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I want to face the truth of myself and know I was right to throw everything away. To live for nothing but the thrill, and know that nothing else exists. And I want everyone to face that truth and come away knowing what their true selves are. I'd like to see the smile that was carved in me on every face. So they know and understand who they really are and what this world really is!

Black Dahlia (JP: ブラック・ダリア Burakku Daria) is a downloadable character in Skullgirls 2nd Encore.

A mysterious woman who is at least partially mechanical, Black Dahlia has risen through the ranks of the Medici Mafia's minions to become one of Lorenzo Medici's top enforcers. When she's not acting as his personal bodyguard, she's being sent on the most important and heinous missions for the Medicis. She has worked for Lorenzo for at least fourteen years.

She trains prospective enforcers working for Cirque des Cartes, referred to by Regina as their "conflict coach". [2] She is also the trainer of the Medici's legion of female assassins who dress in bunny suits and specialize in hidden weapons, such as the footblades Cerebella uses.

Four of these bunnies serve her as her personal assistants;

  • The Timeout Assistant Bunny: Bookie (JP: ブッキー Bukkī)
  • The Shotgun Bunny: Bonnie (JP: ボニー Bonī)
  • The Pistol Bunny: Buttercup (JP: バターカップ Batākappu)
  • The Knife Bunny: Killer (JP: キラー Kirā)

Creation and development[]

Keyart Poster BlackDahlia

Black Dahlia's poster art

Black Dahlia was the third possible DLC character to be revealed in the Keep Skullgirls Growing Indiegogo campaign, at $60,000. It has been stated that she is one of the characters who would need to be made playable for the canon Skullgirls storyline to be revealed.[3]

A mid air hitstun rough frame of Black Dahlia appeared briefly around minute 25:36 in Future Club's Umbrella Animation Stream of October 12, 2021.[4]

A teaser for the reveal of a "NEXT SKULLGIRLS CHARACTER!" was posted on Skullgirls' official social media on December 2, 2021.[5][6] On December 5, 2021, Black Dahlia was revealed as the upcoming character for Skullgirls 2nd Encore at the end of the Umbrella trailer[7] showcased at the fighting game event, CEO 2021, after the game's Grand Finals.[5][8] The trailer was also uploaded to the Skullgirls' official YouTube channel on the same day.[9]

On January 28, 2022, a portion of Black Dahlia's action shot was first shown in a post on the official Twitter account of the winter fighting game event, Frosty Faustings.[10]

On April 10, 2022, "Dahlia's debut" was announced as part of the 10th anniversary celebration for the Skullgirls's first release.[11] On May 11, 2022, it was announced a world exclusive early access to play as Black Dahlia at the Skullgirls booth of the fighting game convention, Combo Breaker 2022.[12]

A trailer for the Steam release of Black Dahlia's alpha development phase was uploaded to the Skullgirls' official YouTube channel on May 25, 2022.[13] It was also announced that Season 1 Pass holders on Steam would be able to play as Black Dahlia during her alpha phase by June, in which she would look "sketchy". However she would be mostly functionally complete; and during her beta phase by the third quarter of 2022, in which her animations and voice lines would be finished along with a possible debut of her stage and theme music. By the last quarter of 2022, her full release would also be available on other platforms outside of Steam.[14]

Design[]

Black-Dahlia-Fight-skullgirls-34436617-1280-1858

Moveset concept by Alex Ahad

Aside from using hidden weapons that hide across her body, her concept art for her moves also show that the gun on her arm can change into other weapons such as a chainsaw, a chicken sickle/fleur-de-lis spears, a bayonet-like weapon, an axe/halberd and a gun with a saw. The mask she wears obscures her face in all known pictures.

Black Dahlia is a human cyborg but is sometimes mistaken for an elf. Alex Ahad stated the idea that she was elven sprung from the misinterpretation of a piece of art where her ears were stylistically more pointed, but never meant to indicate she was anything but human.[2]

She is around 50 to 60 years old,[2] but the extent of how much she has aged is unknown due to her mechanical parts and exposure to the Life Gem. Peacock refers to her as an old hag.

