Emperor of Darkness (TV)

The Emperor of Darkness (闇の帝王 Yami no Teiō) is the tyrannical deity of the Mycenae Empire. A giant flaming entity, he gives orders to his army led by the Great General of Darkness (later Great Marshall of Hell).

Background
The Emperor was once the size of a regular human and invaded the original Mycenae Empire, turning the original inhabitants into Warrior Beasts or enslaving them to pilot their fortress. Eventually, the Emperor and his empire was forced underground.

Appearance
The Emperor is a giant entity appearing to be composed of orange (sometimes blue) flames with a skeletal head with a body that shows pectorals.

Personality
The Emperor of Darkness is a cruel and maniacal tyrant who rules his empire with an iron fist. Desiring total domination of the surface, he has his army go across the globe to ensure his reign. He does not take failure, and most of his actions are taken through the Great General.

Great General of Darkness
The Great General is arguably the closest person to the Emperor, being with him since the day of invading the original invasion. When the Great General was slain by the Great Mazinger, the emperor was more than disappointed that Great Marshall did not have the same qualities as the General.

Abilities
The Emperor holds absolute authority over the Mycenae Empire. While most of the work was done by the Great General, the Emperor can get his hands dirty when he needs to. He is capable of speaking to his soldiers through a telepathic communication, usually to punish or intimidate them through the powerful psychic waves he emits. While he was never seen in battle, the Super Robot Wars games display the ability to release a stream of fire at opponents and send fireballs en masse at a wide area. He is also able to bring back the dead as he did with Dr. Hell.

History
As the Mycenae Empire rose up from their underground prison, the Emperor issued orders both by himself or by the Great General. The Emperor usually stayed on the sidelines, punishing those who disappointed him. With Great General's death, the Emperor replaced him with a revived Dr. Hell, now known as Great Marshall of Hell. When the Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger teamed up to defeat the Empire, the Emperor retreated into hiding. By the events of Mazinger Z: Infinity however, it is implied that The Emperor is no longer alive.

Trivia

 * Strangely enough, despite being the de facto leader of the Mycenae Empire, he is often left unaccounted for by the end of several of the franchise's entries.
 * He is never defeated in both the original anime and manga, the Great Mazinger Ōta manga nor the Mazinger Angels manga. In these four instances, the Emperor of Darkness' final fate is unknown as the story ends without their respectives heroes ever meeting him.
 * In the Ōta continuity, he does meet his end in the sequel: UFO Robot Grendizer (Ōta)
 * Alongside Minister Argos and Marquis Janus, he is one of the few Mycenean officers to be completely absent from Mazinkaiser vs. Great General of Darkness. The Mycenae Empire is leaded by the Great General of Darkness (Kaiser) instead.