Palutena

Palutena, also known as "Lady Palutena," is the Goddess of Light, rightful ruler of Angel Land, and patron deity to Pit. She is kindhearted and benevolent, as opposed to the cruel and malevolent Medusa.

She serves as the leader of her army, and while she never physically aids Pit on the battlefield, she does everything in her power to support him from the sidelines.

She is voiced by Ali Hillis in the English version of Kid Icarus: Uprising, by Brandy Kopp in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and by Aya Hisakawa in the Japanese version of the three games.

Physical Appearance
In the original Kid Icarus, Palutena wears a light blue dress with yellow trim, with blue arm cuffs and yellow slippers to match. In addition, she also possesses a blue crown decorated with red gems, a necklace, a staff in her right hand, and a large mirror shield in her left.

In Of Myths and Monsters, she wears a more simplistic white gown with a tiara that matches the hairband holding up her ponytail.

In both the Super Smash Bros. series and Uprising, Palutena has the appearance of a 22-year-old human woman, with long green hair that reaches down to her lower legs. She stands at around 5'9" (176 cm ), and has an overall elegant and regal appearance, fitting her title as the Goddess of Light. Her outfit consists of a layered, white dress, along with numerous gold accessories in the form of a necklace, laurel crown, fibula, arm bands, arm brace, armored sleeve, and ornaments secured by belts. She wields a gold staff with a blue handle in her right hand, and sports a mirror shield attached to her left arm by a leather band. She is often depicted with her army's symbol hovering behind her head, most prominently shown in the Super Smash Bros. series when she physically uses it to attack opponents.

Interestingly, many aspects of Palutena's Uprising design parallel Pit's, including the gold laurel crown, golden fibula with a red jewel in the center, vine-like patterns on the hem of her dress, brown-colored footwear, and various gold accessories.

Personality
Palutena's personality is not explored much during the original Kid Icarus and in Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, although the general description is that she's a "pure-hearted and kind" goddess who puts her people before her own welfare. Depicted as kind and wise, she is shown to care much about the human race and her personal army, and will go to great lengths keep them safe from harm.

Despite her mature appearance, she has been shown to possess a playful and mischievous side. Palutena often teases Pit, and even purposely places him in dangerous situations in order to complete his missions. She also has a habit of saying common phrases incorrectly and using complex vocabulary that confuses Pit. Despite this, she gets along swimmingly with the angel and banters with him throughout their adventure.

She is shown to be intelligent and knowledgeable, as she helps Pit identify weak points for his foes, and gives him hints for overcoming obstacles. In fact, her information is so useful to Pit that Hades sometimes calls her "Professor Palutena" or "Know-It-All Palutena" during the events of Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Pit
Palutena trusts Pit, who is thoroughly loyal and dependable in return. They share a mutually beneficial relationship: Pit does the leg-work and Palutena guides and aids him in battle.

At the beginning of Uprising, it can be summarized that she has a tendency to take Pit for granted at times. She very well could have obliterated Pit with her "Palutena Glamblaster/Super Goddess Clobberlaser" when using it to destroy Hewdraw, knowing that he was within the destructive vicinity of the attack, and she thinks nothing of using her "Monster Pheromones" to attract monsters to Pit's location, potentially risking his life as both Hewdraw heads were on the loose.

However, during Chapter 22, Palutena acknowledges that Pit has made countless sacrifices, both for her and everyone else, revealing that she shares a much deeper bond with him than she lets on. In Chapters 20 and 21, she's overjoyed to see Pit who, in return, is relieved to see she's all right. When Pit is unconscious at the end of Chapter 21, Palutena is understandably distraught as she holds him, highlighting just how much she cares for him. Similarly, during Chapter 15, she mentions that she "wouldn't know what she'd do without Pit," causing Pit to remark how nice the statement is, whilst Hades and Viridi act sickened by the display. In response, Palutena simply tells them that they "wouldn't know anything about loyalty or devotion."

