| “ | This world must be controlled. Made safe. These... things. These angels and demons. Are they really life? Or are they just... stains? Old mistakes ready to be cleansed away for newer, greater things? | „ |
| ~ Wilson's views on the ink creatures inside the Cycle. |
| “ | It's time to die, Audrey... and live again... as a god! | „ |
| ~ Wilson's last words whilst trying to sacrifice Audrey before she pushes him into the very soul extracting machine. |
Wilson Arch is the main antagonist of Bendy and the Dark Revival, the second installment of the Bendy franchise.
The unhinged, elderly son of business tycoon and Archgate Films founder Nathan Arch, Wilson came into contact with the Ink Machine while employed at his father's company and developed an obsessive desire to rule over the cartoon world within it known as the Cycle. After subduing the Ink Demon by trapping him in a weaker form, Wilson assumed near-total control over the Cycle by using propaganda to cement his image to the realm's populace as "the man who killed the Ink Demon", and eventually wound up roping Audrey Drew into his schemes to ensure his dominion over the realm remained. He is Audrey Drew's arch-nemesis and the creator of the Keepers.
He was voiced by Tim Simmons.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- Created the Keepers and, with their help, successfully captured the Ink Demon and tortured and experimented on him with the hope of turning him into a harmless form. The Bendy form did suffer from the cruel experiments and cried tears of ink.
- It's also worth noting that the cartoon Bendy is mute, implied the Keepers either tortured him into being mute or made something that cannot talk or scream in pain.
- Tricked Audrey into starting the Ink Machine and then dragged her with him into the ink to turn them into ink creatures.
- Even through the Ink Demon is a genuinely evil entity who seeks only death and destruction in his path, taking him down doesn't make Wilson heroic at all: he did it only for pragmatic reasons so he could have full control over the Cycle.
- Had the Keepers capture what he calls "Cyclebreakers" - Henry Stein, Twisted Alice, Sammy Lawrence, the Projectionist and Bertrum Piedmont - and lock them up in his prison, all because they had the potential to reset the Cycle.
- Started a brutal dictatorship within the studio by unleashing the Keepers and having them brutally kill any Lost One who refuses to obey him.
- Lied to the populace that he killed the Ink Demon so he could completely control them.
- It's implied he killed the failed prototypes of Betty, the housemaid in his hotel.
- He wants to "cleanse" the Cycle so he could replace it with "newer, greater things" and become the god of a new world, trying to make his own character come to life so it could kill the Ink Demon and officially replace him as the ruler of the Cycle.
- After greeting Audrey in the train, he crated a mini-Bendy and crushed it in front of her just to make a point to her.
- Although, isn't made clear if these ink creature was sapient. Regardless of how ones sees it, the act was still very brutal.
- He lied to Audrey by telling her she needed to "help him save his father" only to use her to his own goals.
- While he could use the Ink Machine to put an end to poverty, hunger, and death in the world, he prefers using it only for his selfish needs, thinking that mankind doesn't deserve it.
- Wanted to throw Audrey into a deathtrap with the plan of killing her and reviving her as the host of a cartoon creature he created named Shipahoy Dudley so he could finally defeat the Ink Demon, only for him to get killed by Audrey instead.
- After transforming into Shipahoy Wilson, he tried to kill Audrey with his own hands, resulting in her losing her legs, with her only being saved by the Ink Demon himself.
- He also seemed to have captured several Lost Ones and has brainwashed them by using the iridescent ink.
- While he is elderly and mentally-tempered, he has a clear moral agency and is fully aware of the consequences of his actions, and has the option to go good, which he simply refuses.
- While his backstory of him being neglected by his father can be found sympathetic, it's never played for sympathy in-game.
- While Nathan might be as greedy as Joey Drew, he is still a far better person who was affable towards his employees and loved his wife and the only thing he "did" to Wilson was reject his ideas for the studio. This makes it very questionable if Wilson's account of Nathan is accurate.
- One could argue that he's outheinoused by Twisted Alice, who tortured and murdered ink creatures just like he did with lower resources. However, the very fact he plans to wipe out all life in the Cycle makes him stand out due to being an unique act never done before in the series, as Alice's willingness to commit omnicide is a threat she doesn't actually try to commit.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- He seems to care about his mother, as Betty says to Audrey she was treated well by him since she reminded him of her. That said, we never hear Wilson himself mention her and thus their relationship isn't fully explored beyond this one line, so this is a minor prevention.
Trivia[]
- Wilson is the only Bendy character to be Near Pure Evil.
- Originallly Wilson was going to be a servant to a villain named 'Nathan Arch Jr' before the 2 were merged into a single character to avoid an overly complex narrative. Its unclear whether Nathan Jr or his minion would have been Near Pure Evil in this version of the story.
External Links[]
- Wilson Arch on the Villains Wiki
- Wilson Arch on the Bendy Wiki