Marcus 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 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 makes brief cameo appearances in Chapter 17 and 18 of the Hasha no Tsurugi manga.

Profile

Born into a household of knights that have served Pherae for generations, Marcus served during Marquess Elbert's time, and has watched over Eliwood ever since his disappearance, personally teaching the noble the ways of warfare and martial arts.

He similarly taught Roy the ways of fencing by the time of The Binding Blade, as well as the young vassals Alan, Lance, and Wolt. Serving within Roy's army as his primary advisor, Marcus retired after the end of the war with Bern, but served Pherae as a loyal retainer with his life.

Personality

Serving over three generations of parents and children of the Pherae household, Marcus acts as one would expect from a knight, earning him the trust of his subordinates. Having served Eliwood since birth, he has given a lot of honest advice to him in his youth that, while resembling nagging at times, has him appreciating Marcus' sincerity.

Thanks to his guidance, the young knights grew to be strong men, but because he strictly abides by tradition and organizational structure, Marcus often chides his subordinates, which from his standpoint seems inevitable. Despite his disposition, the knights follow him without question.

An unexpected aspect of Marcus is that he is a gourmand, as shown through a support conversation with Merlinus.

In-Game

The Binding Blade

Description: A veteran paladin serving Pherae. Roy's instructor in combat.

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

Supports

See also: Marcus/Supports#The Binding Blade

• Alen
• Lance
• Wolt
• Lilina
• Roy

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Marcus is a pre-promoted paladin and is available from the beginning, and thus is one of the most useful characters in the game, particularly on Hard Mode. While his base stats are low at first glance and his growths are almost non-existent, Marcus is effectively mandatory in the early maps of Hard Mode as he's one of the only units who starts off with enough bulk to take a few hits, and will one-round in return with his Silver Lance. If he has his Iron Sword equipped instead, he will leave the enemies at low enough health for your weaker units to kill them and gain experience. His high Lance rank, versatile weapon selection, and mobility means that he can keep fighting even as he stops doubling enemies and other characters surpass him in stats. That said, unlike his younger counterpart, Marcus tends to find himself in trouble by the late game, due to most enemies being strong and well-equipped enough to overpower him. Even by Chapter 4 of Hard Mode, there are enemies he cannot double, and though he is still one of your best units for taking them on, it bodes poorly for his long-term viability. He is mainly usable after that point for his ability to ferry units around, which he does acceptably.

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

Supports

See also: Marcus/Supports#The Blazing Blade

• Eliwood
• Lowen
• Merlinus
• Harken
• Isadora

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Marcus has been significantly buffed in The Blazing Blade, with his largest benefits being significant improvements to his weapon ranks and a very large increase in Strength. However, his larger buff is in the game around him; while enemies in Binding Blade could become very powerful, Blazing Blade enemies are rather weak by comparison. This means that Marcus' period of usability is far, far longer, to the point of more or less encompassing an entire playthrough, even on Hector Hard Mode. Able to wield all three weapon types with near-mastery, double and two-shot nearly all early enemies, and endure far more damage than most other units, along with boasting high Movement and the ability to rescue others or move after performing actions, Marcus is one of the most versatile units in the army. Only Oswin beats his durability, and most early bosses are easily crushed by his might. His offense is so absurd that in the early game, the player may be tempted to have Marcus carry someone while fighting simply so that he can leave enemies alive for other characters to kill. Some bosses, like Sealen, practically require Marcus to bring them down easily.

Marcus' only particular sticking point is his growths; while they are not nonexistent, they are low, and while his base performance is incredible, it will decline noticeably over the game, unless the player gets very lucky with his level ups. His Speed is a particular point; 11 Speed will double most slow and average-speed enemies, but it fails to double the quicker types or those not weighed down, especially in the lategame. If he can gain 1-2 Speed on a 25% growth, or he is given a Speedwing, he tends to stay his powerhouse self far longer; without that investment. Still, even after Marcus falls behind some other late game combat units, he can contribute in combat using his weapon ranks to deal effective weapons. Marcus can also use Brave weapons to double attack faster enemies in the late game. Marcus also has above-average Resistance for a physical unit, meaning that with a use of Barrier or Pure Water he can help deal with late game magical units.

