Solomon Muto

Dr. Solomon Muto aka Sugoroku Muto in the manga, and in the Japanese version of the anime series is a minor character in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.

He is the grandfather of Yugi Muto, who calls him "Grandpa" (meaning Jii-chan in Japanese). Solomon gave Yugi the Millennium Puzzle as a present. He owns the Kame Game shop, where Yugi and his friends get several of the games they play. Solomon is also the present day incarnation of Shimon Muran. In the Funimation Uncut English version dvd, he is referred to by his official Japanese version name instead.

Background

He was born on the day of October 4th. His early childhood is a complete mystery. As a young adult Solomon had visited the Valley of the Kings in the hopes of finding the nameless Pharaoh's tomb. He had hired two guides, Ahmet and Mushara to help him locate and navigate the tomb. The tomb was riddled with traps, which Solomon was able to discover first hand. In one such deadly trap, you had to walk with your left foot forward, as a sign of respect to the statues of the Pharaoh. Mushara failed to do so, and was attacked by the statues, and he fell to his death. In the final room, Ahmet also fell victim to a trap and was devoured by a monster. Solomon nearly fell victim to the trap as well, but was saved in time by the spirit of Pharaoh Atem who said that he has been waiting for him. It was at the end of this room that he had discovered the famous Millennium Puzzle. He then took the puzzle back with him to Japan.

At some unknown point in time, he lost a unnamed game and as he promised himself, he had traded in his suit for overalls and began collecting games for years. Eventually, he opened up a game shop (the Kame Game shop) instead of continuing with his gambling days. He also used a message jigsaw puzzle when he had met his wife. He then eventually had a unknown son and later on a grandson name Yugi Muto.

Personality

Solomon Muto is Yugi's grandfather and with his father's absence, he is Yugi's ultimate provider. He is shown being a smart, kind hearted, funny, silly, loving, resourceful, gentle, and of course grandfatherly old man. He is, however, attracted to beautiful young women, such as Vivian Wong, in which did get him in some huge trouble with the gang when he agreed to help her out after she fixed his back. He is the one who taught Yugi and Joey how to Duel. He is a strong believer of the Heart of the Cards, by having to taught both Yugi and Joey that concept, in which both would follow proudly. When he taught Joey he was strict, while giving all sorts of lessons and usually being tough on him, but still encouraging him on how much he has grown, and is proud of him. Chances are he was the same way with Yugi when he taught him. Solomon loves games of all sorts, in which may be because of his former gambling nature, and is even willing to go to dangerous places, such as during the non-canon Capsule Monsters adventure, to see and experience new games first-hand.

Appearance

Solomon Muto's character design was overseen by Kazuki Takahashi. He has brown skin, gray spiky hair and black eyes. He wears overalls and is chubby. He also has a beard and mustache. He even wears a black cap/bandanna on his head.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Manga

Solomon Muto was a gaming master, who tried and won all sorts of games all over the world. At the age of 40, he heard the legend spoken of amongst his companions, about the Shrine of the Game of Darkness which is said to be in Egypt. In the 1960s, Solomon, along with Ahmet and Mushura visited the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Here they entered the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, finding it laden with the corpses of previous trespassers.

Each room inside the tomb was treated like a game. One such room contained statues swinging swords, along a maze over a bottomless pit. Solomon realized that the statues only moved if the traveler did not show respect, which was shown in ancient Egyptian ways by putting one's left foot forward, as the heart is on the left side of the body. Solomon led Ahmet and Mushura across the pit, but towards the end, Mushura panicked and ran, causing two of the statues to impale and kill him. With Mushura dead, Ahmet held a gun to Solomon, intimidating Solomon to not let that happen to him.

In the final room, there was a bridge leading to the Pharaoh's treasure. Solomon began to cross the bridge first with Ahmet pointing his gun at him. Once Solomon got to the end, Ahmet fired at him, causing him to fall off the edge. With Solomon hanging on with one hand for dear life, Amhet began crossing the bridge, but was consumed by a monster. The spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh appeared and helped Solomon get up.

Once he reclaimed his senses, Solomon collected the treasure, which turned out to be the Millennium Puzzle. At the beginning of the manga, Solomon tells a contradictory story that the Puzzle was found by a different set of archaeologists.

Mr. Clown asked Solomon to take him in as a disciple gamer. After a while, Mr. Clown challenged Solomon to a Shadow Game for the ownership of the Millennium Puzzle, by using the Devil's Board Game, where each player was to bet a number of years of their life, each time they moved their piece. Solomon won the game, resulting in Mr. Clown aging 50 years in one night as his Penalty Game. Mr. Clown swore his revenge on Solomon through his son Duke Devlin.

Solomon got together with his wife, after sending her a love letter in the form of a jigsaw puzzle. He got a son, who then married Mrs. Muto, who together had his grandson, Yugi Muto. Solomon opened a game store, the Kame Game, where he lived with Mrs. Muto and Yugi. At around the age of 63, he let Yugi have the Millennium Puzzle, while telling him to try solving it. Solomon was given the rare Duel Monsters card, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" from his friend Arthur Hawkins.

When Solomon was 71 years old, Yugi was visited by Tea Gardner after school one day. However Tea was surprised to see Solomon alive, since Yugi had told her earlier that the Millennium Puzzle was a memento of his grandfather. Therefore Solomon yelled that he was not dead, and Yugi corrected himself by saying that it was going to be a memento. Afterwards Solomon commented on how Tea had grown since he last saw her, especially around her bust.