Dahlia lost both her legs and her right arm in her first fight with a Skullgirl. Possibly something happened to her face too, but no one knows what it looks like now, not even the devs as it was also confirmed in another stream that they don't even have what her face looks like in her reference model sheets.

Backstory[]

Many years ago her body was grievously injured in a Skullgirl attack, but due to the efforts of Anti-Skullgirl Labs founder Dr. Geiger, she was rebuilt with a formidable armament of projectile weaponry. She was the first ASG created. Black Dahlia's time in the Labs drove her mad, as she used to be a lot different and had a different name before becoming an assassin. Much like Big Band, she was a veteran ASG agent who resided within the labs years before the parasite experimentation that would eventually birth Peacock and Painwheel took place and as such she too is not equipped with a synthetic parasite.[2] Black Dahlia eventually went rogue from the Anti-Skullgirl Labs and now works as a seasoned assassin for the Medici Mafia.

Closer to the events of the game, Black Dahlia was sent to pursue the Fishbone Gang following their theft of the Life Gem. She killed them all, cut them into pieces, and dropped the remains in the bay of Little Innsmouth. Unbeknownst to Dahlia at the time, one member of the gang - Nadia Fortune - survived her fate, having consumed and bonded with the Life Gem prior to her "demise".

Role[]

Skullgirls 2nd Encore Story Mode[]

Peacock's story[]

Black Dahlia appeared at the end of Peacock's story, where she was summoned by Lorenzo when the cartoonish cyborg launched an assault against the Medici Mafia. Confronting Peacock in her superior's office, Black Dahlia traded barbs with her opponent before engaging her in battle to allow Lorenzo to escape.

Squigly's story[]

In Squigly's story, Black Dahlia was among the Medici enforcers sent to eliminate the Contiello family after a mysterious woman informed them that Selene Contiello had gained possession of the Skull Heart. Dahlia herself administered the fatal blow to Selene's young daughter, Sienna, taunting Selene the entire time. Shortly afterwards, Black Dahlia was likely among those that battled Selene after she became a Skullgirl.

Black Dahlia's story[]

After taking Lorenzo into the Medici blimp when Marie was beginning her final assault, she starts to get annoyed with Lorenzo, mocking his condition since she just saved his life only for Lorenzo to snapped about his conditions about how most of his people can't handle Marie and his distrust of his son Vitale and Cirque Des Cartes. Black Dahlia points that she can't both protect him and get him the revenge he so desires and asks him whats more important. After Lorenzo gives Black Dahlia the go ahead, she convenes with Bonnie, Buttercup and Killer. She grabs a jetpack taken from the Black Egrets. Black Dahlia uses it to flies towards Marie and then lets go of the jetpack to hit the Skullgirl while she's holding the top half of Medici Tower! With that one action, Dahlia manages to rack up a kill count of thousands, and it only gets worse from there. After managing to kill Marie, rather than try and destroy the Skull Heart or wish on it like so many others, Dahlia elects to simply keep it around, seeing it as the perfect bait for Ms. Fortune and a great way to generate her own entertainment.

Personality[]

Black Dahlia has no true loyalty to the Medici Mafia and only serves as Lorenzo's consigliere as a constant excuse to be violent. She was always “rough around the edges”.[2]

Fighting style[]

WIP

Color palettes[]

  1. "Trigger Happy" - Default colors
  2. Original colors
  3. Original colors
  4. Original colors
  5. "Golden Gunner" - Original colors
  6. Original colors
  7. "Dame Slayer" - Doom Slayer/Doomguy (DOOM)
  8. "Psycommander" - M.Bison (Street Fighter)
  9. "Unholy Host" - Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)
  10. "Lethal Weapon" - V1 (ULTRAKILL)
  11. "Soul Crusher" - Ivy Valentine (Soul Calibur)
  12. "Unfazed" - Dark Samus (Metroid Prime 2)
  13. "Fur Monger" - Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians)
  14. "Martial Outlaw" - Barrett Wallace (Final Fantasy VII)
  15. "Corrosive Agent" - Queen (Deltarune)
  16. Faye Valentine (Cowboy Bebop)
  17. Elphelt Valentine (Guilty Gear Xrd Sign)
  18. Emperor Belos (The Owl House)
  19. Opal (Pokemon Sword and Shield)
  20. Jun the Swan (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman)
  21. BLU Demoman (Team Fortress 2)
  22. RED Demoman (Team Fortress 2)
  23. Ramlethal Valentine (Guilty Gear Strive)
  24. Ada Wong (Resident Evil 4)
  25. Lord Dominator (Wander Over Yonder)
  26. "Red Rider" - B.B. Hood/Bulleta (Darkstalkers)
  27. Surge The Tenrec (Sonic The Hedgehog)
  28. Spamton G. Spamton, NEO Forme (Deltarune)
  29. Venom (Guilty Gear series)
  30. Vile (Megaman X series)
  31. Utsuho Reiuji (TOUHOU series) - Season Pass Exclusive