The Centurions
The Centurions are completely devoted to Palutena and will follow any order, even attacking Pit when she is under the Chaos Kin's control during Chapters 18 and 20. They are willing to risk their lives to protect Palutena, which causes the goddess to only send them into battle when it is absolutely necessary.

Medusa
Medusa harbors a deep hatred for both Palutena and Pit, and aims to completely obliterate them for her defeat 25 years prior to the events of Uprising. While Palutena does not appear to possess the same level of hatred for Medusa, she still resents Medusa's actions against humanity. Their feud sets the events for the first Kid Icarus.

Hades
The Master of the Underworld comes across as flamboyant, and his flirty attitude toward the goddesses appears to annoy Palutena. She tolerates him during the Aurum Invasion, but makes no bones about his defeat when he is revealed to be devouring souls. Hades's attitude towards her, beyond the occasional flirting, isn't known, and he seems indifferent so long as the Goddess of Light doesn't meddle in his affairs. He often refers to her as "Pretty Palutena" or "Professor Palutena" to tease her, similar to how he refers to Pit as "Pitty Pat" or simply "Pitty" to upset him.

Viridi
Viridi has a grudging respect for Palutena—revealed mostly during Chapters 20 and 21—whereas Palutena seems to respect Viridi as a goddess but is equally against her actions. During the Forces of Nature arc, Palutena clearly states that Viridi is over-stepping her domain and will pay for her actions. When not at odds over humanity, Palutena and Viridi appear to be on civil terms. Palutena's respect for her seems to grow during Chapter 22 when she realizes that Viridi was there for Pit while she was being controlled by the Chaos Kin. Palutena is also aware of Viridi's soft spot for Pit and teases her about it in Chapter 16.

Dark Pit
Fondly referring to Dark Pit as "Pittoo" and "quite the little scrapper," Palutena initially mentions that his existence is unnatural and he needs to be eliminated. However, Palutena seems to become more tolerant of Dark Pit and even acknowledges how having two angels is useful as opposed to just one. Palutena and Dark Pit begrudgingly set aside their differences to assist Pit in Chapter 22 when he's on the verge of dying, showing them to be civil towards one another should the need arise. They later save Pit from Hades's Belly, and Palutena is the one who grants Dark Pit the Power of Flight in the game's ending, as Viridi had granted hers to Pit.

Phosphora
Palutena at first seems to respect Phosphora's battle prowess, but she quickly turns antagonistic towards Phosphora when Phosphora offhandedly refers to her as "Ma'am." Palutena becomes unusually prickly, and defensively asks Phosphora if she's "trying to start something." Phosphora, on the other hand, doesn't really seem to care about Palutena at all, making the bitter feelings between them mostly one-sided.

Power of Flight
Palutena's primary abilities shown in the games are utilitarian, such as granting Pit the Power of Flight. She can only grant Pit this power for five minutes at a time, limited by the angel's tolerance of the ability. Although it is suggested in Kid Icarus: Uprising that Palutena can only grant the power of flight to one angel at a time, it is shown in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that she can grant her flight to both Pit and Dark Pit simultaneously, though the duration of this feat is unknown.

Power to Transform Others
Palutena has demonstrated the ability to transform people into entirely new forms. In the original Kid Icarus, she used this power to transform Medusa into a monstrous cyclops due to her crimes against humanity prior to the events of the game. In Chapter 20 of Kid Icarus: Uprising, Viridi reveals that Palutena, possessed by the Chaos Kin, placed Pit's soul in a ring during the three year time period between Chapters 17 and 18.

Battle
While she mostly acts as a supporting character, Palutena is shown to be quite adept offensively as well, possessing a wide range of unique skills that she is able to utilize in battle. Most notably, Palutena serves as the boss of Chapter 20 in Uprising, forced to fight against Pit while under the control of the Chaos Kin. Players must take care to destroy the Chaos Kin while minimizing damage to Palutena herself, as defeating her will result in a game over.