As Yugi went upstairs to work on the puzzle, he insisted that the Puzzle is beyond human understanding and that the archaeologists who discovered it, died mysterious deaths with the last one uttering "The Shadow Games" in his dying breath. However Yugi thought that the Shadow Games sounded awesome, so he still wanted to finish it and ran away from Solomon who tried to take it so he could sell it. That night he watched Yugi working on the puzzle eavesdropping through the door knob hole.

The next day Solomon was visited by Joey Wheeler, who returned a lost piece of the Puzzle and explained that Ushio was giving Yugi a hard time. After Yugi came close to finishing the Puzzle that day, Solomon gave him the piece, so he could complete it. Unknown to Solomon and even Yugi, that Yugi's own body became host to a part of the Nameless Pharaoh's soul known as Yami Yugi, who was stripped of his memory and would occasionally take control of Yugi's body.

One day, Yugi and Joey brought Tristan Taylor to the shop, in search of a gift for the girl he had a crush on, Miho Nosaka (aka Melody). Solomon sold them a love jigsaw puzzle similar to the one he gave to Yugi's grandmother.

When Seto Kaiba entered the game shop one day and was surprised to see that Solomon had a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". He tried to trade for and buy the card, but Solomon refused as he got it from a dear friend and its sentimental value was priceless. Kaiba later on tried to steal the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", but was defeated by Yami Yugi in a Shadow Game of Duel Monsters and given the "Experience of Death" Penalty Game.

Solomon's friend Professor Yoshimori, along with Professor Kanekura put on an Egyptian exhibition, The Art of Egypt, at the Domino City Museum, and Solomon, along with Yugi and Yugi's friends were all given free admission. Professor Kanekura died that day under suspicious circumstances, believed to have been for defiling a pharaoh's tomb. Yoshimori worried about this, but Solomon and the others came to visit him at the university to cheer him up. However Yoshimori became possessed by Shadi and started attacking the gang. But Solomon got knocked-out in the struggle. Shortly after Yami Yugi defeated Shadi in the Trial of the Mind Shadow Game, Solomon woke-up and found everyone else on the roof. After Shadi left, he treated everyone to a meal out.

Kaiba built a theme park, Kaiba Land in an attempt to get revenge on Yugi. He kidnapped Solomon, the night before the grand opening and faced him in a game of Duel Monsters at the opening ceremony. Although Solomon had his "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", it proved no match for Kaiba's own three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons" and the Solid Vision holograms of the monsters proved too much for Solomon. After defeating Solomon, Kaiba tore up his precious "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card and forces him into an artificial Penalty Game, using the holograms.

Kaiba forced Yugi to go through Death-T, a series of games and amusement park rides intended to kill Yugi, in exchange for Solomon's life. Before Yugi began, Solomon gives him his Deck to use to defeat Kaiba. Yugi defeated Kaiba in the end and Solomon was saved by emergency surgery.

Maximillion Pegasus, the creator of Duel Monsters, sent Yugi a videotape inviting him to participate in his Duelist Kingdom tournament. Pegasus appeared on the tv screen and invited Yugi to Duel him on the spot. Yami Yugi wound up facing Pegasus in a Shadow Game of Duel Monsters. As a penalty for Yami Yugi's defeat, Pegasus trapped Solomon's soul in the video tape.

Yugi entered the Duelist Kingdom tournament in the hopes of returning his grandfather to normal. Throughout the tournament he carried around a video camera, containing the tape Solomon was trapped in, so they could communicate.

After Yugi and Yami Yugi defeated Pegasus, Solomon was returned to normal.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime)

Duelist Kingdom arc

Seto Kaiba wants the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" card and decides to challenge Grandpa to a Duel. Grandpa loses and his card is torn, because Kaiba has the other three "Blue-Eyes White Dragons" and unable to have a fourth copy, in his Deck, the card could only be used against him. Grandpa is sent to the hospital as Yugi duels Kaiba. His soul is later sealed inside a card by Pegasus and freed after Yugi defeats Pegasus.

He was then release from the hospital. Rebecca Hawkins challenge to a duel, but Yugi duels her instead. Solomon revealed that the same duel, that he and Arthur Hawkins did. Is the exact same duel that Yugi, and R ebecca are doing. Just like how Solomon surrender the duel, Yugi did the same. Rebecca is angry, thinking that Solomon torn up the cad 9But it really was Seto Kaiba that did it.) Arthur then shows up, and explained to Rebecca that Yugi is the real winner of the duel. Rebecca then told Yugi that she was sorry, and Arthur challeneged Solomon to a duel. Then Joey gets excited to finally see them duel.

Dungeon Dice Monsters arc

Grandpa doesn't play a very significant role in this arc. He is seen watching Yami Yugi play against Otogi (Duke Devlin) in a game of Dungeon Dice on a screen in front of the building in which the two are playing. He frequently gets distracted by Otogi's cheerleaders, who sometimes appears on the screen.

Battle City arc

When the Battle City tournament started, Solomon was eager to see the event. He was present for Joey's three duels against Espa Roba, Weevil Underwood, and Mako Tsunami, along with Tea and Tristan, offering support and advice for Joey. When Ryo Bakura was found injured, Solomon took him to the hospital. He got knocked out by Yami Bakura later on.

