Editing Maleficent

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{{suite|Maleficent}}
{{youmay|the character|[[Episode 18: Maleficent|the chapter in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' manga]]}}
{{Character
|name= Maleficent
|image=[[File:Maleficent KHIII.png|350x400px]]
|katakana=マレフィセント
|romaji=Marefisento
|fr=Maléfique
|de=Malefiz
|type=Entelechy
|charworld1=Enchanted Dominion
|charworld2=Hollow Bastion
|charworld3=Radiant Garden
|origin=Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)
|torigin=Sleeping Beauty (1959)
|company=Disney
|enva=Susanne Blakeslee
|java=Toshiko Sawada
|game1=Kingdom Hearts
|game2=Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
|game3=Kingdom Hearts II
|game4=Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
|game5=Kingdom Hearts coded
|game6=Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
|game7=Kingdom Hearts χ
|game8=Kingdom Hearts III
|game9=Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
|game10=Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
|journalKH='''First entry'''<br>A sorceress of awesome power. She controls the Heartless, and is said to have destroyed many worlds. No one knows what her true intentions are.<br><br>She first appeared to curse Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).<br><br>'''Second entry'''<br>A sorceress of awesome power. She leads the villains who seek to harness the power of the Heartless. She has also tricked Riku into joining her and is using him as part of her evil plans.<br><br>She first appeared to curse Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).<br><br>'''Third entry'''<br>A sorceress of awesome power. She tried to use the Heartless for her own evil ends, but the Heartless were actually using her. She turned into a huge dragon when cornered by Sora and his friends.<br><br>She first appeared to curse Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).
|journalSS=A witch who commands the darkness. Sora faced Maleficent and her Heartless once before.<br><br>She stole Belle's heart to perfect her dark powers, though Belle had seen through her plan.
|journalRR=A witch who commands the darkness.<br><br>Maleficent's charms won over Riku, and she empowered him with darkness.<br><br>In Castle Oblivion she stood before Riku again, this time as a token of the indelible darkness in his heart.
|journalKH2='''Main entry'''<br>Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br><br>A sorceress of frightening power. In the last adventure, she controlled the Heartless and led a group that was trying to harness the power of darkness. As part of her villainous plan, Maleficent tricked Riku into making the choice to dive into the realm of darkness.<br><br>In the end, Maleficent yielded to the power of darkness herself and was defeated by Sora and his friends. But by using her last bit of evil power, she was able to come back again some time later.<br><br>'''Timeless River'''<br>Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br><br>A sorceress of frightening power who's behind the strange goings-on at Disney Castle.<br><br>Maleficent is determined to take over Disney Castle, and she's using the power of darkness in her evil scheme.<br><br>'''Halloween Town'''<br>Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br><br>A sorceress of frightening power. She's using the Heartless as part of her scheme to bring all the worlds under her control.<br><br>Lock, Shock, and Barrel are just what Maleficent needs to make trouble for Sora and his friends while they're in Halloween Town.
|journalBBS=Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br><br>A terrifying evil fairy with a command of dark magic.<br><br>She attended the celebration of Aurora's birth, despite not being invited, and prophesied that 16 years later, Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.<br><br>{{JBBS|t|From Master Xehanort she learned about the existence of other worlds, and that she could rule them all by gathering seven hearts of pure light.}}<br><br>{{JBBS|va|Maleficent's gleeful account of Terra's misdeeds has left Ven troubled.}}
|journalCOD=A terrifying evil fairy who commands dark magic. On one of Sora's previous adventures, Maleficent led the hordes of darkness in an attempt to conquer all worlds.<br><br>It was her servant, Pete, who led her to this strange new world; while unaware of its true nature, she can see the potential it holds for steeping other worlds in darkness.
|journalDDD="Sleeping Beauty" (1959)<br>An evil fairy who wishes to see all worlds cast into darkness. She has clashed with more than one Keyblade wielder.<br><br>This time, she tried to use Minnie as a bartering chip and claim the "data" of all worlds.
|journalUX='''Maleficent A'''<br>Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br>A powerful witch rumored to have manipulated the Heartless to destroy numerous worlds.<br><br>'''Maleficent B'''<br>Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br>A powerful witch rumored to have manipulated the Heartless to destroy numerous worlds.
|journalKH3=Sleeping Beauty (1959)<br><br>An evil fairy who seeks to rule over all worlds. She and Pete are searching for a black box.
}}
{{Q|You poor, simple fools! You think you can defeat me?! ME, the mistress of all evil!?|Maleficent to Sora, Donald and Goofy}}
'''Maleficent''' is a major antagonist in the ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|series}}'' series. She is an evil fairy who made her first appearance in Disney's ''{{w|Sleeping Beauty (1959 film)|Sleeping Beauty}}''. First introduced in ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'', Maleficent seeks to gain control over all the [[world]]s and spread [[darkness]] throughout them. While other Disney antagonists rarely have any significance outside of their original worlds, Maleficent's influence almost always extends throughout the worlds.