Powers in the Kid Icarus 3D Anime
In Palutena's Revolting Dinner, Palutena inadvertently turns vegetables into sentient beings through an overdose of a potion she made. Later, she uses her "Power of Caging" to try to stop the mutant carrots. After she learns that the potion can be washed off with water, she uses her "Power of Maelstrom" to make it rain.

Other Powers
In Uprising, Palutena grants Pit grind rails, food, and vehicles to aid him in his quest. She is also responsible for arrows that guide Pit through levels, and can expose weak spots on enemies such as Aurum ships (which she calls her "Power of Weak-Point Exposure"). She also mentions in one of the flight paths in Chapter 10 that her "Power of Cooling" keeps Pit from burning to a crisp because of the lava.

If Pit fails to finish Hewdraw off in time during Chapter 3's air battle, Palutena also demonstrates a powerful attack in the form of her "Palutena Glam Blaster" (also referred to as a "Sacred Goddess Clobberlaser"), which she uses to kill it in one shot.

Kid Icarus
Prior to the events of the original Kid Icarus, Palutena banished the cruel Medusa and turned her into a horrible, cycloptic monster.

When Medusa takes over Skyworld and imprisons Palutena, Palutena uses the last of her energy to entrust Pit with a sacred bow, which the angel uses to break out of his prison in the Underworld. Pit takes this bow with him on his journey back to the Palace in the Sky, gathering the Three Sacred Treasures along the way and using them to defeat Medusa.

Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
After Palutena experiences a nightmare that foretells the destruction of Angel Land, she summons Pit to begin training so that he may wield the Three Sacred Treasures and defend their realm.

Once Pit has defeated all three fortress guardians, Palutena will grant him the sacred treasures—however, Orcos appears and promptly turns the goddess of light to stone, challenging Pit to a battle in order to free her.

Upon Orcos's defeat, Palutena will be restored, and she praises Pit for bringing peace back to their realm.

Kid Icarus: Uprising
Palutena acts as the "mission control" for Pit, offering him information and suggestions about nearly everything that he comes across. With this, her personality comes out a lot more than in previous games. She appears to enjoy teasing Pit, who seems to take it in good humor.

In the aftermath of the Aurum invasion, Palutena is possessed by the Chaos Kin, who uses her body to seal Pit's soul away in a ring and attack humanity for the next three years. While under the Chaos Kin's control, she acts completely differently than her usual self, becoming cold and cruel towards Pit and the humans she swore to protect.

After Pit confronts and engages Palutena in battle, he manages to break her free of the Chaos Kin's control; however, this victory is short-lived when the Chaos Kin rips her soul from her body, prompting her to turn herself to stone while the creature flees into the Chaos Vortex. Pit pursues the Chaos Kin and, with Dark Pit's help, defeats it and retrieves Palutena's soul.

Shortly after her soul is returned, the remains of the Chaos Kin drag Dark Pit down into the depths of the Chaos Vortex, forcing Pit to make a split-second decision to over-exert the Power of Flight and sacrifice his own wings in order to save him. With Pit mortally wounded, Palutena assists Dark Pit in bringing Pit's body to the Rewind Spring so that they can restore his wings to their former state.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Palutena appears in The Subspace Emissary, Brawl ' s extensive Adventure Mode, where she gives Pit a new bow in order to fight the Subspace Army, having the honor of being the only non-playable ally character in the story.

She also appears in the background of Pit's Final Smash, Palutena's Army. She's even featured as a collectible trophy, only given once the player has completed the "Cleaning house in Skyworld" event.

Trophy Description
''The ruling goddess of Angel Land. Palutena showered the earth with rays of light, using her powers for the good of mankind. But Medusa, who in her hate for mankind was banished to the underworld, makes war on Palutena and wins, capturing and holding the goddess deep within a temple. Palutena entrusts Pit with a sacred bow and the task of defeating Medusa.''