Waking of the Dragons arc

Solomon get beat up by Gumino and his thugs. The thugs stealed Yugi's god cards, and Solomon tells Yugi about it. Later Solomon is seen in a vision by Yami Yugi when he is dueling Dartz.

Grand Championship arc

Grandpa competes in Kaiba's KaibaCorp Grand Prix tournament under the alias "Apdnarg Otum"/ " Grandpa Muto (Backwards)" ("Mask the Rock" in the Japanese version), yet Joey manages to defeat him. The English name is "Grandpa Muto" backwards. The Japanese name is a pun of "Mask the Roku". Roku is six in Japanese, and "Sugoroku" means "double six". The deck used is an Ancient-themed deck with consisting mostly of Rock monsters.

Capsule Monsters arc

Yugi Muto wakes up after having a strange recurring nightmares about the Pharaoh being captured by an evil monster with glowing red eyes and telling him that why he is having these dreams will become clear when he "plays the game". This time, the Millennium Puzzle starts glowing in response to the dream, bewildering Yugi even further.

Before leaving for school that day, Yugi noticed that his grandfather, Solomon Muto (Sugoroku Mutou in the Japanese versions and English-language manga), had not returned from his "secret expedition" (Yugi was told at the last minute) as his flight was due last night. Yugi is worried about the fact that Solomon is missing.

Meanwhile, there is a new game on the block; the Capsule Monsters board game is the new fad in the Duel Monsters craze, and Yugi has already taken the opportunity to learn the rules of the game. When Joey breaks the news about the trip, Yugi and his friends could not contain their excitement. Yugi, Tristan Taylor (Hiroto Honda), and Téa Gardner (Anzu Mazaki) agree to take Joey's other three tickets.

Just when the private plane for the trip approached its final destination, the engines cut out and the aircraft crash lands in a mysterious forest. After Yugi and his friends evacuate the aircraft, they find a man who says his name is Dr. Alex Brisbane.

When Yugi lets slip to Brisbane that he is Solomon Muto's (Sugoroku Mutou) grandson, Brisbane tells him that he's a colleague of Grandpa, and on their latest expedition together he disappeared. Now Yugi knows just where Grandpa had gone, but the Pharaoh still suspects something. They just happen to win a trip; their plane just happens to crash; and they just happen to meet the man who was the last person to see Grandpa. It all seems a little bit coincidental. Brisbane shows Yugi and the gang where he last saw Solomon. Yugi and his friends are surprised when they discover that Brisbane last saw Solomon in a pyramid.

Brisbane explains that he believes it to be the legendary pyramid of Alexander the Great, and that it's supposed to contain some sort of ancient game. They check it out, narrowly avoiding a number of dangerous traps, and come across a room that, as Tristan put it, is the size of Cleveland. The floor looks like a giant map of different land types, which looks incredibly familiar to Yugi. Joey decides to check it out but, to everyone's surprise, disappears into thin air the second he steps on the map. Coming to the conclusion that Solomon must have gone to the same place as Joey, the rest of the gang decide to follow, leaving a bewildered Brisbane behind.

They find themselves in a forest, with Joey nowhere to be seen. Yugi notices a lot of egg-shaped rocks around, but before they can investigate, some giant cockroaches (Gokibore, a monster from the Volume 6 expansion set) and a giant praying mantis (Kamakiriman, from Volume 3) ambush them. The escapes of Yugi, Tristan, and Téa causes them to have to split up.

Yugi is cornered by the mantis, so the Pharaoh takes over to protect him. He accidentally touches one of the strange egg-shaped rocks whilst jumping, which somehow causes Celtic Guardian to appear. Celtic Guardian attacks the mantis, destroying it.

Meanwhile, Tristan and Téa escape the cockroaches by ducking into a cave. They find themselves on a beach, accompanied by two monsters: Thunder Kid and Happy Lover.

At the same time, Joey is up high on a mountain, looking over onto the forest that the gang are in, hearing Yugi's shouting. Suddenly, a giant bird (LOB-039 Kurama) comes up behind him and grabs him by the shoulders, flying away with Joey in his claws.

Back in the forest, Celtic Guardian disappears in a beam of light, transforming into a small capsule. Now, Yugi knows where he'd seen this before. Somehow they have entered a real life version of Capsule Monsters. However, he is soon again attacked by a monster, this time it's a Trent. Pharaoh realizes the strange device on their wrists are for launching the capsules that house their monsters in order to summon them. Calling upon Celtic Guardian, the Pharaoh attacks the tree, but it gets the upper hand and injures Celtic Guardian. The Pharaoh feels Celtic Guardian's pain and realizes that the Capsule Monster world is a deadly Shadow Game. To make matters worse, the Trent turns surrounding trees into copies of it to assist its attack. However, the Pharaoh releases a new capsule monster to assist them, the fire-attribute Hinotama Soul. It easily burns the Trents to ash. The Pharaoh switches with Yugi, and Yugi runs off to find his friends.

Elsewhere, Joey has been dropped by the Kurama into a nest of its young. Joey repeatedly jumps off cliffs housing Kurama nests to escape until he lands on a branch and accidentally releases Baby Dragon from another rock. Joey boards Baby Dragon and flees the mountains. However, a flock of Kurama chase after them. Realizing there are too many to take on head first, Joey decides to trick them into getting stuck in a small opening in a canyon.

