Another X = Y topic. Nadir?

[Krawnik]

Forgive me if this has been discussed before, but I've been thinking about it ever since I first recruited Nadir (one of the best additions to Suikoden III, in my opinion). Of course he's bound to attract attention with that mask, and it's really all that's mentioned about him in Kidd's investigations. So I decided to put my theory out there about who's behind the mask.

I think it's Culgan.

Lets' begin, shall we?

1) Let's start with something nice and shallow. Looks. Nadir is hidden behind his big-ol' creepy mask, so all we really have to play off of is his haircut and his clothing. Which actually match up quite nicely. Culgan was a pretty experienced (old :P) general in Suikoden II- his hair was already grey, and he had that sleepy old manish-look to him. Because of his age, he's not really at the point in his life where he's going to be physically changing much. He's already as tall as he's going to get, and his weight isn't likely to fluctuate. So we get Nadir and Culgan, who are a pretty similar build (tall, broad).

The clothing is also pretty similar. Nadir wears an abundance of black adorned with twirly white trim. His clothes are also obviously foreign. Compare his get-up to Culgan's.

http://www.suikosource.com/images/chars/c/culgan01.gif
http://www.suikosource.com/images/chars/n/nadir01.jpg

Make a note of his gloves, cuffs, cape (split in the middle), collar, and neckercheif. Pretty similar stuff, eh?

2) Note what Kidd says about Nadir in his investigations.

"I've heard rumors that he is very handsome"
Ladies, let's hear it for the C-Man.

"Or that he has been burned on his face"
Perhaps during the collapse of L'Renouille, he suffered some injury to his gorgeous Highland mug.

3) More of Kidd's stuff, based on slightly more circumstantial evidence, or else speculation.

"A popular rumor says that he was a famous actor, whose acting was so impressive that he couldn't be himself. After that, he's always worn a mask. Why?"
Remember when you had Culgan 'round to old HQ after the death of Luca Blight? How impressed he was with your castle and how well you were doing for yourself? Remember how he swore his loyalty to Jowy because he "loved his country"? Remember who said that he loves his country? It wasn't Culgan himself, it was Seed. I think that maybe Culgan secretly longed to fight alongside or at least be with the 108 Stars, as if there was some force drawing him there that he couldn't describe or understand. As a result, his love of Highland either was or became an "act", and he became so committed to this act that he "couldn't be himself" and join Riou. After the collapse of Highland, though, he was free to abandon his false patriotism and eventually become a member of the 108 Stars, under the alias Nadir.

Another thing to note about the scene in which Culgan visits your castle is that he was sent to deliver a message about impending peace negotiations, which as it turned out, really meant impending hostage situation/organized massacre. Did Jowy select Culgan to deliver this message with a straight face because of some acting ability he had recognized in his general?

"He was a traveling entertainer. It was a three-man company, but it broke up. Now he's a drama producer."
Your guess is as good as mine as to who the others were and why they split up. I'd like to suggest that one was Seed, who abandoned Culgan when he realized that Culgan's love of Highland was an act, compared to his own legitimate patriotism. The third member may be someone we haven't met, or someone I'm not considering.

I realize that this may be (probably is :P) mostly wrong, but shot-in-the-dark theorization is half the fun of the Suikoden series. Some problems I see with this theory are obvious things like "Why didn't Lucia or Nash recognize him?"- but honestly, Luc managed to fool leagues of Harmonian bishops by adorning a mask, and McDohl failed to recognize Mathiu at first, even though when you spoke to him, his text box clearly indicated who you were talking to. Okay, that one doesn't count, but whatever >_>

Discuss? Bring forth evidence or destroy me entirely, I just want to see if this speculation is justifiable, and if anyone can legitimately disprove me, then I don't have to worry about it anymore! Win win!
_________________

416- friggin' racists, messing up my generalizations, also stealing my jobs, women.
RIP Ninjalicious

[Fires blade]

they both look very similer lik the hair and the clothling hmmmmm it very well could be culgan......or just some randome dude with a mask who is an actor.....i thaught it was culgan the moment i saw him
_________________
....WILL you get OFF OF ME!!!!

[Justice Johnny]

As far as I know, Konami stated that Culgan was officially dead by the end of Suikoden II, so unless he got resurrected by some unknown force, I don't believe Culgan = Nadir.
_________________
"Oranges can't fit into circles because rectangles are made of cheese."

[Benit149]

I believe that Culgan died in Highland with Seed. Culgan may have been quieter than Seed when it came to his devotion to Highland, but that doesn't mean it was absent.

I also find it highly unlikely because of Nadir and Culgan's personalities. Culgan was a pragmatic, realistic guy, while Nadir is highly idealistic, his mind focused on the stage rather than with reality. If Culgan did survive, in 15 years his mind would have had to regress so much that he goes from realistic to idealistic, and I don't see that happening.

Nadir's design is, no doubt, uncannily similar to Culgan's. Konami may have ran out of design ideas, but I doubt that they'd contradict themselves by saying first that Culgan is dead, then Culgan is alive. That would send mixed messages to fans. So I believe Nadir is a totally different person from Culgan.
_________________
"Luca Blight, patron saint of population decrease." -- Benit, MST149

Benit149: First Lady of Addervon, Princess of Slight Fever, defender of the Nameless.

[kuwaizair]

hurrah more crazy ideas. anway I've seen this before, I don't recall if it was Culgan as Nadir...or not. Possibly on a forum. But no body keeps track of these things. maybe this will be added to the site, revamp it and make it look like the rest, make it flow and add more "evidance". but I must agree. Isn't the guy dead? and how did he change so much? Post War Trama?

They don't look that alike to validate your theroy.
_________________
few runes short of a set of 27

[sybillious]

this has been discussed; find the topic...consider this one closed.
_________________
prinny...DOOD!

gotta gotta get a...SPICE WEASEL!

to paraphrase my fellow mod, parallax:
I hate my job with the passionately burning intensity of a thousand fiery suns.