Speculation: The End of Marie

[Burruni]

As is well known, we are far from a full canon story with the various stories having bits and pieces and we lack significant characters needed for it such as Umbrella and Marie herself.

One thing we know is that it would not just be one person who could fight Marie to be able to bring her down in a true story. The question then turns to, who could we expect/predict to be the ones "fated" to face off against the skullgirl in the fights that lead to the demise.

Last that I saw of this information, it was given somewhat vaguely that it would take 3-4 characters. Here is my opinion on the matter:

Peacock is the character with the most personal investment when it comes to Marie and has potentially one of the strongest arsenals in the Avery system.

Painwheel in essentially a literal sense was created explicitly to fight off Marie. Once again, a powerhouse of two synthetic parasites and some of the most aggressive drives for fighting Marie.

Squiggly, the only DLC character that was part of the Original 8 of the earliest drafts of Skullgirls (back when it was magical), has her more connected synergy with Leviathan than the semi-parasitic (no pun intended) relationship between Samson and the amnesiac Samson. Being an undead arisen by Marie and the ties to her mother, the skullgirl from 14 years ago, it seems to add up in her favor.

Lastly... I see it being Umbrella. Sub-consciously drawn to the Skullheart due to the association to her mother, Umbrella clearly has stronger direct ties to the relic than anyone else of the cast. Combine this with a weapon on par of her sister, being the only missing member of the Original 8, and being stressed in her importance to a canon story... it seems like a perfect storm that we need an Umbrella for.

But in all seriousness, my theory is that in a canon story in which it requires 4 people fighting Marie to take her down, that it would come to be Peacock, Painwheel, Squiggly, and Umbrella. Any other thoughts out there?

 

[DDB]

Annie

Like every other Skullgirl

 

[Dio Brando]

Actually yeah, Annie, and Filia because she obviously has connections with Marie, she recognized her when she went into the catacombs:

"Filia? What are you doing here?"

 

[Kai]

Annie

Like every other Skullgirl

Annie's the Double killer, mostly. I don't think she's had a Skullgirl kill on the board in like, 20 years, at least. She's seems to me to be very much the Warrior Shepard, enabling others.

 

[kawaiiphilia]

Well, regardless, let's all agree that Umbrella would be the next Skullgirl.

 

[PaperBag_Sniper]

I'm still trying to fit the possible 4th person into the actual gameplay mechanics. Since playable marie is also required for canon story mode I'm thinking a two stage fight.

Stage one is playable Marie and it might be 2v1. I'm putting her at a numbers disadvantage since I'm not sure if Double would assist her given what we've seen from her the last two story modes, and Marie could use the fallen body of your teammate to power up (If that mechanic stays).

Stage two of the fight is the current boss Marie and it might also be a team vs her. I think a hard cap of two people per fight would keep it from being a wash.

 

[Kai]

Squigly, Filia, and Peacock are all but guaranteed to take part in the final fight against Marie, and if I had to guess on the 4th, I'd say Painwheel. Umbrella, while extremely important to the story, wouldn't be part of that last battle, imo. She's no warrior, at this point.

The rest of the characters would likely be tied up with Double (and Marie's undead army).

 

[Burruni]

Squigly, Filia, and Peacock are all but guaranteed to take part in the final fight against Marie, and if I had to guess on the 4th, I'd say Painwheel. Umbrella, while extremely important to the story, wouldn't be part of that last battle, imo. She's no warrior, at this point.

The rest of the characters would likely be tied up with Double (and Marie's undead army).

Honestly, I somewhat ruled out Filia due to the fact that she appeared to have less skill with Samson in comparison to the shown characters with Theons and Synthetic Parasites and not exactly having the most important drive to end up against Marie. I understand where people are coming from, though. Especially with her kinda being the "main" character.

I'm still trying to fit the possible 4th person into the actual gameplay mechanics. Since playable marie is also required for canon story mode I'm thinking a two stage fight.

Stage one is playable Marie and it might be 2v1. I'm putting her at a numbers disadvantage since I'm not sure if Double would assist her given what we've seen from her the last two story modes, and Marie could use the fallen body of your teammate to power up (If that mechanic stays).

Stage two of the fight is the current boss Marie and it might also be a team vs her. I think a hard cap of two people per fight would keep it from being a wash.

I always saw it that how would it work out is something like this.

Round 1: Umbrella vs playable Marie.

Round 2: Squiggly and Peacock vs Double & Playable Marie.

Round 3: Painwheel vs Boss Marie

Of course, change around characters as seen fit. But the idea would be Marie by herself fends off against the first challenger, then a 2v2 with Double helping Marie somewhat exhausted from the first fight. By the time that the last challenger approaches, Marie is too worn from the previous encounters and taps far more into the power of Gehenna/The Skullheart.

 

[Dio Brando]

I don't see Umbrella at all, she can't fight Marie.