On the beach, Tristan figures out that Happy Lover and Thunder Kid are monsters they accidentally released from the egg-shaped rocks back in the forest when they ran from the giant roaches. Suddenly a giant sea monster called Root Water emerges from the ocean. Happy Lover and Thunder Kid stand before it to keep Tristan and Téa safe.

Elsewhere, Joey has taken refuge behind a waterfall and checks his guide book, still believing himself to be in India. Joey then notices a treasure chest behind him and Baby Dragon and opens it. However, instead of treasure a scroll wraps around him, and Baby Dragon burns it off him (with Joey having to put out the fire on him in the waterfall). The ashes of the scroll turn into a map, and Joey wonders if it's a treasure map.

Back on the beach, Tristan is having Thunder Kid attack Root Water with limited success as Thunder Kid is taking a pounding from the giant monster. (They too realize they feel the pain inflicted on their monsters.) Téa remembers Yugi's advice on how to play the board game version of Capsule Monsters and has Happy Lover heal Thunder Kid with its Heart Beam. Tristan then decides to blind-side Root Water with a sneak attack and Thunder Kid is successful in frying the fish. However, instead of vanishing, Root Water's charred body shatters and the beast evolves into High Tide Gyojin. It then creates a typhoon, sucking up Téa and Tristan along with their monsters. However, Solomon arrives and uses his Summoned Skull to blast High Tide Gyojin apart, saving Téa and Tristan.

Having seen Summoned Skull's "Lightning Strike" attack, Yugi heads to the beach to find Téa and Tristan unconscious with their monsters. However, his mind is put to ease when Solomon walks up to him and tells him that they're resting after the ordeal they went through. Yugi happily clings onto his grandpa and cries in joy of seeing him again.

Later, Yugi and the others make camp and begin to wonder where Joey is in the Capsule Monsters world. At the same time, Joey has gotten hungry and follows the smell of the campfire to his friends (after nearly fallen to his death before Baby Dragon managed to catch him). The Pharaoh switches with Yugi and explains that their dilemma of being in this world won't be an easy problem to solve. However, Téa points out that the flowers around them have gotten closer since they set up camp. Solomon tosses a stick from the fire into the flowers to reveal that they are actually a pack of Flower Wolf. Everyone but Solomon (whose Summoned Skull is too high level to be used frequently) releases their Capsule Monsters to fend off the pack. However, the Pharaoh knows they don't stand a chance and has Thunder Kid blind the wolves temporarily by reflecting its lightning off Celtic Guardian's sword.

The next day, Tristan and Joey do an annoying "victory dance" while the Pharaoh and Yugi wonder about the safety of their friends. Joey and Tristan then collapse and beg for food. Tristan then remembers about snacks he packed for the trip, but then remembers everyone (except Solomon) left their packs back at the campsite. After Solomon tries to encourage them to go a few days without food, they take off to find some, but run into tree branches. Tea reveals Solomon had a bag of food and taunts them as she eats a chip. Solomon tells them all they had to do was ask nicely. While Joey and Tristan complain, Yugi notices that the mountains are moving and runs to the edge of the forest to see they're on an Island Turtle. Joey and Tristan try to be tough until Yugi tells them it won't attack them unless they keep it up. Joey and Tristan apologize but immediately do another victory dance. Téa complains about the lack of female friends she has, while the Turtle roars in annoyance to Joey and Tristan's song. It dives, forcing everyone to "abandon ship!"

They then reach a temple in the middle of the lake and enter to have the doors shut behind them. Joey notices a "giant tea pot" in the middle of the room and (having switched with Yugi) the Pharaoh tells him it is not a tea pot. La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp emerges from the lamp. The Pharaoh summons Celtic Guardian and begins fighting the genie. Suddenly, the doors swing back open and a flood of water rushes in. It then freezes, trapping Téa and Solomon in ice. The perpetrator behind this is Neo Aqua Madoor, "Jack Frost's evil cousin". Tristan and Joey summon their monsters to help out the Pharaoh despite his constant protests, telling them to not interfere out of concern for their safety. Joey then tells him that they don't want to see him get hurt either as the Pharaoh realizes they can use the two enemies' attacks against each other. After faking head on attacks, Celtic Guardian and the others' capsule monsters back off as Neo Aqua Madoor and La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp's attacks collide into each other and destroys them.

Téa and Solomon are released form the ice, and a tablet with Egyptian writing on it appears. Solomon translate it: "Before the shadows blanket the land, Go to the fortress of fear. Locate the place where the spirit sleeps, And the pathway you seek will appear." Joey takes out his map from earlier and realizes that it shows the exact space they're on right now and that the fortress is on the same square, but VERY far away. Everyone resolves to go there, hoping the pathway it mentioned means the way home. Tristan finds a secret passage under the main floor (as they did not want to take chances with swimming across) and they quickly run through it.

Coming out above ground, they find themselves in an ancient graveyard that is soon flocked with Wood Remains and The Wandering Doomed. Yugi, Tea and Joey each release a new monster; Kuriboh, Dark Witch and the Flame Swordsman respectively. With their new monsters the Zombies are easily defeated.

