Ike (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Ike's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Ike.

Ike (, Aiku) is a character appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Revealed in the Smash Bros. DOJO!! on August 1st, 2007, Ike is a newcomer to the franchise. He is the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, and also appears in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. His sword from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Ragnell, is a two-handed sword, but he is known to wield it with one hand, showing his incredible strength.

Ike is currently ranked 26th in the tier list, due to powerful and long ranged attacks (particularly forward smash) while having these attacks relatively slow and predictable, with addition to poor and predictable recovery.

Attributes
Ike is a moderately heavy character with slow, but powerful, attacks. Most of his attacks have high damage, high knockback, and good range, giving Ike good killing potential at low percents. Ike's neutral attack combo and side special are fast and have good KO potential at high damages. Quick Draw has great versatility, which can be used for great horizontal recovery and can be charged indefinitely. Aether is a good vertical recovery move, can go through platforms, and grants Ike some frames of knockback resistance (Eruption gives Ike some frames of knockback resistance as well). Ike's throws combo well with his aerial attacks, and Ike has four spikes, more than any other character.

However, Ike does have his drawbacks. His Counter, while useful, requires some prediction to use effectively, as it takes approximately six frames longer than Marth's counter for the counter frames to start. Despite this, Ike's counter frames end six frames later than Marth's (both of their counter moves last for about 59 frames, 23 of them being counter frames), making him less vulnerable afterwards. Ike's recovery is also somewhat predictable, because he only has two main recovery moves, Quick Draw and Aether and short mid-air jump. Quick Draw is easily blocked by anyone willing to get hit by it before Ike can reach the ledge. Aether is very predictable but also difficult to guard against as Ike's sword reaches the ledge long before he does. Finally, many of Ike's moves have quite a large amount of lag, causing vulnerability.

Normal

 * Neutral Attack - Punches with his left hand, then a step-forward kick, then an overhead swing of Ragnell, moving forward with each blow. Quick, strong. 16% total.
 * Dash Attack - Ike lunges forward with Ragnell with excellent range, but is slow and predictable. 8%.
 * Forward Tilt - A horizontal slash. Has a slow startup but high knockback. Can be angled up or down. 15%.
 * Up Tilt - Ike holds his sword out horizontally from the ground and raises it to above his head in a bunny hop motion. Deceptively large range. 12%.
 * Down Tilt - Slashes along the ground. Spikes the opponent powerfully. Long range, but cripplingly slow. 14%.

Smash

 * Side Smash - Overhead swing of his sword to the ground in front of him. Long ranged and very powerful, but very slow. Superior killing move at relatively low damage, but requires timing to use effectively. Long range and high arc allow for edge and recovery interceptions. 23%-32%. The power behind the smash is enough to KO an opponent at a damage percent from as low as 60%.
 * Up Smash - Swings his sword from his feet, over his head, to behind him. Also powerful, long ranged, and slow. The attack's arc and speed allow it to intercept foes climbing up from an edge. 17% damage. Like the side smash, when fully charged, the smash carries enough power to KO an opponent at 60% beyond.
 * Down Smash - Slashes towards the ground on either side. Powerful, long ranged, and his fastest smash attack. 13% damage typically, 16% if hit from behind.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Ike swings Ragnell in an arc around his body. The attack is shorter ranged than most of his aerials, but hits around his body. The wide arc allows it to punish dodges, and the move can be auto-canceled. 9%.
 * Forward Aerial - Ike performs an overhead swing with Ragnell down to below him. Has the most range among Ike's aerials, but at the cost of knockback. 13%.
 * Back Aerial - Ike quickly backwards swing with Ragnell. This is Ike's fastest aerial and performs greatly with the Reverse Aerial Rush since it has high killing potential. 14%.
 * Up Aerial - Ike spins Ragnell in a helicopter motion. The attack stays out for a longer time and has great priority. Low vertical range limits usefulness, considering Ike's inferior jumping capabilities. 14%.
 * Down Aerial - Ike thrusts Ragnell down under him. If the move hits while the blade is swinging down, it will meteor smash the target. Will send foes upwards if hit after swing and blade stays out. Useful for edge-guarding. 16%.

Grabs and Throws

 * Pummel - Headbutts them. 3% damage.
 * Up Throw - Ike throws Ragnell into the ground and uppercuts the target into the air with one hand. 6% damage.
 * Down Throw - Ike throws the target down to the ground and stomps on them, sending them upward. Places low-damaged foes in a perfect position to follow up with an Aether. 6% damage.
 * Back Throw - Ike throws the opponent backwards while kicking them. 6% damage.
 * Forward Throw - Ike throws opponent forwards while kicking them. 6% damage.

