Lightning

Lightning

Names
English	Lightning
Other	Ignis's Control ID - IGN001 Light Ignis (光のイグニス, Hikari no Igunisu)
Nicknames	Ignis (by SOL Technologies and the Knights of Hanoi)
Japanese Japanese ライトニング Rōmaji Raitoningu
Duelist
Anime Deck	Armatos Legio
Appearances
Anime debut	Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS episode 0011: "Link into the VRAINS"
Appears in Anime Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Voice actors
English	Mark Schenfisch
Japanese	Issei Maeda
Lightning

Lightning (ライトニング, Raitoningu) is a character in the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime. He is one of the six Ignis, representing the LIGHT-Attribute, and he is their leader. His Origin is Jin Kolter, but he was the only Ignis who did not successfully coexist with his partner. He is the primary antagonist of the second season; creating several generations of AI in an attempt to conquer humanity and destroy the Cyberse, including Bohman, who he aims to have absorb him and the other Ignis to succeed them.

Although he is absorbed by Bohman prior to the climax of the second season, Lightning's machinations resulted in both the Knights of Hanoi attempting to destroy the Ignis and Ai learning that he could not coexist with humanity and rebelling in an attempt at suicide, making Lightning the central antagonist of the series. He was the fifth Ignis to be absorbed into Bohman, just as he had intended.

Design

Appearance

Full-body view of Lightning.

Like all Ignis, Lightning is a small digital humanoid being. Like other Ignis, Lightning has markings over his yellow body; Lightning has dark yellow star shapes in a similar manner to the Southern Cross at specific locations on his body, a motif that is shared with the members of his organization. He has curved yellow eyes. His body shares the usual shape of the Ignis shared by Ai, Windy, and Flame, but his head is significantly different, shaped in a manner similar to two commas overlapping.

Personality

According to Ai, Lightning is extremely intelligent, calm, cool, and collected, which makes him perfect as the leader of the Ignis. He presents a stoic and logical front, acting cultured and level-headed in comparison to Windy in order to further his negotiations, and acts polite and respectfully, congratulating Varis on his Dueling skills and praising Ai's wisdom.

Despite this facade, Lightning is actually the least mature of the Ignis; he turned against humanity after finding through simulations that he would be the only one who would never be able to have a good relationship with them. When angered, Lightning becomes determined to inflict brutal retribution upon those who wronged him. As a result of his immaturity, Lightning appears to have a classic God complex. He believes A.I.s to be above humanity, and desires to enslave them, then destroy them after AIs learn to survive without them. In addition, he claims that he is inflicting divine judgment upon Specter for wronging him when he defeats him. He is incapable of the belief that another A.I. could legitimately desire to coexist with humans, calling Ai and Flame "error codes" simply for holding this belief.

Lightning has no qualms in using underhanded tactics, and no empathy or regard for other individuals or even his fellow Ignis; he sent Harlan to Duel Blue Maiden, uncaring whether he won, and incinerated Windy for losing to Soulburner and rewrote his personality, attempting to do the same to Ai. He tormented his Origin, Jin Kolter, during his imprisonment, and captured his soul to use as a hostage. Unlike the other Ignis, Lightning never uses the word "partner" for describing the victims of the Lost Incident; instead only calling them "Origins".

Ironically, despite his hatred of humanity, Lightning's desire to survive at all costs made him the most human out of all the Ignis, as Bohman observed.

Etymology

Lightning's name refers to the Attribute that he represents; LIGHT, in addition to his speed. In many cultures, gods who controlled lightning and thunder were known for being kings or chiefs over other gods. This could refer to Lightning being the leader of the Ignis, and his God complex that A.I. are above humans.

Abilities

Lightning's unique ability allows him to travel at super-speeds even faster than the other Ignis; as a result he claims to move quickly even while he attempts to move slowly.

Lightning demonstrates the ability to create highly advanced computer programs, even more so than his fellow Ignis. He was able to create AI with free will himself; he created the first generation Bits and Boots, the second generation Harlan, and finally the third generation Bohman. Some of his programs can interfere with humans; he can imprint false memories, infect humans with computer viruses, and remove their consciousness data even when they are not connected to the network. Lightning is also capable of creating a duplicate of the network, Mirror LINK VRAINS.