Racing to the top of the hill the fortress lays upon, Tristan jinxes their good luck as four walls rise up from the ground and surround the fortress with statues of the Aqua Spirit, Spirit of Flames, The Rock Spirit and Garuda the Wind Spirit at each corner. Joey unsuccessfully tries to fly over as he is repelled by a force field. Yugi figures out that if four people mimic the stances of the four statues, the door will open. They do so, forcing Yugi to enter the fortress himself. Yugi falls into a pit, but is saved from a rough landing by the Pharaoh taking his place. The walls of the room they are trapped in begin to close in on them while outside, Joey breaks his pose and the statues come to life and begin attacking everyone. The Pharaoh finds a new capsule and releases the monster, which carries him up in a beam of light. Coming to his senses, the Pharaoh sees his new monster is Dark Magician and that his friends are in trouble. Using Dark Magician's "Magical Crossroads" the statues are destroyed at the cost of Solomon's Summoned Skull being taken down by the Rock Spirit.

Inside the fortress, Yugi opens the coffin located in the fortress (the place where the spirit sleeps) just as the sun sets and everyone else comes in. The coffin turns into a doorway and a piece of golden armor hovers above it. Another riddle appears as the armor dons itself on Yugi. Solomon says it says five trials await them to test the strength of Yugi's heart. Despite some discussion about not going through with the trials, everyone decides to go along with it in hopes of it leading them home again.

They arrive in a desert and find a village, where they are given a pendant and the instructions for the first trial; "Silence the whisper that rides the desert wind". While Solomon stays a safe distance form everyone else, they call forth their monsters and destroy a Medusa Worm, which they initially believed to be the enemy. However, it turns out to be one of many Medusa Worms under the voice's control. Everyone, but the Pharaoh is spat on by a worm and are turning to stone. Dark Magician takes the Pharaoh above the storm and the voice sent to confuse them to show him a tornado causing it. The Pharaoh calls Dark Magician back to his capsule and proceeds on foot to reach the voice. However, he isn't strong enough to reach the tornado. He then sees a man wearing a cape and mask, telling him to merge with the Dark Magician to gain the strength needed to pass the trial. Doing so, the Pharaoh becomes the Dark Warrior and flies into the tornado to find the voice is Mystical Sand. Silencing her, the Pharaoh clears the trial and reverses the Medusa Worms' petrification on his friends. The armor takes a toll on the Pharaoh as he is not used to it yet. Yugi takes his place to relieve some of the pain and tells of the man he saw explaining how to use the armor. One of the five shapes on the pendant lights up to signify the victory over this trial, and a doorway comes out of the sand.

Entering it, everyone finds themselves on a floating island above the clouds. Yugi collapses from the strain of the Duel Armor and is taken to a cave to rest. Another message arrives, and Solomon reveals that next is "The Trial of Light and Shadow". They are tasked with breaking an unbreakable stone in the "valley of light" as it appears only once a day. Deciding to take care of the trial in Yugi's place, Tristan, Joey, and Solomon head for the nearest valley as it becomes noon and the stone is revealed. However a Prisman appears and begins to attack them. Tristan takes advantage of its short temper and uses it to blast the stone apart.

In the meantime, Yugi has recovered, and Téa shows the Pharaoh the trial's instructions. Noticing they only know half of the trial, the Pharaoh realizes that by exposing the parchment to darkness, the second half is revealed. He realizes they are now in danger and takes off with Téa to find them.

Elsewhere, everyone has picked up a large piece of the stone and smash Prisman to pieces. However, a Skull Guardian appears as a sign of the second phase of the trial beginning. Joey hoped he was there to congratulate them, but it began attacking instead. The Pharaoh once again merges with Dark Magician to become the Dark Warrior and easily defeats the monster. However, he spares it as a glow where the stone was appears. The Pharaoh then explains that the second part of the trial was to not only defeat the Skull Guardian, but to show mercy. This rewards them with the means to leave the island. At the same time the masked man from before appears to all of them and congratulates the Pharaoh on completed Level 2 of the trials. The Pharaoh wonders what will happen if he completes the trials, and the stranger explains that he will receive the power to rule the world as he will have proven himself a true king. However, even though the Pharaoh might not want it, there are others seeking it, and it must be claimed before someone evil does. Also, if they fail, they will be trapped here until the next challenger arrives.

Using the wings found in the trial's reward chest, everyone flies off into another glowing doorway.

Back outside the game, Dr. Brisbane is laughing evilly that soon the power to rule the world will belong to him.

In the game, everyone has reached a volcanic area, where they must remove the Blade of Chaos before it's too late. Tristan gains a new monster, Thunder Dragon. Joey ends up separated from them, but returns, fused with Red-Eyes B. Dragon and full of evil. As Joey fights the Pharaoh in Dark Warrior mode, Joey begins to wonder why he is attacking his friend and realizes this happens because of his fusing with Red Eyes. Breaking free of the evil controlling him, Joey separates form Red Eyes, sees the Blade of Chaos is stuck in its thigh. Removing it, Joey clears the third trial and claims Red Eyes as his monster. Everyone leaves through another glowing doorway.

