Summary
Baron Bela Rakosi is one of Zagor's most notable antagonists in the Zagor western comics, published by Sergio Bonelli Editore. An ancient vampire, centuries old, he is native of the lands of Hungary and had terrorized the entire region of the Balkans over the course of his undead life. In recent times, Rakosi traveled to America on a bid for power, in lands where the laws were loose, the unknown still thrived and few had the experience or knowledge to combat beings such as himself. He has matched the Spirit with the Hatchet many times, being one of the few recurring antagonists and one of the greatest enemies Zagor ever faced.
Powers and Stats
Tier: 9-B
Name: Bela Rakosi; The Baron.
Origin: Zagor
Gender: Male.
Age: Unspecified; At least on his 200s.
Classification: Vampire; Baron.
Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Immortality (Types 1 and 7, limited type 4; Vampires such as Rakosi are undead whose souls haven't managed to pass on, and he is repeatedly stated as immortal and having existed since ages past. Through a ritual, that requires his ashes, his clothing, the blood of an innocent child, an eclipse and the blood of the last person who killed him, he can be brought back to life), Stealth Mastery (Rakosi steps very lightly, to the point that not even Zagor could hear him approaching), Transformation (Rakosi can take the shape of a gigantic bat), Air Manipulation (Manifested a strong wind capable of violently opening doors. His resurrection made a very cold and strong wind sweep through an entire valley), Mind Manipulation (Vampires such as Rakosi have a subtle hypnosis based on eye contact, and even Rakosi's thralls, who should be inferior to him, can hypnotize people. Even when asleep, Rakosi passively hypnotizes anyone who tries to wound him to make them give up on their attempt, and eye contact with him hypnotized a woman), Fear Manipulation, Madness Manipulation (Rakosi's general presence and influence over an area makes animals go crazy with fear, often becoming hostile, and even people feel abnormal fear on his general vicinity, with hypersensetive people outright having fear-based manic outbursts) and Dream Manipulation (Rakosi's influence, from bites, presence, contact, vision or events involving him often cause intense and vivid nightmares for everyone involved, especially for those bitten by him, whose nightmares only get worse by each day), Telepathy (Can command and talk to enthralled individuals telepathically), Corruption (Type 2; Those bitten by Rakosi can become his thralls, obeying his every will and desire, and only his death can purge that corruption. Those whose blood are drained until death by his bite, however, also becomes a vampire), Status Effect Inducement (Statistics Reduction, Sleep Inducement, Mind Manipulation; Rakosi's bites can cause several effects, such as greatly and continually weakening the victim, enthralling the victim to his will and making them sleep), Power Bestowal (Those bitten by Rakosi become immune to pain and can use hypnosis. The minds of those bitten by Rakosi are mixed with his own and can act in synergy, with Rakosi hearing and seeing everything they do), Supernatural Willpower (Rakosi is described by Molnar as having too strong a willpower for him to overcome)
Attack Potency: At least Wall level (Vampires such as Rakosi are noted to have superhuman strength, something that is confirmed for Rakosi to have. He is stronger than Zagor, often overpowering him with sheer strength, and even when Zagor went all out and managed to keep up with him, it was just barely and he still ended up overpowered. Broke a window with a single, casual punch, and could easily overpower the likes of Molnar, breaking his spine over his knee)
Speed: Peak Human with Subsonic combat & reaction speed. (Could keep up with Zagor in both movement and combat)
Lifting Strength: At least Class 1 (Rakosi is stronger than Zagor even when he goes all out, lifting him with a single hand and easily overpowering him, with Zagor describing Rakosi as having superhuman strength and a grip of iron. Broke the spine of Molnar over his leg)
Striking Strength: Wall level
Durability: At least Wall level. (Violence and weaponry in general are considered ineffective against vampires such as Rakosi, and Zagor needed to exhaust his own strength so much that even a short brawl with Rakosi made him faint with the amount of strength required to just stagger him, with Zagor only winning thanks to Rakosi's vulnerability to sunlight. Rakosi believes that not even millions of people together could do anything against him, although that could be overconfidence. Even when Zagor was ready and dominating him martially, he still believed it wasn't possible to beat him physically, with Rakosi only being pushed back by his attacks)
Stamina: At least Athletic (Could withstand prolonged combat for extreme periods of time without breaking a sweat. As an undead and never showing any hints of tiring despite engaging in very physically and mentally taxing tasks frequently, it may be possible that Rakosi is tireless)
Range: Standard Melee Range physically
Standard Equipment: None
Intelligence: Above Average (Rakosi is a centuries-old vampire with good medicinal and botanical knowledge. He is fluent in several languages, and is also a master planner and figure of authority, managing to trick people as savvy as Zagor for several days about his true nature and objectives. He is excellent and distinguishing lies of truth, and by reading Molnar's face, could see that he was lying to Rakosi)
Standard Tactics: Rakosi is overconfident over his own prowess, and that translates in him often not choosing the more practical way to win. He favors offering servitude over death, so he prefers to hypnotize his opponents before doing anything else. If forced to engage in combat and hypnosis doesn't work, he attempts to overpower the enemy with brute strength and attempting to bite at any opportunity that presents itself, but only really trying to kill if pushed by anger, vengeance or desperation.
Weaknesses: Rakosi has the weaknesses of a traditional vampire; Garlic repels Rakosi and can make him flee with terror; He quickly dies and withers to dust under direct sunlight; Rakosi can die instantly to a wooden stake driven to his heart; He is also deathly afraid of crosses, even badly improvised ones, a weakness all vampires share.
Notable Matchups
Victories:
Losses:
Inconclusive:
Note: As most of Bonelli's works are available in different languages, predominantly Italian and Portuguese, among others, all profiles are linked to translation threads of each specific franchise as per community rules and to allow ease of understanding of the profile. Zagor translation post.
Discussions
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