Black Dahlia (JP: ブラック・ダリア Burakku Daria) is an upcoming playable 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. Beyond that, little is known about her, but she has worked for Lorenzo for at least fourteen years (likely more, since she appears to be highly-ranked even then). The mask she wears obscures her face in all known photographs.
Contents
Development
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.
She was revealed as a Skullgirls 2nd Encore DLC character on December 5, 2021.
Story
Little is known of Black Dahlia's backstory, beyond a few details of her past alliance to the Anti-Skullgirl Labs. Many years ago her body was grievously injured, but due to the efforts of Anti-Skullgirl Labs founder Dr. Geiger, she was rebuilt with a formidable armament of projectile weaponry. 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 synethic parasite. 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.
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
- Cable (Marvel vs Capcom 2)
- Hol Horse (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)
- Chris (Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3)
- BB Hood (Vapire Savior[sic])
- Justice (Guilty Gear XX: Accent Core + Reload)
- Genjuro (Samurai Showdown 2)
- Darkwing Duck
- Cammy (vs. series version)
- Meta Knight (Super Smash Brothers Brawl)
Trivia
- Her name is a reference to the unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, nicknamed Black Dahlia.
- She was the first ASG created.
- Black Dahlia's time in the Labs drove her mad, she used to be a lot different and had a different name before becoming an assassin.
- She was gravely wounded in a Skullgirl attack and Geiger put her back together.
- She is the trainer of the Medici's legion of female assassins who specialize in hidden weapons such as the footblades Cerebella uses. They dress in bunny suits and appear in Squigly and Big Band's stories. She also trains prospective enforcers working for Cirque des Cartes, referred to by Regina as their "conflict coach".
- 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, a bayonet-like weapon, an axe and a gun with a saw.
- She is said to be somewhere between 50 and 60 years old, 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 appears in the background of the Medici Tower stage, standing next to Lorenzo as he gives orders to Vitale and Ottomo in his office.
- Black Dahlia has no true loyalty to the Medici Mafia and only serves as Lorenzo's consigliere as a constant excuse to be violent.
- Black Dahlia is a human cyborg but is sometimes mistaken for an elf. Alex said 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.
