The Nuckelavee[1] was a large, horse-like Creature of Grimm that first appeared in "Kuroyuri". It served as the main antagonist of Volume 4.
It was known to be wandering around the continent of Anima and it made its home in a cave near Kuroyuri. In "No Safe Haven", it was slain by the combined force of Team RNJR.
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Appearance[]
The Nuckelavee was a horse-like creature with an equine main body and a skinless humanoid creature that was fused with it. Its forelegs were shaped like claws and it had hooved hind legs that left a characteristic hoofprint. The humanoid body had long curved horns on its head, a mouth that looked almost sewn shut, and two long elastic arms each with two clawed fingers. On the back of the human torso were boney spikes along its spine and a variety of weapons from previous battles stuck in it.
When walking on its equine legs, its attached humanoid portion hung limply to one side, making its arms drag along the ground. Once the equine portion stopped to stand still, only then did the humanoid portion of the creature become active, doing so with a spasmodic twitching movement. When enraged, the spikes on its spine lengthened, as did its horns, its pupils became vertical slits, and its mouth opened completely.
History[]
The appearance of the Nuckelavee was first hinted at by its hoof print in Shion in "Remembrance", which Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie discover. Later on, its hoof print was shown again in "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back", but it was unnoticed by Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc.
Its first physical appearance was in "Kuroyuri", despite only appearing as a silhouette from the smoke of the Grimm's rampage, causing havoc in the town of the same name. This creature is responsible for the death of Ren's parents and the destruction of Kuroyuri. It was shown heading back to the same village years later after leaving a cave filled with lost and discarded weapons, encountering Team RNJR. After a long fight, the Grimm is defeated by RNJR. Its horse half was slain by Nora, and its humanoid half was slain by Ren with the help of Jaune and Ruby who pinned its arms to the ground.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Nuckelavee was credited with the destruction of Oniyuri and played a role in the destruction of both Shion and Kuroyuri. Despite its jerky movements, it was quite fast and used its unnaturally stretchy limbs to attack. Its screams were also very discomforting to the ear. It could also rotate its humanoid torso indefinitely without stretching, twisting, or breaking its attachment to the horse, as seen when it spinned around while whipping its arms at RNJR.
The Nuckelavee was far more durable than its size and frail appearance would indicate, shrugging off dozens of rounds from Magnhild's grenades, Crescent Rose's rifle shots, and Stormflower's bullets in addition to slashes from the upgraded Crocea Mors. Its arms and heads were more vulnerable, but the creature's long-range and vast strength made attacking them difficult.
Possibly due to its longevity, this creature possessed a degree of intelligence not commonly found in other Grimm. It had a lair in which it discarded many of the weapons embedded in it over its life, as well as trophy-like collections such as a flag from Shion, a town many miles away whose destruction it participated in. It was able to think and strategize, countering Jaune's encircling tactics by spinning its arms in a wide circle to strike all its opponents at once.
However, in the Volume 4 Crew Commentary, it was stated that only either the horse or the "Imp" can move at a time.[2]
Trivia[]
- The Grimm is based on the Nuckelavee, a demon from Orcadian mythology with origins from both Norse and Scottish mythology. The Nuckelavee was commonly blamed for disease and destruction of crops.
- In the crew commentary of Volume 4, it is described as two individual Grimm - an Imp and a Horse Grimm - that have been merged together.[2]
- According to the Volume 4 Director's Commentary, part of its screech is William Orendorff screaming the word "Die".
- Lusus Naturae is played during the Nuckelavee's appearances.
- RWBY: Amity Arena Card Bio:
- "In the world of Remnant, many Grimm are in the shapes of familiar animals. Birds, wolves, bears, and even scorpions come immediately to mind. However, the Grimm… are not animals. They are not of flesh and blood and exist only for destruction, and worse yet, their shapes and forms... are not limited to that of wildlife. Sometimes... they take the form of pure-- (un)bridled... nightmares. Descending upon the settlements of Mistral, snuffing out all hope and life, the messenger of death collects trophies on its back, one. by. one."
- The Nuckelavee's jerky and twitchy movement was originally the result of an animator playing around with their shots of the Nuckelavee. After seeing the movement in action, Kerry Shawcross decided that the erratic movements would reflect across the entirety of the Nuckelavee's appearances. [3]
- According to 18th Anniversary Star Chart T-Shirt, Remnant follows several Grimm-themed constellations in their northern skies. January–February are the Nuckelavee.
- The Nuckelavee plays a role in the comic book crossover DC/RWBY. In issue #2, it appears within Arkham Asylum, making Team RWBY pause in fear. Recognizing such potential, psychotic madman The Joker eagerly runs at the Nukelavee and the two fuse into a Joker/Nuckelavee fusion fans have referred to as a "Jokelavee". Because of this, Ruby believes Remnant is fusing with Earth.
- In DC RWBY 2, the Nuckelavee is implied to possess a number of different titles such as the Black Rider, the Ghost That Eats, and the Ruler of the Dead.
References[]
- ↑ Miles Luna's Twitter
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Volume 4 Crew Commentary 2:43:59
- ↑ The World of RWBY: The Official Companion Page 150
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