Vermeer

Griffon Vermeer (天貴星グリフォンのフェルメール) is the Celestial Noble Star Specter of Hades army in the 18th century and wears the Griffon Surplice.

Story
Vermeer was born as a normal human being on Earth, but with the imminent awakening of the god Hades he was transformed into the Griffon Specter and became one of the three Magnates of the Underworld. He traveled to the Underworld and remained there until the boy Alone would eventually awaken. Pandora would eventually succeeded in awakening Hades' soul in the boy, which resulted in that Hades' Castle, the Specters' front base appeared upon the earth. Sensing that his master's Cosmo had awakened he ventured to Hades's Castle to greet his master. The Specter sensed the Cosmo of several Saints outside the castle and when he headed for their location he found Libra Dohko, Aries Shion and Pegasus Tenma. He called it a good omen that the Saints had wandered into the proximity since their powers would be drained greatly due to Hades barrier that surrounded the castle. Seeing the Saints preparing to run he chuckled and asked where they were going to which the Pegasus Saint replied by charging at him. Vermeer stopped him with one finger and was soon attacked by the other two but held them of just as easily. He mocked them by saying that if a Gold Saint was that weak they could all disappear. The Magnate threw the two Gold Saints away like two little gloves and wondered if that was what it took for them to not be able to rise again. The Specter got into a playful mood and said that if they would not rise he would make them. Using his "Cosmic Marionettion" technique he strung the two Saints up like marionettes so that he could control their every movement. He started by breaking Dohko's hand but thought it would be best if he broke Shion's neck right away but was interrupted by Tenma before he could do it. The Bronze Saint demanded that he would release the Gold Saints but Vermeer just looked down upon him and asked if the Saint really thought he could do something against him. The Saint continued to attack the Specter, much to Vermeer's dismay who just felt them as mosquito bites. Vermeer became irritated and strung the little Saint in his Cosmic Marionettion technique and decided that they would all die now. He was srprisingly interrupted by the voice of another Specter who told him to wait. Striding from Hades' Castle came Garuda Suikyo, much to Vermeer's chagrin. Vermeer demanded to know why he was stopping him to which Suikyo replied that Pandora had summoned the Griffon Specter to an audience. The Garuda Specter was more than enough to deal with the three Saints. Vermeer knew that Suikyo had once been a Saint of Athena and doubted that he would kill the three Saints so he remained to see him do it. Suikyo told him to go now because Pandora was not a woman who liked being kept waiting, but Vermeer demanded proof. The Garuda Specter told him to observe as he was about to cut of Tenma's head but was interrupted by a messenger. The Specter Skeleton announced that the two Specters were to immediately present themselves for an audience with their master Hades. Vermeer said it could wait but the messenger protested that it was Pandora's orders, so the Griffon had to give in and told Suikyo to leave the Saints since they would die of their injuries soon anyway.

Some time later after their audience with Hades, Vermeer was ordered to present himself to Pandora. The commander of the 108 Specters informed them that Athena had appeared in the Sanctuary, but something was amiss. A messenger then reported that Athena had arrived in Sanctuary as a baby, which confirmed Pandora's suspicions. Vermeer then suggested that he should go to the Sanctuary and take Athena's head as soon as possible. But she choose to send Suikyo instead as he knew the Sanctuary in and out. After the Garuda had left, Vermeer questioned Pandora why she had sent Suikyo who could betray them whenever he wanted. Pandora replied that it would not matter since she had another pawn in the Sanctuary that could take Athena's head, maybe even before Suikyo arrived. Vermeer was in disbelief that there were more than one traitor amongst the Saints of Athena. The traitor was the Pope himself Pandora said, and it would therefore only be a matter of time before the Sanctuary crumbled from within. The Magnate realized that the Specters would win without having to fight if all went well. But Pandora told him to be prepared since she sensed that a great will was moving the threads behind the scenes.

