History Characters / Persona5EndgameAntagonists

--> '''Ann:''' You never would have been able to make it this far without Akechi's help!

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is spelled with a Y in the game, but his boss theme is called "'''J'''aldabaoth". Averted in ''Royal'' as the theme is retitled "'''Y'''aldabaoth" in the Thieves' Den.

* OutOfCharacterAlert: [[Foreshadowing Though there are a LOT of subtle hints beforehand]], the first concrete piece of evidence that all is not what it seems with "Igor" is him claiming to be disappointed in Humanity. The real Igor would always have hope in humanity, no matter what.

* HaveANiceDeath: Prior to TheReveal, he often has some choice words for you should you screw up and get a GameOver. This is the most apparent in the interrogation room bad ending, where he coolly points out how screwed you are since Akechi successfully assassinated you.

* HopeCrusher: He wants to destroy all hope of anything better than what ''he'' offers to society. Yaldabaoth uses despair as a tool to keep people obedient and he is quick to talk down any hope that he could be defeated. By the time the Phantom Thieves encounter the Holy Grail within Mementos, Yaldabaoth has already smothered much of the city's hope, resulting in the peoples' Shadows submitting to him out of a mixture of despair, fear and reverence.
* HumanityOnTrial: Like Nyarlathotep before him, Yaldabaoth sets up the events of the game with the Phantom Thieves and the Antisocial Force as his pawns playing against each other. The game is supposedly to decide whether humanity would embrace its inner "sloth" and submit to the Antisocial Force's rule, or join the Phantom Thieves' rebellion against said inner "sloth". Of course it wouldn't really matter and he's more than willing to rig that trial in his own favour that would see him as the absolute ruler over humanity.

* IHaveManyNames: The Holy Grail, Yaldabaoth, and Igor.
* IdentityImpersonator: How he kick-started his plans. First, he invaded the Velvet Room, sucker-punched and then imprisoned the ''real'' Igor, then split Igor's latest assistant into two amnesiac forms he could order around without arousing suspicion. Finally, he disguised himself to look just like Igor, taking over the BigGood role while doing the exact opposite in secret.
* LackOfEmpathy: For all his concern about human behavior and his interactions with others, Yaldabaoth has no concern at all about human emotions. His only concern was to rule over humanity through his KnightTemplar ideals, no matter how much suffering he must cause to enable this to happen. Yaldabaoth only acknowledges and respects power, particularly his own. Even after he is defeated, he only acknowledges the ''power'' of [[HeroicSpirit hope]] demonstrated by the Phantom Thieves, not once considering the feelings of the humans he oppressed (he does ruefully admit that Igor was right).
* LastVillainStand: He represents the last stand of the Antisocial Force conspiracy. After Shido is arrested, his remaining allies commence an all-or-nothing plan to wipe out the Phantom Thieves and maintain their corrupt chokehold over Japan. For this plan to work, Yaldabaoth directly [[MoreThanMindControl influences]] the people of Tokyo to forget Shido's crimes and blame the entire debacle on the Thieves. After Yaldabaoth is defeated, public opinion promptly turns against Shido and his allies, eventually bringing an end to the Antisocial Force and its schemes. In the bad ending where Joker [[TheBadGuyWins sides with him]], the outcome is superficially similar as Yaldabaoth himself [[GoneHorriblyRight deems the Phantom Thieves more trustworthy than the corrupt conspiracy opposing them]], ending the latter's significance entirely.
* LightIsNotGood: The black covering of the HolyGrail that consists of his head flakes away to reveal his gold composition, and the full entity is a giant robotic god covered in white and gold armor, and one of his main attacks is "Arrow of Light."
* MadeOfEvil: He's literally made from the public of Tokyo's desire for complete harmony and order.
* TheManBehindTheMan: The true villain behind the creation of the Palaces, the Antisocial Force, and the Phantom Thieves.

* OutOfCharacterAlert: Though there are many small signs beforehand, the first concrete piece of evidence that all is not what it seems with "Igor" is him claiming to be disappointed in Humanity.
* PaperThinDisguise: The only reason his Igor disguise works is because Joker has never met the real Igor and possibly only works on the audience through RefugeInAudacity ("The BigGood would never be the villain, right?"). He sounds nothing like Igor, he acts condescending towards Joker, he never fuses a Persona himself, and generally acts very little like the real Igor.

* PlayingBothSides: He more or less plays Akechi, TheConspiracy, and the Thieves against one another for his own purposes.

