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But hurting them isn't going to make your life any better. You can run, but you're gonna be running for the rest of your life. Or, you could find another way to handle it.
—Rhodes

Rhodes was a Huntsman who first appeared in "Midnight". He trained a young Cinder Fall during her childhood, and was later killed by her after attempting to detain her.

Appearance[]

Rhodes is a tall, dark-skinned man with dark, greying hair and brown eyes. He wears a Prussian blue shirt which is covered by a bronze and navy blue vest, alongside straps over his chest and arms. Rhodes' left shoulder is covered by a bronze pauldron.

In his years over time, he has received a scar on his right: a slash mark on his face.

Image Gallery[]

Personality[]

As seen in "Midnight", Rhodes was shown to be kind-hearted and sympathetic to others, especially to those who are being mistreated. He picked up on Cinder's abuse under her stepfamily and was understanding towards her situation, therefore he could not blame her for beginning to harbor murderous thoughts for her unfair treatment. Despite this, Rhodes himself was not fully aware of the situation that Cinder herself was in.[2]

Rhodes was also seen to be righteous and had a sense of morality and believed strongly in the creed and mission of what it meant to be Huntsmen, with him having firmly stated to the young tormented Cinder that despite everything she was forced to endure, killing her stepfamily was not the right choice or the correct solution for her problems and would only worsen her situation, successfully dissuading her from doing so and convinced her to instead choose a better path in life.

Due to this strong sense of morality and his sense of responsibility for Cinder, Rhodes was compelled to fight her and take her in after she ultimately killed her stepmother and stepsisters despite his personal feelings and sense of attachment to Cinder due to his responsibilities as a Huntsman.

As seen during his time training Cinder, Rhodes had developed a deep strong bond with the young girl and was implied to have begun seeing and loving her as something akin to a daughter and was proud of her progress and accomplishments in her training. However, it appears he did not understand the extent of the abuse or did not do anything to aid her beyond training Cinder as a Huntsmen, instead telling her to push through seven more years of it.

Regardless, this love for her ultimately led to his death by her hands due to letting his guard down, as seen where after successfully destroying Cinder's Aura, Rhodes immediately dropped his weapons and went to check on her, showing that despite everything, he truly did not want to hurt Cinder. In his final moments after being fatally stabbed by Cinder, Rhodes nonetheless maintained his care for her by petting her head and smiling at her, showing he held no grudges for her having killed him.

Powers and Abilities[]

Rhodes was a fully trained Huntsman and highly skilled. He primarily used a dual weapon fighting style in battle and was knowledgeable enough to train someone else in using his fighting style as well.

Rhodes also showcased some skill in hand to hand fighting, which he used to train Cinder Fall on how to throw punches, kicks, and defend against hits and developed her reflexes.

Weapons[]

Main article: Rhodes' Weapons

Rhodes' weapons of choice were a set of Maces and Swords. While they were two vastly different weapons; The maces were used as his main weapons in battle while his dual blades were secondary.

Rhodes was skilled in both dual swordsmanship and mace wielding, able to easily wield and swing his maces with ease and block enemy attacks and inflict quick blows despite their weight. The maces themselves also double as ranged guns, primarily using Fire Dust.

When he wield his two short swords, Rhodes focuses on speed and precision instead, inflicting numerous hits on his opponents thanks to the lighter weight of his swords. He later passed on this sword style to Cinder. It is currently unknown what has become of the weapons after Rhodes's death. With Cinder having soon obtained and began using Midnight, some time after leaving the Glass Unicorn.

Semblance[]

Main article: Metal Skin
V8 06 00057

Rhodes turns his skin into metal.

Rhodes' Semblance, Metal Skin, allows him to turn his own skin into metal, preventing blunt and cut trauma from taking severe effects on his body. However, the Semblance appears to make him vulnerable to heat based attacks, as shown by his sensitivity to Cinder's Scorching Caress superheating Rhodes' metal-coated neck.

Trivia[]

Allusion[]

  • Rhodes' name is likely a reference to Rhodopis, an ancient tale about an enslaved Greek girl who marries the king of Egypt. The story was first recorded by the Greek historian Strabo in the late First Century BC or early First Century AD and is considered the earliest known variant of the Cinderella story.
  • It could also be an allusion to the Colossus of Rhodes. A giant statue made out of steel, iron and bronze built in the city and island of the same name, which most likely alludes to his semblance.
    • Rhodes could also possibly have minor allusions to the Fairy Godmother from the fairy tale of Cinderella, which Cinder alludes to; he serves as a mentor and pseudo-parent figure for Cinder, and he provides Cinder with an item that she will eventually use to liberate herself (a glass slipper for Cinderella, a sword for Cinder).
  • Rhodes could also be an allusion to Cinderella's father, a loving male parental figure who due to his job has to spend long stretches of time away from her and either doesn't know how bad the abuse is or is incapable of stopping it.

Color Naming Rule[]

  • Rhodes is an English surname from the Old English word rod meaning "cleared land", bringing the brown colors of cleared soil and ground to mind.

Story[]

  • Eddy Rivas has stated that Rhodes had a lot of the blame for how Cinder turned out due to him training her while not fully aware of the situation that she was in.[3]

Character&Design[]

  • Rhodes' name and Semblance might also be a reference to the chemical element Rhodium.
  • The idea for Rhodes' Semblance came from Kiersi Burkhart, and she was glad that it was included in "Midnight".[4]
  • Rhodes reminded Miles Luna of Locus from "Red Vs Blue". Despite this, there is no real relation between these characters.[5]

References[]

  1. "Midnight"
  2. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 6
  3. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 6
  4. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 6
  5. RWBY Volume 8 Directors' and Writers' Commentary Chapter 6
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RWBY/Justice League
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