A messenger arrived shortly after to inform them that Suikyo's Specter troops had been annihilated and that the magnate had reached the Gemini temple. Vermeer questioned if Suikyo should continue on alone, and said that he himself could depart and take Athena's head in no time. But Pandora rejected his offer and told him that his skills would be required afterwardds when they were going to defeat all of the remaining Saints. After the audience with Pandora, Vermeer was striding through Hades' Castle when Frog Meehan appeared in front of Vermeer. Meehan greeted him and started talking about how troubling the situation was. He teased Vermeer about his feelings for his fellow Magnate, to which Vermeer responded that he would wring the Frog Specter's neck if he did not stop meddling. Meehan crouched a little in retreat while mentioning the crucial missions Suikyo had been given as of late. Vermeer replied that Pandora may or may not trust the former Saint, but that he did not and when Suikyo would show his true colors Vermeer would take his life. Meehan simply chuckled in agreement with Vermeer.

Some time later while Vermeer was strutting through the castle, Meehan called out for the magnate once more. Vermeer was irritable, but the frog said he had good news. Suikyo had apparently been defeated, and it was confirmed when the wrecked Garuda Surplice suddenly appeared behind him with Pandora. She confirmed that Suikyo had indeed been defeated, allthough she would have liked to use him more. Athena's Sanctuary had started to crumble and now was the time to attack. Pandora ordered Vermeer to take a group of Specters to Sanctuary and take Athena's head. Vermeer Agreed and told her that she could count on him. The magnate gathered a group of his subordinates and decided to set out to Athena's Sanctuary. He would not take the normal route however as he had received information that Specters had gone missing in the Yomotsu Hirasaka, which is the gateway to the underworld for human souls. A barrier made by the goddess Athena was constantly in place around the gateway which kept the Specters out, but for some reason it had severely weakened. With his squadron, Vermeer closed in on the gateway and witnessed pummeled Specters falling into the Underworld. When they reached the top they stood face to face with two of Athena's Saints, Cancer Deathtoll and Phoenix Ikki.

The Gold Saint welcomed the Specters and informed them that he would serve as their guide to Athena's Sanctuary. The Phoenix Saint protested however and told them that he would vanquish the Specters. Vermeers subordinates made a snappy comeback that they were of Vermeer's batallion and could easily pulverize the Saint. All six of them charged at Ikki but were defeated in one sole move by the Phoenix Saint. The Saint scoughed at the Specters' strength and asked if Vermeer was on the same level. Vermeer noted that the Saint had some experience in dealing with Specters, to which he replied that he had fought many Specters in the future. The magnate became annoyed at the comment and told him that he did not like people that were too confident for their own good. With a simple gesture Vermeer had trapped the Phoenix Saint in his Cosmic Marionation technique. He took control of the Saint's body and teased him by asking what bodypart he would break first, but eventually decided to kill him right away. The technique was stopped by Deathtoll who said that the magnated did not need to trouble himself with a microbe such as Ikki, and that he could do it for him. Ikki protested while the Gold Saint performed a technqiue while chanting "shabadabada" and appearently sent the Phoenix Saint into an alternate dimension. Vermeer felt suspicious about the Gold Saint and commanded him to guide him to Athena's Sanctuary. Vermeer started walking while Deathtoll called out that he had forgotten something. Behind the Specter, the Gold Saint was about to open a ornated stone casket.

Vermeer glared at the Gold Saint, and walked up to the somewhat panicking Saint and stepped on the lid to the Omerta.

Concept & Creation
Griffon Vermeer was created by Masami Kurumada for the 18th century period in Saint Seiya: Next Dimension. Fans could get a sneak peek of this new character along with Suikyō on the 9th of May, 2007 when Kurumada posted preliminary sketches on his blog[8]. He first appeared in Vol 1 part 9: Barrier where he attacked several Saints outside Hades Castle. His name comes from the Dutch painter Vermeer. His appearance was also the first time the Griffon Surplice had been shown in color by Kurumada. When Vermeer was shown in Part 20, his hair had become more brown than the blonde in the previous chapters. The left eye of the Griffon Surplice was switched to red in Part 53 after being green in the previous chapters.

Special Techniques
"Cosmic Marionettion"

Vermeer uses his Cosmo to emulate strings from his fingers. These strings will attach themselves to their opponent's limbs and takes full control over them. Vermeer is then able to manipulate the threads to moves the opponent's limbs in whatever way he pleases. "Cosmic Marionettion Variation"

In this version of the CM technique, Vermeer can manipulate the threads into several different poses that will inevidently twist the opponent's body into a wrangled mess. In the story Vermeer, used positions such as Arabesque, Croisé, Fouetté, Pas De Chat, Renversé, En split dehors and The Grand Finale, The Piroutte of Death.