Shadow,[1][2] is the Semblance of Blake Belladonna. Her Semblance is first seen in the "Black" Trailer prior to Volume 1 and its purpose explained in "Mountain Glenn".
It allows her to create clones of herself, which push her in whichever direction she wants, even in mid-air. These clones are solid but can be dispelled easily if hit or if Blake moves too far away from them. They can also be used to distract foes or take hits for Blake.
Description[]
Blake is able to produce clones of herself, pushing her towards a direction of her choosing. These clones are easily dispelled, and are used as distractions or substitutes for hits.
Blake can use Dust to give her clones additional abilities, such as creating a fiery explosion or freezing an opponent's weapon in place. Blake can also load Gambol Shroud with Dust to give her shadow clones offensive capability. Dust allows the clones to copy an element, with her afterimages becoming completely solid or even completely intangible depending on the chosen form of Dust. Fire Dust allows her to create fiery clones that explode on contact, Ice Dust allows her to create solid ice copies of herself and Earth Dust allows her to create a clone of solid stone.
In "Mountain Glenn", Blake says that her Semblance is a reflection of her tendency to run from her problems rather than face them; she leaves behind an empty copy of herself which takes the hit while she escapes.
Evolution[]
Over time, Blake's shadow clones have been shown to develop from mere afterimages into fully convincing decoys able to remain in effect for longer periods. In "Of Runaways and Stowaways", a clone is even able to exert force after being created, sending the real Blake high into the air. In "True Colors", Blake disappears after creating a clone, reappearing a short distance away after Ilia Amitola stabs the clone. This happens again in "The Lady in the Shoe" when she replaced herself with a clone at last moment, to avoid being stabbed by Adam. It is unknown if this development results in her being propelled at such a high speed that it is harder to see her or if she can truly teleport under certain circumstances.
History[]
Blake's Semblance debuts in the ""Black" Trailer", where she uses it to dodge attacks and rapidly cut through the AK-130s defending the train. She later uses it to dodge attacks from the Spider Droid, distracting it long enough for Adam Taurus to fully charge his own Semblance, Moonslice, destroying the droid.
In "Players and Pieces", Blake uses her clones to double-jump to save herself from a deadly fall and quickly transition into fighting the Giant Nevermore.
In "Black and White", Blake uses her Semblance in combat with Roman Torchwick to dodge his flares and later to try and outpace him in melee combat, but he's able to best her in the melee with his quick reflexes and sharp blows from Melodic Cudgel.
Blake uses her clones in "Best Day Ever" to try and confuse Pyrrha Nikos during the RWBY vs. JNPR food fight, but Pyrrha ultimately gets the better of her.
In "Painting the Town...", Blake uses her Semblance to distract Roman during Team RWBY, Sun, and Neptune vs. Roman and his stolen Paladin.
Blake uses her clones in "Search and Destroy" to cut through several Beowolves by dodging their attacks and leaping off her clones to attack back.
In the episode "Mountain Glenn", Blake expresses the concern that even her Semblance reflects her tendency to run away from her problems instead of facing them head on like Yang believes she does.
In "No Brakes", Blake shows off the ability to augment her Semblance with Dust because of Weiss, allowing her to surprise Roman and best him in a one-on-one. Here she displays a Fire Dust clone which explodes on contact, an Earth Dust clone to block a flare, and an Ice Dust clone to trap Roman's weapon.
Blake uses her Semblance in "Round One" during the RWBY vs. ABRN battle to distract Reese Chloris, dodge and recover from her attacks, and trick her opponent into position for a knock-out and ring-out.
In "Battle of Beacon", Blake uses it to recover from being knocked back by a group of White Fang grunts, allowing Weiss the opportunity to come to her aid and blast all of them back.
Blake's Semblance saves her life in "Heroes and Monsters" by successfully letting her avoid being decapitated by Adam, allowing her to retreat from battle to take an injured Yang to safety.
In "Of Runaways and Stowaways", Blake is able to physically throw herself with her clone to attack the Sea Feilong.
Blake uses an Ice Dust clone in "A Perfect Storm" to freeze Corsac and Fennec Albain's weapons in place, though they are ultimately able to escape from it using their own Fire Dust.
In "True Colors", Blake displays the ability to seemingly disappear when her clone is hit by Ilia Amitola, reappearing at a farther distance, though it's unknown if this was an instance of extremely high speed making it hard to see her movements, or true teleportation. Blake's clones let her keep pace with Ilia during their battle, allowing her dodge her long-ranged lashes.
Blake's Semblance again saves her from Adam's blade in "Downfall" by letting her dodge his initial slash and smack him in the head, temporarily incapacitating him.
In "Argus Limited", Blake dodges a Manticore's stinger by leaping into the air with a clone, allowing her to cut the stinger off entirely.
When Blake is ambushed by Adam in "Stealing From the Elderly", Blake's clones allow her to dodge his Moonslice attacks and let her jump to the top of the Argus communications tower. This continues to hold true in "The Lady in the Shoe" and "Seeing Red", where Blake is able to hold her own against her former mentor and partner by dodging his more critical attacks, leading to his eventual defeat with Yang's assistance.
In "Ace Operatives", Blake uses her Semblance to dodge a surprise attack from the Geist and recover fast enough to attack back with Gambol Shroud.
Blake trains with Yang in "A Night Off" by using her Semblance to jump back and forth between pillars in the Atlas Academy training room to improve both girls' reflexes.
Blake dodges Robyn Hill's overhead attack in "Worst Case Scenario" using a Fire Dust clone, knocking the Happy Huntress back.
During the Battle of Mantle in "Out in the Open", Blake uses Dust clones to dodge attacks from the Ursai she's luring, including her first Lightning Dust clone. She also uses a clone to dodge out of the path of a charging Megoliath, allowing Elm to successfully stop it in its tracks with her Aura Roots and brute strength.
When a fugitive Team RWBY faces off against the Ace-Ops in "With Friends Like These", Blake and Yang team up to fight Vine Zeki and Elm Ederne, initially having significant trouble handling the more experienced fighters. However, Blake's Semblance is crucial to Vine's defeat by successfully exploiting his Aura Vines to grab a clone of Blake laden with Yang's new sticky bombs, forcing him out in the open for Yang to finish off. Similarly, Blake uses her Semblance to distract Elm long enough for Yang to finish breaking up the previously damaged floors, rendering Elm's Semblance useless and setting Yang up to use Burn, allowing the girls to defeat her.
In "Dark", Blake battles the Cenitaur, dodging its attacks with a normal clone before using a Fire Dust clone to create a smokescreen. She also freezes its armblades together with an Ice Dust clone to try and incapacitate it, but this backfires when it uses the clone to bash Blake against a wall and take heavy damage.
After she's shrunken down by The Red Prince to partake in his chess game, Blake uses Shadow in "Rude, Red, and Royal" to dodge several attacks from his soldiers. She also does this in "The Perils of Paper Houses", where Blake uses her Semblance to dodge attacks from Neo's Jabberwalker clones and to assist Weiss and Yang in fending one away from a panicked Ruby.
Blake uses her Semblance in "Of Solitude and Self" in battle against the Curious Cat to dodge attacks and reposition several times, though ultimately struggles for most of the fight. She also helps Weiss and Yang with Jaune's plan to burn the Great Tree's leaves using a Fire Dust clone, creating hallucinogenic smoke to force the Curious Cat out of possessing Neo's body.
Image Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The official board game, RWBY: Combat Ready, refers to the action of using her Semblance as "Copy Cat".[3]
- In the anime RWBY: Ice Queendom Blake's clones are capable of moving on their own and perform actions such as running and jumping.[4]
References[]
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