Iago

Iago
Information
Species	Garbage
Homeworld	Nolore
Series	Waifu Emblem
Gender	who even cares at this point

“	I am the highest-ranking general in the Nohrian army, you fool. Do you really think I'll be so easy to kill? But before you die, I have something to tell you. A parting gift, if you will. It was I who sent the Faceless who killed that flying rat, Lilith... Oh, and that's not all. It was I who suggested to King Garon that you be forced to kill Prince Ryoma. And I who told the enemy about your journey to Macarath. Did you enjoy my little gifts of sorrow? I put ever so much thought into them!	”
—A terrible attempt to recapture what made Gharnef work

Iago is a villain appearing in Fire Emblem Fates. By no coincidence, he's commonly considered to be the absolute worst villain in the series.

In Fates[]

Oh, boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. I never wanted to make this page. I never did. Iago's terrible, and I really don't want to relive that. There was aboely nothing good about him. BUT GUESS WHAT! HE'S IN CASH GRAB WARRIORS, SO HERE WE GO!

BIRTHRIGHT[]

LIKE LEO, IAGO HAS A BAD CASE OF PLOT-BREAKING MAGIC THAT HE ONLY USES WHEN THE PLOT CALLS FOR IT. HE CAUSES CONFLICT EARLY ON BY MAKING THE WIND TRIBE LOOK LIKE FACELESS OR SOMETHING. YEAH, HE CAN DO THAT. NO ONE KNOWS WHY OR HOW, AND NO ONE HAS ANY CLUE WHY HE DOESN'T DO THAT WHEN IT WOULD BENEFIT HIM. WHAT'S THE WIND TRIBE? WHO KNOWS. FATES DOESN'T HAVE ANY LORE ANYWAY. THERE'S A WIND TRIBE, THERE'S AN ICE TRIBE, I THINK RINKAH'S PART OF A FIRE TRIBE OR SOMETHING, WHO KNOWS.

ALSO TAKUMI'S POSSESSED IN BIRTHRIGHT, AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S IMPLIED TO BE THE SAME THING POSSESSING HIM IN CONQUEST (IT EVEN ACTS THE EXACT SAME), IT TURNS OUT IAGO DID IT THIS TIME AROUND AND MADE TAKUMI A TRAITOR. SO YES, HE LITERALLY IS BETRAYAL. THAT WOULD BE PRETTY FUNNY IF THE FATES WRITERS HAD ANY IDEA AT ALL WHAT THEY WERE DOING.

SO WHEN CORRIN AND CO. INVADE NOHR, THEY KILL IAGO. WAIT NO THEY DON'T. DESPITE CORRIN BEING BLOODTHIRSTY IN BIRTHRIGHT, IT'S LEO WHO HAS TO KILL IAGO BECAUSE LEO KILLS EVERYONE FOR SOME REASON. GOOD RIDDANCE. TOO BAD WE'VE GOT MORE OF THIS GARBAGE COMING UP. I'M ALREADY SO SICK OF THIS.

CONQUEST[]

I'M SO SICK OF THIS ALREADY. IAGO HAS HIS LARGEST ROLE IN CONQUEST. HE CAUSES HALF OF THE BAD THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO CORRIN. HE CAUSES FACELESS TO ATTACK. HOW CAN HE SUMMON FACELESS? WHY DOESN'T HE EVER USE THEM TO HELP NOHR? WHAT EVEN RAE FACELESS? THE GAME SURE DOESN'T KNOW. ANYWAY, IAGO HATES CORRIN SO MUCH THAT HE TELLS RYOMA WHERE CORRIN'S HAVING A SLUMBER PARTY, BUT OF COURSE NO ONE CARES ABOUT ANY OF THAT.

LATER ON, CORRIN HEADS UP THE STAIRS TO HOSHIDO OR SOMETHING. NO, THE GAME DOESN'T KNOW EITHER. AND IAGO SUMMONS A BUNCH OF FACELESS EVEN THOUGH HE NEVER ACTUALLY DOES WHEN YOU FIGHT HIM OR WHEN NOHR'S INVADING HOSHIDO OR ANYTHING. AND ONE OF THEM KILLS LILITH BECAUSE BLAH BLAH BLAH I'M ALREADY SO SICK OF THIS FATES IS SO TERRIBLE AND ONE OF ITS WORST CHARACTERS GOT INTO WARRIORS COULDN'T THEY HAVE JUST CLONED LISSA FOR GARON OR SOMETHING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

