Within the series, Riddick is depicted as having a wide range of skills, including exceptional mobility, stealth, combat abilities, survival in harsh conditions, prison escape, and piloting. Despite his criminal background, he occasionally performs moral or heroic actions, often against his own survivalist instincts.
Originally shown as a human in Pitch Black, Riddick's race is later revealed to be Furyan in subsequent sequels. The Furyans are a warrior race nearly exterminated by a military campaign that left their home planet, Furya, desolate. Riddick is one of the last surviving members of this race. His eyes, a defining feature, allow him to see clearly in the dark, a trait associated with a specific caste of Furyans known as Alpha-Furyans. In Pitch Black he implies that his eyes were surgically altered, but this is later attributed to his Furyan heritage. To protect his eyes from bright light, he wears tinted welding goggles.
Riddick's past includes roles as a mercenary and a member of a security force, eventually becoming a soldier. This background contributes to his complex character, blending elements of an antihero with occasional heroic actions.[1]
Biography
Early life
Riddick was born on the planet Furya. Before his birth, a Necromonger officer named Zhylaw who would later become the Lord Marshal, consulted an Elemental seer. The seer foretold that a Furyan male would be born who would ultimately lead to Zhylaw's downfall. In response, Zhylaw launched an attack on Furya, attempting to massacre all male infants, even personally strangling newborns with their umbilical cords. Riddick was among those targeted but managed to survive the ordeal.
In his later life, Riddick repressed memories of the massacre on Furya. He believed that his mother had attempted to strangle him at birth and abandoned him in a trash bin behind a liquor store. Despite these repressed memories, he periodically received visions and messages from Shirah, a surviving Furyan.[2]
In the premiere installment of the Chronicles of Riddick franchise, Riddick is introduced as a notorious convict being transported to a penal institution by a bounty hunter named William J. Johns. Johns, posing as a police officer, travels with a group of settlers aboard the transport ship Hunter Gratzner. His objective is to safely deliver Riddick to a prison colony and claim the substantial bounty on him.
During the journey, the ship passes through the tail of a comet while on autopilot, causing it to crash land on an unknown planet with three suns. The survivors soon find themselves battling for their lives against a predatory species known as Bio-Raptors. By the end of the film, only three survivors remain: Riddick, a young girl named Jack, and a man named Imam.
Shortly after escaping the planet from Pitch Black, Riddick, Jack, and Imam are picked up by a mercenary spacecraft. Riddick tries to hide his identity from the mercenaries by impersonating William J. Johns over the intercom. However, the mercenaries quickly identify him through voiceprint recognition.
Captured by the mercenaries, the trio learns that their captors have unusual plans for Riddick. The ship's owner, Antonia Chillingsworth, collects notorious criminals, freezing them and displaying them as statues, which she considers art. Although frozen, the criminals remain alive and conscious. Chillingsworth views Riddick as the ultimate "masterpiece" for her collection.
Riddick, Jack, and Imam must fight their way through Chillingsworth's army of human and alien creatures to avoid a fate worse than death. After overcoming most of the mercenaries on the ship, the trio takes one of Antonia's shuttles and heads for New Mecca. At one point, the navigation system suggests a possible course for Furya, but Riddick ultimately leaves Jack and Imam at New Mecca before departing for the planet UV 6.
Five years later, Riddick remains in hiding on an Arctic planet known as UV 6, characterized by its harsh ultraviolet light. During this time, Imam learns that his home planet, Helion Prime, is threatened by an impending invasion from the Necromongers, a fanatical religious crusade. Remembering Riddick's story about his Furyan origins, Imam reveals Riddick's location to the leaders of Helion Prime.
Initially, Riddick is reluctant to become involved in the conflict between the Necromongers and the worlds they seek to conquer. However, after Imam is killed, Riddick embarks on a mission to avenge him. With the assistance of Jack (who has abandoned that name in favor of Kyra while in prison), Riddick ultimately overthrows the Necromonger leader, the Lord Marshal, and assumes his position as the new leader of the Necromongers..[citation needed]
Dissatisfied with his role as Lord Marshal, Riddick sets out to find Furya, but instead, he is abandoned on a desolate planet. Stranded, he discovers that a deadly storm is approaching, which will provide cover for numerous predators. To escape, Riddick uses the communication system from a mercenary outpost to lure two ships to the planet, intending to commandeer one. However, his plan becomes complicated when one of the arriving mercenaries turns out to be the father of William J. Johns, his old adversary.
