| Obaba | |
|---|---|
| Race | Human/Fiend |
| Nationality |  |
| Gender | Female |
| Professional Status | |
| Affiliation | Black Spider Ninja Clan Ishtaros |
| Occupation | Witch, Former Head of the Spider Clan |
| First Appearance | |
| Debut | Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword |
| Voices | |
| Japanese Voice | Hiroko Emori |
| English Voice | Kate Higgins |
Obaba (御婆 Obaba?), also known as Yoba (妖婆 Yōba?), was the clan elder and former head of the Black Spider Ninja Clan. Rumored to be over 100 years old, Obaba was skilled in the arts of witchcraft and Japanese black magic, aided by a magic crystal.
She is a major antagonist of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword and appears in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge as a minor antagonist.
History[]
After the previous head of the Black Spider Ninja Clan died due to old age, Obaba assumed command of the clan.[1] She would eventually be succeeded by the Ninja Overlord, Genshin as of recent history and became its elder instead.
Plot[]
Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword[]
After Ryu finishes training with Momiji in the Forest of Shadows, The Black Spider Clan appears, and on Obaba's orders, kidnaps the shrine maiden and raids the Hayabusa Village. She tortures Momiji in hopes of getting information about the Eye of the Dragon, but soon discovers that Momiji infused it into her soul, meaning Obaba cannot kill her. It is later revealed that she is working for Ishtaros, the Greater Fiend of Creation. She schemes to make Ryu Hayabusa collect the eight Dark Dragon Stones, crystals released after the Dark Dragon was slain. She gives Momiji to Ishtaros, and in exchange, she is given more power than she had ever imagined, and her body is warped into a spider-like Fiend. She confronts Ryu and fights with her newly bestowed powers, but is no match for the Super Ninja of the Dragon Lineage, and is soundly defeated. As her body withers away and she meets her death, she tells Hayabusa that he will never defeat Ishtaros, and with an evil grin, she dies.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2[]
After Genshin mounts another assault on the Hayabusa Village, Obaba, resurrected by the power of the Four Greater Fiends, steals the Eye of the Dragon, gaining untold power. She soon meets the Mugen Tenshin kunoichi of the Hajinmon faction, Ayane, who is shocked to discover that the Eye is in Obaba's spider-like abdomen and fights her. Obaba loses, and Ayane retrieves the Eye. As Obaba dies again, she catches a glimpse of the Tenjin Princess, Kasumi standing on the tower of a church before dying as Kasumi vanishes in a whirlwind of sakura petals.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge[]
Upon Ryu's return from the Black Spider Ninja Graveyard, the Dragon Ninja, assisted by his student Momiji, goes forth to the Sacred Hermitage in Aokigahara. There they are attacked by the Black Spider Ninja clan, led by the mysteriously resurrected Obaba, whose Fiend form has now grown to monstrous size, able to literally hold Ryu and Momiji in one massive hand in an effort to crush them to death. Momiji casts a barrier over herself when Obaba tries to crush her, leaving Ryu to battles hordes of Jigumo Ninja that Obaba continously resurrects, while attacking the energy cores on the Spider Witch's body, destroying Obaba's arms, and finally attacking her forehead. Before the final blow is struck, Obaba knocks Momiji off, making her fall to her doom, but in the end, Obaba meets her end at Genshin's Blade of the Archfiend, and Ryu manages to rescue Momiji before she hit the ground. With her consciousness completely destroyed, Obaba's corporeal form crumbles into a flock of demonic crows.
Powers & Abilities[]
Obaba is a supremely powerful sorceress, possessing various dark magics and is able to turn into a powerful Fiend form. Because she is descended from the Fiends bloodlines like the rest of the Black Spider Ninja clan, she is extremely long lived, being over one hundred years old by the main events of the series. She was also shown to be able to absorb the Eye of the Dragon into her body and draw upon its power, but was defeated before she could finish assimilating it into her being.
Obaba's most dangerous dark magic is "Soul Resurrection", which allows her to revive deceased members of the Black Spider Ninja clan, recently or otherwise, seemingly indefinitely. This power is also perhaps how she has returned from the dead twice now, though this remains unconfirmed.
Etymology[]
- The name Obaba means "honorable" (御) (o) and "hag, old woman" (婆) (baba).
Trivia[]
- Obaba was not a popular choice to become head, having succeeded due to the fact that clan members feared her powers and exploiting the timing of the previous master's death. Hanjuro speculated that had Genshin been present during her tenure, she would have not succeeded in being the head.[1]
- Obaba in Japanese is an impolite way to refer to an aged woman.
- Obaba is simply listed as "Yoba" during the voice actor credits of Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma for unknown reasons.
Gallery[]