In her home world of [[Enchanted Dominion]], Maleficent curses [[Aurora]] and places the kingdom under an eternal sleep. Following her initial defeat, she expands her schemes to other worlds, becoming the ruler of [[Hollow Bastion]] and leading a band of [[Villains]] in an effort to conquer [[Kingdom Hearts]] and thus rule all worlds. Together with her loyal, if sometimes incompetent henchman [[Pete]], Maleficent continuously antagonizes [[Sora]] and the residents of [[Disney Castle]].

Maleficent is also among the few individuals who have traveled through time, having traveled back to the "age of fairy tales" following her first defeat at Sora's hands. Maleficent's current plot has her seeking the [[Book of Prophecies]] and a mysterious [[Black Box]] which she believes contains it, hoping to exploit the [[Master of Masters]]'s foreknowledge to further her conquest of the worlds.

==Story==
=== ''Kingdom Hearts Union χ'' ===
On the sixteenth anniversary of cursing [[Aurora]], Maleficent is informed by her [[Maleficent's Raven|raven]] about seeing the magic of [[Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather]] coming from a cottage in the Glen. Elated, Maleficent works to ensure her curse comes to pass. After the fairies leave a heartbroken Aurora in her room, Maleficent hypnotizes her into following a sphere of fire to a hidden tower room. When Player and the fairies arrive to save Aurora, Maleficent summons the [[Thorned Snake]] to keep them occupied. Maleficent summons a spinning wheel and compels Aurora to prick her finger on it, allowing her curse to put her to sleep. She taunts the fairies for their failure before leaving to capture [[Prince Phillip]]. She locks him in the dungeon of her castle, revealing she will let him out in a century, so he may wake Aurora, but never have a life with her. Player and the fairies free Phillip, allowing him to escape the castle. Maleficent creates a forest of thorns around King Stefan's castle, slowing the prince down. Confronting Phillip on the bridge outside the castle, Maleficent transforms into a giant dragon to kill him. However, Phillip manages to briefly knock her out with Player's help. Maleficent awakens, disarming Player, forcing the fairies to bless Phillip's blade; he tosses into Maleficent's heart, causing her to evaporate into darkness.

===Between ''Kingdom Hearts Union χ'' and ''Birth by Sleep''===
Maleficent was already known and feared throughout Enchanted Dominion as a sorceress that was not to be angered. Despite not being invited to the celebration of Princess Aurora's birth, she attended anyway and gave the infant princess a special "gift": on her sixteenth birthday, Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. However, Merryweather altered this curse so that, instead of dying, Aurora would simply fall into a deep sleep until kissed by her true love. Together, [[Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather|the three good fairies]] raised the princess in the woods, out of the reach of Maleficent and her [[Maleficent's goons|goons]].

Apprentice Keyblade wielders [[Vali]], [[Vala]], [[Vidar]], [[Heimdall]], [[Helgi]], [[Sigrun]] and [[Hoder]] visit Enchanted Dominion in preparation for their [[Mark of Mastery exam]]. There, they learn of Aurora's plight, and Hoder confronts the evil fairy to lift the curse. However, Maleficent uses her dragon form to swiftly overwhelm Hoder, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun. The darkness born from Hoder's brother [[Baldr]] finishes the wielders off, although the spirits of these departed wielders still believe that they had fallen to Maleficent. {{Storylink|Kingdom Hearts Dark Road}}

Shortly before Aurora's sixteenth birthday, Maleficent finds the princess and ensured her curse came to fruition. Flora cast a spell to put everyone to sleep in the castle, as to cover the blunder until Aurora could be awoken.

===''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep''===
{{Q|Don't forget. So long as there is light, there will be darkness! And in time, many more will be drawn to it. Then they all will belong to me!|Maleficent to Aqua}}
[[File:Maleficent 01 KHBBS.png|thumb|left|Maleficent guides Terra to Aurora.]]
At an unknown point in time, Maleficent met [[Master Xehanort]], who revealed to her the existence of other worlds and the seven [[Princesses of Heart]], whose hearts could be used to conquer all worlds. He also told her of certain wielders of the [[Keyblade]] that she would encounter. After this meeting, Maleficent's ambitions would grow to domination over all worlds.

She also imprisoned [[Prince Phillip]] in her dungeon to prevent him from breaking the curse.

[[Terra]] arrives in the Enchanted Dominion, searching for Master Xehanort, and he encounters Maleficent at the bridge leading to the castle gate. She claims not to know of Xehanort, but she tells Terra of a man she saw leaving the castle, speaking of "imprisoning the light".

Terra enters the castle and finds Aurora asleep in her room, where Maleficent appears to him again and tells him of the seven hearts of pure light that grant the power to rule all worlds and mentions the Keyblade. She offers to tell Terra about Xehanort if he steals Aurora's heart for her, but he refuses. Annoyed by his defiance, Maleficent uses her magic to "whisper" to the darkness in Terra's heart and put him into a trance. Using Terra as an extension of her will, Maleficent uses his Keyblade to extract Aurora's heart. Once Terra snaps out of it and realizes what he has done, Maleficent informs him that she does not know where Xehanort went as he vanished into darkness.

