Potemkin

Story

Potemkin was born in the heavily militarized state of Zepp and served as a slave soldier for the longest time. To make sure Potemkin would obey, he and others like him were made to wear a bomb collar around their neck. Due to genetic mutation, Potemkin developed abnormally large muscles on his upper body and unusually long arms. To make use of his physique, Zepp sent him to Second Holy Order Selection Tournament with a plan that if he won, he could request more territory for the expansion of Zepp. Unexpectedly, the tournament turned out to be a trap laid by Testament to revive Justice. Potemkin survived the onslaught and was told by Gabriel that the tournament was merely a test. Potemkin is enraged, but Gabriel quickly calms him down, disables his bomb collar, and recruits Potemkin into his revolutionary force to overthrow the corrupt government of Zepp.

Potemkin is sent to Japan to investigate the area during the Cradle incident, but he becomes trapped in Bedman’s dream world. He manages to defeat Ramlethal after escaping it, but at that point, it’s too late. He attempts to interrogate the captured Bedman, but it also proves unsuccessful. Potemkin’s ambition wavers, but he continues his mission and departs to the opera house that serves as Conclave’s hideout. There he finds Ky Kiske, and the two briefly discuss Opus units before they get into a fight that helps Potemkin restore his resolve. The two later begin working together with an alliance between Illarya and Zepp. This assistance becomes essential when Potemkin, alongside Chipp, aids others to defeat Universal Will.

Not long passes until another conflict arises involving Happy Chaos and I-No. Once the former activates Tír na nÓg, the White House turns into a massive spaceship, trapping president Vernon and others on it. To assist Illarya and United States, Potemkin heads out in an experimental aircraft and buys some time for Sol, allowing them to regain control of the White House. While everything seemed resolved, it turned out that Happy Chaos disguised himself and used resulting confusion to merge with I-No. Potemkin, Giovanna, and Sol try to attack her but are quickly defeated, with Potemkin and Giovanna being entirely knocked out. Together with Ky and Nagoriyuki, Sol manages to defeat I-No. Potemkin returns to Zepp with Gabriel congratulating him for another completed mission.

Personality

Potemkin’s looks could be deceiving, as behind the intimidating mountain of muscle hides a brilliant mind and kind soul with a passion for art and nature. Despite serving as a soldier for a large portion of his life, Potemkin is not enthusiastic about the battle and only fights when necessary. His strong spirit and durable body can withstand thousands of blows, but Potemkin himself can’t stand to see others suffer.

Appearance

Potemkin is an incredibly tall man with extreme muscle mass, and his upper body and arms are particularly large. He wears brown boots with large metal braces, a green military uniform, large metal gauntlets with built-in cannons, and a pickelhaube-style helmet with an orange plume and a jaw guard attachment.

Playstyle

Potemkin is an absolute powerhouse. Matching his imposing stature, Potemkin’s attacks deal tremendous damage, reach far, and have great hitboxes, allowing him to rack up good damage even from stray hits and trades. Being a grappler, he also has a great set of throws. Potemkin Buster is an all-purpose threat, while Heat Knuckle and Heavenly Potemkin Buster can serve as extremely rewarding anti-airs. Having some of the highest effective HP in the game, Potemkin can afford to take a lot of punishment and make some mistakes, which is somewhat inevitable when trying to get in on zoners and highly mobile characters.

Potemkin has poor mobility with slow walk speed, no run, and no air-dash to compensate for his power. However, he does have several moves that allow for a better approach, with several of them being armored and taking one hit before getting interrupted. Due to this balance of overwhelming strength and low speed, Potemkin’s plan usually revolves around getting in on his opponents and making most of the situation.