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U

 * For more information, see Palutena (SSB3DS/WU).

At E3 2014, Palutena was announced to be a playable character in the fourth and fifth installment of the Super Smash Bros. franchise. Barring the Mii Fighter, she is the only playable fighter to have three completely unique customization options for all four of her special attacks. Palutena also appears in the easter egg feature Palutena's Guidance, where she discusses strategies for the various different fighters alongside Pit and Viridi.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Palutena returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character, though she is no longer available from the start.

While most of her moveset remains intact, she has received notable changes in her Specials—now her down Special functions as both a deflector as well as a counter depending on circumstance, and her side Special has been replaced with Explosive Flame, one of her custom Specials from the previous installment.

Kid Icarus 3D Anime
Palutena appears as one of the main protagonists in Thanatos Rising, where she assists Pit in trying to defeat Thanatos. Her first action is to warn Pit of Thanatos's imminent attack on a nearby city. Later, when giving chase to Thanatos, Palutena grants Pit the Power of Flight to catch up. When Pit loses track of him, Palutena suggests a shortcut through a nearby valley. As she guides him through, Pit asks if she's sure about this. After teasing him about his lack of faith, Palutena continues to guide him despite being "rusty."

Palutena also serves as the main character in her own two-episode animated short, Palutena's Revolting Dinner. Here, she attempts to make dinner for herself and Pit but accidentally brings the ingredients she's using to life in the process, causing them to sprout limbs. They quickly go on a rampage, forcing her to summon rain to eventually defeat their combined, giant form. In the end, Palutena tells Pit that they will be going out to dinner instead.

During Medusa's Revenge, Palutena reveals her history with the Goddess of Darkness, but does not play an overly major role beyond confronting Medusa when she attacks the humans.

Super Mario Maker
Alongside Pit and Dark Pit, Palutena makes an appearance as an unlockable costume in Super Mario Maker. To unlock her, the player must clear the 100 Mario Challenge on Normal or higher, or scan their Palutena amiibo.

Yoshi's Woolly World
By scanning the Palutena amiibo to their game, the player can obtain a Palutena costume for Yoshi in Yoshi's Woolly World.

WarioWare Gold
If the player scans the Palutena amiibo to their game, Wario will paint a crudely drawn portrait of her.

Palutena
''The goddess of light and ruler of Skyworld. Palutena guides Pit through most of his journey, using her powers to help him protect the humans of the surface world from her archnemesis, Medusa, goddess of the Underworld.''

Chaos Kin and Palutena
''The Chaos Kin binds Palutena to its will, manipulating her form like a foul puppet. By doing so, the Chaos Kin simultaneously shields itself and forces Pit to attack the very goddess he serves.''

Petrified Palutena
''After Pit defeats the possessed Palutena, the Chaos Kin is unable to escape with the goddess. She turns her body to stone at the last moment, so the Chaos Kin can flee into the Chaos Vortex with only her soul.''

Palutena (Rare)
''Despite her reputation for wisdom and mercy, little is known about the history and motivations behind the goddess Palutena. What she lacks in military might, she makes up for in her brave champion, Pit.''

Trivia

 * Palutena is likely based off of the Greek goddess Athena . Her staff and shield are a staple of Athena's classical appearance, and in Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess responsible for transforming Medusa into a monster, just as Palutena had done to Medusa prior to the events of the original Kid Icarus.
 * Palutena appears to have a knack for mixing up phrases and names. For example, she refers to "Super Smash Brothers" as "Super Bash Sisters," and instead of "Every rose has its thorn," she says "Every coral has its thorns." Whenever Pit corrects her, she always insists she's right.
 * Though there is no track named as her theme, Masahiro Sakurai considers the main theme to be her theme.
 * Despite her young appearance, she is sensitive when it comes to her age and strongly dislikes being called "ma'am."
 * Similarly to Pit, food never seems to be far from Palutena's mind, and she proves to have an eccentric love of exotic cuisine.