The Emperor of Darkness is the primary antagonist of the Great Mazinger manga by Gosaku Ōta and ruler of the Mycenae Empire. He also appeared in the Grendizer manga by the same author. While he survived in the original series, the series by Ōta depicts his death and origins.
Background
The Emperor of Darkness was an alien lifeform that came to Earth thousands of years prior to the series who with help from the Great General of Darkness conquered the original Mycenae Empire and remade it into his own image. Establishing his rule, he plotted to control the world by the Emperor and his Empire was forced underground. For the next millennia, the emperor built up his army to retake the surface.
Appearance
The Emperor is a gigantic flaming entity with a horrifying face. This however was later revealed to be an energy projection generated by the advanced technology of the Empire. His true form consists of only a brain and heart.
Personality
The Emperor is a cruel and tyrannical ruler bent on domination. He is highly unwilling of failure and severely punishes his troops if they do not meet expectations. However, even he knows the limits of what his army can accomplish asking for an alliance with the Grendizer with the invasion of the Vegan Empire. But even then the Emperor treated the alliance as a means to an ends, willing to betray the other party once the battle with the Vegans was over. Having a sheltered life away from danger, the Emperor did not experience fear until he was almost attacked by Vegan soldiers.
Abilities and Powers
The Emperor holds full authority over the Empire and its armies, giving control to his most loyal subordinates. In battle, he uses his energy projected body to destroy enemies including armies and Saucer Beasts that was only matched when Gandal did the same tactic himself.
History
Great Mazinger
The Emperor usually oversaw the battles his army went into from a distance, never entering battle. Whenever the army turned up short handed in their endeavors, the Emperor would have them severely punished through the Dark General. By the time the General was slain, the Emperor revived Dr. Hell to replace him in the form of Great Marshall of Hell.
Grendizer
With the attacks by the Vegan Empire, the Emperor contacted the Photon Power Laboratory for an alliance. They reluctantly agreed when Genzo Umon brought up that the extra military power would help the Grendizer. The Emperor showed them to the Empire's grounds while boasting that he would destroy his temporary allies when the battle was over. Soon the Vegans attacked the Empire; as his army was having difficulty, the Emperor stepped in to ward off the armies of Saucer Beasts until Gandal used his tactic to distract him while the Vegan soldiers locate his real body. The Emperor feared for his life for the first time when he was almost struck until Duke Fleed and Koji Kabuto arrived to stop them. The Emperor requested to be moved, but as Koji held the Emperor's case conflicting thoughts came into his head which caused him to lose his grip and frop the case. With the case broken the Emperor suffocated and his energy projection died out.