They then end up in a jungle (where they learn that despite its apparent endless scenery, it is only as big as the game board itself). Their next test is to find a golden apple that "gives you a raise" and offer it up. Tristan finds a giant melon and draws a picture of himself on it. The fruit then falls down a hole, and everyone follows it to find themselves in a chamber with three long pedestals with an apple each on them. Tristan then notices his melon in the corner, which turns out to actually be a Petit Moth. Everyone attempts to leave, but are then caught in a labyrinth. Joey eats some of the fruit he took from the forest and instantly becomes a genius. Right as he is about to figure out how to get out of the labyrinth, a Battle Ox chases him away from his equations. At the same time, Téa gets a Seiyaryu after defeating a Jirai Gumo. Hopelessly lost in the meantime, Tristan releases a Shovel Crusher and it careens around the labyrinth like a lunatic, collecting his allies and depositing them back at the apple room. However, there is a slight difference. An apple is missing and a Cocoon of Evolution is where Petit Moth was. It hatches into Great Moth and Yugi becomes the Dark Warrior to fight it. However, a Dark Magic Attack simply further evolves it into Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth. The Pharaoh then realizes that he must eat one of the apples to evolve Dark Magician in order to stand a chance against the moth. Doing so evolves his magician into Magician of Black Chaos and earns them victory. He then takes the remaining apple to an altar, which opens a doorway.

They then find themselves back at the camp where they were attacked by the Flower Wolves. The masked man appears and properly introduces himself as Alexander the Great. He then goes on to explain he once possessed the Millennium Ring, which he considered his lucky charm as it helped him conquer most of the world. However, prolonged possession of it caused a split personality to emerge (due to Zorc being sealed in the ring) and most of his retainers lost faith in him. He was then put to a test to see if he was still worthy to wear the ring by Shadi and was the first to participate in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters Collectible Figure Game. However, though he was victorious in the trials, the door leading to the great power to rule the world did not open. This enraged his darker half into attacking his four vassals. It was then the pyramid punished him by splitting his soul in two. His darker half was sealed into the pyramid and he was sent to the game to act as a guide for future adventures. Alexander then gifts the monster-less Solomon with a new monster and tells him he will need it for the fifth trial.

They head to a village, where Alexander explains that the fifth trial involves destroying five different elemental dragons known as the Fiendish Five that terrorize the village. They find a girl about to sacrifice herself to give their dragon god the strength to keep the five away. However, they intervene and promise to slay the dragons. Solomon, using his new Curse of Dragon against Aqua Dragon, the Pharaoh faces Tyrant Dragon, Téa versus Serpent Night Dragon, Tristan battles Luster Dragon #2 and Joey fights Meteor Dragon. However, despite the aid of Yugi's new Black Luster Soldier, everyone fails to defeat the dragons and are forced to return to the village. The Pharaoh then learns of a sword that can slay the five only if a large power descends upon the village. Tricking the five into coming towards the village, the Pharaoh frees the sword and slays them. However, the defeated dragons transform into the Five-Headed Dragon. The girl from earlier prays for her god's help and her tears free the Blue Eyes White Dragon from its picture, and it fuses with the Pharaoh and slays the Fiendish Five once and for all.

With the trials now completed, everyone is about to be sent home, and Alexander is given permission to use Solomon's body as a means of taking himself out of the game.

They arrive outside to find Dr. Brisbane acting normal and concerned for their safety. He then wonders if they found anything interesting in the game, and Solomon presents the trial pendant, now fully lit. Right as the evil side of Alexander tries to grab the pendant, the good side jumps into Dr. Brisbane and seemingly subdues his evil side. However, it's a trick as the evil side was stronger and fused together with his weaker good half. Evil Alexander takes the pendant and runs up to the doors and successfully opens them after waiting for thousands of years. Everyone chases him into the room and they find themselves in an alternate dimension.

Shadi appears and wonders who should receive the power promised to the victor of his challenge. Though the Pharaoh protests that Evil Alexander cheated, Shadi points out that Alexander has a fair claim to the power as he tried himself and won thousands of years ago. To end the stalemate, Shadi announces one final Capsule Monsters battle. Evil Alexander summons the souls of his vassals to assist him and Good Alexander's Duel Armor. Evil Alexander fuses with Reshef the Dark Being and sacrifices his retainers' monsters to summon his Seven-Armed Fiend, the apparition from Yugi's dreams. Everyone but Yugi's monsters are destroyed except for their dragons and Seven-Armed Fiend is destroyed. However, Evil Alexander decides to use the remaining monsters he used for his sacrifice to power Reshef and use his pawns' pain connection to them as a shield. However, the Pharaoh, disgusted with Evil Alexander for how he treats his loyal subjects, fuses with his friends' dragons to form the Armor of Unity and destroys Reshef. The evil side of Alexander is purged and the good Alexander tells the Pharaoh that his reign over Egypt is what inspired him to be pharaoh himself. Alexander then passes on with his vassals. Shadi wishes to gift the Pharaoh with the power promised, but he instantly turns it down. Shadi then muses to him that the one who can rule the world need not possess the power. The pyramid then begins to collapse, and everyone manages to escape safely.

They return to their pilots to discover the rescue plane has come. They talk the pilots into taking Solomon and Dr. Brisbane back to Domino City with them.

