Marth

Marth appeared in 1990 video game called Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. Marth (pronounced /mɑɹθ/ Japanese: マルス Marth) is the prince of Altea, son of King Cornelius and his wife Liza, indirect descendant of the hero Anri, and inheritor of both the divine blade Falchion and the task of using it to strike down Medeus, the Shadow Dragon. Driven from his kingdom by the Dolhr Empire in the beginning of the War of Shadows, he took refuge in Talys for two years before departing to amass an army to resist and strike down the empire's grip on Archanea. Years later, he led Altea in the War of Heroes against his corrupted former friend and ally, Emperor Hardin of Archanea, and was tasked by Gotoh with ensuring the future of both humans and dragons by restoring the lost Binding Shield to prevent the return of the earth dragons of the Dragon's Table.

Through his deeds across the two wars, Marth developed a reputation as a legendary hero. He was believed by many to be destined to lead all of Archanea to salvation, as represented by his use of the legendary Fire Emblem. In time the continent of Archanea came to be united under his rule, and he became renowned throughout history as the legendary "Hero-King" of the Archanean Alliance.

Marth is the first main character, or "lord", of the Fire Emblem series, acting as the protagonist of four Fire Emblem titles: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem, and their Nintendo DS remakes Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem. In the years since his own games, he has appeared as an optional bonus playable character in Awakening and Fates. Outside the Fire Emblem series, Marth is a regular participant in Nintendo's crossover fighting game series, Super Smash Bros., making his debut there along with Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.