Brutal Legend Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Eddie Riggs
Roadie
EddieRiggs4
Gender Male
Race Human/Demon
Faction Ironheade
Hair Color Black
Eye Color Brown, yellow in demon form
Skin Tone Light, red-brown in demon form
Special Features Changes to demonic form and can fly with bat wings during Stage Battles
Weapons The Separator (battle-axe)
Clementine (guitar)

Personal Vehicle The Deuce (Druid Plow)
Voiced By Jack Black
“A good roadie knows his whole job is to make someone else look good, keep someone else safe, help someone else do what they were put here to do. A good roadie stays out of the spotlight. If he's doing his job right, you don't even know he's there. Once in a while he might step on stage just to fix a problem, to set something right. But then before you even realize he was there or what he did, he's gone.” — Eddie Riggs


Edward "Eddie" Riggs is the protagonist of Brütal Legend. Eddie is the leader of the Ironheade faction, and is the avatar the player adopts when playing as that faction in multiplayer and in single player. He has two weapons: The Separator, a battle axe, and his guitar Clementine.

Story[]

Spoiler
The Season of Pain is upon us....
This article contains spoilers for Brütal Legend. Click here to reveal them.


From Humble Beginnings

Eddie Riggs is the greatest roadie in the world working for the worst Heavy Metal band of all time, "Kabbage Boy". Eddie is an old school metalhead who dreams of the days when heavy metal was pure.[1] During one of their concerts, a fellow roadie notices one of the band members dancing on a part of the set way up high. Eddie rushes to discreetly save him before returning to the shadows at the back of the stage. However, part of the set collapses and Eddie dies from being crushed. A few drops of his blood falls into the mouth of the head on his belt buckle, which turns out to be a magical amulet that summons the spirit of Ormagoden, the Eternal Fire Beast. The Fire Beast kills the band members except the bassist, who was spared because of his respect of Eddie (and the fact that he got away before the stage was surrounded in a ring of fire, which would've prevented his escape), and teleports Eddie back in time to the Age of Metal - a mythological world inspired by heavy metal album covers and lyrics.

Eddie awakens to find himself inside the Temple of Ormagoden, inhabited by hooded followers of Emperor Doviculus, the Demon king of this new world. In order to escape, Eddie grabs The Separator (a double-bladed broad axe), and defeats three of the followers. He then picks up Clementine (a Flying V guitar) and electrocutes most of the other followers. Minutes later, Eddie escapes to find Ophelia, a young woman who also sought the Separator. The two decide to work together until they find a way out. Just when they are about to escape, however, the two are faced with millions of followers, ready to besiege the temple. Eddie notices a glowing tabulature carved on the walls near them and uses Clementine to play a solo , revealing parts for a car. Eddie assembles the parts into a hot rod called the "The Deuce", AKA the "Druid Plow" . He and Ophelia use the Deuce to plow through the army advancing on the Temple. During this, Ophelia explains to Eddie that the world he is in is inhabited by millions of demons determined to rule the world, but she works with a group of humans who fight the demons in the hope that their world would be peaceful again. They soon arrived at the Feeding Pit, the dwelling place of a large worm-like lampray creature. Eddie battles the creature while Ophelia unlocks the gate. After the fight, Eddie's rash words catch Ophelia's ears and she asks what french kissing is, Eddie was nervous to answer, but before he could tell her, the worm monster attacked Ophelia. Eddie uses a power chord to break the chains that keep the gate open, the gate closes down and injures the creature, and in celebration, Eddie cries out, "DECAPITATION!" while air guitaring on his axe. Believing that he killed it, Eddie proceeded to attempt to teach Ophelia how to "French Kiss", but before he could, the worm monster used its last bit of strength to destroy the gate. After the destruction of the gate, Eddie and Ophelia use the Deuce to ride the gate like a ramp, and escape the temple.

You Say You Want A Revolution?