[[File:Darkness Within 02 KHBBS.png|thumb|Maleficent offers Terra to join her.]]
Maleficent offers Terra the chance to join her and collect the remaining six hearts of pure light. However, Terra flatly declines, just as the castle begins shaking due to a giant [[Wheel Master|Unversed]]. She warns that he cannot suppress his darkness by force before she leaves. After Terra slays the Unversed, Maleficent watches him leave, noting that the search for the six hearts of pure light will take some time.

[[Ventus]] later arrives at Maleficent's fortress with the three good fairies to retrieve Aurora's heart. After successfully freeing her heart, they find Maleficent in her throne room, furious. She tells Ventus that Terra was the one who stole Aurora's heart, and despite having been warned by Xehanort not to harm Ventus, she battles against him. Ventus defeats Maleficent with the help of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, but she restates that Terra willingly took Aurora's heart. [[Aqua]] arrives in time to hear this, and she reassures Ventus before he takes off in search of Terra. Maleficent drops Aqua into the dungeon when she refuses to join her, but Aqua escapes the fortress along with Prince Phillip and the fairies.

[[File:A Castle Wrapped in Thorns 01 KHBBS.png|thumb|left|Philip and Aqua prepare to fight Maleficent.]]
Maleficent confronts them when they reach the bridge to the castle, surrounding the castle with thorns before claiming that Terra willingly embraced the darkness and transforms into a dragon. After a fierce battle, Prince Phillip throws his enchanted sword at Maleficent; the blade pierces the evil fairy's heart, and she falls in defeat. Returning to her normal form, Maleficent is confronted by Aqua, who tells her that it was the power of true love that led to her downfall. The sorceress departs, but not before telling the Keyblade Master that she will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love and as long as there is light, there will be darkness.

Following this, Maleficent focused her efforts into searching for the [[Princesses of Heart]]. Using the [[Corridors of Darkness]], Maleficent traveled to other worlds to recruit allies to join her cause; the first of which was [[Pete]], who had been banished from [[Disney Town]].
{{-}}

===Between ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'' and ''Kingdom Hearts''===
Over the next several years, the [[Heartless]] appear in the [[Realm of Light]], and Maleficent decides to use her dark powers to command the creatures. She captures Aurora and causes her own world to fall into darkness, eventually leading Maleficent to [[Radiant Garden]]. Maleficent leads an attack on the city to claim the castle of [[Ansem the Wise]] for herself. While many fell victim to her Heartless, a quartet of survivors ([[Cid]], [[Leon]], [[Aerith]] and [[Yuffie]]) was known to have escaped to [[Traverse Town]]. With the city destroyed, Maleficent moved into the now-abandoned [[Hollow Bastion]], redecorating it to her suite tastes. Maleficent found the Castle Chapel to her liking, holding meetings in it.

With Pete's assistance, Maleficent recruits [[Hades]], [[Jafar]], [[Ursula]], [[Oogie Boogie]], and [[Captain Hook]] to her cause, and they use the Heartless to further their own ambitions while searching for their worlds' [[Keyhole]]s and the [[Princesses of Heart]]. She manages to gather most of the pages of [[Ansem's Report]], which she and her allies would use to better understand the nature of the Heartless. In the meantime, Maleficent dispatches Pete to assemble an army of powerful Heartless for her. From Pete, Maleficent learned about another Keyblade Master who would be opposing her: [[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]]. With Pete's knowledge of the King and his vassals, Maleficent prepares to deal with them should they interfere.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts (game)|Kingdom Hearts}}

===''Kingdom Hearts''===
{{Q|The Keyblade has chosen him. Will it be he who conquers the darkness, or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful.|Maleficent about Sora.}}
When [[Riku]] wakes up alone in Hollow Bastion after the destruction of the [[Destiny Islands]], Maleficent approaches him and gives him a room in the castle.

Later, Maleficent and her allies witness Sora, [[Donald Duck|Donald]], and [[Goofy]] defeating the [[Guard Armor]] via the witch's magic, and they discuss the young Keyblade wielder. They continue to monitor the protagonists' progress even as they continue to pursue their own ambitions. As her allies implement their own schemes in their respective worlds, Maleficent occasionally comes to advise or observe them, as well as make sure they continue to search for the Keyholes and the Princesses. When the villains observe Sora sealing the [[Deep Jungle]] Keyhole, Maleficent assures them that it will take the boy ages to find the rest and notes that he is unaware of their plan regarding the Princesses of Heart.

[[File:A Dark Proposal 01 KH.png|thumb|left|Maleficent tells Riku to forget Sora.]]
Maleficent begins coaxing Riku to assist her, and she grants him the ability to travel between worlds. When Riku encounters Sora in [[Traverse Town]] and sees him with Donald and Goofy, Maleficent convinces him that Sora has forgotten about him and Kairi. In exchange for assisting him as he searches for Kairi, Riku agrees to help the evil fairy gather the Princesses of Heart.

