So, let's talk Torchwick. The man who started out as a one-shot appearance, and stole the show with even the creators before the first episode even aired. Who had a rule 63 cosplay so awesome Monty made it into a second character for the show. He came to a bad end recently, and his character arc is fascinating. When we first saw him, he was a thief. One with style and connections, but just a thief. For whatever reason, he was the one Cinder recruited to handle things in Vale. And she told him quite a lot of things. This volume showed that he knew about the computer virus, for example, and he was the one handling the White Fang for her in Volume 2, despite the fact that she'd gotten someone like Adam on her side. Although, to be fair, Torchwick had much better people skills than Adam. Then again, an iced up drug addict with a knife has better people skills then the Abuser, so that's not really a fair comparison...
The part that really fascinated me is that, while he's always been willing to use lethal force if it was necessary, he never started there. Take the start of Volume 2, when Emerald and Mercury satisfied their murder fetish on Tuskon. Torchwick had been taking the time to carefully isolate him, and render him harmless, despite the fact that Tuskon clearly knew just who Cinders little pet psychos were. Killing him might have plugged the leak instantly, but Roman didn't take that option. He was careful, he took the lethal option only if he had to. Likely not out of respect for human life, but because he knew all to well that escalating things that far is crossing a dangerous line. But then, he turns around and launches a large scale terrorist attack on Vale that could have had a death toll in the thousands, had RWBY not messed up the launch stages. From thief and crime boss, to terrorist mass murderer. That's one hell of an escalation.
In his final appearance, Ruby asked him what he'd get out of the destruction of an entire kingdom. Which is a fair question, and shows that at least she understands people like Torchwick usually run on greed. His answer showed that this time, his motive was fear of what Cinder would do to him. This had been hinted at on other occasions, such as when he interacted with Cinder at the start of Volume 2. And in the end, it shows him as... well, rather pathetic, when you think about it. For all his ego and showmanship, he was a coward that was willing to play a major part in a terror attack that is quite literally world changing. If Ruby hadn't taken down that airship, it was very possible that Vale would have fallen and no one would have escaped alive.
There was no future for him after that, and he knew it. Which is what REALLY pissed him off regarding Ruby, I think. Her world was ending, her loved ones were in danger. No one would have thought any less of her if she'd turned and ran. And instead, after all his claims to her about how the world worked, she stood back up and opposed him. Her very presence was a reminder that he was a coward, a murderer, and the puppet of a crazy bitch. He got angry, he started ranting, and he was radiating negative emotions while surrounded by the Grimm he'd helped to bring into Vale. Is it any wonder they ate him mid-rant?
And in the end, after all his crimes, he goes forgotten in-universe. The moment after he's killed, even Ruby has more important things to worry about. The only person that might still care about him is Neo, and I'm curious to see if she blames Ruby, or Cinder.
The part that really fascinated me is that, while he's always been willing to use lethal force if it was necessary, he never started there. Take the start of Volume 2, when Emerald and Mercury satisfied their murder fetish on Tuskon. Torchwick had been taking the time to carefully isolate him, and render him harmless, despite the fact that Tuskon clearly knew just who Cinders little pet psychos were. Killing him might have plugged the leak instantly, but Roman didn't take that option. He was careful, he took the lethal option only if he had to. Likely not out of respect for human life, but because he knew all to well that escalating things that far is crossing a dangerous line. But then, he turns around and launches a large scale terrorist attack on Vale that could have had a death toll in the thousands, had RWBY not messed up the launch stages. From thief and crime boss, to terrorist mass murderer. That's one hell of an escalation.
In his final appearance, Ruby asked him what he'd get out of the destruction of an entire kingdom. Which is a fair question, and shows that at least she understands people like Torchwick usually run on greed. His answer showed that this time, his motive was fear of what Cinder would do to him. This had been hinted at on other occasions, such as when he interacted with Cinder at the start of Volume 2. And in the end, it shows him as... well, rather pathetic, when you think about it. For all his ego and showmanship, he was a coward that was willing to play a major part in a terror attack that is quite literally world changing. If Ruby hadn't taken down that airship, it was very possible that Vale would have fallen and no one would have escaped alive.
There was no future for him after that, and he knew it. Which is what REALLY pissed him off regarding Ruby, I think. Her world was ending, her loved ones were in danger. No one would have thought any less of her if she'd turned and ran. And instead, after all his claims to her about how the world worked, she stood back up and opposed him. Her very presence was a reminder that he was a coward, a murderer, and the puppet of a crazy bitch. He got angry, he started ranting, and he was radiating negative emotions while surrounded by the Grimm he'd helped to bring into Vale. Is it any wonder they ate him mid-rant?
And in the end, after all his crimes, he goes forgotten in-universe. The moment after he's killed, even Ruby has more important things to worry about. The only person that might still care about him is Neo, and I'm curious to see if she blames Ruby, or Cinder.