Nimona

Nimona is the titular protagonist and is first introduced as a shapeshifter with a mysterious background. The narrative depicts her as a young white girl with short red hair. Throughout the story, Nimona’s hair symbolizes her evolution. Her hair is later purple, and it becomes increasingly shorter. She usually wears a short dress over what appears to be a chainmail shirt.

Nimona first approaches Blackheart because she admires his work as a villain and wants to become his sidekick. She is very enthusiastic and has a lot of energy, but she can be easily distracted. However, what first appears as a carefree, impulsive attitude is gradually revealed to be a much more destructive nature. Although she has good intentions, her moral compass is ambiguous, and she often reacts aggressively when she feels threatened. Blackheart is the only person she trusts, first as a mentor and then as something of a father figure.

Nimona tells Blackheart that she is the sole survivor of a raiders’ attack on her village and that an old witch gave her shapeshifting powers. The narrative later reveals that she made up her origin story. A flashback sequence shows that Goldenloin took young Nimona from her village to the Institution after she killed the intruders with her magical abilities and scared the other villagers. The Institution conducts painful experiments on Nimona, which directly correlates with her violent trauma response. The pieces of Nimona’s past are somewhat unclear, but it is implied that she may actually be a legendary shapeshifting dragon who once faked its death by assuming the identity of a knight who came to slay her.

As for her abilities, Nimona explains that she can shapeshift into any existing animal or any real or fictional person. The illustrations depict the animals that she turns into as bright red. This color choice makes her transformation more legible to the reader and signals her magical nature to the characters (as both Goldenloin and Blackheart remark on her animal forms’ unusual coloring). Nimona is apparently immortal, as shown when she transforms into a dark dragon after guards behead her. When the Institution takes a blood sample from Nimona, she is also able to “split” into two different forms—her human form remains locked up while her blood turns into a dark, uncontrollable dragon. She explains that splitting makes her “unstable” and that when it happens, “the strong part stays and the rest disintegrates” (229). In the end, she refuses Blackheart’s help because she feels betrayed that he told Goldenloin how to cancel her powers with Dr. Blitzmeyer’s machine. Both Nimona’s human and dragon forms are seemingly disintegrated in the lab’s explosion, but Blackheart catches a glimpse of her after the incident, proving that she was able to survive and go back into hiding. The story concludes with Nimona visiting Blackheart, signifying that she has forgiven him and still values their friendship.