In [[Agrabah]], Maleficent checks on [[Jafar]]'s progress towards finding the Keyhole and capturing [[Jasmine]]. She reminds him of the importance of the Princesses and warns him against being careless with the darkness. Maleficent appears again in the Lamp Chamber after Jafar uses [[Genie]]'s powers to reveal the Keyhole, and she learns that Sora has continued to interfere. Sora and company arrive on the scene, and Sora realizes who she is before she disappears. She returns to Hollow Bastion and has Riku capture Jasmine and take her there as well. She tells [[Hades]] that Jafar was overcome by his hatred and warns again against letting the darkness overpower oneself. To honor her deal with Riku, who she claims to see as the son she never had, she sends him to sail with [[Captain Hook]] to find Kairi.

While Riku is trying to torment Sora inside [[Monstro]], Maleficent comes to check on him. She warns Riku to beware the darkness in his heart, as the Heartless prey upon it, but he tells her to mind her own business as she steps into a corridor of darkness. Maleficent meets Riku later on Captain Hook's ship, where Kairi's comatose body is resting, and she tells the boy that the power and wisdom of Kingdom Hearts will let him recover Kairi's heart once they gather the seven Princesses. She then gives him the power to control the Heartless.

After Riku takes Kairi to Hollow Bastion via a corridor of darkness, straining himself in the process, Maleficent tells him that relying too much on darkness puts his heart at risk. She also tells him about the [[Beast]], who had been able to reach the deserted castle from [[Beast's Castle|his home world]] by sheer force of will. She amplifies Riku's dark powers, allowing him to enter [[Dark Mode]].

As Sora and the Beast enter Hollow Bastion, Maleficent uses the power of the gathered Princesses of Heart to reveal the [[Final Keyhole]] in the Grand Hall. Maleficent is joined soon after by Riku, who is now possessed by [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness]] and armed with the [[Keyblade of heart]]. Ansem tells her that the Heartless will overrun Hollow Bastion if the keyhole is unlocked, but Maleficent only cares about using the ensuing darkness to conquer the remaining worlds. However, to her shock, the Keyhole and Keyblade are both incomplete due to the absence of Kairi's heart. 

[[File:Maleficent's Darkness 01 KH.png|thumb|200px|Maleficent transforms into a dragon and attacks Sora.]]
Hearing the arrival of Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast at the top level of the castle, Maleficent decides to deal with "the king's fools" herself; seeking retribution for all their interference in her plans. She charges "Riku" with guarding the princesses. Despite her powerful dark magic and Heartless reinforcements, Maleficent is soundly defeated and forced to retreat.

Maleficent flees to the Chapel's tower with the protagonists in pursuit. The Ansem-possessed Riku arrives, and impales her with his Keyblade, unlocking the darkness in her heart. Overwhelmed by the dark power, Maleficent transforms into a dragon and attacks Sora again, only to be defeated. Unknown to Sora, when Riku stabbed her, he unlocked the darkness in her heart, unlocking her ability to time travel.

{{-}}

===''Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories''===
{{Q|You dare to challenge me? Pitiful fools!|Maleficent to Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Beast.}}
A memory-based illusion of Maleficent appears to Riku in the twelfth basement of [[Castle Oblivion]], in a projection of Hollow Bastion. Although she is aware that she is only a figment of Riku's memory, she taunts him, reminding him of how he used to embrace darkness and telling him that the only people he will find from his memory are the ones with the same darkness. When Riku declares that he will take out each person of darkness he encounters, she fights him in her dragon form, only to lose. [[Zexion]] is able to smell this Maleficent's presence, and he informs [[Vexen]] and [[Lexaeus]]. Vexen remarks that the real Maleficent cannot return from the [[Realm of Darkness]] on her own.

When Sora enters the memory-based Hollow Bastion, he finds that Maleficent has kidnapped [[Belle]] and is trying to trap the Beast in an effort to steal Belle's heart. Belle sacrifices herself to save the Beast, and Maleficent disappears with her heart. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and the Beast pursue her. When they catch up with the evil fairy, she tells them that her magic requires hearts of utmost beauty, and that the love in Belle and the Beast's hearts makes them ideal. However, the group defeats her in her dragon form, freeing Belle's heart.

===Between ''Kingdom Hearts'' and ''Kingdom Hearts II''===
Sometime later, Maleficent attempts to travel back into the past of her world in order to undo her mistakes and failures. However, she instead ends up in the data simulation of [[Enchanted Dominion]] created by the [[Book of Prophecies]]. Unaware of this, Maleficent is confused by [[Pete]]'s absence, but is confident [[Sora]] cannot interfere with this world. After failing to alter her past, Maleficent seethes with anger over it. An unknown figure known simply as {{c|Darkness|character}} appears before her, revealing that this is a trap created by the [[Master of Masters]] to prevent anyone from changing what was written in the book. It also reveals the laws of time travel; there must have been a version of herself back where she wanted to go. It was only thanks to her meeting [[Master Xehanort]] and getting stabbed by the [[Keyblade of heart]] that she was able to accomplish this much. However, as her presence would cause problems, the figure prepares to send her back to her original time.

