Organization XIII Week: Real Somebodies and Serious Nobodies Part V

The members of Organization 13 were not only a set of some of the most villainous characters to be found in the Kingdom Hearts series, but by far some of the most interesting. Being a set of 13 individual “nobodies” each seeking knowledge, power, and hearts in an attempt to become a whole being or, for some, the ultimate being, it was intriguing to watch these Nobodies without hearts blossom into their fake personalities. However, there were some nobodies who were just that–nobodies. And then there were some nobodies who did everything but live up to that title. Starting from 1 to 13, including that 14^th unofficial member, I’m going to analyze each Organization member’s relevance not just within the Organization, but within the Kingdom Hearts series as a whole. Also, I’ll explore the odds that we will be seeing their “somebodies” in the future.

Marluxia: A Beautiful Nightmare….

Before I begin, I must say that Marluxia is one of my favorite Organization members because he puts up an amazing fight worthy of a true boss. I would even go so far as to say that his battle was more difficult than the fight with Xemnas. What a shame for it all to be in vain. Marluxia wanted to take over the Organization and get rid of Xemnas and the original 6 members, feeling that he deserved more respect, but his plan didn’t pan out.

Though Marluxia dominated the plot of Chain of Memories, in the scheme of things he didn’t really have any significance--besides getting 5 or 6 members taken out. He didn’t have much of a storyline, so it’s unlikely he’ll return to the series.

When you think of Chain of Memories, you can only truly remember Marluxia. From beginning to end–regardless of how much you hate the card system–you love the fact that Marluxia was a more frequently-seen version of Xemnas, and he looked darn good. For a game character that is. Marluxia wanted to be the alpha dog and, with Larxene by his side, used everyone he could to try and make it happen. Vexen, Axel, Namine, Riku Replica, and Sora all played their parts exactly the way Marluxia wanted them too, but he still lost. For that reason, Marluxia is ultimately irrelevant. Yes, he did set off the chain of events that thus brought Sora and friends to Namine and caused them to be put into a deep sleep, but, let’s be honest, Diz would have figured out a plan B regardless, considering he was using Riku to set up his own plans.

Marluxia’s status as the Organization member at the bottom of the food chain is a sad one because I feel his strength and character is equal to, if not better than, Xemnas himself. Marluxia, unlike Xemnas, is not afraid to get his hands dirty. He was the one planting all the seeds and doing all the manipulation, unlike Xemnas who leaves all of that up to Saix and others. Truly an amazing Organization member who was not content with being a pawn in Xemnas’s game, Marluxia wanted the power and the glory for himself, and instead he got stuck in a side-game that we all hate to play, a less than honorable mention in Kingdom Hearts 2, and a few scenes in 358/2 Days which funnily enough showed he was actually kind of nice. Oh, how I wish Marluxia would come back to fight Xehanort just to see if he had what it takes, but that is a dream fading away just like his rose pedals.

Larxene: Miss Fake Attitude

Doesn’t she remind you of an insect with those two strands of hair that look like antennas? Maybe like a Shadow Heartless with the antennas and those huge eyes!

Larxene was callous and cold to the extreme. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t care as it seemed she was just bitter. Could she have had a broken heart in her previous life? Could Axel possibly have been responsible?

In all seriousness, Larxene, the 11th member of the Organization, was extremely disappointing to me. I understand why they made her into a real bad guy, but the ugly psychotic stance was unattractive. The only reason you remember her is because of these two facts: she is the only woman in the Organization and she has a ghastly, annoying, disrespectful attitude. Seriously, what was her problem? She was barely a part of 358/2 Days and although she was Marluxia’s partner in overthrowing Xemnas and the upper level members in Chain of Memories you really never get a strong grasp of why exactly they wanted to do that to begin with. Was it to gain a heart, like Axel or Saix? Was it to gain the power of Kingdom Hearts? Was it simply because they were bored? Did they really just want to move up in rank? Unfortunately, the reason behind their betrayal was never expounded upon.

In the novels it is revealed that Larxene though her life as a Nobody may be better than that of a real person because having a heart subjects you to pain. Also, when Xemnas acknowledged that the members would get their hearts back through Kingdom Hearts, she was less than excited. Maybe, in her other life Larxene was severely hurt and suffered a great deal of pain. That could be where the attitude comes from. She and Marluxia in the novels had a conversation about how important it really was for them to have a heart in the first place and if the Nobodies were better off without them. Maybe that is why they wanted to overthrow Xemnas, because they didn’t want to gain their hearts back? Who knows. Also, something funny about Larxene was how she would flirt with Axel and yet he never flirted back or paid her mind. That would no doubt aggravate her as well. Maybe Larxene passed into darkness with a broken heart. Either way, nobody likes a bitter woman, heartless or not. Truth be told, I want to see Larxene again. I would at least like to find out why she acted the way she did, but I doubt we will see her again. Especially not in a large role.

Thanks for tuning in for our Organization special! The very last part will be posted on Friday, July 1^st. Stay tuned and, more importantly–leave a comment!

A normal resident on the KHU forums, Cloudy is a big fan of Final Fantasy 7 and its related games. Incidentally, she and her identical twin sister are both authors of this article and spend quite a bit of time discussing the intricacies of Kingdom Hearts (perhaps being twins help them relate to Roxas and Ventus a little deeper…). With the bubble of ideas Cloudy and her sister has, readers can expect to see more of their work in the future.