History Characters / TheOwlHouseTheCollector

* {{Expy}}: Just as Philip is a CorruptedCharacterCopy for [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Ford Pines]], The Collector plays a similar role to [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]. A SealedEvilInACan who allies with a man who travels dimensions and offers knowledge in exchange for their freedom, is a PracticallyJoker villain, and it's implied that most of their actions is [[ForLulz driven solely to satisfy their own sick amusement]]. To top it off, they both have cults worshipping him. The key difference is that while Bill is a CardCarryingVillain, the Collector is more a MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds, and as a result, unlike Ford and Bill, the Collector and Belos' relationship is more amicable. To make matters closer and ironic as well, it's the human, Belos, the one who deceives and betrays the stronger entity, Collector, having been using him like everyone else the Emperor manipulated; with the Collector even being the least evil of the two in terms of morality and intent.

* ImmortalImmaturity: They've been alive for at least a few centuries, long enough to have a cult devoted to them, and being even older than ''Emperor Belos'', yet acts like an over-excited child.

* TwoFaced: One side of their face is lighter, while the other is darker.

* MirrorCharacter: To [[TheHero Luz Noceda]]. Specifically, The Collector is Luz prior to her CharacterDevelopment, taken to the logical extreme. Prior to the Boiling Isles, Luz was an impulsive child who felt distanced and lonely from her peers and just wanted to have fun and share her interests, but frequently ended up causing harm in the process. Likewise, the Collector is an impulsive childlike being who's lonely and wants to have fun and play games with people but causes immense harm in the process. The major differences is in their level of power and how they deal with their outcomes: at her worst, Luz released snakes into a school, but she [[CharacterDevelopment became more aware and mindful of her actions over time]] and is willing to [[MustMakeAmends do right by others and fix her mistakes]]; the Collector, by contrast, rewrites reality at their whim, [[LackOfEmpathy shows no remorse]] regarding the pain and harm they're causing, and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality actually thinks that others getting hurt or even killed is part of the fun]]. These similarities even extend to their appearances[[note]]of note, the similarities caused the fandom to suspect the Collector would [[DemonicPossession bodyjack Luz]] much like [[WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}} the Core did to Marcy Wu]][[/note]]. In their physical form, the Collector has the same round face and short hair as Luz, the only difference being a slightly pointier nose and angular eyes. From what is shown, the Collector can be interpreted as [[ShadowArchetype who Luz could've been]] if she [[WrongGenreSavvy stayed in her fantasies]], [[IJustWantToHaveFriends never made friends to reel her in]], and never overall matured, [[ImmortalImmaturity which, despite being around for millennia, the Collector never did]].

* SuperGullible: For someone who is practically a god, The Collector is very easy to manipulate. They expect Belos to hold up his end of their deal and free them despite knowing he's a ManipulativeBastard, and are shocked and upset when he reveals he was lying. King is also able to trick them into saving everyone by telling them he needs a lot of players to play 'The Owl House', and somehow buys the kids' BadBadActing when they try to back up King's story.

* UnwittingPawn: Belos takes advantage of his desperation to be released to use The Collector's massive power to further the Day of Unity. By the time The Collector catches on, Belos literally throws him down the bridge.
* VagueAge: We don't know exactly how old they are; their demeanor is generally that of a child, but they've been alive for centuries, at least long enough to predate Belos himself. "King's Tide" confirms that they're older than the ''Isles themselves'', having fought the Boiling Isles Titan, who hid his unborn son King away from the MadGod, before being imprisoned. Kikimora describes them as a "child from the Stars" so the Collector may literally be a child for his species.

* MysteriousPast: Not much is known about his past, with only a few facts given. He was trapped in the In Between Realm, but it's a mystery how this happened beyond the Titan of the Boiling Isles (referred to by the Collector as "that bully") being the one responsible. Kikimora further describes the Collector as a [[CosmicEntity "child from the stars"]], but it's unclear what this entails.

* PsychicLink: Following the Titan Trapper's attempted sacrifice of King after he touched one of the Collector's relics, the two seem to have formed a psychic bond. So far King has been able to see the Collector in his dreams where he travels to the In Between Realm and when King dozes he can hear the Collector's thoughts. The Collector appears to be unaware of this because the glyph on King's collar renders him invisible to the Collector's sight, only realizing someone else can hear them when King made a dismissive snort.

-->'''Collector''': He's my friend, right? He wouldn't lie? He wouldn't. He wouldn't! We spent hundreds of years playing ''his'' game. I want to play ''a new game''.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: As powerful as Belos is, once the Collector is released, they waste no time reminding Emperor Belos about the pecking order; not only easily catching his scythe with their fingers, but ''completely obliterating him with a finger poke''. As if that wasn't enough, he then ''pulls the moon back with his fingers'' and ''begins reshaping the Boiling Isles itself'', showcasing how they're not only stronger physically, but magically.

* PintSizedPowerhouse: They have the size of a kid, yet they hold an extraordinary power beyond any reason, being able to obliterate anyone with a poke of their finger or end an eclipse by moving the moon away from the sun like a magnet on a fridge.