* SmugSuper: When he drops the Igor act, he shows himself to be the embodiment of divine hubris and self-righteousness, assuming he's better than anyone just by being a god and ''never shutting up'' about it.

* TreacherousAdvisor: He's your and Akechi's boss after all, aside that he wants to sink both of you to the pits of despair.
* TrueFinalBoss: In the original ''Persona 5'', he's the final opponent that the Phantom Thieves face off against if both of the bad endings have been avoided. In ''Royal'', he's instead delegated to a DiscOneFinalBoss if the conditions for the Third Semester have been met.

* VoiceOfTheLegion: Gains one after being exposed as a fake Igor.

* BadBoss: He's outwardly helpful to the player character, but Caroline and Justine are quietly terrified of him and in the end he orders first Joker, then the twins, to be executed when they refuse his orders.

* ControlFreak: What's his motive? He gets a kick out of dictating the lives of others. He is given the title of "God of Control" for a reason. For him, everything should stay the same.
* DarkIsEvil: His first appearance as the Holy Grail is a [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver black cup with red liquid]] connecting him to those who wish to be slaves to social order. He loses this over the first fight as he is nourished by the people's desires; the Grail slowly turns lighter until it's shining gold.

* DiabolusExMachina: He ''really'' likes to throw this around a lot. While the most glaring case occurs during December 23 where he deliberately manipulates the public's support for Shido to near ridiculous levels, it's implied that December 23 isn't the first time he's been manipulating the public's cognition, it just happens to be him stepping into action himself, and way before then there's very glaring signs that he also engineered the Phantom Thief bandwagon that resulted in Okumura's murder, followed by collapsing the Thieves' popularity and elevating Shido to a godly figure within the last two heists.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: In ''Royal'', provided the player is able to reach the highest rank for the Councilor Confidant before the start of the third term. Not long after Yaldabaoth's ultimate defeat, Takuto Maruki almost immediately takes his role as god and presents a similar threat.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: The BigBad who created the Palaces and gave Akechi and yourself access, kicking off the entire plot, was none other than Igor, the narrator and guy in charge of the room where you can fuse Persona... or at least an impostor who's been posing as the Igor from previous games since the opening narration of ''Persona 5''.
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: Downplayed due to being a GracefulLoser. His last thoughts before his death are to curse his enemy Igor, having been forced to admit that he was right about humanity's potential.

* EvilCounterpart: To Igor, being a false manipulator guiding humanity to destruction rather than the gentle mentor trying to protect everyone.
** He's also one to Morgana. Both are beings made from desire, but Morgana was a rebellious thief made from a positive emotion that was born to protect humanity. Yaldabaoth was made from the SevenDeadlySins and was the embodiment of humanity's desire for a dictator.
* EvilFormerFriend: This is the "Igor" that you had formed a confidant with throughout the game, and ironically, he's the guy keeping you alive until he himself takes action -- Because he's actually doing an experiment to prove that people want him to control them. He's why the government can't do things such as track your SNS records down and it took them so long to catch you red-handed.

* EvilIsNotAToy: He's on the giving end of this for TheConspiracy, as he was what lurked within the Metaverse that they thought they could use to create their own ideal version of the country. All their efforts were really something that he was counting on them to be unable to do. (So he can use it as an excuse to prove that humanity is ignorant and blatantly take over the world)
* EvilLaugh: Lets out quite the chuckle when TheReveal happens.

* EvilSoundsDeep: Speaks with a deep, commanding voice, that turns out to be far deeper than the real Igor's.

** In the original ''Persona 5'', Yaldabaoth is the [[TrueFinalBoss final threat]] the thieves have to defeat to save Tokyo. He also plays this role in ''Royal'' if the player doesn't complete Maruki's social link before he leaves, as failing to do so locks them into the ending route for the original game.
** The HopelessBossFight against his Holy Grail form becomes the final fight of the game if Joker chooses to accept Yaldabaoth's deal.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's a number of hints to him not being the Igor from previous games.
** He sits in his chair resting his head in one hand with his legs crossed at the knee while Igor sits with his legs uncrossed and [[FingerTenting his fingers laced together]].
** His voice is considerably deeper and comes off as more commanding than your previous encounters with Igor. Granted many could assume this would be because of a new actor, but even so, the fact that the new actor doesn't even ''try'' to sound like the old one surely sets off some alarm bells. Indeed, when the real Igor does return, he sounds much more like the original voice actor. In the Japanese version, the real Igor is even [[FakeShemp voiced entirely by archived dialogue by Isamu Tanonaka]] due to his passing.
** [[FauxAffablyEvil He speaks in a clearly more possessive and controlling manner]] than the real Igor does, emphasizing his position as being above Joker and de-emphasizing the importance of the Velvet Room as the Guest's subconscious. This is carried across differently depending on the spoken version:

*** He also has a confidant while Igor has none in ''Persona 3'' and ''Persona 4''. This means that you are contracted by him to do his bidding, something that the real Igor never does.
** He never actually fuses a single Persona for you, as Justine and Caroline do it all.

** When asked a question that has to do with the real world and the hero's journey, he often gives a straight answer even when being deceitful. The real Igor meanwhile always dodges such questions and encourages characters to find the answer on their own.
** Once the Thieves learn of the existence of someone else traversing the Metaverse, Igor tells Joker that he doesn't know who this is. However, he also outright stated earlier in the game that he was the one who gave Joker and the thieves the Metaverse App. At first, it could be chalked up to Igor's usual decision to withhold information from you so that you can decide freely for yourself what to do, but it comes across as an outright lie this time around and contradicts how he often assists you. And as mentioned elsewhere, Igor never deceives you.

*** Pay attention to the scene right after you clear the Futaba heist. He tells you not to let off your guard or you may swept off your feet and at the next day, the Phantom Thieves' approval rate increases from 30% by twofold ''right after he finishes talking!!'' This is an obvious sign that he's manipulating the bandwagon for the sake of advancing his plan. Surely, everyone gets caught off guard and he's capable of advancing the "game" to its climax because of Okumura's murder.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: You're ''not'' safe from Yaldabaoth's manipulations across the screen either -- the standard "this is a work of fiction" disclaimer at the start of the game appears here, but unlike previous games where it pops up, he voices the disclaimer and tells you to agree with it. If you click "no" the game just boots you back to the Title Screen, meaning that he's making ''you'' sign his contract. Within the game itself, the distortions he induces take the form of very legitimate-looking political gesturing towards Shido that can be easily mistaken for organic events by the player. He also outright [[RetGone Ret-Gones]] the Phantom Thieves from public cognition at one point, so the "this is a work of fiction" disclaimer can be interpreted as him trying to make you not care about the Thieves being erased.
* GlamourFailure: His disguise as Igor, for all its effectiveness or lack-thereof, has an unrelated but serious flaw. It's made abundantly clear when Joker awakens his metaverse outfit ''inside the Velvet Room'', something that only happens when the ruler of a Metaverse location sees you as a threat. Igor would ''never'' see his guests as a threat.

* GreaterScopeVillain: He is the one who granted Goro Akechi and Joker their ability to use Personas and access the Metaverse, making him the power behind both the Phantom Thieves and the Antisocial Force. This makes Yaldabaoth indirectly responsible for the conspiracy's crimes and the suffering caused by the conflict between the Thieves and the conspiracy. In addition, Yaldabaoth [[MoreThanMindControl subtly influences]] the people of Tokyo towards the extremes of social conformity, causing many people in the city to suffer while also encouraging them to [[ApatheticCitizens do nothing]] for the sake of societal harmony. ''Royal'' also has his machinations play a part in the additional events long after being destroyed.

* VillainHasAPoint: Despite his extremely repulsive manners, Shido raises a good point in his sincere belief that the current society of Japan is really corrupt, and that he has the power to drive it towards a better future. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist However, he's more or less planning to use that point and power for his own selfish desires first and foremost, putting the nation's state in second place, as seen in the background of his Palace being a cruise ship within a drowning Japan]].

* WalkingSpoiler: Not so much as him or his evil, but knowing how nearly everything that happened to the Phantom Thieves can be traced directly back to him and his real role as the penultimate threat is a huge spoiler.

* FemaleMisogynist: Implied to be becoming one but outside of the seven normal subtypes. Some shadows in her Palace take the form of [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure ridiculously voluptuous]] {{playboy bunny}} waitresses, suggesting that Sae herself is starting to become influenced by her own male superior's misogynistic views.

* FemaleMisogynist: Implied to be becoming one but outside of the seven normal subtypes. Some shadows in her Palace take the form of [[ImpossibleHourglassFigure]] ridiculously voluptuous {{playboy bunny}} waitresses, suggesting that Sae herself is starting to become influenced by her own male superior's misogynistic views.