Dawn of the Duel arc

The season begins with Solomon telling Yugi how he found the Millennium Puzzle. During this time in his youth, he was a gambler searching for even greater trials to test his luck. However, he did decide to have a penalty for losing even a single game: he would turn in his gambling suit and wearing overalls instead with the intention of collecting years instead of chips. He found the Millennium Puzzle in Atem's tomb and was spared from the traps thanks to his analytical skills helping him overcome the man-made traps and his pure heart sparing him from being eaten by ka. He then goes to Egypt with Mokuba, and Duke Devlin to see Yugi and the others.

Ceremonial Battle arc

He saw Yugi dueling Yami Yugi in the Ceremonial Batlle duel. He then returned to Japane with Yugi and the others.

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Anime)

In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, he appeared at the end of Season 1. When Kagemaru Summoned all three of the Sacred Beasts and they were shown draining energy from cards around the world, two children were shown crying in his card shop as the monster card images were drained away. He was shown walking up to see the cause of the commotion. At that time his face was not shown, only his overall.

Later, in Season 2, Duel Academy students went on a field trip to Domino City. He was visited by Jaden Yuki and his friends who wanted to see Yugi. He answered them saying Yugi had been upset, and that card pictures had been faded away recently, referring to the Sacred Beast accident. Then Hassleberry told him that Jaden sort out that mess, he decided to guide them through the city in return. As they left him behind, he was kidnapped by Thunder and Frost. Jaden and his friends spread out in order to find him. While Hassleberry and Syrus were lured and ended up Dueling his kidnappers, Jaden found him unconscious into a blind alley.

Alongside Aster, they went to place where the Duel was held, but came too late. Later in the night, Solomon gave Jaden, Atticus Rhodes, and the Slifers hamburgers in the bag for one of each. He also watched Jaden's Duel with T-Bone. Then he led Jaden and his remaining companions to Kaiba Land, where the latter Dueled Sarina with Aster. After the Duel, he promised Jaden to speak with Seto Kaiba in order to restore Sarina's consciousness, who left stuck in the virtual reality. Solomon's hair is now pointy on the top similar to the way it was shown in Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters. In the English version, he is portrayed as senile.

Alternite Timeline

Although he wasn't shown when Jaden traveled back through time to Duel the High School Yugi, Yugi told Solomon goodbye while heading to school.

Film Appearances

Yu-Gi-Oh! movie 1

The events of Battle City have just concluded, and Yugi now owns all three Egyptian God cards. Seto Kaiba longs to finally defeat him, and he has a plan. He suspects that since Maximillion Pegasus created the Egyptian God cards, he would have also created a way to beat them, just in case something ever went wrong.

Kaiba heads off to Pegasus's castle and challenges him to a duel. The stakes are the following: if Pegasus wins, he gets Kaiba's three "Blue Eyes White Dragons"; if Kaiba wins, Pegasus hands over the card that can beat the Egyptian Gods. Kaiba wins, and Pegasus must fulfill his wager: he picks up two cards from Pegasus's decks. However, Pegasus only created one card to beat the Egyptian Gods, so where did the other card come from?

Meanwhile, Yugi Muto and Tea Gardner, seeking refuge from a mob of duelists wanting to face Yugi for the Egyptian Gods, stumble into Domino Museum, where they discover a new attraction on display called the Pyramid of Light, which looks a little like the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi's grandpa, Solomon Muto (who also happens to be visiting the museum), reads an inscription on the side of a sarcophagus (The eye that sees what's yet to come, its vision shall be fulfilled, unless blinded by events predetermined, thus light & shadows both be killed), triggering a strange vision in Yugi's mind concerning his Millennium Puzzle, the Pyramid of Light, Anubis, and Kaiba. After he wakes up, he finds the pyramid stolen, the sarcophagus now empty. Yugi also finds Mokuba standing outside. Mokuba says that Kaiba wants Yugi to bring his duel disk to the KaibaCorp Duel Dome immediately.

Yugi does so, transforming into Yami Yugi on the way, and finds Kaiba ready to duel. Seto asks Mokuba to seal all the exits, forcing Yugi to duel him, but not before Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor find their way in to watch.

The duel goes on for what seems like an eternity, and Yugi is starting to suspect that there are dark forces at work - especially when Kaiba activates a Trap Card called the "Pyramid of Light", which not only bears a striking resemblance to its namesake in the museum, but also prevents Yugi from using any of the Egyptian Gods! Before long, Kaiba has his "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" on the field, but to Yugi's surprise, he sacrifices it to summon a monster known as the "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon", which is even stronger!

The Pyramid of Light also pulls the souls of Yugi, Joey, and Tristan into Yugi's Millenium Puzzle, where they are chased by a group of mummies controlled by an unknown force...

Kaiba could win the duel there and then, but he wants to humiliate Yugi by wiping him out with his own Egyptian Gods! His "Pyramid of Light" removed the gods from play, and he wants to play "Return from the Different Dimension" to get them under his control. Of course, to do that, he needs to destroy his Pyramid of Light first, otherwise it would just destroy the gods again! Kaiba commands his "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon" to use its "Shining Nova" effect, which allows it to sacrifice itself to destroy anything on the field - and he aims it at the Pyramid of Light. Suddenly, a ghostly voice calls out, "This I cannot allow!", and the Pyramid stays exactly where it is. Then, a man rises up from behind Kaiba, throws him aside, and takes over the duel himself.