The two then travel the Dandelions' base in Daybreak Town, where the dark figure reveals the location of the key that will bring Maleficent back to her true world is. Darkness leads her to the lifeboat, a capsule that will send her heart to her proper time; once there, those who know of Maleficent will facilitate the restoration of her body. They are interrupted by [[Lauriam]], who Maleficent defeats so she can steal her way back home.

{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts Union χ}}

===''Kingdom Hearts II''===
{{Q|Do not misunderstand me: I shall have my revenge on you yet!|Maleficent to Sora while defending him against Saïx.}}
After Sora leaves the [[Mysterious Tower]], [[Maleficent's Raven]] brings the evil fairy's empty robe to the [[Wardrobe]], where Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather's memories of her name bring her back from the past.{{fact}}<!--cite to nomura--><!--In [[Kingdom Hearts Another Report]], it is hinted that [[Organization XIII]] is inadvertently responsible for her return. Xemnas once sent Axel and Roxas to Hollow Bastion to wipe out Heartless and release a raven from a cage suspended from the ceiling. It is heavily suggested that this raven is Diablo and was released to revive Maleficent. The Organization may have planned to use her to create more Heartless for their plans.

CONFIRM THIS AND ADD TO SYNOPSIS-->

[[File:The Cornerstone of Light 01 KHII.png|thumb|200px|left|Maleficent condescends to the heroes.]]
Maleficent regroups with Pete at [[Villain's Vale]], where she learns that her former allies are off dealing with their own matters. Maleficent has Pete bring her up to speed on what has transpired since her defeat, including the actions of [[Organization XIII]] and Sora. She is disgusted by Pete's chain of failures, however, and she breaks ties with him. When Pete somehow summons a door to [[Timeless River|the past]], however, she decides to give him another chance and has him interfere with the [[Cornerstone of Light]] so that she can take over [[Disney Castle]]. With the power of the Cornerstone weakened, Maleficent begins sending her dark influence into the castle, allowing the Heartless to invade and filling the Hall of the Cornerstone with thorns. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive with [[Minnie Mouse|Queen Minnie]], Maleficent projects her image before them and taunts them. Even though Sora and company successfully stop Pete and save the Cornerstone, Maleficent has Pete return to searching for new allies and powerful Heartless to place under their control.

[[File:The Memory 01 KHII.png|thumb|200px|Maleficent brings back Oogie Boogie, who has lost his memories.]]
Maleficent later appears in [[Halloween Town]], where she recruits [[Lock, Shock, and Barrel]] for her plan to destroy [[Christmas Town]]. After spying on Sora, Jack, and the others at [[Santa Claus]]'s house, she decides to resurrect [[Oogie Boogie]] in order to exact her revenge upon Sora, and she grants the three pranksters use of the [[Prison Keeper]] while Oogie recovers. Although Maleficent has the villainous bag of bugs kidnap Santa so that he can destroy Christmas Town while she turns Santa into a Heartless, Oogie's faulty memory and uncooperative attitude drive Maleficent to leave him to his own devices.

At some point, Maleficent hires the [[Gullwings]] as spies to keep tabs on the [[Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee]]'s activities. They continue working for her until they discover she retreated from a battle.

[[File:More Heartless 01 KHII.png|thumb|200px|left|Maleficent holds back the Dusks.]]
During the [[Battle of the 1000 Heartless|Heartless invasion]] of Hollow Bastion, Maleficent tries to fight the [[Nobody]] forces with her own Heartless, but they are easily outmatched, and she sets them on Sora, Donald, and Goofy instead. Later, when [[Saïx]] reveals the Organization's goal to be obtaining Kingdom Hearts, she appears and stakes her own claim on Kingdom Hearts. She has her Heartless attack Saïx, only for them to be readily defeated by [[Dusk]]s. Maleficent attempts to hold off the Nobodies herself to let Sora and the others escape, demanding that they find a way to defeat the Organization for good. She is forced to retreat, but she opens a corridor of darkness underneath the protagonists, dropping them into the Realm of Darkness.

Maleficent and Pete infiltrate the [[Castle That Never Was]] while the Organization is dealing with Sora and the others, and Maleficent decides to take the castle for herself, despite Pete's misgivings. Later, as Sora and company are heading towards the final fight with [[Xemnas]], Maleficent and Pete hold off an immense wave of Heartless to buy them time, although Maleficent points out that she will take the castle for her own afterwards.

{{canon
|width=60%
|In the manga, Maleficent caused Villain's Vale to be destroyed by the Heartless when one of her dark fantasies drew them to her. By the end of the story, Maleficent's secondary objective of finding a new castle to reside in had taken importance over her plans for world domination.
}}

===''Kingdom Hearts coded''===
{{Q|Drag all that you see into deepest darkness!|Maleficent to the Shadows attacking Data-Sora}}
Maleficent and Pete survive the destruction of the Castle That Never Was, and Maleficent returns to plotting her conquest of the worlds. She sends Pete to Disney Castle to spy on King Mickey, and when [[Data-Riku]] transports Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and [[Jiminy Cricket]] into the [[Datascape]], Pete gets pulled in as well, appearing in a hub between the data worlds. He calls Maleficent, who uses her magic to enter as well. Despite her unfamiliarity with the concept of computers and computer data, she and Pete decide to conquer the data worlds, immersing them in darkness, and then use the link to the castle to overrun it with Heartless. She tasks Pete with interfering with the data worlds, and he cuts the link to the real world, trapping Mickey and the others.