* BewareTheHonestOnes: One of the reasons Belos didn’t want to take any chances with him is because he’s powerful being whom you would peg as untrustworthy. Scary as it may be, he ''is'' true to his word. The fact that he actually first agreed to fulfill King's request to stop the draining spell before the latter having to reluctantly pay up shows he certainly wouldn't have thrown Belos under the bus if he had just fulfilled his end of the deal by freeing him. Belos was only lucky the Collector decides to [[MercyKill grant him a swift death]] rather than a torturous, painful one.

* BlatantLies: They claim not to be mad that Belos betrayed them...shortly before they "[[TranquilFury play tag]]" with him, splattering him against a wall. To emphasize this, while he thinks Luz and the others might be playmates, [[FairPlayVillain they offer to let them get a head start for the game]], indicating that Belos was the focus of some understandable ire.

* BewareTheHonestOnes: Scary as it may be, he ''is'' true to his word. The fact that he actually first agreed to fulfill King's request to stop the draining spell before the latter having to reluctantly pay up shows he certainly wouldn't have thrown Belos under the bus if he had just fulfilled his end of the deal by freeing him. Belos was only lucky the Collector decides to [[MercyKill grant him a swift death]] rather than a torturous, painful one.

* BareHandedBladeBlock: Just as Belos is about to kill Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus and Hunter with a sharpened, transformed arm, the Collector, now freed from their prison, catches the blade between two fingers and asks what everyone's playing.

* AmbiguousInnocence: While the Collector is a centuries old, god-like being who drove the Titans to extinction and is helping Belos in his plan to wipe out all life on the Boiling Isles, their childlike nature makes it hard to know if the Collector even knows what they're doing is evil or if they even care. When King overhears the Collector's private thoughts, they're expressing excitement at being free, no longer being alone and playing. They also truly consider Belos a friend and "playmate" and they consider the FinalSolution nature of the Day of Unity to be nothing more than a "chore" Belos tricked them into doing. Contrastingly, they seem ''ecstatic'' to play with King, and their suggestion is an ''actual'' game of hide-and-seek. Especially so with their TheDogBitesBack moment, as while they frame splattering Belos across the wall as a game of tag, the tone in which they say "I'm it" implies they not only know what's going to happen when they tag Belos, but only decided to "play" just to obliterate him... although they immediately assume Luz and her friends want to play tag as well and offers them a headstart. Showrunner [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXgiaputl9/?hl=en Dana Terrace]] even describes them in a Posthoot as an example of a "chaotic little character," and particularly one that is a "morally grey, neutral chaotic kind of motherf[ucker]."

[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see The Collector's shadow form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collector_shadow.png''I won't be alone, I won't be alone anymore!''[[/labelnote]]]]
[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see The Collector's physical form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collector_true_form.png''We're gonna have a blast, everyone!''[[/labelnote]]]]

* AlwaysABiggerFish: As powerful as Belos is, once the Collector is released, they waste no time reminding Emperor Belos about the pecking order; not only easily catching his scythe with their fingers, but ''completely obliterating him with a finger poke''. As if that wasn't enough, they then ''pulls the moon back with their fingers'' and ''begin reshaping the Boiling Isles itself'', showcasing how they're not only stronger physically, but magically.

[[caption-width-right:350:A Child From the Stars.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see The Collector's released form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/collector_true_form.png''We're gonna have a blast, everyone!''[[/labelnote]]]]

A mysterious entity who was responsible for trapping the Owl Beast in a curse scroll. When he was introduced, he was trapped beneath the Boiling Isles, awaiting the Day of Unity so he can be freed from his prison via the Draining Spell. He's also worshiped by the Titan Trappers, who want to free him by searching for and killing the last Titan. Despite being sealed away, he is able to communicate with those living outside the In Between Realm (particularly Belos) by turning into a LivingShadow bound to a magic mirror that Belos obtained in “Elsewhere and Elsewhen”.\\

** Is the Collector we see in "Knock Knock Knockin' On Hooty's Door" the same Collector we see later as a shadow and then freed in "King's Tide"? The former is tall and sounds more mature and sadistic, while the latter is more playful and childish and in his physical form looks slightly taller than a toddler. Could the former simply be the distorted perception the Owl Beast had because of its traumatic capture? Did the Collector's imprisonment somehow reverted them to a child-like state? Or is The Collector some kind of LegacyCharacter and the one we see from "Hollow Mind" on is just the last one in a line of Collectors?

* MysteriousPast: Not much is known about his past, with only a few facts given. He was trapped in the In Between Realm, but it's a mystery how this happened beyond the titan (referred to by the Collector as "that bully") that makes up the current Boiling Isles being the one responsible. Kikimora further describes The Collector as a [[CosmicEntity "child from the stars,"]] but it's unclear what this entails.

* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]]; the Collector's irises subtly glow [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] in his unsealed form, and his presence causes ''immediate'' problems for both Belos and the protagonists. Notably, the glow [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-owl-house/images/2/25/King%27s_Tide_%282126%29.png/ visibly]] [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-owl-house/images/3/34/King%27s_Tide_%282127%29.png/ fades]] when they see King, reflecting their genuine friendliness towards him.

