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Ashtear Higgins
New character of the Ninja Gaiden 3
Race Human
Nationality 7066 British
Gender Male
Relatives Theodore Higgins (grandson)
Cliff Higgins (grandson)
Saya (granddaughter-in-law, deceased)
Canna (great-granddaughter)
Professional Status
Affiliation
The Lords of Alchemy Insignia
Lords of Alchemy
Occupation Chairman of the LOA
Partner Cliff Higgins
First Appearance
Debut Ninja Gaiden 3
Voices
English Voice Jamie Alcroft
Please to meet you. I am the chairman of LOA. You may call me Ashtear.
~ Ashtear Higgins, "Chairman" and leader of the Lords of Alchemy.
I would expect nothing less, from a destroyer of lives!
~ Ashtear Higgins

Ashtear was the "Chairman" of the Lords of Alchemy or as they go by in public, the LOA. Ashtear is an evil madman skilled in the ways of alchemy, so much so that he can control the Grip of Murder, and is one of the antagonists of Ninja Gaiden 3.

Appearance[]

Ashtear is a much older man compared to the relative youth of the Ninja Gaiden 3 cast, fitting with his status as the grandfather of the adult Cliff and Theodore Higgins. Ashtear wears a white suit and tie over a red shirt, with matching golden buttons and cufflinks. Also due to his advanced age, he is always seen in a highly advanced floating wheelchair device, which becomes his cockpit upon creating his larger mecha body during his confrontation with Ryu atop the Black Narwhal.

Ashtear is bald, while the back of his head has several wires connecting into the back of his floating chair station, and the right side of Ashtear's face is heavily burned or scarred, his right eye dull and off-center, while his left is a bright, vibrant blue, like the Regent of the Mask's.

Personality[]

Proud, arrogant, and condescending, Ashtear frequently mocks Ryu during their brief encounters, even expressing disappointment with Ryu's performance in London after watching the Dragon Ninja be unable to escape the bombardment of the Prime Minister's home. In their first confrontation, Ashtear proudly introduces himself as the head chairman of the Lords of Alchemy, quickly revealing his bloodline's connection to alchemy and their desire to usher in a new millennium through the culmination of their research.

While a much older generation, Ashtear sneers down on Ryu's ancestry and derides him as a slave of convention and tradition, and upon his defeat, remains defiant. As he rants, he states that alchemists such as himself have lived on the fringes of society for rejecting social concerns and morals, hinting at his frustrations at the world's slow advancements being hindered by societal concepts such as right and wrong. This ideology is displayed fanatically among the LOA alchemists, Ashtear's final words being a defiant cry that the unclean world should be annihilated to make way for a better world to be forged by their coming Goddess.

History[]

Ashtear is a descendent of a bloodline of ancient Alchemists who studied the works of god, working to make the dreams of god a reality to create a new and better world, viewing the current, modern world as unclean and unworthy to existence. He would eventually become the head chairman of the multi-billion dollar corporation known to the world as LOA, which in truth stood for the Lords of Alchemy. Ashtear's grandson, Clifford Higgins, worked with him to form a plan to create an all powerful god like being to destroy the current world and create a new one filled with evolved beings, the next step in evolution, but their plan was delayed when their choice of vessel for their goddess, Saya, fell in love with Cliff's brother, Theodore, both resisting their plan and putting it on hold indefinitely.

When Saya and Theodore had their daughter, Canna, both Ashtear and Cliff saw her as a more valuable specimen to use instead of Saya, and arranged for Canna's parents to die in an accident. In truth, Theodore was revived and brainwashed to serve his brother and grandfather as their Regent of the Mask, while cells from Saya's body were recovered to be used in the creation of their goddess. All that was needed to finish their plan was a divine weapon for their god to wield, and the sacred bloodline of the Dragon God.

Plot[]

Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge[]

Sending his grandson Cliff under the pretense of being a scientist for the JSDF to inflitrate the Japanese government and set their plan in motion, Ashtear, the head of the LOA conglomerate, sets off a terrorist attack in London, hoping to ensnare the Dragon clan's Ryu Hayabusa in order to bring him to his death. But when Cliff said that they needed his blood for their project's success, Ashtear lets the ninja live. Aware of Canna's potential, he sends Cliff to retrieve her. But Ryu follows him to the icy plains of Antarctica, where Ashtear meets Ryu for the first time.

He reveals that their true objective was Ryu's blood, which is the blood of the Dragon God flowing through the veins of the Hayabusa heirs. Ashtear then leaves with Cliff while Ryu fights his demonic clone. Boarding a jet, they head for the US first fleet, the Black Narwhal, in the Polynesia Sea.

Alchemy bot

Ashtear takes on a robotic form and fights Hayabusa.

As soon as Ryu laid waste to the alchemists and soldiers in his way, Ashtear goes head to head with the Dragon Ninja, transforming into a robotic monster. Despite all his power he is killed by Ryu in the end. When Canna takes on her form as the Goddess, the Black Narwhal is torn apart, and Ashtear's body sinks into the ocean.

Powers & Abilities[]

Though appearing old and frail, Ashtear is a powerful and dangerous alchemist in his own right, his alchemy giving him control over the Grip of Murder inflicted upon Ryu, able to amplify the already debilitating pain the Dragon Ninja feels with a single gesture. He was also able to use his powerful alchemy to revive Ryu's Fiend clone and strengthen it to face the Dragon Ninja a second time.

When facing Ryu on the Black Narwhal, Ashtear uses his alchemy to merge the remains of the destroyed Steel Spiders along with several fighter jets into a monstrous, dinosaur like mech suit that he is able to pilot through his chair station. Ashtear proves himself a capable pilot of the mech, using it to battle Ryu Hayabusa through missiles, machine gun fire, EMP field generators and even transform and modify the monstrosity into a fighter jet craft and death wheel machine. Despite the impressive power of the mech, Ashtear himself is as vulnerable as any older man of his age, and is easily cut down with a single blow from Ryu's sword.

Trivia[]

  • The Alchemy Robot Ashtear used to fight Ryu looks extremely similar to some models of Zoids, one of Japan's famous robot model toys.
  • Even though he told Ryu his name, Ashtear is listed simply as "LOA Chairman" in the official site and strategy guide.
  • When fighting the Alchemy Robot in Chapter Challenge, the battle ends after destroying it's arms, unlike in Story Mode where it ends after defeating its flying form.
  • Ashtear is incorrectly named as "Alistar Higgins" in the Story So Far recap for Day 6.
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