[[File:Maleficent's Designs 01 KHREC.png|thumb|Maleficent about to destroy Data-Sora's Keyblade.]]
After [[Data-Sora]] corners Pete in the digital version of [[Agrabah]], Maleficent appears before him. Although she cannot differentiate between him and his real-world counterpart, she destroys his digital Keyblade, recognizing it as a fake. When Data-Riku tries to attack her, the evil fairy subdues him and takes him along, saying he will be "useful". She and Pete corrupt Riku with [[Bug Blox]], forcing him to fight Sora in the data Hollow Bastion. After Sora debugs Riku's data from within, Maleficent attempts to trap him by closing the connection to the outside. Sora escapes, however, and he defeats Maleficent in her dragon form. She disappears, vowing to conquer all worlds.

When the datascape begins to collapse, Jiminy remembers that Maleficent and Pete are still inside and are in danger of being deleted. Data-Sora goes after them, and he finds them in battle against the source of the bugs, [[Sora's Heartless]]. Its attack casts them into a rift in the data, but they are rescued by Data-Riku, who escorts them from the datascape.

In Betwixt and Between, Maleficent realizes the Datascape is similar to the [[Book of Prophecies]], which is said to be able to create new worlds. She and Pete then develop a plan to steal the worlds' data.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX}}

When Data-Sora uses the Hollow Bastion [[World Card]] in the data version of Castle Oblivion, he encounters an illusion of Pete who summons a likewise-illusory Maleficent once he is defeated. She transports them to a room where Data-Sora must traverse a gauntlet of Bug Blox across bottomless gaps. They taunt Sora and disappear after he reaches them on the far side of the room.
{{-}}

===''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance''===
{{Q|Yes. He revealed everything to me. Going about how to win a heart over to darkness. And most gloriously, the seven pure lights that would grant me the power to rule all worlds. However, I miscalculated. The worlds were too complex. That's when it occurred to me: why of course I can go about conquering ''other'' worlds in my own way. You do possess the "data" for all the worlds, do you not?|Maleficent reveals Master Xehanort motivated her to kidnap the [[Princesses of Heart]], while revealing her new plan.}}
While Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are overseeing Sora and Riku's [[Mark of Mastery exam]] with [[Yen Sid]], Maleficent and Pete invade Disney Castle and take Minnie hostage. Maleficent has her raven deliver a letter and Minnie's crown to Mickey at the Mysterious Tower, and he returns to the castle with Donald and Goofy to stop her. Yen Sid surmises that Maleficent's actions are prompted by the growing darkness throughout the worlds and considers it a sign of [[Master Xehanort]]'s impending return.

[[File:The Worlds' Data 04 KH3D.png|thumb|left|Maleficent and Pete attempt to take Minnie hostage.]]
At Disney Castle, Maleficent reveals to Mickey how Xehanort once told her of other worlds and the [[Princesses of Heart|seven hearts of pure light]] that would enable her to rule them. However, due to the complexity of the worlds, Maleficent decides to take a different approach, using the [[Datascape|worlds' data]]. When Mickey refuses to yield, she attempts to attack him with her magic. However, the magical flames are blocked by one of [[Lea]]'s [[Eternal Flames|Chakrams]], while the other surprises Pete and allows Minnie to escape. Without their hostage, Maleficent and Pete retreat through a corridor of darkness, with the former vowing to return for the data.

After Master Xehanort's revival in The World That Never Was, the elderly Keyblade Master reveals that he had manipulated Maleficent to gather the seven hearts of pure light as part of his plan to recreate the [[χ-blade]].
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===''Kingdom Hearts III''===
{{Q|Light and darkness are fated to clash. A [[Keyblade War]] is upon us. We need only wait for that destined moment. No matter the victors, the box will be revealed.|Maleficent discusses her plans with Pete.}}
Having lost her opportunity to take the [[Datascape]] for her plans, Maleficent decided to instead look for a genuine [[Book of Prophecies]]. Learning of the ancient [[Black Box]], Maleficent believed that only the fabled book could be locked inside of it.<!--cite to ultimania -- Nomura confirms she believes this, but NOT that she's right--> Thus she began going world to world, inquiring if such a box existed.

[[File:Return of the Titans 01 KHIII.png|thumb|Maleficent and Pete ask Hades about the location of the Black Box.]]
Maleficent and Pete travel to [[Mount Olympus]] to meet with Hades, who is planning his conquest of that world along with the Titans. Maleficent assures him that she is not going to interfere with his plans and asks Hades if there is a distinctive Black Box on Mount Olympus, and where it might be found. Hades then thinks they might be searching for the box [[Zeus]] hid in the ground, and reveals its location to them. Later, while Sora, Donald, and Goofy are fighting the Heartless in Thebes, Maleficent and Pete appears in front of them, prompting Sora to accuse them for being responsible for the Heartless, which Maleficent denies. Pete notices Sora seems weaker than the last time they faced him and suggests destroying him, but Maleficent tells him to leave Sora as he is inconsequential to them and that they have a more important affair to attend to, but not before telling them they will meet again. Maleficent and Pete later find Pandora's Box in the ground of Thebes, but Maleficent orders to Pete to throw it away since it is not the box they are searching for. They then leave that world, unaware that [[Xigbar]] is observing them from far.

