The top Quincy in Bleach are known as the Schutzstaffel, Yhwach's personal guard, and they have felt like overpowered villains, requiring several Captain-level Soul Reapers to beat them, and sometimes not even that was enough. However, there is one secret behind Tite Kubo's inspiration for these characters that explains their incredible power.
The Schutzstaffel consist of Pernida Parnkgjas, Gerard Valkyrie, Lille Barro, and Askin Nakk Le Varr, four prominent Quincy Sternritters with very different powers. They're definitely all dangerous opponents, and the majority of Bleach's final battle is devoted to the Shinigami's fight against these opponents, who could not be brought down even by the Captains' powerful Bankai. These elite Sternritters even killed several of Squad Zero, considered the strongest Soul Reapers ever. In volume #73 of Bleach, series creator Tite Kubo revealed in his author notes that there was actually a theme that ed these four Quincy together, and that explains their incredible strength.
The Quincy Schutzstaffel Reflect the History of War
The four Schutzstaffel each represent four different eras of warfare: ancient, medieval, modern, and current. Pernidas, whose appearance is that of a giant hand, is said to be representative of ancient warfare, when people fought hand-to-hand before the advent of weapons. Gerard Valkyrie, a Thor-esque figure wearing an armor helmet, represents the medieval era, and fights using a sword and shield. Lille Barro represents the modern era, referring more to the 20th century, and fights with a rifle while wearing "army green" similar to a soldier's uniform. Askin represents the current era, and his ability allows him to calculate a lethal dose of any substance, emulating chemical weapons.
Given that Yhwach has been around for well over 1,000 years, it makes some sense that he would have collected warriors that have highly varied fighting styles. Interestingly, despite being the representation of the modern era, Lille Barro is said to have been the first Quincy granted a Schrift by Yhwach, making him over 1,000 years old as well, possibly making his rifle the first gun in the Bleach universe. Pernida and Gerard are even more ancient, being respectively the left hand and the heart of the Soul King, and had their own Schrifts without having to receive them from Yhwach. Askin, therefore, is appropriately the most recent member of the quartet, as he was promoted during the Quincy's second invasion of the Seiretei.
The Strongest Sternritters Represent The Essence Of War
It's certainly interesting to see how this theme shaped the four characters, despite the major differences between their appearances and abilities. Drawing from different eras was a clever decision by Kubo, as it ensured that each character would have very different abilities. By controlling these representations of warfare, Yhwach appears much more threatening, and his status as the final villain of the series is improved as a consequence. Being representations of the essence of war can also be used to explain why the Schutzstaffel are such strong villains that they basically made every power level established in Bleach up to that point useless.
