Viktor (Arcane)

Magnificent Baddie
Full Name	Viktor
Alias	Herald of the Arcane The Machine Herald The Herald The Healer
Origin	Arcane
Allies	Jayce Talis Cecil B. Heimerdinger Singed Ambessa Medarda His followers
Powers/Skills	Genius-level intelligence Hand to hand combat Knowledge of Hextech Augmented speed Augmented strength Augmented durability Biomechanical death ray Technokinesis Gravitational manipulation Levitation Teleportation Dimensional awareness Future vision Possession of his followers Ability to transfigure and heal people. Psychic connection with his followers. Ability to "evolve" others into mechanical dolls. Reality-warping powers granted by wild rune anomaly.
Goals	Find a cure for his terminal illness (succeeded). Help Vi and Jinx save Vander (failed). Defeat Jayce and bring the "Glorious Evolution" to all humankind (abandoned). Help Jayce destroy the wild rune in order to undo the "Glorious Evolution" (succeeded).
Crimes	Mass murder Mass destruction Attempted cataclysm Invasion Psychic mass enslavement Mass forced transmutation Unethical experimentation Brainwashing Mutilation Treason Theft Assault
Type of MB	Delusional Dark Messiah

“	Viktor: Do you believe in fate, Doctor? Our paths carved before us, guided by an invisible hand? Singed: Not fate. Evolution. Nature's greatest force, forever in flux. Viktor: No. Evolution has a destination. Not to combat nature, but to supersede it. The final, glorious evolution.	„
	~ Viktor naming his vision for the first time.

“	I understand now. The message hidden within the pattern. The reason for our failures in the commune. The Doctor was right -- it's inescapable. Humanity. Our very essence. Our emotions... Rage. Compassion. Hate. Two sides of the same coin, inextricably bound. That which inspires us to our greatest good... is also the cause of our greatest evil.	„
	~ Viktor's epiphany after the fall of his commune.

“	I thought I could bring an end to the world's suffering. But when every equation was solved, all that remained were fields of dreamless solitude. There is no prize to perfection. Only an end to pursuit. In all timelines, in all possibilities... only you... can show me this.	„
	~ A repentant future Viktor to Jayce.

Viktor, later known as The Herald of the Arcane, is one of the three tritagonists of the 2021 Netflix-exclusive animated series, Arcane, based on the 2009 game League of Legends by Riot Games. An inventor hailing from Zaun and the former assistant to both Singed and Cecil B. Heimerdinger, Viktor dedicated his genius to benefit humanity, co-founding HexTech with his best friend Jayce Talis, wanting to bring mechanical perfection to the world. However Viktor's desire to perfect humanity no matter the cost will slowly drive a wedge between his former allies as he becomes the herald to the arcane, intending to erase humanity's emotion to bring peace and achieve it's "glorious evolution, becoming the final threat in the series.

He was voiced by Harry Lloyd.

What Makes Him Magnificent?

• Is a well-intentioned extremist who ultimately only wants to save humanity from destroying itself through unchecked emotions and finally achieve peace.
• Even at his cruelest, is genuinely an affably evil villain where even upon their falling out, still views Jayce as a friend and continues to offer him the chance to be partners against and see his point of view even after everything.
• Talks Jayce out of suicide and helping him further his research on the arcane out of a fascination of his findings, leading to the two of them collectively revolutionizing Piltover's technology through the creation of HexTech.
• Through his research using the Shimmer, Viktor was able to cure himself from his crippled leg and finally run intending to further research his way into finding a cure for death and stopping when said experiments accidentally cause the death of his assistant Sky.
• Upon parting ways with Jayce when he goes against his promise to destroy the HexCore in hopes of saving Viktor when in truth he actually wanted to die, Viktor uses his powers to gain a messianic reputation among Zaun due to his ability to heal people from sickness and injuries, such charisma rallying hundreds to thousands coming and surrendering their lives to him that is enough to create a thriving village.
• Even upon Jayce's attempt to kill him to prevent the bad future happening, Viktor still retains his cool, still willing to reason with Jayce, by having one of his bodies infiltrate Piltover, which ended up showing just how powerless both Piltover and Zaun are to Viktor's threat if they are seperate.
• In a partnership with Ambessa and the Noxian Army, masterminds an invasion of Piltover that still keeps both it and Zaun's forces on their toes, while planting an emtpy shimmer pod as a distraction while Viktor moves towards the HexGates.
• Even with Jayce's resistance, opens the HexGate and nearly succeeds in his goals of evolving humanity, in which such is only stopped by Ekko's unexpected interference with his Z-drive which undoes events to a specific point of time, leading to Jayce finally being free from Viktor's control and reason with him.
• Viktor, despite the horrible nature of his plot, only wants humanity's survival. In a future where he succeeded, Viktor would regret such success as his plans ended up causing the end of all life in Ruterra, and then calls in the present Jayce to show this future and send him back in time to encourage him to put an end to his present self's plans. Viktor, upon realizing this, decides to sacrifice himself to undo his evolution and bring everything to normal, spending his final moments embracing Jayce.

What Makes Him a Baddie?

• Ultimately grows more and more extreme in his methods to preserve life and create a cure for death that he stopped objecting against his former teacher, Singed's cruel methods due to said reason, and surrenders most of humanity for machine perfection. Even though he cares for Sky, when having to further evolve his status as the Herald, Sky herself notes that Viktor would end up forgetting her and their conversation in the HexCore due to such extremity.
• Ultimately his following is a cult where he has people surrender their own lives and wills to Viktor in exchange for healing and bliss, where it's clear said followers may not be human anymore with how easily Viktor can just take over their bodies.
• Allies with Ambessa Medarda and the Noxian Forces for a brutal and bloody invasion of Piltover, leading to many, many casualties
• Ultimately intends to strip all of humanity of free will and emotion to see his vision of peace and evolution.

External Links

• Viktor on the Villains Wiki
• Viktor on the Heroes Wiki
• Viktor on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
• Viktor on the Arcane Wiki