He and Ophelia soon approach the rebellion hideout, where Eddie meets Lars, the leader of the rebellion, and Lita Halford, a brave warrior and Lars' sister. Eddie tells them his story, about how he was summoned from another world by his own belt buckle. Lita, Lars, and Ophelia then explain that the belt buckle was actually steel flesh from Ormagoden himself. The reason Ormagoden brought Eddie to their world was a mystery; whether to destroy or liberate mankind, the party was unsure. Knowing Eddie posed no threat, Lars offers Eddie a place in the rebellion. Eddie gladly accepts.

The rebellion was still short an army, so Eddie and Lars journey out to find one. Lars tells Eddie of the Headbangers, a group of strong, thick-headed men who are slaves to Doviculus's second in command, General Lionwhyte. Eddie ventures into the mines and delivered his gift of Heavy Metal to the Headbangers, who were amazed and inspired by it. Eddie asks them to join the rebellion; however, he discovered that Lionwhyte had followers of his own, who loved their hair and looks more than their freedom. Lionwhyte's followers attempt to convince the Headbangers that working for their luscious-haired general would pay off, but the Headbangers weren't swayed, and instead join Eddie to free the other Headbangers and defeat Lionwhyte once and for all. Eddie teaches the Headbangers to follow his orders and together they free all the other slaves, killing the warden of the mines in the process. Afterwords, Eddie chooses a name for the army: Ironheade (spelled with an E at the end to let people know they're not messing around), named after the Headbanger's thick skulls.

The Kill Master

Eddie returns to Bladehenge with "an army fit for a king", only to see Ophelia mortally injured after freeing the women from Lionwhyte's palace. Concerned about the fate that would ensnare his friend, Lars takes Ophelia to the Kill Master, a talented mystic who uses his bass guitar skills to heal the wounded and sick. Eddie and Lita follow Lars to the Kill Master's lair, where Ophelia was being healed; however, the Kill Master's bass strings were not thick enough. The Kill Master needed new, thicker, bass strings, spun by the metal spider queen in the Spider's Nest. Lars offered to go, but Lita stopped him, believing that Ophelia shouldn't be healed. While the two siblings argued, Eddie secretly went to the Spiders Nest to gather up spider webs from the spider queen. When he was finished, he returned to the Kill Master's lair, and supplied the Master with enough string to restore his friend. Ophelia was healed, but believed Lars saved her and thanked him instead, leaving an unappreciated Eddie to enlist the help of the Kill Master and his troops, the Thunderhogs.

Ophelia reveals that she has been freeing and recruiting women from Lionwhyte's castle to form her own group of female warriors, the Razor Girls. After arming them with the highly flammable tusks of the wild Razorfire Boar,(which is what injured her in the first place) Eddie, Ophelia, and the girls returned to the Ironheade hideout, where Eddie meets Mangus, a tweeky man with a talent for management, which would come in handy when Lars found out about an attack on their hideout led by General Lionwhyte. While preparing for battle, Eddie felt a strange pain on his back. After Ophelia states she sees nothing wrong, Eddie decides to ignore it, saying he'd feel better after killing more of Lionwhyte's men.

The Downfall of Lionwhyte

After the battle, Eddie and the troops of Ironheade prepare for a battle, led by Lars, toward Lionwhyte's castle, to finish his fight with the traitor. Before the battle, Eddie felt the pain on his back return. Suddenly, Eddie's skin turned blood red, he sprouted red bat wings, and his eyes burn with a yellow glow that would make the bravest warrior shudder in fear. Observing his new, demonic form, Ophelia reasoned that the Druid's blades must have been poisoned with demon venom during Eddie and Ophelia's venture in Ormagoden's Temple; Eddie was infected while attacking the Druids without even knowing it. Eddie wasn't going to submit, though, and instead decided to use this curse to his advantage, as he was somehow positive that the effects would wear off. In spite of the demonic makeover, he went forward and led Ironheade to victory. After the fight, Eddie changed back, just as he said he would. Angered by another loss, Lionwhyte fired the Bouncers, giving Ironheade an even wider unit variety. As they venture into the treacherous mountain pass to The Sanctuary of Sin, known as the Cleave of the Impaler, Ironheade encounter the people who helped Ophelia save the women, the Roadies. After supplying them with amps from the Screaming Wall, the stealthy Roadies helped Ironheade through the Cleave of the Impaler and into Lionwhyte's lair, the Pleasure Dome.