* CutenessProximity: Implied. He seems to truly be fond of King but even cuddles him in [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXRgoPJmDo/ Dana's artwork.]]

* DarkIsEvil: Used a net made of darkness in order to trap the Owl Beast, and by the present day, they're a living
shadow with lunar motifs who likes death and suffering, though he also has more subtle [[LightIsNotGood sun motifs]] too.

* DarkIsEvil: Used a net made of darkness in order to trap the Owl Beast, and by the present day, they're a living shadow with lunar motifs who likes death and suffering, though he also has more subtle [[LightIsNotGood sun motifs]] too.

* AdorableAbomination: An ancient entity "from the stars" who wields magic beyond anything else in the Demon Realm, able to move a moon with no effort and splatter [[TheArchmage Belos]] into a pile of goo with a flick of their finger... and their true form looks like a nine-year old wearing a onesie.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When we see them in their true form for the first time, they ask Luz, her friends and Belos what "game" they are they playing, all while blocking Belos’s scythe arm with just two fingers. The mere sight of the freed Collector makes Belos terrified, [[BlatantLies to the point of claiming he freed them like he promised in a futile attempt to save his own skin]]. And he had good reasons to be afraid of them, as they get their revenge by smashing Belos against the wall in a pile of goo with a single flick of his hand. It also demonstrates The Collector as a childlike being whose only morals revolve around games.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: In "King's Tide" after Belos reneges on their deal and King frees them instead, the Collector literally flicks Belos into a wall while in his monster form, turning him into a smear.

* PhysicalGod: "Edge of the World" reveals they're worshipped as a god called the Huntsman on a different Titan corpse. In "King's Tide" once freed he proceeds to demonstrate his capabilities as this when he '''moves the moon''' by simply ''dragging it like a touchscreen'', flicking it away from the sun to stop the draining spell, then proceeds to level Belos' lair by lifting his arms while levitating and summoning King back to him. They're so powerful that the only thing capable of defeating and imprisoning them was a fully grown Titan, a being the size of an island with immense magical power and even then, it's heavily implied that the Titan died in the process.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: He has a pair of red eyes, and it's probably best to ''not'' mess around with someone who can reduce Belos to a pile of goo with a flick.

* VillainousRescue: He shows up in his physical form just in time to save Luz and her friends from Belos's strike and kills him in one effortless flick of his finger. [[ZigzaggedTrope He then proceeds to almost kill them as well]], acting as if they're also playing his "game" of tag. At King's behest, they then save the entirety of the Boiling Isles from the Draining Spell by moving the moon out of the way of the sun.

* RainbowMotif: The draining spell which will set them free involves "nine bright hues" corresponding to the nine covens, Belos having implicitly devised the system after learning from the Collector.

* AmbiguousInnocence: While the Collector is a centuries old, god-like being who drove the Titans to extinction and is helping Belos in his plan to wipe out all life on the Boiling Isles, their childlike nature makes it hard to know if the Collector even knows what they're doing is evil. When King overhears the Collector's private thoughts, they're expressing excitement at being free, no longer being alone and playing. They also truly consider Belos a friend and "playmate" and they consider the FinalSolution nature of the Day of Unity to be nothing more than a "chore" Belos tricked them into doing. Contrastingly, they seem ''ecstatic'' to play with King, and their suggestion is an ''actual'' game of hide-and-seek. Especially so with their TheDogBitesBack moment, as while they frame splattering Belos across the wall as a game of tag, the tone in which they say "I'm it" implies they not only know what's going to happen when they tag Belos, but only decided to "play" just to obliterate him... although they immediately assume Luz and her friends want to play tag as well and offers them a headstart. Showrunner [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXgiaputl9/?hl=en Dana Terrace]] even describes them in a Posthoot as an example of a "chaotic little character," and particularly one that is a "morally grey, neutral chaotic kind of motherf[ucker]."

-->'''Collector''': "Mister"!? Ugh! You're ''so'' boring.

A mysterious entity who was responsible for trapping the Owl Beast in a curse scroll. He is currently trapped beneath the Boiling Isles, awaiting the Day of Unity so he can be freed from his prison via a draining spell. He's also worshiped by the Titan Trappers, who want to free him by searching for and killing the last Titan. Despite being sealed away, he is able to communicate with those living outside the In Between Realm (particularly Belos) by turning into a LivingShadow bound to a magic mirror that Belos obtained in “Elsewhere and Elsewhen”.

* {{Expy}}: Just as Philip is a CorruptedCharacterCopy for [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Ford Pines]], The Collector plays a similar role to [[BigBad Bill Cipher]]. A SealedEvilInACan who allies with a man who travels dimensions and offers knowledge in exchange for their freedom, is a PracticallyJoker villain, and it's implied that most of their actions is [[ForLulz driven solely to satisfy their own sick amusement]]. To top it off, they both have cults worshipping him. The key difference is that while Bill is a CardCarryingVillain, the Collector is more a MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds, and as a result, unlike Ford and Bill, the Collector and Belos' relationship is more amicable.