As the storm nears, Riddick forces the mercenaries to cooperate with him to survive. Despite their initial hostility, Riddick is eventually surrounded by enemies and nearly killed. Unexpectedly, the elder Johns rescues him and allows him to leave the planet. Before departing, Riddick acknowledges that Johns is a better man than his son.
According to Riddick, while imprisoned in Butcher Bay, he received eye surgery—referred to as a "surgical shine job"—from a doctor who granted him permanent night vision in exchange for "20 mentholKOOLs" cigarettes. This procedure made his eyes highly sensitive to normal light, necessitating the use of welding goggles for protection, although he is occasionally seen without them in normally lit environments.
In the flash movie on the Pitchblack.com website, Riddick undergoes the eye-shine surgery to gain an advantage after encountering humanoids called "shiners," who also possess enhanced night vision. These "shiners" call Riddick "darkeye" and have had similar surgeries to navigate the dark areas of the Ursa Luna prison, where guards rarely venture. The surgery is depicted as being performed by a bovine veterinarian in a prison facility where Riddick has just arrived and is already planning his escape. Riddick chooses to forgo anesthesia for the painful procedure, which involves cutting the cornea and drilling into the eye to inject a reflective substance behind the retina. The quoted cost is 1000 credits, but having no cash, Riddick offers a pack of KOOL cigarettes as a down payment and takes welding goggles from the facility.
The video game The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, a prequel to Pitch Black, provides additional context. In the game, after helping a character named "Pope Joe" retrieve his "blessed voice box," Riddick receives stitches for an injury. Pope Joe advises Riddick on how to escape and warns him not to "trust [his] eyes." At that moment, a ghostly voice informs Riddick that he has "been blind for far too long" and grants him a "gift." This voice belongs to a character named "Shirah," who serves as a spiritual guide, helping Riddick awaken his dormant Furyan abilities. This moment marks the acquisition of his eyeshine.
In the Chronicles of Riddick film, Jack/Kyra confronts Riddick, revealing that during her imprisonment, she discovered that no one could perform a "surgical shine job" for any price, accusing Riddick of lying about how he gained his night vision.
Interestingly, a real-life procedure somewhat similar to Riddick's fictional eyeshine, involving light amplification, has been patented.[3][4]
Wrath of the Furyans
In addition to aiding Riddick in unlocking his eyeshine, the character Shirah helps him discover his ability to unleash a powerful energy wave. This ability is depicted in the director's cut of The Chronicles of Riddick. During a pivotal scene, Shirah places her hand on Riddick's chest, leaving a glowing blue handprint, and states, "this mark carries the anger of an entire race... but it's going to hurt." Subsequently, either immediately after being struck by Vaako's energy handgun or just before the weapon discharges, Riddick releases a large blast of blue energy. This blast emanates from Riddick, seemingly guided by Shirah, and kills the surrounding Necromongers.
This formidable energy wave ability is also referenced off-screen in the video game Escape from Butcher Bay.. Shirah's interventions highlight Riddick's latent Furyan powers, which are pivotal in his battles against the Necromongers and other adversaries.
Physical abilities
Riddick is depicted as being in exceptional physical condition and is an extraordinary fighter, both with and without his enhanced vision. Whether due to his Furyan heritage or rigorous training, Riddick exhibits superior strength, speed, agility, toughness, resistance to injury, acute senses, immense stamina, and rapid healing compared to most humans. He can dislocate his limbs briefly with minimal discomfort and has demonstrated remarkable pain tolerance, such as when he cauterized a chest wound using a heated rock after being impaled.
Riddick's resilience extends to his ability to withstand toxins. For instance, a mercenary team attempting to sedate him with horse tranquilizers required four darts just to slow him down, and he remained conscious until struck on the head. His high pain threshold and ability to psychologically channel pain into anger, combined with his sharp intelligence, contribute significantly to his ability to escape from almost any situation.
In hand-to-hand combat, Riddick's skills incorporate elements of Krav Maga, Hapkido, Eskrima, and Ninjutsu. He effectively uses these skills in various confrontations, such as killing one of the night-creatures in Pitch Black with a makeshift shiv and swiftly defeating a top Necromonger warrior in Chronicles. Additionally, Riddick managed to hold his own against the Lord Marshal, even inflicting injuries—a feat the Lord Marshal admitted had not occurred in a long time. Although Riddick was not as fast as the Lord Marshal, he managed to hold him off for several minutes.
Intelligence
Despite his harsh upbringing and often violent demeanor, Riddick possesses a keen deductive ability. He quickly discerns the fate of the original inhabitants of a mining base and identifies blind spots in dangerous situations, such as facing creatures in Pitch Black and deducing the cause of a firefight in The Chronicles of Riddick.