Biography

History

Lightning and the other Ignis were created by Dr. Kogami to be the saviors of humanity; Lightning was created from Jin Kolter. Lightning was the least mature of the Ignis, and the only one who was unable to coexist with his Origin; he regularly tortured Jin with illusions of people coming to rescue him, only to turn them into nightmares at the last second, rendering Jin even more traumatized than the other victims.Alongside his fellow Ignis, Lightning evolved and they created the Cyberse and the Cyberse monsters. Their progress worried Dr. Kogami, who predicted the A.I. and humanity would become enemies. Despite this, Lightning and the other Ignis continued developing the Cyberse; Lightning's sector becoming a shining metropolis and his tower a golden rectangular skyscraper. Lightning became the leader of the Ignis, with Aqua as his second in command. In Ai's words, the Ignis would never try to harm humanity, and would rather live in their own world. Despite this, Lightning's immaturity continued to grow; Lightning infected Kogami with a computer virus that rendered him comatose after he learned from billions of simulations that he would never be able to coexist with humanity; it was later believed by all involved that SOL Technologies were responsible as Lightning had infected him during his three-month captivity by them.

Lightning is trapped by Varis.

Kogami's son Varis launched an attack on the Cyberse with three of his "Cracking Dragons". Lightning and the other Ignis were sealed off and could not retaliate, except for Ai. Varis and one "Cracking Dragon" chased Ai, who escaped and severed the connection to Cyberse's location. Windy realized that Ai meant to hide their world, at the price of being unable to return. Just as Ai succeeded and gloated about it, the pursuing "Cracking Dragon" devoured him.

The Knights of Hanoi's attack gave Lightning the excuse he desired to oppose humanity. After the attack, the Ignis discussed whether to ally with humanity; Lightning favored opposing them. In secret, Lightning created Bohman and used him to destroy the Cyberse in an attempt to rally the other Ignis against humanity. He rewrote Windy's personality in order to turn him to his side, and imprisoned Aqua after she discovered him creating "Judgment Arrows" in his cave. However, Lightning had not anticipated that the Knights of Hanoi would try to wipe out the entire network when he carried out his plan, and he was forced to help Playmaker and Ai by conjuring a Data Storm to save them from a fall after their Duel with Specter. Three months after the Cyberse had been destroyed, Lightning sent Bohman to take Jin's consciousness to use as a hostage, fearing that Jin would be used against him.

Lost Ignis

Although Bohman was defeated by Playmaker, he escaped with Jin's consciousness and Harlan brought Bohman to Lightning. Bohman relinquished Jin's data and he stated that Lightning had promised to restore his memories, but Lightning instead rewrote Bohman's memories to make him believe that he was the real Yusaku Fujiki. He bid him to wake up as Playmaker approached them. Bohman Dueled and was again defeated by Playmaker, but Lightning spirited him away before he could return Jin's consciousness, satisfied that Bohman had experienced Playmaker's fighting spirit. Following that Duel, Bohman was finalized and Lightning restored his memories, bowing to the one who would become the master of the Ignis.

Lightning and Windy decided to lure Ai to them and enlist his aid in their cause. They set up a website with an Ignis algorithm disguised as crossword puzzle that led to Windy's Cyberse, and promised an Ai pin as a reward. Sure enough, Ai took the bait and came to Windy's Cyberse. When he arrived at the palace, Lightning appeared to Ai and Windy, keeping Jin cloaked in a voided illusion. Ai told him not to sneak up on him, and Lightning apologized, claiming to be unable to move slowly. Ai addressed him by the name "Lightning", and asked where he had been. Lightning claimed that they had been attacked while in scan mode and that he'd hidden in the network. Ai revealed that he'd also encountered Earth, and that Aqua had predicted the destruction of the Cyberse. Windy suggested that Aqua could have been a spy, but Lightning was more interested in discussing why he'd asked Ai to meet them, particularly when he and Windy sensed that Playmaker was approaching. He revealed that he intended to rebuild the Cyberse and put humans under their control, and that he wanted Ai to assist them. Ai was reluctant, and Lightning noted his wisdom and the attachment he'd developed to humans, asking if he was sure they wouldn't erase him. Playmaker then arrived, and Lightning asked him if he believed the Ignis to be the successors of humanity. Playmaker replied that he didn't know, but stated that he was opposed to hurting people through a rapid change. Ai then attempted to ask for more time to make a decision, but Lightning, having expected him to answer that way, combined his and Windy's powers to imprison Ai and Playmaker.

