Voldo

Origins 

Voldo, whose full name has never been revealed, is the right hand man, and chief enforcer/assassin, of the Italian weapons dealer, Vercci, the Merchant of Death. Voldo has an obsessive, almost religious reverence for his master; there is literally no order Vercci could give that Voldo would not die to complete. Even after Vercci's death sometime after the first game, Voldo seems unable to understand that Vercci is gone, and blindly and obsessively follows his orders, being tricked several times by entities pretending to be Vercci. Voldo constantly covers his eyes and mouth with bandages and gags, though he has no trouble manoeuvring in the world or in battle, and he only ever "speaks" in the form of feral hisses and growls, preferring to let his blades do the talking, with strange victory poses taking the place of after-battle banter.
 
In the first game of the series, Soul Edge, Vercci wanted the dark sword Soul Edge to complete his collection of rare and powerful weapons, and he ordered Voldo to head the search for it. Voldo took the search personally, desiring to complete his master's wishes, and even hired the feared pirate, Captain Cervantes de Leon to aid in the expedition. However, the search was put on hold when the Italian Wars broke out in Italy and Vercci decided to go into hiding. Realizing his weapons would be the first target of the Italians, Vercci grew increasingly paranoid until he finally moved his fleet to a secluded island off the coast of Sicily. There, he created a shaft about 50 meters deep that would serve as his tomb and vault. Vercci then went so far as to order Voldo to slaughter every last worker that aided in the construction of the shaft and to then seal himself in alive to protect the secret of Vercci's hiding place, tasks he carried out flawlessly and without question or hesitation.

One day, after guarding the treasure shaft for years, Voldo hears the voice of his dead master, which commands him to find the Soul Edge. He detects some negative energy and finds that it leads him to an intruder that wants to get into the cave. He kills the intruder and takes his sword, hoping that it was the Soul Edge. Eagerly, he awaits his masters voice again, but he doesn't hear it. Four long years pass and Voldo fights off another intruder. On him, he finds a strange shard, which he determines to be part of Soul Edge. He then leaves the shaft for the first time in many years to find Soul Edge and complete Vercci's collection, to put his master to rest.

In Voldo's ending in Soul Calibur II, when he finally finds Soul Edge, he finally hears his Master's voice again and is drawn into "darkness" to guard over his master for all eternity.
 
In Soul Calibur III, Voldo realizes to his horror that someday he will die, and there will be no one to defend his master, who he still doesn't understand is already dead himself. His motivation in setting out in the story mode is to find an apprentice who will one day replace him. In one of Voldo's endings, he presents Lizardman, wearing an eye-covering headpiece like Voldo's, to the spirit of Vercci. 
 
In Soul Calibur IV, Voldo finally finds Soul Edge, which speaks to him in the voice of his master, telling him to protect it from those who seek to destroy it. Thus, in this game, Voldo joins the side of evil without even realizing it. In his ending, the sword asks him to wield it, surrendering his soul and becoming its new slave, but the spirit of the real Vercci appears and tells him not to be fooled. Voldo leaves the sword alone and dedicates the rest of his life to murdering those who come for Soul Edge, thus preventing anyone from ever coming in contact with it, and preventing its evil from threatening the world. 
 
It has been confirmed that Voldo will appear in Soul Calibur V, and his new costume is just as ridiculous as expected, combining purple-and-yellow-striped pants with a top consisting of bondage equipment with a spider theme, topped off with a codpiece the shape of a spider's head. While he is one of the most well-known characters in the series, Voldo will be sixty-seven years old at the time the game is set, and unlike other characters such as Cervantes, Ivy, and Algol, Voldo's lifespan has not been magically enhanced. For reasons that are unexplained, Voldo appears as a servant of Graf Dumas, the human alter-ego of Nightmare. Nightmare sends Voldo out to hunt story protagonist Patroklos Alexandra and his sister Pyrrha, and Voldo does battle with the player twice.

Costume

Voldo is almost always shown in full bodysuits and his face is either covered by a full mask or bound in leather straps reminiscent of S&M gear. These costumes are many times accentuated by bright, garish colours such as pink or purple, as well as metal spikes or other harsh armor. His eyes and mouth are always covered by strips of cloth which encircle his head, even when every piece of equipment has been removed. In Soul Calibur IV, Voldo is also given a pair of telescopic goggles.

Combat

Voldo's signature weapons are Manas and Ayus, a set of claw-like Katars that change slightly in appearance with each game. His self-taught fighting style is completely unique and involves many strange and fluid movements of his arms, legs, and spine. Voldo, a natural contortionist, is always twisting his body in unnatural ways; even while standing in one spot, he attempts a strange type of "moonwalk". His strange and frightening movements make him an extremely unpredictable fighter. To compliment his strange fighting style, Voldo also has many unique stances; most notable of which is his Mantis Crawl where he bends over backwards and moves on all four limbs face first, like a reverse crab walk. One of Voldo's stances has him standing facing away from the other fighter, and he is the only character with a unique block for this situation.

Soul Edge Ending

So much time had he spent in search of the sword. Now his journey was complete. With the sword now his, he can finally rest his weary soul. Joy is but a cloudy memory of a long time ago. But this purpose is clear, he knows what the Master Vercci would have done. With this thought he cheek against the cold blade of SoulEdge. Upon his return, Voldo placed SoulEdge ina place of honor along with other such treasures. He now felt at peace with a restfulness long overdue. Fulfilling the wish of his deceased master made his heart swell with pride. Buried deep underground was the Emperor's seat, lavishly decorated in gold & precious jewels. It had long belonged to the Master Vercci. Woe was he, for he was a soldier with no battle to fight. It was time he had now as he his memories of Master Vercci. Voldo knew others would soon come for the sword.