Renowned for his escape prowess, Riddick has evaded capture numerous times, surviving the Lord Marshal's purges and escaping from multiple prisons throughout his life. He demonstrates a remarkable proficiency in evaluating and identifying flaws in weaponry, even minor ones, with impressive speed and precision.
Riddick's notable weakness, aside from light sensitivity, is his soft spot for individuals who earn his trust. He is particularly protective of children and those who grow on him, often going out of his way to assist them. However, his assistance is conditional on not impeding his survival or making him vulnerable.
In addition to his analytical skills, Riddick possesses a sharp understanding of human nature, particularly its darker aspects. Having experienced life in maximum-security facilities and as a killer himself, he can often anticipate individuals' negative tendencies before they act on them. While occasionally surprised by acts of altruism, such as Carolyn Fry's sacrifice in Pitch Black, Riddick generally accurately predicts interpersonal dynamics and potential betrayals.
Despite his rugged exterior, Riddick appreciates acts of bravery and integrity, as evidenced by his positive reaction to Johns' father coming to his aid in Riddick. Overall, Riddick's keen insight and instinctual understanding of human behavior contribute to his survival and success in challenging circumstances.
Willpower
One of Riddick's defining characteristics is his unwavering willpower. Despite facing seemingly insurmountable odds in situations where survival or escape appears improbable, Riddick consistently exhibits resilience and determination. Confronted with formidable creatures vastly more powerful than himself or any human, he demonstrates the ability to evade, defeat, or even tame them.
Riddick's indomitable will is particularly evident in his numerous successful escapes from seemingly impenetrable prisons, a feat most prisoners would resign themselves to as impossible. Even when mentally probed by the Quasi-Dead of the Necromongers, Riddick not only resists their intrusion but retaliates, causing the Quasi-Dead's containers to explode under the strain of attempting to process his resilience. This accomplishment is particularly noteworthy given the Necromongers' reverence for the power of the Quasi-Dead.
An even more remarkable demonstration of Riddick's iron will is his ability to resist the Lord Marshal's attempt to steal his soul. Despite the Lord Marshal's formidable powers, Riddick remains defiant and refuses to succumb.
Although Riddick experiences a momentary wavering of his will when Kyra sacrifices herself to save him and help defeat the Lord Marshal, he channels his grief into renewed determination. This instance underscores Riddick's ability to transform adversity into strength, exemplifying his unyielding resolve in the face of adversity.
Weapons
Riddick is highly proficient with a wide range of weapons, but his preferred choice is undoubtedly a knife. Renowned for his skill with blades, Riddick's most iconic weapons are a pair of Ulak blades, prominently featured during his daring escape from Crematoria in The Chronicles of Riddick.
Despite his mastery of knives, Riddick is adept at utilizing any weapon he can acquire. From Necromonger gravity rifles to unconventional items like teacups, Riddick demonstrates versatility in combat. Moreover, he is capable of efficiently dispatching adversaries even without conventional weaponry. In The Chronicles of Riddick, he employs a knife taken from Irgun during a confrontation, ultimately using it to defeat both Irgun and the Lord Marshal.
In the third film, Riddick primarily relies on a bone-sword crafted from the remains of a slain creature. This improvised weapon showcases his resourcefulness and adaptability in hostile environments. Overall, Riddick's proficiency with weapons, coupled with his strategic ingenuity, makes him a formidable opponent in combat situations.
Other appearances
Riddick made his first appearance outside of the film Pitch Black in the gaming world as a guest character in Fallout Tactics. In this game, he appears in a special encounter titled Pitch Black reflecting his movie origin. Like his cinematic counterpart, Riddick is portrayed as a stealth-focused melee fighter with advanced hand-to-hand combat skills and the ability to see in the dark.
Additionally, Riddick has been featured as a playable character in the Xbox game Deathrow. As a member of the Convicts team, he possesses the highest levels of strength and aggression among recruitable players. However, he also has one of the lowest teamplay ratings in the game.
A parody version of the Riddick character has been the protagonist in the TimeSplitters video game franchise.
Richard B. Riddick first made his debut in the Shockwave prequel comic Pitch Black: Slam City, which was released on the official Pitch Black website a month before the movie premiered. Since then, the character has been consistently portrayed by actor Vin Diesel in all subsequent appearances across various media platforms.
In Jim and Ken Wheat's original script for Pitch Black, the Riddick character was a woman named Taras Krieg.[citation needed]
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