Highlights

  • Messmer the Impaler brings a new mysterious character to Elden Ring with ties to the Land of Shadow and possibly the Golden Order.
  • Messmer's design hints at connections to existing lore, like Bloodflame magic and a possible link to Miquella and Malenia.
  • The snake motif in Messmer's design may symbolize heresy and rebellion against the Golden Order, expanding on themes in Elden Ring.

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been shown off with an official reveal trailer, and this has come with more questions than answers in true FromSoftware fashion. A focus on the mysterious story of Miquella appears to be defining the upcoming expansion, something that fans had predicted for months leading up to this announcement. What wasn't likely anticipated by fans, however, is the introduction of Messmer the Impaler, a brand-new boss fight who acts as the mascot of Shadow of the Erdtree.

Messmer may be the face of Shadow of the Erdtree, but he's a new character with no explicit ties to existing parts of Elden Ring's lore. He seems deeply associated with The Land of Shadow setting, with the apparently hidden nature of the expansion's elements potentially implying that he could be an unwanted demigod that has been cast out from the Golden Order. The seemingly contradictory elements that accompany Messmer go against and support theories like this all at once, but the snake motif that accompanies the character has driven speculation in a specific direction.

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The Mystery of Messmer the Impaler's Reveal

Messmer's Design Merges Separate Parts of Elden Ring

His usage of magic resembling Bloodflame and general resemblance to the desiccated body in the cocoon of Mohg's boss room implies some kind of relationship with the Omen Lord of Blood, but this isn't the only connection that fans have made from the trailer's footage. With his red hair and name beginning with the letter M, there's also just as much plausibility to the idea that Messmer could actually be a third sibling of Miquella and Malenia. His mention of a mother capable of granting lordship strengthens this theory, but the reptilian details of his design indicate a much more blasphemous connection.

An Unknown Past Involving Burning The Land of Shadow

Information about Messmer is mostly limited to what's presented of him in Shadow of the Erdtree's reveal trailer, with some of the most ominous details being hinted at on Shadow of the Erdtree's official Bandai Namco page. The new area is described as "A land purged in an unsung battle. Set ablaze by Messmer’s flame" showing the character's connection not only to his signature fire but possibly even to the battles of the Golden Order.

Messmer the Impaler's Snakes Imply a Particular Relationship with the Erdtree

An Undeniable Similarity to Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy

With the flames of Elden Ring's Magma Sorcery also being evoked by the imagery of Messmer so far, there's a parallel to one of The Lands Between's demigods that is hard to ignore. The choice to include serpents as a core element of his design evokes Mt. Gelmir's Rykard, the only other known major character to be so heavily associated with them.

While this doesn't align with any known lineages of the base game, some have theorized that Messmer is just as likely to be a child of Rykard as he is to be another one of Marika's unwanted offspring.

Extending the Concept of Blasphemy in Elden Ring

Due to the unlikely nature of the scenario of Messmer simultaneously existing with ties to both Marika and Rykard as his parents, it's been theorized that the serpentine theme of his design could be more symbolic than literal. Paired with his dragon-inspired armor and use of infamously dangerous fire in the world of the Erdtree's influence, Messmer's snake motif may just be one element that represents heresy and going against the Golden Order's conventions. Snakes are described as traitorous to the Erdtree in Elden Ring's base game, something that Rykard ultimately leaned into, but Shadow of the Erdtree may end up showing that Messmer was the origin of this association all along.