* FemaleMisogynist: Implied to be becoming one but outside of the seven normal subtypes. Some shadows in her Palace take the form of ridiculously voluptuous {{playboy bunny}} waitresses, suggesting that Sae herself is starting to become influenced by her own male superior's misogynistic views.

* CharClone: Very ''Char's Counterattack'' in terms of motivation and personality (an elitist prick looking to change the world to his own desires, even if it means devastating the planet), however his shadow has visual aspects that reference both 0079 (a white, helmeted mask of a very similar style) and Zeta (a mount of pure gold). He's also voiced by Char's actor in ''both'' Japanese (Creator/ShuichiIkeda) and English (Creator/KeithSilverstein).

* SatanicArchetype: Shido, as himself or as Samael, fulfills almost every negative aspect of this trope, to contrast Joker's SatanIsGood and DarkIsNotEvil themes. Samael is another name for the Devil in Judaism, or at the very least an angelic name associated with the Devil. As Samael, Shido serves a literal god, whether he knows it or not, with his treasure resembling a halo, and several of his forms have gold or light motifs. He's a DiabolicalMastermind who regularly screws over anyone and everyone who makes a deal with him. He represents pride in the SevenDeadlySins motif the other Palace Rulers follow, just like Lucifer. In keeping with past {=MegaTen=} games, Shido fills largely the same role as Satan (not Lucifer) does in the mainline series such as Shin Megami Tensei II. He's a very LawfulEvil monster with a lot of light or heavenly imagery that is the last major roadblock before YHVH or Yaldabaoth reveals himself.
* ScaryShinyGlasses: His Shadow's security meter icon, combined with a SlasherSmile.

* VocalEvolution: In the English dub of ''Royal'', Michael's voice changes from an elderly and raspy-sounding EvilBrit from the original English release to one very similar to Yoshida's (due to it being [[Creator/WilliamSaylers the same voice actor]]), a slightly-younger but more authoritatively deep voice with an American accent, not unlike YHVH himself in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''.

* VocalEvolution: In the English dub of ''Royal'', Michael's voice changes from an elderly and raspy-sounding EvilBrit from the original English release to one very similar to Yoshida's (due to it being the same voice actor), a slightly-younger but more authoritatively deep voice with an American accent, not unlike YHVH himself in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''.

* LaughablyEvil: A '''very''' downplayed example. Shido is so ball-bustingly and unbelievably StupidEvil that a player will probably both hate his guts and drop their jaws in utter disbelief when they hear that he got rid of Wakaba and ruined her daughter's life just because he could, killed Okumura over an ''election'' and doesn't even bother to actually remember the names and identities of the people he killed and ruined even if he just destroyed their lives a month ago.

** To Joker. Both have a desire to reform society, but Joker chooses to reform it out of a desire to help people who suffer under society's cruel expectations, whereas Shido simply wants to reform it to suit his own power-hungry needs. Joker doesn't sell out his team, leads from the front, inspires others and wins their loyalty through genuine kindness. Shido stabs everybody in the back who gives him the chance, doesn't lift a finger himself until he has no other choice, threatens even those who work for him and only cares about himself. Both of them are manipulative tricksters--Shido deceived all of Japan into thinking he's a hero, while Joker regularly outsmarts actual criminals and villains. To highlight Shido as Joker's EvilCounterpart, the second "Bad Ending" has Joker accept Yaldabaoth's offer, disillusioned by how people refuse to act for themselves, and becomes a borderline KnightTemplar. This is eerily similar to how Shido had planned to enforce his own authority over the blind, indolent masses once he wins the election.

[[Characters/Persona5Confidants Confidants]] ([[Characters/Persona5SaeNiijima Sae Niijima]]) | [[Characters/Persona5Targets Targets]] - [[Characters/Persona5PalaceRulers Palace Rulers]] / '''Endgame Antagonists''' ([[Characters/Persona5TakutoMaruki The Dreamer]]) / [[Characters/Persona5MinorTargets Minor]] | [[Characters/Persona5OtherCharacters Other Characters]]]]-]]]

* CatchPhrase: Proclaiming that she will do things "[[BlatantLies fair and square]]". The one time she actually means it is after she goes OneWingedAngel and fights the party head-on. The other one, "I will win," a reference to her SecondPlaceIsForLosers mentality.