IAGO TELLS GARON TO KILL PEOPLE AND TORMENTS CORRIN THROUGHOUT THE INVASION OF HOSHIDO, AND SINCE CORRIN CAN DO NO WRONG, THE GAME ACTS LIKE CORRIN'S ENTIRELY JUSTIFIED WHILE IAGO'S A DICK EVEN THOUGH THIS ENTIRE INVASION WAS CORRIN'S FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE. AND THEN WHEN GARON GOES TO SIT ON THE THRONE, IAGO AND HANS DECIDE TO ACT LIKE S EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE ALREADY WON AND WILL LIVE IN COMFORT UNTIL XANDER LEARNS FATHER'S EVUUUUL AND DECIDE TO TRY TO MURDER CORRIN RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER SIBLINGS BECAUSE WHO KNOWS WHY. AND THEN NOHRIAN SOLDIERS END UP BEING MORE LOYAL TO HIM THAN XANDER OR SOMETHING. I DON'T KNOW, IT'S TERRIBLE, AND YES I'M STILL MAD. THEN LEO KILLS HIM AGAIN BECAUSE FATES LIKES TO CUT CORNERS AND REUSE EXACT MAPS AND "PLOT" POINTS.

REVELATION[]

GOD GOD GOD GOD GOD I'M SO SICK OF THIS MAKE IT STOP ALREADY

IAGO REPEATS THE WIND TRIBE PLOT POINT AND THEN HE AND HANS DEFEND THE BOTTOMLESS CANYON AND DIE AND HE DOESN'T EVEN GET A DEATH SCENE BECAUSE NONE OF THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOU PAID AND EXTRA $20 FOR THE REAL ROUTE ASHFLAHFLKASHDLKSAHD

In Warriors[]

The fact that he's in means he's a Validar clone, just like Gharnef is. WHY COULDN'T GARON HA-

ANYWAY, HE ACTUALLY HAS QUITE A BIT OF BUILD-UP IN THE STORY. CORRIN'S MISSING, AND IT TURNS OUT BOTH HOSHIDANS AND NOHRIANS HAVE BEEN FEEDING THE ROYALS FALSE INFO. IAGO EASILY POSSESSES BOTH XANDER AND RYOMA, AND THEN IT TURNS OUT THAT CORRIN'S BEEN POSSESSED TOO. WHY HASN'T HE KILLED THEM WHILE POSSESSED? WHO KNOWS, WHO CARES. ANYWAY, THE TEAM FINDS HIM AND BEATS HIM, AND WHEN HE'S ASKED FOR A MOTIVE, HE SAYS HE WAS FOLLOWING ORDERS BEFORE REATREATING. THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE EXTENT OF HIS ROLE IN STORY MODE.

ON THE OTHER HAND, HE'S ACTUALLY MORE ENJOYABLE THIS TIME THAN IN FATES. PARTLY BECAUSE HIS VA HAS AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE, PARTLY BECAUSE HE'S SUCH AN ASSHOLE TO CHARACTERS NOBODY LIKES. HE MAY NOT BE AS GOOD AS GHARNEF IS IN WARRIORS, BUT HE STILL EASILY SURPASSES VALIDAR, SOMEHOW.

Why is He Terrible?[]

If the above somehow didn't do it for you, then hopefully this list will.

He's a villain without anything that makes a villain entertaining. He's not deliciously evil, just pathetic, and he's not remotely likable. Even most hate sink villains are better than he is. Freaking Monaca Towa (this is Waifu Emblem, you're expected to keep up with weeb stuff) is more likable than he is.
His powers make no sense. He can summon endless Faceless and make others look like Faceless, but he never actually does any of that to kill Corrin or to do whatever it is he wants to do?
No backstory or motivations at all. He just exists to be evil.
Terrible Gharnef clone in a series where most are decent to good.
just why does he even exist

But...[]

WHYWHYWHY — How is he husbando material? HOW?

But this is Waifu Emblem, and despite being an NPC, Iago is still considered a husbando by many. Naturally, he originally could've been wed, as shown by his unused blushing portrait. If nothing else, at least his voice and Japanese name are cool, I guess?

Trivia[]

Even bosses with absolutely no dialogue like Seazas are better villains/antagonists than Iago is.
Even the waifu crowd and Fates apologists think Iago's terrible.
The only people who don't think Iago's awful are the Warriors apologists who think that the cash grab's a gift from God just because they exclusively are being catered to, screw other people. Yes, people have actually said that Iago's a better choice for the game than Garon.
Fortunately, he hasn't tainted Heroes yet, and at the pace the 3DS games are getting new characters and GHBs at, he won't for a long time.
Even Kozaki agrees he's terrible. He doesn't have any official art at all. Even Hans has some stuff. Hans.