Vexen

"We're nobodies, Vexen. We've got no one to be — but we still "are." So look on the bright side. You're off the hook. Now you can be nothing instead of just being nobody."

- Axel

Vexen, the Chilly Academic, is number IV in Organization XIII and is one of its founding members. He was the highest ranking member of the Organization inside Castle Oblivion, yet he is the first Organization member to be eliminated. He also created the Riku replica from the real Riku's data.

Vexen carries a shield into battle which blocks any frontal attacks made upon him, and uses the element of ice. He appears in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix Vexen will be appearing in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, as a playable character during multiplayer mode.

Origins
Vexen is the Nobody of Even, who was one of the top apprentices of Ansem the Wise. He is mentioned in the Secret Ansem Reports as early as the first psychological tests on the head apprentice Xehanort as being particularly interested in memory. He helped found the core of the Organization, along with Xehanort, Ienzo, Braig, Dilan, and Elaeus. Unlike many of them, he retained his scientific nature, approaching many problems experimentally. He is a calculating and scientific character by nature, even able to use data from a fight to program the Riku replica for combat. This scientific brilliance and his power over ice earned him the title the Chilly Academic.

Role in Castle Oblivion
In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Vexen has parts in both Sora's and Riku's storylines. He aids Lexaeus and Zexion in their efforts to stop Marluxia (whom Vexen loathed) and Larxene from overthrowing the Organization (Axel, the other Organization member residing in the castle, is deemed too unpredictable to be anything other than a liability). To do this, Vexen and his cohorts intend to use Riku's darkness to counteract Sora's light.

Vexen engages Riku in a cautious battle and uses the data he obtained from the fight to create a copy of Riku that lacks a heart. The replica is completely aware of his status as a fake, but unlike Riku, is not afraid to use the darkness. However, even with darkness on his side, the replica fails to defeat Riku.

Even with the failure, Vexen has other plans for the replica, and goes to Marluxia and Larxene. He offers the replica to test Sora, though first he would have to have his memories changed around. They then have Naminé manipulate the replica's memories until he thinks he is the real Riku. He also believes that he made a promise to Naminé like Sora had, and because of this conflict, the replica confronts Sora multiple times, saying that Naminé no longer needs Sora.

Involvement with Sora
However, the replica soon spirals out of control, and Marluxia deems Vexen's experiment a failure. Vexen is insulted, saying that a neophyte like Marluxia has no right to speak to an elder like Vexen. However, Marluxia makes the threat of reporting Vexen's failure to the Superior, and Vexen's fear of the Superior's power overrides his previous elitist attitude. Now with Vexen under his grip, Marluxia orders Vexen to eliminate Sora, much to his surprise.

Vexen then confronts Sora, saying that Sora is in debt to him for reuniting him with Riku. Sora is angered, and the two battle. However, as they fight, Vexen delves deep into Sora's heart, and creates a world card forged from the memories in the other side of his heart. Vexen tells Sora that if he wants to truly defeat him, then he must enter that world.

Meanwhile, Marluxia, Larxene, and Axel note that Vexen is jeopardizing their plans, for if Sora discovers the other side of his heart, then he will no longer be of any use to them. They then decide to have Axel eliminate Vexen before permanent damage can be done.

Sora discovers that the new world is Twilight Town, which is strange because Sora has only visited places in his memories, and he has no memories of Twilight Town. Even so, Sora feels a sense of familiarity from this place. He explores the town until he arrives at the gates of a mansion. Vexen makes his appearance there, asking Sora if the familiarity of this place or his memories of Naminé. Sora doesn't understand what he means, and Vexen sees that he is but a slave of his memories, just like "my Riku". Sora is again angered, and battles Vexen one more time.

Vexen loses again, and seeing that Sora is too dangerous, plans to tell him of Marluxia's plan to manipulate him. This would reveal that Naminé is a Nobody manipulating Sora's memories, which would make him aware of the dark realm and eventually of Roxas. Before he can fully explain, however, he is struck by Axel. Vexen begs to be spared, but Axel ignores him and incinerates Vexen with a snap of his fingers, saying that he can be "nothing instead of just being nobody". This makes Vexen the first of the Organization to die.

