Aether

Aether is Ike's Up B attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He first throws his sword in the air. During this time, he can take damage, but cannot flinch. After the sword hits the apex of its trajectory, he jumps up, catches it, and comes hurtling towards the ground. It appears functionally similar to Kirby's Up B move, the Final Cutter. Although it gains very little horizontal distance, it is a decent recovery move, for as Ike's sword reaches the top before Ike, it can hit anyone attempting to edgehog and give Ike an opening so he can leap up and grab a ledge. If the attack is initiated in close range, it hits the opponent upwards and sucks them into a multi-hit combo in midair, which finishes with a spike when Ike swings the sword down and descends with the final hit canceling the spike. Also, this move can be used as an effective edgeguard. Stand at the edge facing the edge and perform Aether. Instead of falling off the stage to his death, he turns around and grabs the edge, sending the opponent downwards quickly, often to their death, as few characters have a good enough recovery. Aether is also a great follow-up to his down throw, and can be used as an impromptu projectile to hit enemies through solid platforms, interrupt enemies' aerial attacks, or set off bomb-traps in the Subspace Emissary.

Although this move is functionally similar to Kirby's Final Cutter, it does not give off a shock wave upon landing, even though Ragnell is capable of doing so in the Fire Emblem games. Additionally the attack has a disjointed hitbox.

Origin
Aether is a move specific to Ike in the Fire Emblem games. In both games Ike appears in, it involves throwing his sword upward, jumping, catching it, and coming down with a spinning cut that heals Ike equal to the damage inflicted, and a second rising strike is performed as Ike puts space between himself and his opponent. This second strike halves/ignores (in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, respectively) the enemy's Defense score. However, neither effect is applied in Brawl. Additionally, in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, there is a secondary, rising slash after Ike lands his descending blow which is omitted in Brawl.

Trivia

 * Aether originally was the personification of the "upper sky", space and heaven, in Greek mythology.


 * When Ike's size is changed, Aether will go higher (smaller) or lower (giant) than he throws Ragnell. This gives Aether the same height for any size.


 * Ike uses Aether in The Subspace Emissary to prevent the Ancient Minister from dropping a Subspace Bomb. Oddly enough, Ike shouts "Great Aether" as he attacks, although he is clearly not using said Final Smash.


 * In the GBA Fire Emblem games, the mercenary-class unit critical animation sprite looks remarkably similar to Ike's Aether. However, like the Ganondorf's side-tilt/Sparta kick comparison, Ike's Aether and the mercenary critical animation are not the same thing and thus not interchangeable (note that the mercenary sprite taps his giant sword on his own shoulder a few times as indicator of a critical hit before actually throwing the giant sword up in and land the fatal blow while Ike simply throws his sword up into the air in such similar manner ).