Elden Ring Helmets vs. Berserk Helmets

I’m combining two things here because I don’t feel like writing separate entries for both.

Before the Eclipse welcomes him into the God Hand, the man once known as Griffith endures a year of unending torture for sleeping with the princess of a prominent kingdom. His tongue is cut out, his skin flayed, and all the while he’s forced to wear an iron mask. After his rescue by Guts and the other members of the Band of the Hawk, Griffith slowly recuperates, but the mask remains to conceal the scars of his brutal ordeal.

Elden Ring players have drawn comparisons between Griffith’s iron mask and that of the Prisoner class players can choose at the beginning of the game. It’s not a 1:1 reference, of course, but the covered eye on the Prisoner’s headwear neatly coincides with the fact that Berserk rarely shows a front-facing Griffith in his mask, mostly preferring to depict the tortured mercenary with one eye obscured by the mask’s shadow.

Furthermore, the Winged Helm worn by Elden Ring boss Malenia and eventually obtainable by players can easily be seen as an homage to a similar piece of armor Berserk antagonist-turned-ally Farnese wears during her time commanding the Holy Iron Chain Knights. Sure, this could easily be waved away as both being inspired by medieval depictions of Valkyries, but I prefer to see them as directly connected because that’s more fun.