Fuhrer
The Fuhrer is a character featured in the Persona 2 duology by Atlus, consisting of Innocent Sin and its sequel Eternal Punishment. Originally named Adolf Hitler in the Japanese version, he was "censored" in international versions of the game by giving him sunglasses, renaming him "Fuhrer", and changing his boss arena from a Nazi swastika-patterned floor to one filled with magic rune circles.
A failed artist turned dictator of Nazi Germany during World War II, the Fuhrer is best remembered for his beliefs of racial superiority and for orchestrating genocides during the war, making him one of the most evil persons in human history. Although historical records state that the Fuhrer died by suicide, rumors about his apparent survival began to spread, saying that he fled with his elite troops in a submarine to the South Pole. These rumors turned out to be true when the Fuhrer resurfaced as the leader a robotic army called the "Last Battalion".
In reality, the Fuhrer is just one of the disguises formed by the one behind it all: Nyarlathotep, the manipulative shapeshifting demon who desires humanity's tendency for self-destruction. He took on the Fuhrer form as representative of the "evil that people commit in groups"; thus, the Fuhrer and Nyarlathotep are the same entity. But being the cunning demon that he is, Nyarlathotep prefers to appear in his Fuhrer disguise as he knows that the dictator's reputation in 4chan will help him curry favor among its /v/oters in his quest to take over the King of /v/ tournament, and prove to Philemon that anons will always vote for what will cause the biggest shitstorm on the threads.
The Fuhrer is fought as the final boss of Innocent Sin, where he wields the mythical Spear of Destiny. Upon defeat, he reveals himself to be just a disguise by the true main antagonist behind it all: Nyarlathotep, a powerful shapeshifting demon whom the party must defeat once more. Nyarlathotep's entire motivation comes from a bet he made with the deity Philemon, where he wagered that humanity's negative traits will always prevail over their good qualities. To ensure that the bet goes in his favor, he planted rumors in Sumaru City — the game's main setting — which has the ability to turn rumors into reality, like Hitler surviving the war and establishing a robot army base in Antarctica. The demon is also revealed to have disguised himself as Akinari Kashihara, the long-dead father of playable character Jun Kurosu.
Nyarlathotep later returns as the final boss of Eternal Punishment where he assumes new forms.
Tournament History
The Fuhrer first appeared in King of /v/ 2020 as the #40 seed, defeating Cuphead and CJ before narrowly losing to Scout by 8 votes. Even though there was an explicit rule banning real-life politicians, he skirted this rule because the actual nominee is Nyarlathotep in disguise.
Fuhrer returned in King of /v/ 2021 under the name "Fuhrer / Nyarlathotep" to emphasize his true character. There, he proved his strength in the tournament by winning against Frog, Coach, Duke, and Kirby by wide margins to cement his place among the Elite Eight, where he was eliminated by the eventual champion, Batter from OFF. He then received the most 8th-place votes in the ensuing consolation match, despite some efforts to place him at 5th in order to pair him with Alice from Black Souls, who is heavily believed to be Nyarlathotep in her game.
Fuhrer's sweet-16 win against Kirby became one of the most controversial moments in the tournament, as the organizers posted a statement where they suspected /pol/ voters to have influenced the result despite not giving conclusive evidence. As a result, many anons called the organizers "massive faggots" because of their perceived bias. In the quarter-finals, Fuhrer's poll picture was changed to his "Great Father" form, which several anons took offense to as that particular form is considered a major spoiler in the game. The whole controversy surrounding Nyarlathotep's Fuhrer persona and his transformation towards the latter rounds is likely the main reason why he placed 8th.
During the quarter-finals, Nyarlathotep's presence in the threads shifted away from his dictator persona and more towards "Rumorposting", wherein anons tell rumors of rigging in favor of a character (alluding to the game's rumormongering mechanic), or claiming responsibility for all the drama and chaos in the threads (reflecting his manipulative personality). These posts are usually accompanied by a picture of the fake Akinari.
Results
| King of /v/ | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 - seed 40 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Round | Opponent | Series | Votes | Pct. For | |||||||||||||||
| Round 1 | (89)  Cuphead Cuphead
|
Cuphead | 1139 - 469 | 70.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Round 2 | (25)  CJ
|
Grand Theft Auto | 654 - 508 | 56.3% | |||||||||||||||
| Round 3 | (8)  Scout
|
Team Fortress 2 | 569 - 577 | 49.7% | |||||||||||||||
| 2021 - seed 54 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Round | Opponent | Series | Votes | Pct. For | |||||||||||||||
| Round 1 | (75)  Frog
|
Chrono Trigger | 873 - 286 | 75.3% | |||||||||||||||
| Round 2 | (11)  Coach
|
Left 4 Dead | 782 - 425 | 64.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Round 3 | (43)  Duke Nukem
|
Duke Nukem | 741 - 397 | 65.1% | |||||||||||||||
| Round 4 | (6)  Kirby
|
Kirby | 870 - 586 | 59.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Quarterfinals | (19)  The Batter
|
OFF | 517 - 831 | 38.4% | |||||||||||||||
