Malphas, also known as the Harbinger of Finality, is a crow-like Infernal Demon that acts as one of the many demonic allies that Bayonetta can summon in her battles against the heavens and otherwise. It appears in some form throughout every game in the series, gifting the witch with both flight and combat prowess. It first appears as a summon in Chapter IV of the first game in order to defeat Fortitudo.

Book of Infernal Demons

Bayonetta

Bayonetta 3

Appearance

Malphas takes on the form of a giant bird, possessing features of avians such as crows or parrots. It has multiple eyes, a large central one surrounded by three smaller and a sharp beak it uses to tear through opponents. A necklace of skulls hangs around Malphas' body, and a red crescent moon pierces through its forehead. Malphas' talons are red and sharp; the demon has elegant red wings, and three long tails. Two of these tails end in red, thorny bulbs.

In both the original game and the sequel, Malphas is wrapped up in Bayonetta's hair due to the method of its summoning, but makes full bare appearance in Bayonetta 3. Here, Malphas also possesses a pair of trailing fabric ribbons attached to its wings and the majority of its body appears to be a pale blue-grey.

Story

Bayonetta

Bayonetta summons Malphas to eliminate Fortitudo. Manifesting in midair, Malphas spreads its wings and dives at the Auditio, pinning it to a piece of debris and beginning to peck at its victim with increasing speed. It eventually attacks so severely that it punctures through Fortitudo's head, leaving a gigantic gaping hole in its wake before it returns to Inferno.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

Malphas does not appear during the events of the film itself, but does appear above Gomorrah and Hideous on a stained glass window during the opening narration that describes the nature of the Clan Wars and the Witch Hunts.

Bayonetta 3

Malphas is bound to Bayonetta β3. During the Homonculus invasion, Bayonetta β3 summoned the demon and forged a pact with it. Bayonetta later arrives at the site where Malphas was summoned and joins forces with it in navigating the sites of the temple to escort her to Jeanne β3. Shortly after, Malphas is summoned again as a mount for Bayonetta and Bayonetta β3 while fighting Stratocumulus.

Abilities

Malphas can use his powerful wings not only to fly incredibly fast, but to release gale force winds and hurricanes.

He also has strong feet with sharp talons that can easily pick up and gore huge enemies and fly with them as well as a sharp beak that can tear its prey to shreds, for example, it could break a huge hole right through Fortitudo's body.

Gameplay

Bayonetta

Malphas primarily appears in gameplay as the finishing move used to destroy Inspired. Once it appears, Malphas grabs Inspired's neck and tears the angel's head off after some effort, eventually eating the severed head and flying away to be returned to Inferno.

Bayonetta 2

Though not making a complete physical appearance, Malphas' wings are used by Bayonetta, Jeanne and Rosa in order to fly and face enemies during air battles. During this time, the three can only used what would be considered ground-based combos.

Bayonetta 3

Malphas can be summoned to the field using the Demon Slave ability, where the bird swoops at enemies with swooping strikes and firing off its feathers as projectiles to hit from long range. Its special ability allows it to conjure a miniature tornado, sweeping foes up into it and damaging them as they collide with each other.

Demon Masquerade also allows Bayonetta to fuse with Malphas while wielding Simoun, becoming a harpy-like creature that can use Malphas' wings to quickly soar towards foes or for traversing the environment. The form's combo finishers allow Bayonetta to rapidly slash at enemies with her new talons.

Malphas also appears during an on-rails shooting segment, where it carries Bayonetta upon its back through a series of caverns while she attempts to ward off pursuing Homunculi.

Skills

Special

• Talons Of Solomon ()
  • Clutches and picks up enemies with talons, following up with a variety of attacks. Larger enemies can't be clutched at first, but become vulnerable if stunned.
    Enemies that resist after clutching can be weakened by repeatedly tapping an action button and then taken into the air.
    
    • The following actions are possible once enemies are picked up:
      Peck / Slam
      Throw / Rise
      Drop
• Turbulence
  • Increases the size range of enemies affected by Malphas' wind pressure.
• Turbulence II
  • Further increases the size range of enemies affected by Malphas' wind pressure.

Punch

• Karaburan (+)
  • Does a vertical loop that launches enemies.
• Mistral (+)
  • Charges forward while spinning.

Kick

• Ribut (+)
  • Drops down on enemies while stomping with sharp talons.
• Khamaseen (+)
  • Does a snapping tail sweep in a wide arc.

Shoot

• Luosanfung (+)
  • Deploys feathers and fires them off like missiles.
• Tempest (+)
  • Creates a whirlwind that draws in enemies and nearby objects. Enemies caught in the whirlwind are picked up and spun around before finally being flung away.

Gallery

Bayonetta

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

Bayonetta 2

Bayonetta 3

Trivia

• Malphas' name and birdlike appearance are derived from the Grand-President Malphas of the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and Ars Goetia, who commands 40 legions, builds large citadels and towers that can withstand anything, and destroys his enemies with powerful magic. Malphas takes on the form of a small crow to spy on others; his true form is that of a large, well-built man.
• Malphas is a reference to Griffon from Devil May Cry, another game directed by Hideki Kamiya.
• In Bayonetta 3, in Bayonetta β3's world not only are Malphas' species apparently a common contracted Infernal Demon of ancient egyptian Umbra Witches, but the one specifically contracted to β3 is unique in that it has silvery feathers and silk ribbons on its' wings; whilst the numerous others seen are smaller and lack many of the former's iconic features.