Vanitas

Unreleased

Vanitas (ヴァニタス) is a mysterious character introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He is the sole apprentice of Master Xehanort, and appears to be one of the game's antagonists. His name is derived from the Latin word for "Vanity" or "Emptiness", and was chosen both for its meaning, and that it sounded similar to "Ventus".

Appearance
Vanitas wears a black and red organic-looking bodysuit and a silver helmet covered with dark glass, hiding his face from view. The suit's appearance is quite similar to Riku's Dark Mode from Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories. He wields an unnamed Keyblade that is colored in red and black, also bearing two blue eyes that were previously unique to Riku's Soul Eater and Way to the Dawn.

Fighting Style
Vanitas is a skilled warrior with the Keyblade and with magic. He is seen casting thunder and blizzard magic, performing complicated acrobatics, and even rides the flying Keyblades that Master Xehanort sends out.

Trivia

 * It is shown in the TGS trailer that Vanitas has a similar battle-stance to Riku, further implying a connection.
 * It was previously rumoured that a trailer had surfaced depicting Terra and Ven forcing Vanitas's helmet off during a fight and seeing his (concealed) face, but it was later proven untrue; Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that Vanitas's identity will not be revealed until the end of the story of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.
 * After his first spoken line, Nomura made a joke saying that he was to voice Vanitas.

Gallery
Apprenti Vanitas