Elden Ring DLC Trailer Confirms Miquella Is Literally Griffith From Berserk

It’s no mystery that Elden Ring, or any FromSoftware title, takes heavy inspiration from Kentaro Muira’s Berserk. The recent Shadow of the Erdtree trailer has highlighted some major similarities between Miquella, an empyrean and brother to the infamous Malenia, and Griffith, the main antagonist of Berserk.

While it may just be speculation, Miquella might be planning to do exactly what Griffith did in Berserk. If that really is the case, then the DLC is going to be more interesting in terms of story than the main game ever was. I’m sure everyone is extremely hyped for it, as they should be, because FromSoftware DLCs rarely disappoint.

It was already quite clear that Miquella is exceptionally similar to Griffith in so many ways. Still, the recent trailer clearly hinted that Miquella might be planning to do exactly what Griffith did, and it’s not pretty. We’ll discuss what he did and how the two are so similar. But if you’re concerned about spoilers regarding Berserk, you probably shouldn’t read any further.

Miquella, as Griffith

From the start of Elden Ring, Miquella is depicted as a kind, gentle soul who is also wise and cunning. Like his sister, he is an Empyrean, a candidate for godhood chosen by the Two Fingers. As quoted by Malenia,

He possesses the wisdom, the allure of a god – he is the most fearsome empyrean of all.”

Likewise, Griffith is also portrayed as someone with the wisdom, cunning, and charisma to lead people, and he succeeds in his goal of becoming a godlike being.

The biggest giveaway in the game regarding Miquella’s similarity to Griffith is the cacoon. In Berserk, Griffith takes refuge inside a Behelit/Egg of the King when he ascends to godhood. Similarly, Miquella also decides to sleep inside a cacoon to grow into an adult, as he’s cursed with eternal youth.

There are also plenty of references in the main game that relate Miquella to Griffith, such as the Haligtree, which was created by the Empyrean as a place of refuge for those spurned by the Golden Order. But to get the full picture, we’ll have to wait till June 21 for the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC to come out.

Band of The Hawk

In Berserk, before Griffith ascended to godhood, he was a gentle, charismatic, yet incredibly strong leader of a small group of mercenaries. This group was called Band of the Hawk, where the Hawk was Griffith himself. These mercenaries were loyal to him and supported his ideals.

In Shadow of the Erdtree’s story trailer, we clearly see a group of mercenaries who have traveled to the Land of Shadow and are loyal to Miquella, as we see them bowing in front of his Great Rune. If the similarities are intentional between Miquella and Griffith’s Band of the Hawk, we might see the Empyrean sacrificing these pawns in cold blood in order to achieve his desired goal.

Each of the NPCs we’ve seen supporting Miquella will most likely meet with a miserable death, either at the hands of the Tarnished or the Empyrean himself. However, it appears that these warriors are willing to give their lives for his cause, judging from the Narrator’s dialogues from the story trailer where it is said that Miquella will abandon everything, even his fate, but that is not enough to deter these warriors as they “choose” to follow him.

Note that a similar case happens in Berserk, where the members of the Band of the Hawk have sworn loyalty to Griffith and are ready and willing to go down any path for him, even give their lives for him. However, when the time comes when Griffith takes these lives that were so willingly given to him, the Band of the Hawk isn’t too happy with that.

Takeaway

If there are so many similarities between Miquella and Griffith, it gives us an idea of his end goal. The Empyrean plans to overthrow the Golden Order and become its God instead of Marika. There’s next to no doubt that he’ll stop at nothing. No matter how ruthless the decision is, Miquella won’t hesitate, and that is exactly how it should be.

If things really go down this way, we might have to fight Miquella as the final boss of the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC instead of Messmer the Impaler. Or, he may become our consort as the new God of The Lands Between, which sounds a lot more plausible. Regardless of the outcome, just like Griffith, it’s clear that Miquella won’t stop at anything before he achieves his goal.