Fighting Style
Vexen is one of the most prolific Organization members in battles, appearing as an opponent three times during Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He fights with a large blue shield, which he uses to fend off frontal attacks, making it necessary to attack him from behind. He is also able to use the shield offensively, akin to Goofy, but further enhances the style with the spikes lining the edge of his shield. He can use the power of ice to blast his enemy with ice from his hand, and can call forth large chunks of ice from the ground to freeze his opponent solid. He also has the power to create slippery ice patches on the ground, or summon icicles that rise from the ground and follow their target for several seconds. Finally, he can create an unavoidable blizzard that can be resisted only with a card break. In the remake, Vexen can conjure up a sword out of ice and whack his opponent several times with it.

Like several other members of Organization XIII in Chain of Memories, Vexen moves by levitating, sometimes several feet into the air.

In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, Vexen, as well as other members of the Organization that have already been eliminated, can be fought. Vexen's shield makes him completely invincible in this game, but the shield has an HP bar of its own and can be temporarily destroyed, allowing Sora to attack Vexen directly. Vexen has the additional power in this battle to create a shadowy copy of Sora to aid him in battle. Vexen still has his "freeze" attack when a blizzard freezes Sora, immoblizing Sora while Vexen gains data, but it can be stopped by a Reaction Command. He also has the icicle attack from before, but also returns with a new attack when he makes two spinning blades of ice and throws them at Sora. In the data battle against Vexen, he has a new attack when he throws giant chuncks of ice at Sora.

It is also revealed that his shield is called the Freeze Pride.

Card
see:Vexen (Enemy Card)

Personality
Vexen approaches problems like a scientist, with a hypothesis and a method to test those hypotheses. He appears to view life as a grand experiment. More than any other member, save Xemnas, he considers his numerical rank a literal one and will often deride members with lower numerical rankings than his; he reminds Marluxia of his superior rank when Marluxia orders him not to "disappoint us" again and addresses Zexion by his inferior rank when Zexion lamented Vexen's impatience, but is often chastised by others for this behaviour. Although not explicit, given his attitude, he may not understand why Saix, a member three ranks lower, is technically second-in-command and not Xigbar.

Vexen also displays a fear of Xemnas, immediately bowing to Marluxia's demand to destroy Sora when Marluxia threatened to tell Xemnas of the failure of the Riku replica. He also feared to approach Xemnas while the later was in the Room of Sleep, and took Zexion's suggestion to approach Xemnas there as a joke.

In the Chain of Memories manga, Vexen appears as a character who thinks that he doesn't getting enough respect from the aboveground members. He is also met by Sora, Donald, and Goofy right after they confront the Riku Replica for the first time, while in the original game, they fought the Riku Replica twice before fighting Vexen two floors later.

Trivia

 * In the japanese version, Vexen was voiced by seiyuu Nachi Nozowa, whose last involvement with SquareEnix was voicing Professor. Hojo of Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus and Last Order. A somewhat befitting choice since they both fit into the 'mad scientist' archetype, and as a result both have a disturbing high pitched cackling laugh, not to mention their faces are somewhat similar.
 * In the original version of Chain of Memories, Vexen was stabbed from behind by Axel and then struck down with another blow from his chakrams. Lexaeus' and Zexion's death were altered as well.
 * Vexen is also one of two characters additional voice acting was done for in the original Chain of Memories (the other one being Larxene).
 * In the manga, Vexen creates a set of Vexen Replicas and has a grave which the Riku Replica visits before leaving Castle Oblivion. A Vexen Replica is present in the manga adaption of Kingdom Hearts II and kills Xaldin.
 * Vexen's shield is available as a weapon for Goofy in Final Mix.

Videos

 * Sora fights Vexen in the GameBoy Advance version
 * Riku battles Vexen in the GameBoy Advance version

Vexen