—Marcus in a support conversation with Roy in The Binding Blade.
Marcus (マーカス Mākasu) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade and Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He is a senior knight of Pherae. In both of these installments he fills the part of the Jagen type character, beginning powerful but ultimately being outclassed by other units, along with taking an early advisory role to both Roy and Eliwood in their respective titles. He can recruit Harken and support with Merlinus.
In The Blazing Blade if he loses all his HP he will stay out of further battles, instead of actually 'dying'. This is due to his appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade; if he had died in The Blazing Blade, being alive later in the chronology of the Elibe saga would have made no sense.
He makes a brief cameo appearances in Chapter 17 and 18 of the Hasha no Tsurugi manga.
In Game
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Base Stats
| Starting Class | Affinity | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Paladin |  Ice | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Mov |
| 1 | 32 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 8 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
 Sword - D Lance - A Axe - E |  Iron Sword Silver Lance | ||||||||
Growth Rates
| HP | S/M | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60% | 25% | 20% | 25% | 20% | 15% | 20% |
Supports
- See also: Marcus/Supports#The Binding Blade
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Description: A paladin serving House Pherae. A skilled veteran.
Base Stats
| Starting Class | Affinity | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paladin | Ice | ||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Con | Mov |
| 1 | 31 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 8 |
| Weapon | Starting Items | ||||||||
| Sword - A Lance - A Axe - B |  Steel Sword* Steel Lance*Iron Sword**Silver Lance** | ||||||||
* Eliwood's Story
** Hector's Story
Growth Rates
| HP | S/M | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65% | 30% | 50% | 25% | 30% | 15% | 35% |
Supports
- See also: Marcus/Supports#The Blazing Blade
Overall
The Binding Blade
Marcus is a great character, only at the beginning of the game. He can weaken down enemies, thanks to his low 9 Strength and Iron Sword in his inventory. He can also act as a shield for weaker units such as Lilina, or he can pull out his Silver Lance to defeat strong enemies. However, upon reaching the Western Isles, he becomes outclassed by the other mounted units (such as Lance, Alen, Zelot, Trec, and Noah), piled on with his preference for lances over swords.
The Blazing Blade
Depending on playstyle, Marcus can be the most or least important unit in the beginning of the game, particularly on Hard mode.
For the first ten or so chapters, he can be a useful human shield, as he borders on invincibility and can rescue nearly any other unit. Used cautiously, he can weaken enemy units so that other, weaker characters can kill them for experience. Marcus is a pre-promoted unit, and therefore gains much less experience than his peers; though Marcus can sweep the early game alone, the rest of the army is worse off for it, and until later on in the game he should mainly serve to weaken enemies or to keep pressure off of weaker allies.
Though many players underestimate him, he should not be completely disregarded even after the beginning stage of the game, as despite his poor growths, he has somewhat well-rounded starting stats, and if nothing else, makes an effective filler character on larger maps.
Marcus's HP is nothing special, especially for a Paladin. His Strength is lower than Kent and Sain's, but slightly higher than Lowen's. His Skill is decent as well, which supports his generally average attack power. However, his Speed is rather low and piled on with his low Luck, this can leave him exposed to double attacks and criticals later in the game. In addition, his Resistance is a few points higher than his Defense (which is below average), which does not help since he cannot take on bosses of Sonia's or Limstella's caliber and expect to win.
In summation, Marcus can be useful throughout the whole game, but his stats aren't better than another promoted cavalier later on.
Quotes
Death Quotes
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Marcus: "Argh... I've come so far... Lord Roy... please take care..."
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Marcus: "Urgh..no..."
Eliwood: "Marcus? MARCUS!!!"
After the battle:
Eliwood: "Marcus, how are your wounds?"
Marcus: "To be done in by such as these...It's a dishonor...If only I was ten years younger..."
Eliwood: "You should rest for a while. You can still help me as my advisor..."
Marcus: "I understand. I accept this new duty."
Final chapter: Light (The Blazing Blade)
Marcus: "I'll show you the strength of a knight of Pherae."
Possible Endings
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
- Marcus - Loyal Paladin (忠実なる聖騎士 Chūjitsunaru Kiyoshi kishi)
Marcus finally retired upon returning to Pherae. Although he tried to live in peace, he could never get rid of the endless stream of aspiring knights begging for his direction. He left his name in history as a great knight who fought with Roy and also as an outstanding teacher to the next generation.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- Marcus - Knight of Pherae
Marcus returned to Pherae with Eliwood and, as the head of the knights of Pherae, dedicated his life to training young squires.
- Marcus and Merlinus
The merchant Merlinus began working for Eliwood. He and Marcus were fast friends, and when Marcus became the head of military training, Merlinus used his business acumen to deal with all matters financial.
Trivia
- According to a Japanese gaming news website, Marcus landed 38th place out of 80 in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Gallery
