Papyrus (Undertale) (2024)

Papyrus is one of the deuteragonists (alongside his brother Sans) of the hit 2015 Indie role-playing game Undertale, created by Toby Fox.

He is a goodhearted-skeleton and brother of Sans. While he may have wanted to capture the protagonist at first, if he is spared, he will support the protagonist on their journey, and he is one of the kindest of the characters they encounter.

What Makes Him Pure Good?[]

• His intense egotism and need for glory are only a facade he puts up to hide his insecurities about lacking friends, and in truth he's very selfless and cares deeply about others, not to mention he pushes aside those desires late into the game and doesn't want people to obsess about him. The only person he can truly be rude to is his brother Sans, and as described below, it's only because he's worried about him and it's clear they both love each other and don't want the other to be hurt.
• While he may seem annoyed by his brother at times and dislikes his laziness, it is clear that Papyrus does care very much for Sans and wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him.
• While he may have some aggressive moments, Papyrus clearly doesn't intend on hurting anyone or anything through his actions and he remains mostly friendly throughout the entire game.
• He has proven himself to be a very determined person who never backs down on a challenge. An example of this was when he went to Undyne's house at night to ask her to be in the Royal Guard. While waking her up was inconsiderate, he did not know that he was disturbing her.
  • Furthermore, when Undyne closes the door on him, he stays outside her house for the rest of the night, which convinces her of his dedication. Although she doesn't let him in the Royal Guard (because she's afraid that his kind and friendly nature will get him hurt or worse), she gives him cooking lessons instead and overtime, the two grow a strong bond.
• Out of all the bosses in Undertale, Papyrus is the only one who actually doesn't want to kill Frisk/the protagonist (aside from Toriel), since all he will do is capture them instead of killing them once they are on 1 HP. If the player wins or loses to him three times, Papyrus will show them mercy and allow them to continue onwards, even though it means not becoming a member of the Royal Guard like he always aspired to be. This also makes him one of the few bosses that the player can't die to, the others being Asriel (as the player can't die and is revived each time they reach 0 HP) and Mettaton NEO (who is a zero-effort boss fight where he doesn't even attack and goes down in one hit).
  • If Frisk loses his battle, he only leaves them in his garage to keep them safe and regenerates their health from then on, showing his care for the human in contrast to most of the other monsters throughout the game.
  • It also should be noted that Papyrus isn't aware that Frisk will be killed if they are captured, since he thinks that Asgore will simply let them go instead of stealing their SOUL. He even says he's not sure what happens after the protagonist is captured.
• If he is spared and then befriended/dated with, he will help the protagonist several times during their journey, even trying to get them to befriend Undyne if she ends up being spared, and depending on the ending can succeed in it. He also tries to prevent any fighting from going on between both Asgore and the protagonist in the True Pacifist Route.
• It is mentioned that Papyrus can only see the good in people, wanting to help redeem them no matter what, as evident in the Genocide Route.
• Although he worked with Flowey to gather him and his friends to see Asgore and Frisk, it is worth noting that he didn't know Flowey was evil, and thought of him as a friend. When Flowey reveals his true colors, he protects Frisk from his attacks and tells them to believe in themself.
  • On top of that, while Flowey is a ruthless sociopath, Papyrus' kindness is so huge he genuinely likes the skeleton instead of viewing them as an idiot who he can manipulate. Flowey is mentioned to respect Papyrus for having a heart of gold, appears to have a genuine fondness for him, makes sure to be friends with him in most timelines (including the current one, where Frisk falls down into the Underground), has mentioned that it took him a while to get bored of Papyrus, and apparently got the skeleton to start a Flowey Fan Club in several timelines.
• During the final fight in the True Pacifist Route, he supports Frisk, cheering them on while they fight Flowey/Asriel.
• In the Genocide Route, Papyrus refuses to fight the protagonist, believing there is still good in them. He gives them the opportunity to redeem themselves by granting them mercy and giving the player the option to do so.
  • If he is killed, he holds no anger towards the protagonist and instead says that he still believes they can change, showing that even on death row, he still prioritizes the well being of others.
  • If spared, he implies he possesses Gaster Blasters and would've used them to fight and potentially kill the human if they didn't show mercy. That said, it is worth noting that due to the human being a genocidal serial killer who would've killed Papyrus with no hesitation, and already did so to many other monsters, it justifies Papyrus' act as self-defence so he could protect himself and his friends, thus making him a Righteous Killer - and even then, it never actually happened anyway.
• In the King Papyrus ending, he wants to get the monsters out of the Underground, freeing his kind, and to see Frisk again. This shows that Papyrus cares very much for his kind and his friends.
  • He also notices the amount of effort Sans is putting in to help run things and is both proud and concerned, which again shows how much he cares about his brother.
• When dating/hanging out with the protagonist, he wrongfully concludes that they set off on their adventure all for Papyrus' sake. Instead of being glad when thinking he's that important to the protagonist, Papyrus is worried about their "obsession" with him and advises them to live for their own sake as well. This proves that, although self-centered, Papyrus isn't an egotist and wouldn't want people to worship him to their own detriment.

Trivia[]

• Papyrus is the first Toby Fox character to be Pure Good, followed by Ralsei.
• While Papyrus is Pure Good, he was originally supposed to be anything but. In the original plans for Undertale, he would've been named Roman, after the Times New Roman font, and would be presented as a fedora-wearing creep with zero redeeming qualities who's obsessed about a cartoon called My Little Boney.
• Papyrus' counterpart from the alternate universe spin-off Deltarune does not count as he hasn't been seen in-person and thus doesn't have any personality, much less heroic acts.
  • Additionally, it hasn't even been confirmed if Sans' brother in Deltarune is Papyrus, even if strongly implied.

External Links[]

• Papyrus on the Heroes Wiki
• Papyrus on the Undertale Wiki
• Papyrus on the Love Exalted Wiki
• Papyrus on the Shonen Heroes Wiki

Navigation[]

/ Pure Goods

Canon Undertale: Papyrus Deltarune: Ralsei Fanon Glitchtale: Papyrus DulcetRefrain: Sans Flowey Is Not a Good Life Coach: Sans Stronger Than You - Frisk Version: Sans DISBELIEF: Papyrus