During the journey, Eddie had a chance to spend some time with Ophelia. Ophelia tells Eddie a little bit about her family, who were actually Tear Drinkers- servants of the Sea of Black Tears. Her parents' history was why some people in Ironheade (especially Lita) didn't trust her. She concluded her story by saying the gate to the Sea of Black Tears was sealed shut by the Titans. Afterward, Eddie asked if she was in love with Lars, before Ophelia could give a straight answer, Eddie kissed her, showing his devotion to Ophelia. As a token of his trust, Eddie gave Ophelia something very precious to him- a necklace, once belonging to his mother.

Lionwhyte wasn't at all pleased with the intrusion, and told Ironheade to leave. Lars, however, was determined to defeat Lionwhyte, and told the evil general that he was prepared to lead his friends to a peaceful future, so he and Ironheade faced Lionwhyte and his army and defeated them.

The Tainted Coil

Lars was prepared to take the fight to the true enemy; Lionwhyte's puppeteer, Emperor Doviculus, the demon emperor. No sooner had Ironheade made their plans when out of the darkness arrived Doviculus, who wished to see the rebels who defeated Lionwhyte. Eddie watched along with his friends while Doviculus monologued about someone named Succoria, who was supposedly a spy working for him while living among the humans, leading Lita to believe Ophelia is the spy. Lars courageously stood up against Doviculus after the latter mocked humanity, and proclaimed that he was their king. After knowing that Lars was the leader, Doviculus mercilessly killed Lars by impaling him with his double edged spear. Eddie, Lita, and Ophelia rushed to Lars' side, who used his dying breath to tell Eddie to look after his sister. Eddie and Ophelia were prepared to avenge their fallen friend when Doviculus summoned an army of grotesque giants called the Bleeding Death to destroy the castle. Eddie and Ophelia escaped just in time, but Lita was waiting for them, claiming that Ophelia was the spy. Eddie was confused, but wanted to know the truth as well. Ophelia was trying to explain when she accidentally said that she knew about Eddie's parents. This troubling news angered Eddie, so the roadie left her stranded, believing her to be the spy Succoria. Eddie and Lita rendezvous with the rest of Ironheade to mourn the passing of their king.

Some Time Later...

After three months in hiding, a new threat appeared - the Drowning Doom. It was an army of humans turned undead by the power of the Sea of Black Tears. The Sea of Black Tears, closed long before, had been re-opened by Doviculus not long after General Lionwhyte was killed for the purpose of pitting human against human once again. After barely holding off the first few waves of Drowning Doom soldiers, followed by a much larger force, Ironheade was aided by the Fire Barons, who rescued the recovering rebellion from their damp fate after finding out that they were the ones who took out General Lionwhyte. After viewing the symbol on some of the attackers, a design identical to Ophelia's t-shirt, Eddie and Lita realize she must be the leader of this new army. Eddie decided to continue Ironheade's war against Doviculus by destroying the Sea of Black Tears, a choice Lita declared to be "suicide". The Fire Barons, however, asked "Can we come?".

While heading for the Sea of Black Tears, Ironheade encounters vicious Metal Beasts, protected by the Zaulia, fierce women warriors who tamed the Metal Beasts and used them as their mounts. Narrowly escaping being burned to death by the female warriors, Eddie discovers a very important piece of lore. Riggnarok, a friend of the Zaulia, the leader of the Black Tear Rebellion and the only participant who resisted the Sea's temptation, was Eddie's father. The growing army enlists the help of Rima, the Zaulia queen, and her warriors and their Metal Beasts. Eddie is soon told that his father was sent to the future to fight the Emperor of Demons, who Eddie believed to be Doviculus. After some time, Eddie had built an army large enough to destroy the Drowning Doom, and successfully began pushing back their forces. However, he still couldn't kill Ophelia, who tempted him with secrets of his family, saying that the Emperor already went to the future along with Riggnarok. Eddie responded saying his father must have defeated the Emperor because "In the future, there aren't too many demonic overlords running around. Except at record companies."