Later, in [[Kingdom of Corona]], Maleficent and Pete are disappointed for not being able to find the Black Box. Pete is skeptical about the existence of the box, but Maleficent assures him that it exists since it has been "etched". Maleficent decides that the best way to search for the box was to follow after others seeking it; she and Pete begin following the new Organization around the worlds, since they are also looking for the box.

In [[San Fransokyo]], Maleficent and Pete run into [[Dark Riku]]. He demands that she explain why she is snooping around, but she brushes him off, raising his ire. Dark Riku warns her of overstepping again, but she is unconcerned. As the boy takes his leave, Maleficent confirms to Pete that she recognizes Dark Riku, but cannot confirm from what period of time he was from.

In [[Twilight Town]], Pete argues with her that the hunt for the Black Box has been fruitless, to which she agrees. When Pete vents that they've been on a wild goose chase, Maleficent silences her minion; she explains that the box does not exist in their period of time. As a new [[Keyblade War]] looms, Maleficent has taken it as a sign. When Pete asks where to search, she tells him that they need to wait for the box to be revealed after the Keyblade War.

In the [[Keyblade Graveyard]], Maleficent and Pete observe from afar when Luxu summons four of the five [[foreteller]]s ([[Ira]], [[Aced]], [[Invi]] and [[Gula]]) to his presence while carrying the Black Box with him before walking off.

==Other appearances==
===''Kingdom Hearts V CAST''===
{{canon
|[[File:Maleficent's Castle 04 KHVC.png|thumb|120px|Maleficent fights Sora in ''Kingdom Hearts V CAST''.]]
Maleficent appears in the non-canonical ''[[Kingdom Hearts V CAST]]''. She is yet again a villain and serves as the main antagonist, her lair being the game's final level and featuring the toughest Heartless in the game.
}}
{{-}}

==Design==
Fair and green-skinned, Maleficent's shining, yellow eyes are heavily shadowed with violet make-up, and her lips are painted red. Her head is topped with a black-horned headdress. Maleficent wears a long, tattered black robe with a purple trim and maroon edges which flare out. She carries a staff with a glowing green orb at the tip, through which she casts her spells. In ''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'', Maleficent wears a golden ring with a circular black stone in it. This was featured in her original design from ''Sleeping Beauty'', but it was absent in ''Kingdom Hearts''. In ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'' and the cinematic version of ''Kingdom Hearts Re:coded'' that is part of ''Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX'', it appears once again.

==Personality==
Maleficent is a scheming, manipulative, and devious sorceress who seems utterly determined to take over the dominion of Kingdom Hearts. She is mostly seen in a calm, calculated manner, easily manipulating Riku into assisting her aims, claiming she views him like a long lost son, while she pretends to care about helping him find [[Kairi]]. Maleficent is a very melodramatic villain, often yelling at the heroes about the power of darkness and making abnormal speeches. In ''Kingdom Hearts II'', she is determined to avenge her previous defeat at Sora's hand. She does not tolerate failure, as shown when she criticizes Pete for his attempt to take over Kingdom Hearts without her.

[[File:A Castle Wrapped in Thorns 02 KHBBS.png|thumb|left|Maleficent reveals to Aqua that Terra is being influenced by the darkness.]]
Despite this, she seems to tolerate the amateurish Pete as her helper. She is not without scruples, however, and has aided Sora on some occasions, yet, for her own wicked reasons. She also did not lie when she told Aqua that Terra was being affected by the darkness. By the time of ''Kingdom Hearts coded'', she appears to have reverted to her wicked nature and is attempting to destroy Sora one more time, albeit a digital version of him. However, after she is saved by Data-Riku, she stops her attempts to eliminate him (at least for the time being), telling Sora that they are "now even". In ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'', even though she does not encounter Sora, Maleficent appears with malicious intentions and tries to take over the datascape again. 

While ignorant of advanced technology, Maleficent can see the potential it may have for her plans, but only if she can compare it to something she is familiar with.

Another important aspect of Maleficent's character is her superiority complex, which, while shared by many Disney Villains, she takes to the extreme. This is readily apparent in nearly every instance in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' whenever the subject of [[Nobodies]] and [[Organization XIII]] is brought up and when she faces them personally. Maleficent's narcissism extends to any Heartless she commands, despite the all-too-obvious difference in power and capabilities of Nobodies in general over the Heartless.

However, her superiority complex is not entirely unfounded as she is easily one of the most powerful characters in the series, her magic rivaled only by Master Xehanort's. Thus, her views of the Organization as insignificant could be, to her, quite true. Ironically, the Organization seems to view her the same way that she views them: as a relatively insignificant threat, shown when [[Saïx]] calmly summons some Nobodies to destroy Maleficent's Heartless and smugly calls her a fool. In contrast to Pete, she possesses extreme and completely legitimate confidence, while her minion is a weakling and doubts their chances of success. Despite Ansem's claim that the Heartless were using Maleficent, Maleficent believes she has full command over them.