All in all, Marcus is an excellent unit who runs roughshod over much of the early game and midgame, can stay a powerhouse for the entire run with a little investment or a little luck, and remains usable even if not leveled at all. He is a reliable fallback who makes virtually any playthrough far easier.

Fire Emblem Heroes

• Original

Knight of Pherae

A knight who has served House Pherae for many years. He has trained up the order of knights who are praised as the cream of the crop. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

Base Stats

Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

		Title
		Knight of Pherae
		Group
		Cavalry
Level	HP	Atk	Spd	Def	Res
1 40	17/18/19 36/40/43	8/9/10 45/48/52	11/12/13 30/34/37	11/12/13 28/31/35	10/11/12 34/37/40
Skills			Weapon
Melee Blade+ Swap			Sword

Skills

Type	Name	Prerequisite	Default	Unlocked
	Iron Sword	-	-	-
	Steel Sword	-	-	-
	Melee Blade	-	-	-
	Melee Blade+	-
	Swap	-	-	-
A	Def/Res Clash 1	-		-
	Def/Res Clash 2	Def/Res Clash 1		-
	Def/Res Clash 3	Def/Res Clash 2
C	Close Guard 1	-		-
	Close Guard 2	Close Guard 1		-
	Close Guard 3	Close Guard 2		-

Overall

Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.

Base Set

Counters

Skill Inheritance

Meet Some of the Heroes

Knight of Pherae Marcus
	This is Marcus, a Hero from Elibe! He's a faithful veteran knight who's renowned for his services to Pherae of the Lycian League.
	His former liege, Marquess Elbert, was a wise leader who was admired by his people.
	But one day, Elbert and his retinue of knights suddenly vanished. Marcus joined Elbert's son, Eliwood, as he set off to search for the missing marquess.
	Little did they realize that they'd be contending with one mighty foe after another—but even in the face of adversity, Marcus continued to faithfully protect the people of House Pherae!
Closely Associated Characters
Eliwood	A sincere noble of Pherae. A friend of Lyn and Hector who has the loyal trust of his vassals. Marcus's lord.
Merlinus	A traveling merchant. Like Marcus, he serves Eliwood.

Quotes

The Binding Blade

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.

Heroes

Marcus/Heroes Quotes

Possible Endings

The Binding Blade

Marcus - Loyal Paladin (忠実なる聖騎士, Chūjitsunaru Seikishi)

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.

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.

Non-Canon Appearances

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)

Marcus is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

S07-003ST

S07-003ST+

S10-005ST

Choose Your Legends Placement History

Round	Placement	Character Version	Votes

CYL1	388	The Blazing Blade	414
	495	The Binding Blade	232
CYL2	410 ↓22	The Blazing Blade	424 ↑10
	587 ↓92	The Binding Blade	143 ↓90
CYL3	371 ↑39	The Blazing Blade	415 ↓9
	462 ↑125	The Binding Blade	182 ↑39
CYL4	370 ↑1	The Blazing Blade	278 ↓137
	485 ↓23	The Binding Blade	114 ↓68
CYL5	329 ↑41	The Blazing Blade	195 ↓83
	412 ↑73	The Binding Blade	98 ↓16
CYL6	298 ↑31	The Blazing Blade	262 ↑67
	412	The Binding Blade	111 ↑13
CYL7	277 ↑21	The Blazing Blade	160 ↓102
	374 ↑38	The Binding Blade	58 ↓53
CYL8	332 ↓55	The Blazing Blade	111 ↓49
	385 ↓11	The Binding Blade	57 ↓1

CYL9	267 ↑65	The Blazing Blade	136 ↑25
	341 ↑44	The Binding Blade	58 ↑1

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.
• In The Blazing Blade, if Marcus is defeated, he will stay out of further battles, instead of actually 'dying'. This is due to his appearance in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.

Gallery

See main article: Marcus/Gallery.