 

[PaperBag_Sniper]

I guess a couple of questions I have about canon story mode would be:

1. "how much does the introduction of Eliza, Beowulf, and Big Band into the current roster affect how the Canon story mode will be presented?"
   
2. "How much of the story will rely on cutscene's and non-playable characters?"
   
3. "Is it going to be possible for characters to appear multiple times as opponents in the actual fights?"

RE: The first question
Since Squigly was the primary objective of the IGG campaign and Big Band was the only other character L0 specifically made a funding goal I will assume that both of them play some role in the canon story mode. The next piece are our final three characters Umbrella, Marie, and Black Dahlia.

Before the introduction of Eliza I would have put Filia on the "guaranteed to fight Marie" list. But seeing the interaction Samson has with Eliza/Sekhmet I wouldn't be surprised if Filia has to confront her instead of Marie. This also applies to Squigly since Leviathan has history with Eliza and it may be that Squigly/Filia are meant to go down a separate story route than the "destroy the Skullgirl" crew.

As for the rest:

• Peacock is a shoe-in for fighting Marie. She's got some of the most history with Marie and she's designed to take her out.
  
  • The same applies to Painwheel although I imagine she will have to confront Valentine first.
• Big Band is probably going to join Ms Fortune down a "Take down the Medici crime syndicate" story route along Cerebella and Black Dahlia.
  • He will still need to be present for the Lab 8 raid although that might just be a cutscene encounter.
• Parasoul: I'll go ahead and put her in the "Fight's Marie" crew. Like Peacock she has been preparing to fight the Skullgirl and has history with that conflict.
• Beowulf: This is an odd duck. I'd see him better served pursuing Scythana but barring that he might find a better home trying to topple the Medici's since they rigged his confrontation with Grendel.
• Umbrella: May not be a fighter, but due to the influence of the Skullheart over her she may become an opponent for any of the characters who go after Marie.
  
• Fukua: Hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....not canon moving on.

RE: Question Two
So events in the most recent story mode calls into question how large an influence the other IGG characters will have on the canon story mode. Will there be any characters who actually show up and assist the playable characters? To what extent?

RE: Third Question
Given how small the roster is it's more than likely that the people who you play as and the people you fight against might overlap as things progress. Cerebella might be an enemy while playing as Ms Fortune but may become an ally later down the line.

And characters like Double and Valentine may need to show up multiple times at various points and then be fought. Double in particular would need to have this trait since she's pretty pervasive in the background.

 

[Witchfinder]

Fukua: Hahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....not canon moving on.

Of course, the irony being that Marie is one of the (if not the is DLC is excluded) first characters Fukua fights in her story-mode.

 

[KaboomKid]

I think Peacock would totally be that person who rushes in to fight the big boss before everyone else, and then gets her butt beat right before the "heroes" swing in to assist. In the case of game canon, I'm guessing at least Filia and Squigly would show up to fight with Peacock, but if this was like Skullgirls: The Animated Movie, then I bet a compunctious Cerebella would probably be in the mix too.

While I do believe Painwheel would also be in the area, I don't think she'd have a stake in the fight until after she resolved some of her conflicts with Valentine (Once Marie's aura brings Carol to her senses, all of that rage gets sharply redirected at Lab 0). Similar to the Story Mode, I think it'd be Valentine that would have to convince Carol to give up the chase and help the others fight Marie.

So the way I imagine it, Filia, Squigly, Peacock, and maybe some other folks battle against Marie in an epic struggle. Then, just as it looks like Marie might gain the upperhand, that mysterious angry girl flies in at the last minute to help everyone deliver the finaaal blooow! BOOM!

After the fight, everyone stares at the sunrise, Peacock hides a tear, and a shadowy figure in the distance says "This is only the beginning." Roll credits!

 

[scorptatious]

In my head-canon, Peacock would fight Marie, but the fight ends in a draw and Marie escapes.

Throughout the story, Peacock would join with most of the other cast. (Minus Big Band, Beowulf, and Double First two will be fighting their own battles, Double will either be dead or commencing the final stages of whatever plans she has involving the Trinity) Eventually, Marie will end up fighting Eliza and she ends up getting defeated and her Skull Heart getting destroyed. Peacock and the rest at this point are going after both Eliza and Marie, Squiggly then keels over, weakened due to the Skull Heart getting destroyed. Peacock realizes what this means and rushes ahead of the group to get to Marie. She finds her lying on the ground dying, they have a final heartfelt conversation, and Peacock resolves herself to help take down Eliza. And the group pushes forward.

 

[BallotBoxer]

Well, Eliza was planned to be the main villain in the sequel, so I don't include her in normal "Skullgirls 1" calculations. With other characters having greater stakes tied to Marie, being defeated by Eliza would be disappointing from a story perspective. Plus, she's so powerful, what's to stop her from continuing her rampage like in her story mode?

Plenty of good motives flying around this thread, but don't overlook Valentine.

Don't forget, Marie and Double slew the Last Hope. She clearly had affection for her comrades, most of her attacks feature the specialty weapons of the nurse ninja team.

