The Forbidden Arts, also known as the Pure Evil, is the overarching antagonist of the Swan Princess franchise, serving as the main antagonist of The Swan Princess: A Royal Family Tale. He is a dark force that is the embodiment of dark magic.
He was voiced by David Lodge.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- He desired to destroy any power that rivaled his own, and was shown destroying a base and presumably killing the people in it, just so that he could get rid of a rival.
- When he learned about the prophecy of the Swan Princess and how her power would be greater than his, he rewrote it so that it looked like the Swan Princess would destroy all life on Earth. The scullions found this and lived in fear of the princess, while also intending to one day destroy her, which is what the Forbidden Arts intended.
- He supplied villains like Rothbart, Clavius and Zelda with their powers so that they could help him kill Odette, making him responsible for all of their crimes.
- When Mangler tried to sneak into his cave, the Forbidden Arts confronted him and stated that he would only spare his life if he served him for the rest of his life.
- He tested his power by attempting to kill Odette himself, but her power blocked his and caused him to accidentally blow up a house, endangering Alise and killing her father. While this was not his intention, he was aware that it happened and decided to use it to his advantage by having the scullions kidnap Alise and have the prince and princess follow them into their trap.
- When Alise was brought to his cave, he imprisoned her and intended to keep her trapped there forever.
- He confronted Scully about the location of the glowing stone and tortured him by slowly burning him.
- When the scullions learned that the Forbidden Arts manipulated them and decided to keep the stone away from him, he threatened to kill the prince if he wasn't given what he wanted.
- After obtaining the glowing stone, despite saying he would spare his enemies, he immediately tried to burn them all alive, including all of the scullions, taunting them that he would destroy the princess next.
- With his new power, he intended to spread evil and darkness across the world and force people to serve him.
- He sadistically mocked Odette for her good nature before attempting to kill her.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- As the embodiment of dark magic who is harmed by the power of good, he is a force of evil that lacks moral agency. However, this is a minor prevention, since he has a clear personality and is capable of manipulating others in order to achieve his goals.
Trivia[]
- Ironically, despite his status as Near Pure Evil and being Made of Evil without moral agency, the Forbidden Arts is referred as the Pure Evil by some characters occasionally in The Swan Princess movies.