Skullgirls Mobile exclusive palettes[]

  • "Sparring Partner" - Original colors (Training dummy only)

Official profile[]

Keep Skullgirls Growing Indiegogo campaign[]

Lorenzo Medici's right hand hitwoman who takes thorough enjoyment in her work. Little is known about her outside the carnage left in her wake, which has spanned decades without slowing down. Only two of her targets have walked away so far, oversights she plans to rectify soon.

Playstyle Speculation[]

Black Dahlia keeps her arsenal well hidden. Grenade launchers, tear gas, and hidden knives. She isn’t above dirty tactics, cloaking her movement using her doilies. One attack may look like it will go one way when she shifts into another. Don’t let the giant gun distract you when the blade hidden in her knee cap is tearing at your liver! Just how much of her is mechanical, anyway?

Gameplay Inspiration[]

Trailer[]

Cake[]

During certain victory animation. Black Dahlia will be served cake/desserts by three of her henchbunnies (Bonnie, Buttercup and Killer). The only exception being when she beats herself, which results in a champagne tower instead.

Annie Beowulf Big Band Black Dahlia Cerebella Double
Cake annie Cake beowulf Cake bigband Cake dahlia Cake cerebella Cake double
Eliza Filia Fukua Marie Ms. Fortune Painwheel
Cake eliza Cake filia Cake fukua Cake marie Cake msfortune Cake painwheel
Parasoul Peacock Robo-Fortune Squigly Umbrella Valentine
Cake parasoul Cake peacock Cake robofortune Cake squigly Cake umbrella Cake valentine


Trivia[]

  • Her name is a reference to the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed Black Dahlia.
  • Dahlia appears in the background of the Medici Tower stage, standing next to Lorenzo as he gives orders to Vitale and Ottomo in his office.
  • Dahlia's teleport is her moving so fast it looks like she vanishes, rather than altering reality like Peacock's.
  • Black Dahlia is not very fond of Ottomo, but they have a good [working?] relationship.
  • According to the Skullgirls Mobile App Store description, Bookie is considered Black Dahlia’s top bunny assistant.
  • Black Dahlia's win pose with Bookie coming near her might be a reference to Baby Bonnie Hood's outro with Mr K. from Darkstalkers.
  • There is some old art from this thread that shows some of her old designs, as well as showing art the reveals she has a scar on her back.

