Atticus Noble

Admiral Atticus Noble was a military leader within the Imperium, working for Regent Balisarius to expand their influence over the galaxy. A sociopath with unwavering loyalty to the Motherworld, he would do whatever it took to accomplish his goals, however cruel. Noble was portrayed by Ed Skrein in A Child of Fire and The Scargiver, in which he was the antagonist of the films. His shoot on the films lasted for eight months.

Biography[]

Atticus Noble was a noble of the Motherworld born to parents with perfect military records. He followed in their footsteps, his birth only having occurred to extend their achievements down the generations,^[1] attended the Academy Militarium, and joined the Motherworld military, eventually working his way up to the rank of admiral. After the assassination of the royal family, his master, Regent Balisarius, entrusted him to hunt down the Bloodaxe insurgents at the far reaches of the Realm.

"I am Admiral Atticus Noble, loyal representative of the slain king. I welcome you to his warm embrace."

Atticus Noble, A Child of Fire

Noble in the longhouse — Admiral Noble makes a deal with Veldt.

It took Admiral Noble longer than he'd planned, so he stopped on Veldt to restock food supplies to feed his army of 5000. He chose a Veldtian farming village he had learned was a previous supplier of the Bloodaxes, selling them a few thousand bushels of wheat during a previous season.^[4] Sindri, the father of the village where Noble landed, initially rejected his request, but when Noble asked Gunnar for a second opinion, Gunnar offered what he believed to be a mutually beneficial solution. This solution, however, suggested that Sindri had been misleading Noble, so Noble chose to end his life in front of the villagers present. Seeing this, the villagers were given a more accurate impression of how they would be expected to behave in the presence of the Imperium, but unknown to Noble was the fact that the wanted fugitive, Arthelais (now going by "Kora") was present in the village and would inform the villagers of the true nature of the Imperium, encouraging them to prepare to defend themselves.

Noble v Levitica — Noble faces King Levitica.

Noble gave the village ten weeks to produce the grain the passengers of The King's Gaze would require while the village looked to Kora to protect them, and both groups sought out the Bloodaxes for their own purposes: Noble to destroy them and Kora to recruit them to their cause. Kora found them first, but only a small percentage of them led by Darrian Bloodaxe agreed to join her, while the others, led by Devra Bloodaxe, realized that they could be found by their enemies if Kora was able to find them. They moved on and avoided Noble's arrival on Sharaan, at which point Noble killed King Levitica and destroyed the planet with the weaponry of The King's Gaze.

Noble captures Kora — Noble captures the infamous Arthelais.

Meanwhile, Kora's pilot, Kai, had set his plans in motion. These plans involved turning in the fugitives to the Imperium, himself, to collect their bounties. As a result, Noble successfully weakened the Bloodaxe rebels by taking out most of Darrian's followers, Darrian included. He was unable to deal with the rest of Kora's group, though, and Kora left him for dead on Gondival. He was later picked up and revived by his medical technicians using the power of the Kali aboard his ship.^[5]

Noble and Kora meet before battle — Kora faces Noble before the battle.

Returning to Veldt, Noble met with Kora once more. He knew they had a defense plan in motion, but was confident that his forces would end it without issue. Still, he agreed to cease the conflict if Kora would surrender herself into his custody, to which she agreed. Gunnar disagreed, signaling the attack. Noble's dropship was quickly destroyed and he worked his way through the Veldtian trenches to take out the attacking villagers before escaping on another dropship. Den attempted to stop him, but was no match for Noble's combat training. Noble returned to The King's Gaze to take command of his troops.

Oracle steel slash — Noble and Kora fight in the docking bay.

After regaining his position on his dreadnought, he was alerted to commotion in the engine room. A woman had reportedly boarded and taken down several of the ship's crew. Knowing this to be Kora, Noble commanded his second in command, Cassius, to fire on Veldt, knowing Kora's body wouldn't be destroyed in the blast. Meanwhile, Noble went to take her, himself. He tracked her movements through the reports his crew sent in and confronted her at the docking bay. While confident in his success, he didn't realize that she had already laid the groundwork to destroy the dreadnought. Her bombs blew away the Kali, sending shockwaves through the ship and tilting it toward the ground. Kora and Noble fought as they slid down the slanting bay, with Noble ultimately gaining the upper hand. Just before he could finish her off, Gunnar stabbed him with Kora's blade from behind. She took her sword back and decapitated the admiral once and for all.^[6]

Abilities[]

Cyborg physiology: Having had his brain adjusted with technology from the Kali, Noble was able to connect to a neurolink system that would send his consciousness across the galaxy. Using this, he was able to communicate with Regent Balisarius as if the two were meeting in person. This technology also protected his life when receiving injuries that would otherwise have been fatal.
Leadership: With 5000 soldiers under him, Noble commanded his dreadnought and it ran like a well-oiled machine. Time and time again, Noble's will, as brutal as it often was, was made a reality by his men as they hunted fugitives across the Realm.
Weapons mastery: As a high ranking member of the Imperium, Noble has received the most rigorous training to ensure his skills are immense with any weapon possible.
- Hand-to-hand combat: Noble was strong and skilled enough to easily tear through the trenches during the battle of Veldt.
- Swordsmanship: Despite the King’s gaze tilting everything inside it, Noble was able to fight Kora with a Krypteian sword and not be outmatched.
- Marksmanship: Noble could accurately hit targets one handed with various guns.

Equipment[]

Golden Scepter replica: Noble carried a replica of the slain king's bone staff, which contained a fragment of the original staff in its head. He used this staff as a weapon, clubbing the occasional victim to death.
Pistol: Noble carried a standard-issue slag pistol as his sidearm, which he rarely needed to draw.
The King's Gaze: Noble had an imperial dreadnought at his command, capable of traversing between stars and destroying planets.
Fast-attack launch: Docked in the bow of The King's Gaze, Noble's fast-attack launch was his personal craft, which he used to defend his position at the battle at the unregistered trade depot until it was destroyed by Darrian Bloodaxe.

Relationships[]

Balisarius was Noble's superior, and the only person he feared. Despite his attempts to be respectful to the regent, Balisarius only talked down to Noble with disdain, threatening to kill him if Kora wasn't brought before him. When told Noble was likely deceased, Balisarius was neither surprised nor concerned.

Cassius Falto was one of the few subordinates for whom Noble had some level of respect. He trusted and relied on him as his dependable second in command, going back as far as their military training. Noble appreciated Cassius's loyalty and competence. Despite this appreciation, with the chance to defeat Kora, Noble mercilessly allowed Cassius' demise, ultimately treating him as someone just as disposable as the others.

Kora was initially seen as just a prize for Noble to earn his sought-after seat in the senate. However, after being defeated by Kora and threatened by Balisarius, her opposition grew much more personal and he would stop at nothing to eliminate the Scargiver, hoping to be seen as a hero by the Motherworld.