Ironheade ventured further into the Drowning Doom's tainted realm until they finally arrived at the Sea of Black Tears. While there, Ophelia appeared before Eddie. He took the opportunity to question her motives, so Ophelia explained by showing Eddie a vision of her past. Ophelia was lost and heartbroken, so she accepted her parent's fate and jumped into the Black Tears, hoping for death. Instead, Ophelia became possessed by its darkness.

Eddie enters Ophelia's chamber to end the battle. There he learns that Ophelia suspected Eddie as the traitor just as he suspected her. Eddie is prepared to face Ophelia, but when he calls her by what he believes to be her true name, Succoria, she gives him a confused look and tells him again that that isn't her name.

Abomination Overdrive

As it turns out, Ophelia was never the traitor, and Succorria was in fact Eddie's mother. This is revealed by none other than Doviculus, who appeared after Eddie asked who Succoria was. Doviculus also revealed Eddie's mother as the former Empress of Demons, and that Succoria was planning to spy on the humans. Doviculus even mentions to Eddie that The Separator was Succoria's weapon and that the very T-shirt he wears belonged to her (the name Succoria is actually hidden in the stylized drawing on the front of the shirt). She had planned to exploit the knowledge of the Titans, but when she arrived in the modern age of man, she was despaired to learn that the future belonged to humans, not demons. She abandoned her mission as her bloodthirstiness died and her spirit was sapped by modern civilization. Riggnarok could not bring himself to kill the pitiful Succoria, but instead began to care for the demon. In time they grew intimate, the result of that bond being Eddie. Doviculus finally revealed that although Succoria and Riggnarok travelled to the future, the secrets that she gave to Doviculus came from the past. After telling Eddie about his bloodline, Doviculus ripped out Ophelia's heart, killing her instantly. To further torture the roadie, he says that it was all Eddie's fault for turning her into a monster. Doviculus then summoned a giant tower-like monster to finish off the son of Succoria.

Using his army, Eddie is able to defeat Doviculus's monster and then faces Doviculus himself in the final battle. Doviculus stated that Eddie was a demon raised improperly by humans. When the demonic overlord asked if there was a word for people like him, Eddie replies "I'm a Roadie. I keep the trash off the stage." and charges the villain. The battle is difficult and straining, but Eddie finally defeats Doviculus by slicing off his head, stomping the ground, and yelling "DECAPITATIOOOOOOOOOOOON!", using the power of his voice to knock the Emperor's severed head off his shoulders.

After the battle, Eddie steals Ophelia's heart back from Doviculus' corpse. Unexpectedly; however, the heart melts, showing the necklace Eddie gave Ophelia. Through this, Eddie finally realizes that he wasn't fighting the real Ophelia at all, just her heart's grief and anger in the form of darkness. At that moment, with Doviculus no longer in control of the Sea via posession of Ophelia's heart, the cathedral monster he created collapses back into the water.

This throws Eddie into the Sea along with it, and after swimming down a short way he finds Ophelia sleeping peacefully. He places his mother's necklace around her neck again, joyful in the knowledge that he has found her at last. But when this does not appear to have any effect on her, for the first time Eddie begins to falter, and the dark tendrils of the Black Tears start to pull him down into the Sea's depths. All seems lost until Ophelia wakes up and saves Eddie's life, grabbing on to his stage pass and dragging him to the surface. The two embrace each other and officially rejoin Ironheade.

On the day of celebration, Eddie is content to stay in the shadows while Lita and the late Lars take the glory for Ironheade's success. Mangus and the rest of Ironheade say their tearful goodbyes, but Eddie assures them he's not going anywhere, he just has a few errands to run. From a distant hillside, Ophelia sees Eddie driving across the countryside in the Deuce, and a single black tear rolls down her cheek as he drives off and the credits roll.

Appearances[]

As the player-controlled protagonist, Eddie Riggs appears in every mission.

Characteristics[]

Eddie is proclaimed as the "greatest roadie of all time", and supports that fact throughout the game. He is able to build the Deuce from spare parts summoned at the Temple of Ormagoden, and later organises and leads the armies of Ironheade.