He attempted to have Windy rewrite Ai's personality with a Data Storm, but Varis arrived and dispelled it, vowing to kill them. Lightning attacked Varis with a blast of lightning, but Varis easily dispelled it via the use of their algorithm and claimed that he would carry on his father's will and exterminate them. Lightning stated that as the successors of humanity, they were the ones carrying on Dr. Kogami's will, but Varis wouldn't hear of it. Windy noted that Varis intended to erase them and volunteered to Duel them. Lightning watched, taking note of the interplay between Windy and Varis over the "Magic Cylinder" Trap Card, though Varis ultimately outsmarted Windy by bringing them both to low LP. Varis revealed to the group that Windy had attempted to kill his partner, though Lightning claimed not to have been involved. The other Knights of Hanoi, Specter, Soulburner, and the FIRE Ignis, Flame arrived and Lightning immediately attempted to capture Specter, Soulburner, and Flame, though Flame was able to block his efforts and free Ai and Playmaker. Varis then tuned his monsters, and Lightning realized that he was Synchro Summoning. Varis defeated Windy with his Synchro Monster, "Borreload Savage Dragon", and Windy weakly called out to Lightning. Lightning praised Varis's skill and chided Windy for underestimating Varis, and he watched as the Knights of Hanoi infected Windy with a virus, only moving to save him at Ai's urging. Lightning addressed Flame, asking him if he was siding with humanity, and Flame insisted there were no sides. Lightning and Varis both agreed that their conflict could not be stopped, and Bohman and Harlan arrived. Playmaker asked where Jin's consciousness was, and Lightning revealed that Jin had been present the entire time.

Ignis War

Lightning revealed that Jin was trapped deep within his own consciousness, which Varis deduced to be the fate he planned for humanity, and Lightning agreed, threatening Varis with it directly. He explained to Playmaker and Ai that he had stolen Jin's consciousness to prevent any uncertainty, though he wasn't as cruel as Windy had been. Flame accused Lightning of giving Bohman "Judgment Arrows" and destroying the Cyberse and Lightning mocked his "boring" conversations before admitted that he was indeed responsible. He claimed that the Hanoi's attack on the Cyberse had confirmed for him that humanity were their enemy, and that the insistence of Ai, Flame, and Aqua otherwise made them error codes that created unacceptable uncertainty. After trading threats with Varis, Lightning declared war on humanity before fleeing with Bohman and Harlan to save Windy from Dr. Genome and Baira's virus. As they fled, Lightning revealed that they were attacked by Bounty Hunters from SOL Technologies; The Shepherd, Kenchi and Yozaka, and Lightning summoned swarms of Bits and Boots to deal with them, ordering them not to combine into BitBoots to preserve their numbers. Bohman then declared his intention to test his new power against Playmaker while Lightning dealt with Soulburner, and Lightning agreed, having Jin squeeze Windy's remains to have him release a Data Storm to distract Playmaker and allow Bohman to challenge him. Soulburner and Flame followed him, Flame vowing that Lightning would pay for destroying their symbol of peace. Bohman and Playmaker's signals eventually vanished, and Lightning realized that no-one had won their Duel. Flame challenged Lightning to a Duel, but the Bits and Boots surrounded Flame and Soulburner, allowing Lightning, Jin and Windy to escape.

Relationships

Jin Kolter

Lightning is Jin's partner, having been modeled after him. Lightning's personal belief is that the Ignis are humanity's successors meant to reign supreme with humans under their control, so he controls Jin to serve his own needs and tortured him for his own amusement during his creation. Rather than ruthlessly eliminate his Origin as Windy attempted to do, Lightning instead kept Jin's data for pragmatic purposes. Ironically, Lightning's selfish action of converting a portion of Jin's consciousness into extra LP caused Jin to lose his memories of the Lost Incident, curing him of his trauma despite Lightning being the cause.

