Ramirez

Real Name: Tak Ne

Identity/Class: Immortal human

Occupation: Chief Metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain (last job prior to his death)

Affiliations: Connor MacLeod, Nakano, Graham Ashe; (possibly) Quentin MacLeod

Enemies: Kurgan; (possibly) Katana; Kortan

Known Relatives: Shakiko (third wife, deceased); Masamune (father-in-law, deceased)

Aliases: Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez; possibly Don Vincente Ramirez

Base of Operations: at time of death Scotland
previously Spain, Japan, ancient Egypt

First Appearance: Highlander (1986)

Powers/Abilities: Ramírez was an immortal, capable of healing virtually any wound (except those to the throat) in minutes. Even if a wound was instantly fatal, he would come back to life a short while later. The only way to permanently end his life was to decapitate him (which the Kurgan finally did). This difficulty in killing one another leads to Immortals having massive sword (and axe) fights with each another. Certain rules have evolved over the millennia: the fights must only be between two Immortals - third parties cannot interfere once battle is joined; and no Immortal can fight on Holy Ground. Like other Immortals, Ramírez didn't age.

Ramírez could also sense the presence of other immortals, although he only got a vague sense of their proximity, not where or who they were. When he killed other immortals through decapitation, he received their life essence in the form of a "Quickening", a sort of electrical light show. Centuries of practice made him an incredibly adept swordsman.

History: Tak Ne was born in Egypt thousands of years ago, during the times of the Pharaohs, and died there too, crushed under the wheels of a runaway cart. Death claimed him, but only briefly, and he returned to life to learn he was an immortal, one of a number who walked the Earth, unable to truly die unless his head was separated from the rest of his body. As the following years turned into centuries, he learned the rules of the immortals, the "Game": that they lived to one day fight a final contest against one another until only one remained and claimed "the Prize"; that they could not fight on holy ground, they could not attack in numbers, but must face each other in single combat; and that the winner of a fight to death between immortals would gain the loser's "Quickening", their lifeforce and experience. He also learned that while many immortals sought to live their lives without conflict with each other, at least until the "Gathering" which would trigger when only a few were left, there were some, such as the vicious Kurgan, who did not wish to wait, and actively hunted down their fellows to gain their Quickenings.

Tak Ne used his long life to travel and see the world, learning new things and marrying a number of times until he finally decided the grief of losing these loved ones was no longer worth it. He visited Japan, where he trained with the ancient immortal Nakano, and picked up a katana from Masamune, his father-in-law of the time. Later he met and trained with Graham Ashe, a European swordsman. By the 1500's he was living in Spain, working as the Chief Metallurgist to King Charles V of Spain under the name Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez; while there he heard of a new immortal who had turned up in the Highlands of Scotland, one who had been targeted by the Kurgan but survived. He quit his post and travelled to Scotland, where he sought out this young Highlander, Connor MacLeod, and took him under his wing. He taught Connor the rules of the immortals, giving him a much better chance to survive. However, one day when Connor was away on a business trip, the Kurgan returned. Though Ramírez had not been his intended victim, the Kurgan was not fussy; battle ensued, and though Ramírez nearly managed to decapitate his foe, he ultimately lost both the fight and his head.

Comments: Played by Sean Connery.

In the second Highlander film (The Quickening: Renegade Cut) Ramírez was resurrected when Connor took two Quickenings too close together; unable to absorb the combined energies, he instead discharged it into the air while crying out his old friend's name. Somehow this caused Ramírez to be reconstituted, whole and undamaged on the spot where he had died. He tracked MacLeod down to New York, and helped him in his fight against the villainous immortal Katana and the powerful but corrupt Shield Corporation, eventually giving his life again to allow Connor to escape a trap. This story contradicts all the subsequent Highlander movies and the TV series, and so is generally not considered canonical (for what that's worth) by most fans (or even the people who made it). Even less canonical is the original theatrical cut of the film (The Quickening), which established through flashback that both Connor and Ramírez were actually alien rebels from the planet Zeist, a revelation which directly contradicted the first movie.

In the Highlander cartoon, set in a post-apocalyptic future, the new MacLeod was mentored by Ramirez... or at least, by a Ramirez. This character is Don Vincente Ramirez, and he does bear a fair degree of similarity to the movie Ramirez. Possibly this was Ramirez resurrected (as he appeared to be in Highlander 2, if you accept that continuity instead of the series and/or later moves), with a slightly modified alias; possibly this was another Immortal who had taken the name to honour this Ramirez. Given the name similarity, the chance of it being intended to be a coincidence is fairly small.

Thanks to Troy Rudolph for the cartoon Ramirez' full name.

CLARIFICATIONS: None.

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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