He is also a skilled guitarist, able to perfectly read tabulature and shred with Clementine surprisingly well. He can use the Separator almost perfectly, even though he admits that he'd never touched an axe before. This may be the influence of having a warrior father and a demon mother, who also wielded the axe. Eddie is also very strong. As he was assembling the Druid Plow he lifted its body and frame with ease. He's also shown carrying large amp towers for the Roadies to carry when gearing up to assault Lionwhyte's stronghold.

Eddie's personality can be immature at times, and he is almost always sarcastic and snarky. However, he also knows when it's time to be serious, and is an efficient and capable leader of men. He also knows that, as a roadie, his place isn't in the leadership of an army - a fact proven upon his initial meeting with Lars Halford. Eddie is also friendly and a good advisor, when people (Lita, Kage, and the Headbangers) have doubts of what they can do, Eddie supports them and helps them realize how strong and powerful they really are. Eddie also has a strong sense of justice in him when someone is being attacked or discriminated, like when Doviculus killed both Lars and Ophelia, Eddie would stop at nothing to defeat him and avenge his friends.

When it comes to Ophelia, Eddie can't help but feel strongly about her. He was partly jealous of Lars when Ophelia acknowledges him instead of Eddie, but he doesn't let it change the way he thinks of his friends. Even when Ophelia was taken in by the Drowning Doom, Eddie still loved her, and he was willing to do whatever it took to save her.

Quotes[]

Battle Quotes[]

I want a Heavy Metal hurricane!
— Eddie when Double Teaming with Headbangers
Sorry I messed up your batting order!
— Eddie after playing the Rock Block solo
Try doing your own show now, loser!
— Eddie's alternate quote for playing Rock Block
Rock can heal, but sometimes it hurts.
— Eddie after playing the Facemelter solo
I know you wish you were a bib cause you got face all over your shirt Facemelter solo
— {{{2}}}
FACE MELTED!!!Facemelter solo
— {{{2}}}
If your heart's not palpitating now, call a doctor because you are dead!
— Eddie after playing the Battle Cry solo
Oh mighty sun, burn the creatures of the night from this land while I enjoy coffee and bacon.
— Eddie after playing the Light of Dawn solo
You look like a cockroach wrapped in bacon!
— Eddie when approached by Doviculus in Multiplayer
What's that you got there, a new handbag? Looks heavy!
— Eddie after using the Anvil of Burden solo on an enemy avatar
If you're gonna copy my style, at least learn how to fight!
— Eddie when fighting another Ironheade player in Multiplayer
Oh god, I think you got your MAKEUP on me!
— Eddie when hit by certain Drowning Doom units
Freaky bondage loving perverts!
— Eddie when hit by certain Tainted Coil units
Demon, I will mess you up if you do that again!
— Eddie when hit by certain Tainted Coil units
You gross disgusting mutants!
— Eddie when hit by certain Tainted Coil units
Watch it lame-o!
— Eddie when hit by certain Hair Metal Militia units
Geez, that voice is so annoying!
— Eddie when hit by Lionwhyte's voice
Free those fans so they may come to love us!
— Random quote when Eddie uses the Charge command
Shit!
— Eddie when he hits the wrong note
Tear down that shitty Merch Booth!
— Random quote when Eddie uses the Charge command
Alright, I'm the wiener and you're the bun; now come on and let's have fun.
— Random quote when Eddie calls his troops to follow him
Everything in that general direction must DIE!
— Random quote when Eddie uses the Charge command
Don't worry. A little duct tape will patch that right up.
— Eddie when attacking an enemy avatar
I don't think this is symbolic at all.
— Eddie when fighting another Ironheade player in Multiplayer
Too much metal!
— Eddie while Double Teaming with a Razor Girl
I claim this land for Ironheade!
— Eddie after planting Rally Flag
Really? A standing ovation - for me?
— Eddie after claiming a Fan Geyser
Okay, the new meeting place is me.
— Eddie after moving Rally Flag
Dude, check out my flag.
— Eddie after moving Rally Flag
Alright - shut up your yappin' tube and open up your learnin' hole.
— Eddie while Commanding his army
I should teach a class.
— Eddie after killing an enemy
I'm gonna make an ashtray outta your hoof.
— Eddie while attacking Doviculus
How's that feel? Like the greatest thing that ever happened to you, right?
— Eddie to his army after playing the Battle Cry solo
That hurt, but you admired the skill... right?
— Eddie after killing an enemy
I'm sorry, was that too intense?
— Eddie after playing the Facemelter solo

