Heartless are the main enemies fought throughout the Kingdom Hearts series alongside Nobodies. Though they are a near-constant threat for Sora and his allies, they can typically be defeated relatively easily with the Keyblade and other similar weapons. That said, Heartless have numbers on their side.
Both naturally occurring and artificially created, there are an infinite number of Heartless seeking to spread Darkness throughout the worlds, and their origins and creation are surprisingly complex. Here's a look at how Heartless are formed and how they interact with Kingdom Hearts' plot.
Heartless can take many different shapes and sizes, but all act maliciously to consume new hearts. They are without emotion and reason, acting on primal instinct. Though some Heartless transcend this instinct and retain some personality or memories from their previous lives, these cases are far and few between. Their nature pushes them to consume more hearts, creating more Heartless in the process, but they crave the hearts of worlds above all else. They relentlessly seek the wielders of Keyblades, as only they can lock and unlock the hearts of people and worlds.
Traditionally, a Heartless is born when a being's heart is overwhelmed by Darkness. Heartless created in this manner are known as Pureblood Heartless and are naturally occurring, especially in places close to or saturated in Darkness. This fall consumes the heart, birthing a Heartless and leaving an empty husk of a body behind that may become a Nobody. They can also be produced when someone's heart is stolen by a Heartless. The Realm of Darkness is home to a limitless number of Pureblood Heartless, residing there until summoned by malevolent intent.
Heartless can also be created artificially, and these are known as Emblem Heartless. Emblem Heartless can vary more in appearance than their Pureblood counterparts, but are distinguished by the Xehanort's emblem brandished upon their torso. Though often appearing with more variety and coloration, Emblem Heartless act with the same malice and hunger as a Pureblood.
The process of creating Emblem Heartless was perfected by Xehanort while working with Ansem the Wise. After beginning to recover from his amnesiac state, Xehanort convinced Ansem to delve deeper into his experiments on the nature of hearts. In the depths of his Radiant Garden laboratory, Ansem continued his tests with the willing participation of Xehanort. After experiencing some initial success, the two ramped up the experiments, eventually leading to other test subjects and the inadvertent creation of Heartless.
Xehanort took it upon himself to devise a machine that could recreate the conditions needed to create the Heartless and began production. Marking his creations with an emblem to differentiate those made by his hands, Xehanort ousted Ansem and banished him to the Realm of Darkness while continuing experiments in his name. Before long, others learned of the power that could be commanded through controlling the Heartless.
The witch Maleficent began to use them, unknowingly just a pawn in Xehanort's grander schemes, but this would lead to the ultimate fall of Radiant Garden when she led a swarm of Heartless to the world. After its collapse, Radiant Garden would become known as Hollow Bastion. Maleficent took the castle as her new home and began amassing allies, offering the power to control the Heartless to any who'd side with her. She attracted villains like Captain Hook, Hades, Ursula and Jafar with her promises of strength, and they offered their assistance in locating the seven Princesses of Heart for her.
Maleficent planned to use the Princesses to open Kingdom Hearts and gain the power to control all worlds. In searching for them, she and her allies summoned countless Heartless and destroyed many of the worlds they visited. With the barriers between worlds and the Realm of Darkness growing thinner, Heartless could cross over with little effort. As worlds fell to the Heartless and Darkness, King Mickey noticed the stars beginning to disappear from the night sky. He resolved to investigate and ordered Donald and Goofy to help him find the Keyblade wielder.
It's later learned that, when a Heartless is defeated, the heart returns to its original owner. Organization XIII would use this opportunity to capture the released hearts from the Heartless Sora slew to create an artificial Kingdom Hearts. They were ultimately stopped by Sora, Riku and Ansem's combined effort, but not before nearly completing their plans.
The Heartless are a persistent part of Kingdom Hearts lore, appearing in almost every title in the series. Though their creation and place in the narrative can be confusing at times, understanding these creatures can help make sense of the franchise's ongoing story.
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