It's Anubis, the Egyptian Lord of the Dead, whom the Pharaoh destroyed 5000 years ago. But now he's back with the Pyramid of Light around his neck and two of his most powerful monsters - "Andro Sphinx" and "Spinx Teleia! On top of this, Téa, Joey, Tristan and Yugi are all trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle, leaving the Pharaoh to duel all alone. Putting all his faith into the cards, Yugi draws the "Double Spell" card, which allows him to discard his other spell card to activate "Monster Reborn" from Seto's Graveyard. He uses it to revive "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon", who then destroys the "Pyramid of Light" (after it was weakened by Yugi from inside the Millennium Puzzle), along with "Andro Sphinx" and "Sphinx Teleia". But Anubis's not done yet. With the Pyramid gone, he summons his last trick up his sleeve - "Theinen the Great Sphinx"! Yugi, however, activates "Reverse of Reverse" to activate Kaiba's "Return from the Different Dimension". The God Monsters return, destroy the Great Sphinx and Anubis is seemingly defeated. But a giant jackal - the ancient Egyptian representation of Anubis, the Lord of the Dead - rises from the remains of the Pyramid!

Kaiba and Yugi join forces, putting all their strength into the "Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon" card, and using Shining Nova to destroy Anubis once and for all. On top of it all, Pegasus, who had earlier arrived via helicopter to help them, gets them out of the explosion in time. After this, Yugi thanks kaiba for all he's help. But brushes the thanks a side, and departs promising to defeat Yugi. Mokuba then leaves as well asking his brother to slow down. Yugi thanks his friends for helping him, and lastly talks to Yami Yugi.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's movie

In this movie, during Paradox's plot to kill Pegasus, Solomon gets in the way and is killed along with Pegasus and some other citizens leaving Yugi as the sole survivor. Yugi then finds his bandana and cries over his death. The Crimson Dragon however takes Yugi back 30 minutes before Paradox's attack. Thanks to Yami Yugi, Jaden Yuki, and Yusei Fudo defeating Paradox, Solomon's death had been prevented (therefore, he hadn't died at all.)

Yu-Gi-Oh! movie 2

Solomon is first shown stopping Yugi before he leaves for school. As he struggles to remember what it is he has to tell Yugi. Yugi gets impatient, and he finally remembers it by telling Yugi that Tea is going to be late, so Yugi must wait for her at their meeting point. He also asks Yugi if he usually waits for Tea before they walk to school together, but Yugi declined saying only little kids do that.

Video Games

Solomon Muto appears in the following video games:

• Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters Coliseum
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist Link Evolution

Quotes

• Time to kick it old school
• That's my grandson for ya
• You wanna win the grand prize of three million yen
• Oh yes you can! Joey you'll never win with this attitude of yours

Knownable Relatives

• Shimon Muran (Past Incarnation/dead)
• Yugi's Father (Son)
• Mrs. Muto (Daughter in law)
• Yugi Muto (Grandson/First Student)
• Arthur Hawkins (Best Friend)
• Joey Wheeler (Second Student)

Trivia

• The name "Sugoroku" means that it is a Japanese game similar to Backgammon. While, Sugoroku's family name is usually spelled Mutou but is sometimes rendered as Muto. His family name is rendered Mutou in the uncut anime DVDs. In the English version of the anime his name is Solomon Muto.
• Prior to him settling down in his game store, Grandpa was a world class gambler and sported a hairstyle similar to Yugi's (although with a fedora). After acing every game of chance he ever competed in, he made a bet with himself. If he should ever lose a game, he'd retire, open a store and wear overalls for the rest of his life. That said, it would appear he eventually lost a game.
• The man displayed on Solomon's "Legendary Gambler" is himself as a young man, meaning that Solomon is playing a card that refers to himself as a legendary gambler.
• In the English version of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Grandpa has a "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" in his shop despite the fact that Seto Kaiba ripped his only "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" in the first episode of the second series anime. However, this is not a mistake, as that same card was shown taped back together following Yugi's Duel with Rebecca in episode 42, and was also later seen restored at the end of the episode.
• A running gag in the series' dub is Solomon muttering "not again" when he is attacked before he faints. He mutters this line when attacked by Yami Bakura, and in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX when he is attacked by Thunder.
• Because Maddie Blaustein died in December of 2008, Wayne Grayson replaces her in the role of Solomon in Yu-Gi-Oh! 3-D Bonds Beyond Time! (Grayson also portrays Lyman Banner in the same movie).
• When "Apdnarg" is introduced in season 5 Yugi says "Don't we know him". Yami Yugi also knows who he is before "Apdnarg" gets unmasked.
• Grandpa Muto might have a PHD, as one of the guides who led him to the Pharaoh's Tomb referred to him as "Dr. Muto" at one point.
• Solomon is the last Duelist to be defeated by Joey Wheeler in a Duel.
• His birthday is October 4, and his bloodtype is O.
• His favorite food is Japanese style omelets, and Tamagoyaki.

Voice Actresses & Actors

• Japanese : Tadashi Miyazawa (all media), the late Takeshi Aono (Season 0)
• English voice actress : the late Maddie Blaustein (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters and Yu-Gi-Oh! Pyramid of Light)
• English : Wayne Grayson (Yu-Gi-Oh! 3D Bonds Beyond Time, The Dark Side of Dimensions & The uncut English version)

all information on Solomon Muto came from http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Solomon_Muto

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