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For the anime characters , see Negative Weiss and Little Weiss.
I don’t know who you think you are, but let me tell you who I am: I am the granddaughter of a hero and a child of a villain. I am a citizen of a fallen Kingdom and an heir to nothing. I will not be defined by my name because I will be the one to define it.
—Weiss Schnee

Weiss Schnee is a titular protagonist of RWBY. She is a Huntress, a former student of the now-defunct Beacon Academy, and former heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. Her weapon of choice is a Multi-Action Dust Rapier (MADR) named Myrtenaster.

As the former heiress of the vastly influential Schnee Dust Company, Weiss made her first appearance in the "White" Trailer. After enrolling in Beacon against the wishes of her father, Jacques Schnee, she becomes a member of Team RWBY alongside Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long. Being the middle of the three Schnee siblings, Weiss is the younger sister of Winter Schnee and the older sister of Whitley Schnee.

Following a lengthy battle against Cinder Fall, Weiss was blasted off a platform and into the void under the Central Location, landing in the Ever After.

In “Of Solitude and Self”, after defeating the Curious Cat, she and her friends return to Remnant, where they arrive in the Kingdom of Vacuo.

Appearance[]

Weiss-Scar

Weiss's scarred face

Weiss is a pale-skinned young woman with pale blue eyes and long white hair that is often pulled back into an off-center ponytail or braid on the right side and pinned with a silver, icicle-shaped tiara. She stands at 4' 11" (1.5 meters), but typically wears heels that raise her height to 5' 3" (1.6 meters). Weiss has a scar which runs vertically down her left eye and face, gained during her battle against an Arma Gigas in the "White" Trailer.

In Ice Queendom, she wears pale pink lipstick.

Original Outfit (Volumes 1–3)[]

1110 The Badge and The Burden Pt

Weiss with Myrtenaster

During her attendance at Beacon, she wears a thigh-length strapless dress with a 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 on 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.

In her character short for Volume 5, she wears the same outfit, except her ponytail is centered. At the time, she had not yet received her scar.

Pajamas[]

During her attendance at Beacon, Weiss' pajamas consist of a faded blue nightgown with short sleeves and white trim and display the Schnee Crest on the upper-right chest. She also wears her hair down.

Alternate Outfit (Snowpea)[]

V2 03 00009

Alternate Outfit "Snowpea"

During the events of "A Minor Hiccup" and "Painting the Town...", Weiss wears an alternate outfit codenamed "Snowpea".[9]

This outfit consists of a white, double-breasted pea coat 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.

Beacon Uniform[]

During her attendance at Beacon, Weiss wears the standard Beacon Academy uniform comprised of a maroon blazer with golden brown lining and twin buttons over a brown button-up vest and white blouse with pleated looking neckline and a red ribbon tied around her black-lined collar. She also wears the traditional red checkered with black stripes with golden brown outlining alongside white tulle. She also wears a pair of brown lace-up wedged sole boots, alongside black socks reaching to mid-calf.

Mistral Outfit (Songbird, Volumes 4–7)[]

V5e2 songbird

After the timeskip following the Fall of Beacon, her new design includes a short, glittering dress with a color gradation of gray blue to pale blue at the hem, a sweetheart neckline, and a white, tulle petticoat.

A white sash is wrapped multiple times around her waist, and over the outfit is worn a slightly sheer long-sleeved gray blue bolero 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 gray 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, albeit her ponytail has grown out, now roughly reaching her knees. In RWBY: Amity Arena, this outfit is referred to as Songbird.

In Volume 6, she wears a red scarf with white design at the ends and pale blue tights with her outfit.

Atlas Outfit (Volume 7-Current)[]

V9 Opening 00006

After arriving in Atlas and meeting with James Ironwood, Weiss' hair is now braided, and she has grown out her bangs and styled them to frame her face more closely.

She wears a pale blue sleeveless dress with deep red lining, bow detail fixture, and two diamond-shaped pieces hanging from the corners of the hem, over a white diagonal hemmed strapless dress. Above which she wears a vivid blue shrug with a raised collar, puffy sleeves and the Schnee emblem on the left sleeve, fastened by a blue, silver outlined strap. On her arms are a pair of long navy blue gloves with silver top trim surrounding a red gem at the top.