Role in The Subspace Emissary
Ike's first appearance is at the Battlefield Fortress, helping out fellow Fire Emblem hero, Marth, and his new partner, Meta Knight, by halting the Ancient Minister's escape with his trusted Aether move, which also destroys the Subspace Bomb. He then teams up with the two swordsmen.

Ike's team is later seen in the The Wilds, tracking a tank. The three then chase after it, only to find that it is the Subspace robot, Galleom. Galleom is defeated, but jumps off the cliff and into The Ruined Hall, where Lucas and Pokémon Trainer defeat it once more. Upon its defeat, Galleom grabs the two and attempts suicide with its built in Subspace Bomb. Fortunately, Meta Knight rescues Lucas and Pokémon Trainer, and brings them back to Marth and Ike. Ike is briefly seen at the Glacial Peak level when they see the battle between the Halberd and Great Fox, in which at that point, Meta Knight leaves the party. The Ice Climbers, who have fallen off the mountain, join Ike's group just in time for a large battle with the Subspace Army. Luckily, Mario and Link's team arrive to help out, after which they join up.

Ike's next appearance is at the Entrance to Subspace level, where he can be used. Ike is one of the many to be turned into a trophy by Tabuu's Off Waves. Fortunately, his trophy can be picked up at the first Subspace level. Once he has rejoined the team, he is available for use in the The Great Maze, as well as against Tabuu.

Exclusive stickers
These stickers can only be used by Ike or by a select few including Ike.
 * Ashnard: [Slash] resistance +39
 * Deke: [Slash] attack +9
 * Eirika: [Slash] attack +17
 * Eliwood: [Flame] resistance +31
 * Greil: [Throwing] attack +14
 * Ike (Path of Radiance): [Weapon] attack +23
 * Ike (Radiant Dawn): [Slash] attack +27
 * Lilina: [Leg] attack +5
 * Marth: [Weapon] attack +19
 * Micaiah: [Weapon] attack +21
 * Mist: [Slash] attack +8
 * Ninian: [Arm, Leg] attack +6
 * Rutoga: [Slash] resistance +12
 * Shiida: [Specials: Direct] attack +7

Taunts
Up: Twirls Ragnell a little then holds it out in front of him, growls and vibrates it while bringing it closer to himself. His cape blows in the wind at the end.

Side: Swings his sword overhead as if unsheathing it and finishing with his sword behind him saying "Prepare yourself!"

Down: Thrusts his sword into the ground in disgust, crosses his arms and says "Hmph." Again, wind blows at his cape.

Trivia

 * Ike is one of the few characters to have a brief speaking role in the Subspace Emissary, shouting "Great Aether!" as he attacks the Ancient Minister. Interestingly, he uses a normal Aether to hit the Ancient Minister.
 * While Aether is a mere recovery move dealing mediocre damage, it is in fact Ike's most powerful move in his games, capable of healing him while halving an enemy's defense and killing them with a powerful strike.
 * The crowd cheer for Ike is "We like Ike!", a reference to former President Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower's campaign slogan.
 * The stance Ike enters for his side taunt also appears in Radiant Dawn when Ike initiates an attack.
 * While Ike is a slow character in Brawl, he has very good speed stats in the Fire Emblem games he appears in. A good example is one of the cutscenes in SSE, where he was running at the same pace as both Marth and Meta Knight.
 * In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, Ragnell allowed Ike to attack with a shockwave from the blade of the sword. However, due to Ike already being an immensely powerful character, facing some scrutiny as being cheap, this attack was simply left out.
 * Also, Ike is much shorter in Brawl, although in the Subspace Emissary cutscenes and his game appearance, he is taller. Though, this may be because he hunches his back slightly whilst brawling.
 * Ike is the first, and currently the only playable Fire Emblem character in the Super Smash Bros. series to speak English. As well, he is the first Fire Emblem character available as a starter in the Super Smash Bros. series.
 * Ike's On-Screen Appearance is shown as Warp Magic (Warp Powder in Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn). However, Ike is not a mage, and Warp Powder was used by the Black Knight, not Ike.
 * Though he is commonly depicted in his red cape, violet tunic appearance, Ike actually wears a blue cape and dark green tunic when he is promoted to a Lord in Path of Radiance. That is also the only time that Ike has used Ragnell in the game, meaning that canonically, Ike has never touched Ragnell in his Ranger outfit.
 * Ike's victory quotes, "I fight for my friends" and "You'll get no sympathy from me", as well as his taunt quote "Prepare yourself", have become popular Internet memes. The memes gained further attention when Ike was chosen as the name of a hurricane (which relates to the events of Hurricane Ike).