Persona: The Incredible Origins of Joker's Inner Demons

Persona 3 Reload's recent Episode Aigis DLC gameplay trailer revealed an extra boss battle against Persona 5's Joker, the most recognizable protagonist in the series. While the dashing Phantom Thief needs no introduction, the Personas he uses in his boss battle are not as well known. Arsene and Satanael each carry lore that expands far beyond the Persona series itself, all of which ties into their user's story. Major spoilers for Persona 5 follow.

Arsene Parallels Joker

Despite Arsene's demonic appearance within the Persona series, he is based on the gentleman thief Arsène Lupin originating from Maurice Leblanc's 1905 short story, "The Arrest of Arsène Lupin". The titular character would star in many short stories, novels, and novellas as a great thief capable of making the entire upper class of the Victorian era look like fools. This scathing criticism of the rich ties well into Joker's story of upending those who abuse their power in society.

More specifically, Lupin's journey begins not with an entirely successful heist but rather an arrest. He could have made his escape, but instead, he chooses to allow the police to haul him to jail so that he can protect a woman he cares about. The parallel with Joker is clear, as Persona 5's protagonist begins his adventure when he tries to protect a woman who is being sexually assaulted and winds up on probation for a crime he did not commit as a result.

Lupin escapes from prison by altering the perception people have of him. He repeatedly insists that he would not attend his own trial, implying that he would escape long before. When the trial date arrives, the miserable man in the defendant's seat is declared by the court to not be Lupin, letting him free. Lupin was acting completely unlike himself to make the court believe he switched with a body double. His statement that he would not be at his trial was nothing more than the power of suggestion, altering the cognition of those he was trying to fool. To fans, parallels with Joker should be clear across many points in Persona 5's plot, including his prison break.

Satanael's Ultimate Sacrifice

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While Arsene is from a classic series of books, Satanael's roots are in Gnostic Mythology. He is often considered to be the Gnostic equivalent of Lucifer, but the context behind the two entities is quite different. While Lucifer is depicted as being an evil fallen angel, Satanael is a rebel fighting against the false god Demi-Urge (also known as Yaldabaoth). In Gnosticism, the Demi-Urge is the creator of humans, but not the creator of the universe. Despite this, he wishes for humans to believe the latter and considers himself the only god deserving of worship.

Satanael is the one who tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, ultimately granting humanity knowledge from the fruit. This is what resulted in the Demi-Urge banishing him, which reads as Satanael sacrificing himself to allow humans the freedom to stand up to their false god. Persona 5 uses this reading in the text of Satanael's description, and Joker's arc follows a similar path. Joker must sacrifice all he has by going to prison and testifying against those in power, to truly free humanity.

The Mythology in Persona

While Joker may only be a fun crossover boss fight in Persona 3 Reload, his Personas still carry the weight of their journeys. Both Arsene and Satanael represent Joker's story and make it more rich in symbolism and theming. Persona is a series about giving physical form to metaphysical psychological concepts, and this could not be clearer than how Joker's two most important Personas parallel him.

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The article was originally written by Dylan Mattern