Over her dress, she wears a light blue, corset styled belt. Around her waist are three white belts with a medium-sized pouch attached to the lowest belt and another pouch attached to the middle belt. The lowest belt crosses over the middle belt. She wears long, pale blue wedge-heel boots with white frill detailing at the top at the front, alongside grayish blue coloring on the toes and navy blue wedged heels.

In addition, she wears a pair of ruby earrings that match her icicle-shaped tiara with a diamond-shaped ruby in the center.

Ballgown (RWBY x Justice League)[]

In Issue 3 of the RWBY x Justice League comics Weiss is show to be wearing a strapless ball gown that has a similar grey blue colour seen on her Mistral attire that has a gradation to a light blue alongside grey blue opera length gloves and a pearl styled necklace and a white sash belt tied around her waist.

Earth Outfit[]

Weiss Schnee (Superhero)

Weiss Schnee on Earth.

After arriving on Earth, Weiss has her hair let down to her waist. Her outfit is basically a combination of her Volumes 4 and 7 attires and Salem's human and Grimm attires. She wears a pale blue sleeveless, backless thigh-length dress with white pleated halter-like straps extended to the back closed at the collar by a ruby in the center, slightly exposing her bust with a narrow, diamond-shaped window in a pale blue trim, as well as a white pleated hem above the skirt, matching opera-length gloves, light gray blue tights, and pale blue boots with white detailed trimming and gray heels. She wears a silver ice-shaped tiara with the same ruby.

Image Gallery[]

Personality[]

When I said I wanted to honor my family's name, I meant it. But — it's not what you think. I'm not stupid; I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a 'moral grey area' ... which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job at Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it.
—Weiss Schnee.

Monty Oum had said that everything has been decided for Weiss in her life and because of it, she is a bit of a rebel. This manifests 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. When Professor Peter Port states that Weiss has received everything she wanted in life, she responds that it is not entirely true, thinking of her father's attitude. She takes pride in her name and the company, though, as seen when she first meets Blake, when she discusses it with her team in Mountain Glenn and when she confronts her father over it.

Considering the lyrics of her leitmotif "Mirror Mirror", it is very likely that Weiss has felt lonely throughout her life, which translated into a cold nature. Constant attacks by the White Fang added heavy strain to her life, explaining her often difficult personality. Her strict upbringing has also given her a tendency to keep quiet about her own desires, likely not to be seen as vulnerable. After warming up to people, she places a great deal of trust in her friends and confides in them when she feels the need. While she doesn't abandon her prickly attitude completely, she gradually becomes nicer and more compassionate to people, especially her friends.

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 can also become best friends with her acquaintances.

Weiss takes her time at Beacon more seriously than her teammates, taking notes even when the topic is not related to the knowledge she seeks. She equates such dedication in the classroom with dedication in the field. Thus, she is annoyed at those who do not take things seriously, especially when it comes to becoming protectors against the Grimm. Weiss remains calm and tactical during encounters and mentally coaches herself. She is thoughtful and fights with precision and coordination.

After speaking with Professor Port, Weiss' attitude appears to change, as she takes his suggestion to "be the best person [she] can be" to heart. She opens up to Ruby, though she does not halt future criticisms. Weiss' development carries into her whimsical and humorous side as she joins her team in a food fight against Team JNPR and a board game. In "Painting the Town...", Weiss attempts to joke but is met with negative criticism from Yang and Blake. Weiss also enjoys planning and participating in certain events, such as the Beacon Dance.

Weiss vows that as a Huntress, she will elevate the Schnee name from her father's dishonor to it and put her desires behind others' necessities. This solidifies in "Lessons Learned" when Weiss heeds her sister's advice and removes her bindings from the SDC to discover more about herself.

After being retrieved from Beacon and flown home, Weiss is truly affected by the loss that happened during the Fall of Beacon. She becomes increasingly intolerant of the Atlesian lifestyle she grew up in, seeing it as superficial and ignorant. Her change of perspective is demonstrated by her hostility toward Henry Marigold's insensitive and ignorant attitude about the charity event and her public outburst when a couple talks condescendingly about the destruction of Vale.

