a height, and even created a giant fist of ice in an attack.

Weaknesses
Weiss seems to have limited endurance, as seen in "The Emerald Forest", after Ruby and Weiss are forced to retreat from a pack of Beowolves after a forest fire; Weiss is shown to be panting in exhaustion while Ruby is still fully energized.

The biggest sign of her lack of endurance, however, is her inability to take heavy hits. Out of everyone on her team, she has been knocked out the most, such as by Nora Valkyrie big hit with her watermelon hammer during the food fight, and the White Fang Lieutenant smashing her head into the ground.

Trivia

 * Weiss alludes to Snow White from the fairy tale of the same name.
 * Her name translates literally to "White Snow" in German. However, the actual descriptive phrase "white snow" would translate to "weißer Schnee" or "schneeweiß" in German. The German name of Snow White in the original book is "Schneewittchen".
 * "Mirror Mirror", her song in the "White" Trailer, makes reference to the mirror that plays a large part in the story of Snow White.
 * Her role as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company may allude to Snow White's affiliation with the seven dwarves, who were jewel miners.
 * Monty stated that the pendant on her necklace is shaped like an apple, and in "Jaunedice", Weiss' meal consists of only an apple. These are references to Snow White and the poisoned apple.
 * According to Monty, Weiss fights with fencing because he studied fencing.
 * Weiss' voice actor, Kara Eberle, compares her to both Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series.
 * Early designs for Weiss were set aside and later used for Melanie Malachite, one of Yang's foes in the "Yellow" Trailer.
 * During an "Ask Me Anything" question and answer session on the Rooster Teeth website, Kara said that Weiss' favorite season is Winter, her favorite color is baby blue, and her favorite ice cream flavor is blueberry frozen yogurt. Also, if given the choice between fighting 1 horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses, she would rather fight 1 horse-sized duck.
 * Despite her name being German, the 'W' in her first name, as well as the 'nee' part of her last name are not pronounced as they would be in German. Monty stated that this is because real-world countries, such as Germany, do not exist in Remnant.
 * In the offical artwork shown at the end of each trailer, she is holding Myrtenaster in her right hand, despite being left handed. This is because the drawings in the Team RWBY composite are early concepts.
 * However, the artwork of Weiss in the composite seems to be an edited version of the original Weiss concept art. In the original concept art, she has a beauty mark instead of a scar and is holding a silhouette of Myrtenaster that seems to have a somewhat different shape than the final version.
 * She has her own official Twitter account at RT_WeissSchnee, like Ruby and Yang which are currently inactive.
 * Weiss is often addressed by nicknames, being called "Princess", "Snow Angel" or "Ice Queen" by Ruby, Jaune, Neptune Vasilias, Sun, Yang and even Roman Torchwick and the White Fang Lieutenant.
 * The "Ice Queen" nickname is also given by Qrow Branwen to Weiss' sister, Winter.