Rei is a major posthumous protagonist in unORDINARY. He is the older brother of Remi. He was a graduate of Wellston Private High School and the former King of Wellston before Arlo.[1] As a vigilante, he went by the moniker X-Static.[4] Unfortunately, X-Static would meet his end at the hands of the anti-vigilante organization, EMBER. This was done by agents Volcan and Brims.
Appearance[]
Rei was a handsome, tall, muscular late teen with green-turquoise hair and orange eyes. His speech bubbles are the same color as his hair.
At Wellston, he wore school uniform with and without the vest. In his graduation, he wore a tuxedo with yellow suspenders saying "King." He also wore this suit to his funeral. As X-Static, he wore a gray spandex suit including a gray mask, a brown belt and black pants.
Personality[]
Rei's friendliness with Low Tiers
Unlike many high-tiers of his time, Rei was one of the few people in unORDINARY to hold all tiers in equal regard. Even before being influenced by W. H. Doe's book, Rei dedicated his life to make the world fair for everyone around him. Encouraging and amicable, Rei was known for giving the lower tiers hope that they can compete in life. After reading Unordinary, his altruistic nature intensified, leading him to become the vigilante X-Static.
Power and ability training had their place in Rei's worldview. He believed that one should be at their strongest so they would always be prepared for what life throws at them. To that end, he personally oversaw his sister's ability training and advised Arlo to defend the title of King against all newcomers. His philosophies on strength and kindness were intertwined, as he used his strength to the fullest extent in the name of helping those in need during his time as a vigilante. Alongside his best friend and partner, Kuyo he was dead-set on stopping the distribution of Ability Amplifying drug, ultimately dying while trying to stop the root cause.
History[]
Rei grew up in a family of Elite-Tiers who didn't discriminate based on hierarchy. His ideology and worldviews were most likely shaped by his immediate family.
Side Story - Rei[]
During his first year at Wellston Private High School, Rei was a mid-tier student with a level of 3.2 and resided in the dorms with his roommate Kuyo. Despite being a mid-tier at the time, Rei was still one of the stronger freshmen in Wellston, and both he and Kuyo were acknowledged by the royals of the time.[5]
Unfortunately, after Kuyo began hanging out with the Royals, Rei would see his friend become more of a bully, and the relationship between Rei and Kuyo would sour over time. While initially unsure about what to think, after some advice from his mother, Rei had made up his mind. He declared that he would no longer stand by while Kuyo engaged in petty tyranny. From then on, he would push back against anybody who went on a power trip.[6]
King of Wellston[]
Rei and Kuyo butted heads many more times after that day. These disruptions forced Kassandra to drag them to the Headmistress's office quite frequently. Rei felt bad about inconveniencing others, and resolved to work even harder to be his ideal self.[7] Eventually, his perseverance and charisma even won over Kassandra. When she graduated, he bid her a fond farewell as the new King of Wellston.[8]
Rei after his graduation with Arlo.
Rei remained King until his own graduation, four years before the events of unORDINARY. His unorthodox treatment of all tiers became the standard, in the hopes to get rid of violence and treat all students equally. He told the higher tiers to be lenient with the lower tiers and encouraged the lower tiers to "reach for the skies."[9] Many of the higher tiers disliked how Rei ran the school, including Cecile and his former Jack, Arlo.
Rei with Arlo and Cecile.
Rei fought against Arlo numerous times, and consistently defended his title as King. At some point, Rei promised to have a rematch against Arlo.[10] After his graduation, Rei congratulated his successor, Arlo, for being the youngest person to hold the title of King of Wellston, but also warned his successor about the many students who were gunning for his position. Arlo vowed to keep the King position as long as he was in Wellston.[11]
Vigilantism[]
At some point in his life, Rei was influenced by W. H. Doe's Unordinary[12] and became a well-known vigilante, X-Static.[13] He also managed to convince Kuyo to become a better person and become his vigilante partner. One day, their investigations on Ability Amplifiers circulating in low-tier districts led them to Lovun. At an alleyway near the intersection of Rokel and Acres Street, they came across a dead body with a vial left behind. Suddenly, they ran into one of EMBER's associate, who immediately attacked the two using Flame Claw and another presumably speed-based ability. Rei managed to stun the killer and identified him as the killer. Before knocking him out, however, another assassin appeared as a trap and injured them both. The two agents were so powerful that Kuyo's swords were practically useless against them. Because Kuyo refused to leave, and Rei understood that Kuyo would die if he stayed to protect him, Rei unleashed a massive lightning bolt which hit both agents and himself, seemingly sacrificing himself to save his friend. However, it has not been confirmed whether or not Rei died because of the massive lightning blast he unleashed, or simply because of his wounds. The latter is certainly possible, as he sustained many serious laceration wounds and burns from Volcan's Flame Claw and was impaled by the second agent. When Kuyo returned for Rei, the two agents were still standing, as though they had hardly taken any damage, and their presence made it impossible for Kuyo to collect Rei's body. [14]
Legacy[]
Unfortunately, Rei was denounced for his vigilantism and publicly shamed on TV. The news reported X-Static's body had numerous second-degree burns, stab wounds, and the EMBER logo branded on his abdominals.[13]
Also, despite Rei's good intentions, his methods of running the school proved to be detrimental towards the Wellston student body in the long run, and many students simply waited for his departure. Once Rei had left, lower-tiers who were inspired by him began to pick fights with the higher-tiers, and every day, fights would break out in the school without any regards toward anything. Arlo spent his second year undoing what Rei had done and reestablishing the hierarchy in Wellston. Despite this, Arlo does not hold any ill-will against his predecessor whatsoever and continues to harbor respect for Rei.[9]
Others were not so kind when it came to remembering him. Cecile had nothing but contempt for his disregarding the hierarchy. She felt it was irresponsible to give low-tiers the impression that they could face high-tiers without repercussions.[15] Even those who didn't know him personally spoke ill of his reign. John denounced him as a failure who convinced himself he made a positive difference when he only ever managed to gloss over the symptoms of the systematic inequality, naming Arlo's recent abuse of power as proof.[16] Ezra of the Rowden Royals also made similar condescending remarks on Rei's leaderships.[17]
His sister, Remi wishes to do anything he can to uphold his legacy and tried to find the truth behind his death throughout the series. Eventually, she learned it from Kuyo.