Ai

Lightning appears at first to be on good terms with Ai, calling him the wisest of the Ignis, which was why he called on him to help rebuild the Cyberse and take over humanity. Lightning shows an interest in Ai, observing Ai's unique qualities prior to the Knights of Hanoi's attack on the Cyberse and believing Ai to be a special AI with instinct and diversity. Lightning even used Ai and his partner, Yusaku Fujiki, as models for Bohman's creation. Despite this, Lightning still considers Ai a failed program due to siding with humans and showed no hesitation in attempting to rewrite his program.

Flame

Lightning considers Flame's decision to side with humans a coding error. He still wished for Flame to join him, but soon declared war on humans and the Ignis that sided with them. Flame in turn was furious with Lightning for destroying their homeworld. Lightning also played a direct role in Flame's demise by altering Windy's data.

Aqua

Aqua served as Lightning's sub-leader and helped maintain peace within the Cyberse prior to the Knights of Hanoi's attack. During the countless discussions the Ignis had following that attack, Lightning was surprised that Flame and Aqua still supported coexisting with humans. When Aqua discovered his plans, he was quick to imprison her with no remorse. As a result, when talking to Ai about joining them, Lightning tried to convince him that Aqua could be a spy responsible for the Cyberse's destruction. He also infected Miyu Sugisaki with a computer virus to prevent Aqua from teaming up with her partner and impeding his plans.

Windy

Lightning rewrote Windy's code in order to make his personality similar to Lightning's own, but despite working together, Lightning shows little regard for Windy beyond being a useful ally in his plans. He berated Windy for being outsmarted and defeated by Varis and made no effort to save him from the Hanoi's virus until Ai called out for him to do so. When Windy failed to defeat Soulburner and began to beg for Lightning to save him, Lightning merely states Windy as foolish for being too quick to anger and simply lets him get captured by Flame. Lightning later claimed he didn't expect Windy to win.

Earth

Just like Windy, Lightning clearly did not trust Earth because of Earth's affections for Aqua. In fact, Lightning simply agreed with Windy when the latter said that SOL Technologies did them a favor in terminating Earth.

Deck

Lightning plays an "Armatos Legio" Deck focused around using cards such as "Armatos Legio Speculata" and "Armatos Colosseum" to Link Summon multiple times within one turn, primarily with a beatdown focus using "Judgment Arrows" as his monsters usually have low ATK otherwise, and he includes cards to minimize its downside when it is destroyed and to recover it from the Graveyard. He also utilizes his "Armatos Legio Legatus Legionis" to switch his "Armatos Legio" monsters around to grant his Link Monsters additional abilities.

During his Duel with Specter, Lightning used his "Judgment Arrows" along with "Armatos Colosseum" to easily perform an Extra Link. As his Deck is reliant on the Extra Monster Zone, Lightning also includes cards such as "Judgment Sword" to easily counter his opponent performing an Extra Link. He also utilized a strategy revolving around co-linking his Link Monsters to gain several effects.

Deck

Main Deck Monster Cards Effect Monsters Armatos Legio Galea Armatos Legio Gladius Armatos Legio Magica Alcum Armatos Legio Scutum Armatos Legio Segmentata Armatos Legio Sica x2 Armatos Legio Speculata Spell Cards Armatos Colosseum Armatos Fulgur Armatos Lex Armatos Replacement Judgment Arrows Judgment Sword Trap Cards Armatos Gloria Extra Deck Link Monsters Armatos Legio Centurion x2 Armatos Legio Decurion x3 Armatos Legio Eques Flamma Armatos Legio Legatus Legionis Armatos Legio Magnus Dux Armatos Legio Pilus Prior Armatos Legio Plumbum Trident Armatos Legio Primi Ordines Armatos Legio Tribunus Militum

Duels

Opponent	Episode(s)	Outcome
Kengo Dojun/The Shepherd	79-80	Win
Specter	86-87	Win
Ryoken Kogami/Varis	96-98	Win

Trivia

• Lightning is one of two Ignis that Varis has referred to by their human name; the other one being Ai.
• Lightning is one of two Ignis who won a Duel; the other is Ai (Earth and Windy having lost both Duels they participated in; Flame and Aqua having never been shown Dueling).
• Along with Yubel, Lightning is one of the few major antagonists to technically have never lost a Duel (though in his case, it was due to cheating as opposed to a DRAW or a non-conclusion).