Weiss has demonstrated the ability to keep a level head in the face of intense and deeply emotional situations. When Ironwood's paranoia begins to spiral in "Gravity" Weiss attempts to regain control of the situation by pointing out that his concerns are not relevant to the current situation. After Neopolitan knocked Yang over the edge in "The Final Word", Weiss immediately attempts to comfort Blake before the latter lashes back at Neo in rage. While Ruby and Blake are preoccupied with Neopolitan, Weiss quietly resigns herself and does her duty by fighting Cinder and drawing the Fall Maiden's attention to keep as many civilians out of harm's way as possible during the evacuation.[10]

Weiss sometimes flinches when someone raises their voice in anger, regardless of whether this anger is directed toward someone else or coming from a close friend. This is first shown in "Taking Control" when she overhears an argument between her father and General Ironwood. It is also shown in "Known by its Song" when Yang snaps at her mother, Raven Branwen, for mocking Qrow Branwen and Taiyang Xiao Long. The latter incident shows Weiss remaining on edge around Yang even after her anger subsides. This unconscious habit may have been another result of her dysfunctional childhood and strained family life, as it has been implied by Weiss that her father and mother would frequently fight with each other in angry voices.

Despite her good qualities, Weiss holds a double standard regarding others and secrets. In "Sparks", she is upset on Winter's behalf due to the fact that she believes Ironwood is keeping secrets from her, even though she went along with Ruby's decision to lie to Ironwood and keep Ozpin's disappearance, how many questions left in the Relic of Knowledge, and Salem's immortality a secret. When Winter reveals Fria to Weiss as a gesture of faith to show that Ironwood has trusted her, Weiss keeps what she knows a secret from her sister.

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 Faunus at first. The White Fang's activities seem to have contributed to a difficult childhood for Weiss, for she had close ties with numerous people who were either killed by or disappeared because of the White Fang. This led to her father frequently coming home angry, and this further colored Weiss' views on the White Fang and Faunus.

When Blake defends Sun Wukong's criminal acts, Weiss makes many derogatory comments about him and suggests he would likely join 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. Regardless, she says she remains unsure of how she feels about Sun, but they grow to be on friendlier terms. Weiss and the rest of her team keep Blake's status as a Faunus a secret.

Weiss' hostility toward the Faunus downgrades considerably through her time at Beacon, as seen when she shows concern for Velvet Scarlatina and the rest of Team CFVY. She is even friendlier and empathetic toward Blake, having placed trust in her as well after fighting alongside Blake against the White Fang several times. In "Dead End" when Caroline Cordovin shows blatant racism towards Blake for her Faunus heritage, Weiss immediately snaps "What's that supposed to mean?!" and in "The Greatest Kingdom" when a drunk shows Blake the same prejudice, Weiss uses Myrtenaster to hurl him into a dumpster, saying it was worth it- showing how significantly her views have changed. When Team RWBY explores an abandoned SDC mine, Weiss expresses shame and remorse to Blake for the pain her family has caused the Faunus.

Weiss has been described by Blake as the personification of the word "defiance." This is shown to be true in her various rebellions against those who try to decide things for her, or make assumptions about her; from her father, to Flynt Coal in the Vytal Festival Tournament (who initially believes she is nothing but a spoilt rich kid) to even General Ironwood and her older sister in Volume 7. This defiance culminates in her encounter with Cinder Fall in "The Final Word", when Weiss is left as the last of Team RWBY to face her; Cinder mocks her status as a Schnee, claiming she let "all her friends die first". Despite her Aura being broken, and outmatched by the Fall Maiden's power, Weiss continues to attack Cinder in order to buy her other friends time- showing that she is, indeed, defiant to the end.

In “A Cat Most Curious”, when Weiss’ past self offers Weiss opportunity of becoming a nobody and to get rid of her family name, Weiss decline her offer since she is proud to be Schnee. This shows how much she has changed and grown to accept herself as being both the granddaughter of a hero and the daughter of a villain.

Ice Queendom[]

In RWBY: Ice Queendom, it is implied that she likely used to suffer from both a superiority and an inferiority complex, often coming across as supercilious, haughty, and disdainful towards those she views as being beneath her and seeing herself as a perfect example of what a future Huntress should be but will often fall into long periods of paranoia and self-doubt whenever someone dares to challenge these beliefs.

