Xehanort was one of the main antagonists in Kingdom Hearts and was finally defeated at the end of Kingdom Hearts III. Throughout the series, he has done many terrible things that have hurt the Guardians of Light, as well as characters from Disney and Square Enix properties.
Though Xehanort was the main antagonist of most of the installments in The Dark Seeker Saga, he isn't completely evil, and some fans may even argue that he is a misunderstood hero. He's helped the protagonists multiple times and his intentions weren't bad. Here are five of the worst and five of the best things he's done throughout the franchise.
10 He Betrayed Ansem The Wise
When Xehanort pretended to lose his memories and went to Radiant Garden, he became an apprentice to the world's king, Ansem the Wise. As a researcher, Ansem refused to allow Xehanort to experiment on the heart any further than they had already done, fearing what the heartless would be capable of. Xehanort and Ansem's other apprentices sent their leader to the Realm of Darkness.
As their new leader, Xehanort turned himself and his comrades into a heartless and a nobody. Xehanort's heartless took Ansem's name and his nobody was called Xemnas, two of the other main antagonists in The Dark Seeker Saga.
9 He Tried To Save A Group Of Keyblade Wielders
In one of the newest installments in the series, Dark Road, fans got to learn about Xehanort's past. When he went to Scala ad Caelum and started training to become a keyblade master, students that took their Mark of Mastery exam went missing. He, Eraqus, and their classmates, Vor, Hermod, Urd, and Bragi looked for them.
As this is a mobile title that is currently being updated to reveal more of the story, it is currently unknown what happened to the missing keyblade wielders and who they'll find, but fans can see Xehanort work with his friends and try his best to save them. Unfortunately, four people that he cared about died, and fans suspect that they are the four new characters introduced in this title or four of the students that took their Mark of Mastery exam.
8 He Struck Kairi Down
One of the most heartbreaking moments in Kingdom Hearts III was when Kairi died. In order to get the X-Blade, Xehanort needed the Guardians of Light and the Seekers of Darkness to fight. He needed all thirteen members in his group to fight Sora and the other protagonists.
However, when he was the last one that needed to fight them, Sora, Riku, and Mickey refused to attack. This caused him to strike Kairi down in front of them, killing her. Luckily, Sora was able to go to The Final World and bring her back to life but had to sacrifice himself in the process.
7 He Helped Kairi Find Out Where Sora Is
The Guardians of Light are currently trying to find a way to save Sora. In Melody of Memory, players control Kairi inside of a dream. There, she encountered Xehanort, who gave her a hint as to where Sora would be. After she woke up, she, Riku, and the Fairy Godmother went to The Final World and spoke to the Nameless Star. By thinking of what Xehanort said, they were able to figure out that Sora is in Quadratrum. Riku is now heading there to find his friend while Kairi trains under Master Aqua to become stronger.
6 He Possessed Terra
Terra was one of Eraqus' students who wanted to be a keyblade master more than anything. However, he failed his Mark of Mastery exam, leaving him vulnerable and allowing Xehanort to manipulate him. By telling Terra what he wanted to hear and getting him to see that darkness wasn't bad, Xehanort was able to trick Terra, and took control of his body at the end of Birth by Sleep. For a decade, Terra barely had any control of himself, and it was this body that Xehanort sacrificed in order to create Ansem the Seeker of Darkness and Xemnas.
5 He Brought Ventus To Eraqus
Before becoming friends with Terra and Aqua, Ventus was Xehanort's apprentice. In order to forge the X-Blade, Xehanort removed the darkness within Ventus and created Vanitas. He hoped that by having the two of them fight, he'd be able to obtain the weapon. However, Ventus wasn't a fighter so Xehanort temporarily gave up on this method and brought his apprentice to Eraqus, hoping that his old friend would train him. Though Xehanort didn't do this to be kind to Ventus, his actions resulted in the apprentice getting a better life than he had before.
4 He Sent Aqua To The Realm Of Darkness
At the end of Birth by Sleep, Aqua went to Radiant Garden, hoping to save Terra from the control Xehanort had over him. When the two fought, she went into the Realm of Darkness and was trapped there for a decade. Players control her and explore this realm in A Fragmentary Passage, learning everything that happened to her in ten years.
She traveled to the dark versions of Castle of Dreams, Dwarf Woodlands, Enchanted Dominion, and Destiny Islands, teamed up with Mickey, and fought hundreds of heartless, as well as phantom versions of herself. She even corrupted towards the end of her time in the Realm of Darkness but was luckily saved by Sora, Riku, and Mickey. However, this experience would impact her even after she returned to the Realm of Light.
3 He Was Willing To Let Go Of Everything He Tried To Achieve
At the end of Kingdom Hearts III, Xehanort fought against Sora, Donald, and Goofy. He had the advantage and could have finally reached Kingdom Hearts, but the other Guardians of Light appeared before him, and Eraqus spoke to Xehanort one last time through Terra. Eraqus was able to convince Xehanort to let his desires go. He gave the X-Blade to Sora and faded away with Xehanort, hoping that the world would be better off without him fulfilling the remaining goals he had.
2 He Manipulated Organization XIII
Xehanort has hurt a lot of people, including those that helped him. For years, Xemnas was supposedly the leader of Organization XIII and pretended that the group's goal was to obtain the hearts they lost. However, the members of Organization XIII always had hearts and were actually being tricked so Xemnas and Xehanort could turn them into other versions of the manipulative master. He didn't care about any of his comrades, which eventually came back to haunt him as the Seekers of Darkness all ended up having their own reasons for joining him and didn't actually care about helping him achieve his goal.
1 All The Bad Things He Did Was For A Good Reason
Since he was introduced, Xehanort wanted to forge the X-Blade so that he could get to Kingdom Hearts. However, his reasons remained a mystery until the end of Kingdom Hearts III. It turned out that he wanted to reset the world so he could protect the light. By doing so, darkness wouldn't have gotten inside of people's hearts and the world would have been a better place. Though he did terrible things, they wouldn't have mattered if he would have been able to take them all back and change destiny afterward. In the end, Xehanort actually wanted to be the guardian of light.