- Prior to Last Hope being wiped out, she was a specialist with the bone saw. She took skills of her fallen comrades to add to her current arsenal; scalpels from Christmas, syringes from Hallow, IV naginata from Patty and body bags from Easter. Alex said that it can be seen as a selfish act, but also a sentimental one.

In Skullgirls: The Movie, Valentine's story arc has to include the final showdown with Skullgirl Marie.

 

[scorptatious]

You make a good point. A lot of the characters do have their stories tied around the Skullgirl. Valentine, Squiggly, Painwheel, ect.

 

[Zazz]

I think there's some sort of secondary plot point that hasn't been introduced yet. The story is currently pretty clear there's only one Skullgirl at a time but the game's title could indicate otherwise?

That and I don't think defeating Marie/Skullheart will be the "end of Marie" because I doubt LZ would ever make a character then remove it from the plot later on. Could she survive without after losing the skullheart somehow with the help of some unknown factor?

And an "Ex-Skullgirl" plot line could be a interesting turn for her. All great vigilante heroes are skull themed like The Punisher or Skeleton Man.

 

[North888]

All great vigilante heroes are skull themed like The Punisher or Skeleton Man.

Can't forget Skullomania!

In all seriousness, Marie's defeat is inevitable. While Parasoul and Umbrella would need to be present, seeing as how Umbrella is drawn to the heart, I see her and Peacock having the strongest drive to get there. Double also seems content in having Umbrella replace Marie, which could heighten how early Umbrella and Parasoul confront Double and/or Marie.
Peacock, given the rest of the lab crew, has the strongest connection to Marie, meaning I believe she'll be fighting against Marie first, if not as part of all phases.
Filia I'm on the fence about. I see her supporting Squigly, but Samson is the one driving them, really.
Everything said about Painwheel's importance is on the mark. In fact, I see a battle between PW and Val in between the possible Marie phases where PW finally learns the truth and maybe even, dare I say it, slays Valentine? I think it'd a powerful conclusion to that arc and would fit the tone. PW then joining whatever is left of the squad fighting Marie and victory!
I see Annie supporting this via beating Double for the nth time, maybe with some Wulf help :3. Cerebella I feel is more tied to a sub plot with Fortune and part of the characters like BB, not really having anything to do immediately with the Skullgirl unless a reason for her being there is CREATED by the canon plot, which could very well be the case.

 

[Todpole]

If it's okay what I think the Marie arc would end. This ending has nothing to do Big Band, Beowulf, Eliza and Robo-Fortune.

The girls, except Valentine, all end up meeting and decided to team up to put down Marie for one reason or another. At the Cathedral, they encounter Double and it congratulates the girls for making it this far but the girls say they're going to destroy the heart, no matter the offer. Double just signs and recognizes Squigly and figures out she was the one who told them about the heart and just starts talking about how useless to them now just like Marie and will dispose of her as soon as it's done with the heroes. Figuring out it was responsible for the past three and maybe more Skullgirls, the team fight her and Valentine shows up to help. They defeat it and they descend down.

In the catacombs, the girls find Marie and a sleeping Umbrella. Cerebella ask why she wants to destroy the Medicis and Marie says it was they who paid the slave-traders. the fight starts and after the fight, Peacock says goodbye to Marie and prepares to destroy the heart. Just then,a cannonball hits Peacock in the head, knocking her out and Double's tentacles appear to capture the girls.

Umbrella wakes up to the sound of her mothers voice and she hallucinates her mother. As the Skullheart tries to encourage a wish out of her, Umbrella just hugs her saying she's fine with just her and Parasoul. Umbrella then spots the dying Marie and asks who she is and Skullheart just says she's just nothing. Umbrella asks if there's anything she can do to help and the heart just says to make a wish. Umbrella wish for Marie to be healed and for an unknown reason, the process causes an explosion in the Cathedral which turns Double into goo, freeing the girls and not only do they see Marie alive, but so is Squigly and most of the minions(Most them will get butchered by Peacock) and when Umbrella opened her eyes, they are blue skulls instead of red.

While this may seem like a overly saccharine happy ending, but I like to think of it as bitter sweet because:
Parasoul: Is devastated that Umbrella will become the next Skullgirl.
Peacock: Lab 8 is still destroyed and Aviain is dead(Unless Valentine had something to do with it.)
Ms.Fortune: Minnette still gets kidnapped like in her ending.
Cerebella: While she can report she found Filia and defeated the Skullgirl, she didn't get the Lifegem and is having doubts about the Mafia.
Valentine: Is arrested for her work on Painwheel, the destruction of Lab 8 and working with the Skullgirl.
Marie: Is arrested and will most likely be persecuted as the Skullgirl for the rest of her life.
Carol: Gets rejected by her parents like in her ending.
Filia: Knows she a Medici and can't find Carol when she runs off.
Squigly: Gets off pretty lightly except for the fact she has nowhere to go.

And in the end, Aeon is disappointed that her game crashed.