This behavior likely stemmed from Weiss's estranged relationship with her father who always expected her to be the best at everything she set out to do but because she could never hope to live up to his expectations was constantly seen as a disappointment in his eyes.

In the case of Ruby Rose, Weiss is initially dismissive of her believing that she has no place in Beacon and that she isn't worth her time as a leader. However, after her conversation with Port, Weiss misunderstands what he was trying to tell her and resolves to try and "fix" Ruby's flaws as a leader believing that it will help raise her standing with the rest of her team and the other students attending Beacon.

Weiss is also shown to be far more prejudiced against Faunus in general in this version, showing a strong distrust towards them as the White Fang were responsible for many people she had once known getting hurt or killed. This grudge was so strong that it even extended to her teammate Blake Belladonna as upon finding out the truth about Blake being a Faunus, she burst into angry and fearful tears at having been forced into close proximity with her believing her to be too dangerous to live with.

After being freed from her nightmare, Weiss's personality has shown to improve vastly becoming much more friendly towards her team and accepting of Faunus. Though she still seeks to be the best that she can be, she acknowledges that there are always going to be things that others can do better than her but resolves to not let it stop her from trying to accomplish her goals.

Powers and Abilities[]

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.

Weiss' fighting style resembles fencing and ballet, where she relies on thrusts and slashes, being heavily reliant on ricocheting off either surrounding surfaces or off of her Glyphs. She relies most on her Semblance, enabling her to switch from offense, defense, support, and evasion. On top of this, it provides greater control of the fight through rapidly attacking from multiple angles to take the enemy off balance. Unlike Winter, Weiss relies more on balance, grace, and speed instead of being aggressive and direct. Learning to summon her Arma Gigas, she fights alongside the Summons, leaping from its sword or using it as a shield, proving able to summon it between glyphs.

Weiss also has some skills in medical treatment. In "War", she helped Nora Valkyrie after she had injured herself overusing her Semblance by bandaging her up and tending to her at her bedside. However, it is insufficient in fully handling her condition.

As seen in "The Final Word", Weiss is capable of using guns despite never having been shown to hold any experience with them before, as she shot Cinder with three bullets using Gambol Shroud. She also showcased some skill in a dual sword style, having fought Cinder Fall using both Myrtenaster and Gambol Shroud.

Although Ruby is usually the one who makes the team's battle plans, Weiss is the one who came up with the plan to use Emerald's Semblance against Ironwood in "Creation".

In Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part Two, Weiss would lose both her Aura and Semblance with her arrival on Earth. However, unlike her team, Weiss gained no new abilities and was simply a baseline human.

Dust Usage[]

V2e11 glyph ice

Using a glyph to make an ice dome.

Most notably, Weiss frequently utilizes Dust in battle. She 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 or creating certain types of glyphs such as black or time dilation glyphs. She has used Ice Dust to trap enemies, create a trail to push enemies from a height, create a slippery sheet of ice and form pointed ice chunks to use as projectiles.

Weapon[]

Main article: Myrtenaster
Castle

Weiss prepares to fight the Giant Armor

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 powdered Dust. The revolving chamber is constantly stocked with red, cyan, purple, 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.

In "The Final Word", Weiss took up the katana blade of Gambol Shroud after Blake Belladonna and Ruby Rose were thrown into the abyss of the Evacuation dimension during her last stand against Cinder.

In Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes and Huntsmen, Part Two, Weiss would use a freeze gun created by Mr. Freeze, which could shoot blue beams that create ice upon hitting a target. Though due to being in storage for to long, it ran out of power, forcing Weiss to discard it.

Semblance[]

Main article: Glyphs
1110 The Badge and The Burden Pt

Her glyph's design.

Weiss has the Schnee family Semblance of Glyphs, allowing 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[11], to name a few.

She has gained more control over her Semblance upon her arrival in Atlas. During her fight against Marrow Amin in "With Friends Like These", she could use her glyphs to create several ice spikes to simultaneously speed up and throw the ice as makeshift spears while summoning her Arma Gigas.