Story Quotes[]

I TOLD YOU NOT TO CLIMB ON THAT, YOU STUPID MOTHER... FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!
— Eddie when he yells at the Kabbage Boy guitarist for climbing on the stage
Wait, I think I heard once that killing nuns is bad luck. I better get out of here.
— Eddie Riggs after killing the first Battle Nun in "Welcome to the Age of Metal"
Boy, these guys are awfully flammable for being soaking wet.
— Eddie when using Rima's Metal Beast against the Drowning Doom during "Regret's Infinite Mire"
Decapitatioooon!!!!!!!
— Eddie after he kills Doviculus and The Lamprey

Trivia[]

The concept art for Eddie.
  • In multiplayer, Eddie's demon skin has either a more red tone than in the campaign or a more blue tone to match the red or blue Ironheade units.
  • Eddie is voiced by and modelled after actor and musician Jack Black. His original appearance was a bulkier version of Motörhead front-man Lemmy Kilmister, with the only hold-overs being Eddie's stage pass and cigarettes.
  • Eddie's favorite book is Call of the Wild by Jack London.
  • Eddie made an appearance in the promotion commercial for Metalocalypse (a promotion tour for Dethklok's Dethalbum II) as a roadie to Dethklok, in which he saves them from a Bouncer.
    • Strangely enough, while being naturally right-handed, in the commercial Eddie is left-handed.
  • Tim Schafer explains that he got the idea for using a roadie as the main character in a video game when he met one of Megadeth's roadies, Tony. He also wanted a character similar to ones played by Jack Black, who are often enthusiastic metal lovers, and upon the casting of Black himself, redesigned the character to resemble him. It is possible the inspiration for his guitar's electric shock power comes from the Judas Priest's song 'Painkiller', where the Painkiller comes to humanity after they pray for help, and blasts bolts of steel. Also, the phrase in the song "Evil's going under deadly wheels" may have been an influence for the Deuce, and its nickname, the "Druid Plow".
    • In another parallel to Jack Black's career, Eddie carried a shark's tooth on a necklace, which he was told belonged to his mother, and some fans believe to actually be one of Succoria's teeth. If so, it parallels the Tenacious D movie "Pick of Destiny", where the titular pick is a tooth taken from Satan that is responsible for the success of the greatest metal bands, and Eddie is the world's greatest Roadie.
  • Eddie's default outfit consists of a black t-shirt with indistinguishable writing on the front of it (which is later revealed as a logo of his demon mother, Succoria), a black leather vest with lapel pins all over it (with one being the eventual Ironheade faction symbol and one being an 8-ball like the gear shift knob on The Deuce), and space on the back of it for one of the Back Patches, a sweatband on his right wrist, a spiked bracer on his left wrist, his road crew credentials, the amulet of Ormagöden which is worn as a belt buckle, black jeans, and black-and-white sneakers.

Gallery[]

Pre-Release and Promotional[]

Related Content[]

The characters of Brütal Legend
Allies

Eddie RiggsOpheliaLars HalfordLita HalfordMangusKill MasterThe BaronRimaKage the KannonierJack the Lift-OpKeeper of the Sacred Beer TreeSuzie

Antagonists

MittensLionwhyteDrowned OpheliaDoviculus

Neutral

Guardian of MetalThe HunterDadbatFletus

Historical

OrmagödenRiggnarokSuccoriaAetuliaFirst KingOphelia's Parents

Bosses

LampreyMittens Metal Queen Chrome RecluseBlack Tear TolluskBlack Tear MonsterDoviculus

Advertisement