Regardless, Maleficent can show caution and restraint. She never takes direct action against her enemies unless it’s absolutely necessary; instead, she leaves it to allies and minions. Maleficent never challenges a worthy foe unless she has the upper hand, like a hostage to use as a shield. Again, Maleficent shows caution by using an astral projection to check on the progress of her takeover of [[Disney Castle]], as the [[Cornerstone of Light]] is risky to her.

==Abilities==
[[File:Maleficent (Dragon) KHBBS.png|thumb|Maleficent in her dragon form.]]
{{main|Game:Maleficent|Game:Maleficent (Dragon)}}
Although she is the most powerful of the Disney Villains, Maleficent prefers using sorcery or employing minions to fighting directly. However, her great rage and lust for power allows her to take on the form of a monstrous dragon when necessary. If she is dealt enough damage, Maleficent will revert to her original form.

In terms of combat prowess, Maleficent is a fearsome opponent when in her dragon form. While she has proven her ability to defeat agents of light, killing four of [[Odin]]'s apprentices, she has been bested numerous times by other wielders of the Keyblade.

Maleficent is able to quickly travel between worlds using [[Corridors of Darkness]], and her heart is strong enough to resist being consumed by the darkness therein. She also has knowledge of how to travel through time, both forward and backwards, when her heart is separated from her body.
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===''Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep''===
====D-Link====
In ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]'', Maleficent becomes a [[Dimension Link]] for [[Terra]] after visiting Aurora's Chamber. While in link with Maleficent, he can perform fire magic and attacks inflicting status effects.

Maleficent's ability icons are her staff, and her raven.

{{D-Link|char=Maleficent
|sprite1=Maleficent Sprite
|sprite2=Maleficent (Dragon) Sprite
|deck0={{AT|mag}} [[Fire]]<br>{{AT|att}} [[Binding Strike]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Blackout]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Sleep]]
|deck1={{AT|mag}} [[Fire]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Fira]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Ignite]]<br>{{AT|att}} [[Binding Strike]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Blackout]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Sleep]]
|deck2={{AT|mag}} [[Fire]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Fira]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Firaga]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Ignite]]<br>{{AT|att}} [[Binding Strike]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Dark Firaga]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Blackout]]<br>{{AT|mag}} [[Sleep]]
|fin1=[[Thunderchaser]]
|fin2=[[Dragonfire]]
|abi1=Focus Saver
|abi2=Drain
|em0=10%|em1=7%|em2=5%
|atk=x0.5
|bon=Use {{c|Dark|element}}-elemental attacks
|bonrate=50%
}}

==Origin==
[[File:Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty (1959).png|thumb|250px|left|Maleficent in ''Sleeping Beauty''.]]
{{Q|Now shall you deal with me, O Prince, and all the powers of Hell.|Maleficent before the final battle with Prince Phillip in ''Sleeping Beauty''}}
Maleficent made her film debut in Disney's 1959 animated feature film ''Sleeping Beauty'', voiced by Eleanor Audley. Appearing unexpectedly at Princess Aurora's birth ceremony, she was very disapppointed upon not receiving an invitation to the occasion. Hiding this behind a calm demeanor, she proceeds to give the infant a "gift" in the form of a curse afterwards, saying that she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday and die. King Stefan attempted to have his guards seize her at that moment, but she escapes through her mastery over dark magic. Fearful for his daughter's life despite the fact that Merryweather's gift for the child will cause Aurora not to die but sleep should she prick her finger, King Stefan then issues a decree that all spinning wheels in the kingdom are to be burned. In a last attempt to delay Maleficent's curse and prevent Aurora from pricking her finger, the Three Good Fairies decide to take her into the woods to live and be raised as a peasant in an abandoned cottage once belonging to a woodcutter until after the sun sets on her sixteenth birthday. The fairies succeed in keeping the girl's location and identity a secret, and an enraged Maleficent sends her loyal raven Diablo to search for the girl, after her minions fail her.

Diablo discovers Aurora's whereabouts, and Maleficent then lures the girl to a spinning wheel upon her return to King Stefan's castle. Aurora pricks her finger, and then Maleficent departs for the old woodcutter's cottage, aiming to capture the princess's betrothed, Prince Phillip, who intends to meet the peasant girl that was Aurora there. Capturing the prince, Maleficent then places him in her dungeon, intending to keep him there for 100 years. However, Prince Phillip escapes Maleficent's clutches with the help of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, while the witch attempts to stop him from reaching Aurora's sleeping form and King Stefan's castle with a forest of thorns. As Phillip cuts through them, a desperate Maleficent appears before him. Transforming into a mighty dragon, she then engages the prince in a climatic battle. In the end, Maleficent is stabbed in the heart by the Sword of Truth, with Prince Phillip going on to awaken and marry Aurora.
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