Summoning[]

With mastery, a Schnee also can summon avatars of the foes that they have defeated. While these avatars have the appearance of Grimm, they do not possess the same weaknesses. For instance, they are unaffected by the light from Silver Eyes.

In "Lessons Learned", Winter specifies that the summoned foe had to have caused the Schnee to push past who they were and become who they are now.

Weiss' Summons:[]

Image Gallery[]

Weaknesses[]

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Lack of stamina and endurance cause Weiss' defeat by the White Fang Lieutenant

Weiss has poor endurance and stamina, 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. In fact, she is the weakest out of everyone on her team, having been knocked out the most, such as by Nora Valkyrie with her watermelon hammer during the food fight, and the White Fang Lieutenant smashing her head into the ground.

Despite her glyphs' durability, they have been demonstrated to be breakable, such as when she summons three black glyphs in an attempt to stop the cargo ship's crash. The ship falls far too fast or is too heavy for her, causing it to rip the glyphs apart as it falls through them.

In regards to her summons, larger ones like her Arma Gigas take greater time and effort to manifest, as shown in her duel with Vernal, who heavily exploited this weakness by constantly interrupting Weiss' attempts to bring forth the sword-wielding warrior.

Trivia[]

Allusion[]

  • Weiss alludes to Snow White from Snow White by the Brothers Grimm. For more information on this allusion, as well as other choices the creators made for this character, see Weiss Schnee/Behind the Scenes.
  • Weiss's Japanese-language voice actress Yōko Hikasa also voiced Sailor Red Crow from Sailor Moon Cosmos, Elza Forte from Aikatsu Stars, and Diana Cavendish from Little Witch Academia.

Color Naming Rule[]

  • The name Weiss means "white" in German.
    • 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[12].
  • Weiss' surname Schnee means "snow" in German.
    • It may also be a reference to Scheelite, which is a type of tungstate mineral, which has several industrial age applications not unlike dust.

Story[]

  • It was stated by Miles Luna and Kerry Shawcross that Weiss prefers drinking coffee over tea.[13] In "Destiny", Weiss suggests that she and Blake get coffee, but Blake opts for tea instead and it was also mentioned in the Fan Service Podcast.
  • Weiss' Huntress license number is 63600-32812-80617.

Character&Design[]

  • Weiss is often addressed by nicknames:
    • "Princess", "Snow Angel" or "Ice Queen" by Ruby, Jaune Arc, Neptune Vasilias, Sun, Yang, even Torchwick and the White Fang Lieutenant.
    • The nickname "Ice Queen" is also given by Qrow to Winter (Weiss' older sister).
  • 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.
  • Weiss has her own official Twitter account at RT_WeissSchnee, like Ruby, Yang, and Jaune, all of which are currently inactive.

Media[]

  • Weiss is a playable character in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.[14]
  • Weiss appears in the 110th episode of Death Battle, where she faced off against Mitsuru Kirijo from the Persona series but lost due to her over reliance on Ice Dust and Mitsuru being able to absorb Ice with her Persona, and Weiss' limited aura couldn't tank hits as well compared to Mitsuru. She's the only member of Team RWBY to lose their fight.
  • On July 19th, 2019, a limited event collaboration between RWBY and SMITE was announced.[15] Team RWBY is confirmed to appear as voiced skins with Weiss as a skin for Freya.[16]
  • On June 29th Weiss joins her team, Salem and Qrow as playable skins in Paladins during a crossover with RWBY. She appears as a skin for Furia.

Miscellaneous[]

  • Weiss' voice actor, Kara Eberle, compares her to Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series [17].
    • Also, if given the choice between fighting one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses, she would rather fight one horse-sized duck.[18]
  • In the official artwork shown at the end of each trailer, Weiss is holding Myrtenaster in her right hand, despite being left-handed and this is because the drawings in the Team RWBY composite are early concepts.
  • Weiss' yellow time dilation glyph she uses on Blake during the Checkmate combo attack in "Painting the Town..." is extremely similar to the one used for the "Haste" spell in Dead Fantasy, a series that Monty Oum worked on before RWBY.[19] Monty even refers to it as "Haste" in the commentary.[20]

References[]

Characters
BRIR
RWBY/Justice League
Super Heroes and Huntsmen
Other
Minor Characters
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