Phoenix Ikki (鳳凰星座フェニックスの一輝, Fenikkusu no Ikki; Literally meaning "Gleam") is the bronze saint of Phoenix. Although he was introduced later than the other four main Bronze Saints, Ikki's role in the story is quite significant. He serves as the first antagonist in the series that the other Saints must defeat, as well as a powerful ally later in the series.

Name

"Ikki" (一輝) can be translated to as "One/Singular Brilliance" or "Greatest Shine", which denotes the character's lone wolf attitude as well as his above-average, fiery power.

Characteristics

While Ikki is officially recognized as a Bronze Saint, his base power easily places him well above most Silver Saints, and his reputation as a powerhouse is common knowledge among his peers and fellow Bronze Saints. Even as a child, Ikki was known as the toughest kid of the 100 orphans, and would often defend his then delicate younger brother Shun from the other children. He could easily be recognized as the strongest Bronze Saint when it comes to raw power.Ikki's personality is drastically different from his fellow Saints. He is almost the opposite of his younger brother—Shun is calm, soft, caring and very emotional, whereas Ikki is harsh, cold, aggressive, and very much of a loner. Fellow Saint Wolf Nachi once pointed out that it was very hard to believe Ikki and Shun were related due to the extreme difference in their personalities.As noted by Kanon in the Poseidon arc and by Pandora in the Hades chapter, Ikki's Cosmo is unique to him—it is full of hatred, anger, incredible aggression and power, but it was still guided by his deep love and loyalty for his younger brother, his friends and loyalty to Athena. Although he dislikes teamwork, he comes to battle whenever Athena's Saints need his help, and is often seen coming in the nick of time to save his younger brother and friends from certain death. This tactic has always been exploited to their advantage, since the enemies are caught by surprise upon meeting/fighting him. He is a noble, complex and mature character, who does not doubt whenever it's necessary to sacrifice his life for his friends.

Biography

Early years

Saint Seiya (1986), chapter I: the Sanctuary - Ikki appearing as an antagonist

In order to take revenge, Ikki stole the parts of the Sagittarius Cloth and challenged the other Bronze Saints to a battle for it.
Lizard Misty, a silver saint sent from Sanctuary to assassinate the bronze saints, made his presence known when he had the mountain collapse, burying Ikki in the process. Mu and Kiki teleported the Bronze Saints and the Black 4 out of the mountain, whilst Ikki chose not to ride the teleport.
In order to remove Shaka from the other bronze saints' path to the Pope, Ikki decided to sacrifice his body and cosmos when he attempted to eject both himself and Shaka to an other plane.
In the manga, Ikki was defeated by Saga's second Galaxian Explosion, with the others left wondering if he was dead or alive. In the anime, Saga didn't use his Galaxian Explosion until the third film. In fact, Kanon was the first to use it against Ikki in the anime.
After the Sanctuary Chapter in the manga, Ikki only resurfaced to take revenge on Lymnades Kayza, one of Poseidon's generals, who had humiliated Seiya, Hyoga, and Shun through mental and physical torture.
Non-canon anime episodesIn the anime, it is the giant Docrates who accomplished this feat, rather than Lizard Misty. Ikki would return soon after to aid Saori Kido and Seiya when the two found themselves ambushed by various silver saints.
Eris and Heated Battle of the GodsAsgard arcIn the anime, before battling Poseidon and his Marine Generals, Ikki and his fellow bronze saints would travel to Asgard to confront the fabled God Warriors.
Ikki was forced to abandon his cloth in order to break free from God Warrior Mimé's final attack. Seeing Ikki unarmed, Mime himself removed his God Robe and challenged the Phoenix Saint to one last hand-to-hand duel. After a dramatic final exchange of fists, both men fell to the ground -- with Mime failing to survive the exchange. Ikki would return again to fight Bud.
Saint Seiya (1986), chapter II: PoseidonIn the Poseidon arc, Ikki aids the bronze saints by defeating Lyumnades Kayza and immediately battling Sea Dragon Kanon afterwards. Although he was unable to beat Kanon, Ikki was crucial in extracting valuable information from the Marina General that led to Athena's victory against Poseidon.
Legend of Crimson Youth and Warriors of the Final Holy WarSaint Seiya (1986), chapter III: HadesIkki does not appear in the Hades chapter until the Saints are well in their way in the Underworld. He managed to defeat Garuda Aiacos and then confronted Hades himself, who had gained possession of his younger brother's body. Ikki unsuccessfully attempted to rip the Greek deity out of Shun's body, and was punished for it with death. Ikki's body was then sent to Cocytus, the 8th prison of Tartarus, where men who rose their fist at the gods suffered eternal punishment. The Phoenix's body was dropped off by the spectre, Harpy Valentine. Seiya was there with other inactive Saints: Mu, Aiolia, and Milo.
In the manga, Pandora helped Ikki out of the Ice Hell but in the anime, Ikki got out all by himself to kill the last of the Specters.

Techniques and abilities

Ikki is a powerful Bronze Saint as is often confronted with the strongest enemies. His energy level also places it well above all the saints of silver. As the myth of the Phoenix, the power of Ikki increases every time he is killed and resurrected. In his battle with Virgo Shaka, Ikki was able to awaken his seventh sense, which placed him in the ranks of Gold Saints and Hades judges in terms of power and skill. This is demonstrated when he easily defeated Garuda Aiacos during his nick to save time Kanon. In "Saint Seiya Omega", Ikki has the same sé level not exceeding Aegaeon of the four first-class Pallasites. Which also makes him the strongest among the saints in bronze was Omega. Ikki also aroused the eighth direction. As a saint, Ikki uses two techniques to dispose of his enemies; physical damage, and the other destroys the mind of your enemy.
His physical attack is Phoenix's Wings Rise (鳳翼天翔, Hōyoku Tenshō), which gathers forces of wind and heat into a concentrated point, unleashing them in a single blow. This attack covers a wide range of distance and it's Ikki's signature move. It may also be used on multiple enemies at the same time. In the manga, the attack is performed strictly with his palms only; in the anime, it is revised to include his fists, although the Phoenix Saint has utilized the original manga form of the technique on several occasions.

His other attack is Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist (鳳凰幻魔拳, Hōō Genmaken), is infamous for destroying the minds of its victims—the technique is dealt from either a single fist or a finger. Concentrating his Cosmo into his fist to literally destroy his opponent's mind. Once used, it sends various nightmare illusions directly created by the opponent's brain; he or she is trapped within an illusion that is almost indistinguishable from reality. It also considerably weakens control of the Cosmo and depth of perception of reality. Ikki's Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist usually spells doom for the one in the receiving end—unless he has an unusually powerful mind.
In addition to weakening and trapping an enemy in a powerful illusion (followed by instant death) this attack also serves to delve deep into an enemy's mind - as was the case when this attack was used on Gemini Kanon during his reign in the Poseidon story arc and many other characters in the anime-only Asgard chapter.

In some battles, Ikki first uses the Phoenix Illusion Demon Fist to paralyze his rival, and then deals the Phoenix's Wings Rise to finish him off.
"Phoenix Feathers"- Even if it's not mentioned as one of his techniques, it should be. First he used it to stop Virgo Shaka from killing Andromeda, and wounded his hand. He used it a second time to stop Gemini Saga from killing Pegasus Seiya and even managed to pierce his hand through the Gemini gold cloth. The third time he used it to stop Mime in the Asgard Saga from killing Andromeda Shun. The fourth time he used it against Minos in the underworld, to cut trough his technique "Cosmic Marionette" against Gemini Kanon.

Font: https://saintseiya.fandom.com/wiki/Phoenix_Ikki