External links[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Skullgirls Mobile
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Chrono_Tata (2021-06-09). The Canon Info Thread - What We Know. Skullheart. XenForo. Retrieved on 2022 May 29.
  3. Skullgirls (2014-10-05). The Essential Three for canon story mode are Umbrella, Black Dahlia and Marie. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 29.
  4. FutureClubDev. BLAAAASTING OFF! -- Skullgirls Umbrella Animation with PERSONASAMA. Twitch. Retrieved on 2022 May 29.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Skullgirls (2021-12-02). WHO'S NEXT? FIND OUT DECEMBER 5TH Tune in to the Skullgirls 2nd Encore Grand Finals at @CEOgaming for the reveal of the NEXT SKULLGIRLS CHARACTER!. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  6. Skullgirls (2021-12-02). WHO'S NEXT?. Facebook. Meta. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  7. Skullgirls (2021-12-03). Tune into @CEOGaming this Sunday Dec 5th for Skullgirls 2nd Encore! #CEO2021 There'll be a major Umbrella announcement, plus the reveal of the next Skullgirls character!. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  8. Skullgirls (2021-12-04). Congrats to everyone who qualified for top 24 at #CEO2021! To everyone at home, don't forget to tune in tomorrow to watch them compete. Especially don't miss out on the Grand Finals, and the character reveal afterwards!. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  9. Skullgirls (2021-12-05). Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Umbrella Trailer + Black Dahlia Reveal. YouTube. Google. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  10. Frosty Faustings (2022-01-28). Skullgirls 2nd Encore is a beautiful fast-paced 2D fighting game that puts players in control of fierce warriors in an extraordinary Dark Deco world Join one of the most passionate FGC communities today by picking up @Skullgirls from @Hidden_Variable and Autumn Games on sale now. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 29.
  11. Skullgirls (2022-04-10). You think The Launch Party Never Ends was a joke?! We're celebrating this year in style - look out for special celebration art, Umbrella's PS4 launch later this week(!), special gifts in @sgmobile, Dahlia's debut, live events, and MUCH more very soon! #10thAnniversarySkullgirls. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  12. Skullgirls (2022-05-11). Black Dahlia will kill the competition at @ComboBreaker 2022! We are excited to announce that Black Dahlia will get her WORLD EXCLUSIVE early access playable debut at the Skullgirls booth! #cb2022 opens its doors in Schaumburg, IL on May 27-29. #SkullgirlsBlackDahlia. Twitter. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  13. Skullgirls (2022-05-25). Skullgirls 2nd Encore - Black Dahlia Alpha Trailer. YouTube. Google. Retrieved on 2022 May 28.
  14. Black Dahlia Alpha Announcement. Steam. Valve Corporation (2022-05-25). Retrieved on 2022 May 28.

Navigation[]

Skullgirls
Games
Main Editions SkullgirlsSkullgirls EncoreSkullgirls 2nd Encore
Spin-offs Skullgirls Mobile
Characters
Initial Roster Filia (Samson) • CerebellaPeacock (Avery) • ParasoulMs. FortunePainwheelValentineDouble
Encore DLC Squigly (Leviathan) • Big BandFukuaEliza (Sekhmet) • BeowulfRobo-Fortune
2nd Encore DLC Season 1: Annie (Sagan) • UmbrellaBlack DahliaMarie
Other AdamAeonAileenAlbusAmeliaAndy AnvilBeatrixBrain DrainChristmasDelilahDogDr. AvianDr. GeigerEasterEvelynFengFerdinandFlorenceGeorge BombGrendelHallowHilgardHiveHoraceHubrechtIleumIrvinIsaacKing FranzKing GilgameshLawrenceLeducLonesome LennyLorenzoMarcusMinetteMollyMotherMrs. Victoria (D. Violet) • OttomoPanzerfaustPattyPenguin RefQueen NancyRachel WongReginaRiccardoRobertoRoxieSargeScythanaSeleneStanleyTaliesinTheodoreTommy Ten-TonsVenusVitaleYu-WanMisc. (Juju)
Archives
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Stages Streets of New MeridianRiver King CasinoMedici TowerNew Meridian RooftopsRooftops AssaultNMO Arena | (Empty)Bath of Tefnut | (Sekhmet)MaplecrestNightmare CrestGrand Cathedral | (Empty)Final AtriumGehennaUnder the BridgeMeridian Area Rapid TransitLittle Innsmouth | (Night)Lab 8 | (Empty)Glass CanopyClass NotesNo Man's LandSound Stage 15BoardwalkThe Bunny BurrowHilgard's Castle
Misc.
System HUDControlsBasic MechanicsAdvanced MechanicsChip damage
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Music Skullgirls Original SoundtrackSkullgirls The Original SoundtrackSkullgirls: The Complete SoundtrackSkullgirls Special Selection SoundtrackSkullgirls Deluxe Vinyl SoundtrackIn a Moment's TimeHitomi No Kioku
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Other Media SkullgirlSSkullgalsKeep Skullgirls GrowingDigital Art CompendiumSkullgirls (Webtoon)

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