Canaletto

Canaletto is the main antagonist of Ōban Star-Racers, and one of two known previous Avatars (The other being Satis), who reigned over 10,000 years ago. He is also known as "The Timeless One." Canaletto is a dark, sinister being that first appears as a shadow with flaming red eyes and a raven-like head. He once went on a crusade to destroy all life and create a universal purification, thinking that life is a weakness, a mistake made by the Creators.

History

Canaletto was the Avatar little over 10,000 years ago. When his term ended and Satis had won, he refused to give up his place. As Satis fought the previous avatar, he called to O for help, as only he could destroy the old avatar.

O refused to do this, and thus forced Satis to banish Canaletto rather than destroy him. From his banishment, he planned his return as avatar for when Satis' term would end. In this Eva Wei was one of his main pawns.

10 years before the events of the Alwas Cycle, he was responsible for the death of Maya Wei during the final race with Spirit. By achieving this, he was able to make Eva Wei his puppet.

Alwas Cycle

His presence is first shown during the Alwas Cycle, in which a deciple sabotages the first Whizzing Arrow being piloted by Rick. After Rick's crash, his own investigation led him to the deciple, and glimpsed the mark of Canaletto, drawn onto the wall in red ink. Upon discovering a relic with the same symbol, he sought the knowledge of a mage, finally revealing the great evil.

Ōban Cycle

Canaletto, shown to be bound in chains, used his powerful magic to narrow down the strongest racer of the contestants, until it became apparent that the magician Sul was the strongest.

During one of the races on Ōban, he used his influence to pluck Sul from the race itself, confronting him as a projection to offer a deal; to combine their powers to bring an age of purity. Sul refused, attacking him with a magical blast, seemingly killing him. However, Canaletto used his magic to attack Sul, imprisoning him in another dimension. Whether Sul was killed or not remains a mystery.

Before the final race, his influence became stronger, possibly causing many of the battles in the race itself.

Eva, upon winning the great race, was summoned by Satis for the enthronement to become the new Avatar. She refused for a moment, returning to the Earth Team Quarters. As Satis's power slowly ebbed away, Canaletto was unbound from the cage, consuming the entire of Ōban in shadows. With the last of his energy, Satis destroyed the pyramid that the Avatar's powers were stored in. However, this didn't stop Kanaletto, who released an energy wave upon Satis.

During the last two episodes of the series, he provided a challenge for The Earth Team, Prince Aikka, and O by reviving two golems with his dark magic. A battle ensued, which ended in O sacrificing itself to destroy the two golems.

Upon entry to the Temple of the heart, Jordan and Aikka protected Eva from Canaletto, but to no avail. Jordan's cannon did nothing to Canaletto, and he retaliated, releasing another energy wave and crippling Jordan's leg. When faced with Aikka's arrows, he merely deflected them back, causing an explosion which badly injured both Aikka and Jordan.

With no one in the way of his prize, Canaletto reveals to Eva that she was under his influence since her mother was killed. Using this to his advantage, he took control of Eva completely, almost making her avatar in his place. However, the guardians of Ōban refused, and attacked him. Each one was struck, becoming part of the avatar core. His plan was finally stopped by Jordan launching himself into the orb, becoming the new avatar. Crying out "NO!", he was consumed by the new Avatar's energy wave, obliterating him completely.

Personality

Canaletto at first appears to be a being of great evil, but his motivations and plans are more amoral than pure evil. Unlike most villains, he does not consider himself evil, and believes he is doing a Holy mission as he plans to destroy life to create a universal purity. Despite this, he is still ruthless, manipulative, malevolent, corrupt, and self-righteous, bringing nothing but destruction. He is especially utterly remorseless as he both killed Eva's mother and ruined Rick's racing career as part of his goal. He even shows no mercy as it was probably him who killed the last of his faithful servants after he caused Rick's crash.

Abilities

As demonstrated throughout the series, he controlled dark magic/energy, which may have been developed over the millennia of his imprisonment. Indeed, even without his physical body, he is a match for both Sul and Satis. He also displays similar powers to Sul, in regards to altering destiny and controlling people.

In his physical form, he is very powerful, even more so than as a projection. He shows great magical strength, enough to defeat Satis and Jordan. He seems to be able to control objects in his physical form, including Aikka's Arrows and Golems. He also possesses great strength, enough to cripple Jordan by using his beak.

Trivia

• The creator of Ōban Star-Racers revealed that Canaletto's original design was that of a bird (of bad omen.) Even in his final design, he has a head shaped like a raven's, which is symbolized as a bird of bad omen.
• Despite his great power, he was not strong enough to kill Sul. Instead, he locked Sul into another dimension.
• His motive for wanting to become Avatar was to create a world of purity, but whether that meant only he existed of whether he meant these words are unclear. Satis spoke out against this, saying it was for the good of himself only, which might mean the former.