Powers & Abilities[]
Lightning: As a high-tier and a former King of Wellston, Rei was considered to be one of the strongest students of his time. Just like his younger sister, Remi, Rei's Lightning, to generate electricity.[1] It is highly likely that he also possessed the ability to detect electrical circuitry and run at high speeds with his ability active. Rei was also powerful enough to pierce Arlo's Barrier and won every match he had against Arlo. Arlo has even gone as far as to state, "You couldn't kill [Rei] even if he let you."[10]
During his first year, Rei started off as a mid-tier with a level of 3.2.
Relationships[]
Remi[]
Remi was Rei's younger sister and while the two were never seen interacting in the Webtoon itself, it is heavily implied that the two shared a close, familial relationship. Furthermore, Remi appears to share Rei's morals and standards, as shown during her time as X-Rei. After Rei had passed, Remi mourned her brother and become noticeably more quiet and passive.[4] Once she realized that EMBER was behind her brother's murder, Remi hopes to bring EMBER to justice.
Arlo[]
While Arlo disagreed with Rei's methods of running the school, Arlo nonetheless admired his predecessor[18] and holds nothing against Rei for ruining the hierarchy.[9] According to Remi, Rei always asked her about Arlo's well-being and often talked about how he was meant for great things. Furthermore, Arlo does not tolerate anyone bad-mouthing Rei as shown with his reaction when talking with Cecile.[19]
Kuyo[]
Although their relationship was somewhat complicated at first, Kuyo can be considered Rei's best friend. During his first year at Wellston Private High School, Rei shared a dorm with Kuyo. Unfortunately, after Kuyo began hanging out with the Royals, Rei would see his friend become more of a bully, and the relationship between Rei and Kuyo would sour over time. While initially unsure about what to think, after some advice from his mother, Rei had made up his mind. No longer able to stand by Kuyo's side, Rei had chosen to do things his way and would eventually become the King of Wellston. Evidently, however, after recommending the book Unordinary to Kuyo, their relationship changed, as in Chapter 279 it was stated that they were very good friends. In Chapter 199 Kuyo told Blyke that his friend recommended the book to him. The two were partners in their vigilante work, and Kuyo was there when Rei was killed.
Kassandra[]
Kassandra is a senior of Rei and Kuyo during their school days at Wellston. While their first meeting ended on a good note, with Kassandra telling Rei that he too could be a high-ranker someday, she initially had more hope on Kuyo becoming the strongest student. Their constant fights often forced her to escort them to the Headmistress's office.[7] Nonetheless, Rei's perseverance eventually won her over.[8]
Quotes[]
- (To Arlo's statement about liking to look down on people) "Well, aren't you just charming?"
- (To his mother, when she was having difficulty in a video call) "Jeez mom, how can you be so bad at tech when you literally shoot electricity out of your fingers?"
- (To Kuyo) "I tried to support you...but all you do is push other people around."
Notes & Trivia[]
- Rei was the fourth vigilante to be killed by EMBER.
- Rei has the highest stats of any person outside of the God tier.
- Remi's Vigilante name, X-Rei is a combination between Rei's real name and his vigilante name, X-Static.
- In his first year, Rei's ability level was 3.2, as shown in Side Story - Rei (1). He also stated that both his parents were elite tiers.
- Rei was the strongest known high tier (excluding god tiers)
- As of January 14, 2020, Rei's stats have been updated by Uru-chan.
- Rei is the same height as John.
- "Rei" means "king" in Portuguese and its derivative languages.
- Rei's name phonetically sounds like "Rey", the Spanish word for king.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chapter 41
- ↑ I'm uru-chan, creator of unOrdinary! AMA! : unOrdinary (reddit.com)
- ↑ Chapter 266
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 45
- ↑ Side Story - Rei (1)
- ↑ Side Story - Rei (2)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapter 308
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 332
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Chapter 137
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapter 88
- ↑ Chapter 79
- ↑ Chapter 11
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chapter 6
- ↑ Chapter 280
- ↑ Chapter 60
- ↑ Chapter 151
- ↑ Chapter 251
- ↑ Chapter 48
- ↑ Chapter 65