Umber

Umber
Other names	{{{other names}}}
Alignment	Good
Appears in	R2, RR, RDS
Location	{{{location}}}
Portrayed by	{{{portrayed by}}}
Sex	Male
Species	Colossus
Status	Guardian
Relatives	{{{relatives}}}
Unlock criteria	{{{Unlock criteria}}}

"it is an honour to serve a hero such as yourself" - Umber upon helping Rayman and recieving thanks.

Umber is a 'boss' in Rayman 2: The Great Escape and is the Guardian of the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire.

Role in the games

Unlike the other bosses in the game, he is the only one who does not fight. He is only activated when Rayman connects the magic spheres to the pyramids of their respective colours, and Rayman has to stand on his head as he walks across the lava, sinking as he goes along, which then counts as defeat. Should the player choose to return to the Sanctuary of Stone and Fire after 'defeating' Umber, he can still be found there in his previous position, alive and well, waiting to ferry Rayman across the lava. This suggests that he survives his being submerged in lava, rather than sacrificing his life to help Rayman, which could be inferred from making only a single playthrough of the level.

In the PlayStation version of Rayman 2, Umber is known only as ‘a stone Colossus’; like the other Guardians, he remains unnamed in this version. He warns Rayman about the Ninja Henchmen, while advising him about their weaknesses. Because of this, Umber is thought to be the friendliest of the Guardians of the Four Masks, unlike Axel and Foutch. He even admits that it's an honor helping such a hero such as Rayman, probably referring to the events of the original game, in which Rayman saved the world from the evil Mr Dark. His benevolence is thanks to Ly, who ‘contacted his spirit’, according to the Grand Minimus, and explained the situation involving Polokus and the Robo-Pirate invasion to him, thus convincing him to help Rayman. Unfortunately, Ly's tactic did not work on Foutch, as he had already gone mad from the destruction of the Heart of the World, forcing Rayman to battle him for the Third Mask.

It is worth noting that Ly's intervention with the gaurdians is mentioned only in the Playstation Version of Rayman 2, and may not be cannon in other versions. Therefore, Umber may not be as benvolent in these versions as it seems. As he can clearly suvive submerging himself in lava, this in fact could be his method of attack, leading the potential mask-taker into a false sense of security, and then killing them in the lava when they least suspect it. It is notable that no explanation to his sinking is ever given, as well as the fact that he does not sink in the Playstation Version, the only version that specifically states that he is helping Rayman.

Umber, like the other guardians, is ommitted from Rayman 2 Forever

Trivia

• Umber is the only mask guardian to have a named species. He is also the only one to have a differing species, as he is clearly not the same as Axel or Foutch. This was not changed in Rayman Revolution as Grolem 13 was clearly of the same (unnamed) species as Axel and Foutch.